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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreNow that Desert Palm United Church of Christ, Tempe, AZ is nearly done reading Bishop Mariann Budde's Learning to Be Brave, they're inviting the Southwest Conference to jump with them into their next book: Blessed Minds: Breaking The Silence About Neurodiversity by Sarah Griffith Lund.
Rev. Lund is one of the national leaders of the WISE movement, which seeks to broaden the UCC's welcome by reducing the stigma around mental illness, brain disorders and those experience neurodiversity. Rev. Lund has agreed to Zoom with us for a Q&A after we've read and discussed the book among ourselves, so watch for an announcement this summer about that!
Click through for details and the Zoom link.
Read MoreAs a young child, Rindra sometimes faced challenges. “I think I was mostly misunderstood,” he shared. As a middle child, he laughingly attributes some of those struggles to what he calls "middle child syndrome." “It was more than that, though,” Rindra explained, “It's hard when you don’t understand people. There was a language barrier for me as a child.”
Originally from Madagascar, Rindra grew up near Luther House in Albuquerque. His mother and siblings attended the University of New Mexico (UNM) and were active members of the Luther House community. Some of Rindra’s earliest memories, around the age of seven, involve large dinners in the chapel at Luther House. “It was a great place to sit down and have a meal together,” he recalls. As he got older, Rindra would visit his sister Ranja and brother Rado while they were living at Luther House. “I thought Luther House was a place for International Students, and in a way, it was. I didn’t know it went beyond housing and food for International Students."
Click through to read more about Rindra.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreIn April 2024, Jaye walked into Congregational Church of the Valley with her mother. Jaye is a nurse at Mayo Clinic and grew up in Kenya, Africa where her mother still lives.
At the coffee hour, we learned that the village of Ilbisil in Kenya (100 miles south of Nairobi) is in need of a well. People spend half a day going long distances to fetch water to drink and cook. Our people with “world mission” antennas out, said, “Let’s find a way to get a well dug in the village.”
We contacted Wells for the World in Michigan. A wonderful Hydro Geologist has been arranging for wells to be dug in Kenya for years. He makes his living in serving corporations here. He exercises his faith by serving the non-profit he began.
An estimate for digging and getting an electric motor established is about $16,000. Our Hydro Geologist said he has the crew in Kenya and the equipment and will get it done.
We decided to have two fundraisers under the title TURNING WINE INTO WATER.
Click through to read more!
Read MoreAfter three years of war, there is an ongoing need for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. "Compassion on the Border” ministry at Casas Adobes UCC is once again fundraising on behalf of the people of Ukraine through the sale of note cards. The cards, from an original watercolor painted by Marjorie Miller, are available for purchase. All proceeds from the sale of these notecards will be donated to the UCC Ukraine relief fund.
We are very grateful for your continuing support. Contact Michelle Perrin for more information at mmperrin53@gmail.com.
Michelle says, "Marjorie Miller, the artist, is my amazing 102 year-old mother. She was a long-time member of Church of the Beatitudes before moving to Tucson. It brings joy to my mom, knowing that her art can be used for good!"
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreRecently Desert Garden UCC’s Cycles of Kindness program received 32 more bikes, 27 of which came from Rich and Sheryl Hoyt’s friend, Bryce, who purchased them at an auction in Winslow, AZ. They also provided a bike for a man without any transportation who is going through a drug and alcohol program called Life Line. Dr. Gwen Maxfield, a Commissioner for the Veteran’s and Health Services with the City of Surprise, and her husband picked up the bike for this man and presented Desert Garden with a commemorative coin from the City of Surprise recognizing our ministry through the Cycles of Kindness Program. Thanks to your support, Desert Garden is helping meet needs of people in our community.
Read MoreSt Mary’s Food Bank wastes none of the produce it collects. It goes first to food banks in AZ, extra goes to food banks in other states, if it is not edible for humans, it goes to livestock, and if not ok for livestock it goes to Compost. For years, Desert Garden UCC has spent 10 weeks or more gleaning for St. Mary’s with homes around Sun City West, Arizona. We are thankful to help reduce the amount of food insecurity and our neighbors in SCW are very thankful for the knowledge it isn’t being wasted.
Read MoreDesert Garden UCC's 2025 Electronic Recycling Event just concluded and it was a successful four days of collecting broken and used electronic devices and cables of all types. We collected 10,064 pounds of electronics that will not end up in a landfill. This was the fourth year for the recycling and over the course of those four years we have collected 53,685 pounds of electronics.
We are grateful to AZ StRUT who has partnered with us in this program and receives all donated items. We want to express our appreciation to Rich and Sheryl Hoyt, Doug and Patty Nordahl, Tim Anderson and Tab Bomhard for being there on days of recycling to help unload donated items. A big thanks to John Houlette for making posters and flyers for the event. All of you made this the success that it was.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreAttention SWC churches, moderators, and treasurers:
The deadline to submit your information for the UCC Yearbook has been extended to April 11th for those who have not yet completed their reporting. There are also important updates/changes to the process for reporting.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreThrough the efforts of the church community, RE- volv, who assisted with project development, and Capital Energy who installed the solar panels, Desert Garden UCC in Sun City West has gone solar. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held after the Worship Service on February 23, to celebrate the installation of a 47 kW solar array. They are now fully solar and offsetting 100% of their energy use with a total of 114 solar panels. This solar system will save the church over $700K on energy bills over time that they will invest toward their mission to “Love, Care, Share and Serve”.
During his comments to the attendees, Pastor Bill said, “Our decision to go solar represents our commitment to preserving and protecting God’s beautiful creation through being good stewards of our environment and our community”.
In a story from Solar Power World, Sen. Lauren Kuby remarked “With its year-round abundance of sun, Arizona could be the solar capital of the country. This investment at Desert Garden United Church of Christ represents proactive movement toward a clean energy future. And they are not alone. Places of worship across the State are modeling how solar is good for our communities and our wallets.”
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
Read MoreWhat’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.
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!)
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.
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