On Saturday, Collins Lake Ranch, a Cleveland, NM ranch home for adults who are developmentally disabled, hosted a Chili Cook-Off fundraiser to provide scholarship assistance for residents who want to continue their education. Taos UCC contributed $848.00!
This summer the Growth Team at Black Mountain UCC asked some of its members to share a word on Sunday mornings for just 2 or 3 minutes and speak about about how they saw God at work in their lives. It was a great encouragement for all to hear from one another.
The Crane and Butterfly Free Store, a mission of First Congregational in Albuquerque, will reopen on Monday, September 9, to serve the needs of area elementary schools and Jefferson Middle School, as well as clients of their new social worker (homeless folks who come to the church seeking help).
Randy Mayer, pastor at The Good Shepherd in Sahuarita, caught a flight to Milan, Italy and began Randy's Five Weeks of Sabbatical. Randy hopes it will be a time of rest and relaxation as well as a time of learning and renewal. His first stop is with the Waldensian Church in Italy, followed by a week with The Evangelical Church in Greece learning about their Food Bank and Migrant Ministry and finally they will be in northern Spain as pilgrims hiking the Camino de Compostela.
If a minimum of 10 people are willing to purchase $60 pre-paid class cards for six classes at noon on Mondays, First Church Phoenix will begin hosting their first weekly yoga class for any and all levels, beginning on Monday, Sept. 23rd. Desert Song will provide the instructor and the classes will be held at First Church. Please confirm with Jane McNamara: email her HERE, or call her at (602) 738-0635.
The Climate Crisis: Facts, Future, Faith and You on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 5:15 pm. United Church of Santa Fe welcomes Cynthia Scharf, Senior Strategy Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative. From 2009 to 2016, she worked on climate change for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, organizing two global UN summits and being involved in the 2015 landmark Paris agreement. As a youth, Cynthia was involved in her church and has made outreach to faith communities a key element in her climate change work.
In 2001 Congregational Church of the Valley had the honor and privilege of sponsoring four lost boys from Sudan. It was an amazing experience for the church---everyone, in one way or another, was able to contribute to these young men's adjustment and settlement into life in Phoenix. They were able to greet them at the airport gate as they deplaned; making them feel welcomed and loved for they had nothing but the clothes on their back, wide smiles, a backpack, and hope. Since that time, (18 years ago) one of the boys (they refer to themselves as boys, though they are 30+) Jacob Leek, has gone on to become a pharmacy tech, a U.S. citizen, receive his degree in chemistry from ASU while continuing to work two jobs. As well, 2 ½ years ago, Jacob traveled to Africa to marry a stunning young woman named Yar Makol Ngon. Jacob is also a new father to a beautiful 2-year-old little girl, Apiu. The extra exciting news is, after over a year of trying to get their paperwork approved, they are finally coming to America .... for good! October 11, will mark their arrival into America via Phoenix Sky Harbor airport where CCoV will again greet them with banners and hugs and hope.
#THURSDAYSINBLACK. Shepherd of the Hills invites you to wear black on Thursdays in symbolic resistance to sexual and gender-based violence against women.
Join Shepherd of the Hills, Temple Solel and VIP on Thursday, August 29 at 6:30 p.m. for a Civic Academy on Asylum Seekers. You'll hear from key players in our local community and on the border, helping this vulnerable population of migrants to navigate the legal process of seeking asylum, while being welcomed with love and treated with dignity. You'll leave with a better understanding of the asylum system, and concrete ways for you to volunteer with compassion and kindness.
Location: Temple Solel, 6805 E. McDonald Dr., Paradise Valley, AZ
Participating in the Civic Academy:
The Florence Project
Kino Border Initiative
International Rescue Committee
When the needs of several intergenerational refugee families came to the attention of Rev Leroy Calbom, he sprang into action to create a task force to help. He contacted the Mosaic Elder Refugee Program of the Area Agency on Aging to become a certified ESL instructor and persuaded a small army of Beatitudes Campus residents to do the same. He then secured a classroom at the Campus and utilized the Beatitudes bus to provide needed transportation. LeadingAge Arizona has names Leroy as its 2019 Volunteer of the Year. Congratulations, Leroy!