News

Conference Secretaries for United Methodist Global Ministries from the Western Jurisdiction gathered together February 28-March 1, in Mill Valley, California, along with the California-Nevada Conference and Global Ministries staff members. The Conference Secretaries for Global Ministries (CSGM) are lay and clergy who promote relationships between annual conferences and Global Ministries. The CSGM has the important role of educating, connecting and partnering with local churches to share ...

In 2022, the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference passed a resolution "Identifying and Opposing Apartheid in the Holy Land."  On March 15, 2023, at 9 am Pacific Time, Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) and United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR) will put on a webinar on "Apartheid Free Communities"   The international human rights community agrees that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people amounts to apartheid. In the first two months of 2023, we have seen the current Israeli ...

  The Greater Northwest Area Abundant Health ministries is hosting a presentation on community gardens on Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 6 to 7 p.m. PST (5 p.m. Alaska, 7 p.m. MST). The featured speaker will be Tom Kroen from Tualatin United Methodist Church in Oregon. Tom serves as a team leader for the Community Garden located at Tualatin United Methodist Church which contains both plots for individual families and a large garden that provides fresh produce to the local food pantry. Tom will share ...

Giving Tuesday is November 29 this year. Giving Tuesday, often described as a global day of giving or a global generosity movement, is held each year on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. It provides an opportunity for caring people to make an special donation to worthy non-profits as an expression of gratitude and generosity. The Oregon-Idaho Abundant Health Team recommends a number of giving opportunities within our United Methodist denomination for consideration on Giving Tuesday and for ...

The Greater Northwest Episcopal Area Abundant Health Ministries "Let’s Walk Together: A Recipe for a Healthy Centered Life" Learn strategies on how you can make and keep ‘health’ an important part of your life.  Tuesday, November 15, 2022 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. Alaska/7:00 p.m. MST) Presented by Rev. David Thompson Pastor of United Methodist Church of Roseburg, Roseburg, Oregon   David’s goals for the presentation are: Provide benchmarks for progress Helpful ways to move forward Ways...

The Greater Northwest Episcopal Area Abundant Health Ministries presents Managing Chronic Illnesses using Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Strategies Learn strategies that you might try to manage a variety of chronic illnesses using physical, mental, and spiritual health concepts. Tuesday, October 25, 2022 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. Alaska/7:00 p.m. MST) Presented by:  Ronda Cordill, RN, BSN, MPH; Health Minister and Western Jurisdiction UMVIM Coordinator   This presentation will discuss: ...

by Emilie Kroen and Rev. Karen Nelson Perhaps you are among the lucky in the United States and you have a good health insurance plan. Many people in the United States have inadequate health insurance or none at all. What happens when someone without health insurance gets sick? You know the story – you may be the story. Life doesn’t have to be that way in this country. It is possible to have Health Care for All – and our faith calls us to advocate for the right to health care for all people. It ...

Jesus calls us to lives lived abundantly and provides us with guidance on how to do just that throughout his ministry. In this age and our culture, we recognize there are so many ways we can distracted and mislead in ways that do not create an environment that helps us or others live abundant lives- in body, mind, and spirit. As we continue hosting learning opportunities on Zoom, I want to share with you the upcoming event dates and topics. All zoom sessions are from 6 to 7:15 pm on the dates ...

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations have called Israel an “Apartheid State” for its numerous human rights violations against Palestinians.  Now the Oregon-Idaho Conference has joined them by passing a resolution at its most recent Annual Conference affirming that “apartheid is antithetical to the Gospel message.”  The resolution, which was submitted by the OR-ID Holy Land Task Force and Methodist Federation for Social Action, and passed by a 145-48 vote,  calls on ...

Rev. Jefferson Chao is exhausted – but the kind of exhausted that comes from pouring your heart into your community.   He spent the last two weeks working with volunteers to distribute 5,000 backpacks to kids attending more than 50 different schools in Beaverton, Oregon, and he’s helped with the distribution of more than 50,000 pounds of food, COVID-19 vaccine clinics and more. That doesn’t count the months of work that went into making it all happen, either.   “The community is my church,” said...