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A Little Help From Jesus – Sermon Delivered at Washington National Cathedral
A Little Help From Jesus – Sermon Delivered at Washington National Cathedral
Originally delivered by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño at Washington National Cathedral, Sunday, February 28, 2016 – Video of the sermon is below
Luke 13:1-9
Luke 13:1 Just then, some people came to tell Yeshua about the men from the Galil whom Pilate had slaughtered even while they were slaughtering animals for sacrifice. 2 His answer to them was, “Do you think that just because they died so horribly, these folks from the Galil were worse sinners than all the others from the Galil? 3 No, I tell you. Rather, unless you turn to God from your sins, you will all die as they did!
Luke 13:1-9
Luke 13:1 Just then, some people came to tell Yeshua about the men from the Galil whom Pilate had slaughtered even while they were slaughtering animals for sacrifice. 2 His answer to them was, “Do you think that just because they died so horribly, these folks from the Galil were worse sinners than all the others from the Galil? 3 No, I tell you. Rather, unless you turn to God from your sins, you will all die as they did!
4 “Or what about those eighteen people who died when the tower at Shiloach fell on them? Do you think they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Yerushalayim? 5 No, I tell you. Rather, unless you turn from your sins, you will all die similarly.”
6 Then Yeshua gave this illustration: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit but didn’t find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘Here, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for three years now without finding any. Cut it down — why let it go on using up the soil?’ 8 But he answered, ‘Sir, leave it alone one more year. I’ll dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; if not, you will have it cut down then.’”
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This week we found ourselves living with those who one day surrounded Jesus with their questions about the tragedies of life. What did Jesus think about the people from Galilee who were in worship when Pilate had them killed, their blood mingling with the blood of the animals they had just sacrificed to bring praise and thanksgiving to God?
Jesus knew what they were thinking. Had this happened to them because they were more sinful than all others? No, they were not. Well what about the 18 people who just happened to be in the shadow of the tower of Siloam when it fell. Why did they die like that? Was their sin greater than that of others?
Joining those who questioned Jesus about death we too have wondered. Why did those people have to die at the hands of the Uber driver in Kalamazoo, Michigan? Why them? What fault did they have? And what about those who died battered and broken by the mighty winds of unexpected and unexplained tornadoes from Louisiana through Florida and on up through the East coast? Why? Why were they the ones to die in this terrible, tragic way?
With those who were with Jesus we too have this need to know because death scares the heck out of us. How do we avoid untimely death? We want to know! Is our sinfulness setting us up to be snuffed out at any moment? Does the degree of our sin make us more visible and more susceptible to the grasp of death?
Jesus does not deny the power of sin or the fact that death is sin’s ultimate result. But he does invite us to look at the bigger picture. Twice he says that those who died did not die because they were any more sinful than the rest. However, if we do not change our hearts and lives, then we will be destroyed as well.
The bigger picture and the real question is not why did death come to them, but rather how do we live before death comes for us?
Let us pray for those who have died and those who grieve most deeply for them. And let us honor their lives by committing to live faithfully. Living faithfully has the power to calm our hearts and even make a difference in a world that each day faces death.
Jesus paints the picture for us through a parable. The master of the vineyard went looking for the sweet fruit of the fig tree and found none. In fact he had been patiently waiting for it to bear fruit for 3 years; long enough. It was taking up space, giving nothing in return. So the master orders it cut down. But the servant who cared for the fig tree begged the master for just one more year. Would the master be willing to allow him to give the fig tree a little help. He would loosen up the dirt around it to give it some air, some life, and add some manure to further assist it. Just one more year and if after that year the fig tree still bore no fruit then it would be cut down.
There is a tall fig tree in the corner of my backyard. It is fully grown and quite lovely, but it has yet to bear fruit. I inherited that fig tree but I have been watching and waiting for 3 years and still it has given no fruit. I’m inspired, though, by Jesus who in his parable offers up that fig trees sometimes just need a little help.
I had not thought of turning to Jesus for gardening advice but by now I should know better! Jesus’ wisdom is all-encompassing of life. Whatever you or I may be facing, Jesus always has a word of guidance even comfort and hope.
My brothers and sisters, death will come for each one of us, but Jesus is willing to give us a little help. He is willing to be our advocate and the tender gardener of our lives so that we may live life well, bearing the fruit that is worthy of God’s expectations of us.
The fig tree was expected to bear sweet delicious figs. As people of faith you and I are expected to bear the fruit of God’s love and justice. The fig tree was not fully living out its purpose, and we fail to fully live out our purpose when we do not bear the fruit of God’s kingdom.
Just a bit of self-reflection would lead us to have to confess that all too often we are partners with death and even perpetrators of death through omission or commission instead of being God’s life-giving and fruit-bearing sons and daughters, disciples of Jesus who comes to tend to our souls and encourage our right living.
We ended this week remembering the death of Trayvon Martin. This past Friday we should have been celebrating his 21st birthday instead of remembering the 4th anniversary of his unnecessary death. The ongoing deaths of young black men in this country at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them and keep them safe, is a sign that we have yet to bear the fruit of justice in this country.
We continue to hear presidential candidates offer up a wall of human separation as the solution to the broken U.S. immigration policies. And we hear this with the extremes of cheers or complacency, both of which only encourage death; the physical death of those trapped in poverty and the spiritual death of those of us who do not care.
The dead bodies of little children from Africa and the Middle East are being washed ashore in places like Turkey after being forced to migrate because of the devastating violence of war. Nothing brings death faster than war. Children everywhere are the promise of life, and if they die so does our future. When will we stand and bear the fruit of faithful witness — that witness that proclaims unequivocally that all children are precious to God our Creator and need to be protected from the enemy of war and the death it brings.
And what of the smaller deaths happening in our daily living through our neglect? The death of a family, the death of a marriage, of a friendship, the death of a neighborhood, of a community of faith? And what about the premature and untimely death of possibility? The possibility of life-enriching and life-giving relationships with persons of other races, cultures, classes, persons of a different age than us or of a different gender orientation, persons perhaps different from us but all children of God, and thus our brothers and sisters. How much life do we lose just because we don’t have the disposition or the courage or the love to stretch out a hand and welcome those who are different from us into our lives?
Living, true living, death defying living, is going to take a change of our hearts and our lives.
Friends, on this morning God knows we want to live, fully live. And Jesus is committed to helping us live. The fullness of life is found in bearing fruit; the fruit of God’s kingdom, the fruit of love and justice. May Jesus our Lord be our help.
Jesus knew what they were thinking. Had this happened to them because they were more sinful than all others? No, they were not. Well what about the 18 people who just happened to be in the shadow of the tower of Siloam when it fell. Why did they die like that? Was their sin greater than that of others?
Joining those who questioned Jesus about death we too have wondered. Why did those people have to die at the hands of the Uber driver in Kalamazoo, Michigan? Why them? What fault did they have? And what about those who died battered and broken by the mighty winds of unexpected and unexplained tornadoes from Louisiana through Florida and on up through the East coast? Why? Why were they the ones to die in this terrible, tragic way?
With those who were with Jesus we too have this need to know because death scares the heck out of us. How do we avoid untimely death? We want to know! Is our sinfulness setting us up to be snuffed out at any moment? Does the degree of our sin make us more visible and more susceptible to the grasp of death?
Jesus does not deny the power of sin or the fact that death is sin’s ultimate result. But he does invite us to look at the bigger picture. Twice he says that those who died did not die because they were any more sinful than the rest. However, if we do not change our hearts and lives, then we will be destroyed as well.
The bigger picture and the real question is not why did death come to them, but rather how do we live before death comes for us?
Let us pray for those who have died and those who grieve most deeply for them. And let us honor their lives by committing to live faithfully. Living faithfully has the power to calm our hearts and even make a difference in a world that each day faces death.
Jesus paints the picture for us through a parable. The master of the vineyard went looking for the sweet fruit of the fig tree and found none. In fact he had been patiently waiting for it to bear fruit for 3 years; long enough. It was taking up space, giving nothing in return. So the master orders it cut down. But the servant who cared for the fig tree begged the master for just one more year. Would the master be willing to allow him to give the fig tree a little help. He would loosen up the dirt around it to give it some air, some life, and add some manure to further assist it. Just one more year and if after that year the fig tree still bore no fruit then it would be cut down.
There is a tall fig tree in the corner of my backyard. It is fully grown and quite lovely, but it has yet to bear fruit. I inherited that fig tree but I have been watching and waiting for 3 years and still it has given no fruit. I’m inspired, though, by Jesus who in his parable offers up that fig trees sometimes just need a little help.
I had not thought of turning to Jesus for gardening advice but by now I should know better! Jesus’ wisdom is all-encompassing of life. Whatever you or I may be facing, Jesus always has a word of guidance even comfort and hope.
My brothers and sisters, death will come for each one of us, but Jesus is willing to give us a little help. He is willing to be our advocate and the tender gardener of our lives so that we may live life well, bearing the fruit that is worthy of God’s expectations of us.
The fig tree was expected to bear sweet delicious figs. As people of faith you and I are expected to bear the fruit of God’s love and justice. The fig tree was not fully living out its purpose, and we fail to fully live out our purpose when we do not bear the fruit of God’s kingdom.
Just a bit of self-reflection would lead us to have to confess that all too often we are partners with death and even perpetrators of death through omission or commission instead of being God’s life-giving and fruit-bearing sons and daughters, disciples of Jesus who comes to tend to our souls and encourage our right living.
We ended this week remembering the death of Trayvon Martin. This past Friday we should have been celebrating his 21st birthday instead of remembering the 4th anniversary of his unnecessary death. The ongoing deaths of young black men in this country at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them and keep them safe, is a sign that we have yet to bear the fruit of justice in this country.
We continue to hear presidential candidates offer up a wall of human separation as the solution to the broken U.S. immigration policies. And we hear this with the extremes of cheers or complacency, both of which only encourage death; the physical death of those trapped in poverty and the spiritual death of those of us who do not care.
The dead bodies of little children from Africa and the Middle East are being washed ashore in places like Turkey after being forced to migrate because of the devastating violence of war. Nothing brings death faster than war. Children everywhere are the promise of life, and if they die so does our future. When will we stand and bear the fruit of faithful witness — that witness that proclaims unequivocally that all children are precious to God our Creator and need to be protected from the enemy of war and the death it brings.
And what of the smaller deaths happening in our daily living through our neglect? The death of a family, the death of a marriage, of a friendship, the death of a neighborhood, of a community of faith? And what about the premature and untimely death of possibility? The possibility of life-enriching and life-giving relationships with persons of other races, cultures, classes, persons of a different age than us or of a different gender orientation, persons perhaps different from us but all children of God, and thus our brothers and sisters. How much life do we lose just because we don’t have the disposition or the courage or the love to stretch out a hand and welcome those who are different from us into our lives?
Living, true living, death defying living, is going to take a change of our hearts and our lives.
Friends, on this morning God knows we want to live, fully live. And Jesus is committed to helping us live. The fullness of life is found in bearing fruit; the fruit of God’s kingdom, the fruit of love and justice. May Jesus our Lord be our help.
Announcement of Associate Director of Lay Leadership and Age-Level Ministries
Announcement of Associate Director of Lay Leadership and Age-Level Ministries
Announcement of Associate Director of Lay Leadership and Age-Level Ministries
I am pleased to announce that Demetrio L. Beach will become our Conference Associate Director of Lay Leadership and Age-Level Ministries, effective July 1, 2016.
Mr. Beach is presently serving in Discipleship Ministries at Trinity First United Methodist Church (El Paso, TX). His primary responsibility in this position has been to help laity discover their spiritual gifts for ministry.
Mr. Beach previously served as the Director of Program and Outreach Ministries of the Upper New York Conference with a focus on camping and retreat ministries and as the Director of Youth/Educational/Caring Ministries at Bethesda United Methodist Church (Middletown, DE).
Mr. Beach has served faithfully throughout the United Methodist connection. He has the distinction of having been one the youngest conference lay leaders in the denomination. He served as the Conference Lay Leader and as Chair of the Nominations Committee of the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference. He is presently a member of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry assigned to its Division on Ordained Ministry, Racial-Ethnic Cross-Racial and Cross Cultural Lead Team, and the Culture of Call Task Force.
Mr. Beach earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts from the University of Phoenix as well as an Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Chesapeake College (Wye Mills, MD) and has completed courses in Christian Education, Youth Ministry, and Methodist History at Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington D.C.).
Demetrio comes with a passionate love for Jesus Christ, the church and the world. His joy for ministry with people of all ages will help us take the next step in strengthening our age-level ministries. He has also demonstrated a cultural competency that I have no doubt will encourage and model for us how to reach out to those who have yet to experience the life-giving love of God.
Let us pray for Demetrio as he prepares to come to serve Christ Jesus among us.
Peace,
Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño
Los Angeles Area Resident Bishop
The United Methodist Church
Mr. Beach previously served as the Director of Program and Outreach Ministries of the Upper New York Conference with a focus on camping and retreat ministries and as the Director of Youth/Educational/Caring Ministries at Bethesda United Methodist Church (Middletown, DE).
Mr. Beach has served faithfully throughout the United Methodist connection. He has the distinction of having been one the youngest conference lay leaders in the denomination. He served as the Conference Lay Leader and as Chair of the Nominations Committee of the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference. He is presently a member of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry assigned to its Division on Ordained Ministry, Racial-Ethnic Cross-Racial and Cross Cultural Lead Team, and the Culture of Call Task Force.
Mr. Beach earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts from the University of Phoenix as well as an Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Chesapeake College (Wye Mills, MD) and has completed courses in Christian Education, Youth Ministry, and Methodist History at Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington D.C.).
Demetrio comes with a passionate love for Jesus Christ, the church and the world. His joy for ministry with people of all ages will help us take the next step in strengthening our age-level ministries. He has also demonstrated a cultural competency that I have no doubt will encourage and model for us how to reach out to those who have yet to experience the life-giving love of God.
Let us pray for Demetrio as he prepares to come to serve Christ Jesus among us.
Peace,
Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño
Los Angeles Area Resident Bishop
The United Methodist Church
“Defining Disgrace,” The Hill Op-Ed Co-authored with Sister Simone Campbell
Defining disgraceful
Greg Nash by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño and Sister Simone Campbell
Donald Trump’s repeated promise on the campaign trail to defend Christianity if elected president has been of concern to us. When he recently called Pope Francis’s critique of his immigration stance “disgraceful,” we hit our tipping point.
Trump cannot defend that which he does not seem to understand.
Christian faith teaches love of neighbor and love of the stranger, not sentimental love but real life-giving love. There are two types of love specified in the Bible: phileo and agape. Agape love is sacrificial love; think of Jesus’ parable where the Good Samaritan saw an injured man and helped him without regard to race or religion. He just saw a person in dire need. Christianity is not the only faith that speaks of willful love. Every world religion has at its core a commitment to caring for humanity: the orphan, the widow and the stranger.
It’s clear what’s going on. Trump is executing a political strategy that has been around for millennia: channeling anger born of fear. He is not the only candidate to do so, but his microphone seems to be the loudest and the angriest. We understand that much of this fear is coming from those who see their majority status — white and Christian and male — changing. They have not felt that they have someone standing alongside them. But Trump’s promise to defend their Christianity is merely a political ploy to grab their votes. It’s not just manipulative and cynical, it diminishes the deep wisdom of our Christian faith, and that is offensive to us.
Millions of Americans, including those whose fear Trump is channeling, have dedicated their lives to doing the good works of their faiths. His fearmongering is personally insulting and publicly dangerous. It is building a wall between American citizens of all faiths, colors and cultures. Our faiths deserve far more respect than has been shown thus far.
Trump says the pope’s suggestion that his immigration policies are not Christian is “disgraceful.” What is disgraceful is Trump’s xenophobic zeal. Stirring up fear of immigrants by calling them rapists and then offering a giant wall as a solution is anything but a solution. The current administration choice to hold immigrants in for-profit detention centers and deport parents, leaving their children behind to fend for themselves, is no solution either.
I, Minerva Carcaño, know. As a Methodist bishop, I held a little boy from Honduras at an immigrant center in South Texas as he showed me pictures he had drawn and he described the perilous journey he had just taken as an unaccompanied immigrant child. I knew then, as I know now, that the solutions offered by Trump or the administration are not the answers and certainly not expressions of Christian faith.
Walls separate us from the possibility of exercising life-giving love, whereas bridges offer us the possibility, and Christians are to be counted among America’s bridge builders. We stand with the New Sanctuary churches and synagogues that provide safe haven to families threatened with being ripped apart — parents from children, wives from husbands, neighbors from our communities.
I, Sister Simone Campbell, know. During our “Nuns on the Bus” campaign to honor the pope’s U.S. visit and message of economic inclusion, I met 16-year-old Kathryn who was caring for her five siblings after her hardworking parents were deported. Her 11-year-old sister, Stephanie, in her anguish, attempted suicide, believing that it would be better for her family that she not be alive. Luckily, these children were wrapped round with their neighbors’ care and the love of their parish community that continues to support them.
That is agape love. Powerful, willful, Christian love.
The holier-than-thou claims by presidential candidates wearing Christian costumes will not effectively address immigration reform or the problems of U.S. poverty and economic inequality, institutional racism, educational inequity and still having too many people in this country living without health insurance. It will take more than holding up a false placard declaring that one understands what it is to be Christian.
All presidential candidates are invited to join the courageous witness of persons of faith and love — the bridge builders. But they cannot do so through shallow words. Being a leader requires taking on the tough, real-life issues that our nation faces with integrity. Even if we disagree on policies, we cannot disagree on the need for integrity.
Carcaño is Los Angeles Area resident bishop of The United Methodist Church, the first Hispanic woman to be elected to this episcopacy. www.calpacumc.org/bishop. Campbell is executive director of Network and leader of Network’s “Nuns on the Bus.” She is author of “A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community.” www.networklobby.org and @Sr_Simone
Defining disgraceful
Greg Nash by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño and Sister Simone Campbell
Donald Trump’s repeated promise on the campaign trail to defend Christianity if elected president has been of concern to us. When he recently called Pope Francis’s critique of his immigration stance “disgraceful,” we hit our tipping point.
Trump cannot defend that which he does not seem to understand.
Christian faith teaches love of neighbor and love of the stranger, not sentimental love but real life-giving love. There are two types of love specified in the Bible: phileo and agape. Agape love is sacrificial love; think of Jesus’ parable where the Good Samaritan saw an injured man and helped him without regard to race or religion. He just saw a person in dire need. Christianity is not the only faith that speaks of willful love. Every world religion has at its core a commitment to caring for humanity: the orphan, the widow and the stranger.
It’s clear what’s going on. Trump is executing a political strategy that has been around for millennia: channeling anger born of fear. He is not the only candidate to do so, but his microphone seems to be the loudest and the angriest. We understand that much of this fear is coming from those who see their majority status — white and Christian and male — changing. They have not felt that they have someone standing alongside them. But Trump’s promise to defend their Christianity is merely a political ploy to grab their votes. It’s not just manipulative and cynical, it diminishes the deep wisdom of our Christian faith, and that is offensive to us.
Millions of Americans, including those whose fear Trump is channeling, have dedicated their lives to doing the good works of their faiths. His fearmongering is personally insulting and publicly dangerous. It is building a wall between American citizens of all faiths, colors and cultures. Our faiths deserve far more respect than has been shown thus far.
Trump says the pope’s suggestion that his immigration policies are not Christian is “disgraceful.” What is disgraceful is Trump’s xenophobic zeal. Stirring up fear of immigrants by calling them rapists and then offering a giant wall as a solution is anything but a solution. The current administration choice to hold immigrants in for-profit detention centers and deport parents, leaving their children behind to fend for themselves, is no solution either.
I, Minerva Carcaño, know. As a Methodist bishop, I held a little boy from Honduras at an immigrant center in South Texas as he showed me pictures he had drawn and he described the perilous journey he had just taken as an unaccompanied immigrant child. I knew then, as I know now, that the solutions offered by Trump or the administration are not the answers and certainly not expressions of Christian faith.
Walls separate us from the possibility of exercising life-giving love, whereas bridges offer us the possibility, and Christians are to be counted among America’s bridge builders. We stand with the New Sanctuary churches and synagogues that provide safe haven to families threatened with being ripped apart — parents from children, wives from husbands, neighbors from our communities.
I, Sister Simone Campbell, know. During our “Nuns on the Bus” campaign to honor the pope’s U.S. visit and message of economic inclusion, I met 16-year-old Kathryn who was caring for her five siblings after her hardworking parents were deported. Her 11-year-old sister, Stephanie, in her anguish, attempted suicide, believing that it would be better for her family that she not be alive. Luckily, these children were wrapped round with their neighbors’ care and the love of their parish community that continues to support them.
That is agape love. Powerful, willful, Christian love.
The holier-than-thou claims by presidential candidates wearing Christian costumes will not effectively address immigration reform or the problems of U.S. poverty and economic inequality, institutional racism, educational inequity and still having too many people in this country living without health insurance. It will take more than holding up a false placard declaring that one understands what it is to be Christian.
All presidential candidates are invited to join the courageous witness of persons of faith and love — the bridge builders. But they cannot do so through shallow words. Being a leader requires taking on the tough, real-life issues that our nation faces with integrity. Even if we disagree on policies, we cannot disagree on the need for integrity.
Carcaño is Los Angeles Area resident bishop of The United Methodist Church, the first Hispanic woman to be elected to this episcopacy. www.calpacumc.org/bishop. Campbell is executive director of Network and leader of Network’s “Nuns on the Bus.” She is author of “A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community.” www.networklobby.org and @Sr_Simone
Bishop of Methodist Church in Argentina Expresses Concern on Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric
Bishop of Methodist Church in Argentina Expresses Concern on Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric
Bishop of Methodist Church in Argentina Expresses Concern on Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric
A recently published op-ed entitled, “Defining Disgraceful,” written by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño and Sister Simone Campbell in response to the anti-immigrant rhetoric of Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, has received widespread support from faith communities and beyond, including from Bishop Frank Brown Nully of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina.
In a letter to Bishop Carcaño on February 29, 2016, Bishop Nully wrote (English translation and original letter below):
“Dear Bishop Minerva Carcaño,
May the grace and peace of Jesus be with you in this time of Lent, a time of prayer and commitment to our neighbor from the faith we profess.
I have carefully read your statements with reference to one of the presidential candidates in the United States, Donald Trump. His words are truly alarming provoking an attitude that sees anyone who does not agree with his worldview as an enemy. It is deplorable that he manipulates the banner of Christianity as a political instrument to proclaim his deeply racist roots.
I welcome your statements as they reflect the strong concern across all of Latin America. It is important to remember that the decision of US citizens in the upcoming presidential election will have repercussions on our economy and relationships.
The decision of each Methodist who is a US citizen will need to contribute toward a positive impact across our continent if we are to continue our joint work against poverty, exclusion and the rejection of hostile conflicts.
Our decisions in pursuit of a world of peace and justice are interconnected. This is not always visible from the power centers of political and economic decision making. Therefore this is an opportune time for prayer and discernment in preparation for the coming elections. Let us consider the welfare of all.
Fraternally in Christ,
Bishop Frank Brown Nully”
DisAbilities Ministries Going to General Conference 2016
DisAbility Ministries Going to General Conference 2016In a letter to Bishop Carcaño on February 29, 2016, Bishop Nully wrote (English translation and original letter below):
“Dear Bishop Minerva Carcaño,
May the grace and peace of Jesus be with you in this time of Lent, a time of prayer and commitment to our neighbor from the faith we profess.
I have carefully read your statements with reference to one of the presidential candidates in the United States, Donald Trump. His words are truly alarming provoking an attitude that sees anyone who does not agree with his worldview as an enemy. It is deplorable that he manipulates the banner of Christianity as a political instrument to proclaim his deeply racist roots.
I welcome your statements as they reflect the strong concern across all of Latin America. It is important to remember that the decision of US citizens in the upcoming presidential election will have repercussions on our economy and relationships.
The decision of each Methodist who is a US citizen will need to contribute toward a positive impact across our continent if we are to continue our joint work against poverty, exclusion and the rejection of hostile conflicts.
Our decisions in pursuit of a world of peace and justice are interconnected. This is not always visible from the power centers of political and economic decision making. Therefore this is an opportune time for prayer and discernment in preparation for the coming elections. Let us consider the welfare of all.
Fraternally in Christ,
Bishop Frank Brown Nully”
DisAbilities Ministries Going to General Conference 2016
The DisAbility Ministries Committee is going to General Conference 2016!
We are excited about meeting United Methodists from around the world! We will be ensuring that everything is accessible, as well as promoting awareness and providing information.
Eight petitions have been prepared by Committee chair Sharon McCart and submitted by the Committee. These petitions run the gamut from simple word changes (e.g. “ministry with” instead of “ministry to”) to working toward the accessibility of our United Methodist-related seminaries, fine-tuning Accessibility Audit procedures and more.
In addition, the United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities has prepared and submitted four petitions through a number of annual conferences. These additional petitions address inequities in mental health care insurance coverage within and outside of the UMC, representation on Joint Clergy Medical Leave Committees, and elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities in the ordination process.
If you have any questions, please contact Sharon McCart at smccart@aol.com.
Hope to see you in Portland!
Garden Grove UMC Celebrates Groundbreaking of Low-Income Housing Complex
Garden Grove UMC Celebrates Groundbreaking of Low-Income Housing Complex
We are excited about meeting United Methodists from around the world! We will be ensuring that everything is accessible, as well as promoting awareness and providing information.
Eight petitions have been prepared by Committee chair Sharon McCart and submitted by the Committee. These petitions run the gamut from simple word changes (e.g. “ministry with” instead of “ministry to”) to working toward the accessibility of our United Methodist-related seminaries, fine-tuning Accessibility Audit procedures and more.
In addition, the United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities has prepared and submitted four petitions through a number of annual conferences. These additional petitions address inequities in mental health care insurance coverage within and outside of the UMC, representation on Joint Clergy Medical Leave Committees, and elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities in the ordination process.
If you have any questions, please contact Sharon McCart at smccart@aol.com.
Hope to see you in Portland!
Garden Grove UMC Celebrates Groundbreaking of Low-Income Housing Complex
Garden Grove UMC Celebrates Groundbreaking of Low-Income Housing Complex
Rev. Bau Dang was all smiles at the groundbreaking of Wesley Village, a low-income and senior housing complex to be built on the campus of Garden Grove United Methodist Church where he is the pastor in charge.
The aptly named Wesley Village will be a multi-generational housing complex with 47 apartments providing housing for families and seniors with rents between $824 – $1,226 per month. Wesley Village will include a large podium deck, community recreational area, and space for a Head Start Learning Center. Moreover, the complex is designed to achieve the LEED Silver rating and each home will be equipped with Energy Star appliances.
Gathered on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 to celebrate this achievement were leaders of the church, the Mayor of the City of Garden Grove Bao Nguyen, leaders from the housing company Jamboree, South District Superintendent Rev. John Farley, clergypersons of nearby United Methodist Churches, and community leaders.
As part of the ceremony which included many statements of congratulations, Rev. Dang delivered the invocation and Rev. Farley conveyed greetings from Resident Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño. Notably, Mayor Bao Nguyen began his statement quoting John Wesley, saying that this complex was a demonstration of “doing all the good that you can…”
Rev. Bau Dang was formerly the East District Superintendent of the California-Pacific Conference and is widely known, among many things, for his translating the Bible into contemporary Vietnamese.
Garden Grove UMC has been in the community of Garden Grove for over 140 years and is known by many in the community as the “submarine church” for the shape of its main sanctuary.
Garden Grove UMC has been in the community of Garden Grove for over 140 years and is known by many in the community as the “submarine church” for the shape of its main sanctuary.
UMC, AME, and Baptist Churches Stand Together in Oxnard
UMC, AME, and Baptist Churches Stand Together in Oxnard
UMC, AME, and Baptist Churches Stand Together in Oxnard
When Bishop Broderick Huggins of St. Paul’s Baptist Church of Oxnard received an anonymous death threat scrawled over a photo of him in a local newspaper, nearby Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and North Oxnard United Methodist Church joined St. Paul’s Baptist for Ash Wednesday of 2016.
This momentous occasion was the personification of the Christian commitment to social justice and ecumenism on the part of each congregation.
It was also months in the making.
After the tragic shooting that took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June of 2015, the California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church was led into deeper reflection about the racism which was present in the Methodist Episcopal Church that ultimately led to the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, preaching on the final night of the 31st Annual Session of the California-Pacific Conference and in a letter addressed to Emanuel AME Church, confessed of the possibility of our church and society being different today were it not for such racism in the church that us held as the root of both denominations.
With this thought in mind, Rev. Rick Pearson of North Oxnard United Methodist Church returned to his community in the summer of 2015 and reached out to the pastor of nearby Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Oxnard to convey his condolences over the Charleston shooting and to build a stronger relationship between the two congregations. The two pastors met throughout the summer making a way for the two congregations to hold a joint worship service in the Fall of 2015 at Bethel AME.
The service also included a fellowship luncheon where six posters on which quotes from prominent leaders and thinkers such as, President Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, were printed. Members of both congregations were invited to write their reflections on these posters. The posters were then framed and given evenly (three) to each congregation. The commitment was to exchange one poster every six months as a symbol of Christian fellowship.
Also nearby was St. Paul’s Baptist Church of Oxnard of which Bishop Broderick Huggins was the clergyperson. In January of 2016, a local newspaper ran a Martin Luther King, Jr. day story on African-Americans in Ventura which prominently featured Bishop Huggins. Several days after, Bishop Huggins received a copy of the printed story in the mail with an anonymous death threat scrawled over the photos of him.
By then, a new pastor was assigned to Bethel AME, Rev. Dr. Clyde Oden, Jr., with whom Bishop Huggins planned a joint Ash Wednesday Service as an act of solidarity in response to the racist threat of violence. When Rev. Pearson and North Oxnard UMC heard of the death threat and the joint Ash Wednesday Service, they cancelled their own service to be present in support of the planned joint service. Both Rev. Dr. Oden, Jr. and Bishop Huggins were appreciative of the support and asked Rev. Pearson to participate in the leading of that worship service.
Today, Bethel AME and North Oxnard UMC are enjoying personal relationships now established and nurtured in the fellowship of the two congregations. Moreover, a joint Good Friday Service of 2016 is planned. And, plans are beginning to be made for a joint “garden party” at the Community Roots Garden, a one-acre garden on the campus of North Oxnard UMC.
“We have been warmly embraced by our brothers and sisters at Bethel AME. We intended to be a blessing and we have been richly blessed,” says Rev. Pearson. “We cannot undo history and the sin of racism. But, we can refuse to be bound by it. We must continue to reach out to our brothers and sisters in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.”
This momentous occasion was the personification of the Christian commitment to social justice and ecumenism on the part of each congregation.
It was also months in the making.
After the tragic shooting that took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June of 2015, the California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church was led into deeper reflection about the racism which was present in the Methodist Episcopal Church that ultimately led to the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, preaching on the final night of the 31st Annual Session of the California-Pacific Conference and in a letter addressed to Emanuel AME Church, confessed of the possibility of our church and society being different today were it not for such racism in the church that us held as the root of both denominations.
With this thought in mind, Rev. Rick Pearson of North Oxnard United Methodist Church returned to his community in the summer of 2015 and reached out to the pastor of nearby Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Oxnard to convey his condolences over the Charleston shooting and to build a stronger relationship between the two congregations. The two pastors met throughout the summer making a way for the two congregations to hold a joint worship service in the Fall of 2015 at Bethel AME.
The service also included a fellowship luncheon where six posters on which quotes from prominent leaders and thinkers such as, President Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, were printed. Members of both congregations were invited to write their reflections on these posters. The posters were then framed and given evenly (three) to each congregation. The commitment was to exchange one poster every six months as a symbol of Christian fellowship.
Also nearby was St. Paul’s Baptist Church of Oxnard of which Bishop Broderick Huggins was the clergyperson. In January of 2016, a local newspaper ran a Martin Luther King, Jr. day story on African-Americans in Ventura which prominently featured Bishop Huggins. Several days after, Bishop Huggins received a copy of the printed story in the mail with an anonymous death threat scrawled over the photos of him.
By then, a new pastor was assigned to Bethel AME, Rev. Dr. Clyde Oden, Jr., with whom Bishop Huggins planned a joint Ash Wednesday Service as an act of solidarity in response to the racist threat of violence. When Rev. Pearson and North Oxnard UMC heard of the death threat and the joint Ash Wednesday Service, they cancelled their own service to be present in support of the planned joint service. Both Rev. Dr. Oden, Jr. and Bishop Huggins were appreciative of the support and asked Rev. Pearson to participate in the leading of that worship service.
Today, Bethel AME and North Oxnard UMC are enjoying personal relationships now established and nurtured in the fellowship of the two congregations. Moreover, a joint Good Friday Service of 2016 is planned. And, plans are beginning to be made for a joint “garden party” at the Community Roots Garden, a one-acre garden on the campus of North Oxnard UMC.
“We have been warmly embraced by our brothers and sisters at Bethel AME. We intended to be a blessing and we have been richly blessed,” says Rev. Pearson. “We cannot undo history and the sin of racism. But, we can refuse to be bound by it. We must continue to reach out to our brothers and sisters in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.”
Five Cal-Pac Students Receive Spanish American Institute Scholarship
Five Cal-Pac Students Receive Spanish American Institute Scholarship
Five Cal-Pac Students Receive Spanish American Institute Scholarship
In 1913, the Spanish American Industrial Training School for Boys enrolled its first students in Gardena, CA. Soon afterwards, the school changed its name to the Spanish American Institute. Its aim was to provide an industrial education for Mexican boys in the California-Pacific region. Eventually, the school became a non-profit which, today, offers scholarships for deserving Hispanic men and women in the California-Pacific region.
In 2015, five Cal-Pac college students throughout the United States are recipients of its scholarship. These are students such as Dianne Torres (Vanguard University), from Fontana United Methodist Mission, who is studying to become an actor, model, and singer with a Master of Divinity in an effort to brightly shine the light of Jesus Christ in the entertainment industry.
Illiana P. Gonzalez (South Austin Community College), from Hawthorne United Methodist Church, is studying to eventually become a Christian Educator, serving in a local church somewhere.
Rosie Rios (University of California, Los Angeles), from Baldwin Park United Methodist Church, is studying to become an attorney in international human rights and eventually a legislator working towards new policy that makes equality a reality.
Jonathan Moreno (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs), from Echo Park United Methodist Church, is studying to become a physician who has accepted the challenge to deeply touch the lives of others as a passionate follower of Jesus Christ.
Xochitl Reyes (Cal-State University, Chico), from Escondido First United Methodist Church, is studying to become a journalist, shining the light of Jesus Christ in the work of truth-telling.
These students continue in the legacy of the Spanish American Institute which, over decades, has seen more than 2,400 students learn in its classrooms. Alumni of the Institute include Bishop Elias Galvan (1956-1962), Bishop in Mexico Raul Ruiz (1956-1963), District Superintendent Ignacio Castuera (1960-1964), Rev Richard Acosta (1949-1957), and Rev Ladislao Flores (1956-1959).
In 2015, five Cal-Pac college students throughout the United States are recipients of its scholarship. These are students such as Dianne Torres (Vanguard University), from Fontana United Methodist Mission, who is studying to become an actor, model, and singer with a Master of Divinity in an effort to brightly shine the light of Jesus Christ in the entertainment industry.
Illiana P. Gonzalez (South Austin Community College), from Hawthorne United Methodist Church, is studying to eventually become a Christian Educator, serving in a local church somewhere.
Rosie Rios (University of California, Los Angeles), from Baldwin Park United Methodist Church, is studying to become an attorney in international human rights and eventually a legislator working towards new policy that makes equality a reality.
Jonathan Moreno (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs), from Echo Park United Methodist Church, is studying to become a physician who has accepted the challenge to deeply touch the lives of others as a passionate follower of Jesus Christ.
Xochitl Reyes (Cal-State University, Chico), from Escondido First United Methodist Church, is studying to become a journalist, shining the light of Jesus Christ in the work of truth-telling.
These students continue in the legacy of the Spanish American Institute which, over decades, has seen more than 2,400 students learn in its classrooms. Alumni of the Institute include Bishop Elias Galvan (1956-1962), Bishop in Mexico Raul Ruiz (1956-1963), District Superintendent Ignacio Castuera (1960-1964), Rev Richard Acosta (1949-1957), and Rev Ladislao Flores (1956-1959).
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Inspiring the world as passionate followers of Jesus Christ so all may experience God's life-giving love...
Our mailing address is:
The California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
110 South Euclid Avenue
ShareTweetPinForwardPlease enable images on your email to view the Paper properly. To suggest a story for Conference Communications, use theCommunications Action Form. Priority is given to connectional stories.
Inspiring the world as passionate followers of Jesus Christ so all may experience God's life-giving love...
Our mailing address is:
The California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
110 South Euclid Avenue
Pasadena, California 91101, United States
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