The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 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. The Phoenix gathering was held on Jan 20th at Phillips Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Can you pick out the UCC participants? (Rock Fremont, Shepherd of the Hills; Dr. Toni Hawkins, SWC Conference Minister; Doug Bland, AZ Interfaith Power and Light)
The 2022 spring yard sale at Encanto Community Church will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with proceeds being split between the Church General Fund and Youth Activities. Of course, it will feature all kinds of items including furniture, artwork, clothing, holiday items, collectibles, and clever gift ideas!
At 12 noon on February 7, faith leaders from a variety of spiritual traditions---Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Unitarian, Native American---will lead an Earth Blessing for Environmental Day at the Legislature. At the the center of our gathering will be three chairs, representing those who are most impacted by the environmental crisis yet are the least likely to have a voice:
*The Poor
*Future Generations
*All Nonhuman Life
The theme this year is “Arizona Challenges / Arizona Solutions.” Faith groups like Arizona Interfaith Power & Light and Arizona Faith Network join with more than 20 other groups to advocate for environmental justice. We will have information tables, speakers and will be setting up appointments with legislators. You need not have any experience or be an expert, and you will have a team leader to help you with the legislative meetings. You can register here.
The wider church is invited to create ‘play space’ with the UCC General Minister and President, by engaging in a series of interactive conversations on different topics through May. The full article is really intriguing. Check it out!
Pastor Michael from Casas Adobes has been part of a support team for several peace and justice retreats in Northern Ireland. This year he has been invited to be one of the special guest presenters along with musician, author, and songwriter, David LaMotte, all hosted by Northern Ireland native, author, professor, storyteller (and more), Gareth Higgins. The retreat takes place in Northern Ireland June 19-27 and folks are invited. The particulars can be found by clicking here.
Also, Pastor Michael recently completed a years-long writing project, and released a study guide for the Gospel of John, and you can find it by clicking here.
A Lenten Retreat will be held on Monday, February 27, 2023 from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM at First Congregational in Albuquerque. It is sponsored by the NM Conference of Churches and will be Facilitated by Rev. Lynne Hinton. It will be a morning set aside for silence, reflection, and art. All are welcome to come share a morning considering this season of Lent in 2023 with a focus on dealing with the temptations that pull us away from wholeness. Contact Lynne at lynnehintonnm@aol.com. Or call: 505-220-4594. Registration closes February 14, 2023
An Adult Ed poetry group based on the work of Mary Oliver is starting at Desert Palm meeting on Monday afternoons during February at 1pm in the church library. If you don't know her, come to see what all the excitement is about.
The Church of the Palms knitters and crocheters in the Craft Group have laid aside their ongoing items to pick up something new and needed. Shea Darien has asked them to make Prayer Shawls for her upcoming Grief Sessions here at the Church. The crafters will pass them on to Shea, for her work, when they are finished, then, back to working on hats, soap bags, quilts, and towels, etc.
Some of the folks at Church of the Palms experience difficulty in participating in the worship service because of vision problems. So the church office will now arrange for them to receive an email with the Call to Worship, hymns and other participatory parts of the service that they can load onto their iPad or other tablet. An email with a link to the information will be sent on Sunday morning and folks can click the link and adjust the font size to enhance your ability to follow along with the service and participate more easily.
In 2007, the The Good Shepherd in Sahuarita began giving small loans (around $100) to people in the third world through an organization called KIVA. When one of these micro-loans gets re-paid (the church does not receive any payback or interest), KIVA is then able to re-loan that money. Over the years, the congregation has given $8,300 to be used for loans. To date that money has been able to generate $190,000 in loans.
Citrus Drop Off: Your excess citrus can become important nutrition for Arizona’s hungry throughout the entire state. St. Mary's Food Bank is accepting citrus drop off donations in Shepherd of the Hills’ church parking lot on Saturday February 4th, 11th & 18th, from 9:00am – 3:00pm. Learn More
UCC Webinar—The Indigenous Land Back Movement
The Land Back Movement has been succinctly described as the generations long struggle to put “Indigenous lands back into Indigenous hands.” In this webinar, organizers and practitioners within the movement will place the struggle within the context of dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery and the ongoing work of reparatory justice. Speakers will include Katerina Gea from the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, Angie Comeaux from Hummingbird Springs Farm, and Sarah Augustine who authored “The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery.” Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time on February 8th at 1 pm ET, still sign up, and they will send a link to the recording. Register now