News

Don't Forget: Register for Feb. 16 Clergy CEU Workshop

Feb. 16 is just two weeks away! Don't forget to register for the Clergy CEU workshop "Cultural Competency: A Leadership Skill for Building and Strengthening the Church," at Holy Cross United Methodist Church in Stockton on Thursday, Feb. 16 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.). Cultural Competency is defined as the willingness and ability to shift perspectives and change behavior, depending upon the cultural/racial context – and developing it requires a spiritual journey. The goal is to become...

Program Responds to Growing Need for Hispanic Leadership in The United Methodist Church

By Helen R. Neinast* Students in the Spanish-language Bachelor of Theology program come from all across the United States from a wide variety of ministry settings. Some are just starting their formal theological education while others have years of training in certification programs and United Methodist Course of Study work.   The program, co-sponsored by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the Latin American Biblical University in Costa Rica and offered in...

UMs Hold Half of DREAM Sabbaths Across Country

More than 500 events raise awareness of unjust situation thwarting ambitions of young, undocumented immigrants brought to this country by their parents. WASHINGTON, D.C. — United Methodists accounted for almost half of the observances of DREAM Sabbath across the United States this fall. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition reported more than 500 events to raise awareness of the unjust situation thwarting the ambitions of young, undocumented immigrants brought to this country by their...

Native American Ministries Giving Down This Year: Help Make up Shortfall

Native American Ministries Sunday was celebrated this year on May 8, but you may give to Native American Ministries at any time of the year! And in fact, this may be the year for extra giving. Elsie Cunningham, Director of Marketing for Native American Ministries Sunday, writes: "As I look at the financial giving reports that I received from the General Counsel on Finance and Administration, it is evident that giving in several Conferences is down significantly. In the past two...

Quick: Sign up for Cultural Competency Leadership Training Next Week!

It's not too late to register for two workshops for clergy, being offered next week (Sept. 21 and 22) by members of i-Relate: The Intercultural Leadership Institute. The workshop on Wednesday, Sept. 21 is designed for clergy newly appointed to a cross-cultural/cross-racial appointment. It will be led by Dr. Shan McSpadden and the Rev. Mary Juárez Dalton and will take place at First United Methodist Church of Sacramento, 2100 J St., Sacramento, CA 95816, from 9:30 a.m. to 4...

Cultural Competency Workshops Are Offered Sept. 21 and 22

Two cultural competency workshops will be offered in the Sacramento area this month. Wednesday, Sept. 21, a workshop for clergy newly appointed to a cross-cultural/cross-racial appointment will be conducted at First United Methodist Church of Sacramento, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with lunch provided). It will be a time of sharing, support, and learning some tools to enable pastors to work as effectively as possible in a cross-cultural context.    The following day, on Thursday,...

Deadline Approaches for Racial Justice Ministry Grants

The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) is offering $300,000 in new grants, available for those whose work on racial diversity, inclusiveness and racial justice would benefit from financial support, and benefit the United Methodist Church. Applications are now being accepted for the latest CORR Action Fund (CAF) grants. This new CAF priority (funded by the Minority Group Self-Determination Fund) is available to those who can best take advantage of this educational and...

CORR to Conduct Diversity Monitoring Again; GCORR Report Is on Line

The California-Nevada Annual Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CORR) again will conduct diversity monitoring at this year's Annual Conference Session, June 15-18 at the Sacramento Convention Center. The monitoring is designed to help articulate who we are in this Conference and how faithfully our diversity is represented at ACS.   In January 2010, the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) conducted an extensive review of the Cal-Nevada Conference. The official GCORR...

Religion and Race, GBHEM Event Draws UM Leaders From Around the U.S. to Face the Future of the Church

By Jeneane Jones GCORR Team Leader, Communications and Media Relations More than 200 United Methodist leaders from every jurisdiction in the U.S., including several from the California-Nevada Annual Conference, gathered this week in Los Angeles to discuss cross-cultural/cross-racial appointments as a key to the church's future vitality. The General Commission on Religion and Race and General Board of Higher Education and Ministry partnered to co-sponsor Facing the Future: Cross-Racial and...

Register Early for July Meeting of Filipino-American UMs

By Ruby Bago President, NAFAUM Greetings in the precious name of the Lord Jesus!   The 12th Biennial Convocation of the National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists (NAFAUM) will take place July 5-8, 2011 at Campbell United Methodist Church, in Campbell, California.   The Biennial Convocation is a major undertaking of our Association. Filipino-American United Methodists in the United States and parts of Canada look to this gathering as a means of sharing their...

May 5 Moon Lecture at St. Mark's in Sacramento Explores 'Theology and Politics of Crime and Justice'

St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Sacramento will host an evening with Dr. Janet L. Wolf, one of America's foremost preachers, Thursday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m., as part of its bonus Moon Lectures. The title of her lecture is, "To See and Be Seen: Explore the Theology and Politics of Crime and Justice in America." Dr. Wolf is Professor of Church and Society at the American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as an adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt Divinity School for...

Register Now for Pre-ACS Cultural Competency Workshop

Sign up now to develop your Cultural Competency leadership skills at a pre-Annual Conference Session clergy workshop in Sacramento. It will be offered on Tuesday June 14, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (the day before Annual Conference Session begins), at First United Methodist Church of Sacramento, located near the Sacramento Convention Center.   The session is designed with a mixture of activities – presentations, experiential activities, small group discussions, films/videos, and...

Kansas Lawmaker's 'Joke' Taken Seriously by GCORR

Washington, D.C. | March 23, 2011 –  According to a news release from the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR), GCORR is "gravely concerned" by remarks from a Kansas State House of Representatives member, who suggested during a State House Appropriations Committee hearing that using violence and air attacks could solve the state's immigration problems. Virgil Peck, who serves as chairman of the House Committee on Public Safety in the...

Remember to Register for Cambodia Consultation

The 2011 Cambodia Consultation is very near – March 31-April 2 – and if you would like to attend but haven't registered yet, it's time to do so! The consultation is a periodic gathering of friends of the United Methodist mission initiative in Cambodia from throughout the U.S., the purpose of which is education, planning, fellowship, and celebration of Cambodian-American ministries. It is sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries and the California-Nevada...

Downs Memorial Member, a Descendant of Frederick Douglass, Is Featured in African-American Lineage Story

"As we begin the month of February, we celebrate the contributions of African-Americans to the culture and history of the United States, and we take the opportunity to seek out new history makers of all hues and backgrounds." So writes Erin M. Hawkins, general secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR), introducing a feature story involving a member of Downs Memorial United Methodist Church in Oakland. Downs "teaches us that within our pews are...

Cal-Nev Communications Contributes to GCORR Conversation

The Communications Office of the California-Nevada Annual Conference received two mentions in the February, 2011 CORR{ageous}! Times – an electronic newsletter from the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR). In How to Communicate – Telling Your CORR Story, readers are invited to listen to a Jan. 25 webinar in which Cal-Nev Communications Director Cate Monaghan contributed to a discussion about how a Conference's Commission on Religion and Race can increase its recognition...

Sac's Trinity UMC Is Site of Final Candlelight Vigil for Fabled Hmong Leader on Saturday

Trinity United Methodist Church in Sacramento will host a candlelight vigil this Saturday, Jan. 29 at 12 p.m. (noon), in honor of the late General Vang Pao. It is the final vigil in a month of services honoring the life of the celebrated Hmong leader.   Vang was a leader of the Royal Army of Laos who fought alongside U.S. forces in Southeast Asia and is credited with helping thousands of Hmong immigrate to the United States. He is revered within the Hmong community, where he is...

February 9 King Celebration at Claremont Features Shayne Lee, Chip Murray

CLAREMONT, Calif. – Dr. Shayne L. Lee, renowned author, commentator, and associate professor of sociology at Tulane University, New Orleans, is the 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. lecturer at Claremont School of Theology. The annual event is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. in Mudd Theater on the school's campus.  A prominent interpreter of contemporary American religion and culture, Lee has appeared on CNN and Good Morning America, and has offered expert commentary in the...

GCORR Opens Registration for 2011 Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Event in LA

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) has opened registration for "Facing the Future: Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Appointments in a Global Church," May 16-18 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel in Los Angeles. The highly anticipated spring 2011 event is co-hosted by the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry (GBHEM) and includes pre-events on May 15, providing an eight-hour seminar on cross-cultural competency and a Teaching Church Site...

Candlelight Vigils at Three Cal-Nev Churches to Honor Hmong Leader General Vang Pao

United Methodist churches in the California-Nevada Annual Conference will hold candlelight vigils in memory of the late General Vang Pao on the three remaining Saturdays of this month. The Committee on Hmong Ministry reports that the vigils are to be a time of prayer for the Hmong-American communities and larger communities within the Conference. Candlelight vigils will take place:   1.  Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church,...