Regional Assembly was an incredible time of togetherness and celebration! Thank you to First Christian Church Garden Grove for your over-and-above hospitality. Thank you to those who put in time and hard work to ensure every aspect of Regional Assembly 2014 was meaningful---worship participants, workshop leaders, planning committee, attendees. We are grateful to walk in light and love together with you!
The PSWR is excited to announce Moral Injury and Soul Repair: A Conference taking place January 29-30, 2015 at First United Methodist Church San Diego (2111 Camino Del Rio S, San Diego, CA).
This event is sponsored in partnership with:
-First United Methodist Church, San Diego
-Pacific Southwest Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
-Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School
-United Church of Christ
-VA San Diego Health Care System.
Registration for the event opens December 1. All are invited to attend.
The GLAD-PSWR Biennial Gathering is Saturday, October 4th at Church of the Foothills (19211 Dodge Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705).
Hospitality Hour is 5PM-6PM and dinner will begin at 6:15. Rev. Dr. Mark Johnston will be the keynote speaker. The event is $20. RSVP via email in advance; pay at the door. Download the flyer for more information and share the invitation with your congregation, friends and family!
Join the movement of GLAD and widen the welcome to all!
From Cheri Metier, CIS Mission Project Consultant - Creation Care
On Saturday, September 13 a number of clergy and laity gathered for PSWR’s first Creation Care Conference. Those I spoke with hope that it will not be the last. This was one offering in the PSWR Stewardship Workshop series.
Rev. Dayna Kinkade (pastor, First Christian Church Orange) kept us spiritually focused throughout the day and brought soul-feeding meditations before and after each informational presentation. Dr. Kyle Brown from Cal-Poly Pomona’s Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies tested our knowledge on water needs and consumption. He used a term I hadn’t heard: "water footprint". Yes, we need to be mindful not only of our carbon footprint, but that of our water also. He challenged us to move our conservation efforts forward from our homes and congregations to regional and whole Church efforts towards responsible legislation. (A host of helpful resources for good earth stewardship can be found at California Interfaith Power and Light.) Allis Druffel, Southern California Outreach Director for Interfaith Power and Light shed light on congregations that are doing wonderful work in education, advocacy and building renovations that work towards leaving smaller negative impacts on God’s first gift to humanity, Creation.
Rev. Carol Devine from Green Chalice of Disciples Home Missions spoke to participants and shared the path towards becoming a Green Chalice Congregation.
photo by Robert Van Waarden, People's Climate March, NYC
Cheri Metier and Rev. Lauren Buck Medeiros, Chaplain at Punahou School, together at the San Diego People's Climate March
This past weekend, thousands of people around the world marched to bring awareness to climate change and encourage world leaders to develop workable solutions to decreasing carbon emissions, brining clean water to all people and increasing clean energy sources. Although I couldn’t make it to New York where the national march was held, I was joined by Rev. Lauren Buck Medeiros from Hawaii and we lent our bodies and voices to a thousand others at the San Diego People’s Climate March. At the end of the march, several faith leaders representing six different religious traditions spoke to the marchers and affirmed that all religions are called to care for Creation.
If you would like more resources, please email Cheri Metier.
Meet Blessing Song, one of four XPLOR interns who have come to participate in the XPLOR mission house sponsored by the National Benevolent Association and North Hollywood Christian Church. Blessing will be serving at All Peoples Community Center and the Pacific Southwest Regional Office.
In this capacity she will be working in the PSWR Office one day per week collecting information for PSWR congregations about ministries addressing food insecurity and how congregations in the region are responding to this need. We have a large number of congregations that serve their communities with food banks, meal distributions, community gardens and other ministries. At the end of Blessing's 10 month internship with the region she will have produced a document of resources on models for responding to the concern of food insecurity for PSWR congregations.
Blessing was born in South Korea, but moved to the United States when her parents (both pastors) heard a call to the mission field of the U.S. and moved their family to California.
Blessing is a graduate of South Pasadena High School, South Pasadena and College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.
Blessing comes to this internship from Las Vegas where she was working in a doctors office and serving at Joyful Church working with young people and as a worship leader/musician.
Blessing will be contacting each congregation on behalf of the PSWR as part of her internship and research. Please welcome her when she does and offer her the great stories of your feeding ministries.
