Have You Heard? – Northern California Nevada Conference

Black Wealth Builders Fund

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Greetings NCNC Folk. I’d like to share both an update on the Black Wealth Builders resolution of 2023, as well as an invitation and a [loving] challenge. As you may recall, at our Annual Gathering in June, 2023, NCNC representatives from our churches voted affirmatively (with only one “no” vote) to support the Black Wealth Builders program, to encourage all Conference churches to consider learning about and engaging in the program, and to assign to the Conference Justice and Witness Team the role of implementing the Black Wealth Builders resolution. Following the Annual Gathering we held an orientation for a…

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Housing Justice: A Moral Issue

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In less than two weeks, ballots hit mailboxes across the state — and amid a national election dominating the airwaves, one critical state measure risks getting lost in the noise. This November, California voters will decide the fate of Proposition 1, a measure that speaks directly to values our traditions hold in common: care for the vulnerable, hospitality to the stranger, and the belief that every person deserves a place to call home. Proposition 1 invests $11.25 billion — with zero new taxes — to build and preserve affordable housing across our state. It fast-tracks more than 40,000 shovel-ready homes for…

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Annual Gathering Workshop Highlight

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Stories of What We Saw and Came to Love Through Ecumenical Partnership on the I Love Taiwan Mission WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION In July 2026, four young adults from NCNC joined the I Love Taiwan Mission under the theme “Resilient Taiwan,” rooted in the Conference’s ecumenical partnership with the Tainan Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Through stories, photographs, and reflections, the delegates will share what they experienced in local congregations, youth ministry, cultural encounters, and community life. Participants will explore how cross-cultural partnerships…

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You’re Invited: Jim & Jean Strathdee — A Love Story!

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Come celebrate five incredible decades of love, music, inspiration, and spirit-filled work for justice for all God’s children! Jim and Jean have inspired justice seekers across the globe with music that sings of justice, peace, care of creation, and radical welcome for all. Their songs have traveled the world — published in Australia, Canada, Cuba, New Zealand, Nicaragua, the United States, and beyond! Now it’s our turn to celebrate them — and we’d love for you to be part of it! Saturday, October 17, 2026 Choir Rehearsal 2 PM Gala Celebration with speakers, videos, and lots of music…

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Love Over Fear Concert 2026

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🗓️Date: Thursday, November 19th ⏰Time: Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 6:30pm 📍Location: The Freight, 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 🎟️Ticket link coming soon! Save the date! Join us for Love Over Fear: Celebrating 25 Years of Building Beloved Community — our fourth annual benefit concert, an evening of music and storytelling that celebrates communities across race, language, and immigration status. Experience a powerful lineup of local BIPOC musicians as we explore themes of journey, justice, and liberation. This year holds special meaning as IM4HI marks 25 years of this work. We look back with gratitude at our roots and the leaders whose courage and vision made this moment possible — and…

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2nd Annual Musical Extravaganza

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Skyline Community Church 2nd Annual Musical Extravaganza Saturday, October 3, 2026 This MUSICAL EXTRAVAGANZA will be a lovely evening of music, dance - starting with rap! -in the beautiful outdoor patio of Skyline Community Church, high in the Oakland Hills – right before Sunset! Family friendly. Plenty of free parking. The event is free but is a fundraiser. See below. DATE: Saturday October 3, 2026 GATES OPEN: 4:00 BAND PLAYS 4:30-6:30 GATES CLOSE: 7:30 3 O’Clock Jump is an 18-piece big band specializing in danceable and watchable jazz and standard charts from the Swing Era forward. Fronted by trumpeter Gus Wedemeyer, the band puts on a well-organized and…

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Racial Justice Training

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Racial Justice Training Most racial justice trainings focus primarily on increasing awareness, building understanding, and directing action for structural change. While education and action essential, information alone rarely transforms the embodied patterns through which racial harm continues to live in us, between us, and within our institutions. Racism is not only a social, historical, and structural reality—it is also an embodied and relational one. It lives in our nervous systems, our habits of protection, our reflexes, our fears, and the ways we move toward or away from one another across difference. These patterns live in us differently depending on our…

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Bring the kids to Annual Gathering!

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Bring the Kids! Sankofa at Annual Gathering 2026 Better Together means every generation has a place at the table! This year, we’re excited to welcome the Sankofa Faith Initiative to the NCNC UCC Annual Gathering—and we’re inviting parents and caregivers to bring their children and youth, ages 8–17, for a special overnight experience! Through Sankofa, our young people will have an opportunity to experience faith in ways that honor their voices, cultural identities, creativity, and who God is calling them to become. This will be a sacred space where children and youth are not simply included they are celebrated as…

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In Loving Memory of Rev. Derek Terry

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The Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ joins the wider church in mourning the passing of Rev. Derek Terry, Executive Director of the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ. Our hearts are especially heavy knowing that Rev. Derek was recently here in the Bay Area, sharing his presence, ministry, and commitment to the extravagant welcome of God within our NCNC UCC community. Rev. Derek’s life and ministry embodied the sacred truth that whoever you are, and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here. His courageous leadership and unwavering commitment…

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Have You Heard? TFAM Leadership Conference

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By MeLinda LaViene, Conference Managing Administrator Better Together: NCNC, UCC at the 2026 TFAM Leadership Conference "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" — Isaiah 43:19 Representing the Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. Davena Creer-Jones and I were honored to attend the 2026 Leadership Conference of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Gathering clergy, seminarians, denominational leaders, nonprofit partners, and justice advocates from across the country, the conference was more than an educational event. It was a powerful witness to…