News

Earth Justice Ministries Director Is Stepping Down

The Rev. Sharon Delgado is preparing to step down as Executive Director of Earth Justice Ministries. As of July 1, she will transition from her Appointment to Extension Ministry with the organization to a Transitional Leave, and then to retirement in 2011. However, Delgado's environmental justice ministry will continue! She will continue to carry the message of God's love and desire for justice for all creation through pulpit supply, writing, teaching, speaking, and leading workshops and...

San Jose Church Accepts Bishops' 'Call to Hope and Action'

By Carolyn Sue Bowling Almaden Hills UMC We cannot change the world until we change our way of being in it. This challenge, offered by the Bishops of The United Methodist Church, opened the special Earth Day service on April 18 at Almaden Hills United Methodist Church in San Jose.   The service, sponsored by the church's Green Ministry, started with a sung call to worship: Move me, move me, move me to do thy will.   The focus of the day's message was the Pastoral Liturgy Letter,...

Bishop Carcano Joins Other Faith Leaders to Oppose Arizona Law

Nashville, Tenn. (UMNS) - Phoenix Area Bishop Minerva Carcaño joined other faith leaders to oppose an Arizona law that many believe will result in racial profiling in order to reduce illegal immigration. "This bill does nothing to address any border security concerns," said the bishop. "The passage of SB1070 demonstrates why America needs comprehensive immigration reform. Frustration with our broken immigration system is driving Arizona to make inappropriate and...

Waste, Clutter, and Inconvenience: Pressing Issues for the Responsive Church

By Dr. Steve Wilke How does the church meet the expectations of the younger generation? When local congregations address this question, they usually discuss worship music or programming. I want to make a case for certain values held by our younger members and seekers that we, as their elders, would do well to recognize.   First, we should be asking: Are we producing unnecessary waste in the church?   More and more, young people are becoming sensitized to the wastefulness of our...

Order Fair Trade Palms for Palm Sunday

Fair Trade palms, harvested from the forests of Mexico and Guatemala, are available for use in Palm Sunday (March 28) services. The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC) and the University of Minnesota Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) are working together with the Rainforest Alliance TREES program, Smartwood, and TransFair to certify palms harvested from the forests of Mexico and Guatemala for sale to Christian congregations...

Earth Justice Ministries Receives Faith-Based Stewardship Award

The Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute has awarded Earth Justice Ministries its Faith-Based Stewardship Award. Earth Justice Ministries offers faith-based education and action opportunities related to environmental justice within and beyond the California-Nevada Annual Conference, under the leadership of the Rev. Sharon Delgado, who is under appointment to Extension Ministry as Executive Director of the organization. The Revs. Don Baldwin and Pamela Coy-Armantrout serve as members of Earth...

San Leandro Church to Host Eco-Conscious Event in June

Faith United Methodist Church in San Leandro, California will join with Green Ewaste to sponsor an electronic waste recycling event on Saturday, June 6.   You're invited to dispose of all your electronic waste - safely and for free - by taking it to the church between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on June 6.   Acceptable items include: computers and laptops, monitors, printers, scanners, FAX machines, copy machines, TVs, VCRs, video consoles, DVDs, stereos, MP3 players, iPods, cell...