First Congregational Albuquerque screened the documentary on October 11. Next up: Desert Garden UCC in Phoenix and Oro Valley UCC.
Read MoreSamaritans screenings across the Southwest Conference
in Church News
Church News
Jottings 10/5/2026
in Church News
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.
Read MoreAccess Funding for Enhancement Opportunities
in Church News
From Rev. William G. Utke, Pastor and Teacher at Desert Garden United Church of Christ, Sun City West, AZ:
Our congregation has recently received a very generous gift through the estate of a longtime member, Inez Smith. A substantial portion of that gift has been set aside to support enhancement and continuing education opportunities for clients, staff, and volunteers involved in nonprofit, educational, and service work. Nearly all of you represent organizations with which our congregation has partnered in the past, and we wanted to share this opportunity with you.
Inez (known as Iny to us) and her partner, Sue, were important and much-loved members of our congregation. Following Inez’s death, Sue moved to Denver to be closer to family. In Inez’s memory, Desert Garden UCC has established the Igniting New Yearnings (INY) Fund—a way of extending Inez’s generosity by supporting people who are learning, growing, and serving others.
We hope this fund can help provide meaningful opportunity to encourage continued learning, growth, and service. Please feel free to share this information with appropriate members of your staff, volunteers, or clients. It may be posted on social media and/or websites, bulletin boards, in newsletters or whatever way you provide information.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at pastorbill@desertgardenchurch.org.
Click here for a full description of the fund.
Click here for the application.
Read MoreFirst Church UCC: Special Event - Charity Lockhart Live in Concert
in Church News
The Voice of Hope with Charity Lockhart
October 12, 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM (Doors open at 7:00 PM)
First Church UCC sanctuary, 1407 N. 2nd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
1 ticket for $30 | 2 for $50 | children 12 & under $15
Join Powered By Love at First Church UCC for the Voice of Hope Benefit Concert featuring powerhouse vocalist and America’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer winner Charity Lockhart! Experience an extraordinary night of soul, inspiration, and live music that directly transforms lives across our community. Every ticket sold helps to fund Powered By Love’s local food pantry—providing over 10,000 lunches a year to unhoused neighbors in Phoenix—and supports Charity’s foundation for women's housing and stability.
Read MoreOpen Table Connection: Embracing Difference
in Church News
Emmy is a member of First Congregational UCC, where she is working toward ordination. She has become an active leader and beloved partner at The Open Table Connection. She has helped lead prayer nights, table at campus events, participate in Ashes on the Go and the Pride Parade, and co-leads our queer theology conversations.
Emmy’s connection to campus ministry began long before The Open Table, but her early experiences were very different from what she encounters at The Open Table.
Click through to keep reading.
Read MoreLifted By Song: Song Workshop Weekend with Melanie DeMore
in Church News
Raise your voice and join Grammy Award-winning singer, choral conductor, and vocal activist Melanie DeMore for a joyful day of music-making at Shadow Rock UCC on Saturday, October 10. Learn 3- and 4-part songs by ear as Melanie leads spirituals, folk songs, originals, and more in a welcoming, no-experience-needed community sing.
Registration is $25, and all are welcome.
Arrive by 9:30 am; singing 10 am–3 pm. Drinks provided; bring your own lunch.
A special storytelling-and-song worship service will follow on Sunday, October 11.
Read MoreJottings 9/28/2026
in Church News
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.
Read MoreDesert Garden sponsors Meals of Hope
in Church News
Members of Desert Garden UCC joined nearly 200 volunteers at Ottawa University’s Faith Arena for the recent Meals of Hope event, sponsored by the Surprise and Sun City West Rotary Club. In just two hours, volunteers packed 31,104 meals for area food banks, with meals distributed through Valley View Community Food Bank and St. Mary’s Food Bank. Desert Garden UCC supported the effort with a $1,000 donation from its Mission Outreach Restricted Fund, helping Rotary and community partners address food insecurity across the region.
Read More15 Congregations Receive 2026 Revitalization & Resiliency Grants
in Church News
The Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ is celebrating 15 congregations whose creative visions for ministry have been approved for 2026 Congregational Revitalization & Resiliency Grants.
For the third consecutive year, the grant program is helping congregations pursue renewal, faithful innovation, and deeper connection with God, one another, and their communities. This year, applicants were invited to connect their projects with the Southwest Conference C.A.R.E.S. framework—Covenant, Advocacy, Rest, Engagement, and Spirit.
The 15 projects demonstrate just how many forms revitalization can take. Some congregations are investing in children and youth. Others are addressing racial justice, isolation, accessibility, community outreach, spiritual renewal, or new ways of worshiping and building relationships. What they share is a willingness to listen, experiment, and respond faithfully to the communities they serve.
Click through to read about each church’s projects!
Read MoreJottings 9/21/2026
in Church News
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.
Read MoreSharing Food, Sharing Stories, Building Beloved Community
in Church News
On August 30, 2026, Church of the Good Shepherd in Albuquerque kicked off a three-year process to develop better cultural humility and racial justice awareness among members. At the end of the three years, our members will have learned about historical and systemic racism, how to talk about race and racial issues, and how to resist racism when encountered. In this way, COGS members can “accept the cost and joy of discipleship” in service to all our neighbors.
Read MoreJottings 9/8/2026
in Church News
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.
Read MoreCelebration of Rich Smith's 50th ordination anniversary at Church of the Beatitudes
in Church News
The congregation of Church of the Beatitudes invites friends and colleagues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Rev. Rich Smith on Sunday, September 13. Ordained in 1976, Rich served five UCC congregations over a 39-year ministry, preaching more than 1,500 sermons and officiating hundreds of weddings, baptisms, and memorial services. In retirement, he remains active in the Southwest Conference, guest preaching throughout Arizona and serving with Rincon UCC in Tucson. Join in giving thanks for a lifetime of faithful ministry and service.
When: Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Church of the Beatitudes, 555 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix
Jottings 8/31/2026
in Church News
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.
Read MoreJottings 8/24/2026
in Church News
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.
Read MoreDesert Garden UCC 2026 Sawitski Memorial Lecture
in Church News
Desert Garden United Church of Christ announces their 2026 Sawitski Memorial Lecture Keynote Speaker: Rev. Cameron Trimble!
November 9, 2026, 10 am Arizona time / 11 am New Mexico & El Paso time
Rev. Cameron Trimble is a UCC pastor, certified futurist, professor, and transformational leader who works at the intersection of faith, systems thinking, global justice, and religious innovation. As CEO of Convergence and Chair of Stop the Traffik USA, she helps congregations, organizations, and communities anticipate change, develop new strategies, and create more just and compassionate futures. Her work is grounded in the conviction that we are not simply here to predict the future, but to participate in transforming it. Her Piloting Faith: An Almost Daily Devotional by email or on Substack are moving Christians into action.
Desert Garden urges you to attend onsite, but a Zoom link can be provided. Rev. Trimble will join by Zoom. We hope you will share in this very special day.
Read MoreA Season of Becoming at Church of the Painted Hills UCC
in Church News
From Dax Franklin-Hicks, Pastor:
Greetings, beloved Southwest Conference! My name is Dax Franklin-Hicks, and I use he/him pronouns. I am a Member in Discernment in the Southwest Conference since September of 2025. This August, I began serving as Student Pastor at Church of the Painted Hills (CPH) as part of my Supervised Ministry through Pathways Theological Education. I have entered a congregation marked by generosity, creativity, and a gracious sense of welcome - not only for the people of God, but for the formative work we will share.
Click through to keep reading Dax’s note and also a note from Moderator Nancy Traviolia
Read MoreInstallation of Pastor Kejener Risen, Tucson Marshallese
in Church News
Conference Minister Dr. Toni Hawkins and Associate Conference Minister Dr. Derrick Elliott participated in the installation of Pastor Kejner R. Alfred as Pastor and Teacher of the Tucson Marshallese Ministry of the United Church of Christ, hosted at Rincon Congregational United Church of Christ!
Deep gratitude to Rev. Louis Mitchell, Pastor of Rincon Congregational UCC and COM-A Co-Chair, for his leadership and hospitality, and to Rev. Dr. Derrick Elliott for bringing the powerful installation sermon, “Yokwe and Amen.”
What a sacred and joyful celebration of covenant, calling, culture, and community!
Glory to God! May God richly bless Pastor Kejner R. Alfred and the congregation as they begin this new season of ministry together.
Pastor and people, walking together in covenant, trusting God for what is still unfolding.
The best is yet to come.
Read MoreJottings 8/17/2026
in Church News
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.
Read MoreJottings 8/10/2026
in Church News
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.
Read More