As the Conference Staff has been reaching out to church pastors to see how we can support them in this time, we have heard stories of amazing hope in this time of pandemic. Our churches of the Northern California Nevada Conference are stepping out in service to their local communities and receiving gifts of energy and love in return. In this space, we want to share as many of these stories as possible.
Union Church United Church of Christ (Angel’s Camp)
As many fell ill and struggled to breathe in homes, hospitals, and ICU’s early last spring, it became apparent that this virus was going to gravely impact, and, at the same time, put a huge responsibility on, communities of faith to step up in real ways to bring a message of hope and continued Divine presence. Fear, loneliness, grief, pain and death were ravaging families and communities near and far. This was a challenge to our Message in a most difficult time.
Through pastoral letters, getting up to speed to Live Stream Worship services, and one-on-one visitations with members while masked and outdoors, Rev. Elizabeth Armstrong realized that there was in this space a God given opportunity for service—the “works” part of faith—should we chose to respond. The church’s newly formed Social Justice Committee took this idea and ran with it. Working safely and diligently, two by two, masked and distanced, the church furnished and paint several rooms in a newly purchased Transition House for the homeless (the first one in our county). collected food for the food bank and is embarking on a new project entitled “Lasagne Love”. Read full story.
Little Brown Church (Sunol)
The Little Brown Church of Sunol is continuing its support of families in need despite being unable to hold worship services due to the pandemic. LBC has a tradition of providing Christmas gifts and groceries to the families of students who attend the local K-8 school (Sunol Glen School) and who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches – the standard definition of poverty. This year, under the unusual circumstances affecting everybody in California, LBC and the school decided to focus on just one family which was in severe need of help. Read Full Story.