Church News & Events
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Pending review, we’ll publish it on the website and our weekly newsletter, In the Loop.
Holly Herman 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. (Thanks, Holly!)
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.
Friday, November 14th at 6:00 pm in McNear Hall: Pastor John and David LaMotte will be hosting an intergenerational dinner event. David LaMotte will lead a discussion and activity on Why We Don’t Need Heroes centered around a moment in history with Rosa Parks. We will have pizza and salad together then join in the fun and learning. Please RSVP so Pastor John knows how much pizza to order by Wednesday, November 12th, 4:00 pm. Please click here to register to attend. Join the good food and laughter.
Saturday, November 15th at 3:00 pm in the Sanctuary followed by a reception: David LaMotte will be hosting a concert of his songs and providing stories about his work in Guatemala. Admission is free and open to the public. A goodwill offering will be taken to support Senderos Guatemala (David's Charity in Guatemala) and Compassion on the Border (Charity of CAUCC supporting immigrants in the Tucson area). A selection of David LaMotte CD's will be available for purchase. To donate now, click here, and add a note to your donation that says concert.
Sunday, November 16th
9:30 am: David LaMotte will be joining us in our worship service with music. Our worship service is live-streamed if you are unable to be with us in person.
11:00 am: Learning@11 with David LaMotte. Join us as David discusses his book, You Are Changing the World: Whether You Like it or Not. Learning@11 is on Zoom if you are unable to join us in person. Please click here to register for this event.
11:00 am during Funday School online, join us on Zoom this Funday School link and hear David Lamotte's Ted Talk on Why We Don’t Need Heroes. All are welcome to join in this intergenerational online discussion of his video.
Holly Herman 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. (Thanks, Holly!)
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.
Holly Herman 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. (Thanks, Holly!)
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.
Generations
Like his siblings, Rado’s first experiences at Luther House began in childhood. He grew up attending dinners with his mother, Rijasoa, and visiting his older sister, Ranja, during their time at Luther House.
“Before I started college, it wasn’t really my choice to go to Luther House. It was just a place that we went to eat and hang out,” Rado recalls. “After I moved in for college, though, it became my choice. I liked living at Luther House because I couldn’t drift too far away from my church. It matured my faith and kept me grounded. I basically came home to church.”
Rado is now an alumni member of Luther House/The Open Table Connection, and he and his family are part of a generational legacy in the campus ministry. Their love and welcoming spirit have helped shape its culture.
He remembers the radical hospitality he practiced as a student resident. “We would have all kinds of conversations about religion, sometimes late into the night,” he says. He laughs as he recalls one long, friendly conversation with other students who were evangelizing in the neighborhood. They ended up talking until around midnight and becoming friends. “I’m not sure where else that would happen,” he adds with a smile.
Today, Rado carries that same radical hospitality into his work and everyday life. He remains committed to his lifelong home church and credits the experience of living in community at Luther House with shaping and strengthening his faith journey.
“Radical Inclusion through the Arts” series kicks off in late October
Honoring the role art and spirit play through music, poetry, literature, dance and more, Desert Palm United Church of Christ’s “Radical Inclusion through the Arts” featured artist series is designed to foster growth to those embracing their spiritual journey.
As part of its mission, DPUCC offers a variety of creative arts to educate, heal, unite, inspire, and bring the gospel alive in the hearts of our congregation and the community at large. “We worship the Creator and, in many ways, we are co-creators who can celebrate the artistic talents that help us enrich each other’s lives,” says Rev. Dr. Tom Martinez, Senior Minister at Desert Palm.
In the first of this special monthly series, Marc Gaston, Desert Palm’s newly commissioned Minister of Music and the Arts, will share his own personal story as it relates to his love of the arts (including music), followed by shared music and a communal dinner in Desert Palm’s Mission Hall.
Holly Herman 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. (Thanks, Holly!)
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.
Tuesday, October 21, 2:00 pm at Desert Garden UCC, Sun City West, AZ
Reclaim the Flag is a bold and timely documentary that explores how the American flag—once a symbol of unity—has become a contested emblem in today’s cultural landscape. Through deeply personal stories and historical insight, the film invites viewers to reflect on what the flag means across different communities. One of the film’s most powerful threads highlights the LGBTQ+ experience, examining how queer Americans have both challenged and embraced national symbols in their fight for recognition, rights, and belonging. From Pride flags flying alongside Old Glory to protests that reimagine patriotism, Reclaim the Flag amplifies voices that have often been left out of the national narrative.
Whether you're passionate about social justice, civic dialogue, or simply curious about how symbols shape identity, this documentary offers a compelling lens into one of America’s most iconic emblems. Watch Reclaim the Flag and join the conversation at Desert Garden UCC, Sun City West. It’s not just about reclaiming a symbol—it’s about reclaiming the promise it represents.
This year, during the Season of Creation, First Congregational United Church of Christ in Albuquerque, NM dedicated an entire month of Sundays to exploring the sacred relationship between faith and the environment. Guided by the Green Justice Team, our congregation entered into a time of reflection, reverence, and renewal, celebrating the beauty of God’s creation while acknowledging the urgent call to care for it and the extinction crisis.
Throughout the month, our worship services focused on different aspects of the natural world, each one revealing new layers of spiritual meaning and ecological awareness. We began by meditating on the desert, a landscape that holds both scarcity and promise. In the dry and rugged places, we were reminded of God’s power to bring renewal, just as rain revives the parched earth. From there, we turned our attention to the trees, ancient and steadfast witnesses to God’s creation. As some of the oldest and most significant of Earth’s companions, trees invited us to consider our own rootedness in God’s love and our responsibility to nurture life wherever we are planted.
Click through to read more!