News

Register Your Church to Change the World

In 2012, the Church will come together – not only for General Conference, but also to change the world. United Methodists will extend justice and compassion in community on May 19 and 20.  In 2011, 25 Cal-Nevada churches participated and more than 2,000 events were registered worldwide: everything from developing/enhancing community gardens to fighting human trafficking. Think now about how your congregation will Change the World!   Your event will be charted on the...

Call to 'Remind People to Honor Each Other'

A UMNS Report By Sandra Brands*  No one is beyond the grace of God, says the Rev. Kristin Stoneking, director and campus minister for the Cal Aggie Christian Association.   She is not alone in that belief. Many of the people of faith involved in theOccupy Movement have acted on their belief that all people are the children of God and that their role is to be instruments of mediation and reconciliation in the midst of divisive issues.   On the night of Nov. 18, Stoneking...

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

A UMNS Commentary By The Rev. Sandy Gess* A handmade sign caught my eye at the general strike march called by Occupy Oakland on Nov. 2. Held by a middle-aged "soccer mom," the sign said: "Sorry for the Inconvenience: We Are Trying to Change the World."   More than 10,000 demonstrators gathered that day to express their dissatisfaction with corporate power and stark income inequality in the United States. The handmade signs are powerful personal expressions of...

Time to 'Occupy Shalom'

It is time to "Occupy Shalom," writes the Rev. Michael Christensen, national director of Communities of Shalom, in a Dec. 5 blog post, reflecting on the Sunday, Dec. 4 "Occupy" event at Zuccotti Park in New York in which he, Bishop Jeremiah Park, and Rev. Jesse Jackson (among others) participated. (Watch 2 min. 8 sec. video report, Jesse Jackson Joins Drew's Theo School to Occupy Wall Street, here and at right.)   Dubbed "Occupy Advent," as it took place...

UMs Participate in Global Event on Migration, Development, and Human Rights

NEW YORK, NY—A delegation of 18 Methodists, hosted by the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), is attending the People's Global Action on Migration, Development, and Human Rights (PGA) in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of the mission agency's focus on global migration and poverty. The global event began Nov. 28 and ends Dec. 2, 2011. The PGA is a grassroots event organized by Migrant Rights International that brings together migrant organizations from around the...

United Methodists See 'Occupy' Protest Ties

By Sandra Brands* They may have begun as a protest against corporations and greed, but for a growing number of United Methodists taking part in the Occupy Wall Street movement, the protests are a statement about the spiritual bankruptcy of materialism as well as a call to transform the world.   "This movement articulates [our call] for a more just society," said the Rev. Sandy Gess, pastor at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Vacaville, California, and a long-time...

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...

Good Sam UMC Leads 'Love Casts out Fear' Candlelight Vigil

The Good Samaritan United Methodist Church in Cupertino, California sponsored a community "Love Casts out Fear" candlelight vigil on Sunday, Oct. 9, in contemplation of the violent events that had occurred just a few days earlier, across the street and down the block from the church.   On Oct. 5, a disgruntled employee at the Lehigh Hanson Permanente Cement Plant opened fire on co-workers, killing three people and wounding six others, then shooting and injuring a 60-year-old...

Join UM Clergy for Interfaith 'Occupy San Francisco' Event

You are invited to join with United Methodist and Interfaith clergy in solidarity with Occupy San Francisco, for a non-violent and religious witness at Justin Herman Plaza, Monday, Oct. 24 at 10:30 a.m. The event is being organized by Bay Area interfaith clergy and religious leaders to take place in conjunction with "Occupy Wall Street."   A Facebook page has been set up to help coordinate and share information, resources, and support. Get connected at http://www.facebook.com/I...

Why I'm Going to Occupy Wall Street

By Sharon Delgado I plan to go to the Occupy Wall Street encampment on October 21st, after my post-surgery check-up with my cardiologist. I now have a pacemaker, so I'll see if it sets off the metal detector at airport security. I'll try to remember to place my borrowed cell phone to my right ear, instead of my left, so that its electromagnetic field doesn't interfere with the pacemaker. I won't be able to walk very fast or march very far. I don't yet know where I'll sleep, shower, store my...

Cal-Nevada Sponsors 10-Fold Philippines Project on Oct. 18

The California-Nevada Annual Conference is proud to be sponsoring a 10-Fold Day this year – a day that illustrates the Conference's commitment to human rights in the Philippines. 10-Fold is a 10-day online event that begins on Monday (Oct. 10), coordinated by the General Board of Global Ministries and United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to mobilize passionate people to stand up and be counted for causes in which they believe.   All it takes is a click of a mouse to...

Churches: Be on Lookout for Missing Oregonian

On Sept. 16 Mark Bosworth, a 6-foot tall, 180-pound cancer patient, disappeared from Riddle, Oregon, where he was working as a volunteer with Cycle Oregon. Despite repeated searches and media stories, he has not been found. It is feared that Mark may have become delusional and disoriented as the result of the medication he has been taking to battle his disease, and may have crossed into California. He may not even know who he is, and since he has no money with him, he may show up in a...

Reclaiming Sept. 11 as 'Day of Hope'

As we prepare to observe the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington, D.C., it is worth remembering that that day also galvanized United Methodist hands to be a force for change in their community. On Tuesday, United Methodist Communications launched a national digital and audio advertising campaign, asking everyone to Rethink Church and reclaim September 11 as a day of hope.   The ads point out that 10 years ago, 9/11 made many of us rethink our...

Goodpaster Calls for Building Bridges on Sept. 11

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, President of the Council of Bishops, is urging United Methodists to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with prayer and interfaith connection. In a statement, Bishop Goodpaster calls upon United Methodists "and all people of faith" to "a renewed commitment to ministry of reconciliation, and to being witnesses of God's love and grace for and in the whole world."   "None of us who watched in shock and horror...

Carson City UM Pastors Pray for Healing for Traumatized Community

The pastors of First United Methodist Church of Carson City, Nevada, the Revs. Rob and Dixie Jennings-Teats, say they are ministering to people on a personal level, in the aftermath of Tuesday's shooting rampage at the IHOP restaurant in Carson City. Four restaurant patrons were killed and seven others wounded when a man, described in various press accounts as mentally troubled, fired dozens of rounds from an assault rifle into their midst before taking his own life. Three of the dead were...

Commemorating 9/11

Churches across the Connection are planning special services and other events – a number of them interfaith events – in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, commonly referred to as "9/11." In the United Methodist News Service (UMNS) article, "Religious Tolerance Urged in 9/11 Discourse," Linda Bloom writes that an interfaith association of more than 400 religion communicators has taken the lead "in...

Faith Leaders Arrested in Capitol Rotunda Protest

Interfaith Coalition protests Administration, Congressional plan to balance the budget by placing an undue burden on the nation's most vulnerable.  Jim Winkler, chief executive of the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) of The United Methodist Church, was among those arrested yesterday (Thursday, July 28, 2011) inside the U.S. Capitol Building, as they protested threatened budget cuts they say would "balance the budget on the backs of the poor." Winkler was a part of an...

'Pass DREAM Act,' Urge UM Bishops, GBCS Chief Executive

Letter sent in support of citizenship process for undocumented students WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three United Methodist leaders sent a letter July 18 to the U.S. Senate subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees & Border Security urging them to pass the DREAM Act.   The bipartisan legislation, recently reintroduced by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., in the Senate and Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., in the House, would provide a process for undocumented...

Support the Congolese People: Order Resources for Peace with Justice Sunday!

The deadliest war since World War II is raging in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – fed by the gold, titanium, tantalum, and tin in our computers, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. Soldiers from neighboring countries compete for control of – and profits from – the mines in eastern DRC. They maintain control of the people who live in the communities surrounding the mines through repeated rape and other violence. (Watch video at right.)   These...

Conference UMVIM Teams Plan Return to Japan

By Phil Bandy Interim Director, CA-NV UMVIM As a result of recent planning meetings in Japan, future United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) team leaders from the California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church are making plans to return to Japan for disaster response. A small planning and assessment team traveled to Japan May 9-20, 2011 and met with various people involved in the Church's disaster response after the early March earthquakes and tsunami.    ...