Regional Voices

December 23, 2014

REFLECTIONS

Reflection for December 23, 2014

After the astonishing announcement to the young woman Mary that she would bear the Messiah into the world, Mary had some thinking to do. The gospel of Luke tells us that she sought the counsel of her relative Elizabeth, herself about to give birth to the prophet John the Baptist. She receives a blessing from the older woman and as she leaves her, she understands some things.

She understands that through her, God is about to turn the world upside down. All of the assumptions about who God favors and who is out of favor are reversed. Mary ponders, then she rejoices, then she sings:

"With all my heart I glorify the Lord!

"In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.

"God has looked with favor on the low status of God's servant.

"Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored because the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is God's name.

"God shows mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honor God.

"God has shown strength, and has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.

"God has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted the lowly

"The hungry are filled with good things, and the rich are sent away empty handed. God has come to the aid of servant Israel, remembering God's mercy, just as was promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham's descendants forever." (Luke 1:46b-55 Common English Bible).

Mary sings of her joy and gratitude at what God will do through her.

She sings about the ways that those comfortable and arrogant in their power will be humbled, and the poor and hungry will know God's bounty. Those with excess abundance will learn to live with enough. Those who occupy the "low places" will be lifted up.

The gift we bring is to share the good news that Mary has received as we prepare to bring Jesus into the world again.

Surely, we can bring to the church and the world a sense of joy and gratitude to God for inviting us to be the bearers of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Surely, we can be advocates for systems that will bring enough to meet the need for food, clothes, safety, and shelter for all of God's people.

Surely, we can celebrate that God will through Jesus Christ, give us the gift of hope for justice, peace, and salvation. We share those gifts through mission and ministry in the world.

Thanks be to God.

UPCOMING REGIONAL EVENTS

161st Annual Gathering

Save the Date!

The 161st Annual Gathering of the Christian Church of Northern California/Nevada will be held Friday April 24-Saturday April 25, 2015 at Arden Christian Church in Sacramento!

Our theme this year is "Re:" As in Re-Storing, Re-making, Re-imagining, Re-surrecting, Re-membering who we are meant to be as Church. Mark your calendars now for this important weekend in the life of our Re-gion (see what we just did there?)!

Program Costs (includes Friday night dinner and three meals on Saturday)

Adult:	$135
Youth:	$80 (Middle and High School ages)
Children:	$40 (ages 5-10)

(Overnight accommodations will be the responsibility of the attendee.)

Your planning team is hard at work to make this Gathering one to remember. Stay tuned for more information about speakers, accommodations, workshops, youth and children's programming and more! We can't wait to see you in Sacramento on April 24/25! Learn More

Regional Youth Council.

The mission of the CCNC-N Regional Youth Council (RYC) is to foster personal and spiritual

growth in both RYC members and the youth of the region. The RYC seeks to encourage

developing leadership skills and to promote integrity through ethical decision making.

The RYC will serve as role models and leaders to the Chi Rho (6-8 grade) and CYF (9-12 grade) youth of the

region by creating and implementing programming for these age groups.

Applications and Guidelines are now available on our website. Learn More

CCNC-N's 9th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration.

January 11, 2015, 4:00 pm - SAVE THE DATE

Lafayette Christian Church

584 Glenside Dr, Lafayette 94549

Join us as we remember Martin Luther King, Jr.
And honor Rev. Sandhya Jha with the MLK award for her work

Founder of the ministry of the Oakland Peace Center
Activist in her Oakland community
Powerful & effective anti-racism trainings
Advocate for affordable housing

Installation of the Regional Minister

Save the Date - for Dr. LaTaunya M. Bynum's installation. The service will take place on March 21 at 2:00 pm at First Christian Church in Sacramento.

Note: Time corrected.

Women's Action Web

Feb 4-8, 2015

It is with great excitement that we announce a very unique and powerful program offered by and for Disciples women, called the Woman's Action Web (WAW), coming Feb. 4-8, 2015 covering Sacramento, East and South Bay areas. Learn More

Camp Counselors for 2015!

June and July seem far away, but the Outdoor Ministry Committee (OMC) is actively preparing for camps at the Community of the Great Commission and at the South San Joaquin Camp. OMC and Camp Directors are looking for counselors, nurses, and keynoters for next summer. We would like to ask members of churches in the CCNC-N Region to consider applying for one of the positions for Junior, Chi Rho or CYF camp, or to perhaps plant a seed of interest and encourage someone else to apply. The application can be found at www.ccncn.org. Submitting an application would not be a commitment yet, nor would it be a guarantee for a counseling position, but would help us broaden our knowledge of people who are interested. Applications can be found here.

Our deadline to receive counselor applications is January 31, 2015.

Of course, May 2015 will be dedicated as the month for camper registrations with a deadline of May 31.

I would be glad to talk to anyone about these camp opportunities.

Thank you,

Leanne Stump

OMC Chairperson

jokeca@aol.com

925-323-3184

AROUND THE REGION

You're Invited!

A Celebration of Pastor Steve Defields-Gambrel's Ministry

Sunday, January 4, 2015, 3 p.m.

The Circle Church

111 Erritt Circle in Santa Cruz, CA

Reception to follow in the Fireside Room

Please R.S.V.P. by Dec.30th to (831) 426 0510

Last Sunday with Neal Kentch.

After 7 years with us at Cottage Way Christian Church in Sacramento, Pastor Neal Kentch has decided to continue his ministry at Centennial Christian Church in Bloomington IL.

His last Sunday with us at CWCC will be this Sunday, December 28. All are invited to share in the celebration as we say farewell. There will be a free lunch for all at 12:15, after worship.

Cottage Way Christian Church

2117 Cottage Way

Sacramento, CA 95825-1064

Phone: 916-927-9274

World Pauses to Pray for Peace.

Imagine if people all around the globe paused at the same time and prayed for peace. At noon, Greenwich Mean Time, on December 31, that happens. At that moment, people all around the world pause as individuals and gather in community to pray for peace.

"That can be kind of tough for those of us living on the west coast," explained the Rev. Jeffrey Spencer, an organizer of a peace prayer gathering in Fremont. "Noon in England is 4:00 a.m. here. But some of us are going to get up for a 4:00 a.m. interfaith prayer service on December 31 - and others won't go to sleep on December 30."

The service, co-sponsored by the Tri-City Interfaith Council, Interfaith Women of Peace, and Pax Christi will be held at Community of Christ, 34050 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont.

The organizers believe the service can make a real difference. "Peace begins with me," Sister Annette Burkart, one of the organizers, explained. "In these troubled times when we desire to have global peace, we need to make peace within ourselves and share that peace with our neighbors. By doing so, we end violence - all violence."

Marge Leonard agrees: "This is a time to focus intentionally on what we can do personally to contribute to peace."

Prayers from several different faith traditions will be shared by those present, in spoken word, in silence, and in song. "People from all faith traditions are encouraged to attend," Spencer said.

Multi-Church Christmas Eve Service Planned.

A multi-church Christmas Eve service will be hosted by First Christian Church of Oakland, 111 Fairmount Ave., Oakland. Six congregations will gather together, including the host church, Bethany Christian Church (Korean), First Christian Church of Alameda, First Mongolian Christian Church, Mills Grove Christian Church and Tapestry Ministries.

Festivities begin on Christmas Eve at 6:30 with instrumental music. A shared, interactive service of Carols and Scripture will follow at 7:00. There will be a time of fellowship after the service. Bring goodies to share. Also dress warmly, just like the shepherds when they came in from the fields to see the baby Jesus. For information email Bill Shive, billshive@hotmail.com.

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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!

With a Prayerful Heart:

Adelle Lemon was moved yesterday from Kaiser Oakland to Elmwood Care Center. This is where she was for 2 weeks or so in April after she broke her arm. It is on Shattuck at Oregon Street in Berkeley, across from the original Berkeley Bowl market. There is usually free parking on Oregon Street above Shattuck for 2 hours at a time. She also has her cell phone with her, though she may forget to turn it on. She is in room 204, and has a roommate.

Her spirits are sometimes good and other times she is discouraged and needs reminding that she will heal and have her life back. She is starting to walk a little, which hurts but she knows walking is key to recovery. We are hoping she can come to the 8 pm Christmas Eve service at Mira Vista United Church of Christ (780 Ashbury Ave, El Cerrito), even if she is not up to singing in the choir. And the next day our family will bring Christmas to her!

Feel free to visit. She loves playing Scrabble.

With a Grateful Heart:
All the people who come together during this cold and wet season to bring hope and love to those who need it.

NEW MEMBERS:
Disciples of Christ, Visalia welcomed two new members
Sierra Christian Church, Loomis welcomed one new member
Mayfair Christian Church, Stockton welcomed five new members

REMINDER: Pastors and church secretaries, the region wishes to acknowledge and congratulate those children, youth and adults who make the decision to join a church by transfer or baptism, as well as the names of any child and the parents' names of a dedicated child. Please send names, addresses, type of membership, child, youth or adult and church name to Cliff Cole (23mcc24x@comcast.net) whenever this occurs.

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 this week
First Christian Church, Chico; Jesse Kearns, Pastor

Congregation to pray for next week
First Christian Church, Colusa; Sara Niles, Contact

We 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 Samoan Congregational Christian Church of Reno

United Christian Church, Livermore

First Christian Church, Watsonville

Lafayette Christian Church, Lafayette

First Christian Church, Redding

United Congregational Christian Church, Lodi

United Christian Church, Fresno

Vacaville Christian Church

REGIONAL CALENDAR

Jan 11, 2015	9th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. 4:00 p.m. at Lafayette CC
Feb 4-8, 2015	Women's Action Web, Learn More.
March 21, 2015	LaTaunya Bynum Installation, FCC Sacramento (Save the date!)
March 29 to April 4, 2015	Regional Hands-on Mission Trip to Loveland, CO Learn More.

OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST

A Parents Journey; Parenting Our Transgender Children, A panel of four will share their stories on Saturday morning, February 7th, 10:00-12:00, Danville Congregational Church, 989 San Ramon Valley Blvd. This is sponsored by San Ramon Valley PFLAG. Any questions, please contact kathiehixon@comcast.net

Leadership Academy.

February 23-27, 2015
Marten House Hotel and Conference Center, Indianapolis, IN

The Leadership Academy is a week-long learning experience for leaders in both new congregations and transforming congregations, as well as social entrepreneurs of faith (new this year)-those starting faith-based health and social service enterprises. Learn More

Regional Hands-on Mission Trip

Mission teams are being hosted by First Christian Church, Loveland to assist with flood recovery following the severe storms and significant flooding that occurred across northern Colorado in the fall of 2013. Lou Ann Hughes, the chair of the committee that plans regional hands-on mission trips, has planned a trip there for next year. Ten registrations have been purchased to go to the mission station in Loveland, Colorado during Holy Week (March 29 to April 4). Anyone interested in going should send Lou Ann an email at: loualoui@hotmail.com. Learn More

PUBLISHING INFORMATION

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 or other 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.

________________________________

This communication is made possible by generosity expressed

through giving to Disciples Mission Fund!

Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada

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