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A California-Nevada Conference grant from the Conference Disaster Fund has provided a trailer in Mountain Ranch Park to aid in the Butte Fire response. One of the services taking place in the trailer is crisis counseling for fire survivors. The trailer also as the long term recovery center providing case management and other needed services to the community. The trailer has three rooms, for an office, counseling and small group/ committee meetings. The Conference applied for, and received, a ...

Each year Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr. awards a Bishop's Award to a layperson, or laypersons, that have demonstrated outstanding service both in their local church and beyond the local church.  Service beyond the local church may be in the annual conference, the general church, the local community or beyond.  He invites lay and clergy of the California-Nevada Conference to lift up people deserving this recognition. Deadline for submission is March 31 and should include a short narrative on how ...

New missionary Joshua Doan from the San Jose Vietnamese United Methodist Church, who is to serve in Malaysia, will be available May 23 to 28 to visit California-Nevada churches.  He will be in the San Jose area Monday to Thursday, May 23 to 26, and in the San Joaquin Valley, Friday and Saturday, May 27 and 28.  A visit can be arranged through Howard Parker, Conference Secretary of Global Ministries, howard.parker@gmail.com. Malaysia in 2002 became host to some 200,000 Vietnamese young adult ...

*By Dr. Larry R. Hygh, Jr.   More than 1.1 million people descended upon the San Francisco Bay Area for Super Bowl 50 and its festivities.  The Super Bowl's golden anniversary game was played in Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium.  One circuit partnered with an agency to free victims of human trafficking, and bring justice to sex buyers, and traffickers, who use the festivities surrounding the Super Bowl for this practice of modern-day slavery.      The City Circuit, a group of six United Methodists ...

The 7th Annual Youth Worker's Retreat was held February 4th and 5th at the Waller Center in San Francisco.  There were 25 participants who spent time in reflection and conversation with Sam Halverson, author of "One Body - Integrating Teenagers into Your Congregations."  They also had a session on "hot topics" using the expertise and ideas of the youth workers in attendance.  The group will do a three month "check-in" luncheon to see what progress has been made with their ideas and new ...

The Climate Justice Action Network is a newly-created network of United Methodists linking faith and action in response to climate change.  It is one of several action networks connected with the Western Methodist Justice Movement.  This network originated as a project of the Advocacy and Justice Committee of the California-Nevada Annual Conference, through an Ecumenical Agencies Grant given to Earth Justice Ministries to establish this network.  The Coordinator of the newly-created Climate ...

Gerald Emmett Wrenn Jan. 21, 1952 - Jan. 31, 2016 Resident of Hayward   Wrenn served as the California-Nevada Conference Youth Director from 1990 to 1994. Jerry grew up in Castro Valley, living the typical life of the Bay Area post-war baby boom generation: Little League, Boy Scouts, Sunday School, Giants baseball, developing a life-long love of super hero comics and baseball memorabilia. He held a variety of jobs over the years but most enjoyed his work with children and youth as a youth ...

A Hindi speaking ministry outreach will take place from February 9 to 29 when the Rev Dr. Immanuel Reuben, and his wife Devki Rubaiammal Reuben, will be arriving from Fiji. Rev. Reuben is scheduled to preach, do home visits, and attend meetings with key leaders in the Sacramento, Galt, Tracy, Fremont, Hayward and Salinas area. Here are his major speaking events: -        Feb 13 at 5:30 p.m. Robin Philip’s Sacramento, CA – fellowship and dinner -        Feb 14 at 10 a.m.– Galt UMC – Worship and...

Missionary Katherine Parker, who serves in Nepal on behalf of the annual conference, will be available this spring to visit California-Nevada churches, Global Ministries has now announced.  Her dates itinerating will be April 19 through May 3, and May 22 through June 26.  While her Sunday mornings are already committed to supporting churches, there are other opportunities for a visit that can be arranged through Howard Parker, Conference Secretary of Global Ministries, howard.parker@gmail.com. ...

Pacific School of Religion (PSR) welcomes Filipe Maia to the seminary’s faculty as its new Assistant Professor of United Methodist Studies and Leadership. Maia will begin teaching in Fall 2016.   Maia is currently completing his doctoral degree at Harvard Divinity School where he has focused his studies on Latin American liberation theology, contemporary finance, and temporality. His published works include a Portuguese translation of two important texts: John Wesley’s 1774 essay “Thoughts Upon ...

Each year, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) offers scholarships for university and college students. GBHEM Loans and Scholarships administers over 70 scholarship programs with one general application. Funding comes from Special Sunday offerings (United Methodist Student Day, World Communion Sunday, and Native American Ministries Sunday); wills and annuities; and other special donations/gifts. Minimum eligibility requirements include: - Applicant must be an ACTIVE, full ...

On December 28, the Rev. Linda Caldwell, Conference Superintendent for Mission Collaboration hosted an appreciation lunch for Mariana Hernandez, Debbie Catz, and Matt Pope as they prepare to close down the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) office at First UMC Napa for the American Canyon Earth Quake response.  Their office is shut down on December 31 and the files have been passed on to the Conference Center in West Sacramento for storage. "We are thankful for their hard work and ...

The California-Nevada Conference United Methodist Women (UMW), along with Mary Elizabeth Inn, Gum Moon Women’s Residence and the California-Nevada Human Trafficking Coalition will host a campaign to "End Human Trafficking" on Saturday, January 30, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  The group will start at Mary Elizabeth Inn (1040 Bush St., San Francisco) at 9:30 a.m. They are asking participants to bring an umbrella to be decorated for a march from the Mary Elizabeth Inn (MEI) to Gum Moon (940 ...

Eight congregations of the Fresno/Clovis area circuit came together on January 9 to start the New Year with a Stop Hunger Now meal packing event. Hosted at Memorial UMC in Clovis, the other congregations participating were: United Japanese Christian Church, Oakhurst New Community UMC, Fresno Korean UM Fellowship, Fresno Christian UM Fellowship, Wesley UMC, St. Mark's UMC, and Grace UMC. Some scouts from local troops joined too. This was their first time doing the event as a circuit and their ...

The cutoff date for 2015 Tithes is Friday, January 15.  Checks need to be in the Conference Office in West Sacramento by noon on Friday, January 15, 2016.  The mailing address is P.O. Box 980250, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0250.  The physical address is 1350 Halyard, West Sacramento, CA 95691.  For more information, contact Diane Knudsen, Treasurer and Director of Administration, dianek@calnevumc.org, or (916) 374-1520.