Rev. Sarah TevisTownes from Church of the Good Shepherd is “infecting America with critical thought.” In other words, her theology and service dog videos on TikTok are exploding in popularity, with a recent vid reaching over 28K views. You’re not on TikTok? No worries…she posts them on Facebook, too. Way to reach out to the community!
Pastor Jocelyn at St Paul's UCC in Rio Rancho is already planning the All Saints worship service for Nov. 1st by asking for pictures and names of all the saints in the lives of church members.
How to Find God in the Pandemic is an adult ed series at First Church Phoenix open to anyone. Tuesday's at 7pm through Sept 15th. Email Pastor James at JamesMaxJackson@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
Every Thursday, First Christian Church in Las Cruces gathers on Zoom to do a Spiritual Practice together. Last week they did a short meditation on the people whom God has brought into their lives that loved them into being, and then wrote letters to them!
Kathe Padilla of Rincon spoke with her mail carrier about the mail-in ballot issue. He responded that all mail carriers consider delivery of ballots to be a sacred trust in this country and no one will treat a ballot as if it is a piece of “bulk mail”. That said, he agreed the best way to ensure your mailed ballot will get to the election bureau on time is to mail it as early as possible and place a first class stamp on it which means it will be date stamped on the day the post office received it. That is also a way to support the post office during a time when they are having severe budget cuts.
The Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita has FOUR books group starting! Here are their selections to consider for your own reading:
End of the Myth by Greg Grandin
White Rage by Carol Anderson
Stoney the Road by Henry Lewis Gates
Understanding Jim Crow by David Pilgrims
Faith in Public Life and Interfaith Power and Light have partnered to create a voter reflection guide, Democracy, Values and the 2020 Election, A Reflection Guide for Faith Communities. As described on FPL’s website, “The nonpartisan guide offers timely sections that address urgent moral issues at stake in this election and beyond. Topics include justice for immigrants, economic dignity, care for creation and climate change, racism and criminal justice reform, democracy and voting rights, health care and the coronavirus pandemic, and global peace-building. You are invited to download your own copy of this thought-provoking guide.
Pastor Tony from Church of the Beatitudes has a new weekly podcast, "Between the Lines 1-2-3." This podcast is a place where you can catch up on religious news and stories and feel encouraged to question and ponder new and different ideas in a way that inspires you to seek out the perspective of others. It’s authentic, succinct and as simple as 1-2-3.
NOW STREAMING ON: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher
The Church of the Palms is ordering a shower trailer to serve the homeless population in the northwest valley. It should be there in about 8 weeks.
To close, a message that spoke to me (Holly) this week.
A little over a week ago Pastor Sandi from Congregational Church of the Valley and her husband Clint went on a Sunday afternoon drive to see the Buddhist Temple near Chino Valley, AZ. Here is her story and her message to us:
We took our Prius Prime on some bumpy but seemingly-decent dirt roads for a good ten miles into ranch land. While the mountaintop temple was closed, we did get a little glimpse of it from the road. When we turned around and headed back for civilization, we started bumping along a bit harder and realized that we had a flat tire. It was really hot and dusty, and we were already thirsty. Clint quickly discovered that Prius Primes do not have a spare tire or even a donut-just a pump and some sealant. Soon after we pulled over, three parties of folks stopped their vehicles to help. Several men tried to get the sealant and pump to work (they didn't because the gash in the tire was too large). Meanwhile, women gave us cold water. I ended up calling AAA for a tow, and one of the men refused to leave us until the tow truck got there-over an hour later. In short, we were so touched and impressed with the kindness of those people that hot afternoon, though we were complete strangers to them.
So often we get fed up with the seeming nastiness of humanity that we see daily in the news. What we often forget is that people are mostly good-even strangers. Our Bibles have quite a lot to say in about rendering aid to the stranger-even though those stories are often fraught with tensions and risk. Jesus identifies himself as a stranger to be welcomed in Matthew 25:35: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in... The Rev. Jane Fisler Hoffman of the UCC Southern California/Nevada Conference once wrote this: "As our nation struggles with immigration issues and the enduring sins of racism, sexism, homophobia and the chasm between rich and poor; and as the nations of the world engage one another across hostile lines, we who follow Jesus, the stranger-savior, have an urgent mission to live this stranger life with him."