Some recent items of interest at our churches:

Thank you all again for all of your support, your prayers, and your good wishes. 

Our first Christmas Eve Service was a beautiful candlelight service of readings and carols. 41 people attended. When we blew out our candles after singing Silent Night, one little girl shouted, “Let’s do it again!”  Her mother tells me they felt welcome here and will be coming back. Please pray with us for our church children and their families, that God will show us how to build the church they need.

A narrative non-fiction workshop
Rincon Congregational UCC
Facilitated by Rev. Delle McCormick
Wednesday, January 24, 5:30-7 pm

Church of the Painted Hills in Tucson is the place to be!

Divine Joy Yoga: Mondays and Thursdays, 9 am

Centering Prayer: Fridays, 12 pm

Qi Gong: Fridays, 1 pm

The 2018 Souper Bowl of Caring is about to begin in Sun City. 

The Forum at Casas Adobes Conregational Church
January 21st, 11:30, McNear Hall

The 2018 Forum series leads off with a presentation on Battling Hunger in Tucson. Food security is a global issue, but there is stark evidence of the problem here in Tucson. More than 187,000 people (15.4% of the area population) were identified as food insecure in a 2014 government survey.

Program speakers will be Marco Liu, Director of Family Advocacy and Outreach for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, and Curt Balko, Interfaith Community Services Food Bank Coordinator.

Got new gadgets for Christmas? Time to clean house! The Shadow Rock Justice Action Team, partnering with AZStRUT will be collecting your "no longer needed" electronics on Saturday, January 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and on Sunday, January 21, from 8:00 a.m. to noon.

January 12th and 13th at the Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita

Common Ground on the Border & Border Issues Fair is a two-day event(January 12 and 13th), featuring classes in art, music and a variety of lectures. Common Ground on the Border and the Border Issues Fair, gives space for people to participate in the entire experience or just parts of it.

Saturday, December 23rd
2:00 PM at Rincon Congregational UCC

Siblings Bellamy and Richard Bailey (harpists), along with friends Renee Li (pianist) and Genevieve Tranum, will be performing in concert on Saturday, December 23, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of our church.  The concert, featuring classical, jazz, and world music, as well as Christmas favorites, is being held in support of Rincon UCC’s hospitality program.  The concert is free, and free-will offerings will be accepted and donated entirely to the individuals who receive assistance from our church’s hospitality mission.

From Taos UCC:

Dear Rev. Bill Lyons and Friends in the Southwest Conference,

Thank you for your second quarterly installment of our New Church Start Matching Funds Grant. Your very generous grant is helping us build a progressive, social-justice-oriented community of faith in Taos, NM.  Our mission is simple: A Just World for All.  Together we believe another world is possible, and somehow, in God, it is already here. Your grant will be used to support a community that works to create a healthy, more just world, through our work in climate justice, economic justice, and immigration justice.

Here is a brief update on what we’ve been doing:

On November 14, the Church of the Palms' Social Justice Team (SJT) will visit the Refugee Focus campus in Phoenix. Refugee Focus is a division of Lutheran Social Service of the Southwest and is supported by many local churches. The SJT has identified it as an organization with which it plans to partner. This visit will point out ways to do that.

Agape means Love. We live in a world overwhelmed with divisiveness, pain, and confusion....Now more than ever, it is time to come together in the Spirit of Love, Good Food, Laughter, Inclusiveness, and Inner Peace.

Introducing the 2nd in a series of monthly Agape Gatherings:

Agape Meal and Open Mic!
Vegetarian Main Courses are provided: please bring sides, drinks, or meat dishes if you like:)

Thanks to David Huisjen for sharing these photos.

Sunday, November 12, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Fran and Dave Buss want to invite you all to Fran Buss’s big book party-launch to celebrate the publication of Memory, Meaning, and Resistance, Fran’s sixth book “40 years in the making.”

From Rev. Pamela Shepherd:

Thanks to everyone who made Taos UCC's Earth Justice Sunday so joyful.