Desert Palm is leaping into a new theme ("Dialogue") this Sunday, so folks may be surprised to see the chairs re-arranged in a 'church in the round' set-up. Instead of a full-length sermon Pastor Tom will be shortening what he has to say and inviting folks to share their own insights and reflections. This idea for a more dialogical worship experience came up in the church’s Visioning work.
First Christian Church in Las Cruces has also adopted a new seating arrangement in their sanctuary. For the time being, chairs are set up around several round tables, encouraging worship to be experienced more communally than in more traditional rows of seats.
Several United Church of Santa Fe Youth (Sasha and Jack Smucker, Jaden and Luke Rand, Nathan Kingston) are playing in various groups with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony the weekend of April 29 and 30. Check out the website (sfysa.org/2023-spring-concerts.html) to learn about which groups are playing when. You’ll hear mariachi, jazz, and classical music throughout the weekend.
At the IRC Welcome Center, the First Church Phoenix team continues to volunteer each Saturday, welcoming asylum-seekers on their journey through Phoenix from the border to their sponsors throughout the country. Generally, about 500 people cross the border in the Yuma region each day and are processed for asylum. Many are “expelled” under the provisions of Title 42. However, with Title 42 scheduled to end on May 11, numbers of arrivals could increase dramatically. More volunteers will be needed and additional donations of clothing items and shoes will be critical. If you are interested in more information on how you might volunteer at the Welcome Center contact Jane McNamara, Chair of our Immigration Task Force, at janehmcnamara@gmail.com
This National UCC online First Ever UCC Earth Day Summit! will take place on Saturday, April 22nd at 11 am ET (8 am AZ, 9 am NM/El Paso). The theme is “What’s Possible?: Earth Day Stories of Hope.” This two and a half hour summit will feature a keynote from the Rev. Jim Antal, a panel of inspiring speakers, the presentation of the Dollie Burwell Prophetic Action Award, and a video showcasing the uplifting story of Mayflower UCC in Minneapolis. Even if you cannot make the event at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it. Register now!
Scottsdale UCC’s own Quentin Hill - Tech Assistant extraordinaire - will be performing in “Rent the musical” at Scottsdale Community College, playing through April 22nd.
The new UCC Grow Your Church board game is designed to get people talking about church vitality through the “Marks of Faithful and Vital Local Churches”. It will help deepen relationships with the covenantal partners with creative conversation. This game is for decision makers and strategic thinkers, and for all people who love their church and want to see it grow in vitality and faithfulness. Ages 12 and up; shipping in June.
First Congregational in Albuquerque is inviting folks after worship on Earth Day, April 23rd, to a time of exploring their relationship with the plants that sustain us. Participants will meet in the music room for a short video and discussion about indigenous peoples’ concept of the Honorable Harvest. Following that, they will carpool to a North Valley Open Space to forage for wild edibles with fabulous CYFM Director Ryan Tate, have a picnic, and learn about acequias and the Rio Grande from the land around us.
Several months ago, with the encouragement of Reverend Drew and the Oro Valley UCC Church Council, a few folks began discussing ways to attract new folks to thier Church. Those discussions centered on increasing our visibility within our community, new ways to bring visitors through our doors and finally, how to welcome those visitors back. Here’s one idea that others might try-
To increase community awareness of OVUCC we decided to submit articles about our Church to local free publications. The first feature article entitled “The Wedding Chapel” also included a history of the beginnings of the Church. This article was sent to and approved for print in several local neighborhood publications.
Those that came to worship at Church of the Beatitudes on Good Friday might have noticed trailers and campers parked in the parking lot. Beatitudes hosted the Los Alamos Youth Group from UCC in New Mexico. On their way back from a mission trip in Mexico, they stayed the night in Nelson Hall to rest before continuing their trip back home.
April is National Poetry month, and this poem was read as part of Black Mountain UCC’s worship on Easter Sunday. The poet had these thoughts during the isolation of the COVID pandemic. They are also reflective of the Resurrected Church.
SMALL KINDNESSES
I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.
and sometimes, when you spill lemons
from your grocery bag, someone else will help you
pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
we want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them for them to smile back. For the waitress
to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,
and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.
We have so little or each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,
have my seat.” “Go ahead—you first.” “I like your hat”
-Bonfire Opera by Danusha Lameris