The next concert in the Extraordinary Evening of Music series has been scheduled for Monday, December 19 at 7 PM at Congregational Church of the Valley. Joining Phoenix Symphony pianist Larry Loeber onstage will be harpist Heidi Hernandez for a diverse program featuring music from composers Halffter, Granados, and Albéniz along with three Celtic songs for voice and harp. And since it is the season, they will include some Christmas music to celebrate. Presale tickets may be purchased online for just $25 by clicking here or by calling 480-451-4565. Free admission for students.
The November Treasure Sale at Church of the Red Rocks was very successful and cleared more than $18,000! The proceeds will be split between Hope House and Rainbow Acres. Coordinators Joy Stouder and Joyce Bethune were recognized during the worship service on November 13 for all the work and hours they put in to make the sale a success.
El Tour de Tucson was held on Saturday and Charlie Wippermann of Casas Adobes rode 32 miles to raise money for Habitat for Humanity Tucson. The funds raised are used to help revitalize neighborhoods in Tucson through affordable homeownership and home repairs. Way to go and thank you, Charlie!
Before Covid, David and Jane Shirtleff from Casas Adobes volunteered to create a Writing Workshop to help the students at Keeling School build important skills, focused on how to best express themselves on paper. They started with a 5th grade class of four girls and four boys. The writing sessions helped them explore what they liked about their favorite authors, different styles of writing (from expository writing to poetry), how to use a dictionary and developing a story structure. Each student completed and shared their work within each workshop session. The goal of each session was to give the students a fun and comfortable environment to express themselves in writing, with private, individual feedback on style, grammar and spelling. The teachers felt the class was so successful, we were asked to come back the following year and provide the workshop to the 4th grade classes. This Fall they are back with a new 4th grade class and have expanded the workshop into two, 8-week sessions to work with 16 students!
On October 25, those in Deming NM who are assisting legal asylum seekers felt the generosity of Los Alamos residents. That afternoon, two vans delivered almost 70 boxes of much needed supplies to their center - run by Colores United, a group of determined and compassionate folks from the area. The deliveries came from the Unitarian Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the United Church of Los Alamos. The group learned that each guest had previously spent 7-10 days in a federal detention center, had been declared a bona fide asylum seeker, and then released to the Deming facility. Most will stay in the shelter for 2-7 days before traveling to a sponsor's community, often in a remote state. With about 200 guests arriving per week, it's an amazing undertaking for a small team in a town of 14,000. The Executive Director, Ariana, was thrilled at the boxes of clothes, shoes, and toiletries that were unloaded, but when she learned that over $6000 in donations had also been collected- that brought tears to her eyes. She explained that her FEMA lifeline of funds had run out for the year and the new money would enable her to pay her staff for another month. The furloughs she'd been fearing could be delayed.
Charles Rodgers is coming back to First Congregational in Albuquerque. Many heard him last year and were deeply moved by his story, so invited him back. He is featured in a documentary called Serving Life about the work he and others did as hospice volunteers while in prison. It is a powerful story and all are encouraged to watch it on Amazon Prime. Charles will be speaking in worship on Sunday, December 4. He will also be speaking about the criminal justice system and prison reform on Dec 3rd at 4pm.
The Phoenix Welcome Center, welcoming asylum seekers and assisting them in the journey to their sponsors, has asked Shadow Rock to provide pumpkin pies for refugees on Thanksgiving. Of course, they said YES.
Youth On Their Own is an organization that helps support local teenagers graduate from high school and youth who are experiencing homelessness. Oro Valley UCC will be partnering with them again this holiday season by collecting underwear and fleece blankets!
Registration for Common Ground on the Border is now open. Take a look to see what the program will entail for this event to be held at The Good Shepherd in Sahuarita on January 12-14, 2023. You can find the registration link HERE.
Scottsdale UCC has agreed to welcome a new Marshallese congregation who will be renting their hall and sanctuary every Sunday afternoon and evening beginning 12/4. They are looking forward to welcoming them, and remember from their past relationships with the Marshallese that they are a very joyful, community-oriented, generous, dancing and singing people.
The Annual Alternative Gift Mission Fair at The Good Shepherd in Sahuarita is the opportunity for the church to support organizations in their region that share their common mission and values; and who serve the people who need it most. This year there are three well-deserving charities from which to choose: all amazing places where ordinary people do extraordinary things for those who are the least, last, over-looked, left-behind, and underserved in our world.
Amado Youth Center, Amado Arizona https://facebook.com/amadoyouthcenter
The Amado Youth Center strives to provide positive, fun, skill-building opportunities for youth
Casa De La Misericordia y de Todas las Naciones, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico https://facebook.com/Casa-De-La-Misericordia-y-de-Todas-las-Naciones-1045724705512316/. The House of Mercy is a place of refuge for people migrating from all over Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. They are waiting for their asylum case to be called for their entry to the United States.
The Dee and Pres Johnson Memorial Probigua Scholarship Fund http://www.probigua.com/about.htm Probigua is a language learning school in Guatemala, where young people can learn languages improving their abilities to find better employment assisting themselves and their families.
On Saturday, December 3rd, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m, Desert Palm will hold a drive-through coat donation event. Donations will go to the Welcome Center in Phoenix to help asylum seekers in the US. Many of them are flying into cold weather locations to be with their sponsors.