Another Great Weekend

I won't be able to add some of the pics till later in the week (I am sitting in the Sky Harbor airport waiting for my plane to take off - Cleveland this time), but here are some quick thoughts about another fruitful weekend.

Friday, I flew to Albuquerque for the Annual banquet for the New Mexico Conference of Churches. It was an enjoyable evening. Lee Maynard received their very honorable 'Turquoise Chalice' award. Here is his picture.

I flew back Saturday morning, and met with the Youth Council. Oh, my goodness - what an amazing bunch of young men and women. We talked about the future of youth ministry and youth presence in the Conference.

From there I went to the Hispanic Minister's gathering at South Mountain church here in Phoenix to hear Linda Jaramillo preach. Linda is the Executive Minister of the Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ - a member of the Collegium. It was an honor to have her among us, and a joy to hear her preach.

And then yesterday I had the honor of preaching at the 5th anniversary of First Congregational UCC's decision to become an Open and Affirming church. What an absolute delight that was! I guess now is as good a time as any to answer a question that many of you have been asking. The answer is First Congregational. The question is: where are you going to place your membership. I let Mimi make the choice, and when not with me on my sojourns around the Conference, she has been traveling around. We met with Steve Wayles after the service in his office and informed him of our decision. We are very happy about this.

Well, enough for now. My plane is taking off soon, and I must get ready. I will post again later in the week, so stay tuned.

Catching Up

I am back from three days in beautiful northern Indiana, helping the Great Lakes Regional Conference Staffs be in retreat.

Let me do just a little catching up.

I mentioned that the Board of Directors met last weekend for a retreat and board meeting. They worked hard. I want you to know about two important decisions they made - among many very important decisions.

The voted to oppose Proposition 200 on the November ballot in Arizona. This is a referendum written by Pay Day loan funds that ostensibly is intended to reform the Pay Day loan industry. Uh, well - that's a joke. It would reduce their Annual Percentage Rate of interest to around 381%, and would give the loan company's electronic access to the bank accounts of those whom they are charging that level of interest. We strongly oppose Prop 200. Visit this website to learn more:

http://www.200isnoreform.com/2008/08/judge-to-consider-hearing-on-prop-200-ballot-language/

The Board also voted first to oppose Prop 102, a ballot initiative to amend Arizona's constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. In addition to opposing this ballot initiative, the Board agreed to receive funds from donors to be used to defeat this amendment proposal. We already have a donor who is willing to contribute an amount equal to what our own restrictions allow, and that money will be given to help defeat Prop 102.

From there I went to Oro Valley, and I will include just a couple more pictures from that weekend event. Here I am holding forth in the fellowship hall after worship. We spent some time talking about the value of OCWM and covenant partnership.

This next photo was the view from our hotel room for the night. Thanks Herb!


Stay tuned for more news from around the Conference.

I'm tired, but deeply satisfied

What an amazing weekend!

Two days of retreat and meeting with the Board of Directors, and an overnight trip to Oro Valley United Church of Christ just outside Tucson.

I will spend more time in the next couple of days filling you in on some important Board decisions, and including some pix.

But let me talk right now about Oro Valley.

Saturday night, Pastor Jim Briney and his wife Sandy hosted us at their home. It was dinner with a couple of close friends and a few members, and it was a delight. The views from their porch and pool are as breathtaking as any.

And thanks to Herb and Jan for taking care of our accommodations - when I woke up to watch the sun set outside my room, I knew I was a lucky man.

Worship at Oro Valley, fellowship afterwards, a time of conversation and dialogue, and then gathering at a local restaurant for lunch with some of the members was very enjoyable. I found that Jose, their accompanist, and Herb, their choir director, had a unique blend of high quality and real enthusiasm. This combination made for some lively worship.

Desert Garden

My very good friend Howard Schenk came up with a good idea shortly after I arrived. He said, "John, why don't we have a lunch for you at Desert Garden, and we will invite people from all over the west valley to meet with you and our knew pastor, Sam Sowitsky."

And yesterday, that is exactly what we did.

You can see the group gathered here around the table. Len Silvester was there with a group from Church of the Palms. Jim Fredette was there with a few from United Church of Sun City. There was a good contingent from Desert Surprise. And the folk at Desert Garden really did a great job hosting all of us.

We were privileged to hear Sam and Alla Sawitsky's amazing story. A dissident in Soviet Russia who was sent to Siberia and denied his ability to preach, he defected to the US and left his wife and family behind until they could join him at a later time. This brilliant man would eventually end up in Pennsylvania, and while at Lancaster Seminary (yes, George Ault, another Lancaster grad in the Southwest Conference) discovered and fell in love with the United Church of Christ.

We welcome Sam, and we are grateful for this effort to share meal, story, and fellowship with the churches of the west valley.

I could not help but admire the sculpture of the flame representing the Holy Spirit found in the columbarium at Desert Garden, and while there yesterday took a picture of it. We are led by this Spirit, and beholden to her whimsical, abiding ways. And thank God for that.

Prayers Requested

First, a note about my friend and colleague, Rev. Douglas Anders. Douglas is the Conference Minister with our next door neighbors to the east, the South Central Conference. They have been hit hard by two recent hurricanes (the Conference encompasses Texas and Louisiana). Here is an update in his own words:

Affects of Hurricane Ike: Most of our UCC churches in the Houston Association suffered minor to moderate wind and water damage. There have no reports or major or extensive damage to church buildings. A few UCC churches on the outer edge of the Association (Beaumont, TX and Lake Charles, LA have not reported). Most UCC churches cancelled worship services on Sunday but one church had church service (even without power) and had 40 people in worship. The major concern is the restoration of power, which may take weeks. Even when power is restored it may on and off, on and off. The Conference office (located in St. Peter's UCC-Houston, TX) had power restored at midnight on Monday. As the media reports, there was not major loss of life but widespread wind and water related damage.

On a personal note, I am temporarily homeless. I attended a four day LinK event at the Church House in Cleveland, OH, which was from Thursday to Sunday (9/11 to 9/14). Not being able to get back to Houston (both airports closed), I rerouted to St. Louis, getting in late Sunday night. I am connecting to churches and clergy via e-mail and cell phone. My own house is without power as of this afternoon and has a large 60 year old tree in the backyard; not my tree but my neighbor's tree. The good news is that it fell between my garage and house with no damage to either the garage or house. The bad news I have to use the front door because I can't get into the house from the back door, unless the tree is gone by the time I get back to Houston. I hope to return to Houston later this week, to see first hand the damage.

For more info and updates, go to http://www.sccucc.org/

And, in addition to that, here is a report from Francis Rath in his own words:

Alles ist Gut!!! All is Good! Surgery went very well, my recovery is right on schedule, and there are been no complications whatever. So, THANK YOU for your continuing prayers, good thoughts and concerns. I have felt like I am surrounded by a cloud of witnesses lifting me up in prayers. Marge has been incredible . .and is also feeling much better about the whole thing. Part of the report on Thursday will include the findings of lymph-nodes also removed. So that is still of some concern, but I am confident this will also be negative.

Blessings to you all! And thank you again for your prayers.

I'm Having Way Too Much Fun!!!

Well, let's let the weekend play out in a series of pictures.

Let's start with the most fun of all (who am I kidding):


Justice and Witness Committee. Here they are in all their glory. That's Phil Reller from Rincon at the head of the table, leading this group of miscreants. If we go around the table clockwise, we see Sandi Britton, Fletch Wideman (whose visage was mercifully unable to fit into the frame - apologies Fletch), Liana Rowe, Lee Clegg, and Diane Smith. We worked hard while together, rejuvenated our call to purpose and our passion for this ministry, and came up with at least one good idea - you'll be hearing more about it. We are looking for a Justice and Witness Summit in Feb., in Tucson, and to which we are hoping every church will send a representative, and to which all clergy will be invited. We need you to teach us how we can best serve you, and partner with you in the very important work of Justice!



From there I spent the evening with a group of malcontents from Shepherd of the Hills, whose two pastors (Steve Davis and Kristen Barner) seemed to be unable to maintain any semblance of control. Though it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, the home team lost in overtime (not my home team, by the way. I was decked out in my Mizzou Tiger paraphernalia and cheered when the scoreboard revealed that they won 69 - 17 - now ranked 5th in the nation).

But the best was yet to come. Here are some pics from a delightful celebration at South Mountain church, an affiliated UCC and UMC church in South Phoenix led by Rev. Rich and Rev. DOCTOR Barb Doerrer-Peacock. Here she is with her parents, and below with my wife Mimi. We celebrated the conferral of her Doctor of Ministry degree. Good worship (you simply MUST ask Barb about the bulletin for the day - absolutely ingenious!), great music, outstanding preaching, a belly full of food, halls filled with laughter (alas, poor Rich was the butt of many jokes - he shouldn't have invited his brother), and a whole lot of pride for the honoree.

Well, the work of your Southwest Conference moves forward. The big event this week will be the retreat for the Board of Directors on Friday and Saturday, preceding my first trip to Oro Valley. Keep us all in your prayers!

Back Again

Just touched ground about 20 minutes ago. I was in St. Louis for a presentation to the International Gathering of Parish Nurses. Quite an experience. I did my best to help them 'navigate the murky waters of conflict, tension, and misunderstanding' between themselves and their pastor.

I did not get a chance to report this earlier (because I had to jump on a plane as soon as the meeting ended), but on Thursday the Southwest Conference was proud to receive another in-Care student. Chris Hinkle is pictured here with one of his Pastors, Rev. Ted Elsenheimer from Church of the Beatitudes. We welcome Chris with open arms, and look forward to a time of discernment with him as he prepares himself for Christian ministry.

I am about to enter a meeting, my first, with the Justice and Witness Committee of the Southwest Conference (just to be clear - this is not my first ever meeting, as I have had a few of those over the years, just my first with this Committee. Reminds me of my trip to Silver City. The paper there ran an article about my coming, and the headline read: "Rev. Dorhauer to preach his first sermon at Silver City." Oh, for the days when editors knew what they were doing.) Anyway, please pray for this Committee. We are looking to give shape, direction, purpose, and meaning to that which we do for all of you.

Retreat

After our short, but very meaningful retreat Tuesday and Wednesday, your staff is back at it today.

We were led on the retreat by Rev. Dr. Martha Brunell, currently serving as an Interim in Princeton, Illinois.

I will not speak for anyone else, but this retreat was for me a very moving time. It drew us closer as a staff. I believe it helped shape us as a team, a single unit, in ways that our day to day, task-oriented lives never could or would.

Please lift us up in prayer as we continue to do that for which you have called us to do - and in so doing ensure that the mission and ministry of the Conference goes forward with excellence.

On Retreat

I may be out of touch the next couple of days.

My staff and I are on retreat.

Please keep us in your prayers.

A weekend in El Paso

Friday night jazz, an early morning breakfast with a group of ornery men, an afternoon hike through the Mountains, a large gathering of friendly folk at Dominguez restaurant Saturday evening, a stirring worship hour on Sunday morning followed by potluck, QandA, and fellowship before heading back home late Sunday afternoon all conspired to make my first ever visit to El Paso a memorable one.

I really didn't know what to expect, and found myself enthralled by the city that wound it's way around large mountains, deep valleys, river beds, and a border defining two states and two countries.

I enjoyed meeting some wonderful characters along the way - including a guy named Larry who just had to show up at Dominquez and sit right next to me all night wearing a Boston Red Sox jersey. Not to be outdone, my old buddy Stan showed up with just the right apparel Sunday for worship (that is he in the foreground here). Meeting Ruth was a special joy, as she spoke not only of her 'conversion' and dedication to the United Church of Christ, but also of her leadership on National Boards through the years and her spirit as a feminist Chicano. What a spirit!

And here is my host for the weekend, Jane. She was a delight! I would picture Les, her husband - but I thought I would spare you. Not only that, as gracious as she was - well, he was just that ornery (yep, he was part of the Saturday morning breakfast crew).

We lift the good folk at Desert View up in our prayers through their time of Transitional ministry, and especially Diane Christopherson - their Interim pastor, here shown contemplating the movement of the Holy Spirit in a place of uplift (I'm just sure that's what she's doing).

After a wonderful dinner in the home of Rev.Len Silvester, he and I made our way over to the home of Desert Surprise's moderator, Paul Brosor.

Two weeks ago, DSUCC learned that their Interim Minister would no longer be able to serve them. Since then, Paul, Len, and I have been working together to develop a course of action that would ensure the continued health and vitality of this congregation.

We met last night with almost all the members of the congregation. It was a joy to meet with them, even if under less than the best of circimstances.

Good conversation was shared. Feelings of shock and anger and disappointment were expressed. And thoughts about how to move forward were put on the floor for discussion.

It is in moments like these that we rediscover the value of our covenant partnerships, and test just how strong are those ties that bind us together in Christian love and fellowship. In what ways do our partnerships compel us to respond to a church in need? And how is it that we make use of our relationships and the resources we can bring to bear in order to partner with a sister congregation struggling with a present crisis?

That is in part what Len and I were there to discuss with DSUCC last night.

We invite you to keep them in your prayers. We have every reason to believe that the group with whom we met last night, resilient and faithful and compassionate, will not only move through this time of confusion and pain, but will blossom and grow.

A Long Couple Days

I'm sitting in the Orlando airport. Got up this morning at 3:30am to catch my flight back - that is, 3:30 eastern time. I'll let you do the math.

What am I doing in Orlando? Golf? Disney? Perhaps catching a Tampa Bay/Yankees game with my good friend Kent Siladi, Conference Minister here in Florida and an obnoxious Yankee fan? No, no, and no.

Meetings.

I'm helping plan a week of meetings for all Conference Staffs from all over the denomination. We meet every two years in in December in Orlando for a week-long conference. We try to learn here how we do what we do. It's a valuable experience.

I write a lot about what I am doing WITHIN the Conference; but there are times when my work OUTSIDE the Conference is as important. It helps me remember that we are connected to a wider body - all parts of which are doing remarkable things to further the strength of our call and mission in the world.

We have outstanding people working on our behalf throughout this denomination.

Here is one of my favorites: Dick Sparrow. He was there. He came to the Southwest Conference not to long ago to help train our Committee on Church and the Ministry. He is as wise and deeply spiritual a man as any I have ever met. It was a joy spending time with him.

Anyway, I will soon be heading back home - for a day. More travels to come in this very busy month.

Prayers, please.

Wow, What a Weekend!

I set out early Friday morning for Camp Thunderbird in southern New Mexico, a shortish drive from Silver City. Eight hours later, I pulled into heaven and spent three days there.

The highlight of the trip for me was the Saturday excursion to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. It was a deeply spiritual experience - at least the part of the morning that came between Saul's drive into the mountains and then again out of the mountains wherein the cliff dwellings were located. We stopped at a couple of spots along the way for some spectacular views - which I will be happy to share with all of you when I remember to get up in the morning and bring my camera with me to the office.


Anyway, I met a thousand new friends this weekend (I know mom, you've told me a million times not to exaggerate), walked through some pretty countryside, and read through my entire New Yorker magazine. I felt relaxed and refreshed. The weekend culminated for me with a stirring service of worship, and in that much of the music used was masterfully composed and arranged by Rev. Dianne Christopherson, the Interim Minister at Desert View UCC in El Paso TX. The flute solo by Katy Eyberg was especially moving.

I spent Labor Day watching the Cards lose to the D-Backs. So much for hospitality - I wait all year for this one game, and the home team treats me like a rented mule.This is a picture of a St. Louis native, and one of their key relievers. He grew up a child of Friedens Chapel UCC, where my good friend Donna Pupillo is the pastor. She confirmed young Kyle McClellan. When he ran by, I said hello to him, and sent him greetings from his former pastor. He grinned and told me to tell her hello.

I wish I could go back tonight and tomorrow, but alas, I am on a plane for a meeting in Florida. Which reminds me: I covet your prayers. September is, as I expressed to a member of our staff this morning, a Marathon race for me run at the pace of a sprint. I could use the spiritual uplift. Follow the Blog over the next few weeks and you will get more of a sense of what I'm talking about.

When I get the camera back in my hands, I will post some more pics from this weekend. My next post will come from Florida - stay tuned!