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Northern California Nevada Region of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Weekly eNews
January 9, 2013
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 FINDING OUR WAY HOME.
Another week, another format! We're experimenting a little bit with the format of the newsletter during the month of January to find the format that works best for communicating cleanly and clearly; thanks for continuing to bear with us. We will also try to shift to an every-other-week format for the long e-news by the end of the month, sending out an e-blast on alternate weeks if there is particularly time-sensitive news. In some ways, this process of changing things around bears a resemblance to the story many of us heard in church on Sunday: the story of the kings or wise men, who came to see the Christ child. My colleague, Robert Shively, once did a month-long series on the kings' journey, which he called "Home by a different way." Once the kings had seen the baby Jesus and been changed forever by that encounter, they could not return by the same path; the scripture says that they go home by a different way. As our encounters with Christ leave us forever changed, we cannot return to the old paths. Tinkering with the format of the e-news is a very small change. However, because we are a people of baptism who recognize newness of life as a gift, we also learn not to fear or resent change...Amen? Even when it comes to the little stuff like the e-news! Thanks for your continued grace as I finish out my last month working on the e-news with Quan before Mary Jacobs takes it over. Additionally, We welcome Rev. Mary Jacobs this week as the new Transitional Interim Regional Minister for CCNC-N. Mary can be reached in the office at extension 104, and her email is mary@ccncn.org. If your church has an electronic newsletter or other communication, please be sure to add Mary's email so that she will receive your material directly. As you might expect, Mary's calendar is filling up quickly with meetings and every-day requirements, so if you wish to invite Mary to your pulpit or an event, please be sure to do so with as much advanced notice as possible. Peace, Sandhya
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TIME SENSITIVE Stuff you need to know this week! Meet our Transitional Interim Regional Minister this  Saturday at the Martin Luther King event!In addition to meeting Mary Jacobs, who will be moderating the panel beginning at 1 PM, you will be blessing your congregation by participating in an inspiring and educational afternoon prepared for you by the region's Reconciliation Committee. PLEASE take the time to experience this new format for our annual Martin Luther King celebration: Sharing God's Love Across Cultures:
An educational and spiritual afternoon in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Mills Grove Christian Church 5410 Fleming Avenue, Oakland, CA 94619 1-2 opening panel on Living God's Cross-Cultural Dream (even in the hard places)
- moderated by Mary Jacobs, Transitional Interim Regional Minister - featuring Clarence Johnson, pastor at Mills Grove, who has worked for years with a
Korean and Black Pastors network in Oakland - Kyung-Min "Daniel" Lee, who pastors a church with Korean Americans and Korean immigrants--a cross-cultural congregation - Tami Groves, spiritual director of the Table in Berkeley, which boasts members from a dozen nations as well as many races and ethnicities - Paul Gaffney, street chaplain in Marin County, who ministers to and with the homeless community. 2-3:15 workshops - How to start cross-cultural conversations - How to minister to and with homeless people - How can my congregation become an anti-oppression congregation? 3:15-4 repast (snacks and socializing) 4-5 worship with inspiring music, and honoring - The CCNC-N 2013 MLK award recipient (Jim Mitulski, pastor of New Spirit Community Church in Berkeley) - and CCNC-N 2013 MLK scholarship recipient (Micah Love, Woodland Christian Church)
URGENT ATTENTION: DON'T MISS OUT ON THE CHANCE TO SAVE!!!
IT IS TIME!! TO REGISTER FOR ANNUAL GATHERING MARCH 1-3, 2013!! Early bird discount of 25.00 if you register by January 15th!
If you need a roommate, please conatct Doral Main. She has the names of folks who need roommates and she will give you that information. 510-352-2210 or annualmeeting1@att.net She needs to order music soon and she would love to have you in the choir!
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 REGIONALLY ENDORSED EVENTS AND INFO
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!
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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
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Calling All Clergy!
The A.C.T.S. Program (Academy of Christian Training and Study) was launched three years ago by CCNC-N to provide quality instruction to support the lay ministry of the local churches. Over those three years, top notch instructors have presented a wide variety of courses that have been offered in an equally wide variety of formats. The ACTS team brought you courses that galloped you through the Bible, strengthened your spiritual practice, developed your Ad-Ministry muscles, and equipped you for evangelism. These courses have been offered in a classroom format, online, in Geographic area groups, single day workshops, and weekend retreats. In all, the A.C.T.S. curriculum has served an estimated 500 participants throughout the Region.
In order for this program to offer the most useful courses for your congregations, please take five minutes for five questions. It's simple. Set your timer and visit: https://ccncn.webconnex.com/acts to complete your survey. Your valuable input will help the A.C.T.S. team assess the needs of the local churches and help us determine the proper curriculum to support you!
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2012 Phon-a-thon Update
We Did It!
A few months ago the 2012 Phon-a-thon began. With the exceptional help from 23 callers, a whole bunch of calls were made over a short period of time. And then we made a few more calls and sent out reminder letters, as well as weekly updates in the e-news. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of those who said "yes" to making a pledge, as well as some who were never contacted who gave anyway.
So....here it is...the final tally for the 2012 Phon-a-thon:
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224 donors (some making multiple donations)
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$26,395 donations received (goal was $25,000)
It has been a remarkable experience as YOU have shown your belief in the ministries of CCNC-N. YOU have recognized not only the value of the past ministries, but also the promise of the future of CCNC-N.
So, on behalf of the staff and all who benefit from the ministries provided through all of our collective efforts, the only comment I have at this point is...
THANK YOU!!!
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 NEWS FROM AROUND THE REGION
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.
will happen in this region!
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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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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 from December 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" to www.discipleshomemissions.org/pages/CV-ContEd
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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.
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CONCERT - DAN PAUL AND FRIENDS Sacramento First Christian Church invites all of our regional friends to a concert on Saturday, February 23. "Songs of Faith and Witness," with Dan Paul and friends. The time will be 7:00 p.m. Suggested donation is $10. Benefit for the Week of Compassion and the Dan Paul Peace Mission to Israel. First Christian is located at 3901 Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento. Childcare will be provided. Contact Ted Firch 916-600-5875 for more information. ____________________________________________________________________ Special request from First Samoan Congregational Christian Church in Sacramento
The construction of our church building has reached the point where we could use some help from our DOC members. We are seeking an Electrician Contractor or Private party with a license that we could discuss the project. We are also in need of a contractor for the Air Condition Installation. We are reaching out to our members who might be interested in doing this work for us. We hope some of our members know of someone who could fulfilled our need. Many many Thanks George/Secretary-FSCCC in Sacramento
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 REGIONAL STAFF UPDATES Who's around and when
Our administrator, Quan Walker, is back in the office but needs to remain available for meetings with doctors as they continue to determine the best course of treatment for her husband Les, who remains hospitalized. Please continue to pray for Quan and Les, and please be patient with the possibility that she may be called away from the office periodically. Prayers of celebration and support for our Transitional Interim Regional Minister, Mary Jacobs, who arrived and is absorbing more information than any one human being possibly can in one week. We're so glad she's here! Paula is in the office this week. Sandhya is in Chicago, serving on the newly formed pastoral relations committee for Jinsuk Chun, the denomination's Executive Pastor for NAPAD (North American Pacific and Asian Disciples). She will be back in the office next week. All other staff remain hard at work to help the CCNC-N be the body of Christ in its many forms.
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JOYS AND CONCERNS AND PRAYER NEEDS
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, whose mother passed away December 31. (Amy is an active leader at Disciples of Christ Visalia and spouse of pastor Neal Climer.) Services were January 3. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. Neal asks that we keep her, the med staff, and the family in prayer. Prayers for Alan Hilberg, interim pastor at Sierra Christian Church, who is home with pneumonia. Pastor Mark Foglio, Oakdale CC, had to postpone major surgery to decompress discs and fuse the spine. He was supposed to have surgery on the 3rd, but due to illness, the procedure has been rescheduled for January 24. 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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 REGIONAL CALENDAR 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!
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
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 AN INSPIRING WORD FROM THE GENERAL CHURCH
Former U.S. president, Disciples dedicate hospital wing in Nanjing
A delegation of Disciples joined President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter in Nanjing, China to unveil a statue of Dr. Edward Macklin and dedicate a new wing at the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital. Dr. Macklin was a Disciples missionary from Canada, starting schools and providing medical care in the Nanjing area. The Drum Tower Hospital began as an opium addiction clinic
in 1892 with an initial gift of $5,000. Today, the hospital has over
3,000 doctors and nurses, 3,000 beds and is the leading teaching hospital
of Western medicine in China.
In his remarks, Carter praised the Christian mission personnel who opened
the hospital, while also honoring the nine Disciples' mission personnel
who remained on the ground during the Japanese invasion, December
1937-January 1938.
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May you experience God's love today that you might also share it
with the world!
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