COVID-19
From Conference Minister, Rev. Bill Lyons:
Last Friday the CDC issued new COVID19 guidance and a set of accompanying tools. The popular interpretation has been that masks no longer need to be worn. Not exactly, especially for churches.
The memo included here will help you congregation interpret the CDC’s latest guidance and point you to the tools they released. I am at your service to clarify the SWC recommendations suggested in this latest memo.
Read MoreBeloved SWC members,
Anxiety has been increasing over the Omicron variant of the COVID19 virus. The SWC office has been monitoring the information about this newest coronavirus mutation. I am writing to encourage your congregations to continue the sustainable response measures circulated through the SWC in October (shared here). No new guidance for in-person gatherings is being recommended at this time for our churches in light of the Omicron variant.
I am inviting our churches to launch vigorous campaigns encouraging everyone who is unvaccinated to be vaccinated, and for vaccinated people to obtain their booster shot if they have not already done so. The reasons for this invitation stems from the new information being released from scientists about the effects of the Omicron variant and the impact of vaccines on it.
Read MoreUpdated COVID19 guidance from the SWC. Click here for the PDF.
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image credit: Rev. Michael Bush
Acting Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Barb Doerrer-Peacock offers a pastoral word along with updated Conference COVID guidelines and the latest Staff Travel Policy.
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Saturday, September 11th at 9:00 am Arizona / 10:00 am New Mexico & El Paso
We will be hosting a conversation with COVID-19 Response Teams from around the Conference.
This call will allow teams to come together and share learning, tools, struggles, and resource each other as we collectively move forward during the pandemic.
If your team is unable to make this call, it will be recorded and distributed after.
Read MoreOn April 12, FEMA will officially begin accepting applications for funeral assistance for deaths that occurred as a result of COVID-19. The assistance will be offered similarly with normal funeral assistance claims following a natural disaster.
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by Lisa Dunbar, RN, BSN; parish nurse at United Church of Sun City
As a Parish Nurse, the pandemic of COVID-19 has certainly brought many challenges in focusing on the health of our congregation. Currently, the challenge is to help our members to understand, to make an educated decision, and to receive the vaccination.
I have found that the first hurdle is in educating our congregation. I have been able to put short articles in the church newsletter, and to send an all-church email that gave information about the vaccine. It focused on dispelling some of the misinformation being disseminated on the web.
Read MoreDecisions about resuming in-person gatherings in your church rest in your hands, not in the hands of government officials or of the Southwest Conference staff. This resource has been designed to be a starting point for meaningful conversation among your local church leaders as you develop your own protocol or policy for resuming in-person gatherings (worship, classes, working in the office). It reflects our deep and abiding love for one another and for our neighbors and highlights our common desire to nurture the health and welfare of the people in our congregations and our communities.
Read MoreEach one of us, through the small actions we can take, can contribute to stopping the spread of the virus, reducing the number of daily new cases, and saving lives. Please use your agency and courage to do everything possible to stop COVID19.
Read MoreSouthwest Conference Minister Rev. Bill Lyons is recommending that ALL SWC churches adopt these guidelines through the end of November.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state health officials on Friday announced the state of New Mexico will temporarily re-enact a statewide order closing in-person services for all non-essential activities in order to blunt the unprecedented spike of COVID-19 illnesses and to attempt to relieve dramatically escalating strain on hospitals and health care providers across the state.
Read MoreHow will faith be formed in the future? How and where will it be nurtured?
Who will be the teachers and mentors, how and what will they teach? Where will they learn it?
Read More“Everything I know about the situation in which we find ourselves tells me that we must continue the suspension of in-person church gatherings for the foreseeable future.”
Read MoreBill’s follow-up notes from the clergy call on April 23.
Read MoreThe next live webcasts from the Insurance Board are “Financial Controls and Best Practices” and “Boundaries and Youth Ministry During COVID-19.”
Read MoreResources for church moderators and treasurers regarding church staff working from home, and more.
Read MoreOn April 21, 2020, the Arizona judicatory leaders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and The Episcopal Church jointly sent the following letter to Governor Doug Ducey:
Read MoreAn important update about camp and what we’re offering to camp families this year.
Read MoreThis year’s Disciples/UCC Church Camp (DUCC) will not be held June 15-20, 2020 due to the continuing health threats posed by COVID-19. This was a very difficult decision for us in both the Southwest Conference UCC and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona, but we felt it a necessary one to maintain the safety of everyone involved, plus be good stewards of time and finances in this unprecedented time.
Read MoreI entered a time of grief when congregations made the difficult decision to suspend ALL in-person worship as a result of this pandemic...I struggled to come to terms with the reality that I must shift from conducting an in-person to virtual ministry as a result of the pandemic. This has not been easy, to say the least, as I have struggled to notice how God is guiding and speaking to me in the midst of this crisis.
Read MoreLed by UCC ministers from New England to Hawaii and points between, the interactive "Call to Prayer" kicked off what will now be a regular series of such Zoom gatherings on a variety of themes each Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
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