PHOTO Reno Gazette Journal

The Most Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr was one of three Reno clergy to lead prayers for the victims of the 2011 Reno National Championship Air Race crash. Families and friends of the victims, as well as some of the injured, gathered for a memorial service was held at Idlewild Park on Sunday, September 25, 2011, nine days after the crash occurred.

After speeches by Reno Mayor Bob Cashell and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, prayers for the dead and injured were offered by clergy leaders on behalf of the 400 people in attendance.

Rev. Savoy received a letter of gratitude for his participation from the Reno mayor following the event.

(from left to right) Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, Hindu leader Rajan Zed, Rabbi Evon J. Yakar, Imam Abdelwahed Ali Awad, Rabbi Meredith Cahn, NCA President Rt. Rev. Gene Savoy Jr. PHOTO: Debbie McCarthy

Clergy of various religious faiths and denominations welcomed the new imam and two Tahoe rabbis into the regional interfaith community at a reception organized by the Nevada Clergy Association (NCA) at the India Kabob & Curry Restaurant in Reno on September 27, 2011.

Abdelwahed Ali Awad, the new imam of the Northern Nevada Muslim Community Center in Sparks, and Evon J. Yakar, the new rabbi of Temple Bat Yam in South Lake Tahoe, California, and Rabbi Meredith Cahn, the new head of of North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation in Tahoe Vista, California, were garlanded by Sparks Mayor Geno Martini as a gesture of welcome to the area.

Imam Awad, born in 1956 in Upper Egypt, started studying Islam and memorizing the Quran when he was fifteen. After earning his BS in geology from Egypt’s Assiut University, he traveled to Saudi Arabia and Yemen as a visiting scholar. He has worked as the educational supervisor and a teacher of Islamic studies at the Islamic School Group in Egypt, and during the last five years has delivered numerous lectures on Islam in Yemen, Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ghana.

His vision of the nonprofit Northern Nevada Muslim Community, established in 1980, is for it to “become the center for developing and sustaining a vibrant Islamic community in Northern Nevada in accordance with the Quran and the Sunnah” with a mission “to promote the values and teachings of Islam.”

Rabbi Evon Yakar, besides serving at Temple Bat Yam, also works with the Synagogue Without Walls community. A University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate, he was ordained at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, where he earned two master’s degrees. He arrived in Lake Tahoe from Temple Chai in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was associate rabbi and director of education. For the last twelve years, Rabbi Yakar has worked with Jewish youth, fostering creative youth engagement programs, and is passionate about building and fostering healthy relationships across generational gaps and among faith communities.

Temple Bat Yam is a Reform Judaism synagogue on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe whose motto is: “It’s beautiful. It’s spiritual. It’s casual.” Besides South Lake Tahoe, the synagogue also serves Jewish needs and interests in the Carson City, Carson Valley, and Dayton areas.

Rabbi Cahn, a University of Pennsylvania graduate with a master’s in public health from the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health, was ordained at the Academy for Jewish Religion California, where she earned a master’s in rabbinic studies. For the past two years, she has worked as rabbinic intern at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa, California, where she taught adult education and provided pastoral care to senior congregants.

North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation, which was founded in 1979, is a Reform synagogue serving the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and Truckee and welcomes all who walk through its doors. Its aim is “to enable its adherents to develop a relationship with God through communal worship, study and assembly.”

Sean and Gene with UNITE radio show host Richard Flyer PHOTO by Debbie McCarthy

Gene Savoy Jr. and Sean Savoy, known affectionately to the greater Reno community as “the Savoy brothers,” appeared on Reno local radio throughout the month of August to speak about regional religious matters.

In a series of five interviews with various radio hosts they have discussed the interfaith work of the Nevada Clergy Association, the explorations of Gene Savoy and the Andean Explorers Foundation, Cosolargy, and the September 2011 Cosolargy Conference to be held in Reno.

The first interview with the two was called “A Common Spirit” and investigated what the representatives of different religious and spiritual beliefs in Northern Nevada were doing to work together for the common good. For the show, radio hosts Richard Flyer, founder of the Conscious Community network, and Eddie Floyd of the radio show Nevada Matters welcomed to their show UNITE the Rt. Rev. Gene Savoy Jr. as president of the region’s interfaith organization, the Nevada Clergy Association, and Rt. Rev. Sean Savoy as the organization’s events chairman.

The shows to follow featured the two as guests of Eddie Floyd, “the King of Talk in Northern Nevada,” who hosts, produces, and records the show Nevada Matters on KKFT 99.1 FM out of Reno, a Fox News Radio show that airs across the country, usually on Sundays.

Links to these shows and others will be posted in the Communique as they become available.

Sean and Gene with Nevada Matters host Eddie Floyd PHOTO by Debbie McCarthy

Ted Staver moving earth at the Sanctuary for water lines. Photo: Stephan Fuelling

Developments in the water project at Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary made over the past two years are finally coming to culmination in the summer of 2011. Financial contributions of Community members toward the improvements for water distribution at the Sanctuary have enabled The Community in Reno to do something quite unique for future growth. Not only has this project helped to secure valuable water rights for The Community, it has enabled The Community to lay the foundation for electrical distribution throughout the Sanctuary as well. These combined improvements have opened up avenues for expansion that are the basis of the next phases of development at the Sanctuary.

Due to the financial support of its resident and nonresident members, in the last few months the small project crew has been able to (1) complete the water and electrical distribution center at the Argonaut well, (2) install all wiring for power distribution, (3) connect and bury a network of water lines more than one mile in length, (4) build a lift station at the reservoir, and (5) install and connect a pump at the Chapter House capable of 2,600 gallons of water output per hour.

At this point, The Church is looking to purchase a specialized transformer to complete the electrical portion of the project and another pump and motor for the water portion that will be placed at the reservoir lift station. Although there are still some minor details to be addressed, the heart of the system is in place. In the spring of 2012, the final phase will be completed: the purchase and installation of a water storage tank at the lift station. At that time, our Sanctuary caretakers will be able to turn on the switch and millions of gallons of water will flow to the upper portion of the South Sanctuary. Our crews will then be able to create our much-anticipated landscapes of groves, fountains, grass, pools, streams and more. Most importantly, the electrical and water infrastructure will be in place for the long-awaited development of the Sanctuary to begin in earnest after thirty years of dedication.

Those Community members who made substantial financial donations toward the water project were gifted by The Church with a vial of Sacred Water from the Sanctuary’s Temple Mount well that can be worn as a pendant or carried in purse or pocket. Never before offered, some day this water will be a source of healing at the Temple Mount’s Shrine of God’s Living Waters. A bottle of the Sacred Water to be drunk, brought to the surface more than 1300 feet from a prehistoric underground lake, was offered as an additional gift.

Ms. Radheka Patel

A native of New Zealand, Ms. Patel is the daughter of Vinod and Chhaya Patel, also of Los Angeles. Ms. Patel is a graduate of Madison University and California State University, Northridge with degrees in marketing and biological studies. She is also completing her training in cardiovascular ultrasound and is a board-certified technician. Ms. Patel has been enrolled in the Academy Program of the Jamilian University since March 2011.

Rt. Rev. Gene Savoy Jr.

Rt. Rev. Savoy is Bishop of the International Community of Christ and President of the Nevada Clergy Association. He is a graduate of the Jamilian University of the Ordained with degrees in Theology, Divinity, Canon Law, and Ecclesiastical Administration.

A spring 2012 wedding is planned.

Radheka Patel and Gene Savoy Jr. in 2011. Photo: Gene Savoy Jr.

Duncan MacLean circa 1994

The life of Duncan MacLean, a longtime friend of The Community, was celebrated Saturday, June 18, 2011, at one o’clock in the afternoon at the Chapel of The Holy Child. More than two hundred were in attendance. A wake followed at Clary’s Bar and Grill in Reno.

The service, full of music and fond memories, was presided over by the Rt. Rev. Gene Savoy Jr. Duncan’s wife, the love of his life, Elizabeth, delivered a heartfelt and beautifully composed eulogy in memory of her many years with Duncan. Memories were shared by Mr. Donnie Macdonald and Mrs. Phyl Smith, who were friends of Duncan for nearly thirty years, and the Rt. Rev. Sean Savoy, who shared harrowing and happy memories of Duncan from expeditions to Peru in 2000 and 2005 as well as reading the well-known “Desiderata,” which contained words that Duncan tried to live by. (Read the Order of Service here from the memorial program: DuncanMaclean.memorial.program.)

The memories shared by Donnie Macdonald follow:

I am Donnie Macdonald, from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and I came over to the Los Angeles area 28 years ago next week. I am here today with my wife Phyllis, who is my reason for moving to the Sacramento area, and we have been living in Citrus Heights for almost 20 years. Our daughter Fiona is very fond of Duncan and Elizabeth, and in our household we refer to Unkie Dunkie!

I knew Duncan before coming north. The Scottish Games in Dixon, Oakland, Santa Rosa, would have been where we got acquainted, although I don’t have a clear memory of meeting him. But suddenly he was there. Singing, chit-chatting, joking, taking the mickey, wearing the Hunting MacLean kilt, always in the best of spirits, and always ready for fun. Although I realized that this was a person of great significance, I was not aware of his Scottish pedigree until much later when he told me stories about his father, Duncan MacLean Senior’s, stage career working with Harry Lauder back in the day. The gene of the entertainer was born in Duncan, and he embraced the Vaudeville spirit better than anyone I knew. He could focus on life’s experience, and compose a meaningful song to suit the day. Always the entertainer. Behind the footlights, or in a one on one conversation. Always the entertainer, open to creativity and looking for an angle.

Phyllis and I got married in Sept ’92. The reception was held in a modest club-house in the redwoods, by the Russian River, which reminded me of the typical village hall back home. Duncan and Elizabeth were there along with Kris Anderson and his wife Diana. At that time Duncan, Kris and I were having some musical fun together under the name of the Ceilidh Cowboys. Last week I sat through a few hours of video from that evening and was amazed to see Duncan singing a Harry Lauder medley. Why was that amazing? Because he had explained that he had learned it from an old 78 record that had a deep scratch, and in the interests of authenticity he invited a lady to join him at the mike to vocalize the scratch while he sang. It was a brilliant ploy, and instinctively spontaneous.

Later that same evening the very static, tripod mounted, video camera was trained on the vacant mike stand, while people danced to a variety of taped music. Then the song Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers is filling the room on the audio. Just when it starts Duncan happens to be walking past this vacant mike stand and immediately puts his glass down and gets behind the mike and expressively mimes the song. When it came to that high note, his whole body was arched back. Duncan would never miss a trick. And you will all have your own personal examples of that.

Duncan laid all the bricks in our front yard, and there are a lot of them. I acted as his labourer, and with full awareness of my own lack of skill, I would respond to the most mundane task with a cheerful “Where I shine”. Duncan tried this phrase out on some labourers around the Reno building sites to no avail. They were not in that groove, I guess.

When Duncan and Elizabeth got married at the Sacramento Games in Roseville, Don MacRae was officiating, Dani was the bride’s maid, and I was the best man. It was easy. There was no rehearsal that I can remember. Don MacRae told me that it would be a little different, but not to worry, I had only to get two things right. Make sure I have the ring, and secondly, when Don walked around the couple with a stick leaving a circular mark in the soil, I was to take the broom and circle the couple obliterating the marks left by the stick. Well, that all happened just as planned, but on taking this broom in my hands I had time to catch Duncan’s eye and mouth the phrase, “Where I shine”.

The night before the wedding I took Duncan to the Irish Pub & Restaurant Gallagher’s on Folsom Blvd. They served real good lamb shanks, and that is what we both had that night.

Speaking of food, one night back in the 90’s, Duncan and I had a marathon at our kitchen table in Citrus Heights. We had had pasta for dinner at 7pm. Around 9pm Phyllis and Fiona went off to bed. Duncan and I are chatting and listening to a cassette of the Glasgow folk singer Matt McGinn, and there is a bottle of Bowmore single malt on the table. Trader Joe held the price at $24.99 for the longest time, which pleased Duncan. Around 10pm we get a little peckish and we finish off the pasta. Around 2am Duncan confessed that he could eat something given the opportunity. The fridge did not have much to offer except a few tortillas. In the garage I found a frozen 10 pound chunk of haggis, broke off a piece and nuked it. We ended up the night wondering if that was the first ever “Haggis Burritos”.

I don’t think we realized it at the time, but for the best part of a couple of decades we had been living in a kind of wilderness in comparison to what was to come later. I am talking about cable tv and the arrival of Fox Soccer Channel. Cultural manna called the English Premier League and the source of endless discussion, debate, and enjoyment. Duncan was on track to have been a professional soccer player himself until a knee injury suffered in his late teens forced that carreer change. He had great insight into the game, and it was the easiest thing to pass an hour on the phone every day during the last years of his illness. Before that, of course, he was healthy and busy and working, and we would only chat occasionally.

We are all experiencing a great loss, and especially Elizabeth, with Duncan’s passing. This kind of void does not get filled. It will always be just that – unfilled.

On a trip to Scotland back in the 90’s Duncan and Elizabeth went to the Isle of Lewis and visited with my parents. More recently I visited Duart Castle in Mull and saw Duncan in the group photos taken during the various clan parliaments. Duncan enjoyed looking at the Glasgow Herald on line, and he was always ready to pass on aspects of Scottish life that aroused his curiosity, and especially if it involved humour.

What I mean is this. That whole point of reference is now not there anymore, and will be so missed. But to follow Duncan’s example is to be up-beat and positive, to see the flask as half full, and not half empty. He had unfinished business what with the house construction and with researching his grandfather’s sea-faring exploits, and kept looking ahead towards retirement. So, to finish, in spite of the illness, and the phrase he coined “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired” Duncan MacLean never gave up.

Graduate Megan Sherrell and grandmother Nola Slevin, Duke University, 2011

Megan Ann Sherrell, born in Reno and raised in the International Community of Christ by her grandmother Nola Slevin, graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, May 15, 2011, with a bachelor of arts degree.

Megan graduated with a double major in linguistics and Slavic and Eurasian studies (SES) and a history minor. She graduated with high distinction in her first major, linguistics, because of the senior honors thesis she wrote on contemporary language policy in the Baltic States. She was also the first person to ever graduate with a degree in SES because it is a new major that came out of the Russian Department. While at Duke, she worked for the Undergraduate Admissions Office and at the Fuqua School of Business in the Career Management Center. She is an initiated member of the Chi Omega Fraternity (of which the Reverend Rebecca Willis is also a member). She was also involved in the Duke International Relations Association, the First-Year Advisory Council, Crazies Who Care, and served as a resident adviser for a dorm of 50 students. She was able to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, and teach English one summer. One of her best memories, she says, is being in Indianapolis, Indiana, to watch Duke win the 2010 National Men’s Basketball Championship. She is currently job hunting in the Durham area, with plans to one day be a teacher and hopefully continue her linguistics studies.

Graduate Megan Sherrell (second from left) with colleagues at Duke University on graduation day, May 15, 2011

Walter K. Brauer

Walter K. Brauer was an active Consociate of The Academy for the past several years before illness prevented him from continuing his involvement with The Church. From Watertown, New York he corresponded for many years throughout the 1970s and 1980s with The Most Right Reverend Gene Savoy. In the mid-1970s he inspired The Reverend Carol Ann Crabb to pursue her involvement with the International Community of Christ Church and The Academy.

The information in the obituary below was provided by Cleveland Funeral Home, Inc. and Newzjunky.com, Watertown:

WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Walter K. Brauer, 88, of Summit Woods, died Saturday, March 26, 2011 at Mercy Healthcare of Northern New York.

Born July 13, 1922, in Buffalo, the son of Rolin and Melba Williams Brauer, he graduated from Kenmore High School in 1940, and from Canisius College with a bachelor’s of science degree in education in 1943.

He served in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific Theater as a Corpsman. After the war, he worked at the Christian Science Benevolent Home in Boston, Mass.

He married Marjorie Pangborn on Aug. 29, 1953, at the First Mission Church in Jamestown, N.Y., and later taught science at the West Valley Central School District. After that he received his master’s degree in natural science at the New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, N.M

The family moved to Watertown where Mr. Brauer worked for the Watertown City School District from 1963 till retiring in 1984 as a high school science and health teacher at Watertown High School. Mr. Brauer developed and taught the first human sexuality course for juniors and seniors at Watertown High School.

He also received a certificate from the Institute for human behavior in San Francisco, Calif., while working in Watertown.

Walter was a lifelong learner and searcher for spiritual understanding. He also studied eastern religion and christian science.

Everyone who met him walked away with his heartfelt goodwill.

Surviving are his wife, Marjorie, Watertown; a son, Timothy K. Brauer, Gainesville, Va.; a daughter, Annette Eileen Valentine, and her husband Ed, Liverpool; three grandchildren, Erika, Andrew and Angie Valentine, Liverpool; several nieces, nephews and cousins, and many close friends.

A brother, Rolin Brauer Jr. and a sister, Marcia Whelehan, died before him.

A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 30. at Asbury United Methodist Church, Watertown, with Rev. Leon Schilling officiating. Burial will be in Brookside Cemetery. Calling hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Cleveland Funeral Home, Watertown.

Donations may be given in his memory to Hospice of Jefferson County, 425 Washington St., Watertown, Asbury United Methodist Church, 327 Franklin St., Watertown or The Alzheimer’s Association, 441 W. Kirkpatrick St. Syracuse, NY 13204.

Award-Winning Documentary "Eat the Sun" DVD Release: May 11, 2011

Award-winning and controversial documentary film Eat The Sun debuts Tuesday, May 11, 2011, on DVD with a Documentary Channel Broadcast Premiere to follow on Summer Solstice (June 21) at 8 pm. The film will also release on iTunes, on VOD and in specialty retailers later this summer.

The film features major footage on the International Community of Christ, including clips of Sunrise Divine Service and interviews with Church members and leaders. DVD bonus features include an extensive interview with Bishop Gene Savoy Sr., one of the last filmed interviews he gave.

Street Date: May 11, 2011
UPC: 812616022327
SRP: $24.99
Website: www.eatthesunmovie.com
Directed and Produced by Peter Sorcher
Co-Produced by Diana Iles Parker

The film Eat the Sun is featured in an article on Cosolargy.net. The article contains links to the film trailer and to a film excerpt on Gene Savoy. To read more about the film on Cosolargy.net, click HERE.

To read more about the film on Shootonline, click HERE.

Sally Page, host of the radio talk show World Awakening Vibrations on WebTalkRadio.net, interviewed Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. by phone on April 25 regarding his experiences with Cosolargy. Air date for the show was May 9, 2011.

A number of general questions were addressed during the program: What are some of the ancient traditions for solar practices? How did you get involved with solar practices? How has your experience changed over the years? What are the benefits of solar practices? What is your view on the information carried by the light energy of the sun? What are some good sources of information for those who would like more information?

Click HERE  to listen to Sally Page’s interview with Gene Savoy Jr., World Awakening Vibrations, show  051611:
“Regenerate With Energy From The Sun – Cosolargy is a synthesis of science, metaphysics and the ancient practice of regenerating your spiritual systems with energy from the sun. This practice leads to development of the spiritual Light Body and plays a powerful role in transcending into higher dimensional existence. Gene Savoy Jr., President of Cosolargy International and Jamilian University shares his knowledge and experience of this highly advanced system.”

To read more about Sally Page’s interview with Gene Savoy Jr., click HERE.