From Gale Lothrop, Secretary, Hope House Board of Directors: This is not the usual update I send you regarding Hope House of Sedona. We were dealt a difficult blow last week and need your help. Last Thursday Church of the Red Rocks found out that they are no longer able to purchase the property on Shelby Dr. that they had been planning on. This news comes very late in the game as far as the HUD grant is concerned, leaving them with about 4 weeks to procure new property and come up with a plan. WE NEED YOUR HELP! If you have some property you might have been thinking about selling or know of anyone who might have such property, please let CRR know ASAP. The property must be within the Sedona city limits and in Yavapai County, so basically West Sedona. They are looking for 1/4 to 1/2 acre. At this point, they would consider any zoning. CRR wants to fulfill their mission and desire to provide transitional housing for homeless children and their families and, when space is available, senior women. The need is so great and it is past time that Sedona provide shelter for the most vulnerable in our community. We do not want to lose this $330,000 grant. There is so much good that can be done.
Rituals can be healing. One of the rituals during difficult times is the lighting of a candle and offering a prayer or concern as a candle is being lit. Lighting votive candles for joyous reasons is also uplifting. Lighting votive candles are now available as part of a ritual at First Christian Church in Las Cruces on Sunday morning. The votives are placed on the rail by the pulpit. All are welcome to light a candle before worship begins if so moved.
Black Mountain UCC will use its beautiful courtyard for a Bluegrass Concert and dance on November 3 from 3pm-5pm. The band, Sonoraclectic, has been lovingly put together by Billy Parker a very dear friend of Pastor Jayne. He is the Executive Director of Chandler Gilbert ARC, a nonprofit that works with young adults who live with developmental disabilities. BUT his real passion is playing the Mandolin. The band will be fantastic. Go to bmucc.com to buy tickets. $25 in advance or $30 at the door.
First Congregational UCC in Albuquerque has a new feature in their water fountain! It is a sensor to fill water bottles. It has a counter that shows how many water bottles have been saved from the oceans and landfills. FCC is a Green Justice congregation and this is one way they are contributing to making the earth more green.
Thursday, October 17th: A quiet protest of prayer will be held at ICE Headquarters, 2035 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix at 11 a.m. The prayer and mission statement are led by the clergy from Shadow Rock UCC, and are most meaningful, with immigrant families sitting near the prayer circle. It is a short service, lasting about 10 minutes, with a variety of churches represented. Parking is available about half a block south of the ICE building at the Central United Methodist Church which is located on the SE Corner of Palm Lane and Central Avenue. This peaceful act of protest is held on the 17th of every month.
On the first Sunday of the month Desert Heritage collects donations for the Chrysalis Fund at the beginning of the service. The Chrysalis Fund is a benevolent fund to help different charities around the Metro Phoenix area.
Come and have a hot time at the Fall Festival at The Good Shepherd Church in Sahuarita on Friday, October 25 from 5:30-7pm. They are looking for some contestants for the Chili Cook off as well as the Salsa Competition. What Can You Expect??? Live music, Pumpkin Carving, Costume Contest, Sample and Vote on the Chili Cook-off and Salsa Competition----and a whole lot more. Be sure and bring lots of friends. You will definitely have a hot time!
On Nov 3, Church of the Beatitudes will celebrate the lively Latin American custom of Dia de los Muertos-the Day of the dead- a holiday celebrating the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. Dia de los Muertos recognizes death as a natural part of the human experience. On Dia de los Muertos, the deceased are also a part of the community, awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones. Beatitudes will arrange tables for families to create a shrine for their departed loved ones. Portraits and memorabilia that captures the loved one’s life are encouraged.
The Casa Adobes Reading Sprouts tutoring program has begun its sixth year of helping 1st-graders at Helen Keeling Elementary School learn to read. The program produces results. Data kept since the beginning of the effort show that in each of the first five years participants on average showed more reading progress over the course of the year than their classmates. Each of the tutors works one morning per week, in teams of four. All of them don't usually get together, except for training sessions and a year-end celebration. The tutors began working with a new set of 16 1st-graders in September and will continue with them for the remainder of the year. Go team!
Church of the Red Rocks will leave for the border on 10/21. They will travel to Yuma, sing songs of hope and compassion the in spirit of God's love to the Border Patrol office in Yuma, then sing outside the detention facility located behind the Border Patrol offices, for the detainees inside. Next is travel to San Luis where entry to Mexico is located and sing near the entry on the USA side. After an overnight in Yuma, they will travel on Tuesday to Phoenix and donate money and supplies and sing at the Welcome Center, run by rescue. org before returning home.
Shepherd of the Hills invites you to wear black on Thursdays in symbolic resistance to sexual and gender-based violence against women. #ThursdaysInBlack