The Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ asks you to vote yes on Proposition 127. From “in the beginning” [i] God trusted humanity to “tend and watch over” [ii] creation for the benefit of everyone. And God’s covenant is not just with people but includes “every living thing.”[iii] Within this covenantal understanding of the web of life, each person of faith has the responsibility to strive for right relationships among all of God's creation. Passing Proposition 127 protects creation. Passing Proposition 127 is a matter of faith for us, not a political issue.
Read MoreAre you in a UCC church and wanting to begin or expand an Our Whole Lives / Sexuality and Our Faith ministry? Do you need monetary support? Contact owl@ucc.org by Nov. 1 to request an application.
Read MoreTuesday, October 16, 6:30 p.m.
First Church UCC Phoenix, 1407 N 2nd Street, Phoenix AZ 85004
Rev. Bill Lyons has been invited to speak at this event to share why people of faith need to stand with those living in poverty.
Join us for a night of unity as The Poor People's Campaign organizes the interfaith community in the Phoenix metro area to help carry on the work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in the 60's and fight for 140 million people currently living in poverty in America and the many who live in poverty in Arizona.
Read MoreOn November 6 we vote for our lives.
Read MoreMind, Body, Spirit: Linking Lives for Health and Wholeness
The Faith Community Nurse Health Ministry Newsletter
Please pass along to your faith community / parish nurse.
Read MoreThe United Church of Christ has long supported the work of the International Criminal Court, as reflected in our 2005 General Synod resolution. Our support for the ICC is a reflection of our faith values that calls us to defend the most vulnerable, uphold human rights, and build a world in which peace and justice are intertwined (Psalm 85:10) in the vision of Just Peace.
At a time in which human rights and international institutions are under attack, we must speak out to affirm such values and institutions, asserting with clarity our commitment to building a Just World for All.
Read MoreMore than 65 million people, nearly one third of the U.S. population, are family caregivers that provide unpaid care for a loved one. On Thursday, October 18, Duet: Partners In Health & Aging will host the 3rd annual Family Caregiver Symposium—an event meant to equip, empower and celebrate family caregivers. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at First Christian Church of Phoenix, 6750 North 7th Avenue in Phoenix and costs $20 for family caregivers and $40 for professionals.
Read MoreAs people of faith we know that the face of God is in every refugee, asylum-seeker and sojourner in our midst, and we must make sure that our Members of Congress do everything they can to hold the Administration accountable for meeting the 45,000 refugee admissions goal for 2018 and urge the Administration to commit to resettling at least 75,000 refugees in fiscal year 2019.
Read MorePeace events, Widening the Welcome, International Day of Peace, Our Faith Our Vote, Neighbors in Need, and more.
Read Moreby Kathryn Andrews, a member of the Southwest Conference’s Widening the Welcome Committee and Desert Palm United Church of Christ
“What if you raised a child who grew up sunny, loved, and loving, perhaps unaccountably talented, a source of family joy, only to watch that child slowly transform in adolescence into a mysterious stranger, shorn of affect, dull of gaze, unresponsive to communication – and perhaps worse?” This is one of wrenching questions author Ron Powers asks in “Nobody Cares About Crazy People,” the story of his schizophrenic sons.
The book is more than a chronicle of one family’s struggle with a serious mental illness. It also serves as an indictment of our national approach to dealing (or not dealing) with mental illness.
Read MoreRev. Sandi Britton invites all to attend this free event. Be sure to stop by the Valley Hope Treatment Centers booth; she is the chaplain to the Outpatient Treatment Center of Valley Hope in Tempe, Arizona.
Read MoreOn behalf of the Southwest Conference UCC Disaster Ministries I extend our prayers and concerns to our congregations and their communities who are in the path of Hurricane Florence. The hurricane is expected to make landfall during the next couple days along the North Carolina coast. Due to the size of the storm, its anticipated path and its expected “stalling” along the coast, several states will be severely impacted. If you have family and friends in any of these locations, I would strongly encourage that they heed the local and regional warnings being issued by emergency management officials.
You and your congregation may want to extend your compassion and assistance to the areas affected.
Read MoreArizona Faith Network is now recruiting for a permanent executive director.
Interested persons should submit their cover letter, resume/curriculum vitae and three references to the address indicated by 4 p.m. on Monday October 1, 2018.
Read MoreMy name is Bill Lyons and I am the faith leader for the United Church of Christ in the Southwest – Arizona, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. I am here today because the Bible has much to say about how people treat parentless children. None of what the Bible says includes caging or criminalizing them. The Bible calls us to CARE for children – all children – especially parentless children. Care, not cages! Care, not detention! Care, not family separation. Care! Family separation and child detention traumatizes children rather than caring for them. It must stop.
This is what caring for kids looks like:
Read MoreInterfaith Power & Light, United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Women are working on a campaign to support the Clean Car Standards. This effort is focusing on the Ford Motor Co. and some details are in this article along with a link to the petition (where there is a sign up button for individuals and a sign up button for clergy and faith organization leaders).
We’ve got one week to get as many additional signers as possible. Feel free to send this along to other state-based faith organizations for high level clergy and (faith) organizational leader sign-on.
We’re working with Michigan Interfaith Power & Light to deliver the petition to Ford later in September, so we need all sign-ons by Sept. 20th.
Read Moreby Trish Herron, St. Paul's UCC
Saturday the 25th of August, St. Paul’s was represented by four people interested in finding out how justice for immigrants in New Mexico was faring.
Read MoreThursday, September 20, 2018, 6:30 – 8:30 PM MST
Church of the Beatitudes, Nelson Hall
555 West Glendale Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85021
This session examines religious intolerance and how people of faith can resist intolerance in a constructive way. Sponsored by Arizona Faith Network Theological Dialogue Commission and Next Steps Subcommittee, this session will include an open dialogue where we will discuss the reasons why we so often demonize others, the ways our faith traditions contribute to or challenge intolerance, and whether or not there are limits to tolerance. Participants will be asked to commit to adopting one or more actions to resist intolerance in their daily lives.
Read MoreOn a steamy morning in the Arizona sunshine, more than 50 people of faith walked in the footsteps of migrants who traversed the Sonoran Desert in search of a better life. The UCC's Faithful Witness at the Border participants braved 100 degree temperatures on a hike of more than a mile to mark a journey that sometimes ends in death.
Read MoreA brave woman and mother from Central America shared her family's story with a group of migrant justice advocates from several Conferences and Churches across the the United Church of Christ over dinner last week. The conversation with almost 100 people, brought together by the Southwest Conference's Faithful Witness at the Border, took place over a shared meal at the host church, Good Shepherd United Church of Christ, Sahuarita, Ariz.
Read MoreImage credits: Martha Phillips, Rebecca Dickinson, Rev. Traci Blackmon, Rev. Bekah Krevens, Rev. Kelley Dick, and Rev. Jay Deskins
Do you have photos for this gallery? Submit them to Wende!
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