Reverend Rhys Andrews at Church of the Americas

On April 23, 2010, St. Mary’s Hospital, located down the street from the Chancellery of the International Community of Christ, held a “Heart of Gold” luncheon to show appreciation for its volunteers. At this event, the Reverend Deacon Rhys Andrews (pictured) was one of the volunteers who was presented a silver pin award for appreciation of her work as a volunteer chaplain in the emergency room in excess of one hundred hours.

The third annual Hindu baccalaureate service was held at the University of Nevada–Reno (UNR) in the Joe Crowley Student Union on Sunday April 11, 2010. Attending on behalf of the Second Advent Church was the Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr., who also took part in planning the event as president of the Nevada Clergy Association.

Bishop Savoy gave a blessing on behalf of the International Community of Christ and the interfaith clergy of Nevada. He was joined on the dais by many other local religious leaders who gave their blessings over the students gathered: Reverend Phil Bryan (Reno Buddhist Church); Pastor Bruce Taylor (Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church); Roya Galata (Baha’i Faith); Professor Shih Fan Chu, who recited a Confucian prayer in Chinese; Swami Vedananda (Hindu monk); Elder Bruce Brinkerhoff (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); Jim Eaglesmith and Aimee Dorion (Hindu kivtan in Sanskrit); Father Charles T. Durante (Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Community); Imam Abdulrahim Barghoutti (Northern Nevada Muslim Community); Rabbi Elizabeth Beyer (Temple Beth Or); and Ralph Burns (Paiute Tribe). Also present were several local and state public officials. The event was sponsored by the Universal Society of Hinduism led by its president, Rajan Zed. It included musical presentations, as well as traditional Hindu recitations and ceremonies, and closed with a vegetarian dinner.

Read an article on the event in the University of Nevada-Reno newsletter, Nevada News:

A memorial was held on January 28, 2010, for patients at St. Mary’s Hospital who had passed away during the winter season of 2009. They were recalled by their loved ones and friends with poetry, music, photographs, and candles of remembrance. The Reverend Bill Bartlett, head chaplain at St. Mary’s for many years, was instrumental in planning the event. Also attending from the International Community of Christ was the Reverend Deacon Rhys Andrews, a volunteer chaplain at St. Mary’s.

An interfaith rally was held January 12, 2010, at the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada for local faith leaders to stand in solidarity with workers and retirees of Nevada Energy, which has been trying to slash pay and benefits for current and former employees. The drive was led by the Reverend Neal Anderson (pictured), Rabbi Myra Soifer, and Bishop Gene Savoy Jr.

On Sunday, January 17, 2009, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Community Memorial Service was held at the Second Baptist Church. The program offered musical performances, award presentations, and a keynote address by University of Nevada-Reno professor R. Grant Seals, PhD., that told the “real” history of civil rights activism in the United States from the eighteenth century to the present. Bishop Gene Savoy Jr, who served as master of ceremonies at the celebration, was announced to be the successor to the Reverend Onie Cooper as chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday Committee. At the event, Rev. Cooper publically announced his retirement from the committee, which he founded in 1981, and appointed Bishop Savoy as his successor. The event was attended by several members of the Second Advent community, including the Reverend Dr. Bill Bartlett, who delivered the Benediction; Roger Weld; Stephan Fuelling; and Robert Roy, who videotaped and photographed the event.

On the morning of January 18, the new chairperson of the MLK Holiday Committee, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr, was in the lead car in the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Caravan, driven by the Reverend Robert Petrovich. Second in the caravan was the car that carried the Reverend Onie Cooper, founder of the committee, who had nearly singlehandedly worked to have a portion of US 395 designated as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway. Approximately twenty vehicles participated in the caravan, which paraded over a portion of the MLK Highway, which runs from Bordertown to Mt. Rose Highway on US 395. Prior to the caravan’s departure, Bishop Savoy was interviewed by Channel 2 News, as was Rev. Cooper. That evening, at the 22^nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner sponsored by the Northern Nevada Black Cultural Awareness Society at the Peppermill Resort, Bishop Savoy was invited to present the Goodwill Service Award in his new capacity as chairman of the Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Committee.

On December 22, 2009, the Reverend Onie Cooper announced that he was stepping down as chair of the Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Committee after decades of service. In the same letter that he made this announcement to all members of the Martin Luther King Jr Committee, Rev. Cooper named Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. to be his successor. He said, “I believe Bishop Savoy is capable of leading this organization in the future. I am asking each of you to support him as much as you supported me, if not more. We hope to continue the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. so all generations will know what he did for Civil Rights and life as a whole.” The announcement was repeated for the Reno Gazette-Journal and at the Martin Luther King celebration held on January 17, 2010.

The members of St. Catherine of Siena Episcopal Church invited the general public to attend the installation of the Rev. Laurie Chappelle as their first rector. The service was performed by the Rt. Rev. Dan Edwardson Sunday November 22, 2009. Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. attended the service in company with other clergy active in the interfaith community.

The installation of Rabbi Teri Appleby as rabbi of Temple Sinai in Reno on Friday November 13, 2009, was accompanied by a Shabbat of celebration in her honor. Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. attended the service and reception that followed.

Between five hundred and six hundred people gathered at the LDS Reno Stake Center on November 15, 2009, to attend the session naming the new president of the Reno Nevada  Stake and formally releasing Dr. Clair Earl from that position, which he had held for the past ten years. A new president was named (Dave Challis), together with his First Counselor (Darren Foote) and Second Counselor (Brent Farr). Attending on behalf of the International Community of Christ were the Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr. and the Reverend Canon Robert Petrovich. A number of other clergy active in the interfaith community were also present. Outgoing president Earl acknowledged Bishop Savoy in his farewell address for Savoy’s interfaith work.

Carmel of Reno’s 31^st Annual Print Shop Open House on November 8, 2009, was attended this year by the Reverend Deacon Rhys Andrews, who conveyed greetings from the Church to the Sisters of Carmel and made a small purchase of their beautiful greeting cards. The Carmelite Monastery is located nearly across the street from Bishopstead on Mount Carmel of Reno.