Events

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PSI Mission Center Conference - November 23, 2024

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Attached is the brochure for our upcoming conference.

We have tried to provide relevant financial reports as well as budget documents to make informed decisions during the conference. Also, the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors for Camp Buckhorn is another critical decision to be made by the conference. We are blessed by those who have volunteered to be considered as well as those who have accepted invitations to be appointed to serve on the board.

You are invited to connect and participate in the conference beginning at 10:30 a.m. Pacific. Join in the decision-making experience!

Follow the buttons below to view the conference packet and to join via Zoom.

Continued blessings,

Larry McGuire
Mission Center President
Community of Christ Pacific Southwest International Mission Center

2024 Women's Retreat Recap

Women’s Retreat | October 26-27, 2024 | Buckhorn Campground

Twenty-five women gathered at Buckhorn to experience a Cup of Calm. We choose the theme Cup of Calm based on the perceived need for women to come together and experience peace and rest at our sacred Buckhorn Campground. Shauna welcomed everyone registering with a collection of mugs filled with chocolate, small notebooks, and custom bookmarks as gifts to be taken home.  

Breaking with tradition, we started the retreat on Saturday morning with a do-it-yourself brunch with ziplock omelettes, muffins, and oatmeal. The afternoon was free to hike, visit with friends, participate in crafts, read or relax. There were multiple crafts available including Cup of Calm creations. Tea cups, coffee cups, shells, small rocks, small pine cones, and artificial flowers were available to those interested in creating their own Cup of Calm. 

Saturday night after dinner we gathered and sang our favorite hymns. Sunday morning we concluded our retreat with a Communion service followed by lunch.

Saturday and Sunday, Sharon McClain offered small groups the opportunity to participate in Forest Therapy walks. Sharon has become certified in this type of therapy and it was very well received.

The feedback from those in attendance was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the relaxed and unscheduled times that allowed visiting and sharing and the awareness of the Holy Spirit blessing us. 

Marsha, Shaunna, & Denise

See photo below of the Cup of Calm craft activity.

A Conversation With the Women PeaceMakers

Peace and Justice Minister Glenn Johnson is inviting interested persons to join him at the following event. Please email Glenn at gjohnson@cofchrist-psi.org if you are planning to attend the event. 

 

A Conversation With the Women PeaceMakers

EVENT DETAILS: 

Date and Time

  • Thursday, November 14, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location

Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, Peace and Justice Theatre at the University of San Diego

Cost

Free

Details

Learn from three changemakers building peace in their communities around the world at the annual Women PeaceMakers event, hosted by the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. A reception with light refreshments and snacks will follow the main event.

This year's Women PeaceMakers include:

Dr. Bochra Laghssais is a Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies specializing in Peace, Conflict, and Development at Jaume I University in Spain. Her extensive research focuses on the adversities, vulnerabilities, agency, and empowerment of Amazigh Indigenous women in Morocco and in the diaspora, and she has collaborated with organizations such as the U.S. Peace Corps Morocco and Project Soar Morocco on girls' education and empowerment.

Dr. Mariia Levchenko is an esteemed peacebuilder and international affairs expert, recognized for her pivotal contributions with the 2023 Luxembourg Peace Prize. Currently serving as the Project Manager at the Berghof Foundation, she specializes in social cohesion work in Ukraine and peacebuilding in Ethiopia. Dr. Levchenko's work, spanning over a decade, focuses on dialogue facilitation, strategic planning, and empowering civil society across multiple continents.

Temi Mwale is evolving visions for racial equity, community healing and transformative justice. Rooted in the fight for liberation, her work as a community organizer, educator, and artist is an uncompromising commitment to abolition, reparations, and collective care. Temi is the founder of 4FRONT, a community-led youth organization on a mission to heal communities by building peace, knowledge and power. For over a decade, Temi has driven grassroots change in her neighbourhood while connecting communities across the UK and globally. Her mission goes beyond dismantling oppressive systems; she strives to build a world that uplifts, empowers and heals those most affected. Her storytelling—through writing, poetry, documentaries, and public speaking— reveals the deep scars of systemic harm, urging people to confront injustice while inspiring hope and action for transformation. At the heart of her work is the commitment to defining what true justice, healing, and repair look like for the community.

This event is free and open to the public.

Check-in begins at 5:30 PM. Theater seating is general admission and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please factor in 15 minutes to walk or take the tram from the West Parking Structure to the theater.

Since 2002, the Women PeaceMakers Fellowship at the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice has brought together peacebuilders from around the world. Together with partners, the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice develops and champions evidence-based, justice-centered solutions to ending cycles of violence. 

Find directions, parking and other details online here.

Questions? Accessibility needs? Email ipj@sandiego.edu.

Sponsor(s)

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RECAP: Redwoods Peace Colloquy In Review by Glenn Johnson

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Click any image below to enlarge.

Redwoods Peace Colloquy Focuses on Racism and Gun Violence

The theme for the recently concluded 2024 Redwoods Peace Colloquy held in Washington D.C. from September 6-9 was “Racism and Gun Violence: People of God Respond.” Sponsored by the Sierra Pacific Mission Center of Community of Christ, the colloquy was a rich experience that combined lectures from representatives of the Brady Campaign and the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a worship with the message brought by our Apostle, Shandra Newcom, an Interfaith Unity Walk, a devotion at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and more.

A highlight for many came on the final day when participants in the colloquy met with staff members from the House and Senate to ask for various forms of action to end gun violence. The California delegation met with Carson Cameron of Rep. Kevin Kiley’s office (R-CA03). Our California delegation was so large we had to meet with the Congressman’s representative in the hallway of the Longworth House Office Building. Knowing that the congressman had a 100% rating from the NRA, requests for an assault weapon ban or other gun regulations would have been futile.

Our delegation instead focused on a request for funding of “violence interrupter” programs. I explained that a study by John Hopkins University has found that Community Violence Intervention Programs, such as the Maryland Safe Streets initiative can reduce violent gun crimes and other violent crimes by more than 30%. The Friends Committee on National Legislation recommended asking for at least $70 million in funding for this program. These programs focus on increased mental health program utilization among target populations at risk for carrying out acts of violence. In addition, they fund nonviolence events; bring the criminal justice community into relationship at schools and other at-risk locations; help at-risk individuals with IDs and documents; and provide social services referrals.

Our request was an attempt to find common ground with a member of congress to help end gun violence in what has been described by some as a time of disunity and hyper-partisanship. Follow-up is being managed by Sierra Pacific Mission Center President Ruth Seagraves who is a voter in Rep. Kevin Kiley’s district.

Glenn Johnson
Peace and Justice Minister
Pacific Southwest International Mission Center

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2024 Advent Theme and Details

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THEME

The Advent 2024 theme is "Hope is Near."

FOCUS TEXT

The focus text for Advent 2024 is the Magnificat, Luke 1:46-55.

Mary’s song of praise to God, the Magnificat, is joyful and prophetic, a sharp confrontation to systems that destroy and oppress, and a hopeful vision for the future. Empowered by the sacred life forming within her, she dares to envision the world as it can be. We are invited to join Mary this Advent Season; in joyful anticipation of what is to come, singing a resistance song against the forces of division and destruction around us as we birth God’s future into being!

RESOURCES

Use these resources as you journey through the season of Advent. 

  • Download the Advent Devotion for Families and Households. Coming soon!

  • View Advent Worship Helps and Lessons for All Ages. Coming soon!

  • Subscribe to Daily Bread for daily Advent reflections.

  • Follow Community of Christ on Instagram and Facebook for reflective content for the season.

WEEKLY THEMES

  • 1 December 2024—Joy Before Us

  • 8 December 2024—Love Overflows

  • 15 December 2024—The Lord is Near (Hope)

  • 22 December 2024—The Magnificat: A Vision of Justice

2023 PSI Event Dates Announced

Mark your calendars!

The official dates for Reunion 2023 are June 17 - 21, with staff arriving on the 16th. We will be hosting WBT again for the summer at Buckhorn.

Senior High Camp dates are June 10 - 16 at Whispering Pines in Arizona. There may be some school district conflicts, but we are putting on the calendar at this time.

SPEC 2023 will be July 14 - 22 with Crystal Moreno serving as the PSI leader for CALIZONIA.

MC Conference will be one day, on November 19th, in-person at Upland. Apostle Harmon will be our guest minister. There will be a SPEC FUNDRAISER that day.