What We Do
Diocesan life is dynamic and expansive, as complex and varied as the people who serve and are served in our programs and ministries. In the Diocese of San Diego we aim to reconcile people to each other and to God in all we do.
We invite you to join us wherever you feel called.
Some of this is specifically designed for Church members; we hope that other parts may also be helpful to interested inquirers.
The Three Essentials
We believe that to be complete, a Christian life must include three elements, and that all that we do flows from them. These vital elements are: worship, nurture and mission.
Worship
Episcopal worship, which involves the participation of all who are present, is “liturgical” in nature. This means that it follows a set of fixed forms, all of which—except for those designed for special events—are contained in the Book of Common Prayer.
Nurture
We believe that Holy Baptism is the seed that begins a lifelong process of Christian growth, which we must nurture throughout life.
This means education for both adults and children; but more than that, it means providing a fertile environment for individuals to grow ever stronger in faith. The diocese formally supports the commitment of its parishes to nurture their members.
Mission
For Episcopalians, “mission” means witnessing to God’s love in everything we do.
Indeed, we believe that each and every one of us, not just clergy but lay members too, are called to a specific Christian ministry in this world. And by witnessing to Christ’s word and to our love of God through our unconditional, non-judgmental love of our neighbors, we strive to give daily substance and solid practical meaning to this belief.
We do this through grass-roots social programs in our parishes, through prison and hospital ministries, and—because our neighbors are far away across the globe as well here beside us, through relationships with dioceses overseas such as the Diocese of El Salvador, which provides hope to the poorest communities in that country. The diocesan organization concerned primarily or partly with mission is the Social Justice Committee. A practical manifestation is Episcopal Charities, the highly efficient outreach arm of the diocese that supports grass-roots programs at the parish level; and the Episcopal Refugee Network, the refugee support organization that helps our newest neighbors adjust to life in our diocese.
Terminology
Try as we might, we cannot entirely eliminate the use of otherwise obscure ecclesiastical terminology. If a word on this site puzzles you, please refer to our glossary of terms. If it isn’t there, please email us () and tell us so—we spend so much time with this stuff that we sometimes lose track of what is and is not plain English.