Jottings 9/6/2021

A man claiming to be a youth pastor at Legacy Church posted a video on TikTok saying “don’t come to Church of the Good Shepherd (COGS).”  His video is "dueting" a video Pastor Sarah made about how churches should welcome LGBTQIA people.  It’s actually provided some good publicity for COGS and the comments are overwhelmingly supportive, condemning his choice to make this video at all.  On the other hand, some of the early comments got ugly. Although this pastor doesn’t have a massive following (about 3K to COGS 135K--you can find COGS on Tiktok), hate speech is always something to take seriously.  Pastor Sarah has reached out to the pastor directly and is waiting to hear back.

The Church of the Palms’ Shower Trailer Ministry recently passed its 200 showers mark and is currently giving 75-100 showers per month.   The guests are grateful for the chance to clean up, wash their hair, put on clean clothes and they leave with a smile on their face. It has been a very gratifying experience for the volunteers to know they have treated their guests with respect and given them a gift that values them as a person.  The first shower was given on February 23, 2021, at the Salvation Army Church in Surprise.  In June, they began to give showers at Santa Teresita Catholic Church in El Mirage, and in July at Ktizo UCC in NW Phoenix. On Monday evenings, they offer showers to their I-HELP guests. They are currently setting up the shower trailer 10 times a month: four at COTP and six off campus.  

Having missed all of 2020, Encanto Community Church is thrilled to resume their fall season of Cinema under the Stars! On three Fridays in October at 8 p.m., they will screen different Halloween-themed movies outdoors on the front lawn and provide individually wrapped snacks and bottled water, and movie-goers should bring their own lawn chair or blanket. Admission is free, and as always, ALL are welcome! Costumes are optional, too! The line-up for the movies is: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice on Friday, October 1; The Mummy on Friday, October 8; and Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday, October 15. Come for a delightful evening of entertainment and great snacks!

Congratulations to the Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros. A resounding "yes!" was affirmed by delegates at a special meeting held recently to elect her as the next Conference Minister for the Kansas Oklahoma Conference/UCC. She will officially join them on January 1st, 2022.  Lorraine was a member at The Church of the Red Rocks (CRR), then became their Nursery & Sunday School teacher. She went to seminary sponsored through CRR, had her Ecclesiastical Council there and was subsequently ordained there. 

Pastor Brady is very excited about the blood drive that has been scheduled at United Church of Sun City on Monday November 22. Pastor Brady became a blood donor for the first-time last Spring. After testing positive for Covid in January, and positive for the antibodies in February, he gave blood to help with the plasma needed for Covid treatment. He made another donation in June and will again soon.  For those unable to donate, he encourages them to help by recruiting others to donate and volunteer to help at the drive. 

Although chosen before last week’s legislation in Texas and the Supreme Court’s inaction, First Church Phoenix designated its September special offering to The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC).  RCRC is an interfaith, prophetic voice and advocacy for reproductive freedom guided by a vision to co-create a world in which all bodies are honored as sacred, the vulnerability of sexuality and reproduction is treated with respect, and the moral agency of every person’s reproductive decisions or losses are regarded with compassion, trusted as worthy and supported with dignity. 

Prompted by recent events in Afghanistan, First Christian Church in Las Cruces is taking a break from their planned Sermon Series to focus on immigration issues and welcoming refugees. Pastor Bethany will be preaching on this topic  and on Sept 12th, they will have a presentation from Andrew Byrd who is the Coordinator for Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains Refugee and Asylee Programs. He will be presenting ways that FCC can be involved with caring for refugees and asylum seekers in Las Cruces.

Scottsdale Congregational UCC is partnering with First Church Phoenix to celebrate 40 years of Phoenix Pride! They will be representing the UCC at the Pride Parade on Saturday, November 6!