Rev. Teresa Blythe, ordained UCC minister in the SWC, spiritual director, author, and blogger, recently was a guest on the Canadian podcast "Pew & Beyond" talking about her book, 50 Ways to Pray.
Read More![Memorial Service for Jean Brady](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/552a993ce4b0c842cdb585ad/0bad5b99-ddef-4f97-b1d4-f62ce7e01d7f/Jean+Brady.jpg)
Conference News
Rev. Teresa Blythe, ordained UCC minister in the SWC, spiritual director, author, and blogger, recently was a guest on the Canadian podcast "Pew & Beyond" talking about her book, 50 Ways to Pray.
Read MoreThe Rev. Cameron Barr, chair of the United Church of Christ Board, has issued the following report on the board’s recent meeting. He is senior pastor of United Church of Chapel Hill, a bilingual and multicultural UCC congregation in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Read MoreThe UCCMA is a vibrant national grassroots organization of musicians and pastors who continually seek new ways to worship, connect and uplift people through music and the arts. Since the organization came into being in 1993, it has been committed to increasing its footprint in the lives of our UCC congregations throughout the denomination.
Read MoreAs God calls our congregations to be the church in new ways, your generosity will plant new churches, awaken new ideas in existing churches and develop the spiritual life in our youth and young adults. Most congregations will receive the STC offering on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022. The Southwest Conference will retain ½ the total collected in the conference to fund SWC projects.
Read MoreJean Brady, a former Annuitant Visitor and spouse of the founding pastor of Church of the Painted Hills, Rev. Dr. D. Joseph Brady, died on August 14, 2021. Church of the Painted Hills will hold a memorial service for Ms. Brady on Saturday April 9th at 10:00 AM at the church, 3295 West Speedway Blvd. Tucson.
After Rev. Brady’s retirement in1987, the Bradys served the church as Annuitant Visitors in Southern Arizona, a service Ms. Brady continued after Rev. Brady passed away in 2007. The church invites anyone touched by the lives of the Bradys to join them for this time of remembrance.
Read MoreWebinar: Protecting Places of Worship: A Religious Observance Briefing on Safety and Security
March 22, 2022 | 5:00 - 6:15 p.m ET [2pm AZ / 3pm NM/EP]
Read MoreThere are seven positions in the SWC listed on the UCC Ministry Opportunities web page. Check them out!
Read MoreGrounded in the health and human service organizations of the United Church of Christ, the Nollau Leadership Institute program offers a unique space in which to experience leadership formation. For more than 20 years, Nollau and its predecessor institutes has brought together a community of leaders committed to justice, collaboration, and possibility.
Read MoreThis year's One Great Hour of Sharing special offering is just around the corner. They’ve provided loads of resources for worship, online promotion, and print items, too.
Read MoreIf you’re still searching for a devotional for Lent, check out this one from the New Mexico Conference of Churches, The Gathering of Stones.
Read MoreSerene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary and ordained Disciples of Christ and UCC minister, will be speaking at ASU on Thursday, March 31st at 4:00.
Read MoreFrom Conference Minister, Rev. Bill Lyons:
Last Friday the CDC issued new COVID19 guidance and a set of accompanying tools. The popular interpretation has been that masks no longer need to be worn. Not exactly, especially for churches.
The memo included here will help you congregation interpret the CDC’s latest guidance and point you to the tools they released. I am at your service to clarify the SWC recommendations suggested in this latest memo.
Read MoreLearn about the daily work and life of La Casa Misericordia from Sr. Lika. Learn from members of the Cruzando Fronteras steering committee how you and your church can support ministry to our with our migrating neighbors. The SWC partners with the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona and the Grand Canyon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in this ministry.
Read MoreMany people and organizations want to come together across racial and ethnic lines, but they don’t know how to get started. ASDIC grew from a desire to be such a catalyst. ASDIC helps individuals and organizations do the difficult work to understand and deconstruct the deeply embedded and painful stories of race in our society. Our mission is to bring people together to build community, while also developing the knowledge and skills to effectively address racism, through shared study and dialogue. ASDIC is dedicated to the vision of a racially just society, supporting individuals and organizations as they Learn, Reflect, Transform.
Read MoreConference staff and standing committee members were the first participants invited to complete the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). SWC clergy with standing, moderators, treasurers, and other church leaders are being invited to participate in a second round. The IDI assessment will help the SWC recognize our underlying developmental orientation (collective starting point) as we seek to build our conference's intercultural competency. Trainers from ASDIC will walk us through what the IDI tells us about ourselves.
Read MoreA conversation with Ken Heintzelman (Shadow Rock, Phoenix) about sponsoring a family from Afghanistan. Hear about how connections from the congregation brought the Elham family to our attention, the drama of their journey from Afghanistan and Beijing, and our work with Lutheran Social Services.
Ken will also share a bit about encouraging family autonomy and good boundaries with church volunteer leadership.
Read Morewith Karen Richter
Information session for Our Whole Lives Adult and Older Adult curricula with the SWC’s OWL trainer Karen Richter. We’ll take a peek at OWL values and program assumptions with an emphasis on the curriculum for older adults (55+).
Workshop will include information for congregations on a conference-wide series coming this fall.
Is there really that much for adults to learn (and un-learn) regarding sexuality? You betcha.
Read Morewith Rev. Dr. Donna Cavedon and Rev. Rich Doerrer-Peacock
Our focus in this workshop is unearthing an old concept called “Elderhood” and reintroducing that idea into our world today. While aging is a physiological process that happens to everyone with the passage of time, “eldering” is not. Elderhood is a result of intentional practices and spiritual deepening as one chooses to let go of various roles and achievements, and move more deeply into soul healing and life integration.
This is a topic of importance for those who are retired, those on the cusp of retirement, and those who are curious enough to explore more about what it means to be an Elder in our world.
Read MoreFacilitated by Rev. Tom Martinez
In keeping with our theme of Pilgrimage, this workshop is designed to get folks reflecting on trips you've already taken. This would, of course, include intentional pilgrimages to sacred sites, as well as trips that only through hindsight have proven to be important steps on your spiritual journey.
Read MoreIn this workshop we’ll share our plans and multifaceted purposes for our adventure (July 15-20, 2022 at Bishop’s Ridge Camp and Retreat Center, just south of Santa Fe), details for participants and registration info, and how churches can support this experience at home through meditation, prayer, sacred conversations, and even personal pilgrimages or “pilgrimages in place.”
Read More