From the Press
Thousands celebrate spirit of Easter
Orange County Register - April 7, 2012
Across the county, thousands celebrated the meaning of Easter with prayers, children's choirs and candlelight processions. In Santa Ana, hundreds walked silently into the 123-year-old Episcopal Church of the Messiah carrying out the tradition of The Great Vigil. Worshippers sang Easter hymns and carried candles as they flowed into a darkened church. They listened to promises of redemption from the Bible and new members were baptized. The ceremony included incense and music, and parishioners celebrated the first Eucharist of Easter. Read more.
Birds offer holiday hope to moms
Orange County Register - December 20, 2011
It is 10 shopping days until Christmas and in the basement of the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in downtown Santa Ana a dozen women are at long tables hand-stitching felt Christmas ornaments. The tiny cardinals and finches are called Birds of Hope, and as I watch these Latina moms from low-income households intently go about their craft, I feel I've been given the opportunity to witness the birth of something special. Read more.
Good Friday procession of The Cross
Orange County Register - April 22, 2011
The Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana lead the Via Crucis Procession of The Cross Good Friday evening in downtown Santa Ana with about followers. For more than 30 years, participants have walked and carried a large cross on the same path to 14 stations that are in neighborhoods suffering economic depression, gang violence and other forms of blight. Read more.
Archbishop of Canterbury Visits Santa Ana Preschoolers
Episcopal News Service - July 09, 2009
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams took time out from a hectic 76th General Convention schedule July 8 to rub elbows with inner city Santa Ana preschoolers at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah's Hands Together program — literally. Read more.
L.A. Episcopal Diocese elects first woman bishop in its history
Los Angeles Times - December 4, 2009
... Bruce, a onetime bank executive, has spent her 12 years as a priest in Orange County. She was the associate rector of Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana for three years before assuming her current post at St. Clement’s in 2000. Read more.
Peace leads this procession
Los Angeles Times - March 29, 2010
Santa Ana's annual Blessing of the Streets is a show of resolve against gang violence. Read more.
Church celebrates 125 years in a bar
Orange County Register - February 13, 2008
In Feb. 12, 1883, Rev. John Emery and a few men gathered on the second floor of the Dibble Hall store, on the corner of Fourth and Main Streets, and started the Santa Ana congregation of the Episcopal Church of the Messiah. It was the beginning of an organization that now has more than 600 members. Read more.
Preaching Earthly Concerns
Los Angeles Times - December 5, 1999
In a sign of growing environmental activism by religious bodies, more than 20 Orange County Episcopal parishes joined with scores from throughout Southern California to launch a yearlong program of unprecedented steps to safeguard the natural world. Read more.