News

Cambodian Leadership Development Training in the Cal Nevada Annual Conference

  Elk Grove, Calif.--On May 11, seventy United Methodist Cambodian laity and pastors gathered at Point Pleasant United Methodist Church in Elk Grove for a Leadership Development Training. The training was sponsored and organized by Lake Park United Methodist Church. The funding was provided by a grant from the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). The purpose of the Cambodian Leadership Development training was to strengthen and empower the Cambodian Churches and its members. The...

Chrysalis Retreats

The next set of Chrysalis retreats will take place at Carson Valley United Methodist Church in Gardnerville, Nevada, June 27 to 30 (for girls ages 15 to 19), and July 11 to 14 (for boys ages 15 to 19). The retreat weekends are designed to bring a person closer to God through prayer, discussion, worship, singing, and creative expressions.   Applications are due three weeks before each retreat: June 10 for girls and June 24 for the boys. Contact Lynette Grandison at...

Hosanna Arch

On Mother's Day, the First United Methodist Church in Reno, Nevada celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Hosanna Arch, an architectural icon gracing the sanctuary located at 209 West First Street in Reno. Dedicated on Mother's Day in 1943, the Hosanna Arch features the sculpted likenesses of 52 children who attended the church in the early 1940's. The children's faces, along with palm leaves and lilies, were sculpted by San Francisco artist Alice English, working from photographs...

Fiji and Tonga Mission Journey

On Saturday May 18, from 3p.m. to 7p.m. the First United Methodist Church and First Tongan United Methodist Church of Palo Alto, 625 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto invite folks for fellowship, music, dancing, and food as they  prepare for their journey to Fiji and Tonga in July. They are raising money to send approximately 20 United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM) missioners for a cultural immersion experience and for an educational service to the middle school at Houma, Tonga, and the...

Mom to Mom

  In April, Salem United Methodist Church in Lodi began a program called "Mom to Mom" which takes place every Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. Counselors, school teachers, and others provide information and advice to mothers focusing on tips on how to raise a Christian family. Women from around the community are invited to share stories. One of the speakers has been the local school principal. Health tips are given, as well as reading to kids and sharing dinners together. There...

Cinco de Mayo Celebration and Meeting of Monterey Bay Church Extension Society

  On May 5th representatives from United Methodist Churches on the Northern California central coast came to worship together for the annual open meeting and celebration of the Monterey Bay Church Extension Society/Sociedad para la Extensión de la Iglesia de la Bahía de Monterey.    The Monterey Bay Church Extension Society (MBCES) was incorporated as a non-profit by the Methodist Church in 1946. Its purpose is to coordinate the work of the Methodist Church...

Presentation on Palestinian Christians and Muslims

Concord United Methodist Church Race and Religion committee will host the Rev. Will McGarvey, who will be sharing a presentation on the issues facing the people of Palestine, their land, water, and olive crops. He serves as Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in Pittsburg, California and is a member of their Interfaith Council. He has also worked with the Israel-Palestine Committee of the California-Nevada Conference and has been to the Holy Land three times and has lead two peace...

50 Ways to Welcome a New Pastor

WASHINGTON (UMNS) — Paul Simon sang about 50 ways to leave a lover. The Rev. Bob Crossman, minister of new church starts and congregational development in the Arkansas Annual (regional) Conference, offers advice for a far happier scenario: 50 ways to welcome a new pastor. This essay is offered by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at United Methodist Wesley Theological Seminary. Read list here.  ...

Nevada City Gospel Music Festival

The Nevada City United Methodist Church will hold a Gospel Music Festival on Saturday, May 25, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) efforts to provide fresh, running water for the Old Mutare Hospital in Zimbabwe, Africa. Artists include the Bethel AME Choir, The Gospel Motivations, Karen Westbrooks and Zamar, Paige Anderson and The Fearless Kin, and Inheritance. Suggested minimum donation is $15 for adults and $10...

Church Started by Lay Couple Celebrates 10th Anniversary

*By Dr. Larry R. Hygh, Jr., director of communications   OAKHURST, Calif.—"Ultimately people don't start churches, it's the spirit that starts churches," said Ken Gudger. Gudger and his wife, Debbie, began what is now New Community United Methodist Church (UMC) ten years ago. Debbie Gudger says, "Other than having children, it was the most important thing we have ever done in our life."   The lay couple approached retired Bishop Beverly J. Shamana in 2001...

Elverta UMC Gets Excited about Building a Bridge of Love to Angola

Elverta United Methodist Church decorated a bucket they are using to collect offerings for the clinic in Bom Jesus, Angola. Pictured with the bucket are Robin Marose, the church's financial secretary and pianist, and Belinda Helms, the lay leader. Marose and his family decorated the bucket. The congregation is enthusiastic about contributing to the effort to restore an important part of the United Methodist Church's mission in Angola. The special mission project, "Building a Bridge...

Storytelling Event to Benefit Bridge of Love to Angola

"The Village: A Community of Storytelling...Stories to Take you Far and Away" will feature Kirk Waller, an award-winning performing artist, who will take the audience on a journey of storytelling, music, drama and song on Sunday, April 28, at First United Methodist Church, Lodi, at 2 p.m. The storytelling will be followed by ice cream floats on the lawn of the church.   The event is free, but free will donations will benefit "Building a Bridge of Love to Angola." The...

GBGM Missionary to Speak at Elk Grove UMC

Elk Grove United Methodist Church will host a program featuring Katherine T. Parker, a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) of The United Methodist Church, who is beginning a new assignment later this year as a member of the Health Team of the United Mission to Nepal, focusing on water, sanitation, and hygiene. She previously did similar work with the Community Health and Agricultural Development program of the Methodist Mission in Cambodia.  Parker will speak on...

Cultural Competency

"Cultural Competency: A Leadership Skill for Building and Strengthening the Church" a workshop for ALL clergy, is being held at First United Methodist Church, 2100 J Street, Sacramento, on June 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $85 and covers registration, materials, lunch, and .75 CEUs.   Register online here. For more information download flyer here, or contact Dr. Shan McSpadden, lmcspadden@psr.edu, (510) 849-8250 or (510) 597-0177, or the Rev. Dale Weatherspoon,...

New Community UMC Celebrates 10th Anniversary

New Community United Methodist Church (UMC) in Oakhurst, CA, nestled in the foothills near Yosemite, will celebrate their 10th Anniversary on April 21 at the Oakhurst Community Park at 10 a.m. The celebration will include a worship service followed by a free barbeque as a way of the church saying "Thanks" to God and the community for ten years of living out God's love by embracing diversity, seeking justice, and changing hearts. New Community UMC held its first official worship...

A Place for New Beginnings Begins Anew on Easter Sunday

*By Dr. Larry R. Hygh, Jr. What began on Easter Sunday of 1997 as a fellowship church and a place for new beginnings began anew in a new building. Celebrating resurrection and new life, Genesis United Methodist Church moved into a new facility on Easter Sunday 2013 with a grand building dedication in Milpitas, Calif.   "There is a place where we can use what we have to serve God and serve the community," said the Rev. Siosifa (Sifa) Hingano, Genesis' pastor. Hingano says...

2013 Church Transition Orientation and Workshop

The 2013 Church Transition Orientation and Workshop will take place on Saturday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the California-Nevada Annual Conference office, 1276 Halyard Drive, West Sacramento, CA. Cost for materials and lunch is $20 per person or $100 per congregations (5 or more). Register online here.  Download flyer and workshop schedule here.   For more information, contact the event coordinator/presenter, the Rev. Brandon Austin, (209) 823-7154, or PaxofXP@aol.com....

Earth Day with John Muir

  Celebrate Earth Week 2013 with a dramatic performance of "John Muir Alive" with the portrayal being done by the Rev. Don Baldwin, retired clergy member of the California-Nevada Conference, and former resident minister in Yosemite. He will also be presenting a triple-screen audio-visual production, "Yosemite – the Range of Light," featuring a 24ft. screen, images of the Sierras, classical stereo music, and narration from John Muir's writings.    The...

Palestine-Israel Dilemma Class Discussion

A series of class discussions "The Palestine-Israel Dilemma" will take place on Sundays in April at the San Ramon Valley United Methodist Church, 902 Danville Blvd., Alamo, CA. The topics for each Sunday are as follows: April 14 – View of Israel and Palestine April 21 – Life in the occupied West Bank territory April 28 – Update about development efforts of the UMC in Wadi Foquin—a typical occupied West Bank village near Bethlehem. All...

White House Honors Youth Solar Ministry

A UMNS Feature By Heather Hahn* April 5, 2013 | WASHINGTON   Two United Methodists have taken an idea for bringing light to people living in darkness from their church altar to the White House in less than a year.   Doug McNeil and Jesse Salem — both members of Los Gatos United Methodist Church in California's Silicon Valley — are being honored Friday, April 5, at the White House for founding Lighting for Literacy.   The program is a partnership between the...