Conference News
This month we are following up on our conversation regarding the nature of ordained ministry in the season of retirement. Included with this introduction are two documents, one from the Manual on Ministry and the other a sample liturgy for honoring the transition from Active to Exempt Standing. Jim Ewing and Dave Stabenfeldt are the hosts for our gathering.
Read MoreWe’re excited to share our new logo with you! Designed by Associate Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Barb Doerrer-Peacock, it represents the beautiful aspects and imagery of our community, spirituality, and geography.
Barb has written a beautiful piece describing the symbolism of each element. Read it here.
Read MoreThough Easter may not look the same under COVID, embrace the journey and the joy of the empty tomb.
Read/watch the message from the national UCC officers.
Read MoreOur new conference office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 am –5 pm.
Our new accountant, Dean Van Gorp, will be in the office on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he will reply to emails and phone messages on those days. You can reach him at financeoffice@uccsw.org or leave a message on his extension at 602-468-3830.
Read MoreWhy reinvent the wheel or work in a silo? Team up with your contemporaries at other churches, along with Wende Gonzales, the relational communications coordinator on the SWC staff! Church volunteers and staff are all welcome to join these groups. Let’s work together to be better!
Read MoreDelegates to the United Church of Christ’s General Synod this summer will have a wide variety of subjects to consider. Among them:
A just peace for Palestine and Israel.
Bail bond reform.
Safety for women, trans and nonbinary people in settings of ministry.
Nature’s rights, and whether they’re on par with human rights.
An end to Robert’s Rules of Order as the way Synod meetings must be governed.
Those are just a few of the topics of 11 resolutions and several UCC Bylaws changes that delegates will vote on July 11-18. All are now posted at the event’s website.
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If, like so many churches, you are trying to figure out who you'll need to push the buttons, what tech to buy and build, and how to do both in-person and live-on-screen worship at the same time, this is the series for you.
Watch them both during the live premieres, or return to the Indiana-Kentucky Conference YouTube channel at your convenience and get the information and help you need to plan and host a hybrid worship service. It's free!
Read MoreThe New Mexico Conference of Churches released this letter signed by judicatory heads, including SWC Minister, Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons.
Read MoreRegistration is now open for the UCC Musicians Association 2021 Conference, July 8-10, 2021
Join us online for workshops, worship services, a wonderful concert, vendors and networking. We will be virtually hosted by the First Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC in the historic town of Glastonbury, Connecticut. From Thursday evening through the Saturday 4 pm closing worship service, we provide a plethora of activities that will enhance your music skills and give you resources and ideas for new ways of expressing God's Spirit in these pandemic times.
Read MoreWhether you are planning a virtual, in-person, or hybrid Vacation Bible School or summer series for children and youth, consider using one of the Global Ministries curricula or resources!
Read MoreFrom the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center: Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders and MSTI Refresher Course
Although focused primarily on the church setting, the skills learned are directly transferable to other settings, including the business and academic worlds.
Read More“We are grateful for UCFs partnership with us, for offering investment opportunities that create a just world for all by supporting local churches’ missions by generating outstanding value-aligned investment performance. Congratulations on over 50 years of ministry among us!”
View the UCF annual report HERE.
Read MoreAs a community of Christian faith, the Southwest Conference is committed to creating and maintaining programs, facilities and a community in which members, friends, Clergy, employees, and volunteers can worship, learn and work together in an atmosphere free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, exploitation or intimidation. The Southwest Conference supports principles of SafeConduct, which include individual responsibility to fulfill the highest standards of personal conduct toward others and to lead and guide the Conference in fulfillment of the standards set by our Christian faith.
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YDS Professor Joel Baden and Berkeley Divinity School Dean the Rev. Dr. Andrew McGowan have created a 4-week Yale Bible Study on the biblical origins of the two holidays. We encourage you to take advantage of this free study in the weeks approaching Passover and Easter, and then join them for a webinar on Tuesday, April 13 at 12:00pm where they will discuss how Easter originated from Passover and how these observances have changed over the centuries.
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Churches ready for OGHS offering in unique ways. Challenging church members, creating calendars for kids, using personal experiences to drive home good reasons for giving. These are some of the ways United Church of Christ congregations are supporting the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
That commitment, always important, is especially so in 2021.
Read MoreSWC Associate Conference Minister Rev. Barb Doerrer-Peacock invites all faith formation leaders to join her in attending this webinar.
Come for a conversation of Children’s ministry in 2021. How are we seeing people connect to the children in their congregations and beyond? What tenets of faith formation do we hold towards our children when faith becomes digital? Join the Association of Christian Educators and Faith INFO Team Lead Chris Davies, with esteemed panelists across the UCC discussing how they engage Children in the life of the church.
Read MoreLong-time Southwest Conference administrative employee Char Lillquist passed away on December 5th in Illinois of pulmonary fibrosis. Her daughter Alisa was able to be with her at the end. Char worked for the SW Conference in the 90's, then the Illinois Conference, the national offices of the UCC, and for two local churches during her career.
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Instead of continuing with two groups...Christ created a fresh start for everybody...bring us together...and that was the end of hostility...peace to outsiders and peace to insiders... treated as and made equals, sharing the same Spirit and having equal access to God. –Ephesians 2:14-18 (The Message)
Co-hosts: Desert Palm UCC (Tempe) and Church of the Good Shepherd (Albuquerque)
Registration opens on March 1. Cost is $100 per church which covers all five delegates, and $20 per person (clergy and guests).
All information and updates will appear on the Annual Meeting page of our website.
Read MoreFrom now until March 15, 2021, we invite your nominations of trailblazers (UCC clergywomen who honor Antoinette Brown’s vision of women in leadership in church and society) as well as catalysts (collectives, projects, congregations, or organizations that serve as provocative spaces that advance women in ministry) below. Honorees will be celebrated at our online General Synod 33 in July 2021. The nomination form is available HERE; completed nominations can be sent to Rev Tara Barber at barbert@ucc.org by March 15, 2021.
Read MoreThe Rev. Talitha Arnold, minister of the United Church of Santa Fe, N.M., is the featured preacher March 21, the fifth Sunday in Lent, and April 11, the second Sunday of Easter, on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally broadcast ecumenical radio program also accessible online at Day1.org and by podcast.
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