Nevada “Coming Together” Quilt PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

 Members of 14 faith communities pooled their talents to produce a symbol of unity for Nevada’s 150th anniversary of statehood this year.

The Coming Together quilt is the product of members of the congregations involved in the Nevada Clergy Association. It was unveiled and presented on Tuesday at the association’s annual Nevada Prayer Breakfast at 7 a.m. at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

In October, Patricia Meidell, public relations adviser for the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came up with the idea for the quilt as a way to show culture and diversity in the faith community, and to celebrate Nevada’s sesquicentennial (150th year).

Members of the Nevada Clergy Association were contacted, and 14 quilt blocks were assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, Meidell said. A 15th, center block, is dedicated to the state of Nevada and includes the state flag. Each quilt block represented a local religious organization.

< Click here to download a PDF reproduction of the quilt and to read about the makers of each of the individual quilt blocks. >

The quilt will be “traveling” to various churches in the community until the end of 2014 when it will be presented to the Governor’s Office to be permanently displayed at the Governor’s Mansion or the Nevada State Museum.

Follow this link to the Reno Gazette-Journal article “Multi-faith community members create Nevada quilt” posted online April28, 2014:

< http://www.rgj.com/story/life/2014/04/28/multi-faith-community-members-create-nevada-quilt/8111395/ >

PHOTO: Rajan Zed

The 7th Annual Hindu baccalaureate service and dinner at the University of Nevada–Reno Joe Crowley Student Union was held on Sunday evening, April 27, 2014. At this event various  leaders of the local interfaith community gathered to bless the graduating class. The event was organized by the Indian Student Organization in collaboration with Rajan Zed to bless the graduating class in traditional Hindu style according to Vedic scripture. A dinner buffet was prepared with an Indian theme.

Head Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. attended the service, accompanied by his daughter Sonya, and delivered the following blessing:

May the God of salvation bless you with every good
And keep you from all evil,
And enlighten your spirit with the wisdom of life,
And grant you eternal knowledge,
And turn His face of mercies towards you for eternal peace.
May you walk in the spirit of God,
Consisting of healing and abundance of bliss
With length of days and fruitfulness;
And all blessings upon you without end
And eternal joy in perpetual life,
And a glorious crown and garment of honor
In everlasting Light.
Amen

PHOTO: Rajan Zed

Ms. Melba Beals

Melba Beals, one of the nine students who in 1955 attended Little Rock High School in an effort to end racial segregation and receive equal access to quality education, spoke at AACT High School in Reno, Nevada on Sunday, April 27, 2014.
The focus of the evening’s presentations and discussion was on the importance of education and how to raise high school graduation rates. In addition to Ms. Beals, speakers included Dr. Maria Sheehan, President of Truckee Meadows Community College, Pedro Martinez, Washoe County Schools Superintendent, and Dr. Reggie Stewart from the University of Nevada, Reno.
The event was organized by Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church and co-sponsored by the Nevada Clergy Association, as well as the Northern Nevada Chapter of the NAACP.

The event was attended by Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. and his daughter Sonya Savoy for the International Community of Christ.

 The Nevada Clergy Association requests your presence at the 2014 Nevada Prayer Breakfast, “A Future Together,” to be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. at the Paradise Ballroom on the second floor of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa Reno, Nevada.

The Keynote Address will be delivered by Melissa Holland, Founder and Director of Awaken Communities United to End Sex Trafficking.

The Nevada Clergy Association will present the Vision Award to the Honorable Peter Breen and to Marge Sill, Nevada’s “Mother of Wilderness.”

The Nevada Prayer Breakfast is a gathering of citizens — as well as civic, business, and community leaders — who wish to pray on behalf of our State and bring the spiritual resources of the community together to bear on issues that face Nevadans.

The Nevada Clergy Association is a non-profit, interfaith network of religious and spiritual leaders in Nevada.

< Download a copy of the invitation here. >

The Nevada Clergy Association requests your presence at the 2014 Nevada Prayer Breakfast, “A Future Together,” to be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. at the Paradise Ballroom on the second floor of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa Reno, Nevada.

The Keynote Address will be delivered by Melissa Holland, Founder and Director of Awaken Communities United to End Sex Trafficking.

The Nevada Clergy Association will present the Vision Award to the Honorable Peter Breen and to Marge Sill, Nevada’s “Mother of Wilderness.”

The Nevada Prayer Breakfast is a gathering of citizens — as well as civic, business, and community leaders — who wish to pray on behalf of our State and bring the spiritual resources of the community together to bear on issues that face Nevadans.

The Nevada Clergy Association is a non-profit, interfaith network of religious and spiritual leaders in Nevada.

< Feel free to download and print this PDF of the event flyer for more information and to distribute to your friends and acquaintances. >

 The “Scholars-In-Residence” program at Temple Sinai in Reno, Nevada brought to the city guest speaker Gregg Drinkwater as part of a regional multi-faith study and conversation. Mr. Drinkwater has done nearly ten years of LGBT inclusion work in the Jewish LGBT community, as the founding director of Jewish Mosaic. He spoke at a breakfast meeting open to the public on the topic “Creating Welcoming & Inclusive Spiritual Communities.” Bishop Sean Savoy attended from the International Community of Christ.

Program presenters, from left to right: Professor Ben Holden (University of Nevada Reno), Bishop Luther Dupree Jr. (Church of God in Christ), Rajan Zed (President, Universal Society of Hinduism), Right Reverend Gene Savoy, Jr. (Bishop, International Community of Christ, President, Nevada Clergy Association Chairman, Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission), Reverend Patsy Pumphrey, Deacon (Trinity Episcopal Church), Reverend Michael L. Randle (Pastor, Second Baptist Church) PHOTO: Robert Roy

The Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission and the Nevada Clergy Association presented the 28th Annual Interfaith Community Memorial Service on Sunday, January 19, 2014 3:00 pm at Second Baptist Church, Reno. The title of the program was “A Journey to Positive Action.”

The keynote speaker, Benjamin Holden, is associate professor of Journalism and director of the Reynolds National Center for Courts & Media at the University of Nevada, Reno.

< See a PDF of the program here. >

Right Reverend Gene Savoy, Jr. with Reverend Onie Cooper Humanitarian Award, Individual Recepient, Evelyn Mount, and presenter Reverend Howard Dotson, Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church PHOTO: Robert Roy

Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. delivering closing remarks PHOTO: Robert Roy

The 16th Annual Community Memorial Caravan was held the following Monday, January 20, 2012 at 10:30 pm. The caravan met at Second Baptist Church and followed several miles of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Highway.

Band Director of “The Power of Love” Leon Smith with videographer Deacon Stephan Fuelling PHOTO: Robert Roy

From left to right, first row: Rev. Kris Marshall (First United Methodist Church), representative of St. Catherine of Siena Episcopal Church, Rev. Howard Dotson (Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church); second row: Bishop Luther Dupree Jr. (Church of God in Christ), Rev. Neal Anderson (Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada), Rajan Zed (Universal Society of Hinduism), Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. (International Community of Christ), Rt. Rev. Sean Savoy (International Community of Christ). PHOTO: Rajan Zed

A celebration of the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, who passed away on December 5, 2013, was held at the Atlantis Hotel & Casino Resort on Monday, December 16, 2013. The event was presented by the Nevada Clergy Association (NCA) and organized by Reverend Howard Dotson of Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church and Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., NCA president. Both Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. and Rt. Rev. Sean Savoy of the International Community of Christ spoke in the program along with other interfaith leaders.

Bishop Gene Savoy provided his reflections on the similarities of Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi. A summary is provided here:

“On behalf of the Nevada Clergy Association, I welcome you and thank you for coming to this very special memorial of a great leader of out times. The ‘last great civil rights leader of the 20^th century,’ as President Obama put it last week.

“It is wonderful to be here with you today – in fellowship, peace and unity – as we celebrate the life, legacy and work of Nelson Mandela. So much has already been said, and we have watched, read, and learned so much about this fascinating man for many decades.

“A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to South Africa. While in Johannesburg, I visited a jail. It was the same jail that the Mahatma Gandhi inhabited as a young lawyer when he was forging the way of non-violent civil resistance about 100 years ago.

“As a young man studying law in London, Gandhi was fascinated by the English system of justice – its laws and, most importantly, the equity in the law. However, he was much less impressed with the fact that justice wasn’t blind. It certainly wasn’t blind to color. And thus he began a movement of non-violent resistance which he had learned about by studying the Transcendentalist movement in America, which took place in the early 1800’s. That movement which Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau explored as well.

“So why do I bring up Gandhi at an event honoring Mandela? It is because Mandela was in a line of righteous individuals who followed this path. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Journeyed to India to learn of the works of Gandhi. And Nelson Mandela was born in, and a part of, the country, people, and land where Gandhi got his start in civil disobedience – a start that would send him to his native land to expel the British from almost 400 years of domination in India.

“Mandela’s vision, however, was unique, in that, of the three, he switched from violent resistance to non-violent resistance and developed his values while in the solitude of a jail cell – not for merely weeks, months or years, but for almost three decades. He was not only a great orator but, more importantly, someone who could bring people together. When most of us in the world were waiting for South Africa to explode into civil war, Mandela showed us how a nation could so quickly change with very little bloodshed and not collapse.

“We all believe and know that slavery of any and every kind is wrong. But slavery comes in many masks. Gandhi wished to end poverty in India. Dr. King, after civil rights legislation was passed in this country, also sought to end poverty. Mandela, due to his age and health was not able to achieve that same goal. But it is a goal which all three great leaders had in common. It is a goal that we should also have in common. For poverty is indeed slavery. And we see it more and more every day in this great country of ours.

“With this in mind, as president of the Nevada Clergy Association, I invite all of you to attend our Martin Lither King Jr. celebrations on January 19th and 20th.

“Thank you for being here today.”

PHOTO: New York World-Telegraph and Sun

Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., Chairman, Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Committee, called for the formation of the organizing committee to plan January’s Martin Luther King, Jr. events, which will include the annual Community Memorial Service and Caravan. The memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 3 p.m. at Second Baptist Church. The caravan will take place on the morning of Monday, January 20, 2014.

Pastor Michael Randle and Bishop Savoy have met and are requesting help in forming the organizing committee. This year they would like to see the annual Martin Luther King Jr. events to be expanded and to encompass more people in the greater Reno-Sparks community. They are asking for individuals who are interested in serving on the committee to let them know as soon as possible. The first organizing meeting will be held on Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 12:00 noon at the Second Baptist Church on Montello Street to discuss theme, program, recruiting a keynote speaker, media coverage, and other topics.

< Read the invitation flyer here. >

Just before the Service, from left to right are— Washoe County School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez, R. Craig Eyre of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno Chancellor Matthew F. Cunningham, International Community of Christ Head Bishop Gene Savoy Junior, Matthew Fisher of Reno Buddhist Center, Baha’i teacher Roya Galata, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, Temple Sinai Rabbi Ethan Bair, Abdulrahim Barghouthi of Northern Nevada Muslim Community and Sparks Stake LDS President Joseph E. Johnson. PHOTO: Rajan Zed

This year marked the 28th annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service. The performance of this interfaith service is a much-revered tradition in the Northern Nevada community and one that is largely unique nationwide in its scope of faith diversity.

This year’s service, titled “Give Thanks in Every Moment,” was held on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 7 p.m. It was hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reno Nevada Stake at 1095 Golconda Drive. Washoe County Schools Superintendent Pedro Martinez delivered the keynote address. Monetary donations gathered were given to Volunteers of America Family Shelter, who also took part in this year’s program. Food donations were given to Restart Food Pantry.

This worship service of prayers, readings and music from a variety of faith traditions was sponsored by The Nevada Clergy Association, of which Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. is president. Bishop Savoy planned the event and also gave the closing prayer: the “Thanksgiving Hymn” from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Reverends Gary Buchanan and Michael McIntyre, both members of the Second Advent Church, participated in the program as members of the chime choir in conjunction with the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.

Also in attendance from the Second Advent Church were the Reverends Sean Savoy, Amanda Buchanan, Elizabeth Reece, Robert Petrovich, Francine Petrovich, and Barbara Whitney.

< To take a look at this year’s Thanksgiving Eve program, click HERE. >