Worker bees at Church of the Palms are painting the new donation boxes. The boxes, which are on coasters, are being painted, then will be placed in our the new donation center.
The following memo was received by Church of the Palms from Dysart Community Center Executive Director Annie Ansell:
“Please express our joy and gratitude for all the hard work and gifts given by members of The Church of the Palms. It has been a remarkable partnership. The church has made such a practical difference in the lives of our families and are helping in such a meaningful way to break the cycle of poverty.
Prior to Covid, a small group from the church spent some time once a week with children at Dysart playing games and simply relating to these children during the after-school hours. There would be occasional homework help needed. The staff at Dysart expressed their thanks saying these children enjoy getting attention from adults.”
Conversational English and Spanish classes are held Sundays after worship at Encanto Community Church. The classes are open to non-English speakers who wants to learn basic conversational English, and to non-Spanish speakers who want to learn a bit of conversational Spanish.
Gordon Street, a Commissioned Minister in the SW Conference (and member of First Church, Phoenix), will be speaking briefly during worship on Jan 22nd at Desert Palm UCC and then leading an Adult Ed event on recovery, spirituality, and pilgrimage.
Casas Adobes will hold a huge Church Book Sale on Feb 18th and 19th. Proceeds will benefit CAUCC's Intergenerational Family and Youth Activities.
The winter Racial Justice book study at First Congregational in Albuquerque will be reading Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism (second edition, 2019) edited by Daisy Hernandez and Bushra Rehman. The book is a collection of 30 essays by young women of color on their experiences related to family, community, race, gender, sexuality, religion, national origin, citizenship/immigration status, and other intersecting identities, and how they make sense of those experiences.
Folks from Shadow Rock are traveling to southern Arizona to visit Southside Presbyterian Church, a unique congregation that serves Native, Black, Hispanic, and Anglo families. They will hear from No More Deaths founder Rev. John Fife, the current pastor of Southside, Rev. Alison Harrington, and the pastor of Church of the Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita, Rev. Randy Meyer. These leaders will share their sacred mission of immigration justice. The group will leave Shadow Rock on Saturday January 28 at 11:00 am and return Sunday following worship at Southside.
Join Arizona Bishops along with other judicatory heads for Arizona Faith Network’s statewide celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) 2023. This Prayer Service will be held Friday, January 20, 2023 to celebrate the Annual WPCU, and will be AFN’s first in-person gathering in 3 years. The WPCU, Jan. 18-25, is an annual ecumenical celebration, and Christians around Arizona are invited to pray for the unity of all Christians worldwide; to reflect on scripture together, to participate in jointly-organized ecumenical services, and to share fellowship. Arizona’s statewide gathering for the celebration will take place at 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 20, at Phillips Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 1401 E. Adams St., Phoenix, AZ 85034. The theme for the 2023 celebration is, “Do good; seek justice.” Based on Isaiah 1:12-17, this international theme calls Christians to recognize that the divisions between our churches cannot be separated from the divisions within the wider human family. Click/tap here for Facebook event.
Rev. Dr. Tina Campbell was installed as the Transitional Pastor of Black Mountain UCC last Sunday. She asked that worshippers bring blankets to celebrate the event. Here she is surrounded by donations of warm clothing, warm blankets, and sleeping bags which will be given to the Justa Center. The outpouring was tremendous for a small congregation.
At the last Desert Palm Council meeting, an Accessibility Audit Team was approved and will be starting a Church Building and Program Accessibility Audit. The team will update their 2017 Accessibility Audit and re-evaluate the building and programs for accessibility.
There’s an exhibit at the Coconino Center for the Arts called 25 Million Stitches: One Stitch, One Refugee. It’s a global participatory art project that uses thousands of hand-stitched panels to represent refugees worldwide. It’s meant to bring awareness to the enormity of the crisis. Many Desert Heritage members have made panels for this project. The exhibit will conclude on the 21st of January 2023. Click here for more information.
Open to Southwest Conference members: The Shepherd of the Hills UCC Wednesday Wanderers will resume this Wednesday, January 18, and begin a new book, God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Mirabai Starr. It's never too late to join; if you or a friend might be interested, contact Pastor Rock.
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