FEBRUARY 2005
Editor: Robin Wagganer
NYI Names New Youth Coordinator
100 Years of NorCal Blessings: Glory to Glory
A Tribute to Rev. Grady Cantrell
Scrapbook: Progress at The Point
NYI Names New Youth Coordinator
from NCN News, January 21, 2005
Gary Hartke is pleased to
announce that Dave Curtiss of Livermore, California has been named as the new
NYI USA/Canada youth coordinator.
Among the assignments of
serving in this capacity, Curtiss will be responsible for coordinating
ministries in the USA/Canada region which include the Nazarene Youth
Conference, General Bible Quiz Tournament, and District Leadership Conference.
Curtiss currently serves
as the lead pastor at Livermore Discovery Church of the Nazarene. He has
previously served as a youth pastor in Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, California,
Washington, and Missouri.
Upon accepting this
ministry responsibility, which includes 138,000 young people, Curtiss stated,
"I'm excited for the opportunity to invest my life and ministry in
Nazarene Youth International." Curtiss begins as USA/Canada youth
coordinator on January 24, 2005. Livermore Discovery will greatly miss Dave and
Sarah as will all of the NorCal District family.
100th District Assembly and Conventions
May 4-6, 2005
Wednesday, 7:00pm—Centennial Praise Service
Thursday, 8:30am-4:30pm—District Assembly, Dr.
Jerry Porter presiding
Thursday, 7:30pm—Ordination Service (Reception to
follow)
Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm—NMI Convention
Friday, 7:00pm—Youth and Mission Praise Service
100 Years of NorCal Blessings: Glory to Glory
by
Rev. John Wilcox, Santa Cruz
Certainly one of the
constants on the Northern California District has been the strength and
ministerial leadership of the Church of the Nazarene in Concord, California.
Having spent my entire life on this District I have a clear picture of its
history, and the thread that weaves its way throughout, is this "Nor Cal
Lighthouse" situated on Ashbury Drive.
I happened to know the
founding pastor, Viva C. Crawford. She was my grandmother. Her distinct calling
was to be what we now know as a "church planter." Her first two
church plants were in Florida: one in Lakeland and one in Winter Haven. These
are very large and strong churches today.
My grandmother was
originally ordained by the "Society of Friends" (Quakers) on February
1, 1913 at the Mill Creek Republic in Kansas. The certificate is signed by
Elisha H. Janeway, "Clerk for the Day" (smile). Following some work
with them, she and my grandfather began attending, assisting, preaching and
then ministering in the Church of the Nazarene. She was ordained by our
denomination on September 30, 1928 by James B. Chapman, General Superintendent,
in Lakeland, Florida.
In 1943, she and my
grandfather, William, were living in Richmond where he found work helping Henry
Kaiser build Liberty ships for World War II. They attended the Richmond Church
of the Nazarene where they became friends with Lloyd and Elizabeth Jones. In
the summer of 1943, Mr. Jones retired and they bought a big house on Joan
Avenue just outside the city limits of Concord. They quickly asked my grandmother
to come start a Church of the Nazarene there. They were so anxious in fact,
they drove out to Richmond one day, picked my grandparents up in their car and
brought them back to scope out this city of 4,000 people. With a lot of prayer
and the consent of District Superintendent, Dr. Roy Smee, my grandparents
bought a house on Babel Lane and began the ground work for a church.
Being a carpenter, my
grandfather always helped find proper facilities for worship. Arrangements were
made to rent the I.D.E.S. Hall across the street from Mt. Diablo High School.
My grandfather made this huge sign and mounted on the front of the Hall which
simply read, "CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE." Dr. Richard Taylor was the
first evangelist and he came for a three-week series of revival services. It
was on the front page of the local newspaper everyday for those three weeks. My
grandmother personally knocked on every house door in Concord and invited
people to come. And many did come.
Among them was Lilly
Stevens who became the first church pianist. Mr. Vernon Sheets was the first
"song leader." The church was soon organized with about twenty
charter members. One of the other early evangelists was Rev. Pastana who could
play the saw, crystal goblets, a barrel with strings and some
"sanctified" wine bottles! The church continued to grow both in
spirit and in numbers, and they saw the need to buy some property on the corner
of Grant and Almond.
My grandmother's health
began to fail and upon her resignation, Rev. and Mrs. Wigginton were called to
be co-pastors. He was also a carpenter, so he and my grandfather built the
first church building and painted it pure white. The lumber for that building
was completely donated by a Nazarene layman in Eureka. Like many pastors of
church building programs, the Wiggintons left shortly after the building was
completed and Rev. Dan Penn came to pastor the church in 1950.
Of course, most of us over the age of 30 can remember
Pastor Jim and Wilma Shaw who came in the early 1950's and pastored for over 30
years there. She and my Uncle Sam used to play ping pong every Wednesday night
after prayer meeting. They were very competitive with one another. Whoever
would win would say, "Guess I was more fervent in my prayers than you
were!"
By the time they came to
pastor, my grandmother was so feeble she could only sit in a chair or lie in
bed. Her days were very boring because she couldn't even read anymore. Wilma
Shaw would come every week and read Scripture to my grandmother, and just spend
two or three hours with her. What a beautiful gesture of love and kindness that
was!
When my grandmother
passed away on October 26, 1960 from complications due to Parkinsons and
Hodgkins diseases, one of the first people we called was Wilma Shaw. Her
response was, "Isn't that wonderful that she's now with her Lord and no
longer suffers? Praise the Lord, another blessed servant has made it
home."
I only knew my
grandmother for the first 8 years of my life and she was sick all that time. I
never heard her preach, but everyone who did hear her commented upon her
powerful delivery, impeccable grammar and biblical accuracy. My mother has
always said that Grandma built churches by "knocking on doors" and
"praying with everyone!" Apparently my grandmother rose at 4 AM
everyday and poured over Scripture often weeping with joy much of the time. I
love that!
Personally, I am always
thrilled to be a part of the missions conventions at the Concord Church and
especially to participate in the Ordination services. I always sense the spirit
of my grandmother still present, still praying and still knocking on doors. And
the church that began "in the glory of God" remains richly bathed in
His glory.
PASTOR & SPOUSE RESOURCE DAY
February 21, 2005
9:30am - 3:00pm
Concord Christ Community Church
Dr. Chip Anderson, UCLA and Asuza Pacific University
Cost is $5 per person (lunch included)
by Rev. Brent Kall, The Point
Greetings from NorCal NYI.
We are excited to see
what God has been doing around our district. Recently some of the District NYI
leaders met and were able to share about the struggles and the victories that
are taking place all around us. It was a great time to lift up all of our
churches and their student ministries to God in prayer.
We are currently
evaluating and upgrading our District NYI programs and are anxious to share
them with you. Look for detail announcements in the near future, but here are
some dates to help you plan:
• MultiCultural Event
February 26 San Leandro, CA
• District NYI Convention
May 6-7 Concord, CA
• General NYI Convention
June 22-24 Indianapolis, IN
• High School Summer Camp
July 11-15 Lake Shasta, CA
• Jr High Summer Camp July 22-25 T.B.A.
3rd Annual Multi-Cultural Student Event
February 26, 2005 •
1:00pm-6:00pm
East Bay Korean Church of
the Nazarene
2301 Miramar Ave. • San
Leandro, CA 94578
Phone # 510.481.5001
This is a great time to
reconnect with other students from all over our district, celebrate our
diversity, and embrace our unity in Christ. Point Loma representatives will be
there to assist you with College Information, Resources, and Academic Advice,
College Application and Financial Aid Resources. For more Information Contact
Pastor Donabel @ Phone # 707.648.1986
by Rev. Tim King, Salinas New Life
San Ramon Christian
Fellowship is hosting a free small group training session for Pastors on March
5th, 10:30-12:30. The leader will be Marty Scales. He has worked with
Serendipity designing much of the curriculum that has been so successful with
small groups and has been the small group coordinator for some very large
churches. If any pastor or lay-person is interested in attending, please
contact David Steinhart via email at srvcf@sbcglobal.net or by phone at
925-830-0113.
Churches! You won’t find a better bang for your buck! Equip your people!
BASS (Bay Area Sunday School) Convention is Coming!
March 3, 4 & 5
(Attend some or all)
Keynote Speakers: Dr.
Paul Sheppard & Dr. John Ortberg of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Steven
Keyes of Walk Thru the Bible International, along with Worship Leader Don Moen.
Loads of workshops for many areas of ministry and leadership. A bargain price
of $25 per person, or group rates for churches. Visit www.bassconvention.org to
register.
by Rev. John Wilcox, Santa cruz
Million
Hours of Prayer Start Now and Catch UP
In June of 2005,
Nazarenes from around the world will gather together for our General Assembly
and Conventions in Indianapolis, Indiana. Nazarene Missions International and the
Generals have challenged each Nazarene around the world to pray a total of two
hours between January and June of 2005; that is the equivalent of one minute
each day. Encourage your church to pray corporately during the worship service,
in small groups, as well as individually. Pray that the Holy Spirit will
descend and bless the business meetings as well as the services. The theme is Prayer... Partnering in
the Gospel.
Someone Deserves the Distinguished Service Award
Think about someone in
your church that is deserving of this very special award. Perhaps that person
is a faithful Sunday School teacher, a long term Board member, your
pianist, the Caravan Director,
Youth Pastor or Pastor. Just $100
and your church can honor someone in a special way and in return help our
missionaries. This money goes to help defray the cost of health insurance for
our 770 missionaries on the mission field. There is now a credit card payment
option available by way of the Internet for this honor. Just go to www.nazarenemissions.org/medical
plan and place your order. The turn around time is 3-11 business days, instead
of the 3-4 weeks it takes by snail mail.
Tools for Ministry.... Books for Pastors
It is crucial that EVERY
CHURCH participate! Our goal is $31,000 and at this time our District has given
$12,000. Everyone needs to give so
that the 7,000 Nazarene Pastors around the world with little to no library can
receive $500 worth of books in their language. The goal for every church is $7.00 for every Sunday morning person
represented in your report to the District Assembly for the 2002-2003 church
year. Did you know that a small black/gray film canister holds exactly $7.00 in
quarters? Send your check before the end of this assembly year to the General
Treasurer and note in the memo line "Pastor's Libraries."
"Don't Spend your Dimes... Send Your Dimes!"
One dime for one day will
feed one hungry person in Africa. The estimated number of people in Africa that
are starving as of this September was 38 million. The goal our District has set
for this year is 500,000 dimes. Surely we can spare a few hundred dimes each to
save some starving African people, some of them Nazarenes. Some of you took a
dime offering in December, if you did, please send your total to John Wilcox. If
you did not, it is not to late to just take a "dime offering!" Send
your check, not the dimes to General Treasurer and put ACM-1199 on the memo
line.
District Missions Convention
Friday, May 6th will be
here before you know it. Make your work plans now so that you can be there! The
NYI Missions Super Event will be the Friday evening service. Youth Leaders and
Pastors, plan to take a van load or two of your young people to this evening of
fun, worship and missions.
Alabaster and February and Love
February is also time for
our Alabaster offering! If you appreciate and are thankful for your church
facility, then share some of your extra change to help a church somewhere
around the globe to buy land and building materials for their own Nazarene
church. With the recent tsunami in Eastern Asia, there will be many requests
for building materials to replace the churches that were swept away and lost on
December 26th.
Nazarene World Week of Prayer
February 27 - March 5
This is an annual event
in the church that asks Nazarenes around the world to unite in prayer for the
Church of the Nazarene. Each day the focus for prayer is on a different region
of the world.
Sunday : Africa
Monday: Asia- Pacific
Tuesday: Caribbean
Wednesday: Eurasia
Thursday: Mexico/Central America
Friday: South America
Saturday: Canada/United States
NEW BOOK!
Our own Rev. Kenneth Dodge has authored a newly
released book, And Your Point Is…?
To order, contact:
Pastor Ken Dodge
2032 W. Sunny Slope Drive
Meridian, ID
83642
pastorkendodge@yahoo.com
A Tribute to Rev. Grady Cantrell
by Rev. John Calhoun
We extend our deep
sympathy and love to Dorothy Cantrell and family in this time of sorrow in the
loss of Dr. Grady Cantrell, former District Superintendent, Northern California
District.
I write from three
perspectives as I reflect on Grady. He was the New Mexico youth camp preacher
in 1960 when I first understood a clear message on heart holiness and responded
to his altar call. It was then that I made my initial full surrender to follow
the Christ. This was a Devine and also a defining moment for me.
Our family also holds
wonderful memories of the richness of the lives of both Grady and Dorothy. They
have been a great role model as Christians and as ministers through all these
years.
Finally, I write as a
successor to Grady at the post of District Superintendent in Northern
California. His trail of goodness and mercy is clearly marked here. The
Cantrells are both greatly loved among the people of this District Church. Jan
and I join all of the District in saying we are inspired by their faithful
servant/leadership.
HOLINESS TODAY REMINDER!
It’s time to subscribe or renew your subscription
to Holiness Today. February is
NorCal District campaign month.
from NCN News, January 28, 2005
According to Nazarene
Compassionate Ministries, Nazarenes have now donated 1.1 million dollars in tsunami disaster aid. NCM wishes to
thank every contributor for this overwhelming response to date. For information
on donating, please visit www.ncm.org
Several Nazarenes in the
United States and Canada with ties to the disaster sites remain personally
affected by the event. According to John Moore, lead pastor of the Christ
Community Central Church of the Nazarene in Concord, California, several East
Indian people in their Indonesian congregation were directly affected as their
family members were in the direct path of the waves.
Hengkie Tjahjadi, pastor
of the Indonesian congregation in the Concord Christ Community church who is
leading several San Francisco Bay area relief efforts, reported the following
to NCN News: "Locally, our Nazarene Indonesian congregation is still
collecting donations. We plan to divide the funds between Aceh and Nias Island.
The majority of Nias Island people are Christian. They are not being reported
on as much because the island is small. Casualty numbers, however, are high.
Point Loma Nazarene
University (PLNU) Vice-President for Spiritual Development Michael Pitts
presented a check this week for $25,000 in aid relief to Gary Morsch, founder of Heart to Heart
International. The presentation took place Monday, January 24, 2005, during a
special chapel service dedicated to the disaster. Heart to Heart [www.hearttoheart.org/] is a nonprofit
agency working with victims of December's earthquake and tsunami in South Asia.
PLNU students, staff, and
faculty raised the funds through various means. The Associated Student Body
voted to donate $10,000 left over from its 2003-2004 budget. Students
instituted a beverage fast, promising to drink only water and donate the amount
they would spend on other beverages. A student vocal group, Pointless,
performed Sunday, January 23, and donated the proceeds, which came to nearly
$3,000. The chair of the PLNU music department, Paul Kenyon, has planned
benefit piano concerts, with the first one raising nearly $300. In addition,
arrangements have been made with the university's food service provider,
Sodexho, to allow students to "donate" a number of their cafeteria
meals. Sodexho will donate an equivalent value to the number of meals skipped.
"The goal is to
raise $40,000 throughout the
spring semester," said Pitts. Since Heart to Heart can provide $25 worth of aid and support for every $1 it
receives, the $40,000 will be worth $1 million.
Scrapbook: Progess at The
Point
photos courtesy of Kim Helliwell
by Esther Sprague, Golden gate Community
Through a series of
events and a variety of relationships, Golden Gate Community Church is finding
its way to Sudan. It all started with District Assembly 2003 when we met Mamer
Ajak during the Youth and Missions presentation. Since then, Mamer, who is a
student at Point Loma, has spent the summer of 2003 with us, we've supported
him the following summer as he interned in Washington, D.C. with Senator Sam
Brownback, and currently we have hired him to coordinate a project that will
ultimately help rebuild his village back in Southern Sudan.
Along the way, we have
also met Mark Brecke. Mark Brecke is a San Francisco-based independent international
documentary photographer and filmmaker. His work has taken him to over 40
countries, and he has photographed in some of the world's most troubled
regions, including Cambodia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Israel, the West Bank, and Iraq.
We met Mark at a conference where he was sharing his photographs and stories
about Rwanda. At the time, he hoped to travel to the Darfur Region of Sudan. We
asked him to stay in touch but didn't hear from him for quite awhile. Finally
he emailed and asked if we could help him think of a creative way to raise
funds for his trip. We came up with the idea of a sale of his photographs and
last September, he was able to raise enough funds for the trip. Mark returned
from Sudan in January. He traveled with the SLA for three weeks - witnessing
attacks by the government, kidnappings, destroyed villages, but also some of
the most hospitable people he has ever met.
On Thursday, February 17th at 7pm at the GGC
Warehouse (3170-23rd Street, SF), Mark will share with us his stories and
photos from the trip. Join us as we continue to walk along this path that God
is providing - with people that He clearly loves.
Golden Gate Community
3170 23rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
email: ggcc@ggcc.org
phone: 415.206.9525
Rev.
Jeff Finger and Rev. John Calhoun
Have you signed
up for the World’s Largest
Work &
Witness Project?
June 19-24,
2005
Indianapolis,
Indiana
In concurrence
with the 26th General Assembly
of the Church of
the Nazarene
Editorial
Did you make any New
Year's Resolutions for 2005? One of my resolutions is to find better ways to
use this newsletter to reach out to our District. I am so grateful that we have
regular updates from our District Officers-it's a great way for all of us to
stay informed on those topics which help to guide us as a group.
I also enjoy reading the
articles about happenings at our local Churches, new Churches being built, the
history of our district as we prepare for our Centennial and celebrating our
newest little Nazarenes. These help me feel more connected to you.
So often we go through
our days and think that we haven't
done anything noteworthy. But you're wrong-everything we do in the name of our
Lord is special. This is your district newsletter. Tell me how I can help you
to be more involved.
Let me share one more thing. This is me. So when you
come to District Assembly, you'll know who I am. Please introduce yourself. And
take a few moments to introduce yourself to the rest of our district through
The Bridge in 2005.