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Introduction to Spiritual Health (Pastoral Care) begins August 1.
Through personal reflection and exploration of current pastoral care paradigms, this 6-week course offers training to
identify and apply best practices in empathetic listening
understand models of pastoral care assessment
create a pastoral care plan based on spiritual assessment tools
articulate how to provide pastoral care effectively in diverse cultural settings.
The course outcome project will give you an opportunity to apply what you have learned within your own faith community or practice context.
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, September 13, 2025, 7:00p.m.
Come celebrate with us! PATHWAYS Theological's Benefit Concert sponsored by Lena’s Place Coffee House in the beautiful Central Congregational UCC sanctuary in Atlanta. Enjoy great local musicians (Maureen & Matthew Shelton, and Mockingbird’s Wing) and delicious refreshments. Watch for more information including how to attend online.
Go to the PATHWAYS website (pathwaystheological.org) to learn more and to apply for this and other courses.
by Rev. Dr. Derrick Elliott
Recently, Rev. Dr. Gloria and I attended our boundary training with other Associate Conference Ministers throughout the United Church of Christ (UCC), and the topic of the UCC Ministerial Code and the Marks of Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministry came up. It sparked some honest conversation—not just about rules and expectations but about what it really means to be faithful in ministry today. It reminded me that we don’t talk about these tools often enough, even though they shape how we live and lead.
Every profession has some code. Teachers follow standards for education. Doctors take an oath. Even hairstylists know there are rules—keep your tools clean, respect your clients, and show up on time. Ministry is no different. In the UCC, those of us who are called to serve are expected to do so with integrity, accountability, and care—not just for what we do but for how we live.
The UCC Ministerial Code isn’t just a list of dos and don’ts. It’s a covenant.
The Arizona Disciples Women’s Ministry is once again inviting all women in the Southwest Conference to the annual fall retreat at Chapel Rock Retreat Center in Prescott, Arizona.
The retreat begins the evening of Friday, September 12 and goes through noon on Sunday, September 14.
Our Conference Minister, Dr. Toni, who keynoted last year’s retreat, and our communications coordinator, Wende, will be there and hope you will be, too!
Rev. Susan Valiquette of First Church UCC Phoenix attended last year’s Convergence Music Project conference and writes:
I am now on the planning team of the Converging 2025 Conference. This was a deeply spiritual experience for me. It was like the best of summer camp and a soulful retreat that sparked theological musings in worship and music.
The Converging Conference is a great opportunity for a pastor, worship leader, worship committee, and/or music team for an injection of fresh energy and excitement around worship and music. Many of our churches are hungry for theology in lyrics that represent what we believe.
If you are not familiar with the Convergence Music Project (www.convergencemp.com), CMP is a rapidly growing online source of new music for congregational singing that congregations and denominations committed to justice, compassion for the poor, inclusive language, creation care, LBGTQ+ affirmation, and expansive theology can trust.
Please check out the event website to see the list of exciting keynote speakers and musicians who will be featured at the conference.
The UCC Open and Affirming Coalition has a new 30-day devotional for Pride, “Sacred, Seen, and Called: Living Our Truth, Embracing Our Light.” You can use it for personal reflection or group discussion throughout the month.
The Disaster Resilience and Recovery Ministry is responsible for overseeing the Southwest Conference’s Relationship with Safe Communities Coalition (not to be confused with the national SAFE (Science and Families Engaging) Communities Coalition. Arizona Faith Network’s website describes this Coalition as: “… a bold, inclusive initiative uniting faith communities, advocacy partners, and historically marginalized groups to protect sacred spaces and ensure all people can live, worship, and gather in safety. Amid rising threats of violence and extremism, the Coalition serves as a proactive and unifying response. Together, we foster secure, resilient communities across Arizona through trust-building, strategic partnerships, and rapid action.” (We will seek to duplicate this format for New Mexico and El Paso churches in the Southwest Conference.)
Local Church Ministers have received a letter asking them to select a delegate from their church to participate in monthly meetings. If you have an interest in serving as a representative for your local church, please contact your minister.
Look for forthcoming information as we begin our work beside other faith based communities to keep sacred spaces safe and secure.
As Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, draws near, we pause to consider what freedom means through the lens of faith. You might be surprised that The Star-Spangled Banner wasn’t officially adopted as the U.S. national anthem until March 3, 1931. But even then, not everyone in this country was truly free. Black Americans, Indigenous peoples, Asian Americans, and Latinx communities were still denied equal rights under the law. That familiar phrase, “the land of the free,” didn’t reflect everyone’s experience then, and it still challenges us today.
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally heard the news of their freedom: two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. This moment reminds us that freedom delayed is freedom denied. It pushes us to ask a deeper question: What does liberation look like now?
In a moment when queer and trans lives are under attack, we turn to those who’ve been here before. Join us on Wednesday, June 18 for a special discussion led by LGBTQ-RAN board members Sharon Groves and Cedric Harmon with three of our elders—Rev. Harry Knox, Rev. Louis Mitchell and Bishop Tonyia Rawls—about how they faced crisis, carved out joy, built movements, and survived.
Each of our guests will bring firsthand stories of resistance, imagination, and care from their days fighting for the rights and respect that we are now working to protect. They remind us that we come from a lineage of strength as they share what sustained them then—and what we need to carry forward now.
You can read more about this program and its presenters at this link.
Sign up here to receive the link to join this Zoom webinar on June 18 at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. And please share this announcement with friends and colleagues. It's the Pride Month discussion we need to keep going in these times.
Are you considering studying more about the Bible or working toward the Bible Studies Certificate? A good overview of the Bible, What is the Bible? (Dickinson/MBS), begins September 17.
The 3-course Bible Studies Certificate guides the learner to deepen their knowledge and current scholarship of the Old and New Testaments, while also giving the learner opportunities to create and teach curriculum in their own faith community.
· Old Testament Hermeneutics 08/6/2025 - 9/23/2025
· New Testament Hermeneutics 10/8/2025 - 11/18/2025
· Approved Elective Course with Bible Study Project
Go to the PATHWAYS website to learn more and to apply for these and other courses.
We are invited to the barbeque capital of the country this July for General Synod 35. The General Synod brings together faithful members of the United Church of Christ for inspirational worship, public witness, and fellowship with friends old and new. Delegates will address the business of the church and discern the church’s engagement with issues of the day. Gathering under the theme Into the Deep (Luke 5:4), all will explore being rooted in faith and what new depths God is leading the church into.
Come to Kansas City for this biennial gathering, and register to access all things Synod:
Inspiring worship services
Lively fellowship and dining events
Dozens of engaging workshops
The exhibit hall, including an exciting new space for the National Ministries
An electrifying keynote speaker
Faith-filled business proceedings
And much more!
Fascinated? Register today!