Regional Voices - November 27, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Reflections Regional Events Around the Region
Churches to Hold in Prayer Regional Staff Updates Joys & Concerns & Prayers

Regional Calendar Publishing Information

ADVENT IS COMING...

Advent is coming, and something within us craves for such a time. A season of anticipation and holy waiting. A new year to begin again revealing the ancient love story of the Holy Desire that yearns for hearts ready to receive. I lift prayers for each of you as the season arrives. May you create enough holy space in your lives for Christmas to be born!

Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes

And the heart consumes itself as if it would live,

Where children age before their time

And life wears down the edges of the mind,

Where the old man sits with mind grown cold,

While bones and sinew, blood and cell, go slowly down to death,

Where fear companions each day's life,

And Perfect Love seems long delayed.

CHRISTMAS IS WAITING TO BE BORN:
In you, in me, in all (hu)mankind.

"Christmas Is Waiting to be Born" from The Mood of Christmas by Howard Thurman

Advent Blessings,

Mary

Download the Regional Advent Open House Invitation

REMEMBER...

Remember that all of the Christmas Special Day Disciples Mission Fund offering remains in the Region to support our ongoing ministry.

UPCOMING REGIONAL EVENTS

"WAITING WITH HOPE": NEW ADVENT CIRCLES STUDY AVAILABLE FROM THE JUSTICE COMMISSION

Since 2008 the Regional Justice Commission has been learning how to facilitate and offer conversational processes to our congregations and regional groups. We have trained over 30 individuals to be Circle facilitators, and have hosted several workshops and Circles of Inquiry at Annual Gathering and Circles of Healing for the "transition van" to introduce the region to the Circles of Peace model. We are now hoping more and more congregations will begin exploring the use of Circles in their regular practice, and when exploring topics or decisions. To help people become more familiar with Circles, the Justice Commission has prepared an Advent study, using the lectionary scriptures of Isaiah that we encourage congregations of the region to engage in starting Dec. 1. It's a wonderful small group format that can be used for special meetings, or during Sunday School. Please take a moment to go to the website and check out this wonderful resource. We hope you will use this in your congregation and let us know how it went!

Paula Pociecha, Regional staff and process consultant and

Larry Love, Convener of the Regional Justice Commission

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Expanded...

to Include Pro-Reconciling/Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Training

Dear Friends,

Sandhya Jha has continued on a contract basis with the Region to utilize funds from a grant to help us plan for a transformative training event connected with the CCNC-N MLK Celebration. We hope that if you are a Regional leader...a pastor...a congregational leader...or someone deeply committed to helping us take the next steps toward becoming an anti-racist/anti- oppression church that you will save the dates and plan to attend:

Friday evening, January 10-Sunday, January 12

Registration will be sent in early December with additional information .

AROUND THE REGION

Mills Groves Thanksgiving Celebration

Thursday November 28, 2013. Mills Grove will host their Annual Thanksgiving Breakfast and Worship. The breakfast starts at 8 AM, and worship begins around 8:45 am. We invite all to join in with Mills Grove CC and First Christian, Alameda, First Christian, Oakland and Tapestry. The sermon will be brought to us by Rev. W. Frank Cornwell. Looking forward to seeing you. We are located at 5410 Fleming Avenue, Oakland, CA 94619. Thank you. Rev. Clarence L. Johnson, Sr. Minister/Pastor.

Craft Fair

First Christian Church, Sacramento will be holding a Craft Fair on Saturday, December 7, from 9 till 2 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Christmas crafts, handmade jewelry, household items, soaps, scarves, you name it, we will probably have it. Proceeds will benefit Disciples Mission Fund and the Sacramento First Church Quadrennial Scholarship fund. First Christian is located at 3901 Folsom Blvd.

CHURCHES TO HOLD IN PRAYER

Please consider incorporating these congregations into your congregational prayers each week during worship or in your newsletter, so we can grow together in prayer.

Congregation to pray for next week: First Christian Church, San Jose, Golden Gate to Pebble Beach Area; Pastor, Dana Bainbridge.

Congregation to pray for this week: United Disciples Fellowship, San Jose, Golden Gate to Pebble Beach Area; Leta Shattuck, Moderator

We will feature two congregations in each edition of Regional Voices. Please pray for their vitality, spiritual and numerical growth, their commitment to serving their neighborhood and their openness to the Spirit of God calling them into ministry in the 21st century.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHURCHES CURRENTLY IN TRANSITION

First Christian Church, Porterville

United Christian Church, Livermore

First Christian Church, San Lorenzo
First Christian Church, Watsonville
Sierra Christian Church, Loomis
New Spirit Community Church, Berkeley
Lafayette Christian Church, Lafayette

REGIONAL STAFF UPDATES Staff Image

Regional Office is closed November 28-29 for Thanksgiving.

Mary Jacobs is out of the office November 23 - December 6.

Molly Carlson has accepted the position of pastor of United Church of Christ, Yankton, SD. Please hold her and her family in prayer as they navigate the move. She and Michael will complete their Regional ministries at the end of December.

Bill Garrett will finish his ministry with Faith and Giving at the end of February.

Paula and Michael Pociecha have completed (well almost) a move from San Ramon to Fort Bragg. Moving blessings on them! AND congratulations on the birth of their new granddaughter.

Prayers of gratitude for the ministry of the Regional Staff as we enter a season of Gratitude.

JOYS & CONCERNS & 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. Particularly, please e-mail the names and addresses of new members so we can celebrate them here and also send them a letter of welcome from the region!

Cause for Celebration

NEW MEMBERS:

First Christian Church, Paradise welcomed 9 new members by confession of faith.

Cause for Prayer

Louise Johnson, a member of First Christian Church, Vallejo for decades, a Chapman graduate whose father served as pastor for FCC, Vallejo in the 1930's, Regional lay leader and a passionate advocate of justice and peace, died recently at the age of 104. Her life and faith will be celebrated on Sunday, December 8, at 2:30 PM at FCC, Vallejo.

Our prayers continue for the following who remain in need of our support and concern:

Edgar and Janet Peck
Diane Kindle
Magali Negron and family
Bob Wikoff and family
Pastor Iopa (Job) and Meaalofa Amosa
Donna Fletcher
Kelsey, Tom and Shellie Warren
Pastor Taulua Tupua
John Dewey
Nancy Love
Pamela Dawson
Vickie Firch

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!

2013

November 28-29 - Happy Thanksgiving! Regional Office Closed. May the gift of gratitude be yours!
December 7 - 1-3 PM Regional Advent Open House in celebration of Sandhya Jha's, Molly and Michael Carlson's and Bill Garrett's ministry with the Region
December 24, 2013-January 1, 2013 - Regional Office Closed. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2014

January 10-12 - Pro-Reconciling-Anti-Racism Training for Regional and Congregational leaders ending with MLK Celebration and Awards

PUBLISHING INFORMATION

This newsletter is published bi-weekly on Thursdays.

Always send your news articles to enews@ccncn.org

Please send short text only articles only...
No flyers or pdf documents which require rewriting will be accepted.
JPG images and links should be submitted as a separate attached file and
not embedded in the body of a document.

ALL news articles should be sent to enews@ccncn.org no later than the
Tuesday before publication.

Publishing schedule for balance of 2013
December 12, 26 (Christmas - no publication)

________________________________

This communication is made possible by generosity expressed

through giving to Disciples Mission Fund!

Christian Church of Northern CA-NV

The CCNC-N is the presence of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
in the northern half of the states of California and Nevada.