New District Administrative Assistant for West and North Districts
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.
Partners in Ministry
I was able to fill in and preach for one of our colleagues this past Sunday and the scripture I used was Philippians 1.3-11. In this letter to the Philippians, Paul starts with these words, “I thank my God every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy. I’m...
Welcome New Clergy in East District
Michael Patzloff - The Bridge UMC, Phoenix Michael is no stranger to the desert. He grew up in Holtville, CA, a little town just west of Yuma, AZ. Because his parents were originally from Nebraska, he decided to attend Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. After...
Summer Camp is in Full Swing!
By Patricia Pegram, Camp & Retreat Ministries Summer is full-swing and camps still need your help to fulfill our mission of sending every child to camp who wants to attend; All Play Fundraising is ongoing, so you are still able to donate to our campership...
Work Day Opportunities with The Wesley Foundation
by Rev. Jamie Booth, Campus Pastor of ASU Wesley Foundation Hello East District! In the late 1950’s, the Desert Southwest Conference paid to build the Baker Center on Tempe First’s Campus. This building was built with the intention of being a space for campus...
Here Comes the Summer (Doo do doo doo!)
By Patricia Pegram, Camp & Retreat Ministries Summer is quickly approaching and camps still need your help to fulfill our mission of sending every child to camp who wants to attend; All Play Fundraising is ongoing, so you are still able to donate to our...
Leadership Talk with Bishop Grant Hagiya
This month’s event Spiritual Kaizen: How to Become a Better Church Leader will be presented by Bishop Grant Hagiya and is based on the book he authored.
A Journey into the Heart of Christ: Spiritual Healing and Justice (September 18-23, 2022)
This year’s Five Day Academy for Spiritual Formation is a response to two of our greatest needs: a desire to deepen our life with God and a longing for justice. Too often, the Church is split between those who pray and those who march. The reality is that the...
Easter Tidings & Spring Cleaning
By Patricia Pegram, Camp & Retreat Ministries There's much to do to as we prepare for Easter and get our DSC Camps ready for summer campers and adult retreats! We want to ensure every camper who wants to come to camp can do so; we continue to raise...
The Benefit of One-to-One Conversations
The Lewis Center for Church Leadership recently published the article "How One-to-One Conversations Reintroduced a Church to its Neighbors by Travis Norvell. Travis Norvell, pastor of Judson Church in Minneapolis, describes the blessing and insight that flowed from...
Leadership Talk – April 11, 2022
This month’s event Leading Local Church Committees/Herding Cats presented by Mr. Daniel V. Boring, a lifelong Methodist and active member at Vista de la Montana UMC, is based on his over 50 years of hands-on experience leading both large and small Methodist church groups.
April 2 District Leadership Webinars
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.
Spring: Time to Play!
By Patricia Pegram, Camp & Retreat Ministries With Winter Camps wrapped up and the first day of Spring ahead, we have so much to do to get ready for spring retreats and summer camps at both of our DSC Camps! We want to ensure every camper who wants to come...
Hybrid Evangelism: The New Reality for Congregations
The Lewis Center is offering "Hybrid Evangelism: The New Reality for Congregations" on Tuesday, March 1, noon-1:30pm Eastern Standard Time. In this webinar you will learn practices for adapting relational evangelism to hybrid ministry. To learn more about this timely...
How We Lead Matters – Leadership Talk
This month’s event “How We Lead Matters” is based on the book with the same title from Marilyn Carlson Nelson features Rev. Dottie Escobedo Frank, senior pastor Paradise Valley UMC, on Monday, March 14 at 7:00 PM.
For the Love of Camp
By Patricia Pegram, Camp & Retreat Ministries February is here and that means Winter Camps, Summer Staff recruitment, and spring just around the corner! We have quite a lot to offer from both of our DSC Camps, so be sure to take a look at each camp website for...
Leadership In the Church: Spirituality, Work Ethic, and a Love of People
This month’s event features “Leadership In the Church: Spirituality, Work Ethic and a Love of People” on Monday, February 14 at 7:00 PM with Rev. Garry Kennedy, senior pastor Willowbrook UMC.
Christmas Blessing
It has been a challenging year for many of our East District Pastors and Churches. Yet some of the sermons I have been hearing during this advent season have been very inspirational. Through them all there weaves a thread – God can and does act through the unexpected turns of life.
District Leadership Webinars in 2022
We are a Connectional Church. Our United Methodist tradition is rooted in relationships between people, local churches, conferences, jurisdictions, General Conference, and other United Methodist organizations. In this webinar, we’ll watch and discuss a recorded video from Bishop Grant Hagiya.
Happy Holidays
The District Offices will be closed Monday, December 20 through Monday, January 3, reopening on Tuesday, January 4 for the Christmas holiday. We will return to the office Tuesday, January 4, 2022. "And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone....