Don’t miss the 2023 District Leadership Conference
Save the date for the 2023 district leadership conference. The plan includes two Thriving workshop sessions and bonus workshops.
This is where you’ll find posts for the South District webpage.
Save the date for the 2023 district leadership conference. The plan includes two Thriving workshop sessions and bonus workshops.
At the 2021 Annual Conference Session, the resolution was passed to begin Cultural Competency/Inclusivity and Diversity training. The training has begun and District Superintendent Matt Ashley would like to invite the leaders...
Cynthia Holly will be transitioning to be the single Administrative Assistant for all four districts in the Desert Southwest Conference beginning August 1, 2022. Cynthia has been a District Administrative Assistant for five years serving with the South and East Districts and brings a wealth of experience for this new position.
Loye Ashton - Desert Skies UMC, Tucson Loye Sekihata Ashton has served as an ordained Deacon with the United Methodist Church since 2005 in the areas of education, music, worship, interfaith dialogue, and information and communications technology (ICT) ministry. He...
by Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist & Superintendent See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early...
By Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist & Superintendent Is there an equivalent to the Staff-Parish Relations Committee for the South District Superintendent? What are the first steps for a person experiencing a call into ministry? If my church...
by Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist and Superintendent Late one night at camp I walked to the outdoor chapel for a little quiet time. After a hectic day all the campers were in their cabins, and it was time to catch my breath and enjoy God’s...
March Madness! I’ve got my brackets printed off, ready to decide which men’s and women’s college basketball teams I think will win in this year’s NCAA Tournaments. My interest is renewed this year with the resurgence of my hometown Arizona Wildcats. Last year University of Arizona’s women’s team went all the way to the championship game. This year the men’s team is rated #2 in the country and was just awarded the #1 seed in the South Regional. Bear Down, Arizona! 68 teams in the men’s NCAA Tournament. 67 games spread over three weeks. 67 teams will lose their final game and be eliminated. One team will win all their games and be the champions – a storybook ending to someone’s dream season. It’s so nice and tidy, the NCAA Tournament. 68 teams know their task – win all their games. No doubt, no wondering what the goal is, no lack of clarity – just win.
In this webinar, Cat Holbert, DSC Director of Camping & Retreat Ministries will talk to us about the theories of group dynamics and how to form strong connections in the building of diverse relationships.
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home;
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.
Imagine how these words sounded when enslaved people working the cotton fields in the Old South poured out their hearts in song. Black spirituals developed organically as heartfelt expressions of pain, longing, and hope in the face of intolerable cruelty and torture. They are among the many treasures we celebrate during Black History Month.
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is found in the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal (#703). The hymnal lists its scripture reference as 2 Kings 2:11. The passage describes the final conversation the prophet Elijah has with his protégé Elisha, before “a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.”