News

UMCOR Relief Supply Kits Are Needed Now

By Phil Bandy Interim Director, CA-NV UMVIM Office The distribution of United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Relief Supply Kits has been successful this year. The sad news is that many were in great demand because they were shipped to assist people in crisis from the many disasters this year, and now supplies are running out. Brian Diggs, Director at the UMCOR West Depot, says, "We need kits and supplies of almost every type." He will be restocking the warehouse this winter...

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...

Mountain Circuit VIM Team Helps Fill Gap in UMCOR Kit Donations

By Scott Wylie Pastor, Susanville UMC On September 1, five volunteers from Susanville United Methodist Church – joined by Elsie Wesley of Greenville UMC – will embark on a mission trip to the United Methodist Committee on Relief's "UMCOR West" Office and Depot in Salt Lake City.   After delivering some cleaning buckets and more than 100 school kits (destined for children from Joplin, Missouri to Minot, North Dakota to Africa), these Volunteers in Mission will...

Grant Awarded for San Bruno Pipeline Explosion Recovery

Silicon Valley Community Foundation has awarded a grant of $89,600 to the California- Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church to support two fulltime case managers to work with San Bruno residents impacted by last year's gas pipeline explosion. The Sept. 9, 2010 explosion and resulting fire devastated the Glenview neighborhood – resulting in eight fatalities, numerous injuries, the destruction of 38 homes, and damage to many others. Case managers will work directly with...

Register Now for Volunteer in Mission Early Response Team Training in August and October

Register now to attend one of the following Volunteer in Mission (UMVIM) Early Response Team training events: August 27, 2011 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) San Ramon Valley United Methodist Church 902 Danville Blvd. Alamo, CA 94507   October 15, 2011 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) Pinole United Methodist Church 2000 San Pablo Avenue Pinole, CA 94564   The mission of an early response team is to provide a caring Christian presence in the aftermath of a disaster. Taught by authorized United Methodist...

UMW Takes to the Road to Serve

By Judy Church CA-NV UMW The UMW (United Methodist Women) of the California-Nevada Annual Conference is taking its focus on serving others literally to the road!   If you've wanted to have a short term mission experience, this one will suit beginners as well as seasoned volunteers. Sixteen team volunteers (to be formed through the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, or UMVIM, office) will travel to Salt Lake City September 2-10 to spend five days in a mission setting. At...

New Blog Post From Japan Assessment Team

The assessment team from the California-Nevada Annual Conference which travelled to Japan on May 9 will be blogging at intervals during their trip. The Rev. Motoe Yamada has posted the group's first entry.   To follow the team's reflections, visit http://cnumc.org/blogs. (To locate specific posts, click on author's name.) And while you're there, read the Haiti blog posts from Julia Hastings!...

Cal-Nev Team Heads to Japan on Monday

On Monday (May 9, 2011) a three-member team from the California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church will travel to Japan to assess needs in the wake of the early March earthquakes and tsunami. The Rev. Motoe Yamada, senior pastor of Japanese UMC in Sacramento and a World Council of Churches Central Committee member, will head the team. Accompanying her will be Phil Bandy, interim director of the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) program for the Conference, and...

UMCOR Reaches Out to Survivors of Spring Storms in South

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) website reported that at the start of the 2011 spring storm season, an unprecedented number of severe storms, including tornadoes, hail and high winds, have raced across the United States, provoking widespread damage and flooding in the South and Central regions. The month of April alone saw more than 7,000 such storms, which produced hundreds of tornadoes. Rivers, including the Mississippi, are at record 100-year-flood levels. The cleanup and...

Ongoing Haiti Mission Connection Project Being Developed

The California-Nevada Annual Conference's United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) director, Phil Bandy (in head shot below), is traveling to Haiti this week to develop the details of a new project, described as an Ongoing Haiti Mission Connection. The project is being developed by local church volunteers and will be presented to Cal-Nev congregations in coming months with an invitation to participate. It is outlined below. All those wishing to support the project, or who desire more...

UMCOR Director Cynthia Harvey Has Update on Japan Relief Story

The Rev. Cynthia Fierro Harvey, Director of United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), has posted a letter on the UMCOR website (umcor.org) detailing the organization's response to the earthquake and tsunami devastation in Japan, and giving an update on its relief efforts. On Friday, March 11, Harvey reports, the General Board of Global Ministries reached out to missionaries and partners in Japan to confirm their safety and to ask how UMCOR could be of help. The Wesley Center, affiliated...

Fundraising Concert for Japan Relief Is at Sacramento's Japanese UMC This Saturday

Hear world-class Japanese artists perform in a concert for Japan relief, this Saturday (March 26) at 3:30 p.m. at Japanese United Methodist Church in Sacramento. The artists include internationally known soprano Miwako Isano, performing "Pie Jesu" from Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Requiem in memory of the earthquake and tsunami victims, and a selection of Japanese folk songs (including "Akatonbo," "Hamabe No Uta," and "Biide Biide"); soprano Leena Shiokawa...

Cal-Nevada Churches Respond to Japan Disaster With 'Love and Generosity'

By Cate Monaghan Director of Communications Many United Methodist churches in the California-Nevada Annual Conference have taken a special offering or plan to take a special offering to benefit the victims of the natural disasters in Japan.   In response to a survey emailed to churches and clergy this week, 32 of those responding to date – 82% of the total – said they will take a special offering or already have done so.   "Our congregation's love and generosity...

Cal-Nev Churches Are Mindful of Local Communities Hard Hit by Tsunami

'Calamity' declared in Crescent City By Cate Monaghan Director of Communications Three California coastal communities have their own disasters to cope with in the wake of the Japan earthquakes and tsunami: Crescent City, Santa Cruz, and Fort Bragg all were victims of tsunami-based tidal surges and suffered extensive damage – 50-million dollars' worth, at lowest estimates.   "While Japan is very much in our prayers, we have to deal with the harsh reality of the tsunami here...

Survivor of Japanese Internment Camp to Speak; Proceeds Will Benefit UMCOR

Kiyo Sato, author of Kiyo's Story: A Japanese American Family's Quest for the American Dream, will speak at Rancho Cordova United Methodist Church on Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m. There will be a book signing following the presentation and a reservations-only luncheon with the author at 11:45 a.m.  The event is sponsored by the Women's Spirituality Group and Rancho Cordova UMC.   Proceeds will benefit United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and the Poston Memorial Monument and...

In Wake of Earthquakes, Tsunami, 'Celebration of Our Faith Continues'

By the Rev. Motoe Yamada Japanese UMC, Sacramento "Did you hear about the earthquake?" My sister's shaking voice over the phone was when I learned about the largest earthquake in Japanese history and the fourth largest in the world. I called her to brainstorm ideas for my mother's birthday gift, and my heart sank hearing she could not get hold of our family. Phone lines were intermittent throughout Tokyo, and it took some time to reach both of my parents. My...

Cabinet Responds to Japan Disaster

The bishop and Cabinet responded quickly to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, sending a letter on Friday (March 11) expressing shock and sorrow – and ultimately, hope – to the Conference's email mailing list. "As pictures unfold of losses almost impossible to imagine, we can confidently proclaim that we United Methodists are and will continue to be part of the recovery after the devastation of these natural disasters," the letter read. "We have created a...

Goodpaster Encourages Prayer, Asks Churches to Take Special Offering for Japan Quake Victims

Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, President of the Council of Bishops, is urging United Methodists to pray for the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan last week, and is encouraging support of relief efforts through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). In a letter to fellow members of the Council of Bishops, he writes, "In times of immense loss and grief, we are reminded once again that God's grace is sufficient. While it does not offer us immunity...

Order One Great Hour of Sharing Resources Now

Get Ready! One Great Hour of Sharing is just a few weeks away, so now is the time to order your offering resources. Use the links below and plan to promote this special offering, which supports the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Order materials Give online now Good Crops and Good Stewards   Chili farmers in the village of Lambeugak, Aceh Besar District, Indonesia, harvested two successful crops this past year with the help of an UMCOR-supported...

Young Adults 'Come Back a Different Way' From UMCOR West

By Delilah Fakalata Centennial UMC, Sacramento A United Methodist Volunteers-in-Mission (UMVIM) team, made up of young adults from four congregations and led by Mary and Giles Popish, took a faith journey this month to serve at the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) depot in Salt Lake City, Utah. The team – from Elk Grove UMC, Point Pleasant UMC, Centennial UMC and the Tongan UM Fellowship– headed to "UMCOR West" on Monday, Jan. 3 and returned on Friday (Jan....