Convocations

No Mind Left Behind

Nandani Sinha

September 16, 2021
4:00 PM PT

Nandani Sinha is a German-Indian American mezzo-soprano who performs regularly with the Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, Santa Barbara Opera, California Philharmonic, and Redlands Symphony. A passionate arts activist Ms. Sinha has been working in the realm of Traumatic Stress Brain Studies and Music, bringing musical intervention programs to Alzheimer's Los Angeles, LA Unified School District, City of Hope, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and many other institutions. She is the founder of Music Heals Minds, a not for profit that works to bring musical interventions to individuals with traumatic stress. Her Convocation presentation will describe how the Alzheimer and Dementia Communities can use music as a bridge to memories and connection.

Chaplain at LAC + USC

Elizabeth Gibbs Zehnder

September 23, 2021
4:00 PM PT

Inclusive Housing Justice Models and Actions

Jill Shook

September 9/30/21
4:00 PM PT

Jill Shook served for years as a campus minister coordinating teams from Berkeley to Harvard to serve in developing countries to do sustainable community development with and by the people. She learned that the high cost of housing was one of roots of injustice. For the last 25 years Jill has advocated for stable, decent, affordable homes to enable people to stay rooted in a community. In 2001, she was part of crafting an inclusive housing policy that produced 590 affordable units at no cost to the city, with 488 units more leveraged with inclusionary fees. Pasadena is the only city in LA County where the homeless count has dropped by 56% between 2011-2020 in part due to her collaborative efforts. Today Jill is co-founder/director of Making Housing and Community Happen, author/editor of Making Housing Happen: Faith Based Affordable Housing Models, used on campuses across the US. Jill does Housing Justice Workshops and One-Day Housing Justice Institutes around the US. She is married to Anthony Manousos, a Quaker peace activist.

The Land of Forgiveness: Reflections on the Spirituality of Dementia Caregiving

Dr. Wayne Ewing

October 7, 2021
4:00 PM PT

Care giving for and with a Beloved family member—spouse, parent, grandparent, or others—can be frightfully demanding. Dr. Ewing walked with his wife through her journey with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Sharing how that path might be transformed into a pilgrimage in spiritual awakening and nurturing. Author of award winning book Tears in God’s Bottle. “The land of forgiveness” is also a land for exploring one’s spiritual options, challenges, and growth.

Welcoming New Residents!

October 14, 2021
4:00 PM PT

*New Resident Introductions share personal information and are available privately to MVGH Residents here.

New residents Betty Glick, Terry and Suzette McGonigal
Betty, an ordained Deacon and Elder, has served 4 congregations and currently is a member of Westwood Presbyterian Church (WPC) which she joined in 1997. Since retirement from UCLA in 2014 she has worked at WPC as interim Director of Children and Family Ministries, interim Director of Operations, and Property Development Coordinator assisting with WPC's partnership with Belmont Village Senior Living. Betty is an avid walker, reader and traveler, and she loves spending time with her extended family and friends.

Terry and Suzette McGonigal come to MVGH from Spokane, Washington where Terry was Dean of Spiritual Life and Campus Pastor, and then served as Director of Church Engagement. Suzette is a newly retired kindergarten teacher, with 37 years of teaching under her belt. After graduating with his M.Div and PhD from Fuller, Terry and Suzette were with Young Life in Colorado, where Terry also helped to plant Covenant Presbyterian church. They enjoy travel, biking, the beach, and their Hobie kayak. Terry and Suzette have three adult children.

More than Justification: Caring for Community in Reformation Geneva

Jennifer Powell McNutt

October 21, 2021
4:00 PM PT

At the heart of the Protestant Reformation was the doctrine of justification by faith. As German Reformer Martin Luther declared, justification was the doctrine “on which the church stands or falls.” Second generation reformer, John Calvin declared in his Institutes of the Christian Religion that justification was the “hinge upon which all of religion turns.” Yet, how did justification relate to the lived faith of the believer according to the reformers? And what were the social concerns that shaped Reformation ministry? This lecture will explore the practices of social welfare that shaped life in Reformation Geneva as an outworking of Reformed Protestant faith expression.

Jennifer Powell McNutt is the Franklin S. Dyrness Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College. She is the author of the award-winning book, Calvin Meets Voltaire: The Clergy of Geneva in the Age of Enlightenment, 1685-1798 (Routledge, 2014) and Vice-President of the Calvin Studies Society. Rev. Dr. McNutt is also an ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), parish associate at First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn, and co-president of McNuttshell Ministries with her husband, Rev. Dr. David McNutt. They have three delightful children.

Leadership Formation for Inclusive Communities

Rev. Juan Sarmiento

October 28, 2021
4:00 PM PT

The presentation will be an opportunity to explore practical ways by which diverse church leaders are being developed both nationally and internationally. Rev. Juan Sarmiento serves as Executive Presbyter of The San Fernando Presbytery. He has been in pastoral ministry and nonprofit leadership for more than 25 years. With the Presbyterian Mission Agency in Louisville, KY, and other organizations, Juan has helped strengthen church planting and renewal movements in four continents. His formal education includes Columbia, Louisville, San Francisco, and Fuller Theological Seminaries. Born in Venezuela and ordained in Brazil. Maricela, and their son Jonathan were born in the Los Angeles area enjoying being "back home."

A Resilient Faith

Dr. Gerald Sittser

November 4, 2021
4:00 PM PT

Gerald Sittser is professor Emeritus of Theology and Senior Fellow in the Office of Church Engagement at Whitworth University.  He is the author of nine books, among them A Grace Disguised, The Will of God as a Way of Life, Water from a Deep Well, and Resilient Faith.  He is the founder of the MA in Theology program at Whitworth and, with his dear friend, Terry McGonigal, the Office of Church Engagement.

 The conflicts and divisions in America over the past few years provides clear evidence of a shift in American history to what historians call post-Christendom. Most Americans still identify themselves as Christian, though those numbers are falling, and falling the most precipitously among people in the 20s and 30s. What does it mean for Christians in America to adjust to this new reality without trying to impose Christianity on a society that seems less interested in it? The early Christian movement got its start in a pre-Christendom environment. It has much to teach us. This presentation will highlight what we can learn from this movement.

One Body, Many Parts

Rev. Dr. Young Lee Hertig

November 11, 2021
4:00 PM PT

The presentation will unpack what it takes to become one body with many parts based on 1 Corinthians 12. Many parts of the body of Christ remain siloed and homogenous which keeps them disconnected from one another. From the Asian American lens, the session will focus on how the nameless and faceless ‘part’ can come to the table and fully belong to the one body with both particularities and universalities of ethnicity, humanity, and faith.

Rev Young Lee Hertig, PhD, is a co-founder and Executive Director of ISAAC, Innovative Space for Asian American Christianity. Her recent books include The Tao of Asian American Belonging: A Yinist Spirituality (Orbis, 2019), and A Biblical Study Guide for Equal Pulpits (Cascade, 2022). She holds an MA in counseling psychology from Yeon Sei Graduate University, an Mdiv Equivalent, an MA in Cultural Anthropology, and a PhD in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. She was an Assistant Professor of Cross-Cultural Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary, Associate Professor of World Christianity at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH, and Adjunct Professor at Azusa Pacific University in Global Studies and Sociology.

An Attorney For Those Who Cannot Afford An Attorney

Darcy Calkins

November 18, 2021
4:00 PM PT

Darcy Calkins will speak on her vocation as a Public Defender — an attorney for those who cannot afford an attorney. Darcy describes her profession as a calling — a ministry to victims of poverty and discrimination. In this ministry, and in her daily life, she “speaks for those who cannot speak” and advocates for those who are neglected. She is a graduate of Chapman College (now University), and of the UCLA School of Law. She has served for 28 years as a defendant for the poor. Darcy is the daughter of Grove residents Lynda and Bruce Calkins.

November 25, 2021

No Program - HAppy thanksgivng!

Lincoln In Private

Ron White

December 2, 2021
4:00 PM PT

Preeminent American historian Ronald C. White will offer our Dec. 2 Convocation on his book, Lincoln in Private, described as "a revelatory glimpse into the mind and soul of our sixteenth president.” Ron is the New York Times bestselling author of American Ulysses and three books on Lincoln. He has lectured on Lincoln at the White House, throughout the United States, New Zealand, Mexico, and Europe. He has been interviewed on PBS NewsHour. Ron and wife Cynthia are residents of the Grove.

Interwoven: Weaving Reconciled Worshiping Community

Harlan Redmond and Ally Lee

December 9, 2021
4:00 PM PT

The vision for Interwoven is to be a church woven together as one, becoming a witness of Christ's love in the surrounding community and beyond. To practice Oneness in an inclusive space where people from all walks of life can come together, engage authentically, and worship Christ in mutuality, peace, and love.

Harlan Redmond, Evangelist and Organizing Pastor: Harlan was born and raised in New Orleans. He served in the United States Army for 5 years in Germany and throughout Europe and is a veteran of the Iraq War. He has a Bachelors of Science in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University and a Masters in Teaching with an emphasis in Urban Education from the University of Southern California. Harlan served for 7 years as Executive Director/ Principal of Harambee Preparatory School, a Christian elementary school for low income students. He also worked as a football coach at John Muir High School and Maranatha High School while living in Pasadena. Harlan has just completed his third year at Princeton Theological Seminary in the Masters of Divinity program. He and his wife of 17 years, Nanyamka have three sons: Harlan, Dietrich and Langston Scott Redmond.

Ally Lee, Organizing Teaching Pastor: For the past eleven years, Ally has served in a variety of positions at Knox Presbyterian Church, Pasadena. In October 2017, she was ordained as the Temporary Associate Pastor. Ally is also the Stated Clerk for the Presbytery of San Gabriel. She has worked for the Presbytery for almost 18 months, and was just elected to a 3-year term. Her new position with Interwoven will begin in September 2021. Ally lives in Altadena near Farnsworth Park with her husband, almost two year old daughter, and two dogs. She is originally from the Southeastern United States.

FAVORITE SONGS

OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

with Nandani Sinha

December 16, 2021
4:00 PM PT

German-Indian American mezzo-soprano Nandani Sinha is internationally acclaimed for her passionate performances and presence. She is a favorite in Southern California, performing regularly with the Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, Santa Barbara Opera and California Philharmonic. We heard her Convocation program in September on her work to bring musical interventions to individuals with traumatic stress through her non-profit organization Music Heals Minds. On December 16 she will present a variety of Christmas songs that will entertain and inspire. To learn more about Nandani visit her website at www.mezzonani.com.

Previous Program PDF Listings:

• 2021: April - June

• 2021: January - March

• 2020: September - December