Davena Jones – Page 16 – Northern California Nevada Conference

Let’s Talk: About Hope in the Midst of Despair

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By Conference Minister Diane Weible Gilroy. El Paso. Dayton. It’s just too much. People spending their weekend at festivals or shopping gunned down with no apparent explanation. It’s senseless and, unfortunately, something that almost feels expected in this day and time. Instead of, “How can we stop this?” we are asking one another, “Where will it happen next?” I’m at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat this week as part of my yearly study leave and this morning, our keynote speaker, Dr. Wendy Farley, Author and Professor at San Francisco Theological Seminary, explored with us the life and writings…

By Davena Jones

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Let’s Talk: About Reparations

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By Conference Minister Diane Weible I read an interesting article in The New York Times article last month entitled, “No Easy Answers on Reparations” by Adeel Hassan. It resonated with me as I have often thought about the issue of reparations and why it is important for us to talk about it and consider it. Hassan wrote the article because, although Americans have avoided the topic for many years, a series of public events have signaled that maybe we are ready to talk about it now. Hassan quoted a Ta-Nehisi Coates article that appeared in The Atlantic: “Mr. Coates and…

By Davena Jones

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Let’s Talk: About Forgiveness

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By Conference Minister: Diane Weible I have thoughts about forgiveness. One of those is a statement that I will go so far as to say is a fact. The other is something that is an important belief for me. The fact about forgiveness is that forgiveness is always the option of the person who has been harmed. It is never ok for someone to tell another person that they “should” forgive. A person who is harmed will forgive when they are ready to forgive. The belief that I have related to forgiveness is that forgiveness is really something that is…

By Davena Jones

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Let’s Talk: About Difficult Conversations at Synod

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Greetings from General Synod 32 in Milwaukee! As always, General Synod feels like a family reunion. It is a time to visit old friends and make new ones. Every year I realize how many people I meet at Synod who become wonderful friends and how many old friends I see who remain dear to me. This year’s Synod (as all Synods do) had moments that created deep reflection for me. One of those moments is what I want to share with you this day. One of our Conferences submitted a resolution about Exhibit Hall Space and whether certain groups that…

By Davena Jones

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Why We Give: First Congregational Church of Redwood City

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Fifteen years ago, when our congregation was struggling to keep the doors open, pay staff, and remain good stewards of our campus, we reached out to the Northern California Nevada Conference (NCNC) for help. They were available to listen to our concerns and fears, point us toward resources, and help us formulate our thoughts into a solid plan allowing us to move forward as a community of faith. During this challenging time, we donated very little to Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM), so we are extremely grateful to the churches who were able to give a portion of their own…

By Davena Jones

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New Website Launch

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We're thrilled to launch our new website as part of a multi-year information services upgrade. Since our last redesign in 2016, we've rethought our website from the ground up. Tighter integration across all of our information technology means more responsive, efficient service for our stakeholders along with streamlined workflows for our staff and volunteers. Between now and the end of 2019, you'll notice new features and new functionality come online. Of course, with any change comes a period of adjustment. In order to ease that adjustment, we've created a list of commonly-used resources on our website -- along with an…