Tuesday, March 31, 2020, 12 p.m. EST / 9 a.m. PST
FREE interactive webinar for a discussion about the (quickly) changing face of church stewardship and overall giving, including best practices, lessons learned, and experimental efforts going on during the COVID-19 pandemic and suspension of in-person services.
This FREE, one-hour webinar includes a 45-minute panel presentation with a 15-minute question and answer session.
Pastors, church staff, and lay leadership are invited to attend.
Read MoreJoin us for the SW Conference’s regional StoryCafé. We’ve scheduled regional sessions (one in the morning and one at night for folks who can’t participate during the workday) on most upcoming Mondays and Thursdays (and on Good Friday during Holy Week). The morning sessions will take place at 9 am in the AZ time zone, or 10 am if you’re in either New Mexico or El Paso, TX. Evening sessions will be held at 7 pm Arizona time (8 pm in New Mexico/El Paso).
Read MoreFrom Phil Shea, Southwest Conference Disaster Ministries Coordinator:
Greetings, Bill asked me to research and pass on to you some information received by the conference office regarding the eligibility of churches to access the Small Business Association (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loans for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Incident. The below information should help you determine if and how to access the loan.
Read MoreThis year’s Southwest Conference Annual Meeting (AM) will not take place April 24-26, 2020, as a result of health threats posed by COVID-19. The 2020 Annual Meeting date has been changed. The new date for the SWC 2020 Annual Meeting is October 2-4, 2020. Here are answers to some of the questions you may have in light of this decision.
Read MoreAn email from Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons went out to all Southwest Conference church moderators and treasurers of record. The topics may be of interest to other church leaders.
Read MoreWe're grateful to the SWC chaplains for their work and dedication to their ministries. On March 18, we had a Zoom conversation with our chaplains. You may watch the recorded video HERE. Some informal notes that include a list of contacts for chaplains at local area hospitals and other communities are available HERE.
Read MoreAs our conference churches navigate new ways of being the church during the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing, they will need helpful tools to accomplish online worship and online giving. We’ll add to this post as we become aware of additional tools. Feel free to email Wende with your favorites.
Read MoreSue Joiner led a conversation on Zoom this week in creative pastoral care. You can access the recording HERE. You can read the notes from the call HERE.
Below are a few other sites that may be worth exploring to help provide additional avenues to collaborate online working, sharing, worshipping, and video conferencing.
Flock
Quick Topic
Microsoft Teams
Slack
Read MoreThe Southwest Conference staff are working from home. During their deployment here are some things we thought you’d like to know.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, March 17, the Conference office hosted a Zoom conversation around creative worship during COVID-19. The call generated some great conversation on best practices for Live streaming, ways to encourage and engage people throughout the week and to be community while maintaining some physical distance. We were not able to record the call, so Genevieve put together this list of some great resources to help office guidance on moving to digital platforms for worship.
Read MoreYesterday the Southwest Conference Executive Board and I met to review the conference-wide response to COVID-19. With their support, I am writing this morning to strongly recommend and respectfully request that all SWC congregations and communities suspend all in-person gatherings through at least Sunday, April 12, 2020. This recommendation includes all worship gatherings, small groups, rehearsals, Palm Sunday, Holy Week observances, and Easter Sunday.
Read MoreUnited Church of Christ leaders are sharing information with each other, listening to the latest data from world health organizations and taking directives from their local health departments to discern how best to take precautions as the coronavirus COVID-19 spreads across United States.
Borrowing from the Rev. Kaji Douša, senior pastor of the Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City, the UCC is taking "a posture of awareness, not panic."
Read MoreAs we look at how we are responsive to the health needs of our local communities, many churches are making the decision whether to host worship together in person; or virtually to have connection digitally if not possible in person. Congregations are looking towards what their county health officials and local school districts are deciding, and often following suit.
This document serves as a resource for faithful tips and considerations for congregations.
Read MoreShepherding church communities through a global pandemic is uncharted territory, but Sojourners has been working quickly to provide the news, resources, and reflections to move us all through this — together.
Read MoreThis recommendation comes after much prayer and discernment, a zoom call with all of our pastors and chaplains who could be present on short notice, briefings from our disaster service coordinator, consultation with medical professionals in our churches, conversations with both our ecumenical partners in Arizona and New Mexico and with National and Conference Ministry colleagues across the UCC, and heeding the guidance from both the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control. It is grounded in my listening to our congregations’ leaders first. It speaks to you and not for you, in the spirit of covenant that we all give careful and prayerful attention to the words of one another in the Southwest Conference. That’s who we are as the United Church of Christ.
Read MoreSojourners' 2020 roundup of women faith leaders includes United Church of Christ Minister for Congregational and Community Engagement, Rev. Tracy Howe Wispelwey!
“The resilience and fortitude of women inspires me and the connections I observe among young women to their ancestors and future generations gives me tremendous hope,” says Rev. Howe Wispelwey.
Read MoreConsultations between Rev. Tracy Blackmon and the Council of Conference Ministers led to a decision this morning to POSTPONE the NATIONAL YOUTH EVENT, originally scheduled for July 22-25, 2020, until a future year.
This decision was not primarily a concern over the severity of the current COVID-19 pandemic, but it was based on being in an uncertain and changing time and facing a present deadline to financially finalize the contract with Purdue University. The CCM and national staff thought it prudent to postpone the event.
When future plans are made, we will let you know!
Read Moreby Karen Richter, 2020 Annual Meeting Coordinator
As (I hope) you’ve seen, the theme for Annual Meeting 2020 is Stories That Transform. This is maybe the most human, most exciting theme I’ve experienced over the last decade of annual meetings. Sharing stories, listening to the stories of others, crafting meaning and connecting events: these are the things that humans do. Over days, seasons, and lifetimes, these story activities form family, community, and culture.
So what better way to prepare for Annual Meeting and share ideas and experiences than a Southwest Conference Book Club! But here’s the rub… when you ask churchy, bibliophile people what they recommend to read, you can get overwhelmed. Take a deep breath and check out the recommendations below.
Read MoreFrom Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons:
Okay, I admit it. I’ve had a difficult time knowing when to fist bump, elbow touch, shake a hand extended to me, or accept a hug during my visits to our churches these last couple of weeks. It’s just plain hard to maintain a calm, non-anxious presence these days. And so I’ve found myself often needing to intentionally taking a deep breath and let it out, take another deep breath and let it out, in order to remind myself to “cast all your anxiety on God because God cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Read MoreOn the evening of Friday, February 28, the United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries released a Coronavirus advisory. Bill has put together more resources in this brief article.
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