PHOTO Roger Weld

The second annual Volunteers of America (VOA) “Shelter from the Storm” fund-raising breakfast was held Thursday, November 7, 2013 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget to help fund the men’s women’s, and family homeless shelters that serve Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County.

Bishops Gene Savoy Jr. And Sean Savoy served as table captains at the event, each filling a table of ten. Rev. Gene Savoy delivered the invocation at the event and serves on the VOA Advisory Council for the Northern California/Nevada regional branch.

Completed sand painting of Amitahba Buddha mandala PHOTO: Gene Savoy Jr.

The completion of the sand painting of the Mandala of Buddha Amitahba at the Buddhist Center in Reno was celebrated on October 24, 2014.

Reno Buddhist Center hosted the Venerable Lama Losang Samten to create the Mandala of Buddha Amitahba from October 6-24, 2013. The Tibetan art form of sand painting practiced by Losang Samten is intended to uplift and benefit every person who sees it and to bless the environment in which it is made.

Monk Losang worked his calm and deliberate art over three weeks to complete the painting of the Pure Land of the Light or Solar Buddha Amitahba. It will be dissolved on December 8, 2014, Bodhi Day, the day of Buddha’s enlightenment. The ceremony on October 24th was a celebration of the painting’s completion.

Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. was asked to attend the ceremony and to speak on “Light.” During his talk, Rev. Savoy made comparisons between the Buddha and Christ Jesus, emphasizing that they were both able to access the source of life by the same means, that is, through the gateway of the sun, and thereby both become living Light Beings or “Lights” on Earth. He explained that their mission was to exemplify the Light and teach men and women how they too could commune with the Sun and themselves become living Lights and, in this way, all become Amita Buddhas or Christ Beings. Bishop Savoy encouraged those in attendance to chant their Buddhist mantras at sunrise.

During the three weeks of its creation, several members of the Second Advent congregation attended the making of the sand painting at various times.

Ven. Losang has been sharing teachings of loving-kindness, joy, and compassion, as well as the path to enlightenment for almost 30 years. Losang lived and studied over 20 years in the Namgyal Monastery, the monastery of the Dalai Lama, earning the highest degree attainable at the monastery. He also became a master of ritual dance and sand mandalas and was the personal attendant to the XIV Dalai Lama prior to moving to the United States in 1988. Ven. Losang is one of the mandala masters who created the first public sand mandalas in the West in 1988. He is the director of several Buddhist centers in North America. His home base is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Venerable Lama Losang Samten overlooking the mandala of Buddha Amitahba PHOTO: Gene Savoy Jr.

PHOTO Roger Weld

A candle light prayer vigil was held on Friday evening, October 23, 2013 to honor the victims of the Monday shooting at Sparks Middle School and the victims’ families.

The event, held Sparks Middle School, was organized by Reverend Howard Dotson of Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Native American, Protestant, and Second Advent faiths were represented.

During the ceremony Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. read from the Odes of Solomon. Other clergy delivered memorial statements or other scriptural readings.

PHOTO Roger Weld

At the Grand Opening Ceremony on September 27, 2013 for Sierra Manor II, a housing property for senior citizens in Sparks, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. performed the dedication ceremony and prayer.

As a member of the advisory council of the Northern California/Nevada branch of Volunteers of America, one of the largest human services organizations in the country, and president of the Nevada Clergy Association, Bishop Savoy is an active supporter of the work of this service organization in the region. The program included ribbon cutting, tours, and refreshments.

Present at the ceremony were the regional president and CEO of Volunteers of America, Leo McFarland, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development field representative Tony Ramirez.

Presenters at 2010 Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.

This year will mark the 28th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service. The performance of this interfaith service, titled “Give thanks in every moment,” has been a much-revered tradition in the Northern Nevada community and one that is largely unique nationwide in its scope of faith diversity. The service will be held on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 7 p.m. It will be hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reno Nevada Stake at 1095 Golconda Drive.

Monetary donations will be given to Volunteers of America Family Shelter. Food donations will go to Restart Food Pantry.

The last four previous hosts were: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Cathedral (2012), St. John’s Presbyterian Church (2011), Trinity Episcopal Church (2010), and Sparks United Methodist Church (2009).

This worship service of prayers, readings and music from a variety of faith traditions is sponsored by The Nevada Clergy Association, of which Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. is president.

For information call 775-786-7827 or email gsavoyjr@communityofchrist.org

At the bi-annual interfaith clergy luncheon at Our Lady of Snows Parish Center Reno on October 17, 2013, from left to right, are: Episcopal Pastor Rick Millsap, Presbyterian Pastor Howard R. Dotson, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, Roman Catholic Bishop Randolph R. Calvo and International Community of Christ Bishop Gene Savoy Junior.

The bi-annual luncheon for Northern Nevada clergy was held Thursday, October 17, 2013. The event was hosted by Our Lady of Snows Parish Center. In attendance from the International Community of Christ were Gene Savoy Jr., Sean Savoy, Rebecca Willis, and Robert Petrovich.

Most Reverend Randolph Calvo, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno, gave the opening prayer. Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. presided over the meeting. Following the lunch, a number of the thirty individuals in attendance made announcements, including a local facilitator for the Affordable Care Act who spoke on some of the act’s details and offered himself as an information aid to congregations. Plans were also made for the 28th annual Thanksgiving Eve Service and the annual Martin Luther King Jr celebration in 2014.

The luncheon, sponsored by the Nevada Clergy Association, has been a biannual event held since 1999. The meeting provides a venue for the coming together of clergy, human services organizations and at times government. Hosting rotates among various congregations and non-profit facilities in the region.

Members of the dais at 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Over 300 religious dignitaries and congregation members from Northern Nevada attended the 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday April 30, 2013. The one-and-one-half-hour event at the Paradise Room of the Atlantis Casino Resort featured a brief statement by Nevada First Lady Kathleen Sandoval and a stirring narrative keynote address delivered by state treasurer Kate Marshall.

 Download the 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast Program here.

Vision Award presentations were heartfelt and touching. Honored this year were Dr. Clair Earl (posthumus) and Rabbi Myra Soifer. ( See the printed program for details on the honorees. ) Each of the award presentations was followed by a musical presentation related to the theme of the award presented.

 Download the 2013 Vision Award for Dr. Clair Earl.

 Download the 2013 Vision Award for Rabbi Myra Soifer.

The expressions of faith that closed the program were extensive and varied. Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian priests and pastors spoke from their hearts and their traditions to all gathered at the event.

On the dais from the International Community of Christ were Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., Nevada Clergy Association president, and Bishop Sean Savoy, Chair of the Nevada Prayer Breakfast Committee. Sponsor tables at the event on behalf of The Community seated Sylvia Ontaneda-Bernales, Gary Buchanan, Sean Cary, Jim and Karen Elliott, Ted Staver, Harold Boulette, Barbara Whitney, Elizabeth Reece, Stephan Fuelling, Claudia Grady, Wendy Hill, Michael McIntyre, Rebecca Willis, and Francine and Robert Petrovich.

< Read the Reno Gazette-Journal online article announcing the 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast. >

The Nevada Clergy Association requests your presence at the Nevada Prayer Breakfast, “A Future Together,” Tuesday April 30, 2013, from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. at the Paradise Ballroom of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada.

At the event, the Nevada Clergy Association will present the Vision Award (posthumously) to Dr. Clair F. Earl, former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Reno Stake, and to Rabbi Emerita Myra Soifer of Temple Sinai, Reno.

Help the Nevada Clergy Association President Gene Savoy Jr. and the Nevada Prayer Breakfast Committee Chairman Sean Savoy promote this year’s Prayer Breakfast.

Download for distribution:

< 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast invitation >

< 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast outline >

< 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast Press Release >

< For more details, read “Nevada Prayer Breakfast April 30” at Cosolargy.net. >

The Nevada Clergy Association requests your presence at the Nevada Prayer Breakfast, “A Future Together,” Tuesday April 30, 2013, from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. at the Paradise Ballroom of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada.

At the event, the Nevada Clergy Association will present the Vision Award (posthumously) to Dr. Clair F. Earl, former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Reno Stake, and to Rabbi Emerita Myra Soifer of Temple Sinai, Reno.

Nevada’s First Lady, Kathleen Sandoval, will provide the welcome.

< Download your personal invitation here. >

Local officials and religious representatives gathered to recognize Rajan Zed. PHOTO: Debbie McCarthy

A reception was held on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at the India Kabab & Curry Restaurant to celebrate the recent participation of local Hindu leader Rajan Zed in the “World Economic Forum,” which was held last month in New Delhi, India. The Forum, based in Geneva, Switzerland, brought together 500 global and regional leaders in the fields of business, government, education and religion. The mayor of the city of Sparks, Geno Martini, presided over the gathering of more than one hundred regional leaders and representatives. The renowned Indian sitar player “Chakrapani” provided music. Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., President of the Nevada Clergy Association, moderated the two-hour event. Also in attendance from the Second Advent Church were Bishop Sean Savoy and the Reverends Francine and Robert Petrovich.

Rajan Zed with acting master of ceremonies of the event, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. PHOTO: Debbie McCarthy

 Read more about the event online at the Reno Gazette-Journal web site.