Conference News
Thursdays in June 2023 at 4 pm AZ / 5 pm NM & El Paso
Designed especially for chaplains, religious professionals, and community care providers (but all who seek to provide gender-affirming care are welcome!)
Thanks, Rev. Louis Mitchell of Rincon Congregational, for sharing this with us.
Read MoreAre you updating your church personnel policy, or wondering if you're in compliance as an employer? Please consider checking out these links and sharing them with the appropriate people in your church or ministry. It’s possible that some of our congregations and ministries are unintentionally out of compliance. It seems the penalties can be very high if an employer is audited.
Read MoreMarc Gerardis, insurance agent for the Southwest Conference, recently shared these tips with us.
Repair scams tend to increase after storms and disasters, but they can happen year-round.
Pay attention to these five misleading comments:
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Worship Gathering Space Safety and Security: How to start, Where to go, What to do
Join Lisa Gonzalez, Director of Loss Control at Insurance Board, for a vital and informative event.
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News from Global H.O.P.E. - a Ministry Team of the United Church of Christ's Wider Church Ministries
This issue:
New 2023 Immigrant Welcoming Congregations Toolkit
UCC Hiring Minister for Disaster Response and Recovery
Refugee and Migration Services extends abundant gratitude to churches that create community ESL programs.
The power of coming together: Collaboration was the theme at National VOAD Conference
Looking for a 2023 Volunteer Work Trip?
Disaster Ministries Invites all Conferences and Congregations to join the Willing to Respond Network Today!
This 5-day event is designed to equip church leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to deal effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. It also includes a component on congregational mediation and consultation, placed within the context of family systems theory. Although focused primarily on the church setting, the skills learned are directly transferable to other settings, including the business and academic worlds.
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This time, when the choir comes together at Synod, it won’t be through screens on Zoom.
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Pride Sunday is the last Sunday of June - June 25th this year. Get your worship resources now!
Read More10 am on May 29 at Fair Trade Café, 1020 N 1st Ave, Phoenix Arizona
The Southwest Conference’s commissioned minister Gordon Street’s new monthly coffee chat, “What’s Brewing?” is a safe gathering to ask questions or just sip your beverage and listen!
Read MoreThe UCC Mental Health Network encourages congregations to have a Mental Health Sunday on the third Sunday in May, or any Sunday that works best for congregations, to highlight the topic. A library of litanies, prayers and resources are available, and Lund encourages congregations to incorporate testimonies where people can share their story about experiencing mental health and how they got support. Resources can also be used throughout the year.
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The Strengthen the Church (STC) Offering reflects the shared commitment of people across the United Church of Christ to cooperatively build up the UCC. Conferences and the national setting equally share the gifts given by members and friends through their local congregations. The funds raised support leadership development, new churches, youth ministry, and innovation in existing congregations. By your generosity to this offering, you build up the Body of Christ.
As God calls our congregations to be the church in new ways, your generosity will plant new churches, awaken new ideas in existing churches and develop the spiritual life in our youth and young adults. Most congregations will receive the STC offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023.
Read MoreRev. Rock Fremont shared this with us: Arizona Eastern Star has an excellent little scholarship available for undergraduate and graduate students studying to be religious leaders. Every little bit helps!
The ESTARL scholarship is for students studying to be leaders (ministers/rabbis, musicians, education or youth ministry) in their church. The amount is up to $2500 per application, and paid out twice per year.
Click here to access the application.
Interested students can reach out to Amy Pate directly at amy.pate@asu.edu for guidance on the application.
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The Desert Southwest Conference, United Methodist Church invites us to an ecumenical retreat.
October 22 - 27 at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Tucson
It's a five-day engagement retreat with faculty presenter.
Visit their website for more information or contact Jerry Haas at revjhaas@gmailcom or 520-449-0327.
Read MoreFrom Brian R. Bodager, President/CEO
"Supporting the United Church of Christ’s longstanding commitment to economic justice for all, the Pension Boards acted on a 2017 General Synod resolution that calls for the creation of a credit union that would serve UCC members and settings nationwide.
"I am pleased to share that on April 21, 2023, Generations United Federal Credit Union (Generations) was granted a charter and Share Insurance Fund participation by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
"The formation of Generations was in part a response to the 2017 “Resolution of Support for Establishing Relationships Between United Church of Christ Settings and Community Development Federal Credit Unions,” which identified “the need for financial services to the historically underbanked or unbanked, as well as to victims of extortionate alternative financial-service industry models.”
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Pilgrim Pines Camp in southern California is one of the nearby UCC camping programs for which the Southwest Conference will offer 1/3 camp scholarships to anyone who would like to go.
The early bird registration deadline is May 21, prices go up after that. Campers don't need to pay the full registration fee by then, just register and pay deposit to secure their spot and the lower fee.
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Sunday, April 23, 10:00 am MST via Zoom
Arizona Faith Network will be hosting the April URI Youth Connection Café. The topic for this Café is "The role of diverse religions/faiths/traditions in social and environmental justice." The Café will feature a special guest, the Venerable Tri Dao, a 34 year old Theravada Buddhist monk, who is well known on TikTok (@venerable_tri_dao) where he has garnered over 1.3M followers, educating his audience on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. All are invited to join the call to meet new people and share insights and experience on projects of social and environmental justice.
RSVP TO RECEIVE ZOOM INFORMATION
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In the faces of environmental crises that can make one feel helpless, there is a particular power in stories that show another way is possible. For this reason, the theme for the first ever UCC Earth Day Summit is “What’s Possible? Earth Day Stories of Hope.” During this two-and-a-half-hour event on Saturday, April 22nd at 11 am ET, stories will be shared in a variety of formats.
Read MoreAntiracism workshops coming up in May:
Cross-Cultural Communication & Inclusivity [Inter-Ethnic and Cross-Cultural/Racial] and Mediation of Conflict & Difference: Wednesdays, May 3 & 10
The Doctrine of Discovery & Legacy of Colonialism: Wednesdays, May 24 & 31
These are FREE Zoom events, underwritten by the Southwest Conference to offer high quality education in antiracism and decentering whiteness.
These workshops will be the last of our free-of-charge anti-racism offerings.
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