There were six volunteers from Desert Palm at the Welcome Center in the Ropa and Donations rooms last Friday. They only had a couple families in the Ropa Room, so spent almost all of the time sorting clothes, etc. At the end of their time, the bins and tables that had been filled with donations were EMPTY. What an accomplishment! AND... they had a great time visiting with one another! It was a wonderful feeling seeing the bins empty & making sure that racks in the Ropa Room were filled for guests when they arrived.
This past weekend Youth from the Valley Vista HS Football team joined the gleaning team from Desert Garden. 20 team members plus their coach, Derek Wahlstrom, Rich Hoyt and John Riddle gleaned the PROCOP HOA just west of Desert Garden. They did 10 trees collecting around 3400 lbs of citrus.
Congregational Church of the Valley is pleased to announce the next Extraordinary Evening of Music scheduled for Saturday, February 25 at 7 PM! You won't want to miss this performance of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" with members of the Phoenix Symphony and Larry Loeber on harpsichord. These gifted artists will also feature music from selected English composers. Presale tickets may be purchased online for just $30 by clicking here or by calling 480-451-4565. Free admission for students. $35 at the door.
The W.I.S.E. Team at Church of the Palms has developed a checklist for folks to assess their physical safety, mental health resources and much more. This checklist could easily be adapted to other congregation settings. W.I.S.E. Survey (This survey is for their congregation only, so please don’t fill it out if you don’t attend there.)
Join United Church of Sun City for their continuing Speaker Series on February 14th at 11 a.m. and hear Kate Sawert speak on the topic “Beyond Romance: The Many Languages of Love”. Kate began her career as a Physical Therapist and continues to teach in this discipline. But her interest and study has broadened to focus more on older communities and to speak about some of the challenges Seniors face. She currently works with Gerontology Resources as their Thoughtful Engagement Specialist and provides opportunities for one-on-one or small group interactions to focus on activities that bring joy and satisfaction to her clients.
Kate will be speaking about forms that love takes that are beyond our societal obsession with romantic love. Her presentation promises to go beyond the stereotypes we tend to see on Valentine’s Day and to inspire us to pursue love in many areas of our lives.
First Church Phoenix continues to welcome asylum-seekers to the Welcome Center — asylum-seekers who arrive in Phoenix on their journey from the border to their sponsors throughout the country. This past Saturday, First Church volunteers helped 171 immigrants, offering them something to eat, clean clothes to wear, and a shower. Many of the guests last week were “single adults,” people who left families behind in Peru, India, or Russia, though they also saw a number of children, most often traveling with their mothers.
Churches are starting to list Ash Wednesday Opportunities in their newsletters this week:
Pastor John from Casas Adobes will once again be offering "drive through imposition of ashes" in the church parking lot between 9:30 and 11:30 am. He will also be leading an online Reflective Prayer Service at 12:00 noon via Zoom that day. Contact the office for the Zoom link. And there will be a quiet in-person prayer gathering in the plaza area in front of the sanctuary at 5:30 pm where ashes will be given out as folks reflect around a fire (bring your own chair).
First Congregational Albuquerque: Hybrid service at 6 pm.
Ash Wednesday Service at Church of the Palms, February 22, 5 p.m. who will be hosting their sibling congregations: United Church of Sun City, Desert Garden UCC, and Sun City Christian Church. Our Transitional Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Toni Hawkins, will be present as well as the Disciples’ Regional Minister, Rev. Dr. Jay Hartley.
Shepherd of the Hills’ schedule:
Ashes to Go: 7:00 - 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. at Prince of Peace
12:00 noon service at Prince of Peace
6:30 p.m. service at Shepherd of the Hills
Scottsdale Congregational: February 22nd from 5:30 - 6:30 pm in Bond Hall (and hybrid Zoom option). We will begin with a simple soup and bread/crackers meal, and share some brief prayers table-side, along with the receiving of ashes. This practice connects with the ancient traditions from our wider church history, and joins us with many of our contemporary ecumenical partners.
Shadow Rock: Join Pastor Ken outside the sanctuary at 6:00 p.m. for a short service of reflection to begin Lent.
Congregational Church of the Valley: During the season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22, we will be holding a weekly Wednesday night soup and bread dinner at 6 PM followed by a Bible study. After we eat, your pastors will take you on a journey through the Gospel of Mark. Bring a crockpot of your favorite soup to share or perhaps some good bread (and maybe even a little wine), and we will gather for a meaningful time of fellowship and study together. If you have a favorite study Bible, bring that too!
Lent is a time of fasting, repentance, giving and preparation for the coming of Easter. Let us unite in coming together as one body for the Holy Day of the year. Display this sign offered by National UCC Resources in observance of Lent and to proclaim that Christ has Risen.
The Arizona Faith Network invites you to “Connection to Nature: Interfaith Family Event” on Saturday, February 25, from Noon - 2:00 pm at Foothills Christian Church, 3951 W Happy Valley Rd, Glendale, AZ 85310. There will be activities for all ages around the shared value of caring for the earth. Learning and enrichment activities, crafts, games, lunch, and the "Creepy, Crawly, Wild, and Wooly" from the Great Arizona Puppet Theater ( an environmental award winning show featuring stories about endangered species in Arizona - including the Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake, the California Condor, Sanborn's Long-nosed Bat, and a desert tortoise). Admission is free. Please RSVP here.
Meet Mango! Mango is a service dog in training who will be attending church for the first time at Church of the Good Shepherd in Albuquerque. Mango has been training hard and hopes to be Pastor Sarah’s full-time service dog someday. She’s already attended Bible study and small meetings, but this will be her first time at a Sunday service. Mango’s trainer, Kirsten Ralph, will be there to make sure Mango has the best chance at success.
Boy Scout Troop 426, chartered at Shadow Rock, is performing a Flag Retirement Ceremony on Monday, February 13 at 7:00 pm outside the sanctuary. Scouts will be respectfully burning about forty American flags. The congregation and others are invited to attend.
Every Monday night from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Pastor Richard from Congregational Church of the Valley goes with his friend Al Beasley to Florence, AZ to the Cook section of the prison. They practice PRISON CONEMPLATIVE FELLOWSHIP. They greet, then go into Meditation for 20 minutes after being centered by listening to a Gregorian chant. (Fact: 80% of those in prison have no visitors or mail come to them EVER! Visiting “those in prison” was on the social action list of Jesus in Matthew 25 and we can never do that enough.) After meditation, they have over an hour to talk about whatever the men what to talk about: spirituality, loved ones, things they are sorry for, and hope for their future.
Shepherd of the Hills' newest ministry is Missionaries of Charity - a home for the displaced, available to 30 men/women/children, in one of the most marginalized neighborhoods in Phoenix. Their commitment is to prepare and serve dinner on the third Monday of every month.
Taos UCC announces their new website:
When the founding pastor of Taos United Community Church, Rev. Pamela Shepherd, died suddenly in October 2021, there were those who didn't think the church would survive. We have survived and are thriving. One sign of this transformation is the church's new website and new web address. Please come and see! We are now - taosucctoday.org.
Casas Adobes’ monthly hiking group went to Tucson Mountain Park to hike the Yetman Trail via the Camino De Oeste trailhead. They stopped at the Bowen House, ruins of a 1930’s ranch house, for contemplation before heading back.
