Thank you, Desert Garden, and ALL churches and individuals who made the RIP Medical Debt Relief a success! The final amount will be announced at our Virtual Annual Meeting next weekend.
Read MoreDesert Garden contributes $5240 to RIP Medical Debt
Conference News
Meet the Annual Meeting hybrid church panelists
Our Friday panel will focus on how churches can be successful with a hybrid model of in-person and online worship. Meet the panelists:
Read MoreShea Darian's Ecclesiastical Council
Congratulations to Shea Darian! She unanimously passed her ordination interview with the Southwest Conference (SWC) Committee on Church and Ministry.
Her Ecclesiastical Council will be online Sunday, May 2, at 3:00 p.m.
Register here to receive a Zoom link to join the EC.
Read MoreUCC Representative to the Arizona Faith Network Board
The Southwest Conference UCC is pleased to announce the appointment of Marilyn Riggs as the SWC representative to the AFN board. The letter detailing her appointment is available here.
Blessings on the ongoing work of AFN!
Read MoreRetired Clergy Zoom Gathering in April
This month we are following up on our conversation regarding the nature of ordained ministry in the season of retirement. Included with this introduction are two documents, one from the Manual on Ministry and the other a sample liturgy for honoring the transition from Active to Exempt Standing. Jim Ewing and Dave Stabenfeldt are the hosts for our gathering.
Read MoreWe have a new logo!
We’re excited to share our new logo with you! Designed by Associate Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Barb Doerrer-Peacock, it represents the beautiful aspects and imagery of our community, spirituality, and geography.
Barb has written a beautiful piece describing the symbolism of each element. Read it here.
Read MoreWe Are a Resurrection People
Though Easter may not look the same under COVID, embrace the journey and the joy of the empty tomb.
Read/watch the message from the national UCC officers.
Read MoreNew conference office hours
Our new conference office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 am –5 pm.
Our new accountant, Dean Van Gorp, will be in the office on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he will reply to emails and phone messages on those days. You can reach him at financeoffice@uccsw.org or leave a message on his extension at 602-468-3830.
Read MoreSWC Facebook Groups for communicators and hybrid worship folx
Why reinvent the wheel or work in a silo? Team up with your contemporaries at other churches, along with Wende Gonzales, the relational communications coordinator on the SWC staff! Church volunteers and staff are all welcome to join these groups. Let’s work together to be better!
Read MoreSynod eyes resolutions, bylaw changes, from the internal to the global
Delegates to the United Church of Christ’s General Synod this summer will have a wide variety of subjects to consider. Among them:
A just peace for Palestine and Israel.
Bail bond reform.
Safety for women, trans and nonbinary people in settings of ministry.
Nature’s rights, and whether they’re on par with human rights.
An end to Robert’s Rules of Order as the way Synod meetings must be governed.
Those are just a few of the topics of 11 resolutions and several UCC Bylaws changes that delegates will vote on July 11-18. All are now posted at the event’s website.
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So You Want to Build a Hybrid Worship Experience
If, like so many churches, you are trying to figure out who you'll need to push the buttons, what tech to buy and build, and how to do both in-person and live-on-screen worship at the same time, this is the series for you.
Watch them both during the live premieres, or return to the Indiana-Kentucky Conference YouTube channel at your convenience and get the information and help you need to plan and host a hybrid worship service. It's free!
Read MoreEcumenical support for vaccination program in New Mexico
The New Mexico Conference of Churches released this letter signed by judicatory heads, including SWC Minister, Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons.
Read MoreUCCMA Conference 2021 - Registration is now open!
Registration is now open for the UCC Musicians Association 2021 Conference, July 8-10, 2021
Join us online for workshops, worship services, a wonderful concert, vendors and networking. We will be virtually hosted by the First Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC in the historic town of Glastonbury, Connecticut. From Thursday evening through the Saturday 4 pm closing worship service, we provide a plethora of activities that will enhance your music skills and give you resources and ideas for new ways of expressing God's Spirit in these pandemic times.
Read MoreVBS curricula and resources available from Global Ministries
Whether you are planning a virtual, in-person, or hybrid Vacation Bible School or summer series for children and youth, consider using one of the Global Ministries curricula or resources!
Read MoreIntroducing NEW Mediation Skills Workshop
From the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center: Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders and MSTI Refresher Course
Although focused primarily on the church setting, the skills learned are directly transferable to other settings, including the business and academic worlds.
Read MoreUCF 2020 Annual Report
“We are grateful for UCFs partnership with us, for offering investment opportunities that create a just world for all by supporting local churches’ missions by generating outstanding value-aligned investment performance. Congratulations on over 50 years of ministry among us!”
View the UCF annual report HERE.
Read MoreSouthwest Conference Safe Conduct Policy & Procedure for Working with Youth and Vulnerable Adults
As a community of Christian faith, the Southwest Conference is committed to creating and maintaining programs, facilities and a community in which members, friends, Clergy, employees, and volunteers can worship, learn and work together in an atmosphere free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, exploitation or intimidation. The Southwest Conference supports principles of SafeConduct, which include individual responsibility to fulfill the highest standards of personal conduct toward others and to lead and guide the Conference in fulfillment of the standards set by our Christian faith.
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Join Yale Divinity Faculty for a Conversation About Easter and Passover
YDS Professor Joel Baden and Berkeley Divinity School Dean the Rev. Dr. Andrew McGowan have created a 4-week Yale Bible Study on the biblical origins of the two holidays. We encourage you to take advantage of this free study in the weeks approaching Passover and Easter, and then join them for a webinar on Tuesday, April 13 at 12:00pm where they will discuss how Easter originated from Passover and how these observances have changed over the centuries.
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Supporting One Great Hour of Sharing
Churches ready for OGHS offering in unique ways. Challenging church members, creating calendars for kids, using personal experiences to drive home good reasons for giving. These are some of the ways United Church of Christ congregations are supporting the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
That commitment, always important, is especially so in 2021.
Read MoreBeyond the Children’s Moment: Children’s Ministry Today
SWC Associate Conference Minister Rev. Barb Doerrer-Peacock invites all faith formation leaders to join her in attending this webinar.
Come for a conversation of Children’s ministry in 2021. How are we seeing people connect to the children in their congregations and beyond? What tenets of faith formation do we hold towards our children when faith becomes digital? Join the Association of Christian Educators and Faith INFO Team Lead Chris Davies, with esteemed panelists across the UCC discussing how they engage Children in the life of the church.
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