Church News & Events
Share your news!
Pending review, we’ll publish it on the website and our weekly newsletter, In the Loop.
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Wende reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond.
Tag SWC and Wende on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Shadow Rock hosted a town hall with four U.S. Representative answering questions and responding with respect and compassion!
Hundreds of community members came together in Phoenix to demand answers—and they made one thing clear: Trump and Congressional Republicans are making life harder for working families.
From rising costs for groceries, health care, and utilities to attacks on immigrants and basic rights, people are feeling the impact every day. While billionaires get tax breaks, our communities are left to pick up the pieces.
But instead of staying silent, people showed up. They asked hard questions. They organized. And they’re building the power needed to hold leaders accountable and fight for a future that puts people first.
This is what people-powered democracy looks like.
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Wende reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond.
Tag SWC and Wende on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Wende reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond.
Tag SWC and Wende on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Wende reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond.
Tag SWC and Wende on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Wende reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond.
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wendeby Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Tag SWC and Wende on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Wende reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond.
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Tag SWC and Wende on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Electronic recycling: Friday and Saturday, March 20–21, 9:00 am–3:00 pm
Desert Garden UCC and AZStRUT (Arizona Students Recycling Used Technology)
18818 N. 128th Avenue, Sun City West
Desert Garden is partnering again with AZStRUT to aid the community in the recycling of used or non- working electronics after collecting 10,064 pounds of electronics in four days in 2025!
The items that will be accepted include, but are not limited to, audio or video equipment, answering systems, cable boxes, cables and wires, digital or film cameras, calculators, computers, cell phones, telephones, copiers, printers, and DVD players. $40.00 will be charged for any CRT (tube TVs) or rear projection TVs donated to help defray costs for recycling safely.
A complete list of items can be found on the website www.azstrut.org, along with the security measures taken to wipe out information on devices.
AZ StRUT was started in 1997 by Intel and Motorola to get used equipment out to Arizona schools and nonprofits. The company works with school programs teaching students about computer repair and refurbishing efforts. In 1998 AZ StRUT received 501(c)(3) status and started providing A+ certification training for the teachers and those programs.
More Than Community
Joan, who describes her younger self as “a sort of angsty kid,” journeyed through doubt, atheism, self-exploration, and transition before discovering a “different kind of Christianity” later in life. In 2024, Joan joined her local UCC church in Phoenix, AZ, where she was celebrated for who God made her to be and baptized into her new faith.
Joan first noticed The Open Table Connection campus ministry while scoping out the University of New Mexico. “I drove past a little house covered in pride flags and thought, I’ll probably end up going there someday,” she laughed. When she met Pastor Rhonda at the campus club fair and learned about the Open Table Connection, “it just felt right.” She began attending Thursday dinners, where she said she found “a wonderful sense of community on campus.”
“Community isn’t just something that feels good, though,” Joan emphasized. “It’s something that keeps you safe.” As a trans woman finding her place in a new city, that sense of safety meant everything. “I have one less thing to constantly worry about,” she shared. “I know I have people who care about me and a roof over my head where I can be my true self. That’s a big deal.”
Her time living at Luther House has deepened that feeling of belonging. “It’s the little things,” Joan said softly. “Coming home after class and chatting with my roommates, sharing a meal, hearing about their days. It’s a space where I feel entirely comfortable. That is rare for me.” She also finds spiritual meaning in the shared meals. “Communion is such a beautiful reminder that we’re called to sit down and eat together, to share what sustains us, both food and Christ, and that is what we do on Thursdays.”
Today, Joan describes herself as more confident, purposeful, and grounded in her faith. “Having this environment to flourish in,” she reflected, “has translated into every area of my life. As a student, as a professional, as a young woman learning how to be in the world.” She credits The Open Table with giving her both spiritual and emotional security. “It’s a place that inspires me to be the change I want to see,” Joan said, smiling. “I’m confident in the woman I’m becoming, and I’m very excited to meet her.”