Cited by Pastor Talitha at United Church of Santa Fe for this coming week.
Valentine’s Day Feb. 14
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
-Song of Songs
Ash Wednesday Feb. 14
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
-Psalm 51:10
Save these dates for the upcoming jazz concerts presented by the Arts Council at Church of the Beatitudes.
Sunday, February 18th: Nicole Pesce Quartet and WE3+Shelia Earley
Sunday, March 17th: Beth Lederman Quartet
Sunday, April 21st: Tom Wakeling Quartet
All concerts start at 6pm in the Worship Center at Beatitudes Church.
Suggested donation of $10.
Thank you to First Church Phoenix for re-introducing us to this new church start and its pastor. New Hope UCC is a new church start in Phoenix. Rev. Myra Taylor and her husband, David, moved to Phoenix from Chicago to start a progressive, open and affirming church to minister primarily to the African-American community in Phoenix. Rev. Taylor was a member and deacon of Trinity UCC, one of the largest UCC churches, and later was pastor at Galewood Community UCC in Chicago. She has earned a BA in Psychology and a Master of Divinity. New Hope UCC launched in Phoenix in the Laveen area on April 2, 2023.
The urgency of the climate crisis requires that we act as if our cathedrals and churches are on fire. Indeed, God’s creation can be seen as one grand cathedral on fire with burning forests and rising temperatures. Amid this dire situation, Brooks Berndt focuses attention on the vitally needed gifts churches can offer. This book, offered through the National UCC “resources” explores the following areas in which churches possess potential:
a commitment to care for God’s creation
a scriptural basis in pursuing justice for a planet and its people
a moral foundation for understanding the climate crisis as an inequality crisis
a hope-giving history found in the faith leaders who launched the environmental justice movement
a rich tradition of theology in times of crisis
Each Friday at 5:30 p.m. throughout Lent, folks at Shepherd of the Hills will meet to pray the Stations of the Cross, a 14-step devotion that commemorates Jesus' journey to the Cross. The stations focus on specific events of His last day and are commonly used as a mini pilgrimage as you move from station to station. Come experience each of these stations with a modern-day bent.
And on the lighter side…..
A handy outline of Paul’s letters for your personal devotional (Thank you Pastor Paul from Church of the Palms and several others who shared this last week):
Letting love and light shine on the way to the Post Office
And speaking of Paul…for fifty years St. Paul's UCC has been sharing love and light wherever its members go in Rio Rancho. For our anniversary year members and friends will have fun sharing where St. Paul's continues to let its little light shine with Flat Paul sightings.
