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.