Congratulations! Rev. Teresa Blythe, director of the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction at First Church UCC Phoenix, and Rev. Chad Abbott, Conference Minister for the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the UCC, have written “Incline Your Ear: Cultivating Spiritual Awakening in Congregations” (Fortress Press, 2021) to encourage spiritual growth and vitality in faith communities in a listening pursuit.

Rev. Susan Valiquette at First Church UCC Phoenix was quoted extensively in this article on “Jesus and Justice” and the future of the church — it was published online May 30 and on the front page of the Arizona Republic on Saturday, June 5. If you have a subscription, you're able to read it here.

Video and resources from the June 9 webinar.

A message from Lombard Mennonite Peace Center:

We are so excited to be returning to an in-person format for our Mediation Skills Training Institute (MSTI) on August 2-6, 2021 here in the western suburbs of Chicago! This will be a hybrid event, so for those who prefer not to travel, we will also continue to offer remote attendance via Zoom.

Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons marched and spoke against anti-Semitism Sunday night in Tucson with Rev. Susan Valiquette and Rev. Drew Terry. Read his remarks in this article.

June is Immigrant Heritage Month! Join us to #CelebrateImmigrants by honoring and lifting up the contributions of immigrants of all backgrounds. This month provides people across the country an opportunity to explore their own heritage and celebrate the diversity that forms the unique, rich American experience.

This last week has been very exciting for the Hope House of Sedona!

World Refugee Day is coming up June 20th. Please join people of faith for a virtual vigil to support refugees and asylees on June 14th at 7-7:30 PM ET #WorldRefugeeDay2021 #RestoringWelcome #WelcomeWithDignity

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/wq4aK4bm7QiomrkP7

Church of the Palms begins providing showers at a second site, and will also bring the shower trailer to the annual Day of Freedom event celebrating Juneteenth at the Tempe Corps Salvation Army.

Pima County Interfaith invites you to an important Civic Academy explaining the proposed Arizona Flat Income Tax and Arizona Budget, to be held June 8, 2021 from 6:00-7:30 PM. This meeting will be held via Zoom. Please register in advance.

The UCC’s Justice and Local Church Ministries is among dozens of Decision Day cosponsors. So is the UCC’s Open and Affirming Coalition. They are urging people to sign up here for the rally and town hall. Those who do will be notified that morning. “The Court doesn’t announce in advance which opinions will be issued, so we won’t know Decision Day until that morning,” organizers wrote at the event’s website.

Letecia and her young baby got off the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) bus at the Welcome Center at 10am this past Saturday, the day each week that First Church volunteers help out with all of the various tasks that are part of welcoming new asylum-seekers to Phoenix. Like so many others, she had crossed the border at Yuma after leaving everything she had behind. Everything except the baby.

In the spiritual alchemy of wisdom and insight, sometimes humor and empathy go hand in hand. The Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs wrote a satirical masterpiece earlier this year that provokes one to consider, "How would I feel if someone put an oil pipeline through my home?" Jacobs was inspired to write by a comically doctored photo and an accompanying headline that announced, "Anishinaabe Leaders Approve Oil Pipeline through Governor’s Mansion."