The GLAD-PSWR Biennial Gathering is Saturday, October 4th at Church of the Foothills (19211 Dodge Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705).
Hospitality Hour is 5PM-6PM and dinner will begin at 6:15. Rev. Dr. Mark Johnston will be the keynote speaker. The event is $20. RSVP via email in advance; pay at the door. Download the flyer for more information and share the invitation with your congregation, friends and family!
Join the movement of GLAD and widen the welcome to all!
From Cheri Metier, CIS Mission Project Consultant - Creation Care
On Saturday, September 13 a number of clergy and laity gathered for PSWR’s first Creation Care Conference. Those I spoke with hope that it will not be the last. This was one offering in the PSWR Stewardship Workshop series.
Rev. Dayna Kinkade (pastor, First Christian Church Orange) kept us spiritually focused throughout the day and brought soul-feeding meditations before and after each informational presentation. Dr. Kyle Brown from Cal-Poly Pomona’s Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies tested our knowledge on water needs and consumption. He used a term I hadn’t heard: "water footprint". Yes, we need to be mindful not only of our carbon footprint, but that of our water also. He challenged us to move our conservation efforts forward from our homes and congregations to regional and whole Church efforts towards responsible legislation. (A host of helpful resources for good earth stewardship can be found at California Interfaith Power and Light.) Allis Druffel, Southern California Outreach Director for Interfaith Power and Light shed light on congregations that are doing wonderful work in education, advocacy and building renovations that work towards leaving smaller negative impacts on God’s first gift to humanity, Creation.
Rev. Carol Devine from Green Chalice of Disciples Home Missions spoke to participants and shared the path towards becoming a Green Chalice Congregation.
photo by Robert Van Waarden, People's Climate March, NYC
Cheri Metier and Rev. Lauren Buck Medeiros, Chaplain at Punahou School, together at the San Diego People's Climate March
This past weekend, thousands of people around the world marched to bring awareness to climate change and encourage world leaders to develop workable solutions to decreasing carbon emissions, brining clean water to all people and increasing clean energy sources. Although I couldn’t make it to New York where the national march was held, I was joined by Rev. Lauren Buck Medeiros from Hawaii and we lent our bodies and voices to a thousand others at the San Diego People’s Climate March. At the end of the march, several faith leaders representing six different religious traditions spoke to the marchers and affirmed that all religions are called to care for Creation.
If you would like more resources, please email Cheri Metier.
Meet Blessing Song, one of four XPLOR interns who have come to participate in the XPLOR mission house sponsored by the National Benevolent Association and North Hollywood Christian Church. Blessing will be serving at All Peoples Community Center and the Pacific Southwest Regional Office.
In this capacity she will be working in the PSWR Office one day per week collecting information for PSWR congregations about ministries addressing food insecurity and how congregations in the region are responding to this need. We have a large number of congregations that serve their communities with food banks, meal distributions, community gardens and other ministries. At the end of Blessing's 10 month internship with the region she will have produced a document of resources on models for responding to the concern of food insecurity for PSWR congregations.
Blessing was born in South Korea, but moved to the United States when her parents (both pastors) heard a call to the mission field of the U.S. and moved their family to California.
Blessing is a graduate of South Pasadena High School, South Pasadena and College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.
Blessing comes to this internship from Las Vegas where she was working in a doctors office and serving at Joyful Church working with young people and as a worship leader/musician.
Blessing will be contacting each congregation on behalf of the PSWR as part of her internship and research. Please welcome her when she does and offer her the great stories of your feeding ministries.
The Orange County Register recently joined Rev. Nancy Brink, Director of Office of Church Relations, on campus at Chapman University for an interview about the school's 153 year old Disciples connection and how this connection makes Chapman unique. Click to read the online article. The full, print version is found here.
Rev. Nancy Brink is director of Office of Church Relations, the link between Chapman University and Disciples of Christ, which founded Chapman in 1861. The school's Fish Interfaith Center holds worship and events for several religious faiths. Photos by Ana Venegas, OC Register Staff Photographer
The Regional Church In Society Committee, a standing committee of the Region, is currently soliciting nominees for the DISCIPLE OF THE YEAR award to be given at the January 11, 2015 Martin Luther King Celebration. Please read the guidelines below and recommend an individual(s), congregation or unit who meet those criteria whom you feel ought to be considered for this honor.
GUIDELINES
The nominee shall be an active member of a Disciple congregation and shall have demonstrated his/her commitment as a laborer and witness on behalf of justice and peace. The activity may have been solely as a representative of the congregation in the immediate community served by that congregation, or may have been manifested in work with initiatives and organizations beyond congregational life, in
surrounding communities, municipalities, state-wide, throughout the nation or globally. The individual recommended need not have been a formally designated officer of an organization, but should have demonstrated steady, prophetic leadership in the spirit of scripture:
He has told you, 0 mortal, what is good:
and what does God require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk
humbly with your God Micah 6:8
The Spirit of God is upon me,
because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor,
and has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
To let the oppressed go free,
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Luke 4:18
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS
The deadline for receiving names to be considered for this round is OCT 15, 2014
Only one person or entity is named each year, but the names of others nominated will be carried over for subsequent consideration.
