Founding Minister Emeritus of Church of the Beatitudes in 1954 and the Beatitudes Campus in 1965, Reverend Dr. Culver H. Nelson, D.D., L.H.D, known as “Bill”, passed away peacefully April 12, 2019, six days after his 93rd birthday. A memorial gathering will be held at the Church of the Beatitudes, April 23, 2019, with a visitation at 3:00 p.m. followed by the memorial at 4:00 p.m. In lieu of a reception and flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Church of the Beatitudes, or the Beatitudes Campus.
Congregational Church of the Valley (12001 E Shea, Scottsdale) is proud to announce that the next concert in the Extraordinary Evening of Music series has been scheduled for Friday, April 19 at 7PM. The Treasures of France and Spain concert will feature Jenna Daum, Larry Loeber and Stephen Hartman. Join them for a glittering program featuring music by French and Spanish masters for flute, harp, voice, and piano. Highlights will include Debussy's "Clair de Lune"; Ravel's "Introduction and Allegro", a tour-de-force for the harp; and a set of "Canciones y Danzas" by Catalan composer Federico Mompou. Tickets will be available at the door for $30.
Church of the Palms held a fundraiser English Afternoon Tea on April 13th with prizes for the best decorated “Easter Bonnets.” Photos here and here.
Thank you and congratulations to GLSEN board member and UCCer Caryn Bird! Your work just made schools a safer place for all kids, especially LGBT kids. The AZ House and the AZ Senate repealed the ‘no promo homo’ law and governor Ducey signed the repeal into law.
By a unanimous vote of the Sedona Planning and Zoning Commission on April 2, a conditional use permit was granted to Shandra Ryan to operate an after-school day care within the Church of the Red Rocks. In a letter of intent to the city, Ryan states that Sedona Creative Child Care Club will accommodate approximately 15 to 20 children between the ages of 5 and 12 and will use the church’s existing Learning Center when not in use by other church functions. They anticipate a fall opening.
On Saturday, April 20th, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm at Casas Adobes, try your hand at Pysanky, the Ukrainian way of using wax and dyes to color eggs. Basic instruction will be presented, plus pattern ideas will be available to all attendees.
Casas Adobes and Church of the Painted Hills children, youth and their families get together periodically to do service projects and have fun. Last fall, they made sandwiches for Casa Maria food kitchen, went bowling and participated in the CROP Hunger Walk together. On Saturday, April 20th they will again be getting together to host an exhibitor’s booth at the Tucson Earth Day Festival downtown at the Tucson Children’s Museum. They will be teaching and doing a craft on the Sonoran Desert as they continue to work in the spirit of the UCC’s “3 Great Loves” campaign: love of creation, love of children, and love of neighbor.
The "Labyrinths at the Palms" will host a Good Friday service this year at Church of the Palms. There will be a self-directed walk on the larger labyrinth from 12:00 – 3:00 pm on Friday, April 19th. The Bell Choir of Church of the Palms will play at 12:30 p.m. The smaller labyrinth will also be available to accommodate those using wheelchairs and walkers. The walk into the center of the labyrinth will have the 14 Stations of the Cross marked on the path. Each walker will be given a guide that provides a scripture reading and prayer corresponding to each of the stations, following Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Tomb.
Rev. Lynne Hinton will serve as sabbatical pastor for First Congregational UCC (Albuquerque) from May- August while Pastor Sue Joiner enjoys a time of rest and reflection as she explores a variety of wilderness areas. Meanwhile, Pastor Hinton will use the summer worship time to focus on various aspects of “wilderness.” We will consider the different wildernesses we find ourselves in, the temptations that come, the lessons we can learn, and the healing we can discover in and from our wildernesses.
Shadow Rock will be presenting its annual Justice Award on Palm Sunday to Laura Ilardo. This is a way they honor activists in the community who are working for a better world for all. Laura is a social worker at Thunderbird High School who worked closely with Rev. Gene Lefebvre and other leaders in founding No More Deaths. After ten years of working with No More Deaths in Phoenix, she began collaborating with First Church UCC to create Keep Phoenix Together - a free community aid clinic helping immigrants currently in deportation proceedings. Most recently, she is working with the Phoenix Restoration Project, participating in Greyhound outreach and hospitality for those newly released from immigration detention.
The fourth annual Piano on the Rocks International Festival will be held on April 26 through 28th in various locations in Sedona. On Friday, the 26th at 5:00 PM, the festival will hold its performances at Church of the Red Rocks. This concert is open to all and free of charge.
Happy Easter, Everyone!