by Trish Herron, St. Paul's UCC

Saturday the 25th of August, St. Paul’s was represented by four people interested in finding out how justice for immigrants in New Mexico was faring.

Thursday, September 20, 2018, 6:30 – 8:30 PM MST
Church of the Beatitudes, Nelson Hall
555 West Glendale Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85021

This session examines religious intolerance and how people of faith can resist intolerance in a constructive way. Sponsored by Arizona Faith Network Theological Dialogue Commission and Next Steps Subcommittee, this session will include an open dialogue where we will discuss the reasons why we so often demonize others, the ways our faith traditions contribute to or challenge intolerance, and whether or not there are limits to tolerance. Participants will be asked to commit to adopting one or more actions to resist intolerance in their daily lives.

On a steamy morning in the Arizona sunshine, more than 50 people of faith walked in the footsteps of migrants who traversed the Sonoran Desert in search of a better life. The UCC's Faithful Witness at the Border participants braved 100 degree temperatures on a hike of more than a mile to mark a journey that sometimes ends in death.

A brave woman and mother from Central America shared her family's story with a group of migrant justice advocates from several Conferences and Churches across the the United Church of Christ over dinner last week. The conversation with almost 100 people, brought together by the Southwest Conference's Faithful Witness at the Border, took place over a shared meal at the host church, Good Shepherd United Church of Christ, Sahuarita, Ariz.

Image credits: Martha Phillips, Rebecca Dickinson, Rev. Traci Blackmon, Rev. Bekah Krevens, Rev. Kelley Dick, and Rev. Jay Deskins

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Over one hundred church people from a mix of denominations, from all over the country - clergy and lay people  gathered at the Good Shepherd UCC and on both sides of the border. This Witness at the Border program is a response to the separation of migrant and asylum seeker families, and the public outcry for action to support these families, to stop the separations at the border, and place pressure on our elected officials to stop the violence perpetrated on this vulnerable population by our US immigration policies and practices.

First Church UCC is partnering with The Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona for the 7th Annual Multi-faith Food Drive to support two small food banks, the Cultural Cup Food Bank and Extended Hands Food Bank.

A service of communion on the Mexico side of the United States Border Wall on Tuesday, August 28, underscored the stark realities of current U.S. immigration policies and border militarization for more than 80 people of several faith traditions participating in the United Church of Christ’s Faithful Witness at the Border. Hours following that sacred vigil, a time of witness, with a demonstration at the U.S. Border Patrol Offices in Nogales, Ariz., as participants prayed for the detained children, their parents, border patrol agents and issued a moral demand — that families be reunited.

More than 100 people from seven Conferences in the United Church of Christ, joined by members of three ecumenical partner Churches, are converging on the border town of Sahuarita, Ariz., for several days of study and service around immigrant justice.

The Rev. Bill Lyons, Conference Minister of the Southwest Conference UCC, the Rev. Randy Mayer, pastor of the host church, Good Shepherd UCC, and a half dozen members of the National Staff welcomed a majority of the participants during a Sunday evening supper August 26, to talk through understandings of Border/Immigration Ministries, review current U.S. immigration policy, and to share an itinerary that includes a trip to Nogales, Sonora, Mex., a communion service at the Border Wall, and a walk along migrant trails in the desert.

Sanctuary
A new play by Milta Ortiz, directed by Marc David Pinate
Presented site specifically at Southside Presbyterian Church
317 W 23rd Street, Tucson, AZ 85713

September 6-23, 2018

Based on real people and events, Sanctuary chronicles the Tucson birth of the 1980s Sanctuary Movement.

The FAQs for A Week of Faithful Witness at the Border have moved to a separate post. If you’re attending the event, be sure to check back often so you don’t miss any updates.

Saturday, September 8, 2018, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Bridge & 8th Street, and Dolores Huerta Gateway Park

The weekend before San Francisco’s Global Climate Action Summit, the Peoples Climate Movement will lead a national mobilization for climate, jobs, and justice.

One of the best predictors of success in life is education. It’s true in the United States; it’s true pretty much everywhere around the world. That’s why for the past fifteen years members of The Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita, Arizona have been investing in the education of young people in Guatemala.

Rev. Talitha Arnold has been asked to be a presenter for an expert panel on the “Role of Faith Communities with Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses,” in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 12.

The Southwest Conference was one of the amici in this case.

Three weeks ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the so-called Sanctuary Cities Executive Order unconstitutional. The Court found that federal funding could be withheld only with congressional authorization, and that the Executive Branch may not refuse to disperse federal grants without congressional authorization. Such a withholding would violate the constitutional separation of powers.

Shepherd of the Hills is excited to announce their new partnership with Arizona State University Project Humanities, and host what they hope to be the first of many conversations.

Join the Revs. John Dorhauer and Traci Blackmon at this conference which shares the UCC’s vision for disability inclusion throughout the wider church. Plan to be in New York November 1-3, at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.

The session is for anyone who would like to learn a bit more about the Compassionate (Nonviolent) Communication process.