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Tax-free generosity opportunities

There are a new opportunities to be generous and reduce your tax liability through end-of-year giving: The Cares Act charitable giving benefit and tax-free gifts made directly to charitable organizations from IRA and other retirement accounts.

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This week's featured post: Prepare for the winter solstice with Rev. Victoria Ubben.

Burning a Yule Log & Looking for a Bright Star

by Rev. Victoria S. Ubben

In a previous city in which I had lived, my friends hosted an annual, festive Winter Solstice party in their home. It was held on or near the winter solstice (which is on or near December 21). Because of my ministry as a pastor of a church, the season of Advent (the four weeks before Christmas) and Christmastide (the 12 days from December 25 through January 5) was a busy time for me. Nonetheless, I always found it refreshing to gather with friends around the yule log and observe the winter solstice…

Just a quick review: the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year. After the winter solstice, the days start to get longer. People observed the winter solstice long before Christianity was established. Many Advent and Christmas customs that Christians observe (e.g., Christmas trees and lighting candles) have roots in much older traditions and ancient folk customs that were later absorbed by Christianity. For example, in Scandinavian countries long ago a “yule log” was rolled through the streets then burned in a symbolic bonfire (hopefully, to destroy the sorrows of the past year and bring good tidings of hope and joy to the city and its residents in the future).

… Back to the Winter Solstice party. Each year, guests at this this party were invited to bring a small remembrance (perhaps written on a piece of paper) or a sprig of something flammable (like a piece of a dried stick or a tiny evergreen branch) to place upon the yule log. I always thought about what I wanted to burn – get rid of – from the past year for some significant amount of time before this gathering. As I reflected on the season that had passed, I always had something to burn (either literally or symbolically). Other people at this gathering symbolically put their disappointments, failures, bad choices, addictions, sins, and just “garbage” on that yule log along with me. (I am so glad that this was a communal event and not something that one must do all alone.)

After food, drink, and some readings appropriate for the winter solstice, the strongest people of the bunch would lug that yule log with all our sadness, grief, sorrow, and regret to the huge fireplace in the living room.

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Church Jottings 12/21/2020

Thanks to the wonderful Holly Herman for reading ALL of your church newsletters and compiling the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches.

Readers: I will be taking a couple weeks off, but Jottings will return on January 11th.
–Holly

If you’d like a separate article about your news to appear on the website and The Loop, please submit it to Wende by Thursday at noon to have it included in the following Monday’s Loop.

"Well done, good and faithful servant." Southwest Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons, expressed his gratitude to United Church of Sun City Assistant Pastor Susan Aurich who will retire on December 31.

Members and guests of Oro Valley UCC were invited to pick up their Christmas Eve Worship Service package at a parking lot drive-through event or by contacting the office to arrange a pick-up. The package contains a candle to light during the Service, Communion elements-juice and 'bread', and Sheet music to sing along.

First Congregational UCC in Albuquerque is putting together a montage of dreams for the coming year that will be shown on January 3rd. Members are asked to submit a brief video with their thoughts. in addition, the Epiphany Project will take place that afternoon in the church parking lot. On Epiphany we celebrate the Magis’ arrival with gifts for the Christ child. members are invited to bring gifts of food for the hungry and for the birds. The Sunday School children are making bird-friendly ornaments for the outdoor live tree and others may also create and bring ornaments to feed our winged friends.

The Sahuarita Food Bank and Community Resource Center, a mission of The Good Shepherd UCC, provided more than one million pounds of food to a consistently increasing volume of clients because of the pandemic—in many weeks the number doubled over the same week from the previous year. 878 donors contributed directly to the operations (food, vehicles, rent, insurance, etc.). The food bank expresses heartfelt gratitude for financial gifts, as well as the 130 volunteers who helped tackle challenges and meet our goals.

On December 11, 2020, Humane Borders received the Alfonso García Robles Humanitarian Award from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), a large public research university in Mexico (350,000 students). Alfonso Garci Robles was a co-winner of the 1982 Novel Peace Prize for his authorship of the 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco, which established a nuclear-free zone in Latin America. UNAM recognizes Humane Borders “because it has excelled in the realization of work in defense, advocacy, protection or guarantee of the human rights of migrants with vulnerability.”

Jill Pawlowski is a Member in Discernment (UCC speak for candidate for ordained ministry) and a member of Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita. She has a Masters in Divinity from the St. John’s School of Theology in Collegeville, Minnesota and has served as a Licensed Local Pastor in the United Methodist Church. Jill now feels a call to ordained ministry and senses that call to be in the United Church of Christ. Jill’s Local Church Discernment Committee (LCDC) at Good Shepherd feels it would benefit Jill to experience the ministry of the church in another UCC setting, invited Church of the Painted Hills to be that setting and they look forward to Jill being with them for the next several months.

Members are invited to visit the sanctuary at First Congregational UCC in Prescott on Christmas Eve from 5-8. This is not a service. It is a chance for folks to pray and reflect. There will be no singing or spoken prayers. Self serve Communion will be available. Music will be recorded seasonal hymns. Perhaps a guest musician will be there.

Susan Aurich to retire on December 31

United Church of Sun City’s Assistant Pastor, Susan Aurich, is retiring on December 31. Well done, good and faithful servant! Southwest Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons, expressed his gratitude to Susan in this video.

Common Ground on the Border VIII

18th Annual Santa Cruz Valley Border Issues Fair

January 12-16, 2021 at The Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Sahuarita, AZ

The US / Mexico borderlands has always been a beautiful mix of culture, language, cuisine, economies and people. It has also been a place of struggle, high and low temperatures, a fragile environment and the push and pull of immigration.

Common Ground on the Border is the perfect place to explore the arts, explore the culture and have deeper conversations about the complicated issues that collide here. This year, during this global pandemic, we will host this event online and we will hope to gather in person in January of 2022. To learn more and to register, click here.

A Just Peace in the Holy Land

Over the last four years, U.S. policy has moved in directions that have alienated the U.S. from many of its international partners and supported the deepening of Israel’s occupation while undermining long term efforts to realize a just and lasting peace. If the U.S. remains committed to furthering peace with justice in Israel and Palestine, there is a need for an immediate change in policy and approach when the new administration enters office.

Between the Lines 1-2-3: a podcast from Pastor Tony Minear

Pastor Tony Minear has created a weekly podcast called "Between the Lines 1-2-3." This brief 10–15-minute weekly podcast discusses one article, two headlines and three quotes from the week's religious news. It's available on most podcast streaming services such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and Transistor.

IN THE TIME OF COVID: Singing in a Strange Land

From Bradley Ellingboe, Director of Choirs, United Church of Santa Fe:

Although our observance of the life and work of Dr. King needs to be online this year, the silver lining is this allows us to bring experts from around the country!

URGENT: Urge Congress to Include All Families and Neighbors in COVID Relief

From Church World Service (CWS):

Right now, Congress is considering a COVID relief package to accompany federal funding for the remainder of this fiscal year. As congressional leaders plan to include another round of stimulus checks in the package to provide relief to Americans during this crisis, it is vital that ALL of our community members are able to access this critical relief. The last round of stimulus checks largely excluded millions of Americans from accessing stimulus checks including mothers, fathers, children and immigrants serving on the frontlines of this pandemic as essential workers. The exclusion of mixed-status families and individual ITIN filers from relief legislation is both deeply unfair and has disproportionately harmed the families hardest hit by the pandemic.

Arizona clergy have launched a petition

As part of the Arizona Interfaith Network, Arizona clergy have launched a petition calling on action from Governor Ducey and the Congressional Delegation to act swiftly on extending a state eviction moratorium until June, providing needed new federal relief assistance funds to landlords and tenants, and creating standardized and flexible means to access these resources. Evicting the most vulnerable during this crisis will only worsen our public health crisis. Read more or sign the petition by clicking here.

The Pollinator: Christmas and the Roman Empire

From Brooks Berndt: In reading the story of Jesus’ birth this year, what I find particularly compelling is the response of the shepherds. For those who are literally and figuratively on the margins of society, the manger becomes a point of convergence. Where the divine becomes manifest, those listening to the angels coalesce and gather. The question for us this Christmas is where are we to converge? Amid systems of power that have forced our society into crises of climate and inequality, where is the divine becoming manifest?

Over the past month, I have sensed the beginnings of a convergence that will ultimately compel our government in the direction of justice. The Creation Justice Webinar for January is fittingly entitled “What’s Possible?: Faith and Climate Policy in 2021.” We are entering into a moment charged with potential. From wherever we might come, let’s converge together.

Conference calendar at a glance:

(all times listed are MST)

December 24-25: Conference staff holiday

December 27: SWC MIDs worship service premiere

January 1: Conference staff holiday

January 14: 3:30pm Executive Board meeting

January 19: 12–1pm Church website webinar

April 23–25: Virtual Annual Meeting

You can subscribe to the Southwest Conference Google calendar HERE

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