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Regional Reflection

Highlights

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

I continue to be blessed as I travel to and from Disciples congregations in Arizona. I thought I’d share a few highlights from just the last three weeks.

I had the great privilege to present the “Honored Minister Pin” to two of our clergy who are retiring this month.  Rev. Judy Stall has served as Outreach Minister at First Christian Church (FCC) Scottsdale for many years, helping the congregation serve their community in so many ways. We celebrated Judy’s retirement on May 7. One week later, I presented the pin to Rev. Bob Howard at Community Christian Church (CCC) in Tempe. Bob has served several congregations in Arizona and has also taught preaching to several of our clergy. Bob’s last Sunday will be May 28 and CCC will have a retirement celebration on May 21, which you are invited to attend. What a privilege to witness the love and service of these two longtime Arizona Disciples clergy!

On the way to CCC, I was blessed by an hour of worship music and prayer at Alfa y Omega. The theme of the music was asking God to fill us up with the Holy Spirit that we might be living embodiments of God’s love.  It is also worth noting that the seven musicians and two speakers that led the worship were all under age 30. What a blessing! 

The previous week was a week of contrasts.  One day I had breakfast with Rev. Brett Winters, the new pastor at Sun City Christian Church, as we discussed his first six months and the exciting future of Sun City Christian Church. Then I had dinner with Rev. Liz DeWeese, who just announced that she has been called to serve a congregation in Nashville, TN, and has about six weeks remaining as pastor of First Christian Church in Mesa. It was a blessing to share time with two dedicated Christian servants at different stages in their life cycle of ministry.

I also experienced the contrasts in the life cycles of congregations. On Tuesday, I shared a good but sad evening at Coolwater Christian Church as we discussed the future of their congregation now that they have put their building up for sale. Members had difficult and honest conversations as they processed the challenges the congregation is facing. Then on Thursday, I was blessed to witness the first “campus meeting” led by Minerva, Dulce, and Ruben Guzman of Iglesia Dios de Segunda Oportunidad as they grow and develop their campus in Glendale. IDDSO partners with Family Promise, DEHP, Headstart, Arizona Faith Network’s “cooling center,” and another congregation to provide a variety of ministries in Glendale.

On May 6, I was blessed to be part of the Anti-Racism training in Spanish. Our uber-talented Regional Moderator, Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea, co-led the training which included leaders from four of our six Spanish-speaking congregations. Pastora Minerva Guzman and her team at IDDSO were gracious hosts.

And speaking of gracious hosts, this three-week travel journey began with the Church Narrative Project at Foothills Christian Church. Rev. Bekah Krevens and her team were amazing hosts for this weekend event, providing dinner and lunch to about 50 participants and handling everything with their gracious smiles.

Mixed in throughout this three-week journey were multiple conversations with the leadership at Comunidad Limen and First Christian Church in Tucson, including their pastors Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea and Rev. Ailsa Guardiola-Gonzalez, as they work to expand their ministries with migrants and with border issues. Along those lines, my experience in worship with Desert Dove CC, who hosted a guest speaker from the Tucson immigration welcome center, led me to a tour of Casa Alitas and their welcome center, seeing the first place migrants arrive in Tucson once they officially apply for asylum in the U.S. I am grateful for all that our congregations are doing to help address the humanitarian crisis at the border. You’ll hear more about this soon.

As I said, it has been a rich three weeks witnessing and sharing in the ministry experiences of the Disciples of Christ in Arizona. I am blessed to share in ministry with all of you, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

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.

May

21 – New Church Ministry and the Pentecost Special Offering

28 – New Church Ministry and the Pentecost Special Offering

June

4 – Comunidad Limen Christian Church led by Pastor Pedro Ramos-Goycolea

11 – Alfa y Omega led by Pastor Elias Garcia

18 – Casa de Adoración Discípulos de Cristo led by Pastors Arturo and Janett Laguna

25 – Chalice Christian Church led by Interim Minister Vernon Mayer

General Board

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

I send you Greetings from the greater Cincinnati area where your Regional Moderator, Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea, and I have spent the last few days at the General Board meeting.  These have been valuable days of meeting with General ministry staff, other Regional Ministers, and a number of wonderful leaders across our denomination. I want to share with you some highlights from our time here.

We officially recommended Rev. Terri Hord Owens for another six-year term as our General Minister and President, to great applause from the entire board.

Much of the discussion was around proposed changes to the Design, the governing documents of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada, which will be voted on at the General Assembly this summer. Among the most notable changes:

  • having an in-person General Assembly every THREE years instead of every two years
  • allowing each congregation to have THREE voting representatives instead of TWO
  • having on-line Assemblies as needed where all three voting representatives will be involved learning about and discussing any issues

We also discussed a number of Resolutions that will be brought to the General Assembly this summer. Among them are Resolutions which deal with:

  • Israel/Palestine
  • Food waste, food insecurity, and environmental justice
  • Indigenous peoples
  • Faith-based investing
  • Christian Nationalism

We will soon be sharing the finalized texts of these resolutions with all of our congregations and encourage all Disciples to discuss these resolutions. Be looking for an opportunity to have a Region-wide discussion via zoom about these resolutions.

I also was able to have invaluable face-to-face conversations with the presidents of several General Ministry presidents, including DCEF, CCF, Pension Fund, Christian Unity and Interfaith Ministry, Treasury Services, Week of Compassion, National Benevolent Association, and with our General Minister and President, Rev. Teresa Hord Owens.  

Finally — there is much excitement across our denomination over the Church Narrative Project.  We were blessed to hear four wonderful stories on Sunday night that ranged in topic from “why not to wear a cheap bra” to “what happens when your husband is kidnapped.” We celebrate that Arizona will be the next Region to participate – April 28-29. I hope you all can join us for that event at Foothills Christian Church – you can register here.

Dios les bendiga!

Pastor Jay

Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona

Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers

April

23 – Saguaro Christian Church led by Pastor Kelley Dick

30 – Sun City Christian Church led by Pastor Brett Winters

May

7 – Templo Cristiano Central led by Pastor Job Cobos

14 – Casa de Adoración Discípulos de Cristo led by Pastors Arturo and Janett Laguna

21 – New Church Ministry and the Pentecost Special Offering

28 – New Church Ministry and the Pentecost Special Offering

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

Happy New Year!

Greetings, Disciples of Arizona!

Happy New Year! I begin by offering my prayers for your health and well-being in 2023 – may it be a year filled with peace, joy, and beauty in each of our lives!

In Regional ministry, the new year begins with anticipation of many things, including our first post-pandemic clergy retreat next week, our first ever Tri-Regional Youth Event on February 18, and an event for children at Foothills Christian Church on February 25. As the year goes on, we’ll enjoy events for Arizona Disciples Women, summer camp for youth and children, and culminate by celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Arizona Convención.

But the beginning of the year in Regional ministry is also a time of accountability, as congregations file annual “ALEX” reports and ministers are required to “renew their standing.” Have you ever wondered what exactly it means to be a minister?  One can answer that question in many ways, of course. At some level, we are ALL ministers – the “priesthood of all believers” — as we all are called by God to serve each other. But we also use the term to refer to people who serve the church in a professional manner.

Like teachers, doctors, and lawyers have requirements to be licensed each year, professional ministers have a set of standards that must be met to be granted “standing” each year. In Arizona, the requirements for “standing” include a minimum of 10 hours of continuing education every year, at least 2 of which must be in the area of Anti-Racism or Cross-Cultural education. In addition, all ministers must have attended at least one Level 1 Anti-Racism training through the denomination and must attend a ”Healthy Boundaries” training at least every 4 years. Your Regional Commission on Ministry (RCOM) reviews all ministers every January to ensure that professional standards are met.

We all benefit from the high quality of Disciples ministers in Arizona, and I applaud the work of the RCOM to continually promote and encourage high standards for ministry. 

Dios les bendiga!

Pastor Jay

Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona

Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers

January 

29 – First Christian Church in Mesa led by Pastor Liz DeWeese

February 

5 – First Christian Church in Scottsdale led by Pastor Jenny Wynn

12 – East Mesa Christian Church led by Pastor Charles Dubbs

19 – Refugees and Week of Compassion Special Offering

26 – Refugees and Week of Compassion Special Offering

What are we celebrating?

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

Photo of Rev. Dr. Jay R. Hartley

What a joy it is to witness and participate in Advent in Arizona! I am enjoying all the ways Disciples are celebrating the incarnation of God’s love, from living nativity scenes to toy and food drives, from offering “room in the inn” to those who have nowhere else to lay their heads, to las posadas – which also celebrates the offering of hospitality. I join with Disciples across the state in re-telling and celebrating the Christmas story.

But do you ever stop and wonder: “What exactly are we celebrating?” Some answers come quickly: “The birth of Christ,” “the birth of our Savior,” “God’s presence on earth.” But what does that mean, I hear many friends asking. Other than getting presents on December 25, how does that change my life?

Well, there’s no “exact” answer to the mystery of the incarnation, but I invite you to reflect with me on one aspect of the Christmas story. So much of our lives are governed by fear – way more than we are willing to admit. There are big fears: gun violence, climate disasters, cancer. But there are so many little fears: will they think I’m a bad mom; will they make fun of what I’m wearing; what if I don’t have enough? In many cases, we are prisoners to our fears – or at least we miss out on the joy of living freely and generously because we are worried about what people will think or whether we’ll have enough.

And into our fear-filled world comes an angel, saying: “Fear not.” “Do not be afraid, Mary.” “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, Joseph.” And their child grew up embodying the angel’s message. Jesus wasn’t afraid to touch lepers. Jesus wasn’t afraid to dine with sinners and tax collectors, with Roman soldiers or gentiles of anybody else. And Jesus wasn’t afraid to walk into Jerusalem when the border patrol was at its most violent, knowing full well what they might do to him. And they did it. But up until that point, Jesus LIVED. He lived freely, fully, without fear.

All of us are here for a limited time, yet we spend too much of it in fear. You might recall the words of Julius Caesar:  Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come. The Christmas story invites us to enter into Jesus’ life, to live fully, freely, and without fear. Perhaps the greatest Christmas gift, if we are willing to accept it, is the gift of a life without fear, the gift of life lived fully and generously because we know God’s love is with us no matter what.

Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, and Dios les bendiga!

Pastor Jay

Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona

Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers

December

18 – The entire Arizona Region

25 – The Worldwide Church

January

1 – Desert Dove Christian Church led by Interim Pastor Michael Malone

8 – Desert Heritage Church led by Pastor Derrick Elliot

15 – East Mesa Christian Church led by Pastor Charles Dubbs

22 – First Christian Church in Globe led by Pastor Al Beasley

29 – First Christian Church in Mesa led by Pastor Liz DeWeese

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.

Photo Credit: Chuck Necker

Prophetic Unity

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

Most of you are probably familiar with the old Disciples slogan: “Christian Unity is our Polar Star.” From the beginnings of our movement, Disciples have stressed the importance of unity, of staying together, of valuing and affirming each other.  And yet …

Too often we settle for a superficial unity. We take photos of Disciples with various skin colors, publish them, and proclaim that we are practicing unity.  But that is “photo-op unity.”   Many of you are familiar with Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s contrast between “costly grace” and “cheap grace.”  We might also say there is such a thing as “cheap unity” — superficial unity, photo-op unity. As your Regional Mission Focus Team discussed this topic, we came up with the term “Prophetic Unity” to express our goal to go beyond the cheap unity of photo-ops to unity based on mutual respect, shared power, and shared resources. And so we are delighted to announce that registration is now open for our 2022 Regional Assembly:   “Unidad Proftica/Prophetic Unity.”

Regional Assembly is for everyone.  We will have a wonderful nursery for children who haven’t yet attended kindergarten, an outstanding program for elementary children and youth, worship and panel discussions and workshops and lovely new purple T-shirts!  We’ll praise God in Spanish and English with a variety of music and three deeply faithful and truly inspiring guest speakers.  But most of all, we will be exploring the theme of Prophetic Unity.

I invite you to join us, to come with open spirits, to come willing to step a little bit out of your comfort zone and with a desire to grow.  Many of us will see old friends.  All of us will have the opportunity to begin new friendships.  And together we can take a step forward to practicing a unity that is based in truly mutual respect, shared power, and shared resources.

Registration for Regional Assembly is now open!!!

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.

September

11 Desert Dove Christian Church (Tucson) led by Interim Minister Vernon Mayer

18 Saguaro Christian Church & Sol Food Initiatives (Tucson) led by Pastor Kelley Dick

25 Anti-Racism and Reconciliation efforts (Reconciliation Special Offering)

October

2 Anti-Racism and Reconciliation efforts (Reconciliation Special Offering)

9 Prophetic Unity & Regional Assembly

16 Prophetic Unity & Regional Assembly

23 Prophetic Unity & Regional Assembly

30 Arizona Saints and Congregations that have come before us

Regional Assembly Guests

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

Like many of you, my heart is heavy given the violence and hatred we read about in the news.  Every day, we are bombarded with words and images that are in compete contrast to the values taught by the early Christian community that we try to embody.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Oh, for a world with more kindness, more gentleness, more self-control.

But my heart is also lifted by the good news of God’s love and by all those who attempt to embody God’s love for the world. For Christians, that story starts with Jesus.  In the face of hatred, Jesus practiced love. In the face of indifference, Jesus practiced kindness.  In the face of violence, Jesus practiced self-control. And ever since, Jesus has inspired people to do likewise.  True, many people have evoked the name of Jesus but not the Spirit of Jesus. True, many people claim to follow Jesus but seem to be making little progress in exhibiting peace, patience, and kindness. But we are also blessed with many people who HAVE embodied the Spirit and values of Jesus, even at times when their hearts were heavy too.

I am excited that three people who DO exhibit the fruit of the Spirit are coming to speak at our Regional Assembly, November 4-5.  Juan Rodriguez, Paul Tche, and Yvonne Gilmore, three influential leaders in the Disciples movement, will be sharing the weekend with us, offering words of illumination, inspiration, and wisdom. I am grateful that each of them accepted our invitation, and I look forward to their presence here in Arizona.  I hope you will ALL join us for our Assembly. We’ll have more details each month, but for now, please reserve Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 on your calendar.

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.

June

26 Desert Heritage Church DOC/UCC (Mesa) led by Pastor Derrick Elliot

July

3 First Christian Church (Tucson) led by Pastor Ailsa Guardiola González
10 East Mesa Christian Church (Mesa) led by Pastor Charles Dubbs
17 Sun City Christian Church (Sun City) led by Pastor Gary Luallin
24 Coolwater Christian Church (Scottsdale) led by Pastor Rick Gates

Uncomfortable Growth

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

I’m tempted to write about all the good things I experience as I travel around Arizona – Foothills CC celebrating with Pastor Bekah Krevens who just gave birth to her third daughter; our new preaching cohort who met for the first time this past Saturday to study preaching in Spanish; my upcoming visits to Community CC in Tempe, who will be celebrating their 75th anniversary, and to preach at Templo Cristiano Central, which will be the 20th different congregation I will have preached for in Arizona, and my fifth sermon in Spanish; or our recent Anti-Racism training event attended by 27 Arizona leaders.

I’m also tempted to write about some of the horrible things I read about – most recently the horrific shootings in Buffalo and Laguna Woods. We are called both to pray for an end of violence and to do all we can to dismantle our white supremacist culture that fosters warped ideologies that lead to violence.

But today, oddly enough, I’m going to write about concentric circles.

Years ago, I was shown a drawing with three concentric circles. The inner circle was labeled “Comfort Zone.” The middle circle was labeled “Growth Zone.” And the outer circle was labeled “Terror Zone.”

The speaker said that if we stay in our comfort zone all the time, we never grow. So, we were encouraged to leave our comfort zone, to allow ourselves to be UN-comfortable, so that we could grow. The more discomfort we can tolerate, the more we can grow – until we get to the place of sheer terror, in which case we shut down. Our leader encouraged us to not confuse discomfort with terror – to let her know if we were reaching a point of terror, but otherwise to hang in there and see how we grow.

I think of these concentric circles often. In anti-racism discussions, white people often say we feel “uncomfortable,” like that’s a bad thing. But it’s not. It’s a good thing. Only through feeling uncomfortable can we grow. I also think of my first times worshipping in Hispanic congregations: it was un-comfortable for me. I wasn’t sure what to do when everyone put their hands up in the air and started swaying around, or when some people came forward and lay prostrate on the floor and started weeping. It was uncomfortable for me – but not terrorizing. So I kept coming back. And I grew. And now, I am finding that when I show up, I am with my Disciples family. And that’s a beautiful thing.

I am reminded of a few lines from a beautiful prayer called “A Franciscan Blessing”: MAY GOD BLESS YOU with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless us all with enough discomfort to help us grow.
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.

May

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

June

5 Iglesia Casa de Adoración (Phoenix) led by Pastors Aurto and Janett Laguna & New Church Ministry
12 Larkspur Christian Church (Glendale) led by Pastor Job Cobos
19 Iglesia Dios de Segunda Oportunidad (Glendale) led by Pastor Minerva Guzman
26 Desert Heritage Church DOC/UCC (Mesa) led by Pastor Derrick Elliot

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

On the Horizon

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

“When I say ‘UNO,’ you say ‘TOGETHER! “UNO.” “TOGETHER!”

“When I say ‘ONE,’ you say ‘JUNTOS!’” “ONE.” “JUNTOS!”

So began Rev. Pedro Ramos-Goycolea in his welcome to our Regional Gathering last month. Juntos brought be such joy – it was the first time in my nearly 2.5 years at your Regional Minister that I’ve been able to plan and celebrate an event together. Thanks be to God for the celebration we had together.

The energy from the Regional Gathering continues to spread, and I am excited about things on the horizon. As you’ll read in this EAZ Newsletter, we are now registering for a Regional Children’s Event that will take place at the Glendale Mission and Ministry Center on Saturday, February 26. We will soon be registering for church camp (more on that below) and are working on another major summer event for youth. Look for information about that and other opportunities next month.  We are also gearing up for our Regional Assembly which will be held in Scottsdale on November 4-5. Our theme is “Prophetic Unity/Unidad Profética,” we have three guest speakers coming to Arizona, and we expect to have a fabulous experience.  Please put the dates on your calendar and plan to join us.

As mentioned above, summer church camp is BACK – but with a twist.  Arizona will be partnering with the Pacific Southwest Region (PSWR) to provide church camp this summer to all children ages 3 through 12th grade (dates for each age group are listed below).  Camp will be held at the beautiful campground of Loch Leven in the mountains east of Los Angeles. The drive will be a little further than going to Prescott (it is about 4.5 hours from Phoenix and 6.5 from Tucson), but this partnership will allow our campers to be in a new setting with larger groups of fellow campers. We will evaluate the experience after this summer to see if this partnership is something we want to continue in the future.

I am so excited that we are beginning to be able to plan meaningful in-person events again and pray that all can move forward in safe, healthy, and joyful ways.

Uno! Together! One! Juntos! Dios les bendiga! God bless you all!

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.

February

20 Foothills Christian Church (Glendale) led by Pastor Bekah Krevens

27 Week of Compassion efforts around the world (Week of Compassion Special Offering)

March

6 First Christian Church (Tucson) led by Pastor Ailsa Guardiola Gonzales

13 East Mesa Christian Church (Mesa)

20 Templo Cristiano Central (Phoenix) led by Pastor Job Cobos

27 Community Christian Church (Marana) led by Pastor Dave Hedgepeth

Christmas

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

Today felt like Christmas to me. And if I tell you the story, it might feel like Christmas to you too.

In 1960, the First Christian Church of Prescott was founded, and for 61 years proclaimed God’s love and strove to serve their neighbors in Prescott and beyond. In recent years, the aging congregation dwindled in size, a trend that was exacerbated by the pandemic. On November 14, 2021 they held their final celebration and closed the congregation, and the property was sold. While there is always sadness when congregations close, there is also celebration when ministry lives on.

As stewards of the proceeds of the sale, our Regional Board created a Legacy Fund in the name of FCC Prescott. Every year, gifts will be given from this fund to Week of Compassion, Disciples Mission Fund, Arizona Youth and Children’s ministries, and the outreach arm of our Arizona Disciples Women. Part of what this means: as we read about the devastation from the tornadoes in Kentucky, which among other things destroyed the building of First Christian Church of Mayfield, we also know that tangible gifts from our Prescott Disciples are already flowing through Week of Compassion to provide assistance.

But it was another decision made by the Regional Board that led to today feeling like Christmas. The Board also decided to use a portion of the proceeds to go directly to agencies that FCC supported in their Prescott community: Habitat for Humanity, 2 food banks, 2 emergency shelters, the Disabled American Veterans chapter, and other compassionate agencies that work to prevent abuse and promote well-being for people in need. So today I licked and stamped envelopes that held $168,000 of gifts to help the poor and needy in Prescott as part of FCC’s legacy. What a blessing!

Christmas is about giving, and never before have I been blessed to be a part of such a large gift. The covenant and ministry that we share as Region and local congregation calls us to reveal God’s love through moments like these.  I hope you will all share the joy of feeling like you are part of a large church family that constantly strives to shine God’s light and spread Christ’s love in tangible ways, as we seek to bring wholeness to our fragmented world.

Dios les bendiga, Merry Christmas, and Feliz Navidad!

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.

December

5 Sun City Christian Church (Sun City) led by Pastor Gary Luallin

12 First Christian Church (Mesa) led by Pastor Liz DeWeese

19 Community Christian Church (Tempe) led by Pastor Bob Howard

26 The worldwide church

January

2 Your Arizona Region

9 First Christian Church (Globe) led by Pastor Al Beasley

16 First Christian Church (Scottsdale) led by Pastor Jenny Wynn

23 Desert Dove Christian Church (Tucson) led by Pastor Michael Malone

30 Chalice Christian Church (Gilbert) led by Pastor Vernon Meyer

COVID-19 Resources for Congregations

General Church Resource Page

Thanksgiving Reflections

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

Many of us just celebrated the day of Thanksgiving, or as the holiday is called in Spanish: el Día de Acción de Gracias.  Thanksgiving is both a myth and a concept, both an American holiday and a Christian practice. Join with me in some Thanksgiving reflections.

Like many of you, I grew up with the myth of Thanksgiving – that 400 years ago the pilgrims and “Indians” came together in perfect harmony to share a feast and give thanks to God for their survival.  Every year in school, some of us would dress up like pilgrims, some like “Indians,” and we would sit in the classroom and re-enact the blissful scene of peaceful unity.  The Church enriched my appreciation of Thanksgiving, emphasizing how gratitude and “counting our blessings” puts us in right relationship both with God and with each other.  I loved the day, loved the concept, and loved the vision of all God’s children dwelling in unity.

Education continues throughout life, however, and of course I eventually learned that the reality behind the myth was less idyllic.  While our schoolteachers painted a picture of peace and harmony, words like “domination” and “enslavement” and “genocide” are more accurate descriptions of the relations between European colonizers and native and imported peoples.  Celebrating Thanksgiving is more complicated for me now.  I still find gratitude to be a path to peace, and I still love the vision of God’s children dwelling together in unity.  But I don’t want to celebrate a myth and pretend that all was well when it wasn’t.   I don’t want to spread a thin veneer of happiness over the injustice and atrocities that native peoples and enslaved Africans experienced.

Recently our Mission Focus team discussed the word “unity” – a prominent word in Disciples history.   Talking about “unity” can sometimes feel like the myth of Thanksgiving, like we are trying to promote a superficial happiness, ignoring the realities of life’s difficulties.  But sometimes “unity” feels more like “prophetic unity” – challenging the divisions of our world, bringing us together in honesty, our eyes open to reality but our hearts open to change.  “Prophetic unity” challenges us to be awake, to listen to and see the struggles others are facing, to make what changes we can to bring about a more just world.

On January 15, the Saturday of MLK weekend, I hope you will join us for a Regional event that is intended to be one of prophetic unity.  We are calling it a “Regional Gathering,” or Juntos, which is the Spanish word for “together.” We will gather for worship, a meal, and a world-café-style series of substantial conversations with fellow Disciples across the state.  In ways, as you sit around a table with people from different churches and people of different skin colors, it might feel like a re-enactment of the myth of Thanksgiving, where all people come together and share in harmony.  But our goal is not to promote superficial niceness.  Our goal is to begin to build and deepen authentic relationships between all of us.  I hope you will join us as we seek to practice prophetic unity – you’ll find the registration at www.azdisciples.org.

And in the meantime … 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.

December

5 Sun City Christian Church (Sun City) led by Pastor Gary Luallin

12 First Christian Church (Mesa) led by Pastor Liz DeWeese

19 Community Christian Church (Tempe) led by Pastor Bob Howard

26 The worldwide church

COVID-19 Resources for Congregations

General Church Resource Page

The Great Cloud of Witnesses

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

Like many of you, I like to cheer for underdogs – those less well known, less publicized, or less popular people or teams or … Christian holy days.   I’ve written here before about my love for Pentecost, the forgotten stepchild of Christian holy days (Christmas and Easter getting all the attention).  But here in the fall we have two more special days that I love.  October started with World Communion Sunday, in which we recognize our connectedness with people across the planet.  And as October begins to wind down, we prepare to celebrate All Saints Day on the first of November, a day when we celebrate and recognize our connectedness with all whom have come before.

The key scripture for All Saints is Hebrews 11-12 – “the great cloud of witnesses.”   The writer of Hebrews tells the stories of many who have come before us and lived lives of faith, culminating with Jesus, whom the writer calls “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” 

Have you ever sat and meditated on this phrase?  I find this one of the most fascinating descriptions of Jesus:  “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”   Pioneers go before us, they blaze the trail, they go first, and if all goes well, others will follow and find the way easier. To call Jesus a “pioneer” is to suggest that Jesus is walking the same journey we do, but walking it first, blazing the trail, showing us where and how to go.  Jesus walked boldly forward in love, never giving in to fear.  He spoke love, showed love, taught love, and even expressed love to those who were putting him to death.  This is the trail he blazed, the path he pioneered – love for all, no matter the consequences.  It is a path he perfected – not bailing out, not caving in, not compromising because he was afraid of what would happen to him.   Jesus:  “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

We call ourselves Disciples, followers of Jesus.  As Jesus was our pioneer, we too are called walk the journey of radical love, of expressing love to all – no matter how much we may disagree with their opinions, no matter what they look like, how they self-identify, or what they profess to believe.  We are called to love, not to be afraid, not to live in fear, not to worry about our own well-being to the exclusion of others.  May God bless us on our journey of radical love, as we seek to follow the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

Dios les bendiga!

Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona

We invite you to pray for the following congregations in the months of August and September. Visit our Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers for our annual list.

October

24 Glendale Mission and Ministry Center (Glendale) led by Executive Director Tiffany Fehr

31 Arizona Saints and Congregations that have come before us

November

7 Cristo en Pan de la Familia (Mesa) and Pastor Aurelio Lopez

14 Larkspur Christian Church, Casa Builders Ministry (Glendale) and Pastor Job Cobos

21 Seminarians and Disciples Education Institutions (Thanksgiving Special Offering)

28 Iglesia Cristiana Ebenezer (Tucson) and Pastor Sandy Flores

COVID-19 Resources for Congregations

General Church Resource Page

Evangelism the Disciples’ Way

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

A few weeks ago, while heading to an outdoor jazz concert, I walked past a man standing on a box shouting to all passersby that we better accept Jesus or we were going to spend our lives in eternal damnation. I found myself cringing inside, somewhat frustrated because scenes like that are why most Disciples are afraid to use the word “evangelism” anymore.  People sometimes say the Disciples are “the best kept secret,” in large part because we are so intent on not imposing our beliefs on others that we never even talk about our faith.  Many of us have truly taken Jesus’ words to heart:  Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them …  (Matthew 6:1)

And yet, just a few verses earlier in the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus calls us to be public about our faith:  Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)  How do we reconcile these two sayings?  Jesus tells us both not let anyone know when we are praying or giving alms AND to let others see our good works.

I don’t know about you, but I have often struggled to find the right balance.  As a pastor, I wanted my congregation to know what was going on.  During the week our church hosted a preschool, homeless ministries, 12-step programs, music lessons, dance classes, neighborhood association meetings, counseling sessions, and more.   If you only come to worship on Sunday, you might never know that your church is engaged in all these ministries – unless I tell you.   And we want people to know about ministry opportunities, do know how they can get involved, and to know that we are practicing good stewardship with every dollar given.  But sometimes, standing in the pulpit and saying:  “We do this, and this, and this, and this …” sounds like spiritual bragging, or like we think we get extra points in heaven by letting everyone know how good we are.

As we search for a healthy balance, it may be helpful to examine our motivations.  We are not called to do good works in order to make ourselves look good.  We certainly don’t need to do good works to win God’s approval or to earn our way into heaven.  If we give to the church, work at a food bank, or spend the night with the homeless so people will notice what good people we are – obviously we more focused on puffing ourselves up than in shining the light of God’s love.   But if God’s love is leading us to these things, we will find that generous living brings us joy.  At such times, as other people notice our joyful approach to life, I hope we’ll be able to share with them the source of our joy.   That’s evangelism, the Disciples’ way.

Dios les bendiga!

Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President

We invite you to pray for the following congregations in the months of August and September. Visit our Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers for our annual list.

September

26 – Coolwater Christian Church (Scottsdale) and Pastor Rick Gates

October

3 Anti-Racism and Reconciliation efforts (Reconciliation Special Offering)

10 Comunidad Limen Christian Church (Tucson) led by Pastor Pedro Ramos-Goycolea

17 Iglesia Casa de Adoración (Phoenix) led by Pastors Arturo and Janett Laguna

24 Glendale Mission and Ministry Center (Glendale) led by Executive Director Tiffany Fehr

31 Arizona Saints and Congregations that have come before us

COVID-19 Resources for Congregations

General Church Resource Page

Nothing will be able to separate us…

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  – Romans 8:37-39

Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

Saying goodbye to people or places we love is never easy.  We experience loss in so many ways – from death, to the loss of abilities as we age, to the loss of home and friends when we move — and it is never easy.  And I’m glad it’s not easy, because the grief we feel is a sign that the love was real.

Like many of you, I am grieving several losses this month.  I was SO looking forward to gathering us all together in October for our first full-Region in-person event since I arrived here two years ago.  That loss is symbolic of what we all share – loss of time with family and friends, loss of experiences, loss of community.

I am also grieving the immanent loss of one of our Region’s pastors:  Rev. Abigail Conley.  We celebrate with Abby as she moves to begin a new ministry in Lincoln, NE;  but we also grieve, losing a colleague and friend.  And although her partner Matthew Clark will remain as our Regional Ministry Administrator, thanks to the technologies of Zoom, email, air travel, and the like, we will miss his constant physical presence in the Region.

And I am also grieving the loss of one of our Region’s congregations:  Capilla del Sol Christian Church.   Capilla del Sol made the difficult decision to close their visible ministry as of September 19, 2021.  While I take comfort in knowing that I will maintain relationships with many of the wonderful people at Capilla del Sol who will become members at other Disciples congregations, I join with all of them and many of you in grieving the loss of one of our sister congregations.

Amidst all the loss, however, I take comfort in the words of scripture.  God made a covenant with the Israelites, promising to never forsake them.  Jesus promises to be with us always, until the end of the age.  And Paul emphatically states his conviction that NOTHING in all creation can ever separate us from the love of God.  When I read scripture, I KNOW that we will stay connected in God’s love.  Life is not permanent.  But God’s love is eternal and keeps us eternally connect to each other and to the Source of all being.   Praise be to God!

Dios les bendiga!

Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President

We invite you to pray for the following congregations in the months of August and September. Visit our Regional Calendar of Weekly Prayers for our annual list.

August

29 – Chalice Christian Church as they enter a time of transition & Pastor Abigail Conley (and Matt) as she accepts a call to a congregation in Nebraska

September

5 – First Christian Church (Mesa) and Pastor Liz DeWeese.

12 – Foothills Christian Church (Glendale) celebrating the return of Pastor Bekah Krevens from sabbatical

19 – First Christian Church (Tucson) celebrating the return of Pastor Ailsa Guardiola-Gonzalez from sabbatical

26 – Coolwater Christian Church (Scottsdale) and Pastor Rick Gates

COVID-19 Resources for Congregations

General Church Resource Page