Earlier this spring, First Church Phoenix had visitors from Mountain Rise UCC in Fairport, NY. They were interested in First’s work with asylum-seekers, because a member on their Team for Universal Justice “kept insisting that we had southern neighbors in need of our help.” Following a search for a UCC connection to the border, Mountain Rise sent three visitors to First who worshiped with them over several weeks, and shadowed First’s volunteers at the Welcome Center.
Pride Sunday is the last Sunday of June - June 25th this year. UCC Worship resources from previous years can be found on this page. A new Pride Sunday liturgy is available here:
2023 Pride Sunday Worship Liturgy
And here is a Google Doc from the UCC ONA Coalition for a working list of church camps that have a specific focus on LGBTQ+ youth and allies.
As Title 42 ends, UCC advocates prepare to help migrants at border amid widespread uncertainty. This national UCC article mentions The Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita.
Last Sunday, Casas Adobes presented Alex Nava, professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona, to share how faith influences thinking about immigration. You can watch the recording of The Intersection of Faith and Immigration. (Please note that the audio does not begin until the 1:10 marker due to a microphone issue.) Here’s the link.
First Congregational Church in Albuquerque is providing pronoun stickers for folks to add to their name tags.
The state budget signed last Friday by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs includes a $5 million state-based nonprofit security grant program (as originally introduced in Senate Bill 1713) that offers small and medium-sized houses of worship streamlined access to funding to help cover safety costs incurred by increased security threats. As word has spread, Arizona Faith Network has received inquiries about how to apply for the security grants. The grant program will be operated by the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, and as the details of how to apply become available, it will be shared on the AFN website.
click/tap here for AFN's press release about the program
Shadow Rock is excited to host a Phoenix Children's Chorus concert at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 3 in their sanctuary. They are expecting a crowd - yay! If you'd like to attend, please purchase a ticket online in advance. Sneak a peek at the concert flier here.
Black Mountain UCC has launched its $500 Water Challenge! The money raised will be matched by AFN (Arizona Faith Network) who will purchase and distribute water to cooling stations throughout the valley. $500 will purchase one palate of 78 cases of water/48 bottles per case. They are 1/3 of the way there!
Congregational Church of the Valley (CCOV) will not be meeting in person this summer, but for those who prefer in-person worship, they are invited to join Church of the Beatitudes UCC for their 10:30 AM Worship service where CCOV co-Pastor Sandi Anthony will be preaching from mid-June through mid-September.
Funds provided by the Missions & Justice Team at Scottsdale UCC will enable them to assemble 200 first aid kits for Arizona Friends of the Homeless. These kits are basic off-the-shelf first aid kits, but are specifically designed for the types of injuries that homeless people regularly sustain. The kits that Scottsdale has given in the past have been very much appreciated, and AFOH has advised that they are completely out.
Please join Shepherd of the Hills in welcoming a family as part of the church’s work with the Afghan Resettlement project! They have just arrived in Arizona, and are working with us and Catholic Social Services to obtain necessary documentation, health benefits, and language assistance.
From May 31st through June 3rd, six youth from United Church of Santa Fe, along with three adult advisors, will explore the homeland of our Navajo/Diné neighbors just one state over. They’ll learn about the history, culture, and spiritual understandings of one of largest indigenous communities in our country.
“Change for Change” is a collection that the members of Sun Lakes United Church of Christ take up during any month that has five (s) Saturdays. Over the past several years, this money has been donated to several different charities in the greater Phoenix and Chandler areas.
In April of this year, the Change of Change collection help to benent AZCEND, a local Chandler food bank. Along with a check for $300.00 members also contributed non-perishable food items. Below is a picture of Betty Raveret, who took all of the food items along with the check to the Food Bank located in Chandler.