Active Shooter Training Webinar
Tuesday, October 14, 11 am AZ / 12 pm NM & TX
Speaker: Chad Cunningham, Insurance Board's Director of Loss Control

Register here.

Some of you might think I can’t spell C.A.R.E.S. correctly. I didn’t follow the order. I began with C – Covenant Relationships, jumped ahead to E – Empowerment through Education, and circled back to R – Resilience and Renewal. Now I arrive at A – Accountability and Alignment: We keep our work true to our mission. I promise I can spell—but sometimes the Spirit of Spellcheck has other plans!

When we hear accountability, we often think of rules, reports, or someone checking up on us. In faith, accountability works differently. It keeps us honest about who we are and what we do. It reminds us that our choices and actions ripple outward, shaping the lives of those we serve.

Click through to read Dr. Derrick’s full article.

PATHWAYS Fall 2025 schedule, six-week courses

• What is the Bible? (Dickinson/MBS)                         9/17/2025

• Professional Boundaries and Ministerial Self-Care   9/17/2025

• New Testament Hermeneutics                                   10/8/2025

• Practicing Our Faith in the Public Square                  10/8/2025

• Living the Heart of Progressive Christian Theology 10/8/2025

• Ecological Theology                                                  10/8/2025

• Preaching Liberation Theology                                  10/8/2025

• Introduction to Spiritual Health (Pastoral Care)        10/15/2025

Go to the PATHWAYS website to learn more and to apply.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) invites you to a webinar for the faith-based community. During this webinar, DHS components and offices will share practical tools and resource information to help you strengthen the safety and security of your places of worship. In addition, participants will be provided an updated threat briefing for the period of Fall religious observances. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. This event is closed to the press.

DHS Fall Religious Observance Safety and Security Briefing

September 9, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm AZ / 12:00 - 1:30 pm NM & TX

Registration link

This webinar is part of the DHS’s 4th annual “Protecting Places of Worship National Weeks of Action.” Throughout September, DHS will host several other webinars intended to empower faith leaders and facility managers to bolster their security. These webinars will focus on topics like:

• Suspicious Activity Recognition and Response

• Bomb Threat Assessment

• Active Shooter Preparedness.

• Surveillance Detection Principles

• Conflict Prevention Strategies

View the full calendar of events and register for other webinars

SATURDAY SHARING with the UCC Musicians Association
Justice in Worship and Music, Part 1

September 27 - 9:00 am AZ / 10:00 am NM & TX on ZOOM

Join UCCMA Board member Dr. Amanda Udis-Kessler for an introduction to her free-use sacred music and the DEI side of her Board role.

In this session, Amanda will introduce her music website queersacredmusic.com with a special focus on new texts written to traditional tunes. She'll also introduce the UCCMA DEI statement and its importance in our current social and political context. Finally, Amanda will draw some connections between DEI, prophetic justice, and the importance and power of inclusive liturgy, drawing from her workshop at UCCMA Conference 2024 and pointing forward to a future Saturday Sharing session about how church musicians might think about inclusive liturgy.

There will be time for a Q&A.

Saturday Sharing is an occasional free, one hour conversation on Zoom with various guests tackling topics of interest to you. Open to all.

INFO & REGISTRATION

Are you someone who has done significant anti-racism work? Do you ever wonder – “How could I get better at recognizing racism when I see it?” “How could I get better at knowing what to do about it?” Then this Community of Practice may be for you. As a group of both lay and clergy UCC members we meet monthly on Zoom from September through May on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 5:30 PM Arizona time.

Each September we welcome new members who would like to be part of the work. You can apply to join this community of practice here.

Click through to see what some members of the group say about the experience.

by Southwest Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Toni Hawkins

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. — Ecclesiastes 4:12

Thank you for your prayers during my recent health challenge.  That experience reminded me of how much we truly need one another. Covenant is not just a church word — it’s the sacred bond that carries us when life feels heavy and celebrates with us when joy overflows.

In the Southwest Conference, Covenant Relationships are the “C” in our CARES framework, and they are the foundation of everything we do. We are stronger when we walk side by side. We are braver when we hold each other accountable to love, justice, and mercy. And we are more resilient when we honor that no one is meant to walk this journey alone.

This month, I invite you to pause and ask yourself: Where am I being called to deepen my covenant — with God, with my congregation, or with the wider church? Sometimes covenant looks like showing up; sometimes it looks like speaking truth; sometimes it looks like simply sitting with one another in silence.

This is the work that makes us the Southwest Conference — a community bound not by convenience, but by covenant.

In my next message, we’ll explore how Accountability and Alignment help us walk in step with our values and keep us focused on the mission God has given us.

In Care and Covenant,

Dr. Toni

Ministry wasn’t my first professional career. I’ve mopped floors as a janitor, watered plants at a nursery, flipped burgers as a fry cook, marched in boots as a soldier and airman, wrangled lesson plans as a teacher, and pushed plenty of paper as support staff. And you know what every one of those jobs had in common? Training. Some class, workshop, or “this is how you do it” moment. You don’t just get handed a mop, a spatula, or a classroom full of teenagers without some instruction (trust me, that would end badly).

Last week in my Loop article, Who Cares?, I reflected on Rev. Dr. Toni’s devotion and the framework of C.A.R.E.S. This week, I want to zoom in on the “E”: Empowerment through Education.

Click through to read the full article.