Alice and Karl Stambaugh of Scottsdale UCC shared some reflections from their participation in the Border Fair at The Good Shepherd in Sahuarita.
Read MoreReflections on Common Ground at the Border
in Church News
Church News
Jottings 1/27/2025
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreInstallation of Rev. Dr. Guillermo Márquez-Sterling at Church of the Red Rock UCC
in Church News
Congratulations to Rev. Dr. Guillermo Marquez-Sterling, newly installed pastor of Church of the Red Rocks. Welcome (officially) to the Southwest Conference!
To watch a recording of the installation service, click here.
Photo credit: Gordon Street III
Read MoreJottings 1/20/2025
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreJottings 1/13/2025
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram to get our attention so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreJottings 1/6/2025
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreWho Told You That You Were Naked: Breaking Free from Shame to Embrace the Body as a Gift from God
in Church News
Join First Church Phoenix UCC in their Fellowship Hall on Sunday, January 26, 2025, at noon for a transformative workshop with Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale, author of Who Told You That You Were Naked? Rev. Dale will guide us in exploring how faith and sexuality intersect, challenging shame-based theologies and offering a liberating, affirming vision of embodied spirituality.
In this two-hour session filled with laughter and personal reflection, we will discover how to embrace the sensual gifts of our sexy bodies as sacred gifts from God. We will also explore tools to heal from the harmful messages so often tied to Christian teachings about the body.
Whether you’re a lifelong church member, new to First Church and curious about our community, someone navigating a journey of faith deconstruction, or a member of another UCC congregation in the area, this workshop offers a brave space to explore, reflect, and grow. Lunch will be provided, so come with an open mind, a hearty appetite, and a friend as we reclaim the joy and wholeness of living as beloved, embodied children of God.
Read MoreJottings 12/23/2024
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreThe Secular Summit 2025 to be held at Shadow Rock UCC
in Church News
January 4, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. in-person and on Zoom
Shadow Rock UCC, 12861 N. 8th Avenue Phoenix, AZ
Shadow Rock UCC's pastor Ken Heintzelman will participate in a panel discussion about Christian nationalism at the Secular Summit 2025.
This annual event draws members and supporters from around Arizona for a day of education, advocacy, inspiration and activism, all centered on the theme of building bridges within the secular community and beyond.
Speakers include Matthew Taylor, author of The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy; Talia Lavin, author of Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America, a panel discussion featuring faith leaders committed to fighting Christian nationalism, and more. Food included!
Read MoreChristmas Toy Donation
in Church News
Sun Lakes UCC collected toys again this year for Matthew’s Crossing, a local food bank located in Chandler, AZ. The mission of Matthew’s Crossing is to provide food and other basic necessities to our neighbors in need as we work to unite our community in the fight against hunger.
The age range for the toys was infants to teenagers so Sun Lakes collected a wide variety of items such as dolls, toy cars, books, basketballs, and footballs that volunteers delivered to Matthew’s Crossing prior to Christmas.
From the bounty in these photos, Sun Lakes UCC feels that many children in the Chandler area will have a very happy Christmas.
Read MoreJottings 12/16/2024
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
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Arizona Faith Network's 2024 Annual Gathering
in Church News
AFN would like to thank the many people who made the 2024 Annual Gathering a success.
If you weren't able to attend, here's a link to the Annual Gathering Program and here's a YouTube recording of the program portion of the event (here's a link starting at the beginning of the keynote address from Rev. Eugene Cho)
Read MoreJottings 12/9/2024
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc and Wende is @yeswende.
Read MoreJottings 12/2/2024
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
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Scottdale Congregational's Monica Sampson debuts “The Christmas Carol: A Queer Fantasia”
in Church News
“Ebenezer Scrooge is the literal worst. And it will take some serious fabulosity to turn this ChristMESS into a ChristYAS. Can three otherworldly specters show this humbug the true meaning of Christmas? The iconic Dickens ghost story of Christmas gets turned on its head in this inclusive, timely adaptation of the classic that explores what it means to walk among your fellow humans regardless of how they look and who they love.”
All Queer Shakespeare’s debut show features the national premiere of the off-Broadway sensation, “The Christmas Carol: A Queer Fantasia,” penned by the talented NYC playwright James Cougar Canfield. All Queer Shakespeare, Arizona’s first all LGBTQIA+ Theater Company, was founded by Arizona's local media personality and Scottsdale Congregational member, Monica Sampson, featuring a core company of the valley's top Queer Artists.
Catch the show December 13th through December 21st with a pride night on Wednesday December 18th at Scottsdale Neighborhood Arts Place (housed at Scottsdale Congregational), 4425 N Granite Reef Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Buy tickets online here. Use the code UCC at checkout for $5 off ticket prices.
Click through to learn more.
This show is rated PG-13 with the use of adult language and themes of homophobia and death.
Read MoreJottings 11/25/2024
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
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Jottings 11/18/2024
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
Read MoreJottings 11/11/2024
in Church News
What’s happening at YOUR church? Tell us about it! Just write up an article and submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.
Holly Herman reads your church newsletters and other materials and compiles the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches and beyond. (Thanks, Holly!)
Tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your posts! We’re @swcucc.
Read MoreRegistration is Open for Common Ground on the Border
in Church News
January 16–18, 2025
The Good Shepherd United Church of Christ
17750 S. La Cañada Drive, Sahuarita, AZ 85629
This year’s theme is “From Border to Belonging: A celebration of commitment, compassion, and community across the US/Mexico borderlands.”
The United States-Mexico borderlands has always been a beautiful mix of culture, language, cuisine, economies, and people. It has also been a place of struggle, high and low temperatures, a fragile environment, and the push and pull of immigration. The Borderlands is the perfect place to explore the arts, touch the culture, and have deeper conversations about the complicated issues that collide here. We hope you will come and explore with us all the possibilities.
See details and register here.
Read MoreDr. Gladys’ Celebration of Life Service
in Church News
submitted by Rev. Dr. Joyce Buekers
Friday, November 15, 2024, 10am
Church of Beatitudes. 555 W. Glendale Ave, Phoenix AZ 85021
The reception will be held following the service. Please RSVP on the Foundation for Living Medicine Foundation website.
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