News

GBCS Applauds Change in Immigration Policy

Change would improve possibility for undocumented immigrants to keep their families together. WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) sent a statement to the White House this week applauding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decision to enable some undocumented immigrant children and spouses to reunite with their U.S.-citizen family members.   DHS's proposed change would enable undocumented immigrants with a U.S.-citizen spouse or...

Deadline for Conference Peace with Justice Grant Applications Is Upon Us!

Peace with Justice Grant applications are due this Sunday – Jan. 15, 2012! The California-Nevada Annual Conference Advocacy and Justice Committee awards Peace with Justice Grants twice yearly, in January and in September, giving priority to United Methodists and affiliated organizations. Peace with Justice ministries are eligible to receive as much as $1,500.   Contact Mary Liebke, Peace with Justice Coordinator, at mliebke@yahoo.com or 530.273.3678 for application...

Apply for Conference Peace with Justice Grants Now!

Deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2012 The California-Nevada Annual Conference Advocacy and Justice Committee awards Peace with Justice Grants twice yearly, in January and in September, giving priority to United Methodists and affiliated organizations. Peace with Justice ministries are eligible to receive as much as $1,500.   The deadline to apply for 2012 Peace with Justice Grants is Jan. 15.   In 2011, the following grants were awarded:  $650 to the Rev....

Jan. 6 Is Deadline to Apply for GBCS Peace With Justice Grants

$50,000 awarded in 2011 to 18 ministries, including a Central Conference project and 17 projects in four U.S. jurisdictions. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jan. 6 is the deadline to apply for a Peace with Justice grant from the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS).   Funding for this program is generated through the Peace with Justice Special Sunday offering of The United Methodist Church. One of six Special Sundays in the denomination, Peace with Justice...

11 Women Bishops Head to Holy Land

Four Christian denominations represented By Wayne Rhodes, Editor, Faith in Action   WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eleven ecumenical women bishops from the United States, West Indies and Africa will leave Nov. 12 for a 10-day trip to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The trip is sponsored by the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) and the denomination's Council of Bishops.   Goals of the trip are to stand in solidarity with women from Christian, Muslim and...

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...

Peace With Justice Grant Applications Available Now; Due by Aug. 15

By Mary Liebke CA-NV Peace with Justice Coordinator Peace with Justice grant applications, up to $1500, are available now and due by August 15, 2011.   These grants are funded by the Peace with Justice Special Sundays, in which congregations donate money to be dispersed among programs for peace with justice, here and around the world. What a great opportunity for mission! These grants are administered by our Conference Board of Church & Society.   This year, 2011, we have...

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...

Peace with Justice: Band-Aids Aren't Enough!

By Mary Liebke CA-NV Peace with Justice Coordinator The Rev. Roger Wolsey of Heritage United Methodist Church wrote the following words in his sermon for Peace with Justice Sunday this year (2011):   It seems like my three-year-old boy, Andrew, needs Band-Aids all the time. I'm tellin' ya, the kid has lots of boo-boos and owwies – nearly one a day! And it's almost always due to him "wiping out" in the driveway on the green plastic scooter that a certain set of...

Observe 'Good Friday, Earth Day, and the Bomb' at Livermore, April 22

The Ecumenical Peace Institute, one of the groups the California-Nevada Annual Conference supports through ecumenical grants, is co-sponsoring, with Livermore Conversion Project, a Good Friday observance, "Good Friday, Earth Day, and the Bomb: The Cross in the Midst of Creation," early in the morning on Friday, April 22 at Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory. This year Good Friday and Earth Day coincide.   The Rev. Sharon Delgado, a retired United Methodist clergy and...

UM Position Speaks to Situation in Wisconsin

Wisconsin state senate Republicans used a legislative loophole Wednesday night (March 9) to allow them to pass a controversial anti-union measure without absent Democrats, who had fled the state in an effort to prevent the vote. The bill denying collective bargaining provisions for most public employees passed on an 18-1 vote, despite protests in the Wisconsin capital, Madison, and elsewhere since mid-February. U.S. News & World Report estimated around 7,000 activists protested the surprise...

Upcoming Criminal Justice Reform Events to Raise Awareness of Inequities in U.S. Penal System

National Day of Prayer for Criminal Justice Reform is Feb. 20 Juvenile Justice Week of Faith & Healing, March 7-13, raises awareness of inequities arising from current penal system WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) asks you to take several actions to improve the criminal justice system in the United States. The National Day of Prayer for Criminal Justice Reform is Sunday, Feb. 20, the Juvenile Justice Week of Faith...

Cal-Nevada's Philippines Solidarity Task Force Celebrates Release of 'Morong 43'

"The Philippines Solidarity Task Force celebrates with the people of the California-Nevada Annual Conference for a great work done," exults the Rev. Felicisimo ("Fel") Cao. The community health workers known as "Morong 43," whose arrest and detention by the Philippines military was widely condemned, have been released.   In June, 2010 the Cal-Nevada Annual Conference Session approved a recommendation submitted by the Philippines Solidarity Task Force to...

Jan. 1 Is Deadline to Apply for Conference Peace with Justice Grants

The California-Nevada Annual Conference Board of Church and Society awards Peace with Justice grants twice yearly, in January and September. Up to $1500 is available for Peace with Justice ministries, with priority given to United Methodists and affiliated organizations. January 1, 2011 is the deadline to apply for the next round of grants. The following grants were awarded this past September: "Alternatives to Violence Project/California-Susanville": Outreach Pilot Project...

Voices in Conversation: Israel-Palestine

Conversation does not come easily on the subject of Israel-Palestine.  On October 5, the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns (CCUIC) invited United Methodist, Jewish, Muslim, and Orthodox Christian representatives to a round-table discussion at the Conference Center in West Sacramento.    The purpose of the meeting was clearly stated: for individuals to share, from their faith perspective, what are the most important issues for United Methodists to...

January 7 Is Deadline to Apply for 2011 Peace with Justice Day Grant

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jan. 7 is the deadline to apply for a Peace with Justice grant from the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS). Funding for this program is generated through the Peace with Justice Special Sunday offering of The United Methodist Church. One of six Special Sundays in the denomination, Peace with Justice “witnesses to God's demands for a faithful, just, disarmed, and secure world.” Peace with Justice Sunday is June 19 in 2011....

Celebrated Civil Rights Figure to Speak to Cal-Nev UM Women on Oct. 23

By Connie Hunter President, CA-NV United Methodist Women On Saturday, October 23, the Conference United Methodist Women will gather for their Annual Celebration at Los Altos United Methodist Church and are welcoming men, as well as women of all ages. The theme is Faith Hope Love in Action.   Nothing embodies that theme better than the Civil Rights Movement, so we are excited to have Rev. James Lawson as our keynote speaker. Rev. Lawson was a leading theoretician and tactician of...

A Different 9-11 Story

By the Rev. Alan Jones Pastor, Campbell United Methodist Church "I never believed that, in my lifetime, I would see Muslims and Christians sitting next to each other, praying together," said one of the Muslim participants in the 9-11 Dinner and Prayer gathering at Campbell United Methodist Church.  The church provided a dinner and invited friends from the Muslim and wider interfaith community to attend. In all, 215 meals were served. The food was all halal, kosher, and...

Council of Bishops President, Executive Secretary Issue Joint Statement on 9-11

Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, President of the Council of Bishops, and Bishop Neil L. Irons, Executive Secretary of the Council of Bishops, have issued the following statement on September 11: "As we approach yet another September 11, we are reminded that the world we live in continues to be [a] fragile place where emotions and tensions run high. There are not many of us who will ever forget where we were on that September morning nine years ago. We should never forget those whose lives...

End Religious Bigotry, Faith Leaders Say

A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom* A diverse group of religious leaders has called upon other U.S. spiritual leaders to join them in condemning "derision, misinformation or outright bigotry directed against any religious group in this country."   Prompted by the "anti-Muslim frenzy" sparked by the debate over plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero in New York – known as the Park51 project – the religious leaders, including...