Pix from my little break...

I'm enjoying my little break.


a little golf,

a little Christmas,


my baby turns 20,

A Night Out...

Mimi and I took a night out.

It was stirring. We saw Milk - a movie which we both wanted to see very badly, and finally found just the right time to make it happen.

I highly recommend this very compelling film, about a very compelling figure in American History.

That 30 years after the assassination of Harvey Milk gay men and women still have to fight hard for rights that many of us take for granted is an indictment of our culture. That the religious right continues to wage battle against the LGBT community by asking voters to enforce their bigotry is an atrocity.

I was very moved by this film, which will serve to renew my commitment to ensuring that the church not only become a place of sanctuary for all God's children with no consideration for their sexual orientation, but also that the church actively pursue justice for all in times when there are those from within the church actively pursuing a more selective brand of justice in the name of God.

The start of a special Christmas

Well, the holiday has begun in earnest here in the Dorhauer household, and we have begun with some help from our friends here in the Southwest Conference.

A quick drive Tuesday evening down to Tucson gave Mimi and me the pleasure of a night with Briget Nicholson and her two beautiful daughters - Abigail and Gabrielle. We exchanged some gum and chocolate, put some puzzles together, read some books, and had a nice dinner.

And then tonight, Christmas Eve, our daughter Molly established our first new Christmas tradition here in the Southwest as she had us over for dinner at her house - she cooked! From there, we went to the Christmas Eve service at First Congregational - an absolute delight.

I have no doubt that all of you reading this are enjoying your Christmas celebrations in your own way - and enjoying every minute of it. We Dorhauers are doing the same in our new home.

May the peace and joy that is a part of these celebrations, in whatever way we choose to create them, rest and abide with you and yours this Holiday season.

The weekend in pictures...

We start with a couple shots from Friday night when the staff gathered for our annual Christmas party:






And here is a shot of me filling water buckets in the desert of Southern Arizona. Pictured with me is Kristen Barner, Associate Pastor at Shepherd of the hills. We spent the day with Liana Rowe volunteering for Human Borders. It was a day well spent.



And here Mimi and I are in the courtyard of First Congregational UCC of Phoenix. We became members this morning.

A Proud Officer

Pictured here is Major Laura A. Adelia, chaplain assigned to the 944th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, proudly displaying the certificate authorizing the President of the United States to confer upon her a Meritorious Service Medal because she, and I quote - and among other things too numerous to mention:

distinguished herself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States,... led an energetic and omni-present (don't you wish all our ministries could be 'omni-present') chaplain program with high visibility and vital positive impact. She was the mastermind and drving force behind the creation of a new flightline and maintenance centric ministry.

We are proud of her. As a member of the pastoral team at Shadow Rock United Church of Christ in Phoenix, Laura adds her gifts and skills to enrich their spiritual life also. Keep up the good work!

A Simple Prayer

On a day that will be bookmarked by two events of some import, I invite the Holy Spirit into our midst. I suggest we will need this.

This morning, Pat Dunn and I will meet with each of our permanent staff here in the Conference Office for their annual evaluations. I want to personally thank the many of you who took the time to fill out the surveys we sent out. They were very helpful. As you all noted, we have outstanding people working for us. We are lucky to have them, and proud of them.

This evening, we will celebrate the life of Caitlin (Kat) Lucas, daughter of Liz Adler and Len Silvester. Len is pastor at Church of the Palms in Sun City, and Moderator of the Conference. My heart aches for them both.









And so, let us pray:
Holy Spirit of the living God, on days when the daily toils and tasks collide with profound and deep pain, abide. Give us hope. Give us comfort. And through the veil of our tears may joy emerge.

In Nogales

Ok, the point here is I had a good time - a great time.














I spent a lovely evening grilling veggies, talking politics, and watching the full moon rise over San Caytano Mountian in the home of Dave and Joan Jernigan.

I spent the next morning in worship with United Fellowship UCC in Nogales.















I spent the afternoon with the Interfaith Peace and Justice committee of Nogales discussing White Privilege.

All of that was good. It was enjoyable, and I look forward to another visit with them soon.

But none of that explains the following:

I rise Sunday morning after a restful slumber in the guest room of the Jernigan home. I wander a few feet down the hallway to freshen up, shower, shave, and prepare myself for the coming day and there, on the sink in the guest bedroom - right where I would likely see it - was this:














In case you can't read the entire line at the bottom, it's "For Liars, Cheaters, and Wrong-Doers."

So much for Southwest Hospitality, huh?

O Happy Day!

Don't these two look happy and proud?

Well, they should. The younger of the two (I am guessing you will have no trouble identifying which of the two is younger) is captured here leaving his Ordination Exam. That's Jeffrey Dirrim, and he was unanimously and enthusiastically recommended to the Conference for his Ecclesiastical Council - a final examination of sorts before his Ordination.

He is a member of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Phoenix, which explains why he is standing next to his proud pastor, Rev. Dr. Steve Wayles (who, in a little more than a week, will be my and Mimi's pastor also).

This is an important step in the life of any candidate for authorized ministry, and we are proud of him for having presented himself as well as he did. We wish him the best both in his Ecclesiastical Council, and in his future ministry.

And now the pics....

I am back. I will play some catch up this morning, but here are some pics with some commentary on my trip to Orlando - my third since serving on Conference Staff, but my first as a Conference Minister.

First, here is a dear friend, with whom I served in Missouri on staff, and with whom I vacationed right here in the Southwest as we toured the spring training facilities about four years ago. Dale Parson is as good a human being as God can make.













You will recognize this man, John Thomas - the General Minister and President. I caught him at his best: food shoved in his mouth and a glass of wine in his hand. His sermon on the value of intelligence in ministry and the call for that never to overshadow the need for those whom we serve to simply see Jesus was brilliant and stirring.













These next two you probably won't know. The first is Joan Ishibashi, and she is the Association Minister for the Western Reserve Association of the Ohio Conference. She is the Conference Staff person for all of our National Staff offices. And what a delight she is. Her sermon on the changing nature of ministry as we know it, and the wisdom resources that are ours in scripture and the Tao de Ching were inspirational.

The second face is that of Don Clark, Attorney for the United Church of Christ, and himself a brilliant legal mind. His lectures on matters legal in the UCC were informative, and will probably prompt a memo or two from me to all of our churches and clergy.
















And here I am waiting to get home, but delayed waiting for a plane to arrive in the snow storm that hit Denver last night. A long night travelling, but I am home.

Pics will follow, but after a long time away, I am heading home.

Had some great meetings. Learned a lot.

One computer died on me, and I am now writing on my brand new MacBook. Gotta say, I love that.

I hope that when I get back, I discover that the children have played well together, the dog didn't mess all over the carpet, and my churches have increased their giving to OCWM.

And isn't Christmas coming soon? Must be, they're piping that music in our ears everywhere I go.

Final note: promise not to tell anyone, but instead of going to my workshops this morning, I snuck out and played a round of golf. I hope I don't find out later I was supposed to lead one of those.

From Albuquerque to Orlando

Early in the week, I had the pleasure of spending a day with the 'Bishops' of New Mexico. We had a day of prayer, of meaningful dialogue, and of heartfelt debate on substantive issues. You will not be surprised to learn that we did not all agree on the subject of Domestic Partnerships, which will be on the legislative agenda in New Mexico. I did not expect we would agree, but I didn't necessarily expect that we would be able to talk as openly and freely and honestly about that as we did. That was a nice surprise. My thanks both to Barbara Dua, our Executive Director, and Sue Gallagher - my deputy (I love the thought that I have a deputy)in the New Mexico Conference of Churches. She is pictured above (middle photo) fully engaged in the dialogue that our ecumenical partners shared with us.

But now I am in Orlando, meeting with all of the Conference Ministers throughout the denomination. My very close friend, Sheldon Culver, is seated next to me (that is she in this first picture). We are engaged in weighty and serious matters (OCWM shortfalls right now, Conference Minister Fitness Reviews earlier - oh my!).

I will try and report a couple of times while down here. Do keep us in your prayers. Still to come are presentations from our Pension Boards, from the Insurance Boards, from our National Legal Counsel, and quite a few other things.

Till then, be well.

Scottsdale UCC

I spent the morning leading worship at Scottsdale UCC.

In the middle of their stewarship campaign, they wanted me to come and talk about OCWM.

I was happy to do that.

A number of years ago, Donna Gentry reminded them this morning, the church was giving about $100 a year in OCWM offerings to support the wider ministry of the church. She wanted them to do something about that, and adamantly challenged the church to slowly work their way up to being a Covenant Keeper church - that is, a church that tithes by giving 10% of their annual pledging to the wider church.

Assuming they approve their budget proposal, 2009 is the year that SCUCC will become a Covenant Keeper church. They will reach their long range goal of contributing 10% of their pledges to the wider ministry of the United Church of Christ.

It was stirring to listen to this story unfold in worship this morning.

It was an honor to be there to thank them on behalf of all of us who share this ministry, and to recount for them the many ministries that they enable through their contributions.

So, is your church a Covenant Keeper?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, its time to celebrate the Holiday. My vegetarian son and I will be slicing through a large chunk of tofurkey right about the time the final whistle blows on the Detroit Lions football game.









The following pics each give me something to be thankful for:

Back in the Saddle...

The weekend started with a meal at the Truck Stop at mile marker #268 on East Ten outside Tucson (not, as Randy Mayer found out when he walked in an hour late to the meeting he called, and using directions he gave to us - but which, thank God, none of us but him trusted).

The food was outstanding, and our waitress, Rose-A-Lee, was a real smart alek.










From there we travelled to a retreat center just north of Tombstone, where your Growth and Development team made some real progress dreaming, scheming, plotting and planning the future of growth and development in the life of the Southwest Conference.

I know you want to know more about that - and you will, trust me. This is soon to become priority number one. But first, we have a lot of work to do. We promise that we will do nothing half-way, and until we build a solid infrastructure to support these hopes and dreams, we are not moving forward. We have more work to do, but this was a very important step.

In the days to come reports will be drafted, education will be undertaken, timelines will be developed, and hopes will turn from dreams into deeds - but one step at a time. More info is forthcoming on this.

From there I flew to Kettering, Ohio, where I preached the Installation of my good friend and pastor, Rev. Dr. Brian Q. Newcomb. There is no one like this man anywhere, and spending that last couple days with him was a delight!

Caught in the Action....

Don't those sandals look familiar?

Who is that?

And where is he?

Yep, that's your Conference Minister, sneaking out of the office for an afternoon to catch an Arizona Fall League Baseball game.















After a long stretch without a day away, he snuck out and caught a baseball game. This is the last week of fall ball.

While there, he got the autograph of the St. Louis Cardinal first round draft pick and ASU grad Brett Wallace, who is playing third base for the Peoria Saguaros.

It was a beautiful afternoon, and if he gets the chance - he just might do it again.

A Full Weekend in Tucson

Back to Tucson this weekend.

The weekend began with a Planned Giving seminar put on by Lynne Hanson and Hans Holznagel from our Cleveland Offices (check website for information about the same event happening in Albuquerque today, and Phoenix on Thursday - it was well worth it!). Pictured here are some of the participants who gathered for that seminar.

On Sunday morning, I had the joy of returning to the place where it all began for me: Rincon Congregational United Church of Christ in Tucson. I worshipped in the sanctuary where I was elected, and preached from the spot whereat my very first sermon as your Conference Minister was delivered. I would be lying if I said it did not mean a good deal to me to return to that spot. I certainly had warm and fond memories of that whole weekend.

Pictured here are Miles and Trent - the latter being the choir director at Rincon. I sat next to these two in the second service (Miles was far the better behaved of the two).

Nice reward, no?

This was the view as I woke Friday morning to greet the day.

I spent the evening with the Search Committee at Church of the Good Shepherd in Albuquerque, and then stayed with Bob and Pat Rozenak. Some days, I feel like a king!

Some new friends to meet

Meet the Search Committee at Encanto Community Church, United Church of Christ. I met with them earlier in the week, and they are ready to get things going. In the picture are Jill, Ted, LeeAnn, Madison, Mary, and Jan.
















And in this picture we have a few of our Partners in Education. I had my first meeting with this group, and we talked about how to make Christian Education, and their contributions to that effort, more central to the life of the Southwest Conference. Here picture are Larry, Carol, Sue, and Dana.

La Trinidad

What a marvelous Sunday this was. A long drive, to be sure, but well worth it as I helped La Trinidad celebrate both their 118th Anniversary and the Licensure of their pastor, Jessie Sustaita.


First, here is the gas station where I filled up in Southeastern Arizona. Why show this? Because this is where the old guy in the beat up pickup drove me to after I ran out of gas on the Highway. I might have had a few things on my mind - but really, no excuse. Just being dumb again.

But, once I got to El Paso, I had a blast. Did a little adventure seeking in the morning, and came across this amphitheater hidden in the Franklin Mountains. Can't wait to see a concert or play here.









Then, La Trinidad celebrated. Jessie was recognized in the service for her authorization as a Licenced Minister. There were tears of joy, dancing, music, and food. Desert View UCC in El Paso cancelled there worship service to attend and help in the celebration, and members from Sin Fronteras were there as well.

All in all, it was a memorable expression of covenant partnership all the way around. And watching how much this day meant to Jessie was deeply moving. She clearly feels a strong call to this ministry. We pray for her and all that this ministry will bring to the church and the community.