Thank you, St Paul’s UCC in Rio Rancho, for the next two items:
-Sunday, January 26 at 3:00PM, the Archdiocese of Sante Fe Ecumenical Commission and the New Mexico Council of Churches is sponsoring a Week of Christian Unity prayer service. Southwest Conference Minister Dr. Toni Hawkins will be the guest speaker. The service will be hosted at First Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque
-Please add the Altadena Community Church UCC congregation to your prayer list who lost their building to the Eaton fires. Founded in 1940, Altadena Community Church, ( Click here to visit their website. ) became one of the first churches in the United Church of Christ to declare itself Open and Affirming (ONA church #13 of the 1,906 churches that we have certified), welcoming and affirming all people, including those in the LGBTQ+ community, into the full life of the church. For decades, its mission has been to embrace diversity, foster peace, and serve neighbors in need. Altadena Community Church has been a cornerstone of the local community, hosting a vibrant food pantry in collaboration with neighboring congregations, nurturing the next generation through its preschool, and offering a home for music and community programs. Use this link for ways you can help the affected areas in the Southern California and Nevada Conference: UCC Los Angeles Aid.
A couple weeks ago, I asked folks to share their Souper Bowl traditions with us. Here’s what I’ve picked up so far:
Each year on “Souper” Bowl Sunday the Desert Palm youth serve soup to raise funds for their related activities. The annual, tasty event is coming up on Sunday, Feb. 9th. Last year’s cash donation from this charitable event was $552 and went to the youth summer trip. Can they beat that amount this year?
United Church of Santa Fe youth are invited to join in the Souper Bowl Family Night. Bring a family-sized can or cans of soup for the Food Depot. United provides soup, bread, and dessert— and special activities (maybe even a “Soup Slurping” contest) (just kidding!)
Church of the Palms implores everyone to Bring SOUP with them EVERY Sunday! They are in the Souper Bowl competition with United Church of Sun City. Both Churches! Crush the competition – give generously!
At Encanto, for every can of soup brought in, they place it on their very own ECC football field (spanning the size of one whole table!), and when they get enough cans to the end of the field they get a touchdown. Last year they did about 5 touchdowns.
Church of the Good Shepherd in Albuquerque is excited to share that their building is now powered by solar energy! The transition was completed last Thursday, marking an important step toward sustainability.
From Rincon:
Interfaith Community Services (ICS) is inviting congregations to help them collect 5000 packages of pasta and 5000 cans of pasta sauce. That’s lotsa pasta!
Pasta is a staple food in ICS food banks. Here’s why:
People of all ages love it – even picky kids.
It doesn’t need refrigeration.
It is easy to prepare, requiring very little cooking experience and few tools.
Pasta can be a good source of energy, fiber, and nutrients.
A bag of noodles and a can of pasta sauce can feed a family of 4 for under $5.
The collection is going through the whole month of February. Is there another contest on the horizon for Tucson UCC churches?
What your Next of Kin (NOK) will need to know!
Fellowship Hall at Rincon UCC
January 29, 2025 10:00-11:30
Hosted by the Revs. Karen MacDonald and Kelly Kahlstrom
Have you wondered if your affairs are sufficiently in order so that your next of kin can easily carry out your wishes? Have you been caught unaware by something that happened as you were handling a loved one’s estate? Join us for conversation and sharing so that we can best prepare for the inevitable and contribute to our legacy by simplifying the process for those we leave behind. Please RSVP to Karen (desertsky57@gmail.com) or Kelly (kkahlstrom@iliff.edu).
On the second weekend of February, United Church of Santa Fe will be in the midst of their 7th annual FebFest, this time featuring nationally known Dr. Brandon Boyd from the University of Missouri. The FebFest workshop (Sat., Feb. 8—8:30 to 4:00, followed by a 4:00 free community concert), ACelebration of African American Sacred Music, is open to all people who love to sing! (To register: abqcorolux.org/febfest-2025/). The FebFest workshop also includes a workshop on vocal technique, offered by Soprano Amy Owens, and the 4:00 concert starts with a conversation with Dr. Boyd and Cecilia Webb, host of KUNM’s “Train to Glory,” a Sunday morning all-Gospel program.
Godly Play is coming to Oro Valley UCC. What is Godly Play? It is a way of teaching the stories of our biblical tradition in a way that allows the children a chance to enter into a sacred story, interact with it, and creatively reflect on it. It uses “Wondering” questions to explore and then allows for individual choice of the type of engagement with the story – art, reading, writing, or hands on play with the story materials.
Black Mountain collected blankets for their homeless senior friends at Justa Center!
Last Sunday, First Congregational in Albuquerque held a forum, led by Norm Gaume, the former director of the NM Interstate Stream Commission, and current president of New Mexico Water Advocates. New Mexico is running out of water, due to human consumption and climate warming. A very strong, professional group of people created a 50-Year Water Plan about two years ago, with a set of solid recommendations. The legislature passed bills putting some of those recommendations into place, but didn’t FUND them. Now, New Mexico Water Advocates is working hard to get the legislature to pass the needed $62 million to fund three initiatives, which must be written into the state budget.
The National UCC has officially launched its 2025 Climate Hope Art Contest for children and youth. Our theme this year is “Planting Seeds of Hope.” We’ll accept art submissions from February 2nd to March 14th. Like last year, we will have winners for different age groups and an overall winner who will receive an all-expense paid trip to visit Washington, DC with a parent or guardian. (Last year's winner had two members of congress personally ask her for a poster of her artwork, so that they could hang it in their offices!) The winning art will additionally serve as the logo for UCC Climate Hope advocacy work throughout 2025.