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On Saturday, Dec. 1, around 20 volunteers responded to an appeal by the California-Nevada Conference’s Disaster Response Ministry and showed up at the United Methodist Center in West Sacramento, to lend their data entry skills to the Camp Fire recovery effort. There were supposed to be two shifts – 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 2-6 p.m. – but some volunteers put in an 11 ½-hour day, beginning work at 10:00 and leaving at 9:30 p.m., and then only because a crew showed up to shampoo the carpet in the ...

By Leslie Carmichael Emergency Response Team Coordinator CA-NV Conference Disaster Response Ministry Butte County announced last week that beginning December 10, they expect to reopen parts of Paradise to allow survivors of the Camp Fire to visit their properties. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Depot West in Salt Lake City shipped 1,656 cleaning buckets immediately after the fire, to assist people whose homes are intact but that will need cleaning. Now the California-Nevada ...

It’s time to begin thinking about legislation for our Annual Conference Session, June 19-22, 2019, including petitions to the 2020 General Conference. Please note the following guidelines: Recommendations, resolutions and petitions may be brought before the session by councils, boards, commissions, committees or agencies of the Annual Conference; by a local church, through action of its church council, charge/church conference; or by individual lay members of local churches within the Annual ...

WASHINGTON, DC | The Council of Bishops (COB) of The United Methodist Church is mourning the death of the 41st U.S. President, George H. W. Bush. President Bush is the father of 43rd President George W. Bush. George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, are staunch United Methodists. The 41st President died November 30 at his home in Houston. He was 94. His death came fewer than eight months after that of his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush. In a letter sent to President George W. Bush, Bishop Ken ...

El Amor No Conoce Fronteras: Un Llamado de Justicia para Migrantes   The General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) of The United Methodist Church is joining in a National Week of Action for Migrant Justice, organized by the American Friends Service Committee, Dec. 10-18, to stand in solidarity with the migrant exodus and all who seek refuge and asylum in the U.S.    “Together, we are calling on the U.S. to end the detention and deportation of immigrants, respect the human right to migrate and ...

Bishop Héctor F. Ortíz Vidal of the Puerto Rico Methodist Conference has written to Bishop Minerva Carcaño, extending his gratitude to the people of the California-Nevada Annual Conference for all their support, solidarity, and prayers since Hurricane Maria ravaged his country in September 2017.   Cal-Nev’s 2018 Annual Conference offering went to relief efforts in Puerto Rico and amounted to more than $106,000.   Bishop Ortíz Vidal says the donation will be used to rebuild churches and ...

2018 Advent can begin with the special blessing of having done something to help the victims of the Camp Fire disaster. This Saturday, Dec. 1, the day before the start of the Advent season, volunteers are needed for data entry at the United Methodist Center in West Sacramento.   The information from 1,300 paper intake forms needs to be entered into a computerized record-keeping system. There will be two shifts: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and 2-6 p.m. It’s estimated that 237 volunteer hours will be needed ...

Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño has prepared a series of special messages to be read during the Sundays of Advent.   A new article will be posted in the Bishop’s Message section of the California-Nevada Conference website at 6 o’clock each Sunday morning, Dec. 2-23. The Advent inspirations will also be emailed to Cal-Nev communication subscribers and shared on social media.   Look for the first Advent message this Sunday at 6 a.m.

The San Francisco Chronicle shined a spotlight, this week, on First United Methodist Church of San Jose and one of its pastors, Gerardo Vazquez, for their weekly food ministry to immigrants. Click here to read “Tending the hungry: In San Jose, a pastor feeds an immigrant community that avoids food banks” by Tara Duggan.

Auburn Senior Fellows, including Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, are responding to the tragedy at the border and the impending budget showdown over border funding by, in part, endorsing a faith leader sign-on letter. You are invited to participate and to share this link with your networks.   This is open to all faith leaders. NETWORK Advocates for Social Justice, inspired by Catholic sisters, will deliver the letter on Capitol Hill next week at the most strategic time.   Click here to access the ...

In the wake of the horrific shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pennsylvania, regional districts of the Department of Justice are offering "Active Shooter" trainings to help give congregations some tools to improve members' safety.   The half day seminar will be December 11 from 9:30 a.m. to noon, at the Kennedy Learning Center inside the Robert Matsui Federal Courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.       The deadline for registration is this coming Monday, December 3.   You may bring ...

We have created a new section on the website for the California-Nevada Annual Conference, focusing on information and resources to help prepare United Methodists for the special called General Conference, to be held in St. Louis Feb. 23-26, 2019. The “2019 Special Session of the General Conference” section will be updated regularly with articles, videos, and commentaries that we think will be helpful toward informing you about the issues under consideration, and promoting awareness and ...

An otherwise plain, underused patio at First United Methodist Church of San Leandro has been transformed into a garden space with a Chartres labyrinth in seven colors – a place for prayer, centering, and meditation.   The sacred space will be dedicated and blessed at the end of the 9:30 a.m. Sunday worship service this weekend (Dec. 2, 2018) – at around 10:15 a.m.   Church member Betsy Borruso says the labyrinth was the vision of San Leandro First’s pastor, the Rev. Myrna Bernadel-Huey, Borruso ...

The Israel/Palestine Task Force of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church endorsed the Boycott of Puma, at its Nov. 7, 2018 meeting.   Puma sponsors sports teams based in the illegal Israeli Settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank, explains task force member Gloria Fearn.   Resolutions of the United Methodist General Conference in opposition to these settlements have been reaffirmed at every General Conference since 2004, Fearn notes. “The 2012 GC ...

The Western Jurisdiction Hispanic-Latino Ministry Council drew up a timeline, at its 2018 annual meeting, for working on issues of Advocacy, Leadership Development, and New Communities of Faith – the three issues of its strategic plan. Participants from the California-Pacific, Desert Southwest, Mountain Sky, Pacific Northwest and Oregon-Idaho conferences joined colleagues from California-Nevada and representatives of general agencies at the Oct. 8-9 meeting, held at the United Methodist Center ...

Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church in Oakland is busily preparing for its 4th Annual Winter Concert, "A Night of Miracles," featuring the Taylor Anointed Praise Choir and a variety of musical guests. This year’s program will be a narrated musical, designed to inspire audience members to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas – the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   The event is a fundraiser to help support the music ministry of the church through purchase of choir robes, along ...

The Commission on the Annual Conference Session (ACS) for the California-Nevada Annual Conference set the start date for ACS registration at its Nov. 27, 2018 meeting, and moved forward in other areas of planning, as well.   Registration for the annual conference will open Feb. 28, 2019.   Pre-ACS Orientations have been scheduled for May 18 and June 1. Details will be forthcoming.   The emphasis of the June 18-22, 2019 gathering will be on fixing our focus on Jesus, in reference to Matthew ...

The California-Nevada Annual Conference was well represented at the San Francisco Interfaith Prayer Breakfast Tuesday morning (Nov. 20). Bishop Carcaño attended, along with Bay District Superintendent Staci Current and other clergy and laity from the district.   Also in attendance were the Revs. Alex Cambe, Sadie Stone, Harold Gordon, and Angela Brown; Belinda Robinson, and Tyree Johnson.   The breakfast is a staple of Thanksgiving week and each year attracts the city’s most influential ...

Sisters and Brothers,   As we gather round the table of grace in our homes this Thanksgiving, let us remember the victims of the Butte County Camp Fire and other fires throughout the state of California. Let us hold them up to God through prayer and let us consider how we might come alongside them to comfort and sustain them.   This past weekend I was able to join a group of our United Methodist leaders who were providing relief to victims of the fire that devastated the community of Paradise, ...

By Toua Yang Communications Associate CA-NV Conference of The UMC   As Oakland and the surrounding Alameda County area digs in its heels to combat the homeless crisis, many churches in the California-Nevada Conference are involved in doing their part. As an example, this past Sunday, Nov. 18, Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church held its annual Pre-Thanksgiving Meal event for the homeless – or, as senior pastor, the Rev. Anthony L. Jenkins, Sr. frames it – the unsheltered community.   It’s an...

By John M. Kraps p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-stretch: normal;-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 13.1px"> My wife and co-pastor, Rev. Rachel Berry, and I are retired pastors from the Cal-Nevada Conference, who live in Champaign, Illinois now, and winter in Venice, Florida. Over the years Rachel kept hoping that one of our children would want to take their children camping, just as we did over the years: visiting Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, etc., in ...

By Cate Monaghan Interim Communications Director CA-NV Conference of The UMC   Heading north on CA-99 from West Sacramento, California on Saturday (Nov. 17), Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, Episcopal leader for the San Francisco Area of The United Methodist Church, Jorge Domingues, Director of Connectional Ministries for the California-Nevada Annual Conference, and I saw little evidence, at first, of the inferno that has killed at least 76 people and scattered more than 10,000 households. We could ...

The directory of bishops and ordained, licensed, and appointed or assigned ministers is available for download on the Journals page of the conference website. An update will be published on December 1, 2018.   “Those who have not already done so are enthusiastically encouraged to review your entry today,” says California-Nevada Conference Secretary Mark Wharff. Submit additions and/or corrections to Database Coordinator Renee Tefft at reneet@calnevumc.org or 916-374-1584 for inclusion in the ...

Good Afternoon,   In light of the smoke that’s affecting the Sacramento area and that is clearly affecting our Conference Center, we are closing the office for the rest of the day and will remain closed until Monday morning. We hope that this will help everyone in being safe and caring for their body.    I would ask that you continue to pray for those who are even more affected. I’m praying for all of our staff and for all that you are doing to be supportive of our churches and clergy in the ...

United Methodist News Service (UMNS) writers Jim Patterson and Sam Hodges filed a story on Monday (Veterans’ Day) about the California wildfires. In addition to the Camp Fire in Butte County that to date has claimed 48 lives and consumed 135,000 acres and nearly 8,000 homes, there have been two deaths in Southern California due to the Woolsey Fire; it and the Hill Fire have swallowed more than 102,000 acres and 432 homes.   The story makes mention of the fact that So Cal was already reeling from...

The delegates from the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church have issued a statement of support for the One Church Plan, one of three proposals advanced by the Commission on a Way Forward that attempt to resolve the denomination’s decades-old struggle with LGBTQ issues. The Council of Bishops has called a special session of General Conference for February 23-26 in St. Louis to debate the issue.   In their Nov. 14, 2018 statement, the delegates pledge to support the unity of the ...

What happened in Butte County last week, and its aftermath, is beyond the scope of our imagination. We feel compelled to help – those of us with intact families and homes, warm beds, and safe drinking water – and those of us who remember what not having those things is like. But what can we do?   It may feel impersonal, but making a cash donation is the most helpful thing you can do right now. Giving to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) or to the conference’s Disaster Response ...

Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño’s formal request for a $10,000 grant to help the California-Nevada Annual Conference meet immediate needs of Camp Fire survivors has been approved by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).   Cathy Earl, UMCOR’s Director of Disaster Response and U.S. Partner Relations, responded to the request with the following message:   “It is with a mix of gratitude and shared sorrow that we join you in the efforts your conference is making to be hope for those who are ...

Friday, November 2, 2018 7:30 p.m.:   As the customary hour of shabbat observance for Congregation Etz Chaim of Merced approached, it became very evident this would not be the usual gathering for prayer, worship, and reading of sacred texts. Cars had filled the parking lot of United Methodist Church of Merced and persons of varied faiths and no faith; differing backgrounds, politics, and ethnicities; young, old, and of various stations in life gathered to remember Jewish brothers and sisters who...

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church this week approved a statement from its Immigration Task Force regarding migrant caravans.   The statement was presented by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, who chairs the task force, during the plenary session of the Council’s November 2018 meeting at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia.   It calls on governments to treat these migrants in ways that recognize and respect their God-given humanity, and with compassion and dignity.    ...

The California-Nevada chapter of United Methodist Women (UMW) gathered for its annual celebration Oct. 20, 2018 at Campbell UMC, with national UMW President Shannon Priddy as keynote speaker. Officers were elected at the business meeting, including first-time officers for the Cal-Nev Annual Conference’s newly created fifth district, the Bay District, that came into being in July of last year.   The following is a report on the keynote address, by UMW member Bonnie Holmes of San Jose.     Keynote...

Did you notice the graphic above? It features California-Nevada’s own Emily Allen, Agenda Chair for Annual Conference Session and one of our first electeds to General Conference. Her testimony is a powerful one! Right now, there are UMC young people – who might not have had the resources to attend a school of their choice, or, for some, any school at all – who’ve been sent by you into the world God loves, because of your giving to United Methodist Student Day. When you give generously on Nov. ...

Monday, November 05, 2018                                                                        For Immediate Release   St. Simon Island, GA – Council of Bishops President Bishop Ken Carter this morning urged fellow bishops to call upon God to help The United Methodist Church to move forward during this time when the church finds itself in unfamiliar territory. In his presidential address at the opening plenary of the Council of Bishops November meeting at Epworth by the Sea, Bishop Carter...

  A Statement of the Extended Cabinet of the California-Nevada Conference of The United Methodist Church   November 1, 2018             We, the bishop and extended cabinet of the California-Nevada Conference of The United Methodist Church, have gathered in worship and prayer, seeking to discern the will of God and to give expression to such discernment as we consider the paths that lie before our beloved United Methodist Church.  In our discipleship with all the challenges we face, we turn to ...

Clergy in the California-Nevada Annual Conference will begin 2019 by being Called to Wholeness.   This new experience, developed by a task force from the Board of Ordained Ministry and Cabinet, including Bishop Minerva Carcaño, is to be an eight-month process of personal and professional assessment and renewal. For deacons and elders, it will commence on the five-year anniversary of their full connection and ordination; and for licensed local pastors, on the fifth anniversary of receiving their ...

By Diane Knudsen Executive Director of Finance and Administration   Grace and peace to you in Christ Jesus! I’m grateful to all churches that faithfully tithe 10% of their operating income every month. The number of churches tithing at 10% or more has increased every year since the California-Nevada Annual Conference replaced the apportionment calculation with the tithe. In 2013, the Annual Conference Session adopted the tithe, recognizing its theological significance as one of John Wesley’s ...

Hope Crisis Response Network in Middletown (Lake County) is featuring a team of volunteers from First United Methodist Church of Santa Rosa, in a story on its website and Facebook page. “They are always a great team!” says Valerie Cox, Community Outreach Specialist for Hope.   Read the story here.   This week a United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) team sponsored by Los Altos UMC and led by Leslie Carmichael is in Middletown, to continue the work on one of the houses under construction ...

More than two years after losing their home in the Erskine Fire, last week a Kern Valley couple was finally able to see a brand-new dwelling start to take shape on their land.   “June 2016 changed the landscape of our valley,” said Justin Powers, who chairs the Kern Valley Long Term Recovery Group, at the official groundbreaking Oct. 22nd. “We lost 285 homes and the journey from there has been a long and arduous one.”   The recovery group was formed almost immediately after the fire had eaten ...

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Vacaville will be Sustainable Solano’s next demonstration “urban food forest” installation site. Three free public workshops will be offered in the yard of the church: this Saturday, Nov. 3; Sat. Nov. 10; and Sat. Nov. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on each of the dates.   The focus this Saturday will be on laying the foundation for the food forest with the basics of permaculture design, including making berms, diverting roof water, and planting trees. The ...

Cal Aggie Christian Association’s annual fundraiser for CA House at UC Davis, next week, will have a 1960s flavor, featuring the Beatles tribute band, “RevolutionBeat!”   Appropriately called “A Little Help from Our Friends,” the event will raise funds to support CA House’s student programs and services, and facility improvements to the Multifaith Living Community (MLC).   Supporters of the MLC and fans of The Beatles alike are invited to enjoy a pub atmosphere including live music, dancing, ...

The California-Nevada Annual Conference is advertising nationally, seeking to fill the Director of Communications position.   Key responsibilities include: Work closely with the bishop for understanding of the context of the ministry and mission of the California-Nevada Conference;  Develop a clear communications strategy that will fulfill the communications purpose, including relevant marketing strategies;  Work collaboratively with the CORE Team of the conference to determine communications ...

Pastoral leaders – don’t miss the opportunity to attend the November workshop “Exploring Your Ministry Style,” sponsored by the California-Nevada Annual Conference Office of Congregational Development. Sign up now, while registration remains open.   The one-and-a-half-day workshop (it begins at 9 a.m. on the first day and ends at noon on day two) is being offered at two locations, at different times in the same week: Great Northern, Los Rios, and Central Valley Districts – Nov. 13 & 14, 2018: ...

A Call from Our Bishop and Lay Leader to the people of the California-Nevada Annual Conference   It’s a case of good news – and challenging news, according to Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño and the Lay Leader for the California-Nevada Annual Conference, Micheal Pope.   The good news, they report, is that conference tithing is up, overall. The challenging news is that, according to Council on Finance and Administration projections, it still will fall short of what will enable Cal-Nevada to fulfill its...

A luau is a way of giving and showing thanks to the community, says Pastor Latulala Toetu'u of Orland’s Federated Church. On Sept. 22nd, the church chose this traditional means to express kinship, in an event that also contributed significantly to the work of the church.   Some 143 guests were transported to the South Pacific for the evening, to enjoy the fruits of several months of preparation. A 14-member planning committee began work in May, assembling and creating decorations, and arranging ...

All creatures – great and small – were welcome at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sunnyvale, California on Sunday (Oct. 21), but although a python and turtle were expected, the traditional Blessing of the Animals service “went to the dogs,” as Music Director Lea McGowan put it. Humankind’s best friend was well represented, as five dog owners brought their pets to be blessed by Trinity’s pastor, the Rev. Jay Parr. A Certificate of Blessing, reading, “… presented with thanksgiving for [name]” ...

California-Nevada Annual Conference Lay Leader Micheal Pope and Executive Director of Leadership Development Gere Reist preached on The Priesthood of All Believers, Sunday (Oct. 21) at Sparks United Methodist Church in Sparks, Nevada.   There at the invitation of the church’s pastor, the Rev. Lee Neish, the conference representatives were able to help celebrate signs of vitality at Sparks UMC – such as the re-launch of a church youth group, and the addition of a second service, made necessary by...

The United Methodist Judicial Council partnered with United Methodist Communications to livestream the three oral hearings held during the opening day of the Council’s fall meeting at the Placid Hotel in Zürich, Switzerland.   The hearings were conducted 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Oct. 23, but because of the time difference aired live overnight in the Pacific time zone: 11:30 p.m. Oct. 22 to 8:00 a.m. Oct. 23, PDT.   If you were unable to watch live, recordings of the hearings will remain available on ...

Campbell United Methodist Church has scheduled a United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) trip to Sierra Leone for January 2019 that is open to anyone within the California-Nevada Annual Conference.   The trip will take place Jan. 17-30, 2019. Its purpose is to meet with local United Methodist communities in Sierra Leone, learn about their history and culture, and build relationships with them through visitation, worship, and fellowship. Team members will also explore mission opportunities...

The United Methodist Committee on Relief’s (UMCOR) western office in Salt Lake City, Utah will mark its 10th anniversary on June 1, 2019.   Over the past 10 years UMCOR Depot West has received mission groups and volunteers from every single state in the West and has even welcomed groups from as far away as Iowa, Texas, and Maryland. UMCOR’s Relief Supply ministry (which includes UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin, Louisiana, along with affiliated warehouses in six other states) relies on volunteers to...

“Many of us brought pain, grief, and disappointment with us to San Antonio,” said the Rev. Kristie Olah, referring to the 2018 Do No Harm conference of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW), that came just a week after the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.   In the context of the hearings and “this important season of telling our stories as part of #Me Too,” Olah said, “It was good to hear stories from United Methodists across the connection. Gathered were lay and ...