News

Grants to Support Old Age Poverty Approved by COAM

NASHVILLE, Tenn.– Grants to help local congregations deal with issues surrounding "old age poverty" – one of three focus areas concerning older adults for the current quadrennium – will be offered beginning next year through the Committee on Older Adult Ministries (COAM), which is administratively related to The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD).   The grants will be available to local churches that identify ways to be in ministry to older adults who face...

Sacramento Area UMY Participate in B1

Six United Methodist Youth group in the greater Sacramento area recently participated in a B1 event. B1 stands for One Being, Being One and is a 24-hour fasting event for young people which raises money to empower the poor and disempower unjust systems sustaining poverty in our world.   The event was held at First UMC in Sacramento. The other Sacramento UMY groups included Oak Park UMC, St. Mark's UMC, Centennial UMC, Riverside UMC, and Japanese UMC.   A video from...

Antipoverty Program

Heather Cunningham, the National Training Director, for Circles®, will present an introduction to this powerful antipoverty program on Friday, March 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 625 Randolph Street in Napa, CA. A participatory "Poverty Simulation" will be part of the training experience. The Director of the Carson City Circles® program and a Circle Leader will join Cunningham for this training.  See www.MovetheMountain.org...

Alum Rock UMC Partners with Housing Organization

Throughout 2012 Alum Rock United Methodist Church joined with the Foundation for Housing Equity (FHE) in East San Jose. FHE is a non-profit, charitable organization founded by John Zamora and family. Its goal is two-fold: to help empower and provide opportunities for folks in the community who need a hand-up, and also to give young people in the community meaningful opportunities and exposure to cultural music and art. Some of the events organized by FHE include the Silicon Valley Music...

Don't Miss 'Circles' Orientation and Training, Oct. 17-18

Circles Breaks the Poverty Cycle! First United Methodist Church of Carson City (Nevada) joined the Circles program three years ago, as one of the first pilot programs in the country. This congregation, largely made up of middle class people, no longer just does things for the poor, but the people actually befriend and walk with poor families in their struggle to break the cycle of poverty.   The Circles approach, which depends on allying church folks with poor families over a...

Circles Orientation and Training Is Being Offered Oct. 17 and 18

Walking in Solidarity with the Poor By Rev. Rob Jennings-Teats Co-Chair, Conference Committee on Children and Poverty   Three years ago, First United Methodist Church of Carson City, Nevada joined in one of the first pilot programs of "Circles" in the country. The congregation, consisting largely of middle class people, no longer just does things for the poor, but congregation members actually befriend and walk with poor families in their struggle to break the cycle of...

GBCS Announces National Grassroots Organizing Team

Team will work to build local United Methodist networks to address social justice ministries. WASHINGTON, D.C.—A national team of grassroots organizers has been assembled by the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) to lead a yearlong initiative to empower local United Methodist congregations to address social justice issues.   The new team will work to build strong local networks within the denomination on specific issues, such as reform of unjust criminal justice,...

Social Justice Agency Sets 2012 Legislative Priorities

On the list are overcoming human trafficking, eradicating poverty and malaria, and protecting health for all.  WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) has set its 2012 legislative priorities for the 112th U.S. Congress. The priorities include several holdovers from 2011, including advocacy for immigration reform, a clean energy future, and fully funding international family planning.   The priorities support social justice stances...

Guest Speaker for 2012 ACS Is Featured in Latest Edition of Interpreter

The guest speaker for the 2012 California-Nevada Annual Conference Session will be the Rev. Rudy Rasmus – who is featured in the November/December 2011 issue of Interpreter, the official ministry magazine of The United Methodist Church. The article, "A Season of Hope; Will We Sing with Mary," examines the concept of finding hope in tragedy, in hunger, and in homelessness during Advent.  "I am often trying to offer a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Don't...

Third Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner Planned at Valley Faith UMC, Sunnyvale

For the third straight year, Valley Faith United Methodist Church and San Jose Tongan Fellowship, both in Sunnyvale, have teamed up to provide a free Thanksgiving dinner for the community – complete with music, food, and fellowship. This year's dinner will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 23 from 3 to 9 p.m. The churches make a practice of reaching out to groups in the community – the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) of Northern California, the Filipino Workers...

Youth Group Co-Sponsors Poverty Simulation in November

"Empathy is learned from stepping into someone else's shoes. Again, again, and again. Empathy enables us to see Jesus in everyone we meet." That concept is at the heart of a Poverty Simulation, hosted by "Step Up Silicon Valley" and sponsored by the Willow Glen United Methodist Church and the Joint Youth Group, Saturday, Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the church.   This unique event enables participants to view poverty from different angles in an experiential...

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...

UMAC Keynote Speaker Is Featured in Powerful UMNS Story

The keynote speaker at the 2011 annual meeting of the United Methodist Association of Communicators (UMAC) will be the Rev. Lorenza Andrade-Smith, a UM pastor who has taken a vow of poverty in order to live among the homeless for three years. When her bishop appointed her to lead a ministry to the poor and marginalized, Andrade-Smith took a leave of absence from her church and Conference duties and renounced her salary and all her possessions, including her home and car.   In a...

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...

'Circles' Breaks the Poverty Cycle

Could you survive in poverty? How would you do it? If you are attending the Annual Conference Session in June, you will have an opportunity to explore these questions as well as to learn about a valuable resource for "walking with" the poor in an effective journey out of poverty. With the sponsorship of the Conference Committee on Children and Poverty, the Circle of Support small group at First United Methodist Church in Carson City, Nevada will make a presentation on Friday (June 17)...

Engage in Ministry With the Poor for Lent

Registration deadline is March 19 for "'Word on the Street': Radical Hospitality with the Homeless" workshop. In his new article, "Lent Is 'a Very Good Place to Be,'" Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr. recommends an upcoming workshop as an "excellent" activity for Lent, for those in the Sacramento area.   "'Word on the Street': Radical Hospitality with the Homeless" will take place on Thursday, March 24, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Sacramento's First United...

'Stations of the Poor A Prayer Pilgrimage': A Special Easter Weekend Event

A rare reflective opportunity for Easter Weekend is being offered in downtown Sacramento, by Side-By-Side Ministries With the Homeless. "Stations of the Poor – A Prayer Pilgrimage" is modeled on the traditional Stations of the Cross service, which takes participants on a symbolic journey with Jesus through His final hours. Stations of the Poor is a real journey, going from place to place in the Loaves & Fishes area where homeless persons find services.   It is a...

A Story Needing to Be Told

By Chaplain Sarge Wright John Taylor, now a retired United Methodist minister living near Shingle Springs, California, has been a longtime friend and colleague. He has a zest for living and an intense life mission that has been both interesting and productive.   John was introduced to Heifer Project International by the Rev. Bill Beck in 1970. His first service opportunity was to deliver pregnant cows to Korea in 1971. This experience introduced John emotionally to HPI, but also led...

Is Your Church 'Walking With the Poor'? Add to ACS Display

The Conference Committee on Children and Poverty invites you to prepare a visual display (one per church) exhibiting the ways your congregation is walking with the poor. It will become part of a larger display at Annual Conference Session. Each year CCCP looks for ways to highlight the work of congregations which are effectively walking with the poor – something which goes beyond writing checks or sending kits (though these are important), and extends to working in partnership with the...

Congregations - Help Illustrate Your Work With Poor, for Display at ACS

Each year at Annual Conference Session, the Conference Committee on Children and Poverty looks for ways to highlight the work of congregations which are effectively walking with the poor. Beyond writing checks or sending kits (which also are important), walking with the poor means working in partnership with the poor in your area to build the Beloved Community. This year, CCCP invites you and your congregation to prepare a visual display (one per church) exhibiting the ways your congregation...