Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy, President of Pacific School of Religion, wrote to express their sympathy on Rev. Pam Shepherd's death. Read the letter here.

Deadline to register is November 9 (sorry for the late notice; we just learned of this symposium).

November 12 – 14, 2021

The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul

“The snow is falling on the deserted field of my life and my hopes, which roam afar, are afraid of becoming frozen or lost.” Garcia Lorca

This symposium is an invitation to all people on the path of late life to reorient themselves from Hero to Elder, or from role to soul. The call of late-life can awaken in us a yearning for something more, a longing to transcend a role, an identity, or a purpose and connect with something larger. It can invite us to cross a threshold and trade the image of youth for the depth of age, trade distraction for self-knowledge, reaction for reflection, information for wisdom, and a tight grip for an open hand. The themes and practices in this event are based on the new book The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul by Connie Zweig, Ph.D.

Rev. Pamela Shepherd passed away late last night, October 25. We hold her Taos UCC congregation, community, and especially Pam’s family and friends in our prayers.

A memorial service for Pam will be held on Saturday, November 13th, at 10 AM at First Presbyterian Church of Taos (215 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571). There will be a Zoom option for those who can't join in person: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/964597068

For the first time in its 71-year history, the NCC Governing Board elected all women as officers.

The NCC Governing Board also approved the Updated Edition of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSVue) of the Bible.

Last week, NCC also held itsr annual Christian Unity Gathering.

Sue Ringler, one of the first directors of Paz de Cristo in Mesa and founder/leader of the Tempe IHELP program, has died.

Sue was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma in late 2020; after a brief remission in early 2021, it returned and Sue succumbed to the cancer in the early afternoon on Wednesday October 13, 2021, surrounded by her husband Gary, her sister Amy, her children Leslie, Alex, and Katie, her son-in-law Eric, and her friend Robin.

“The Damascus Project is an online learning community open to clergy and lay leaders from across the United Church of Christ. We are a collaborative effort of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Conferences. We have two learning opportunities for clergy and lay people starting in October. And two learning tracks for lay people and MiDs starting in January.”

General Minister and President John Dorhauer leads a virtual tour of the new UCC office space.

Michael is available to walk with your congregation through initial conversations and discernment about beginning the process of becoming a WISE (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaging) Congregation for Mental Health. He’s also available to walk your congregation through the church building and program accessibility audit.

Congratulations to the Rev. Lorraine Ceniceros. A resounding "yes!" was affirmed by delegates at a special meeting held recently to elect her as the next Conference Minister for the Kansas Oklahoma Conference/UCC. She will officially join them on January 1st, 2022.

Congratulations, Rev. Ceniceros!