La Verne, Glendale and Principe de Paz youth found themselves in common territory on the basketball court, where a game with undefined rules, timelines or even teammates quickly became the handshake of friendship and brotherly love. A video highlight of the game is posted on the Pacific Southwest District Youth FACEBOOK page. 

The spirit of that impromptu moment was reflected throughout our weekend together. Don't get me wrong. The Youth Cabinet did a fabulous job creating an agenda and timeline for the weekend. They also had the wisdom to allow spontaneous fellowship to flourish and that is where the deepening relationships were born!

The Youth Cabinet will be meeting again in January to create our next, GAME PLAN! Please stayed tuned and encourage everyone to "Get into the Game" that is PWSD Youth fellowship!

Dawna

We hope you are looking forward to attending the 2011 Pacific Southwest District Conference which will be held November 11-13 at Hillcrest Retirement Community in La Verne, CA. We are pleased to let you know that the registration website for the conference is now open. Please forward the information below to anyone in your congregation who may be interested in attending the conference. A bulletin insert can be found here.

This year all registrations will be completed on the web. You need to make your own lodging arrangements at one of the suggested hotels. Information about the conference, the speakers, hotels, and other items can be found at www.pswdcob.org/distconf On this page you will also find a link to the conference registration portal.

The registration process will allow you to register as a delegate, non-delegate adult, youth, child, or exhibitor. You will then be taken through each day of the conference and given the opportunity to select meal events, dietary restrictions, and workshops you wish to attend. Cost information is provided next to each event that has a fee. When you finish the first person, you can select to add additional people under the same registration process. At the end you can make a payment with either a credit card, PayPal, or a check. If you choose check as your payment method please print a copy of your registration and mail it along with your check so the correct account is credited. You will receive a confirming email that reviews your registration details and provides information on how to modify your registration at a later date.

We hope you will find this process easy to use. Please call the district office with any technical questions at (909) 392-4054. If you do not have access to the internet to complete a registration you may walk-in to the district office and use the dedicated computer, please call for appointments, or consider contacting your local church office for assistance registering on their computer.

You must register through this system. The delegate cards sent in by churches do not register individuals, but simply let us know who is authorized to serve as a delegate.

Registrations must be received by October 21 to avoid a $25 per person or $50 per family late fee.

We look forward to seeing you in La Verne November 11-13!

Russ Matteson
Chair, District Conference Program Committee
russ@modcob.org
(209) 523-1438

Hey guys! I'm Tuesday Thornton from LaVerne CA! I love the church. I'm so excited and feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve on the Youth Cabinet:)

Hey everyone, I'm Maya. I'm really looking forward to working with all of you, and making the district youth activities really great! I'm so happy to be a part of this cabinet!

Hi, my name is Senna and I am excited to be on the Youth Cabinet for our district, get to know new people, and have fun sharing ideas!

My name is Mollie Montgomery, I am an active member in the Bakersfield church of the brethren, and I am a sophomore at North High School. Im excited to work with the youth cabinet and all the youth in our district.

Hey everyone, My name is Robert "Robby" Burke and I'm from Bakersfield. I'm a senior in high school, and I am looking forward to an exciting year working with the youth of PSWD.

Hi! My name is Rehana Franklin, I am from Modesto California and am very excited to be a senior in high school! I really look forward to serving you all on the Youth Cabinet this year! I hope it will be a ton of fun for all of us.

Hey youth of the Pacific Southwest District this is Kyle Carothers from Circle of Peace in Arizona and I am looking forward to serving you on the youth cabinet!

Last, but NOT least is Michael Terry from Live Oak, CA.

Calling all,CoB Youth!

PSWD District Conference, November 11-12-13, 2011 will be here before you know it!

You won’t want to miss this event only to hear everyone say:

 “Oh man, you should have been there.”

Here's what you can look forward to:

Friday, November 11

Youth Lounge Open 1:00 – 6:30 (DINNER ON YOUR OWN)

Worship

6:45 pm Walk to Worship from Youth Lounge

"Get to Know You" in the Youth Lounge

8:30 pm Mollie Montgomery & Youth Cabinet leading “Ice Breakers”

Senior High Sleepover at La Verne Church of the Brethren

10:00 pm Middle Schooler’s get picked up    10:00 pm Senior High and chaperones walk to LVCoB       11:00 pm  Lights Out 

Saturday, November 12

Showers and Breakfast at ULV  

7:00 am Senior High and chaperones walk to ULV        

7:30 – 8:00 am Jr. and Sr. High Breakfast      

8:30 Youth and chaperones walk to Hillcrest 

Business 

9:00 am Youth attend opening business /  Introduction and Welcome of Youth Cabinet

Service Project at Hillcrest 

10:00 am Youth & Chaperones – Woods for painting project & visiting residents

Lunch

12:00 pm Walk to Youth Lounge

12:15 pm Pick-up sack lunches for bus ride

Off-Site Event 

12:30 pm Bus from Hillcrest to Sky High Sports Trampolines 

12:45 pm Sack lunch on bus

2:00 – 3:00 pm Private Court (up to 30 jumpers)

3:15 pm Bus back to LVCoB (snacks/drinks)

Peanut Butter Project

4:30 pm – Rehana Franklin and Youth Cabinet

Youth Cabinet Check-in – 5:30 pm 

Banquet & Insight Session – Topic: Who Are the PSWD YOUTH? 

  6:00 pm – Pasta and Salad Dinner 

  7:00 pm – Drama

  7:15 pm – Insight Session/Conversation

Free Time

  8:30 pm – La Verne Campus (games, campfire)

10:00 pm – Middle school youth pick-up

Senior High Sleepover at La Verne Church of the Brethren

10:00 pm – Snacks, Prayer Circle

11:00 pm – Lights Out

Sunday, November 13

Showers and Breakfast at ULV        

7:30 am – Senior High and chaperones walk to ULV        

8:00 – 9:00 am – Jr. and Sr. High Breakfast / Sunday School    

9:00 am – Youth and chaperones walk to Hillcrest 

Closing Worship – 9:30 am  

Good-Bye's – 11:00 am 

Youth Cabinet Meeting – 11:30 am

Late in August the newly formed youth cabinet came together in Bakersfield, Ca to meet for the first time and do some planning.

The cabinet worked hard and demonstrated advanced leadership skills! While trying to agree on text and graphics for a district youth t-shirt, I observed (the seven youth present) demonstrate an "old time" Brethren approach that included open discussion, kind reflection and finally 100% consensus! Very impressive. It was a joy to witness. Register for conference to order a t-shirt!

During our time together the cabinet also planned all the events at district conference, 2011 and established a Facebook account.

Check it out: Pacific Southwest District Youth.

Plans have been made to meet again early in the new year to plan a district wide, Spring Fling!

If it is anything like what they planned for District Conference I am sure it will be something to look forward to!

Interpretation of the Logo

The logo for the 2011 District Conference was designed by Qadir Holloway, an African American youth from the Papago Buttes Church of the Brethren. It is Qadir’s artistic interpretation of Galatians 3:28 which is written on the open scroll representing the Bible. These words apply to the entire population of God’s world. The Christian fish symbol, Icthus, in Greek, is on the ribbon encircling the world. It was used by Christians during the first few centuries AD to identify themselves as Christians and avoid persecution by drawing a half circle in the sand with a foot and waiting to see if another person was a Christian and completed the fish by drawing another half circle in the sand. If you look closely you will see different and diverse people represented on the earth with different skin colors, genders, even persons who use wheelchairs.

We are all imperfect humans. Imposed over all is the cross on which Jesus was sacrificed so  we may all be one in Christ. The red ribbon which drapes across the symbolic cross and around the world represents our Pacific Southwest District of diverse people from around the world who are trying to live as Jesus taught.

Karen Walters
Moderator

The scriptural theme I chose for our District Conference is Galatians 3:28: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Or to phrase it simply "Together We're Better." My choice of this theme is the result of lifelong learning. I was born in Indiana but grew up in Arizona. I learned that each geographic area had a different culture and sometimes even a different language. I have a Brethren Navajo sister who lived with my family during high school and college. I always marveled at how she could live with electricity, pool, and city traffic for 9 months and spend the summers in Nageezi with sheep, dirt roads and no running water, or electricity.

When I graduated from college with degrees in math and engineering, I learned the male work culture was not yet willing to be invaded by a female. I, a city girl with female siblings, married a rancher/farmer's son and learned about a self-reliant culture. I have two biological sons – one autistic and brain damaged at birth and the other is at the other end of the spectrum. Neither is inferior or superior. Each of them lived in a different culture that I learned competed for special education elementary school funding. I helped raise 6 children and I learned male and female cultures are different. I learned in male culture, a nod was sufficient acknowledgment for a male friend but a long conversation was required for the girl's friends. I teach a Middler Sunday School class at my church and I have learned many things about hair and culture from my African students. Thanks to scholarships from our Pacific Southwest District. I accompanied 9 Anglo, African-American, Hispanic, Middle Class and Low Income youth from my church to National Youth Conference. Each group had a different culture. Our Brethren youth have a different culture than our Brethren adults. At NYC, I learned that you can use text messages to communicate God's love in worship. At a recent workshop I learned that youth are more comfortable with a peer from a different culture than with older persons from their own culture. What message can be found in that for our church's future? I have learned that we are all created in the image of God and we have a lot to learn from one another.

As I have traveled around our district from Live Oak to Tucson, I have learned something about the culture of the geographic area and that the culture of each church is different. We are not the same, but enriched by all. Our different perspectives help our district boards, commissions, committees, and task forces make the best decisions – for all. Our district is like our favorite chili whether con carne or vegetable, we all know our favorite ingredients and spices. All are needed. To run out of any ingredient or spice makes the chili not quite as good. My prayer for our district is that we provide support so each congregation may find a blend of people who respect others and share the love and message of Jesus with their community.

May we be one in Christ!
Together We're Better!

Karen Walters
Moderator

On Saturday, I participated in a discussion by the Task Team mandated by District Conference on how we process congregational disagreements with Annual Conference and District Conference decisions. That diverse task force, chaired by Linda Davis, is working hard at not only preparing a document but also modeling the process that they are proposing.

I had the joy and pleasure on Sunday, May 15th, to be present at the worshipful and fun celebration of the Live Oak congregation's 100 year anniversary. They not only honored their past but also looked forward to their future!   Roland Johnson is their pastor. I enjoyed their beautiful rose garden (as pictured), new carpeting, pictorial history displays/DVD, book of their history,bell, striking banners, and visiting with wonderful people!  I had an added bonus of seeing rice sprouting in the Northern California fields flooded with water. 

Your sister in Christ,
Karen Walters

Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center – Lake Junaluska, North Carolina

www.brethren.org/NOAC

Register online now  – Join us at NOAC in 2011!

Passion and Purpose in a Changing world
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2 NRSV

Share your passion through laughter and fellowship.

Expand your purpose as we worship and pray.

Consider how you can more fully participate in our changing world.