Last Sunday, October 10th, the Compassion on the Border (CoB) Committee at Casas Adobes held a petition signing event to put Justice For All on the November 2022 ballot. This petition ensures that all immigrant Pima County residents have attorney representation to ensure a fair opportunity to stop deportation, to keep their family together and to have their story heard. For more information, check out www.pimacountyjusticeforall.org. Only 3% of immigrants who appear alone before immigration court will win their case. 62% of those WITH an attorney will win some sort of relief. The
On November 7th, Church of the Red Rocks will be celebrating their church's 61st anniversary. Their guest for the worship celebration will be Dr. John Dorhauer from Cleveland, Ohio, who is the President and General Minister of the UCC denomination.
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. There are many ways to show appreciation to one’s pastor. A simple word of encouragement, verbal or written, is always nice. Send a card, write a note, email, or use your imagination to come up with something fun.
We all can’t wait to sing in church again. But Church of the Beatitudes will not be deterred! Yesterday, member Alison Cason led the congregation in signing (in ASL) “Peace Like a River “ during worship. An instruction video was sent out a week earlier so folks could practice and perform like pros!
First Church Phoenix enjoys weekly informal fellowship by gathering for lunch in the church’s courtyard every Wednesday. Folks bring their own lunches and catch up with each other in a safe outdoor environment.
In 2009 after Marcia Powell was sentenced to more than two years in prison, she was locked in a metal cage in the sun at an Arizona prison. Hours later she collapsed after being confined in the 107 degree heat and by day's end she was dead. Even though an internal investigation carried out by the Arizona Department of Corrections revealed that prison guards had denied her water and ridiculed her when she pleaded for help, no one was held accountable. The documentary NO HUMAN INVOLVED chronicles how a movement formed around this case, seeking justice in her name. Join Arizona Faith Network on Wednesday, October 27th, at 6 p.m. for Part II of a three-part series examining conditions of confinement, a direct action by women incarcerated with Marcia, and the lack of access to mental health services inside a women's prison in Arizona. After a screening of the 72-minute documentary we will have a Q&A with the documentary co-director: PJ Starr.
With sadness and great gratitude Pastor Pamela Shepherd of Taos UCC has taken an extended medical leave. In her email to the congregation, she writes, “Building this church with all of you has been one of the great gifts of my life, and I thank you for the grand adventure. Taos UCC has a strong leadership team in place to lead you into the next adventure, supported by the UCC Southwest Conference, and all of you who believe this church should live and thrive as a gift in your own life, and a gift to the people of Taos.” We all pray for Pamela.
Interim Pastor Seth at Rincon is enroute to his hometown of Charlottesville, where he will be until close to the end of November. He is there as one of nine plaintiffs in a landmark case four years in the planning. Sines v. Kessler will be a jury trial in federal court, taking place over four weeks (we hope). The intent is to secure widespread accountability from the white supremacists and Nazis who planned and carried out the violence and murder experienced and confronted in August of 2017. More broadly, the case has profound potential to set a historical precedent for disincentivizing and derailing white supremacist efforts going forward. You can read case files, important information on the case, and more here at Integrity First for America, the organization helping underwrite the case.
The Open Arts Studio was asked to come up with some Fall art for the Scottsdale UCC sanctuary to help lift their spirits. Several ideas were tossed around and in the end a collaboration created a mandala art installation. It took hours and hours to refine the ideas and bring them to fruition, and then over the course of two days, it was painted on the sanctuary walls.