Presenters at the 2010 Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. From left to right are Reverend Judith Bither (Reno First United Methodist Church), Canon Robert Petrovich (International Community of Christ), Rabbi Myra Soifer, Buddhist priest Dr. William Bartlett, Hindu leader Rajan Zed, Imam Abdul Barghouthi (Northern Nevada Muslim Community), Reverend Stefani Schatz (Trinity Episcopal Church), Roya Galata (Baha'i Faith), and Bruce Brinkerhoff (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints).

The 25th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service was held Wednesday, November 24, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Reno. The event, sponsored by the Nevada Clergy Association, an interfaith network of regional religious leaders, marks twenty-five consecutive years of interfaith celebration in Northern Nevada.

The theme of the service, “A Quarter Century of Coming Together in Gratitude,” was addressed in the keynote presentation made by the Reverend Judith Bither, pastor of Reno First United Methodist Church. Reverend Bither, a resident of Reno for only two years, opened her talk with mention of her amazement at the unusual degree of good will and interaction she found among the various religious associations in the Reno area for such a great length of time, then went on to portray the meaning and purpose of being grateful.

The one-and-one-half-hour service was a program of harmonious and peaceful music and prayer. The Sierra Foundation, a local Turkish-based interfaith organization, provided the favorite performance of the program: a whirling dervish performance by their community’s children.

Representing the International Community of Christ in the service was the Reverend Canon Robert Petrovich, standing in for Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., who read from the Thanksgiving Scroll of the Dead Sea scriptures for the Benediction. Also present from the International Community of Christ was the Reverend Dr. Bill Bartlett, who delivered the Invocation preceding the service as a representative of the Buddhist community.

Read an online article on the 2010 Thanksgiving Eve Interfaith Service published November 16, 2010 at Moonshine Ink:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bDxEYAPGt7AJ:www.moonshineink.com/articles.php/0/2115+{1fa2ef75e2e78439128d99df03acfe1d8ee3047374abe3d4676fe3470ff8b909}22nevada+prayer+breakfast{1fa2ef75e2e78439128d99df03acfe1d8ee3047374abe3d4676fe3470ff8b909}22&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

On May 10, 2010, in Dharamsala, India, the Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr., Head Bishop of the International Community of Christ and President of the Cosolargy Institute, along with his traveling companions, the Reverend Robert Roy and the Reverend Dr. Bill Bartlett, met with His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, the Black Hat Lama of Tibet. Bishop Savoy announced the good news of the Appearance of the Sun of Righteousness and the coming New Age of Light to the Tibetan Buddhist leader and presented him with some of The Church’s sacred texts.

See the article on Cosolargy.net: http://cosolargy.net/2010/06/28/meeting-with-hh-gyalwa-karmapa-in-india/.

To view the note of thanks sent to His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa by Bishop Savoy, see: Thank you to HH Gyalwa Karmapa

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.

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.

The Community’s annual Convocation officially opened on Wednesday September 9. It was prefaced on Monday and Tuesday September 7–8 with Residence Training III seminars on Color and Sacred Imagery for those Consociates needing to complete these requirements. These early attendees also enjoyed an evening at the Steamboat Hot Springs Spa on Monday evening. Another such spa evening was offered on Wednesday as well.

The first Convocation event was a Project “X” seminar on the ancient solar cultures of Greece and included lectures given by the Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr. during the Project “X” tour of Greece in May–June 2009 as well as talks by guest lecturers the Reverend Dr. Bill Bartlett and Dr. Tom Lee, the new Community Archiater (physician). Dr. Bartlett spoke on solar teachings in the Buddhist tradition, and Dr. Lee on health and healing modalities planned for Steamboat Healing Center. The lectures were offered in the Chapel of the Holy Child and the Monastery Gardens in Sanctuary.

The usual annual Convocation events took place over the remainder of the week, including the Andean Explorers Foundation meeting and awards banquet and presentation held at the Tuscany Room of the Peppermill Resort and Casino in Reno on Thursday evening. The Right Reverend Sean Savoy presented slides and commentary on his recent trip to Peru to continue the society’s work there.

The week’s events included the thirtieth annual Clergy Counsels, lectures held at the Monastery Gardens in Sanctuary on Asclepian healing traditions and techniques. Again, these lectures were adapted from those given by Bishop Savoy in Greece earlier in the year. This year’s program included a celebration of The Community’s Golden Jubilee, commemorating fifty years (1959–2009) of the Second Advent Church. A high point of the celebration was the interfaith prayer service for world peace held at sunset on Friday evening September 11 at the open-air Church of New Pentecost and Church of the Americas at Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary. Clergy from numerous sects and denominations around Reno participated and offered prayers for peace from their traditions. It was a special experience and a fitting tribute to the second anniversary of the passing into Light of The Church’s First Apostle, the Most Right Reverend Gene Savoy Sr.

As a side note, unbeknownst to The Community members at the time, the evening also introduced it to one Devashish (aka David Mitchell), who was a last-minute replacement for Rajan Zed, the intended representative of the Vedic tradition. Devashish was quite taken with the experience at the Sanctuary and later introduced Community leaders to his teacher, Swami Sri Atmananda of India, and the Satya-chetana Movement that the swami heads and with whom The Community has since formed a collaboration to reintroduce the Teachings of Light to the Vedic and Brahmanic traditions (see related articles).

On Saturday evening, topping off a day of final Clergy Counsels, Communion Service, and the Emancipation of Acolyte Marie Walters, was the Counsels banquet and program at Bishopstead. As a Golden Jubilee celebration, the dinner was deemed a Vigil Meal and began with a simple course of Essene bread and wine similar to a Community Pannuches meal. The evening’s introduction also included the first-level ordination of Dr. Tom Lee and a rededication of the Chapel of the Innocents at Bishopstead. A buffet supper in several courses created by Community chef Francine Petrovich followed this ritual course. Between courses, the attendees were treated to musical performances by the Community schola, directed by the Right Reverend Gary Buchanan, as well as relevant readings from Second Advent scripture.

The final day of Convocation, Sunday September 13, began with a concelebrated Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service at the Cathedral Church of the Americas at Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary, followed by the second-degree ordination of the Reverend Dr. Bill Bartlett. Afterward, a fellowship breakfast at the open-air refectory was enjoyed by all. The final event at Red Rock was the rededication of the open-air Church of New Philadelphia in the northlands of the Sanctuary. The church’s table had been restored after being damaged by vandals and the elements. Head bishop Gene Savoy Jr. presided.

The Convocation ended with an optional trip to Lake Tahoe on Sunday afternoon.