Last Monday evening, First Church Phoenix held an International Day of Peace Vigil recognizing RBG, John Lewis, and the Global Pandemics. Together, they called for peace and justice during this time of disunity. Each year, on 21 September, the United Nations calls on everyone, everywhere, to observe 24 hours of non-violence and ceasefire.
Every Tuesday at 7AM, Pastor Tom from Desert Palm will lead a morning devotional. The Gospel reading for the coming Sunday will be read and there will be a short time of sharing. The idea is to start the day off with a simple time of opening to God's living word before the rush of the workday.
Yesterday morning, The Creation Care team at Rincon led the worship service, during which they blessed the plot of land to be reclaimed in their "re-wilding" project. During the service folks watched a tree being planted and joined their spirits in a blessing. The last part of the worship service was a time to reflect together on God’s Creation, particularly trees.
Thank you Taos UCC for your generosity in sending $1,000 to Ashland UCC to support their fire relief fund. They are providing direct aid to people who lost their homes in the southern Oregon fires. Over 2,800 homes were lost, and many more families had to evacuate and are now climate refugees.
On Sunday, October 18, at 3:00 pm, First Congregational UCC of Albuquerque will host a Forum on Voting: The Effects of Race on Access to the Ballot. Pamela Herndon, 1st Vice President of the NAACP, Albuquerque, will be the speaker. Sponsored by the Racial Justice Task Force. Contact the church for access.
Als, thank you First Church Albuquerque for this: The League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico will be posting their voter guide on their website by the end of September. Their website address is LWVCNM.org. At this site you will receive information about all candidates and issues on the ballots for the following counties: Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia. Voter information will also be available on the National LWV platform:VOTE411.org the end of September. To use the national site, you will enter your zip code. The report you receive will be the candidates and issues that will be on the ballot for your precinct.
You will soon be seeing more Casas Adobes Congregational Church UCC ads in local newspapers, magazines and online. As a church without walls, Casas is broadening their extravagant welcome to the greater Tucson community in a series of Tucson Local Media (Explorer, Marana, Foothills, Desert Times, Tucson Weekly, etc.), Tucson Natural Awakenings and Arizona Daily Star print and online ads. This also includes weekly ads in various print and online worship guides and special issues of the Tucson Weekly.
Ever since school started, 18 first-graders from El Camino Real Elementary School have been going to school (virtually) every day in United Church of Santa Fe's Youth Room! Javier Berges, an El Camino Real bilingual first-grade teacher, has set up his online classroom. He and his wife, also an elementary teacher, have three school-age children, and their house lacked the bandwidth needed for everyone to be online every day at the same time. In early August when it was clear that public school would start online, Pastor Talitha reached out to educators and parents to see if there was any way for United to help by providing space. El Camino Real Principal (and United member) Jack Lain reached back and shared Javier’s situation.
The Church of the Painted Hills Crop Walk Team is off to a great start! They already have 6 team members who have raised $400. Because the need now is greater than ever, they hope to continue working to end hunger in Tucson and around the world by participating in the TUCSON CROP HUNGER WALK in October.
Members of Scottsdale UCC sent pictures of their pets to be used in yesterday's worship service titled "All Creatures Great and Small." The service was led by the youth and included a pet blessing all in honor of Earth Day 2020. Pictures also served to introduce members' pets to the congregation.
A couple years ago, Faith UCC in Dewey closed its doors. Members designated a portion of their assets to various community entities, one of which was Bradshaw Mountain Middle School. The church had worked with the school over many years on a variety of projects. The carryback loan resulting from the sale of the property recently paid off and all the bequeaths were sent. The following note was received by the SWC office:
"When the donation papers came across my desk this summer, I cried tears of gratitude. That week I was overwhelmed and not sure how we would make things work. My teachers needed webcams and cables to teach online. We had not had two critical fundraisers this year to support our kids and I knew the needs would be great. I am so grateful that your donation was an an answer to many prayers. I know that while things will not be easy, He will be there- and that blessings come at times from strangers when we least expect it. Thank you. Signed, Mrs. Bennett, Principal"
Each month, a group from Church of the Red Rocks in Sedona visits members celebrating birthdays. One of the recipients of this month's parade wrote: "I HIGHLY recommend that you say YES to the group when they contact you in your birthday month. It was so exciting to see the car caravan, then to see the actual people you know – come in front of you with their signs and present a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday with voices and kazoos! What fun, and such a nice enjoyable break during these unusual times. THANK YOU ALL for a great day!"
First Congregational Church of Prescott celebrated its 140th anniversary this weekend. Here is a tidbit of history to enjoy. "The church was founded September 26, 1880. The first building was dedicated on November 27, 1881, at a cost of $3200. The current building was dedicated on June 26, 1905. The congregation has always sought to follow Jesus in caring for and about those on the margins of society. In 1900, members of this congregation taught English to the Chinese railroad workers here in Prescott after the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Our commitment to education led our pastor and members to help in the founding of Prescott College. The congregation joined the United Church of Christ denomination after its formation."