At last Sunday's worship at Desert Garden UCC in Sun City West (AZ), it was announced that Rev. Len Silvester had been selected as their Intentional Interim Pastor, starting September 3rd. Welcome back to AZ, Len!

The journey of grief is a painful process, and you do not need to walk it alone. We would like to encourage you to come to the special seminar and support group at Church of the Palms called GriefShare. The materials in the support group specifically address topics and issues for those who are grieving the death of a loved one, be they spouse, child, sibling, parent or friend. GriefShare meets weekly for 13 sessions. You will find this to be a place where you can be around people who understand the pain of your loss. Our next GriefShare group starts Friday, Sept 6, at 1:30 in the Board Room at Church of the Palms.

Join a discussion on how recovery spirituality can improve your relationship with God. The group is using the book, Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr and meets on Tuesdays at 7pm at First Church Phoenix.

WELCOME to a new worship experience at Church of the Beatitudes- Via de Cristo - A 2nd Worship Service Sundays at 11:30 am in Britt Chapel. So what's the story?

Via de Cristo (VdC) 1.0 – Via de Cristo United Methodist Fellowship came into being in 1998, firmly grounded from its beginnings in the progressive views of Christianity. That was a natural consequence of a lively connection with several prominent voices of Progressive Christianity through founding pastor, David Felten, and subsequent pastor, Jeff Procter-Murphy, co-creators of the widely-distributed "Living the Questions" resources for more liberal-minded Christians.

Via de Cristo 2.0 – About 5 years ago, the denomination made an unfortunate pastoral assignment, triggering a precipitous attendance decline. The doors of Via de Cristo United Methodist Fellowship were ultimately closed, permanently. Yet, bonds remained strong among the then-dispersed congregants. And for the next 3 years, a newly-constituted, unaffiliated Via de Cristo Faith Community met as a small autonomous congregation, meeting in the wedding chapel upstairs in the largest Harley Davidson dealership in the country!

Via de Cristo 3.0 – Even as VdC was pondering what to do next, a chance conversation occurred between Beatitudes' pastor, and a couple of VdC's leadership, sparking additional conversations around a possible win-win for both congregations. That led to a 3-month joint exploratory program with an arc toward integration of Via de Cristo into Beatitudes, while comprising the nucleus of a new 11:30 Beatitudes service...retaining much of its own distinctive format, and offering Beatitudes attendees another alternative in presence and participation.

On Saturday, September 21 at 1:00 PM, First Congregational of Prescott is co-sponsoring an Immigration panel of speakers including:

A professor who teaches graduate classes on immigration/theology at Boston University
An immigration attorney
A holocaust survivor
A representative from local law enforcement and
A local member of the migrant community.

There will be a Q & A time after the presenters have spoken. Questions? Contact our Mission Outreach chairperson, Gary Gard (928-910-2455).