Event
Regional Reflection: Winter Camp
Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:
“Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Oh baby, let me people go!”
“You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us.”
“Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary …”
“Come, and go with me, to my Father’s house …”
“Some-times in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow …”
If these lines sound familiar, if you start humming, tapping your foot, or if you just got up out of your chair and started dancing and singing and walking around the room – perhaps you’ve been to church camp. Or perhaps you sent your child to church camp, and they came home singing and singing and singing until you knew all the songs by memory.
That might be the case for several parents around our Region, as 13 campers and 3 adult leaders from Arizona went to Winter Camp at Loch Leven Retreat Center this past weekend. The theme of Winter Camp was: “Virtual Faith IRL.” Now before I lose your attention, let me admit … I had no idea what that meant. It turns out, for any of you who are as clueless about modern lingo as I am, that “IRL” is code for “In Real Life.” Apparently when the on-line world came to be, people used to distinguish between their “virtual life” and their “real life.” So they would tell their online friends: “In real life, I’m just a 14-year-old boy who is the backup catcher on my high school team.” Except they’d text: “IRL, I’m just …”
Several years later, however, there is not so much distinction between being online and your real life. In other words, our real lives involve the use of technology. It is ever-present. And so the point of camp was not to say that “real life” is better than “virtual life,” but to say that we are called to live our whole lives, including the virtual parts of our lives, in ways that are pleasing to God. Campers made short movies to express a faith message, practicing using technology to communicate positive messages and to explore how faith can be part of our virtual life.
Winter Camp was our third camp partnership with the Pacific Southwest Region, following Summer Camp in 2022 and 2023. We are grateful for this inter-Regional partnership. And we are most very grateful to Church of the Palms UCC in Sun City who generously loaned us their church bus to make the trip. All children and youth in the Arizona Region are invited to join us this summer for the next installment of Summer Camp (dates found below). If you want to know more, you can ask me, or you can ask one of the parents at Foothills who were waiting in the parking lot Monday afternoon as the bus pulled in full of enthusiastic campers singing: “Pharaoh, Pharoah, Oh baby, let my people go! Oooh, ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”
Dios les bendiga,
Pastor Jay
Anti-Racism Training at Saguaro Christian Church
2023 DWM Retreat: Beautiful Things
Lenten Greetings
Lenten Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:
I hope and pray that you are all having a meaningful journey through Lent, as we journey with Jesus on his road to the cross. Unlike the first Disciples, we know that resurrection and Easter are coming. But let’s not let that knowledge prevent us from acknowledging the very real experience of suffering in our midst. After all, new life is only necessary when it is preceded by death.
As our congregations are preparing for Holy Week, our Regional ministry is preparing for several events coming up after Easter. Registration is now open for three events: the Disciples Women Spring Event on April 22, the Church Narrative Project on April 28-29, and Summer Camp for our youth and children. You will find all three registration links in this newsletter. While I am excited about all three of these, I probably most need to explain the new event – the Church Narrative Project.
We are excited to welcome our General Minister and President, Terri Hord Owens, and our Associate General Minister, Yvonne Gilmore, back to Arizona for our Church Narrative Project – and I hope you will join us. We will gather at Foothills Christian Church on Friday evening for dinner and a night of storytelling featuring 9 Arizona Disciples. Then we’ll reconvene on Saturday from 9:00-3:00 for a day of training on the Transforming Community Conferencing process. This outstanding training will help leaders in churches with visioning, consensus building, conflict resolution, and more. I hope you will join us. This is a free event but we are asking everyone to register here so we can appropriately plan for the two meals.
As a brief example: what is the narrative you know about the United States? Is it a nation founded on the principles of liberty and well-being for all? Is it a Christian nation? Is it a nation built on the backs of enslaved Africans on land that was forcibly taken from indigenous peoples? Is it a nation of immigrants? Or a nation hostile to immigrants? What is the narrative you tell about the United States?
Similarly, what is the narrative you tell about the church? About Disciples? What have you been taught about who we are? The Church Narrative Project is a bold attempt to construct a narrative of who the Disciples are and who we want to be, built from the ground up by including Disciples from all over the Church. We hope you will be a part of constructing our narrative.
Dios les bendiga!
Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona
Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers
Join in praying for our Arizona Disciples Congregations. View the full calendar at azdisciples.org.
March
26 – Iglesia Dios de Segunda Oportunidad led by Pastor Minerva Guzman
April
2 – General Ministries and the Easter Special Offering
9 – Office of the General Minister and President and the Easter Special Offering
16 – Larkspur Christian Church led by Pastor Job Cobos
23 – Saguaro Christian Church led by Pastor Kelley Dick
30 – Sun City Christian Church led by Pastor Brett Winters
2022 Regional Assembly – Thank You!
In the midst of a another year filled with challenges for our world, our churches, and all Arizona Disciples; we are grateful for a successful 2022 Regional Assembly. Thank you!
If you missed Regional Assembly and would like to watch some of our events you can do so below or with a special playlist on our YouTube page.
Opening Worship
Date: November 4, 2022
Guest Preacher: Rev. Dr. Juan Rodriguez
Translation by Valeria Bejar
Worship & Wonder: Pat Barton and Briana Cruz
Music: Casa de Adoración Praise Band, Dr. Steven DiBlasi, Bill Goodenberger
Saturday Morning Session
Date: November 5, 2022
Guest Speaker: Rev. Paul Tché
Translation by Alex Morales
Music: Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea, Pastor Al Beasley,
Panel Discussion
Date: November 5, 2022
Discussion Leader: Rev. Dr. Jay R. Hartley
Special Guests: Rev. Dr. Juan Rodriguez, Rev. Yvonne Gilmore, & Rev. Paul Tché
Translation by: Alex Morales, Kelly Strachan, Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea
Business Session
Date: November 5, 2022
Moderator: Linda Necker
Vice Moderator: Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea
Business Items: Election of Officers, as well as Administrative Council and Mission Focus at Large Members.
Closing Worship
Date: November 5, 2022
Guest Preacher: Rev. Yvonne Gilmore
Translation by Valeria Bejar
Music: Dr. Steven DiBlasi, Bill Goodenberger, Carlos Samaniego
Children’s Moment: Rev. Bekah Krevens & Briana Cruz
Youth Moment: Cynthia Peña & Mark Line
We give great thanks for all who participated in our Regional Assembly on November 4th and 5th. We are excited to share that over 160 Arizona Disciples joined together to hear about the work of our region these last two years, elect our 2022-2024 leadership team, and hear the call to Prophetic Unity | Unidad Profética! If you missed it, you can view the most of the assembly at ra.azdisciples.org or our YouTube channel.
We are also grateful for the many people who made this assembly possible including:
Our Guest and Presenters: Rev. Yvonne Gilmore, Rev. Dr. Juan Rodriguez, Rev. Paul Tché, Rev. Belva Brown Jordan, Pastor Al Beasley, Rev. Richard Wing, Rev. Rosario Ibarra, and Rev. Katie Sexton.
Our Worship Leaders: the Casa de Adoración Praise Band, Dr. Steve DiBlasi, Carlos Samaniego, Bill Goodenberger, Ben Waddell (Audio/Video Technician extraordinarie!), Rev. Jenny Wynn, Pat Barton, Briana Cruz, Rev. Kelley Dick, Rev. Liz DeWeese, Rev. Minerva Guzman, Pastor Arturo Laguna, Rev. Dr. Bob Howard, Rev. Rick Gates, Rev. Bekah Krevens, Rev. Ailsa Guardiola Gonzalez, Rev. Kathleen Day, Kerry Swindle, Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea, Rev. Yvonne Gilmore, Rev. Dr. Juan Rodriguez, Rev. Paul Tché, Rev. Belva Brown Jordan, and Rev. Dr. Jay R. Hartley.
Our translators/interpreters: Valeria Bejar, Alex Morales, Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea, and Kelly Strachan
Our host, First Christian Church and volunteers: Carol Tidrow, Julie Erickson, Jane Rosenfeld, Ken Stamper, Gloria Stamper, Judy Stall, Bob Stall, Lloyd Howard, Leone Neidhardt, Bob Bruns, Jan Atkinson, Jayne Bridge, Julie Ingalls, Diane Critchet, Jack Critchet, Michelle Landreville, Jeanne Thompson, Monica Case, and so many more who prepared the campus and supported assembly efforts! A special note of thanks for Casa de Adoración for bring and serving Tres Leches Cake by Gloria, a member of their congregation!
Our 2020-2022 Administrative Council and Mission Focus Team: Linda Necker, Carol Tidrow, Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea, Richard Bierce, Ari Cruz, Rev. Kelley Dick, Rev. Gary Luallin, Carolin Moorman, Jan Prinz, Rev. Katie Sexton, Rev. Silvia Tiznado-Smith, Karolyn White, Pat Winter, Briana Cruz, and Matthew Clark.
Regional Leadership:
Regional Staff, Linda Necker (2020-2022 Moderator), our 2022-2023 elected Administrative Council and Mission Focus Team, and ALL our Arizona congregational pastors!
Our Ministry Partners and their representatives: Chapman University, Christian Unity and Interfaith Ministries, Corazón Arizona, Disciples Church Extension Fund, Disciples Seminary Foundation, Global Ministries, Jensen Ford Insurance Agency (and Insurance Board), National Convocation, Office of the General Minister and President, and the Pension Fund of the Christian Church.
And more! – We know that there are more who have helped contribute to our Assembly. If we missed your name please know that we are thankful for your work and presence.
Holy Week and an Invitation
Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:
This past week, I was blessed to observe Palm Sunday at FCC in Scottsdale. I continued my long-standing tradition of leading a palm processional while playing the bagpipes. We remembered Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, an entry filled with hope and expectation, expressed by the crowds shouting “Hosanna!”
But Palm Sunday is also Passion Sunday – the Sunday on which we tell the story of Holy Week, of Jesus’ passion, of his betrayal, arrest, torture, and execution. It is a week that brings us face to face with the pain and suffering that human beings can inflict on each other. And, of course, it is a week that ends with the promise that Love can transform pain, that new life is possible.
Reflecting on these themes, I find it appropriate that this newsletter contains an invitation for all of you – pastors, church leaders, and other interested Disciples – to an Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciling workshop on April 30. Racism is one of the ways humans being inflict pain on each other. None of us really wants to face it. But pretending it doesn’t exist will never make it go away. We see in the story of Jesus that the only way to transform pain is to go through it, to confront it face to face, to deal with it honestly and openly, and then allow God’s love to bring new life. Over 20 years ago, the Disciples proclaimed that Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation is one of our mission priorities. I hope you will join us, and encourage others to join us, on April 30.
In the meantime, I wish for you a rich and deeply meaningful Holy Week. May the story of Jesus offering love to all inspire you. No matter what the world threw at him – even when he was betrayed by a friend, denied by another, abandoned by others, and hung on a cross – Jesus kept on loving. May Jesus inspire us all to love each other no matter what.
Happy Easter, and Dios les bendiga!
Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona
We invite you to pray for the following congregations in the coming months. Visit our Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers for our annual list.
April
17 Office of General Minister and President Terri Hord Owens & the entire Disciples of Christ movement
24 Alfa y Omega (Phoenix) led by Pastor Elias Garcia
May
1 Chalice Christian Church (Gilbert) led by Pastor Vernon Meyer
8 Iglesia Cristiana Ebenezer (Tucson) led by Pastor Sandy Flores
15 Foothills Christian Church (Glendale) led by Pastor Bekah Krevens
22 First Christian Church (Globe) led by Pastor Al Beasley
29 Comunidad Limen Christian Church led by Pastor Pedro Ramos-Goycolea and New Church Ministry
One Day Anti-Racism Training Open to All Arizona Disciples
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2022 Summer Camp
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
http://www.disciplespswr.org/camp
Church offices, please read this email for information specific to church offices.
This summer the Arizona Region is partnering with Pacific Southwest Region Disciples to offer summer church camp for children ages 3 through grade 12 (including just completed grade 12)*. The camp will be held at the beautiful Loch Leven campground in the mountains east of Los Angeles.
The Arizona Region is excited to provide a 50% subsidy for all Arizona Disciples children and youth attending camp at Lock Level this summer!
- Cost of 6 day summer camp sessions for Arizona Disciples (entering grade 6-12 and just graduated): $250 (originally $500)
- Cost of 3 & 4 day “Wee” and “Mini” camp sessions for Arizona Disciples (ages 3 – entering 3rd grade): $150 (originally $300)
Our partnership with the Pacific Southwest Region means that the registration process will look a little different this year. Here is what you need to know:
- Each registration must be accompanied by a Pastor’s recommendation. The online registration process cannot be completed with this completed form. Request that your pastor complete this form as soon as possible and get it back to you so that you can complete your registration form. Click here to download the form.
- The region will be paying for 50% of all registration costs for Arizona Disciples!
- If you as a parent or guardian are paying for the remainder of the cost of camp you can pay by credit card at the end of the registration form.
- If your church is paying for a portion of your camper’s registration cost complete the registration up until the point it requires payment. At that point you can exit the registration. The system will retain all entered information. Do not enter payment information. Get your congregation your portion of the registration cost as soon as possible. They will in turn send payment to the Arizona Region and we will complete payment for your registration. Please note you must register via the online registration system. Paper forms are not available.
- Arizona Camper Registrations and payments must be in by May 31.
If you have kids interested in going to camp begin by contacting your church pastor or office today!
*Many Arizona Disciples have fond and formative memories of summer camp here in Arizona. Not yet out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided that our way to best offer a faithful and memorable camp experience this year is to partner with our neighboring Disciples in the Pacific Southwest Region.
Arizona parents or youth leaders are welcome and invited to serve as camp counselors should begin by completing this form, emailing your pastor (or church office), and the region (at region@azdisciples.org).
Our 6-day summer camp sessions are being offered at a discounted price of $250** per camper.
These sessions include:
JUNE 19-24 | CHI RHO (Campers entering grades 6 – 8 in the fall)
JULY 10-15 | JUNIOR CAMP (Campers entering grades 4 – 5 in the fall)
JULY 24-29 | CYF 1 (Campers entering grades 9 – 10 in the fall)
JULY 24-29 | CYF 2 (Campers entering grades 11 & 12 in the fall, and recent 2022 high school graduates)
Our 4-day Mini Camp session is being offered at a discounted price of $150** per camper.
This session takes place:
JULY 12-15 | MINI CAMP (Campers entering grades 1 – 3 in the fall)
Our 3-day Wee Camp session is being offered at a discounted price of $150** per camper/parent combined.
This session takes place:
JUNE 15-17 | WEE CAMP (Ages 3 – Kindergarten (entering in the fall); the child attends with parent/guardian)
**The actual cost of running a 6-day camp at Loch Leven is $600 per camper, and it is $400 for Mini and Wee camps. The Arizona Region is providing a 50% subsidy for all Arizona Disciples attendees. The Pacific Southwest Region and Loch Leven are also providing a $100 subsidy.
Note: Several camps overlap dates and will share the overall Loch Leven facility. Campers will be together at meals, but separated for cabin accommodations and programming.
VOLUNTEER DISCOUNT: We are offering a $100 discount for youth who have parents volunteering at camp. If you would like to volunteer at one of our summer camps, please fill out the volunteer registration form. If you have any questions, please first contact the Arizona Regional Office at 602-468-3815.
Regional Children’s Event
About This Event
We are excited to announce a Regional Children’s Event to be held on February 26 at the Glendale Mission and Ministry Center (GMMC). All children in grades K-5 are invited! Our day will involve worship, games, a service project for the mission and ministry center, and a pizza lunch.
Our Glendale Mission and Ministry Center serves the Glendale community through several different ministries and programs. One of these is supplying homeless neighbors with free hygiene kits (toothbrushes, soap, hand sanitizer, etc.). As their service project kids will learn about helping others in the community by helping to assemble these hygiene kits.
Masks are required for all people at all times except while eating lunch.
This is not a drop off event. A parent, guardian, or a responsible adult must accompany children.
This event will be led by GMMC’s Executive Director Tiffany Fehr and Casa de Adoracion’s children’s ministry leader Briana Cruz.
Scroll Down to Register!
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Juntos: a Regional Gathering
About This Event
The Christian Church in Arizona excited to gather again in person* as Arizona Disciples on Saturday, January 15, 2022! Beginning at 10:00am we will have time to worship together, time to talk together, time to learn together, and a share meal together. Don’t miss our first event celebrating a return to in person Regional gatherings and register today!
Thank you to Community Christian Church in Tempe, Arizona, who will be our gracious host.
Lunch
Boxed lunches to be catered by Panera Bread. We have attempted to provide a wide range of options (see registration form), including those with food allergies or sensitivities. If none of these options work for you, you can choose “No Lunch / Bring Your Own”.
Nursery and Children’s Programing
At our gathering there will be an intentional focus to have multi-generational space as we continue togrow into intergenerational ministry. What does that mean? Children, youth, and adults are welcomeat all parts of our gathering.
There will be a nursery available for younger children (ages 1-3) and a Children’s Program (ages 4 – 4th grade) if the parent feels that is what their child(ren) need(s), but please don’t feel like you have to use it. God put the wiggles into young people, and we celebrate that as a spring of life.
As the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona we take seriously our call from God to be an inclusive and loving church.
*As we look toward a time when large group gatherings without restrictions are safe again, the Region is planning this in-person event. The event will follow CDC guidelines, including all advisement on large group gatherings.
Community Christian Church, Tempe, AZ
1701 S. College Ave., Tempe, AZ
Details
Who: All Arizona Disciples are invited!
Where: 1701 S. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ (Community Christian Church)
When: Saturday, January 15 from 10:00am – 3:00pm
