Conference News
Register today and join us for General Synod 33 – a fully virtual event. Registration provides you access to all aspects of General Synod, including worship, optional events, business, over 50 workshops, exhibit hall, keynote speakers and much more.
General Synod events will occur in the later half of the day to afford all an increased ability to engage. Registration is more affordable this year than it’s ever been!
Read MoreThe Southwest Conference is pleased to offer Best Skills Best Churches (BSBC/UCC), a certificate program offered in partnership with ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation. The program is also open to MIDs, clergy, and lay leaders! Applications are being accepted online for the September cohort of 30 participants.
Click here for more information and to apply.
Read MoreThese resolutions and bylaws amendments were approved at Annual Meeting. SWC churches can use these links to the final documents in their implementation efforts.
Read MoreSomeone is trying to impersonate Bill. If you have received an email such as this, please report it as phishing and/or block the sender. The scammers continue to improve the ways they reach out, so please notice the strange language and incorrect email address. These small hints help to do a quick preview of untrustworthy senders.
Read MoreThe Southwest Conference Executive Board voted at their May meeting to put the Conference Office building, 917 E. Sheridan St., on the market for sale. This decision comes after six months of discussion and discernment about Conference and staff needs, financial and facility stewardship, and overarching Conference mission.
“The pandemic taught us a lot about how we function as a staff and conference. We found we could work efficiently and effectively from home offices, but we greatly missed our in-person collegiality and creative collaboration as a staff. We do need a place, but we don’t need as large a space to work in and manage,” said the Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons, Conference Minister.
Read MoreRegistration is open — be ready for this summer’s Special Edition General Synod.
Read MoreONA opportunities at General Synod: Love Feast and Coalition Choir. Plus more in this month's Ripples.
Read MoreMichael Curry has a new pre-recorded message, "My Honest Testimony" that is available for churches to use in worship.
If your church is interested, please reach out to Michael at swclayminister@gmail.com so he can make arrangements to be present for virtual worship and coffee hour.
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Some newsworthy items just won’t fit in The Loop and don’t belong on our website, but we want you to know about them. So we post them on the SWC Facebook page. Give us a follow! You might discover some things to share on your church’s page or your personal timeline.
Read MoreKindly find below the details for the following vacancies with UNHCR’s U.S. border team:
These positions are open to applicants through Friday, 14 May 2021, until 6:00PM EST. The UNHCR global jobs portal automatically closes at midnight local time in Geneva, Switzerland on the closing date. Given the time difference, the closing time is 6 PM Eastern Standard Time. Please carefully double-check the time difference to ensure that your application is accepted. Applications that are not received in the online system cannot be considered.
Read MoreOur panelists at Annual Meeting were phenomenal!
Rev. Marta Fioriti and Mandy Todd, partners in ministry at Black Forest Community Church in northern Colorado Springs, have provided recordings to their breakout sessions.
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If you missed this two-part webinar hosted by the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, you can watch the replays.
“Both/And” aka hybrid worship/church was the theme of our Annual Meeting, and these videos are helpful and informative complements to what we learned.
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We’ll kick off our Southwest Conference Healthy Ministry Modules for 2021 on July 7 with our Alternate Module #1: Healthy Boundaries for Ministers Who Are Retired And Retiring.
This module is specifically designed for those clergy with active standing who are RETIRED or soon RETIRING. When you take this module, you do NOT need to take the regular Module #1. But you DO still need to take Modules #2, #3 and #4, if you have not already, before the end of 2022.
Read MoreRev. Ian Holland, from The First Church in Swampscott, Congregational (in the Southern New England Conference of the UCC), has provided recordings to his two breakout sessions.
Read MoreIndividuals and churches contributed $19,144, far surpassing our $15K goal.
Adding a $15,000 matching gift from the Southwest Conference in gratitude for exceeding our goal, our final total comes to $34,144.
That will relieve over $3.4 million in medical debt for our neighbors right here in the SWC!
Well done, Church!
Read MoreWe’re excited to provide you the guidelines and application process for the SWC Hybrid Church Grant. As you are applying for the grant know that we are praying for your plans and hopes. Many blessings on your ministry!
Read MoreThe opening and closing worship services at the 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting were beautiful, engaging, and inspiring. Deep appreciation and thanks to our host churches, Desert Palm UCC (Tempe) and Church of the Good Shepherd (Albuquerque) for their participation and video editing.
If you missed them, you can view them in this post, and read Bill’s sermon, as well.
Read MoreOne part-time position is currently open (as of 4/13/2021): Faith Community Coordinator. Click on the link below for the job description, which includes duties, qualifications, and application procedures. The position is open until filled.
Arizona Faith Network is equal opportunity employer.
Read MoreWe want all of our delegates, guests, and clergy to have a positive experience with our Virtual Annual Meeting. One thing that will help immensely is for all participants to have the latest version of Zoom installed on their device.
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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