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2012 SWC Annual Meeting
Let Justice Roll!
WorkshopsA variety of workshops will be available and many will be centered on our Annual Meeting theme, “Let Justice Roll!” As these workshops are confirmed, information will be posted here.
Workshop details will also be included in delegate confirmation packets.
Pre-Annual Meeting Opportunity (Thursday, April 19)
There are a few Pre-Annual Meeting opportunities being planned, if you want to lengthen your stay in Sahuarita and enjoy the weather as well as the fellowship of your UCC colleagues.
These workshops will generally start at 1 PM on Thursday, last 2-3 hours, and will cover material that cannot be condensed into our regular workshop time frame during the Meeting. Please keep checking this page for updated opportunities as they come together. We will ask you to register for these Pre-events as the time gets closer.
The following option, however, has been organized and will be a full-day event.
Border and Immigration Immersion Experience
Come and learn a little bit about the US/Mexico border and the struggle of immigration. Everyone will need to have a passport.
Gather at the Good Shepherd on Thursday, April 19th at 7:00 am to grab a bagel and some coffee.
We will travel to the Mariposa Border Crossing where we will walk about ¾ of a mile across the border to witness the work of a Jesuit Program called the Kino Border Initiative, basically a soup kitchen for deported migrants. We will also go to Grupo Beta (Mexican Border support) and a transportation company that helps migrants return home.
We will then cross back into the US and if time permits stop at a Humane Borders water station as we travel to Tucson. There we will attend Operation Streamline at the US Federal Court House, where 70 migrants go through complete legal proceedings in about 1 hour.
We will return to the Good Shepherd around 4:30pm.
Cost will be $15.00 per person.
Questions - email Randy at: bienshphrd@aol.com or phone 520-625-1375.
Workshops on Friday and Saturday, April 20-21
Building a Prayer Practice
The Rev. Teresa Blythe will lead an experience of prayer, discuss various forms of prayer, and talk about ways to incorporate prayer into church business and pastoral visits. We want to pray. We mean to pray. Yet sometimes we just don’t get around to it. Stop judging yourself and consider that maybe you simply haven’t found the way that you pray best! Rev. Teresa Blythe, ordained UCC spiritual director and author of 50 Ways to Pray, will offer some basic building blocks for a life that includes prayer and meditation. This will be especially useful for church leaders (lay and clergy) who are interested in exploring prayer as a more regular spiritual practice.
Two New Churches - Two Unique Approaches
Adaptive changes are compelling church planters to think very differently about how they build for the future. Come hear two planters talk about their new faith communities, about what is different, and why.
Faith Advocates for Jobs
Paul Sherry will speak about the significance of the job crisis and how folks can get involved and make a difference.
Wildlands on the Edge: Impacts of U.S. Border Policies
Dan Millis who heads the Sierra Club Borderlands Campaign will be making a presentation about the fragile borderlands and the environmental impacts of the US policies along the border.
U.S. lawmakers have blindly adhered to a border policy of militarization since the 1990s, and several dozen federal protection laws were tossed aside to allow rushed construction of hundreds of miles of barriers. The border wall blocks wildlife migration corridors and causes flooding, and does not stop human cross-border traffic. Sierra Club Borderlands works to protect natural and historic resources for future generations. Our grassroots efforts began with the release of our border film Wild Versus Wall in 2008, and since then we have extended our efforts across the U.S. to fight militarization of borderlands along the Mexican and even the Canadian borders. We invite you to join us.
For more information, please see: http://www.facebook.com/groups/42948198581/ and www.sierraclub.org/borderlands
Confessions of an Arab-American Muslim Cultural Liaison
Descendant of Egyptians, Mona Darwich found herself working with Arabic speaking refugees, when the first waves arrived in Tucson in 2008. Without a warning, she found herself forced to become a cultural liaison and interpreter at many levels in an outpatient mental health clinic to improve communication between staff and refugees. Mona will share her observations helping refugees dealing with the state system's expectations on this special population and how this professional experience affected her personally.
Migrant Deaths in Indian Country: A Violation of Human Rights in the Name of Homeland Security Arizona has become the epicenter for undocumented immigration into the United States. Thousands of migrants risk their lives to cross the hostile Sonora Desert of southern Arizona every year. For hundreds of them this is their last journey, succumbing to dehydration and heat exhaustion. In an effort to prevent their suffering and deaths, Mike Wilson, a Tohono O'odham human rights activist, has maintained water stations since 2002 for migrants crossing on his tribal land, the Tohono O’odham Reservation. Wilson will talk about the effects of U.S. border enforcement policy in Indian country and the moral responsibility of offering your fellow human being a cup of water.
Working for Justice
Carol Wilson and Larry Trent will preview the new United Church resource, "Working for Justice" from Faith Practices in this workshop. As followers of Jesus, people of faith are called to answer the question, "how do my daily plans and routines show my commitment to work for justice?" Participants will be introduced to activities for children, youth, young adults, adults, seekers, as well as materials for worship, retreats, workshop rotation and intergenerational events.
Desert Faith in a Time of Global Warming
The Rev. Talitha Arnold, a native of Arizona and Senior Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe, has worked to develop a theology to match the landscape of the desert lands of the American Southwest and to help the United congregation be at home spiritually in this landscape. What spiritual lessons do our Biblical faith and life in the desert Southwest offer us in this time of global warming and climate change? The workshop focuses on what we can learn from our Biblical heritage and the desert around us to live in our time and place with faith and not fear.
For the People: Engaging the Political Process in the Work of Justice
Sandy Sorensen, director of the Washington office of the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries, will present this workshop. What are some of the dynamics at play in current public policy debate and the 2012 election campaign? Why is a faith voice so critical in these times? In this workshop, we will explore those questions, surveying the current policy advocacy landscape and identifying ways to make a difference and stand for justice.
Blessed are the Leaders
Peggy Mullan, MNM, President and CEO, Beatitudes Campus and the Rev. Peggy Roberts, Sr. VP of Spiritual Life, Beatitudes Campus will present this workshop which uses a parallel reading of the Sermon of the Mount as a framework for modern management and leadership practice. Peacemaking equates to conflict resolution; being poor in spirit is akin to servant leadership and putting the mission of the organization ahead of the leader's ego. Please come prepared to look with new eyes at all eight blessings from the Gospel of Matthew and experiment with applying them in your own leadership practice.
Finding Funds for Ministry
Gordon Gilles, President, Cornerstone Fund, UCC and the Rev. John H. Pomeroy, Mission Interpreter, Western Area, will share a few key strategies for increasing giving in our congregations and invite participants to share their best practices for funding ministry. The workshop will discuss approaches to developing a narrative budget or mission spending plan, and will present some of the insights from J. Clif Christopher's recent books: "Not Your Parent's Offering Plate" and "Whose Offering Plate Is It?".
Widening the Welcome: Inclusion for All
This workshop will feature members of our Southwest Conference UCC congregations who advocate greater inclusion for all. Michael Curry, Elodie Winger, and Debe Knaack will participate in a panel discussion to share their stories about personal challenges, how church participation benefits them, and what opportunities for ministry are offered to them. After interviewing the panelists their pastors will discuss how a special needs ministry fits into their vision of the local congregation.
