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Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona

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Jay Hartley

What We Must Always Ask

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Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:

As we approach Thanksgiving Day – el día de Acción de Gracias – I am grateful for the warm (but not scorching!) welcome I have received in my first 11 weeks in Arizona.  It has been my privilege and joy to worship with 16 of our 25 congregations – very convenient that some of you worship in the afternoon!  If I haven’t been to your congregation yet I have plans to be there very soon.  I should complete the cycle before the end of February.

During the last month I have taken two major trips.  In October I went to Toronto to meet with the College of Regional Ministers (CRM), and just last week I joined several other regional ministers and church leaders across the nation for an “immersion trip” to San Diego and Tijuana to witness several impressive ministries related to immigration and border issues.  Our General Minister and President, Terri Hord-Owens, and our National Hispanic Pastor, Lori Tapia, were on both trips as well.

I’m delighted to report that our Disciples leadership across the country is strong.  Collectively, we are prayerfully listening to what God is calling us to be and do in this time and place.  I note this because it is always a danger that church leaders – both denominationally and within individual congregations – lose sight of our overall mission to embody God’s love for the world and seek first the kingdom of God.  Instead, we often allow ourselves to worry about smaller issues, or worry about “saving our church.”

Once we focus on our institution, and not our mission – we have lost our true reason to exist in the first place.  We must always ask:  “What is our purpose, what is our mission, what does God need us to do and be?”   So I’m delighted to report that those deep conversations are happening among your regional ministers and collectively we are committed to leading a church which seeks to make God’s love manifest in a terribly fragmented world.  And as I travel around Arizona, I will continue to ask how your congregation is working to transform the lives of your members and your communities to more fully embody Isaiah’s vision of God’s peaceable realm, where the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid … and all the Earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

Dios les bendiga!

Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona

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Images credit to National Benevolent Association (NBA)

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First reflections from your new Regional Minister and President.

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Greetings in the Love of Jesus Christ:

After three weeks, I am beginning to settle in as your new Regional Minister and President.  I’ve hung my diplomas, unboxed my books, rearranged the office furniture, moved into my apartment, and finally feel like life is settling down a bit.

But more importantly, I’ve enjoyed meeting wonderful Disciples from all over Arizona.  Highlights include:

  • Disciples Women’s Retreat in Prescott
  • Worship with First Christian Church of Prescott
  • Meeting with the Search Committee of East Mesa CC
  • Meeting with La Mesa, the leadership group of the Arizona Convencion
  • A week in Tucson meeting individually with every congregational pastor, together as a group with all congregational pastors (see photo), and with some of the members of Desert Dove, FCC, Saguaro, and Marana
  • Worship with Community Christian Church of Marana
  • An evening with Pastor Elias Garcia at Alfa y Omega
  • Retired minister’s breakfast
  • Regional Pro-Reconciliation/Anti-Racism training for clergy
  • Worship with Foothills Christian Church celebrating their 30th anniversary
  • Individual meetings with Don & Kathy Bryant (interim pastors at Coolwater CC), Nick Greenwalt (interim pastor of East Mesa CC), Abigail Conley (pastor of Chalice CC), Valeria Bejar (Disciples Immigration Response Specialist), and Jim Barton (Regional Moderator), and more (some being confidential)

I look forward to meeting several more of you at Pastor Rep on Wednesday in Phoenix and Thursday in Tucson.

Some initial impressions:   We have much to celebrate in Arizona.  We have strong pastors who are connected to each other, supportive of each other, and open to learning and growth.  We have congregations engaged in mission and ministry, offering care and comfort to people in need.  We have leaders passionate about church camp. And we seem to be saying goodbye to the summer heat, which will mean saying hello to several returning church members.

We also have the opportunity to be an example to our denomination and our world by working together and building truly significant cross-racial partnerships.  So many efforts to bring races together are based on superficial togetherness, pretending that we all love each other but not really understanding the underlying realities that everyone faces.  I believe we have the leadership and opportunity here in the Christian Church in Arizona to go deeper than that, and I look forward to sharing that journey with you.

Peace, Love, and Justice for all,

Pastor Jay

Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in Arizona

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Introducing Rev. Jay Hartley

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The Christian Church in Arizona calls Rev. Jay Hartley as Regional Minister and President.

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July 16, 2019

The Christian Church in Arizona is overjoyed to announce its calling of Reverend Jay Hartley as Regional Minister and President.  On Saturday, July 13, 2019, the Region held a Special Regional Assembly to hear the Regional Search Team’s nomination and overwhelmingly approved calling Rev. Hartley to the position.

Rev. Hartley is a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School and will come to the Christian Church in Arizona from Eastwood Christian Church, where he has served since August of 2000. The Region looks forward to Rev. Hartley exercising his collaborative leadership style, his long history of mentorship, and his deep abiding love for the Gospel in his new role in Arizona.

The Region expresses tremendous gratitude for Rev. Richie Sanchez who has served as our interim Regional Minister and President for nearly two years.  Rev. Sanchez’s guidance and spirit of joy will be missed. But we are heartened by the knowledge that he will be serving nearby as Regional Minister of the Pacific Southwest Region.

The Christian Church in Arizona is poised for great things in the future, and our excitement and enthusiasm are elevated by the potential represented by calling Rev. Hartley. Amen!

James E. Barton II
Regional Moderator
Search Team Chair

Con gran gozo, la Iglesia Cristiana en Arizona se complace en anunciar el llamado del Reverendo Jay Hartley como Ministro Regional y Presidente. El Sábado, 13 de Julio de 2019, la Region se reunió en una Asamblea Especial para escuchar la nominación del Equipo de Búsqueda y con gran emoción el llamado del Rev. Hartley fue aprobado, a la posición antes mencionada.

El Rev. Hartley es graduado de la Escuela de Divinidades de Vanderbilt y viene a la Iglesia Cristiana en Arizona, directamente de la Iglesia Cristiana de Eastwood, donde a estado sirviendo desde Agosto del año 2000. La Region espera con ansia el ejercicio de liderazgo colaborativo que caracteriza el estilo del Rev. Hartley, al igual que su extensa historia como mentor, y un profundo y permanente amor por el Evangelio en su nuevo llamado en Arizona.

La Region también quiere expresar un profundo agradecimiento por el Rev. Richie Sanchez quien ha servido como Ministro Regional Interino y Presidente por casi dos años. La guía y el espíritu alegre del Rev. Sanchez se extrañaran, pero, somos reconfortados sabiendo que seguirá siendo nuestro vecino sirviendo como Ministro Regional de la Region del Suroeste del Pacifico.

La iglesia Cristiana en Arizona esta lista para grandes cosas en el futuro, y nuestro entusiasmo y emoción son aumentados por el potencial que representa el llamado del Rev. Hartley. ¡Amen!

James E. Barton II
Moderador Regional
Director del Comité de Búsqueda

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