Friends,

I know that many of you are concerned with what is going on at the border, and some have asked if there is anything we can do to assist asylum seekers, who are suffering in many ways.  Though our little church is fully engaged right now with many other types of mission projects, if you want to render aid, you can help one of our sister churches in the conference in this very Christian cause.  First Church Phoenix (1407 N 2nd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004) is the site for a drive-by drop-off of basic medical donations this coming Sunday morning.  Here is specific information from the conference newsletter:

“The Immigration Task Force at First Church Phoenix invites everyone to drive through their parking lot On Sunday, March 21 from 8am-10am to drop off needed medical supplies and donations to assist families seeking asylum. The donations benefit One Hundred Angels, a local volunteer group that assists asylum seekers with basic medical care. Families making the long journey to the United States from South of the Border are exposed to extreme environmental conditions, experience poor nutrition, exhaustion, dehydration, and other issues that weaken their immune systems.  Items might include Cough Drops, Vitamins, Pain relief (aspirin or ibuprofen), First Aid supplies (bandaids, Q-tips, wound care, lotions), Stomach relief (Anti-acids and over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medication), Pediasure, Baby Formula, and Gallon-size ziplock bags.”

Our Bibles have a lot to say about how to treat our fellow human beings who happen to be the alien, immigrant, and stranger.  In Leviticus 19:34 God says, “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”  For an extensive list of Bible verses regarding the treatment and care of immigrants, please click here:  https://sojo.net/22-bible-verses-welcoming-immigrants.

I rejoice with you as you continue to get vaccinated!  That means we can soon start seeing one another’s wonderful faces in person once again!

Peace,

Co-Pastor Sandi 

Friends,

Each Lent during my childhood, our UCC would collect an annual offering in little globe-shaped, folded-paper containers.  In Sunday school class and in worship, even children were encouraged to allocate some of their allowance for One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS).  We all listened to moving stories about how our donations changed lives around the globe, and I remember how my Sunday school friends and I got so excited to participate with the adults.   

This time of year, our congregation typically joins with the greater UCC denomination in OGHS, which part of Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM).  OGHS is a yearly opportunity to give an offering that changes lives through the provision of clean water, food, medications, shelter, healthcare, education, advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons, disaster preparedness and response, emergency relief and rehabilitation—plus more.  Other denominations including the American Baptist Church, the Disciples of Christ, the Church of the Brethren, and Church World Service join together in this worthy effort.  You can learn more about OGHS and how to donate on line by clicking here:  https://www.ucc.org/oghs_resources_frequently-asked-questions/.  You may also send a check to church and designate the offering to benefit One Great Hour of Sharing.  All donations should be received by March 14.

I do realize that we have just pledged our usual tithes and offerings and are also participating in the Southwest Conference’s Lenten mission project to relieve medical debt, but I still want to encourage you to donate to OGHS if you are able—there is just so much need in the world!  May you continue to experience the deep joy of giving this Lenten season.

Peace,

Co-Pastor Sandi

Friends,

Although it was many years ago now, I well remember how spiritually formative campus ministry was for me and other Christian students during our years at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.  Our campus minister was always available for guidance, support, and stimulating Bible studies.  He also planned and accompanied students on a number of well-attended off-campus retreats and adventures, which became some of my most memorable college experiences.

I thought you might be interested to know about a similarly vibrant ministry of the United Church of Christ on the campus of Arizona State University.  Desert Palm UCC in Tempe, in partnership with the Southwest Conference of the UCC, offers a campus ministry with a progressive presence and voice on the ASU Campus.  I have recently become friends with the UCC Campus Minister, Andrew Ponder Williams, who has acquainted me with his programs.  He offers support for students in the form of weekly small groups, monthly worship, and one-on-one conversations.  Because of COVID-19, Andrew and his students are mostly interacting right now by Zoom, though that will change in the future.  Besides advocating for ignored voices, fighting climate change, ensuring all people have housing, and advancing LGBTQ rights with his students, Andrew also leads Arizona adventures away from campus so that students can enjoy enriching spiritual retreats at low or no cost through scholarships.  All students are welcome—not just ones who are UCC.   He has prepared a video for you all to watch that describes his ministry.  I think you will enjoy getting to know him and learning about the work he does by clicking here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P2jR9Z5b5T8Mvi3-OX4vUVKAGL_PVDB0/view.  When we can meet in person again, we will have him preach one Sunday.  In the meantime, maybe you have grandchildren at ASU or know of friends’ children who would benefit from such support and spiritual formation while in college.  

Peace,

Co-Pastor Sandi  

Retiring Medical Debt as a Lenten Project

Friends,

Lent, you know, is a fairly somber church calendar season that begins this year on February 17 (Ash Wednesday) and ends with the great feast of Easter.  It used to be that people would “give something up” or fast from something for the forty days of Lent.  For some, this might involve giving up chocolate, omitting meat, or turning off the TV, perhaps to join in some small way with Christ’s suffering.  In recent years, people have begun adding a practice instead—like performing some sort of special service to benefit the needy or giving something away.  Rather than renouncing chocolate (which is a vegetable and, as it turns out, is good for us!), why not instead participate in CCOV’s debt-relief project, which will be so very liberating for burdened people?  Imagine what this will mean for area families who learn that their medical debt has been paid off by the members of our church!  Could there be any finer way to imitate Christ than through debt paying?  Please read more about this special project in your moderator’s newsletter column this week.   

Peace,

Co-Pastor Sandi 

Friends,

I am writing this on Monday, January 18, Martin Luther King Day.  Truly MLK is one of the greatest and most relevant prophets of our time, and his acute analysis of American race relations remains prophetic.  He would have turned 92 today. To honor his memory this week, I want to share a few of his timeless quotes:

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice.  Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.  He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.

Freedom is not won by a passive acceptance of suffering.  Freedom is won by a struggle against suffering.

We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice.  Not in love with publicity but in love with humanity.

May MLK’s words, which arose from his deep faith and biblical witness, inspire us anew to become a more peaceful and just people.

Peace,

Co-Pastor Sandi 

Friends,

Starting this Sunday in our on-line worship, Pastor Dick and I are embarking upon a new sermon series to explore the Lord’s Prayer.  The series is entitled, “Pray Then Like This: The Lord’s Prayer for Our Time.”  We will examine Matthew 6:9 in detail, and over the next five weeks cover one phrase per week: Our Father, Thy Kingdom Come, Daily Bread, Forgive Us our Sins, and Facing Temptation.  You will be amazed at how much meaning is packed into every last word of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.  Additionally, you will be surprised at how political and counter-cultural the prayer really is:  It calls for heavenly ways to be integrated with our own.  Spoiler alert:  Rome didn’t like Jesus upending the status quo, and our current political systems don’t much like that either.  Also, the prayer points us far beyond ourselves to greater inclusiveness and a broader reality.  Prepare to have your understanding of this seemingly-simple and succinct prayer much enlarged!

Happy New Year!

Co-Pastor Sandi

Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I hope that you have a meaningful and safe way to celebrate Christmas, even though your celebration will most likely be pared down from years’ past.  Mayo Clinic’s website gives some useful guidance on keeping safe while celebrating this year.  Check it out here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/covid-19-holiday-safety-tips/art-20503363.  For those of you who are feeling a bit blue, try to keep a positive perspective, recognizing that this year is an anomaly.  We have much to hope for in 2021, including getting a vaccine, which could eventually return us to something like normalcy!  If you are feeling lonely, reach out to me, someone at church, a family member, or a friend; phone calls and Zoom can help everyone feel more connected.

 
Speaking of Zoom, watch your email for a link that will connect you to CCOV’s Christmas Eve service.  Sign-on is at 5:15 PM MST.  We will see each other’s faces live and enjoy the music of Larry Loeber and Jean Newman, Christmas messages and prayer, some carol singing, and the Christmas scriptures.  I know that we prefer to meet in person, but it is safest to worship on Zoom this year.  Recently our conference minister, the Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons, informed conference clergy that the virus was recently spread at a local UCC’s outdoor worship service, so he strongly recommends that we do exactly what we have been doing, just to keep everyone safe.

 
Just one more thought to share during this very different Advent and Christmas…You know how we always talk about the busy-ness of the season?  Perhaps we have been less busy than usual without all the concerts and plays and parties.  Maybe, just maybe, we can do some real heart preparation this time around.  Stop to call a friend.  Benefit your favorite charities (hope CCOV rates!).  Put seeds out for the birds, and stop to thank God for the beauty of the desert, the moon, and for this year’s “Christmas star,” formed by the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter.  And as you do so, may you be heartily blessed.

With All Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love,

Co-Pastor Sandi

Over the past Decembers in recent memory, our church has participated in the UCC denomination-wide offering called Veterans of the Cross.  This special Christmas fund “has been caring for active and retired United Church of Christ clergy and lay employees and their families for over 100 years, providing emergency financial help, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas ’thank-you’ checks to our lower-income retirees” (www.christmasfund.org).  With all the hardships 2020 has seen, giving to this fund, if you are able, is probably more important than ever. 

If you follow the link to the Christmas Fund website, you can click on a video and hear Rev. Cathy Barker talk about a time in her life when the love and care represented by the Christmas Fund made all the difference.  It was December of 1968, and Cathy’s father had just died after a long struggle with cancer.  She and her mother anticipated a lonely and humble Christmas.  The check arrived and meant so much—they were touched that the wider church remembered them.

I know that we usually have pew envelopes for this offering, but this year it would be best just to give through the website, www.christmasfund.org. I know that we have all felt stressed by all we have lost this year, but ironically, joy comes with giving and knowing that we are making someone’s life just a little bit better.

Peace,

Co-Pastor Sandi

 Friends,
I wish you a happy Thanksgiving, even though it won’t be anything like Thanksgivings past.  I know many of us are sad, because large gatherings, travel, and the usual ways of doing things are all upended—or at least pared way back. It’s especially hard since we are, after all, such social creatures.  So, we lament.  There’s nothing wrong with lamentation; in fact, a whole book is devoted to lamentation in our Bible.  Yet, the scriptural trajectory always moves us through times of lamentation toward restoration, hope, and resurrection.  

We have much hope—an effective vaccine is coming.  In the meantime, we still have a myriad of things for which to be thankful—and we have many opportunities to show our gratitude this season by giving.  In fact, we can improve our mental health when we start each day being thankful for what we still have and what we still can do.  We can also feel great joy when we give to others, whether through outreach projects at church or buying an extra turkey to donate to a local food bank.

I’m especially thankful that we live in a place where it will be 70 degrees on Thanksgiving Day, and we can gather in small groups and eat, socially-distanced, outside.  I’m thankful for food, shelter, family, friends, and the technology that keeps us virtually connected.  What are you thankful for this season?  May you find joy in your practice of Thanksgiving 2020.
With Gratitude for my Church Family,
Co-Pastor Sandi

Friends,

In the aftermath of a turbulent election, I want to share with you a prayer from our Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons.

Holy One, elections always create winners and losers. Spirit, guide us to be ministers to friends and neighbors disappointed and grieving, friends and neighbors celebrating, and into the work of building unity as we take up tasks as healers, peacemakers, and justice builders. What joy is mine as the first woman in American history steps into her role a Vice President of the United States!  Protect President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris. Grant Mr. Trump the ability to put nation before self and to make a good ending for himself. Protect the nation from anyone who would seek our harm or who would use violence against others in the wake of this result. Heal us, O God. Heal our land.  Bring us  peace!

Rev. Dr. Lyons reminds us in his prayer that there are always winners and losers in elections, but we Christians are called to be ministers of healing, peace, and justice—first and foremost.  I pray that even in our diversity we can be Christian ministers to one another.  That, after all, is a hallmark of Christian maturity.  Let us always seek to be bridge builders between those who are celebrating and those who are feeling defeated.  

Peace,

Co-Pastor Sandi