Nogales, and a Dear Friend

I spent a magnificent weekend in Nogales. Mimi and I drove down on Saturday and had a splendiferous meal in the home of the Pastor, Dave Jernigan, and his wife Joan.

On Sunday morning, we held a rousing service of worship in their Sanctuary....



before heading downstairs for a meeting to talk about mission and discernment. I can tell you this much - you don't mess with this lady!


On Friday evening, I had the distinct pleasure of sharing the evening and a meal with one of my personal heroes: Davida Foy-Crabtree. She is the Conference Minister in Connecticut, and when I entered Conference Ministry I asked her to be my mentor - which she graciously agreed to be. She is pictured here with her husband David, and a mutual friend Randy Hyvonen, Conference Minister in Montana.

A Day to Imagine

A group of about 30 from around the Conference gathered at the Church of The Beatitudes to 'imagine' - that is to say, to invite the Holy Spirit to move in ways that gave us new ideas about how to be and build church.

Here is the Rev. Dr. Steve Wayles doing his commercial for the United Church of Christ of the future:


Here are the Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray and the soon to be Rev. Jeremy Lopez, looking cool having spent some time in the sun talking about leadership in the church of the future:


Here are Katrina Glenn, our Youth and Outdoor Ministry director, and the Rev. Cameron Trimble, the Executive Director of the Center for Progressive Renewal. When I saw this picture, I wondered: "OK, who just said what?"


And finally, here are the Rev. Randy Mayer from Church of the Good Shepherd in Sahuarita, Pete Norum from First Congregational UCC in Prescott, and Cameron. They really look intent - something important must have been going on at the time.

A Lot of Catching Up to Do...

I start with pictures from a magnificent weekend in Sahuarita at the Border Fair.
Here is the Santa Cruz River Band, who played a remarkable concenrt Friday evening to kick off the event.

Here is piece of embroidery that was part of four large wall hangings, entirely composed of these pieces of art found in the desert, left by migrants crossing from despair into hope.

Here is part of the delegation that came all the way from United in Santa Fe.

Here is Ted Ramirez, from the Santa Cruz River Band, leading a workshop on music from the border.

Just look at the crowd!

And finally, here is Randy Mayer, whose leadership made this possible. He looks happy and proud, no?

I spent Sunday with two churches. The first was South Mountain UCC, and here are some pics from the day (don't you love Barb in her Bee hat? When you see her, she will be happy to answer your obvious question about that).



The other church was a Samoan Mission church thinking about affiliating with the UCC.


We lift them up in prayer, and as we do so we remember to pray for Black Mountain UCC and First Christian Church of Las Cruces - both of which will vote to affiliate at their Annual Meetings this coming Sunday.

Just catching up...

On Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure to attend the surprise Birthday party for Kathy Kim. Kathy is a member of the Church of the Beatitudes in Phoenix. She as a member of the Search Committee that called me here to the Southwest Conference. On the very first night in my house, she and the Rev. David Weaver brought us dinner for our first meal here. She has been a blessing to us throughout our time here, and helping her celebrate was a real joy. She is pictured here with a good friend, Barbara Nordlund. Taking their picture together was special to me, since they were both on your Search Committee for the Conference. And the next picture is my bride, Mimi, with the Rev. David Weaver - we all had a great time that night.




This last picture is of Mark Buehle, whose proud parents got to hear him preach at the Church of the Palms in Sun City. I also heard him, and had a very enjoyable visit with him in my office this morning. Mark gave a life as a computer programmer some 25 years ago to follow a call into the Mission Fields. 12 years in Zambia, followed by 13 in Lesotho have afforded him some great experiences and stories. Mark will be itinerating through the Southwest Conference, visiting our churches. If you get a chance to hear him, I strongly encourage you to take that chance.

Housewarming...

Our Youth and Outdoor Ministry Director, Katrina Glenn, had a housewarming party at her new home last night.

It was quite a crowd that gathered. Here is Katrina with my Assistant, Barbara Decker.


Here is Katrina opening her gifts:


Here is Alex, who introduced himself as the 'coolest guy on earth:'


And Katrina wouldn't think about doing a party without her grandma and grandpa, so here are Donna and Ray Gentry:

A time with clergy...

First Congregational UCC in Tucson was the host for this afternoons Clergy gathering. Clergy from across the Southern part of Arizona gathered for fellowship, for support, and for a shared meal.

It was heart-warming to participate in the sharing as we spoke of our families, our ministry settings, our challenges, and our celebrations.

It was also a joy to welcome the Rev. Steve Van Kuiken to the gathering for the first time.

A Day on the Road...

A trip to Tucson gave me a chance to meet the Rev. Steve Van Kuiken for the first time and find out what it is that everyone at Rincon UCC is so excited about. I enjoyed me visit with him very much, and look forward to getting to know him even better. Our visit may have been brief, but it gave me enough of a glimpse to know what all the excitement is about.



From there, I made a trip further down the highway to Nogales and spent the afternoon with the good folk at the United Churches Fellowship United Church of Christ. This was a good day. Tomorrow I look forward to a visit with the clergy of Southern Arizona. Look for pix and story tomorrow.