This year, kids from United Church of Santa Fe will present their very first “Epiphany Puppet Pageant” on Sunday, Jan. 7. They’ll be making the puppets during their Children’s Ministry time on Sundays through December.
The Encanto Community Church Council has put in place a Security Task Force. Guidance for this group’s work has come largely from the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and CISA, all of whom produce a wealth of material and trainings for Houses of Worship to use across the country. ECC has take some specific actions over 2022/23 that are worthy of sharing:
· Meeting with FBI agent and a defensive tactical trainer to assess overall campus preparedness
· Completion of Security Self-Assessment and prioritization
· Annual Evacuation Reviews provided to congregation
· CPR Training provided, 10 congregants certified in '23
· Evacuation Routes posted and maintained
· Key Registry
The Lilly Foundation has awarded First Congregational UCC in Albuquerque a grant to pay for Pastor Sue’s 2024 Sabbatical. The grant will pay for the expenses of her travel from April 1 – July 31, plus it will pay for Rev. Lynne Hinton to fill in while Sue is away as well as for some congregational activities. Congratulations! We can’t wait to see what you have planned!
When two men from IHELP graduated from the program and moved into their own housing, Church of the Palms approved funds to help them set up their apartments. Members provided other furnishings for the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room areas.
Gathering Humanity sets up apartments for refugees who are moving to the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Desert Palm UCC has supported this agency for several years – with church members donating furniture and household items to their Tempe warehouse. If you have items to help stock an apartment kitchen, sheets for a double or twin bed, towels, or small furniture for a living room or other items, please consider donating to this organization. Last week they set up 25 apartments! Usually in December their shelves are full, but that is not the case this year. The Tempe warehouse is located at Located at 510 S. 52nd St #107, Tempe, 85281 and is open Tuesday: 9:30AM–12PM, Thursday: 9:30AM – 12PM and Saturday: 9AM – 12PM. You can also donate financially at their website, www.gatheringhumanity.org. If you are interested in helping to set up apartments, you can sign up on the website, as well.
Take a close look at the visitors on the steps. It seems the invitation from Church of the Red Rocks to “Come Home for Christmas” is reaching their neighbors.
Members of Church of the Good Shepherd in Albuquerque will once again join the Pagan community to celebrate Yule and Mother’s Night. Yule is a pre-Christian, Nordic-Germanic holiday. “Among the time-honored meanings of Yule is the visitation and honoring of the spirits of departed kin and friends, when we set a place for them at the table, reminisce about them and raise toasts. It’s a time to gather friends and kin together, for the living also to honor each other, reminisce about our lives, think about the past and about the future, plan for the year to come, speak our toasts and boasts, and offer gifts to one another.” Traditionally, the first night of Yule is referred to as Mother's Night, a time to honor the female loved-ones (of both blood and bond), referred to as the Disir, who have passed on to the land of the dead. Those attending are invited to bring pictures of, or items associated with, their Disir.