A Big Day in the Dorhauer Household

John and his bride to be, Kelley, flew in this morning from Chicago....


They are here to celebrate the Holidays, and to celebrate Molly's 21st Birthday.

I'm getting old.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

The Steeple at First Phoenix is lit up against the evening sky, with a small moon hovering above on the Eve of Christmas.


My daughter Molly with her 'boyfriend' Randall. Molly will sing 'Silent Night' accompanied by her brother on guitar, while Randall would enliven the worship on both the piano and organ.


The Rev. Jeffrey Dirrim prepares to preach his Christmas message.



The Rev. Dr. Steve Wayles prepares for the Christmas Eve service by sharing the Joy of Christmas to all.


Mimi and Sam are ready to celebrate the Eve of Christmas.

Its Beginning to Feel a Lot Like...

On Thursday of last week, the staff of the Soutwest Conference gathered for their Annual Christmas party.

A little levity, a lot of food, and stories of Christmas traditions past and present made for a joyful Christmas celebration.

On Sunday, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Christmas Cantata performed by West Congregational United Church of Christ's Choir. (Here they are rehearsing)


It is a bit amazing that a group this small in number produces such large sound. They do it with joy, enthusiasm, and great pride. After the Cantata, we all gathered in the Fellowship Hall for lunch and for a showing of their performance this past summer at Carnegie Hall.

Catching Up

Another busy week, but another very fulfilling week.

I posted pictures of my time on retreat with the Bishop's of New Mexico last week, and this week spent a magnificent day in the foothills west of Tucson with the Bishops of Arizona.

Here is a group photo of us:


And here is the Bishop of the Tucson Diocese making an important point about some important topic (I don't remember specifically what that might have been, but how can it not be: this was the Bishop's retreat, right?). You can see the Quaker rep (like we, they have no real Bishops) lost in thought.


Yesterday, the Church Growth and Development Committee met. As you look at this picture, we should look exhausted ( we worked very, very hard), excited (our work is moving us ever closer to doing some really exciting things - more about that soon), and we should look well fed (we just finished lunch). You will note that I intentionally stood in front of Ray Gentry, trying to cover that offensive shirt he wore (Sun Devils - egad).




That's the news for now. Stay tuned.

A Sunday at Church of the Painted Hills

By the grace of God, I was able to clear my calendar Sunday morning and spend some time with Lee Milligan and his flock at the Church of the Painted Hills in Tucson, Arizona.

That was important, because on Friday Lee learned of the death of his beloved father. How appropriate that as the service began, Lee reminded his parishioners that we are to 'rejoice in the Lord, always.' It was a testimony to his integrity and his faith that he was able to model that rejoicing for them on a Sunday when there were two Baptisms, and two Confirmands who stood before the church and Confirmed their faith.

We keep Lee in our prayers, as we do Danielle and Evan, the two Confirmands.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has met, in fact is meeting as I write this, to do two very important things.

Of course, one of those things is the business of the Conference. Boring, right? Well, sure - at times. But important nonetheless.

The other task this morning has been the simple and beautiful task of discernment. THE big question - namely, where is the Holy Spirit calling us - has been put on the table. This discussion has been rich, and will continue with a Board retreat in January.

A Final Service

This past Sunday, I traveled to Silver City to attend the final service of the Rev. Larimore Wicket. Not only was this to be his last service as the Pastor of our Valley Community Church, this was to be his last as an active minster. He has officially retired.
Mimi was able to travel with me, and here she is with her adopted older brother Alan, whom she met at the Annual Meeting way back when in Tucson (you remember that one, it was where I was elected Conference Minister) and they became fast friends.

From the look of things, Larimore is not so much retiring from parish ministry as he is taking on the role of Bishop (I actually placed the Mitre on his head AFTER I made him kiss my ring - which he actually did)....

We wish him and Carlos, his partner, the best in their retirement years as we also thank him on behalf of the Body of Christ for his years of faithful service and ministry.

A Little Catching Up

Well, since last I posted, I have participated in our Leadership Training workshops in Phoenix, worshipped with our good friends at Valley Community Church in Silver City (I will do a separate posting on those first two events later in the week), attended the New Mexico Conference of Churches Bishop' retreat, and spent the day in Jaurez, Mexico with Raul Blanco and a host of others at Iglessia Sin Fronteras.

Here I am, probably having made some critical insight, with my Judicatory colleagues at the Cannosian Sisters Retreat Center in Albuquerque.

This really was a good and meaningful event, at which we talked very seriously about the need for Ecumenical Partners to engage in far more serious dialogue with each other, including those things for which we have the most divisive points of view. And yes, we talked about issues regarding human sexuality - the topic that in this day and time is the most divisive within the household of Chrisianity - and we did it with love and respect.

Here is the front gate of Raul's church in Jaurez.

Raul is doing a great job in a very tough environment, and in this season of Advent let us remember to lift him up in prayer. Here he is pictured with a dear colleague, the Rev. Daniel Celis from the Congregational Christian church in Mazatlan. The Rev. Celis has provided good counsel and companionship on Raul's journey.

Leadership Training at Duke University

I have had the pleasure this week of attending a Leadership Training event on the Campus of Duke University. It has been both an enjoyable experience, and an insightful one. I am grateful for the opportunity.

With me are some of my colleagues in Conference Ministry.

Here is my dear old friend, and former colleague on staff in Missouri - Sheldon Culver from the Illinois South Conference:


Here is my crusty old friend, and keynoter and softball ringer at our last Annual Meeting - Kent Siladi from the Florida Conference:


And here is my good friend and newlywed, Mike Denton from the Washington-North Idaho Conference.


Will be traveling back home later today, but not without some great resources and new ideas for being a creative, imaginative leader.

Yuma Arizona

Had a great time visiting with our friends at Yuma United Church of Christ.

I want to thank Stacey and Marilynn for their warmth and hospitality.

This is a great group of people committed to keeping alive the vision of and hope for a progressive community of faith in the farthest reaches of the Southwest Conference. I am proud of them, and lift them up in prayer. The challenge to be meaningful covenant partners for and with them belongs to us all.

Thanksgiving Alive at Camp Thunderbird

About 65 Youth from across the Conference (ranging from Flagstaff AZ to El Paso TX) gathered at Camp Thunderbird last night. The Camp is about 30 miles north and east of Silver City NM - where the youth will gather today to perform a variety of mission services throughout the town.

The youth will spend the entire weekend there, and will worship with the members and friends of our church in Silver City.

This is always a highlight of the year for our youth, and we want to send our thanks and appreciation to Katrina Glenn, our Director of Youth and Outdoor Ministries, to the members of our Youth Council, and to all of the adult supervisors who volunteered their time to make this a great event for our youth.

A Happy Dorhauer Thanksgiving

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving was as special as ours, and that you had as much to be thankful for as we did.

John and Kelley, wish you were here.

I met with the Scottsdale Congregational UCC yesterday to do an orientation for their search Committee (pictured above, seated around the table). It's always an exciting moment when a Search Committee finally comes together for the first time, anticipating both the many months of hard work that is ahead of them, and the thrill of finally calling the pastor who will come to serve their church.

Only last Sunday I was with them as they celebrated their 50th anniversary.

This Sunday the celebrated the feast of St. Andrew - patron saint of Scotland. And with an Interim pastor named MacFarlane, the celebration took on an added tone of gaiety. Take a look for yourself:

West Region Conference Minister Gathering

Here is my little cabin in the woods. Three days in heaven, meeting with the Conference Ministers of the West Region.

A visitor and a 50th

What a wonderful Sabbath Day!

First, Michael Piazza, such a gift and a remarkable blessing, led worship at Beatitudes Church in Phoenix. He was amazing!

And then, as if rising to the top of that mountain top experience wasn't enough, I had the pleasure of representing the Southwest Conference at the evening celebration of Scottsdale Congregational United Church of Christ's 50th anniversary. In the following pictures, you see the two former pastors, Katherine Harts and Eric Elnes, announcing a blessing at the close of the servuce; all of the former Moderators who were in attendance; and the lighting of the prayer candle by Sue Jenkins, a Charter Member, Lois Bond, widow of former pastor Alan Bond, and Charlene Smallsreed Tapp, the widow of the founding pastor.



What an absolute joy this was!

Here's to their next 50 years, and the blessings that will come to them, and be offered by them.

Executive Committee

Before I showed up for the Executive Committee this morning, I drove out to visit with the pastor and members of the First Samoan Church here in Phoenix. They were vandalized two weeks ago, and today was to be a cleanup day. When they showed up this morning to continue working on the damages, they discovered they were broken into again. Busted doors, cinder walls knocked over, furniture overturned, and gang tags spray-painted on walls and doors inside and out. This is truly sad.

From there, I spent the day with the Executive Committee. We did a little business, but most of the day was spent in the early stages of our mission planning. Pictured here is Beth Mohr, member at First Congregational UCC in Albuquerque, who flew in to facilitate our discussion. I have to tell you, she is a real gift. We came a long way in a short time. We will continue the mission planning at our December Board meeting, at a January Board retreat, and again at our March Board Meeting.


Following her time with us, the Board continued its work - here they are caught up in the business of the day. All in all, a good day's work for the leaders of the Southwest Conference.

CoCAM

Our Committee on Church and Ministry met yesterday.

As you can see in this picture, they work hard.


In fact, we had a full day.

The real highlight of the day was the Ordination Exam of Theresa Blythe, member of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Tucson. Here she is with Mark Clark, her In Care Advisor, just moments after being told she was approved for her Ecclesiastical Council.


This group. CoCAM, works long, hard hours and does the kind of work that keeps the church functioning well. We lift them up in prayer as they continue to serve us.

First Day Back

Refreshed from a wonderful week away, I began yesterday with an afternoon gathering at the Beatitudes Campus celebrating the gifts of our retired clergy. A good array of retired clergy from all over Arizona (having done one just two weeks prior for our New Mexico clergy) gathered for food, for fun, and for fellowship.
The Carlsons are shown here leading us in song:


And Holly is shown here giving our door prizes:



And last night I met with the Search Committee at Beatitudes. Here we are meeting in the Luther Life Center on the Campus of the Beatitudes. It was their first meeting, and we lift them up in prayer as they begin their process of discernment.