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Christ is Born in Northern CA-NV
and around the world!
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Greetings!
 Thanks for bearing with an unusual format this week. We continue to pray for Quan who is caring for her husband in the midst of serious health issues. Sandhya was not sure how to set up the correct template and decided to be creative and hope that there is new year's grace to go around. Also, since Sandhya is sole editor, she is personally begging and pleading with every person who is not already booked for January 12 to take out the time for a truly inspiring afternoon of cross-cultural relationship building and inspiring worship. Support the Reconciliation Committee's effort this year to create the most useful format they possibly could to honor the needs and hearts of our congregations and also the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King at this year's MLK event, Saturday January 12 from 1-5 PM at Mills Grove Christian Church, details below. This is the only time Sandhya will abuse this editorial power. Honest. :) |
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| A Special Message from incoming Transitional Regional Minister |
 A Message from Transitional Regional Interim Minister Mary Jacobs as she prepares to join us in the CCNC-N: My friends and ministry companions, blessings, star studded, hope deepening, justice making, kindness practicing blessings be ours together in 2013! It's New Year's Eve, and I am pausing to breathe in slowly and still my thoughts. Doing this allows me to practice the art of mindfulness at the end of this year. Slowing down, we can recall the year, month by month, letting the moments of delight and celebration return into clear view, so that gratitude finds a home in us again. We can remember that amidst the horror of violence and the frustration of injustice, God has been at work in moments we'd forgotten. Mindfulness slows our pace enough that we can sit awhile with the brokenness. There are only hours left in 2012, and I am feeling a sadness that comes with endings. A myriad of images and emotions come rushing from the deep recesses of memory and soul. Here I find myself rocking like someone standing at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. I tuck in the prayers for wounded hearts and souls, and pray for forgiveness and grace to well up within and beyond as a healing balm. Then the new year will have a bit of good soil to take root. I pause to name the names of those dear to me that I shall not see face to face again. On this last day of 2012, I released my brother-in-law into God's eternal love, and I pray the wordless prayer of tears and aching grief as I long for the gift of renewing grace. In this quiet pause, I realize that change has been stomping all over my life, having its way with my heart and soul. What has been will not be the same again. In the wake of graduation celebration and joy, I am experiencing the angst and delight of empty nesting. Driving our youngest daughter, Erin, to TCU to begin college accentuated that change. Even before that long drive, I found myself considering again what I wanted to be when I grew up. CCNCN brought a new possibility into crystal clear reality. Instead of watching the ball drop, I am packing up bits and pieces of my life to travel with me to Northern California, and I find myself asking, "What is the Holy One planning for me? For us? In 2013? Make room for the surprises. Mary Jacobs, Transitional Interim Regional Minister
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URGENT ATTENTION: DON'T MISS OUT ON THE CHANCE TO SAVE!!!
Our Annual Gathering is early this year--March 1-3--just around the corner! If you want to take advantage of the "early bird" discount you must register by Janaury 15th! So, get thise registrations in NOW!! You won't want to miss another--our 159th--special event in the life of our church! You can register on-line or get a copy of a registration form from your church office. You can also call the Regional Office and they will mail you one. No excuses! Register NOW and save!
ATTENTION ALL CLERGY:
Please be aware that you will be receiving Yearbook forms in early January. Each year we must submit specific information to the general church for publishing in the general church yearbook of standing. This form will be mailed out to churches in early January, and the information must be turned into the regional office by Feb. 20--so be sure to get your 2012 records in order now to hit the ground running when the form comes! Due to staff transitions, we PLEAD with you to fill out your form promptly to alleviate stress. Thank you for helping us out!
Annual Korean Convocation
will happen in this region!
Please pray for our region's NAPAD (North American Pacific Asian Disciples) minister, Kyung-Min "Daniel" Lee and our Korean church as they prepare for the Korean National Disciples Convocation at Alameda Christian Church January 21-24.
Celebration of Ministry for FCC San Leandro February 10
The First Christian Church at 1190 Davis St. in San Leandro has announced they will hold their final service on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013 at 2:00pm. The church invites members of the community and fellow Disciples congregations to attend the Feb. 10 service, which will include the Rev. Dr. Paula Pociecha representing the Disciples of Christ Regional Office and Rose Johnson, representing the Davis Street Center. Refreshments will follow the service. The church instigated many community programs and established the Davis Street Community Center in 1972, offering food and housing programs, an ecology center, and later that year the first of many child care programs. Rev. Homer Richardson retired in 1988, but he has served as Interim Minister on three different occasions. In 2003 the church building was purchased by the Community Center, which had incorporated separately and later relocated their central programs as the Davis Street Family Resource Center located at 3081 Teagarden St. in San Leandro. It continues to be a strong and vital ministry in San Leandro and beyond. We hope that other Disciples East Bay congregations will join in the celebration and honor this long-time ministry in this area.
ATTENTION ALL CLERGY
Clergy Continuing Education
Grant Application Process
Due to DHM being in the process of migrating our website to a new provider, the Clergy Continuing Education Grant application process dates have changed. The application process will be open fromDecember 1, 2012 - January 31, 2013 -- to receive requests from Disciples clergy seeking continuing education funds for programs/event/activities in 2013. Any Commissioned and Ordained Disciples Clergy with Standing may apply. The maximum possible award for any individual clergy will be no more than $500. Unfortunately, due to the economic downturn, block grants to regions or other Disciples groups will not be considered into the foreseeable future. Availability of individual grants will be dependent upon total number of applicants. Applications received during the Dec./Jan. application process, will be evaluated and considered during the month of February, 2013; final decisions regarding approved awards will be announced by Mid-March 2013, at the latest. No other applications will be accepted for 2013 outside of the process described above. Please send your application beginning December 1, 2012! (link "application" towww.discipleshomemissions.org/pages/CV-ContEd
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REALLY EXCITING NEWS ABOUT THE UPCOMING MLK EVENT:
You won't want to miss this year's celebration, where we will honor two truly exceptional people:
The winner of the 2013 MLK Scholarship will be Micah Love of Woodland Christian Church.
The winner of the 2013 MLK Award for civil rights leadership in the region is Jim Mitulski, pastor of New Spirit Community Church in Berkeley!
You will not want to miss honoring these two great leaders as well as experiencing great information and inspiration at:  SAVE THE DATE! A VERY SPECIAL MARTIN LUTHER KING CELEBRATION:
The region's Reconciliation Committee proudly announces a new CCNC-N MLK celebration
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Mills Grove Christian Church
Communicating Across Cultural Divides:
1-3PM, inspirational panel and workshops by people in our region who have done remarkable work around bridging cultural gaps
3-4PM, Repast (snacks and socializing)
4-5PM, Worship, including the honoring of our MLK scholarship recipient and our MLK Award recipient
Your whole congregation will both be educated and inspired by this unique event--don't miss out!
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17 young adults gather for Christmas event!
Disciples young adults from the bay area, Sacramento, and Selma gathered in San Francisco Dec. 29 to 30 for a joyous time together. They shared meals, did a scavenger hunt, played board games, went to see the Christmas lights in Union Square, and worshiped together. They also worshipped with Forest Hill Christian Church, our gracious hosts!
There were several young adults at Forest Hill, and hopefully they can become involved in our activities. Look for upcoming events at Annual Gathering, and during summer 2013.
Thanks, everyone who came, and everyone who encouraged young adults to attend! Do you know of others who could be involved? Please tell Michael Carlson (michael@ccncn.org, 916-206-2468 iPhone), Director of Young Adult Ministries. Thanks, and Happy New Year!
CYF FebCamp 2013, Grades 9-12
"Feb Camp 2013 will again be held at Camp Tuolumne Trails in Groveland. Rev. Jesse Kearns will be our keynote speaker this year. Good fun, good friends, good talks, good music and who knows maybe some good snow. Invite your friends. Registrations are due on February 9, 2013. If you would like more information, just let me know."--Carl Cordes, youth ministries,cccrafting@comcast.net.
Saturday, February 16 @ 10am-Monday -
February 18 @ 11am
Camp Tuolumne Trails
22988 Ferretti Road, Groveland, CA
Cost: $160.00 youth; $140.00 adult
Registration deadline is February 9, 2013
Keynoted by Rev. Jesse Kearns
Directed by Carl Cordes
Registrations and Medical Forms available
online at www.ccncn.org/youth
Earl Lectures and Leadership Conference, January 29-31, Pacific School of Religion.
"We are Family: Real Faith, Real Family in the Real World."
It's not too late to register for this year's Earl Lectures and attend excellent events for Disciples Seminary Foundation. 
Visit www.psr.edu/earllectures for more information.
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Per requests around the region,
here is a listing of regional meetings
and events over the next 30 days or so.
We do not put the dates of local church events here as we never could get them all and we would always miss some!
DECEMBER 29-30- Young Adult Winter Event- Forest Hill CC-SF
Sundays, 9, 16, 23, 30- Christmas Offering 2013 January 7- Deadline for all 2012 Disciples Mission Fund Offering (Checks must be in the office by Monday, January 7) January 12- Martin Luther King event and worship (Yes! On a Saturday! 1-5 PM, with an inspiring and useful training, fellowship and powerful worship, all in the Bay Area) January 12 and 13 - Regional Youth Council meeting at Lakeport CC. January 16 - Regional staff meeting
February 16-18 - FebCamp for high school youth, Camp Tuolumne Trails March 1-3 - Annual Gathering at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City April 20 - Women's Spring Gathering, Palo Alto FCC 2013 SUMMER CAMP DATES (Grandparents and Me Sessions will not be held on July 4!) Community of the Great Commission Camps June 6-9- Adult Camp
June 23-29- Junior and ChiRho Camps
June 29-July 1- Grandparents and Me Session 1
June 30- July 6- CYF Camp
July 1-3- Grandparents and Me Session II June 23-28- South San Joaquin at Camp Pacifica July 13-17 - General Assembly, Orlando, FL Sept. 13-15 - Women's Fall Retreat with Mary Donovan Turner October 18-20 - Men's Retreat |
We ask for continued prayers for our Administrative Assistant, Quan Walker, and her husband, Les who has been seriously ill and undergoing excessive testing to determine the cause. Les is now home from the hospital, and Quan will be out of the office all this week to care for him and transport him to doctors appointments.
Also: Prayers for safe travel for our new Transitional Interim Regional Minister, Mary Jacobs, as she drives from Tempe, AZ to San Ramon starting Jan. 2, via her daughter's in S. CA. Mary's first day in the office will be Jan. 7.
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 We seek to update these prayers appropriately, knowing that the region lifts them up to God with great reverence. Please email enews@ccncn.org with any prayers you would like to make sure are included or continued next week and beyond. With great joy and gratitude, we praise God and thank FCC Selma for generously tithing $3500 from a recent bequest to the region in support of our ongoing ministry. Praise God for such stewardship and generosity! Former CCNC-N Regional Minister Ben Bohren recently announced he will begin a 10-hour a week job working with National Benevolent Association this year, in a part-time consulting role where he will get to work with young adults and other programs in an organization he served for a number of years before coming to this region. We celebrate this great work in the midst of his retirement and wish him well in this new endeavor. WIth heavy heart, First Christian Church of Concord shares the news that their organist, Robert "Coz" Coslett, passed away peacefully on Christmas eve night. Coz was Concord's organist for over 30 years and served for many years as an elder. Nine days before he died he was recognized with the highest honor given a layperson in the church and made an Elder Emeritus. Our prayers are with his family and friends and with the FCC Concord family. Please pray for Amy Climer's mother. (Amy is an active leader at Disciples of Christ Visalia and spouse of pastor Neal Climer.) Amy's mom was admitted to ICU on December 28 where they had to restart her heart at one point. Neal asks that we keep her, the med staff, and the family in prayer. Dick Skelton, minister at the Manteca Church and Del PasoBlvd. Church (Sacramento) in the 60's, passed away at his home in Olathe, KS, on December 16, 2012. He served as pastor to churches in Glen Elder, KS, Manteca and Del Paso Blvd. Christian Church in Sacramento, CA before becoming the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association, Sacramento County. Subsequent public service positions included administering consultant activities for the California Department of Corrections, United Way, City of Sacramento, and completed his working career with the Employment Development Department for the State of California. We pray for his family and we lift up his life of faith and service with prayers of deep gratitude. An update on Pastor Mark Foglio, Oakdale CC as he remains in our prayers. Surgery has been scheduled it for January 3, 2013, at Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento. It will be a two-step procedure to decompress discs and fuse the spine. Approximate recovery time is 6-8 weeks. Cards of support can be sent to: Oakdale CC, 330 Maxwell Avenue, Oakdale 95361. Our prayers continue for the following who remain in need of our support and concern:
- Bill Shive, FCC Oakland and Tapestry Ministries
- Bea Tiffee, FCC Dos Palos
- Lt. MaShon Wilson, serving in Afghanistan, son of Gloria Wilson, Associate Pastor, FCC Alameda.
- Wanda, daughter of Gloria Baxter of Raynor Park CC
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Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada
9260 Alcosta Boulevard
San Ramon, California 94583
925-556-9900 |
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