Christmas at First, Phoenix

The Christmas Eve service at First Congregational Phoenix was a delightful way to kick off the Holiday celebrations with the family.

Here is Mimi with her beloved pastor, the Rev. Dr. Steve Wayles:


Here is Molly preparing to sing her solo, "What Child Is This":


Here, a living Nativity is created:


Here the worshippers gather in the courtyard for a candlelit rendition of 'Silent Night':


Here is Santa and his elf, who came to the courtyard to visit the children, young and old:


And here is the magnificent steeple, lit up against the night sky:

Desert Palm and Sun Lakes....

A week ago, I had the distinct pleasure of participating in the Rev. Michael Ann Verizoglu's Installation as Associate Pastor at Desert Palm United Church of Christ. It was an uplifting experience, to be sure.
From the marvelous preaching of one John Herman....


To the moving demonstration of covenant love and fellowship by the members of First Samoan United Church of Christ (Sinah Asoon is picture here presenting gifts to Desert Palm - she is also a member of the SWC Board of Directors)...


To the nourishing presence of the Holy Spirit at the Communion table...


this was an uforgettable afternoon.

Yesterday, the Rev. Dr. Vernon Meyer celebrated his first Thanksgiving as the pastor at Sun Lakes United Church of Christ - where 7 descendants of the Mayflower voyagers were present! Here are some pictures:

Beth Frigard

Last week, Beth Frigard presented herself to the Committee on Church and Ministry for her Ordination exam.

We are pleased to announce that she was outstanding, and has been approved for her Eccelesiastical Council and recommended for Ordination pending a call.

Beth is a member at Rincon UCC in Tucson.

She is pictured here with her friend and support person, Mark Clark and with Lee Albertson, chair of CoCAM.

A Day of Profound Joy

On Sunday, I had the distinct honor to preach and preside at the Installation of the Rev. Lee Milligan. Lee is now the newly Installed Sr. Pastor at Casas Adobes Congregational United Church of Christ in Tucson, AZ.

It was a day of mixed and powerful emotions, coming only three days after the second anniversary of the Rev. Bruce Von Roekel's tragic death by suicide - and the power of the new day dawning within that context was felt by all.

Enjoy the pictures of a church and covenant partner celebrating a day that will long live in their collective memories.

Lee and I in front of the church just moments before the Installation:

Lee making his vows before the Congregation, and I joined by CoCAM representative the Rev. Marie Bacchiocchi:

The Congregation rising as one to make their vows with their newly called and installed pastor:

Clergy Retreat

The clergy of the Southwest Conference gathered for four days at the Franciscan Renewal Center for their annual retreat.

It was a truly remarkable experience. We hoped to find time for respite and relaxation, and it came. We hoped for comradery, and it came. We waited for the Spirit, and she came.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves - they tell a story.

No Longer Silent

I have a couple photographs and a transcript, both from an organized protest at the Catholic Basilica in Phoenix. A legislative training event sponsored by the Catholic diocese, and founded on the principles of the Manhattan Declaration, was held this weekend at the Basilica. In the picture are UCC colleagues Vernon Meyer and John Herman.



Here is a transcript of my words at the rally:

I serve as the Conference Minister of the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ. We are an Open and Affirming community of faith. meaning we are Open to all who claim their God-given rights and who seek to live a life that celebrates what God has given them; and that we affirm the right of all God’s children to live a life of their choosing - free from oppression, hatred, bigotry, and condemnation.

The Manhattan Declaration is a clear attempt to demonize women who maintain their reproductive freedom and to condemn men and women who are born gay. I stand here an ecumenical partner with its authors and proponents, but in radical opposition to its purpose, meaning, and intent.

I want to be clear about this from the start: women who make reproductive choices are not evil, and being gay does not mean being broken.

What is broken is a Church that fails to live out it’s most foundational teaching: that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength - and your neighbor as yourself.

What is broken is a Church that insists on rendering obscure Scriptural passages with narrow, arcane, barbaric, and - given what we now know - indefensible meaning.

What is broken is a Church that invites its members to hate, to despise, to ridicule, and to shame members of its own family.

I call upon the leaders of the church, lay and clergy alike, to abandon what has been a centuries old condemnation of our gay brothers and sisters and of women who choose reproductive freedom. I invite all Christians to examine their hearts and to test their conscience. If the inclination of your heart is to love at all costs, in spite of those who have taught you to hate, then simply love.

I believe that openness to and affirmation of our gay brothers and sisters honor our deep commitments to the teachings of Scripture and fulfill Christ’s mandate to love. Which is to say, when we love and when we accept and when we affirm those whom God has called, created, and invited to be gay - we do so not in spite of what God intends, but in full compliance with God’s teachings and intentions.

If we continue to teach that there is something inherently wrong with those whom God has created gay, then the blood of every gay teen-ager who commits suicide is on our hands; the shattered bones and bodies of those beaten and brutalized because of their sexual orientation remain our responsibility: there is no escaping or denying our complicity with these evils.

I wish to speak to every woman who has had to struggle with difficult decisions concerning reproductive choice. At our best, we, the church, share the pain, the ambiguity, and the uncertainty that can come in moments where difficult choices must be made. At our best, we, the church, honor your right to make informed choices. At our best, we, the church, remember that Jesus taught us to judge not lest we be judged. May you never have to live again with the burden of guilt and shame imposed on you by the Church at it’s worst. For our history of condemnation - I beg your forgiveness.

I wish as well to speak to every young man and woman who come to know the joy of being created gay. God made you whole, not broken. There is nothing inherently evil about who you are or the life you choose because of who you are. You are not a failure. It is we, the Church, who have failed you. For our history of condemnation - I beg your forgiveness.

No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey - believe in yourself. Love yourself. Love the God who created you, who loves you just as you are, who gives you a mind and a will and empowers you to use both, and who calls you to a life of meaning, purpose, dignity, and pride. And God help those who have burdened your heart with anything but.

Catching Up

Its been too long since I last posted, and some very important things have happened.

We have established our Lay Academy with an inaugural weekend that by all accounts was a tremendous success.

We have celebrated the full affiliation of two congregations new to the United Church of Christ: Black Mountain United Church of Christ and First Christian United Church of Christ. They have been declared churches in good standing of the Southwest Conference!

I attended the final sermon of my mentor and spiritual father, the Rev. Dr. Sam Mann (if you attended my Installation, you will remember him as the preacher for the day).

Enjoy the pictures I accrued from a very full, very exciting, very inspiring last two weeks:
The sign at the Las Cruces church: Disciples and UCC - Partners indeed;

Lee Albertson presents the certificate of Affiliation the Pastor Linda Mervin:

The sun sets as Black Mountain shares a meal in their newly dedicated courtyard:

The Children at Black Mountian sing a song they wrote about being 'affiliates;'

SWC Moderator Brendan Mahoney hands the certificate of Affiliation to Pastor Jayne Hubbard at Black Mountain UCC;

My mentor Sam and his wife Bev, draped in a star quilt given to him by the daugther of Leonard Peltier;

Rev. Dr. Sam Mann preaches his final sermon;

Alice Hunt delivering the inaugural lecture at the SWC Lay Academy;

the first class of the SWC lay academy;

Mimi and Jane, students at the SWC Lay Academy;

Big Meetings

On Saturday, the Exec. Co. met. We were awfully glad, and pretty darn proud, to have Edith Guffy, Associate General Minister of the United Church of Christ, with us. There were many important things discussed (look soon for the next "News from the Conference Minister"), and many important decisions made.
This is an old pic (I had my camera, but forgot to pull it out of my backpack and take a pic) of Moderator Brendan Mahoney and Josh Whistler:




On Monday, the Church Growth and Development Committee met. Likewise, important items discussed. A number of emerging new minstries, churches, and faith communities are being incubated - about which we hope news will be coming very, very soon.
Here is a picture of Church Growth Team member Butch Mellot:

And here are Katrina Glenn and Noel Anderson, also on the team:

Sedona celebrates 50 years

I traveled up the highway to Sedona for the weekend, where Mimi and I had a wonderful evening with George and Claudia Ault. It is worth noting that as the church celebrates its 50 years, George is celebrating 25 with them. That's right - he has served that church faithfully now for more than half of its existence. And he still looks great, yes?
Nothing makes you look better than posing next to me in a picture, so here are George and I (and yes, Goerge is wearing jeans and sneakers to church):

And here are the reasons why we smile as much as we do:

There was a very moving service of worship, with a choir rendition of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" that just sent chills up my spine both time I heard it. And following the worship was a picnic lunch on a gorgeous Arizona afternoon. Here are some of the pictures from that lunch:
The Rev. Donna Cavedon sitting with a clown:

Judith, who not only is organizing a whole year's worth of anniversary celebrations at the church, but also was the on-site coordinator for our Conference Annual Meeting, with Susan

And finally, the inimitable Rev. Bob Carlson, whose sister Dosia composed the anniversary hymn for the church, "Majestic Rocks"

A couple of big days....

Yesterday, CoCAM met. Among the many things we did, we happily received an outstanding new candidate for ministry and began a conversation with a pastor seeking privilege of call.

Here is Kelley Kahlstrom, member at First Congregational in Phoenix, with her pastor the Rev. Jeffrey Dirrim. She was taken In-Care at our meeting.

And here is the Rev. Alan Joplin, member at First Congregational Tempe, who has begun conversation with us concerning Privilege of Call.

A Nice Way to Spend the Holiday

Wally Ryan Kuroiwa and I, old friends we and Interim Minister in Silver City NM he, decided to spend the day in, um, a pastoral consultation.

These pictures will give you an idea of how intense the consultation was.

Back after a week away...

This past weekend, I spent a grace filled and spirit enriching weekend with some wonderful people from our Southern Arizona churches. Camp Thunderbird was astoundingly beautiful, and the weather was as good as it gets. Nights around the fire, s'mores, bingo, volleyball, and hiking were all on the agenda. And Sunday morning, we worshipped outdoors and shared communion at the table of our Lord. Here just a few pictures to capture a feel of what that worship was like. The last of these is a picture of the Rev. Dr. Wally Ryan-Kuroiwa, Interim at Valley Community church in Silver City, this year's host church for the annual Family Camp:




Before I got to Camp Thunderbird, I spent the early part of week with my brother and his family hiking through Mount Ranier. Here he is with his youngest, Holly, and his son, Peter at Comet Falls. Pretty spectacular. I will try to post some more pictures of this soon.

Ordination

Craig Henderson was ordained Wednesday night at his home church, Scottsdale Congregational UCC.

It was a marvelous evening.

Here is Craig getting ready before the service:



And here he is being awarded his Ordination Certificate, having just been declared Ordained to ministry on behalf of the United Church of Christ.



Craig will soon be leaving with his family to Denver - Iowa, that is. He has been called to serve a church in Northeast IA with about 350 members.

We wish him well and send him off with our love.