Kelly McCloskey-Romero will be the guest speaker for a Zoom forum about migrants in detention and broader issues of U.S. immigration policy on Sunday, January 22, at 3pm. Kelly is coordinator of Volunteers for Immigrants in Detention – Albuquerque (VIDA). She arranges visits to asylum seekers who are detained at Cibola County Correctional Center, near Grants, and Torrance County Detention Facility, in Estancia. Kelly also coordinates pen pals for detainees at these facilities. VIDA was established to let the detainees in these two facilities know that they have not been forgotten and that someone cares about them. Kelly will explain why these asylum seekers are being detained, what their living conditions in detention are, and how VIDA participants are developing relationships with these detainees. She will connect this specific situation to broader issues of U.S. immigration policy. This event is being organized by the Immigration Justice Team at First Congregational in Albuquerque. For further information about VIDA visit the VIDA website at https://www.abqvida.org/ The Zoom link for this event is: https://us02web.zoom.us/ j/86942633430
This was a new one for me! The Prostate On-site Project (POP) will be offering FREE Prostate Cancer Screenings through their POP Mobile Unit that will be at Encanto Community Church on Saturday, January 21, 2023, from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. Appointments are required, and screenings will be available to the first 50 men to sign-up. Call (480) 964-3013 to make your appointment.
Associate General Minister the Rev. Traci Blackmon of the United Church of Christ is one of eight new members of the Parliament of the World’s Religions Board of Trustees, the interfaith organization that been working for more than a century to advance its mission toward a more just, peaceful and sustainable world. Read more
As he has done for many years, Pastor Randy Mayer of The Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita makes weekly trips to the refugee shelter and resource center, La Casa, in Nogales, Mexico, to deliver food and other essentials. He has offered to transport and take interested folks from Casas Adobes on a guided tour of La Casa on Thursday, January 26th. Even as current immigration policies remain in a decades-long state of chaos, suffering people from around the world look to us as a beacon of safety and hope. See firsthand the compassionate work being done on behalf of those who seek a better life while awaiting legal entry into the U.S. If you have questions about a La Casa tour please contact Joy Smith, click here or at 989-600-9547.
A “Peace at the Polls” vigil will be held on Tuesday, Jan 10, from 4:30-6 at Wesley Bolin Plaza, 1700 W Washington, Phoenix. In 2022, we registered, empowered, turned out voters, and protected our elections from being sabotaged! Join Arizona Faith Network, the League of Women Voters, other organizers, and a variety of speakers on January 10th to celebrate democracy and continue to advocate for the freedom to vote without intimidation and barriers
Thanks to the generosity of Scottsdale UCC members, Scottsdale Seniors received blankets, sheets, toasters, coffee pots, Forever stamps, grocery gift cards, calendars, puzzle books, clock radios and more. Many folks picked a tag off the giving tree and purchased the items, others donated money directly to the missions team for a total of $600.00! A mission team secret shopper used the money to purchase additional gifts. This bounty was delivered to the Scottsdale Senior center where workers were ecstatic and grateful!
Congregational Church of the Valley’s next Extraordinary Evening of Music is coming up soon, Saturday, February 25 at 7PM. Joining Larry for this very special concert will be a string quartet of Phoenix Symphony musicians, as well as Larry's harpsichord! The program will feature Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", and music by English composers including William Byrd, Michael Head, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. So mark your calendars and plan to enjoy another fun and memorable evening enjoying the talents of these gifted artists. The concert is being presented at the Congregational Church of the Valley, 12001 E Shea Boulevard, Scottsdale.
Water Is Life, an oil painting by the internationally acclaimed artist, Patricia Amlin, is on loan to Rincon UCC during Epiphany. Upon examination the work provides many themes of the season and explores the blessings, the gifts of water experienced in nature and culture. What are you invited to see? To feel? To hear? This is a season when we remember our baptism stories, as we recall the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan.