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A movement for wholeness in a fragmented world
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Regional Voices
January 27, 2017
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Gratitude
I am grateful to each of you for all you do to support the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Northern California-Nevada.
These are times that appear to be marked by declining membership and declining offerings. The temptation is to hunker down, and take care of the scarcity that surrounds us. But I believe we are called to live in God's abundance. II Corinthians 8:3-5 tells us that the Macedonians were eager to share their gifts, even when they had little go give: "I assure you that they gave what they could afford and even more then they could afford, and they did it voluntarily. They urgently begged us for the privilege of sharing in this service for the saints. They even exceeded our expectations, because they gave themselves to the Lord first and to us consistent with God's will."
Whether you give out of abundance or sacrifice, as we begin this new year, I thank you.
Thank you for sending your children and youth to camp in the summer to FebCamp; and Fall Fest which returned in 2016. Thank you for sending yourself to Adult Camp.
Thank you for attending the women's gatherings and men's gatherings, for showing up to some hard work at the Oakland Peace Center's mini-miracle day.
Thank you for inviting members of the Regional staff to come and worship with you, to be present at your celebrations, and in your times of grief and sorrow. We are available, we love being with you, and are eager to be invited to your church. You should know that I will on occasion show up unannounced to worship with you.
Thank you for being the face of the Disciples in your city, in the space your congregation and ministry occupies. If your call is to a different and vital ministry, you are the Disciples witness in your chaplaincy, your social justice work, your work in academia, and wherever God is calling you.
Thank you for your contributions to Disciples Mission Fund (our giving to DMF was down a bit in 2016), your congregation's giving to the Christmas offering (we met our goal!!), and for your individual and family support of the Annual Fund (we will receive gifts to the Annual Fund throughout the year, whenever it is on your heart to give). In addition to the Christmas offering, you have also contributed to the other over and above special offerings of the church. Know that I am grateful for the ways you support Week of Compassion in their efforts to provide disaster relief and empowerment grants. You support the Reconciliation offering and thus help to combat racism and division. Your gifts to the Easter offering supports the General Ministries of the Church; the Pentecost offering supports new church development, and the Thanksgiving offering supports higher education and schools students at Chapman University, Pacific School of Religion, and San Francisco Theological Seminary.
We are called to do this work of ministry together, and each of us is called to contribute to it.
The financial needs of the region are real, just as they are real in our congregations and in our general ministries. But real does not have to be overwhelming. Philippians 4:13 reminds us that "we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." I truly believe that we can.
How do we do it? In my imagination the Philippians and the Macedonians practiced what I am calling "pot luck stewardship". We can too. You know how potlucks are, no one brings the whole meal, instead everybody brings something to share, food is put on the table and blessed, and more often than not, there is more than enough for people to eat. If we each did something, we could meet our goals for DMF, the Christmas offering, and the Annual Fund. We could have enough to do what God is calling us to do.
We continue to be the church together supporting our ministry by joining our gifts and resources together. We build relationships with each other. We develop new leaders, and we proclaim justice in the name of Jesus Christ.
Our generous God calls us to be generous people. We need your continuing support for the Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada. You help us to the be the open and inclusive community of faith that we are because you know that we are all in this ministry together.
Please invite me to your church, I would love to talk with you more about how we can support the ministries of our Region together.
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Regional Report to General Board
Each year, Regions provide a report on their work to be included in the docket for the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) ahead of the General Board meeting. This year the General Board will meet in February.
Our report is being shared to give a glimpse into the work we are doing on behalf of congregations, ministers, and ministries our region.
Please contact any of the Regional staff if we can answer any questions you have for us. We are eager to talk with you.
CCNC-N's Report to the General Board (DOC)
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Seeking Emerging Leaders
Dear DSF Colleagues,
I serve on a committee to facilitate a wonderful program seeking to mentor emerging leaders from first and second generation immigrant communities funded by the Forum for Theological Exploration. You will find a link to the description of this exciting project below.
I need your help finding three types of people:
1. Potential mentors for a young adult interested in exploring pastoral leadership, experiencing a vocation in spiritual leadership. Your role as mentor is exactly that, mentoring, supporting, creating space for monthly conversations with these fellows.
2. Potential site supervisor for a young adult interested in exploring pastoral leadership, experiencing a vocation in spiritual leadership. Your role as a site supervisor will be to provide the young adult with a sense of what ministry in your setting looks like.
3. Potential participants!
My colleague, the Rev. Odette Lockwood-Stewart will be writing the mentors and site supervisors at the end of this month with an official invitation and description of the mentor or site supervisor role and an invitation to an event in Berkeley to be introduced to the young adult fellows. The Emerging Leaders Grant will pay the young adult to be a part of a summer internship, hopefully in a setting you recommend.
Right now we need your help in recruiting a great pool of first or second generation immigrant young adults (under 30)!! They can be from any nation. The requirement is an interest in exploring pastoral ministry.
Program Description
FTE Emerging Leaders Application - 2017
Thank you for your many ministries.
Blessings,
Leslie
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Regional Mission Survey
The results are in!
In December, your Regional Office sent out a survey to all Disciples churches in Northern California-Nevada to determine what kind of mission activities we are collectively engaged in.
The results are telling.
Of those congregations who responded, half noted that they are engaged in homeless ministry of some sort, while 45% are involved in work with a local food pantry.
Another 22% indicated that they contribute to a local charity financially as well as through donated time.
Further down the list, a few congregations noted ministries such as Adopt-a-Family at Christmas, Crop Walk, prison ministries, and LGBTQ support as being important parts of their mission activities.
This is useful information to have as we move into 2017. Especially with the Disciples' Mission First initiative - culminating at the upcoming General Assembly in Indianapolis - we can use the data collected to better inform how your Region ought to best support local congregations in their mission efforts. This is how we play our part in Acts 1:8, being and sharing the Good News from our doorsteps "to the ends of the earth".
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Green Chalice Movement
The Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada has recently been recognized as a Green Chalice Region. There are four congregations in our region who are also recognized as Green Chalice congregations.
Quiz: What is responsible for 20% of all electricity use?
A: Lighting!
Did you know the greenhouse gas emissions to produce that light equate to 70% of the world's passenger vehicles?
This is why the Northern California-Nevada regional office has decided to switch over to LED lighting.
Energy-efficient LED lighting can reduce electricity consumption by as much as 40-80%.1 So, not only is LED lighting earth-friendly, but it is budget-friendly, too!
Quiz: How awesome are Equal Exchange coffee pods?
A: Very awesome.
The Northern California-Nevada regional office has a much-loved Keurig coffee machine, which used not-so-loved non-recyclable coffee pods. Equal Exchange to the rescue! The Equal Exchange coffee pods are made from recyclable plastic and aluminum with a compostable filter. Most Equal Exchange products are organic, which means that the local farming preserves river water quality as well as forest cover and habitat for birds through their farming practices.2 Sign us up!
Quiz: How big of an industry is recycling in the United States?
A: $200 billion.
That's a big deal. There are lots of jobs in recycling, and more to come! However,
according to a recent Yale University/EPA study, the U.S. recycles less than 22% of its discarded materials. Interestingly, U.S. recycling levels have not improved in 20 years despite the billions of dollars spent on recycling competitions, symposiums, awareness campaigns and new sorting technologies. And, despite only representing 5% of the world population, the U.S. generates more waste than any other country in the world.3
The Northern California-Nevada regional office has committed to re-configuring our garbage system in order to optimize our recycling efforts, so that we can be part of the solution and support the recycling industry.
The truth is, these changes were easy decisions to make. The Northern California-Nevada Region's values are centered around openness to God's guidance; a recognition of abundance; and a healthy witness to the love, justice, and grace of God. In making the commitment to switch to using only
Equal Exchange fair trade, recyclable coffee pods, re-configuring our garbage sorting system, and switching over to efficient LED lighting, we are acknowledging our responsibility to be excellent stewards, and saying 'yes' to God's abundance.
References:
- Led-bydesign.com
- http://equalexchange.coop/sites/default/files/resources/talking-points.pdf
- http://www.recycleacrossamerica.org/recycling-facts
The purpose of the Green Chalice Program is to encourage and assist local congregations/DOC Offices and Assemblies who wish to live out their faith by caring for creation. This program is designed to recognize congregations for being good stewards of God's creation. It also aims to empower congregations/assemblies with ideas and resources to enable them to walk gently on the earth.
The Region encourages you to seek out this recognition and become part of this important movement.
Learn More
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Action Alert: Executive Orders which will impact Refugees and Immigrants
Executive Orders which will deeply impact the lives and freedoms of refugees and immigrants, both inside and outside the U.S., have just been released this week, and more are anticipated to be released from the White House. This week's announcements focused on border security and interior immigration issues, and refugee related announcements are expected to be announced.
More information on how you can help
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Street Level Health Project & Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
My Experience these past few months has been bittersweet. It's amazing to see so many people out here trying to make a difference and give hope to people who are in challenging situations. However, it has also been hard for me to see how many people are actually struggling to get by. I'm the type of person who gets frustrated and despondent when I don't see immediate change.
Yet, I've learned that sometimes I need to be patient, and not just focus on the big picture; sometimes the small things are important too. We might feel that going around the community to pass food out could be something insignificant and may not be changing much.
Nevertheless, you might be giving food to someone who hasn't had anything to eat that day, and that small, insignificant thing to you might be a huge blessing for someone else. This has helped me to challenge myself more and help with whatever I can do. My goal for the rest of the year is to just keep learning and helping as much as possible and continue to contribute to what so many great people are doing here in the Bay area.
Josue De La Trinidad
Church: FCC Concord
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California Cultural Adjustments
Having recently returned back to Canada for a good dose of snow over the holidays, I was able to look back at the initial few months of the XPLOR program and my time in California. I had never before traveled to the West Coast, therefore much of my time has been adjusting to a new and different culture.
The population of California is more numerous than the entire population of my country, and it has not failed to amaze me how there is always an event happening, there is always breaking news, there is always somewhere for your attention to go. While it may be a laid-back West coast culture, I have at times felt overwhelmed by the sheer busyness.
I feel lucky to have been placed with Lafayette Christian Church. While it is a church experience very different from my one back home, the people of LCC always make me feel welcome. I had never before opened a hymn book, or sung along to organ music. The energy and drive of this congregation does not fail to impress me. If there was ever a congregation that was motivated to do good in the world, this is it! I look forward to their hugs and smiling faces every weekend.
My primary goal moving forward into the remaining half of the XPLOR program is to enjoy California. I have neglected to make experiencing joy a daily priority, and I realize that I do not want to go home being unable to say that I truly experienced California life. I want to do Californian things. I want to figure out where Lake Tahoe is; I want to eat lots of tacos; I want to celebrate American holidays; I want to visit Yosemite; I want to go to Los Angeles (I've been told LA is not exactly how it's portrayed on TV, who knew!). If you have suggestions for how to make the remainder of my California time amazing, please feel free to email me at
[email protected]
with your suggestions.
I welcome the input of my fellow Disciples!
Kaeli Sweigard
Church: Lafayette Christian Church, Lafayette, CA
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Oakland Peace Center, Oakland, CA
The last few months in the XPLOR program have been busy and active. What stands out to me as I reflect on my time here in the Bay area is the exceptional people I have had the pleasure of meeting.
My host congregation at Forest Hill is an incredible group of people. Their fun-loving kindness and palpable goodwill has always given me joy on Sunday mornings.
I have also been blessed with a community engagement site that is filled with intriguing people of grace and wisdom. I work as an intern at the Oakland Peace Center.
The passion of my mentor and supervisor has pushed me to grow in my understanding of the world. Getting to know the people who work in our partner organizations and the people at FCCO has also been a highlight of my experience. The building may be old, but the people are young in spirit. I look forward to continuing to be around such exemplars.
A major gratifying part of these past few months has been my realization that I belong in a classroom as a teacher. I have had the opportunity to volunteer in a local school and I now know that is my path forward. There have been ups and downs in my XPLOR experience.
There has been discomfort and challenge. But, I think these experiences will make me better prepared as a teacher, and that is worth the world to me. I want to thank all Disciples out there for making this program possible for me and all the other XPLOR residents.
S. Caleb Greydanus
Church: Forest Hill Christian Church, San Francisco, CA
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Annual Gathering
There will be a clergy day on April 27 time and place (in the East Bay) to be announced.
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It is with pleasure that Sierra Christian Church has appointed Pamela Margo as our Missionary to Mexico who will serve with "The Flying Samaritan" organization in health care for underprivileged men, women and children in Baja, CA, Mexico. A Commissioning Service for Pamela is pending.
New Members
FCC Selma reports one new member.
FCC Chico reports one new member.
REMINDER: Pastors and church secretaries, the region wishes to acknowledge and congratulate those children, youth and adults who make the decision to join a church by transfer or baptism, as well as the names of any child and the parents' names of a dedicated child. Please send names, addresses, type of membership, child, youth or adult and church name to Cliff Cole ([email protected]) whenever this occurs.
We lift up these churches in prayer
Let us pray for their vitality, spiritual and numerical growth, their commitment to serving their neighborhood and their openness to the Spirit of God calling them into ministry in the 21st century. Please consider incorporating this congregation into your congregational prayers this week during worship or in your newsletter, so we can grow together in prayer.
Please pray for the churches who are in transition.
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Viona Shuyler Remembered
Viona L. Shuyler, a member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Vallejo, passed away peacefully on January 10th just shy of her 99th birthday. Viona and her husband Merrill moved to Vallejo in 1942 where they became involved in the the church and over the next 75 years,
Viona actively found ways to make a quiet impact in her community - as a driving force for Meals on Wheels, as a Braille transcriber, as a Kaiser Hospital volunteer in Hospice, as a member of PEO for over 40 years. There is no way to describe her commitment to the ministry and mission of the Church. She was a passionate advocate for social justice and peace throughout her life and active in all parts of church life.
A celebration of that life will be held Friday, February 24, 2017, at First Christian Church Vallejo, 1035 Indiana Street at 12 noon. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials in honor of Viona be made to Kaiser Hospital Hospice (975 Sereno Drive, Vallejo CA 94589) or Christian Church Foundation, P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1986 earmarked for the Week of Compassion Viona and Merrill Shuyler Endowment.
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Rozanne Buckius
3/10/40-1/18/17
Beloved Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Friend Rozanne Buckius has gone to be with the angels. Rozanne and Ted Buckius have been faithful parishioners of Raynor Park Christian Church for 50 years.
Survived by her husband Ted and a host of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as her family of treasured friends,
Rozanne led a full life as an activist, nurse, teacher, lover of nature and was a shining example of compassion. Rozanne's ministry, generosity, and strength of spirit impacted many. Our love for this exceptional woman will continue to live on in our hearts and memories.
You are invited to a celebration of Rozanne's life, 2/18/2017 at 2:30 pm, hosted by Raynor Park Christian Church, 1515 Partridge Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94087. Please RSVP to [email protected].
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Articles for the newsletter should be brief, 125 words or less. Submissions must be submitted in text format. Sending the article via email is preferred. If you have a website or social media page that provides more detailed information, include a link to the relevant page to connect it to the article. (If you don't have a website or social media page and are interested in having such, call the regional office for information on getting started). If possible, but certainly not required, photos and images (people, symbols, etc. relating to your article) would be good to include in the newsletter.
ALL news articles should be sent to [email protected] no later than the
Tuesday before publication.
________________________________ This communication is made possible by generosity expressed through giving to Disciples Mission Fund!
Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada
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