Training for area clergy big success

Acting in Community Together in Organizing Northern Nevada trained 104 clergy and lay leaders Feb. 11 in their community organizing model and how to engage in public conversations about the issues that are causing local people the most pain and suffering.

There was participation by 16 congregations including Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Reno; Faith Lutheran Church, Reno; First Congregational United Church of Christ, Reno; First United Methodist Church, Carson City; Holy Cross Catholic Church, Sparks; Holy Family Catholic Church, Yerington; Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Sparks; Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Reno; Our Lady of Snows Catholic Church, Reno; St. Albert's Catholic Church, Reno; St. John's Presbyterian Church, Reno; St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Carson City; St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, Carson City; Temple Sinai, Reno; Trinity Episcopal Church, Reno; and Unitarian Universalist of Northern Nevada, Reno

Father Chuck Durante from St. Teresa welcomed everyone and gave an opening prayer. Rabbi Myra Soifer, retired from Temple Sinai, delivered a faith reflection, and Father Jesus from St Teresa delivered his opportunity story.

An opportunity story is a personal tale of the obstacles one's parents and self have faced and the opportunities given, tied into how America has been part of the Land of Opportunity for generations, but how all that is changing now.

Rev. Neal Anderson, president of the board of directors of ACTIONN, and the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada spoke about his interest in the work of ACTIONN.

"I was motivated to create our community organizing interfaith work for three purposes: to create deeper relationships among the people of my congregation, build their leadership skills and to create justice for suffering people in our community. I keep hearing about the unemployment pain of my congregants and the accompanying lack of health insurance. I also know that many of my congregants are under water with their mortgages and that is causing anxiety and despair. ACTIONN will be a way for us to create justice for people from across all religions and denominations," he said.

The next steps from the training will be for the trained leaders to have public conversations to share their own stories and hear about the pain others are experiencing.

In April, the next training will be on how to conduct research on the issues identified so that social action can be planned. For more information on how to get involved with ACTIONN, the public is invited to contact their congregation clergy or lay leaders or Pat Fling, executive director at flingp@ACTIONN.org or 775-772-1979.