Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreJanuary 4, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. in-person and on Zoom
Shadow Rock UCC, 12861 N. 8th Avenue Phoenix, AZ
Shadow Rock UCC's pastor Ken Heintzelman will participate in a panel discussion about Christian nationalism at the Secular Summit 2025.
This annual event draws members and supporters from around Arizona for a day of education, advocacy, inspiration and activism, all centered on the theme of building bridges within the secular community and beyond.
Speakers include Matthew Taylor, author of The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy; Talia Lavin, author of Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America, a panel discussion featuring faith leaders committed to fighting Christian nationalism, and more. Food included!
Read MoreSun Lakes UCC collected toys again this year for Matthew’s Crossing, a local food bank located in Chandler, AZ. The mission of Matthew’s Crossing is to provide food and other basic necessities to our neighbors in need as we work to unite our community in the fight against hunger.
The age range for the toys was infants to teenagers so Sun Lakes collected a wide variety of items such as dolls, toy cars, books, basketballs, and footballs that volunteers delivered to Matthew’s Crossing prior to Christmas.
From the bounty in these photos, Sun Lakes UCC feels that many children in the Chandler area will have a very happy Christmas.
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
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AFN would like to thank the many people who made the 2024 Annual Gathering a success.
If you weren't able to attend, here's a link to the Annual Gathering Program and here's a YouTube recording of the program portion of the event (here's a link starting at the beginning of the keynote address from Rev. Eugene Cho)
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
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“Ebenezer Scrooge is the literal worst. And it will take some serious fabulosity to turn this ChristMESS into a ChristYAS. Can three otherworldly specters show this humbug the true meaning of Christmas? The iconic Dickens ghost story of Christmas gets turned on its head in this inclusive, timely adaptation of the classic that explores what it means to walk among your fellow humans regardless of how they look and who they love.”
All Queer Shakespeare’s debut show features the national premiere of the off-Broadway sensation, “The Christmas Carol: A Queer Fantasia,” penned by the talented NYC playwright James Cougar Canfield. All Queer Shakespeare, Arizona’s first all LGBTQIA+ Theater Company, was founded by Arizona's local media personality and Scottsdale Congregational member, Monica Sampson, featuring a core company of the valley's top Queer Artists.
Catch the show December 13th through December 21st with a pride night on Wednesday December 18th at Scottsdale Neighborhood Arts Place (housed at Scottsdale Congregational), 4425 N Granite Reef Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Buy tickets online here. Use the code UCC at checkout for $5 off ticket prices.
Click through to learn more.
This show is rated PG-13 with the use of adult language and themes of homophobia and death.
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
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What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
Read MoreJanuary 16–18, 2025
The Good Shepherd United Church of Christ
17750 S. La Cañada Drive, Sahuarita, AZ 85629
This year’s theme is “From Border to Belonging: A celebration of commitment, compassion, and community across the US/Mexico borderlands.”
The United States-Mexico borderlands has always been a beautiful mix of culture, language, cuisine, economies, and people. It has also been a place of struggle, high and low temperatures, a fragile environment, and the push and pull of immigration. The Borderlands is the perfect place to explore the arts, touch the culture, and have deeper conversations about the complicated issues that collide here. We hope you will come and explore with us all the possibilities.
See details and register here.
Read Moresubmitted by Rev. Dr. Joyce Buekers
Friday, November 15, 2024, 10am
Church of Beatitudes. 555 W. Glendale Ave, Phoenix AZ 85021
The reception will be held following the service. Please RSVP on the Foundation for Living Medicine Foundation website.
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
Read MoreNovember 9, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
14808 N Boswell Boulevard
Sun City, Arizona 85351
The Church of the Palms’ LGBTQ+ Ministry Team commits to an annual Transgender Day of Remembrance to memorialize the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence, hatred or prejudice during the last calendar year.
This year, the opening speaker will be Elgie Gonzales, her topic “Othering and Belonging.” There will be a reading of names of the people who have experienced a confirmed violent death in the last year, followed by a panel of several representatives from the transgender community and Mama Dragons to encourage attendees to ask questions to gain understanding and additional knowledge. The panel will be moderated by Elgie Gonzalez.
This secular event is open to everyone regardless of their faith or no faith. The hope for this time of remembrance is of increasing awareness and understanding of our transgender siblings.
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
Read MoreDr. Myra has been officially installed as Senior Pastor of New Hope UCC of Phoenix!
The service was on Saturday, October 19 at Church of the Beatitudes UCC, where New Hope UCC is currently worshiping.
If you weren’t able to attend or watch live, here are links to the recording on Beatitudes Church’s Facebook or their website.
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Desert Palm UCC will celebrate John & Holly Herman’s ministry this Saturday afternoon.
Watch the interview with John & Holly!
Read MoreWhat’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
Read MoreWhy abolish private prisons? The better question is why were they allowed to exist in the first place? Private for-profit prison corporations make more money for their shareholders when more people are incarcerated. The perverse financial incentives encourage mass incarceration with longer sentences, while discouraging early release for good conduct, alternatives to expensive incarceration, and rehabilitative programs that decrease recidivism.
The United Church of Christ believes “Because we are followers of Jesus, we are called to be present as ambassadors of healing, restoration and justice in jail cells, courtrooms, booking rooms, prison yards and detention centers.” There is a basic conflict of interest in profits vs. human rights.
Want to know more? Come hear John Dacey of Abolish Private Prisons discuss the impact of private for-profit prisons on our criminal justice system:
Saturday, November 9, 9:00-10:00 am
King Hall at The Church of the Palms UCC
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