
What’s Lost and What’s Gained
We’ve been in our new house for a month now, and no matter where we look, my wife Felida and I can’t find our silverware. Losing something you need or value is a hazard of moving. One year when we moved from Sedona to Tucson, the movers packed our printer in the wrong box and we couldn’t find it for six months. And this time it’s the silverware; for three weeks we used plastic forks, knives and spoons at every meal until my wife gave in and bought a cheap set of tableware from the dollar store. If we’re lucky, we’ll find what we’ve lost before we move from this house again.
District Training for Local Church Administrative Committees
In the first months of the year, people who have been elected to local church leadership begin their new ministry roles. The Desert Southwest Conference recognizes the importance of these church leaders and the importance of training them on the disciplinary duties of the local church administrative committees.
Music in the Time of COVID-19
It’s not time to bring back choral music or congregational singing to our worship services, but pastors, musicians, and others involved in planning worship who missed the ‘Risk Mitigation Strategies for Choirs’ webinar in December can still view the video and check...
Announcing New Conference Clergy Wellness Task Force
We are pleased to announce the creation of the Conference Clergy Wellness Task Force at the direction of the Connectional Ministries Team. Structurally this task force will fall within the Health & Caring Ministries Team. Members include Melissa Rynders, Tom...
Jump Into January at Camp
Summer Camp Registration Open Registration for Summer Camp is open! We have new and exciting camp sessions planned for 2021 and would love to have your children and youth join us at camp this summer! Campers registered in January will receive a free camp gift: ...
God With Us
And as a sign that God was with them, Isaiah spoke of a sign, a symbol of hope, an assurance of God’s promise that God is always with us, even when things are awful or scary. That sign, that symbol, was the birth of a child. Someone was pregnant, and with the birth of her child, hope would come anew into the world.
District Office Holiday Hours
The District office will be closed for the Christmas Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25, 2020. Normal business hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. May you have a blessed and safe Christmas.
The INN of Southern Arizona is Looking for a New Location
The INN of Southern Arizona is looking for temporary and/or long-term placement in a new facility that can offer: Bathrooms/showers Space to reheat/prepare meals Space for tables for meals Space for cots/sleeping Preferably, for long term placement, the site would...
2021 Virtual Lay Servant Ministry Classes
The West District Director of Lay Servant Ministries will be offering the Advanced course, Discover Your Spiritual Gifts, virtually. There will be offering two sessions – a day class to meet the needs of those not able to attend an evening class and an evening / early Saturday morning class for those not able to meet during the day.
December Camp Ministries News
Potosi Pines Unwrap the Gift Campaign - December 1 through December 8 Three anonymous donors have offered a combined gift of $16,000 to Potosi Pines Camp if the camp is able to secure 62 donations, one for every year the camp has been blessing lives. These gifts can...
Thoughts from Matt – Signs of New Life and Hope
When it rains, it pours. Last week, my wife Felida was looking on her Facebook page when she saw that her cousins in the Philippines were stranded on the second floor of their home during a terrible flood. They had small children with them and were using Facebook to call for help. Nobody could get to them, but thankfully the waters receded by the next day and they were okay. Last week, three separate typhoons hit the Philippines in succession, and so the Manilla area flooded. This is nothing new, just as hurricanes are nothing new on the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States. In fact, Filipino homes used to be built on stilts so that they could stay above water when the floodwaters came. They aren’t built that way anymore, so residents know to just keep their heads above water and survive.
Worship and Planning For A New Time
BeADisciple.com is offering a class entitled: "Engage and Inspire: Worship and Planning for a New Time". This course will explore alternative and creative ways to engage and inspire congregations in this new time of doing worship that also includes people with...
Preparing your virtual choir
Find this article and other excellent training resources for creating a virtual choir at https://dscumc.org/worship-online/virtual-choir/ By Joshua Ian Elder, Minister of Music at First United Methodist Church As you begin the process of creating a virtual choir...
November News from Camp
Unlock the Gift A long time friend and supporter of Mingus Mountain Camp has offered a $20,000 gift to the camp, granted we are able to secure 50 new committed, monthly donors. New donors are encouraged to give at the rate with which you feel comfortable. All gifts...
Parenting in a Pandemic
The Desert Southwest Conference Camp & Retreat Ministries, in conjunction with the Cal-Pac Conference, is offering Parenting in a Pandemic, a support group for parents in both conferences. The group is led by clergy parents from both conferences, including our...
Two Covid-19 Friendly Mission Projects for your Whole Church!
Timely! Useful! Practical! Assemble Cleaning Buckets One five-gallon round bucket with re-sealable lid One 16-40 oz. bottle liquid concentrate household cleaner One 16-34 oz. bottle dish soap One 4-8 oz. pump spray air freshener One 6-14 oz. pump spray insect...
Thoughts From Matt – Where Love Lives
Apple is a rescue dog. At ten months old, she was a pregnant and homeless teenager. There was no room in the inn, so she was sent to the Nogales shelter, where she was deemed undesirable (they thought she was a pit bull and would be difficult to place). So Apple was scheduled to be euthanized, her short life almost over before it began. Then good things began to happen for Apple. A woman who runs a private animal rescue visited the shelter and saw something in Apple, saw that she’s a cattle dog with a good heart and a lot to give. And so Apple was taken to a foster home in Hereford, where she gave birth to three puppies, though she was still a puppy herself.
Finding Your Voice: An Online Contemplative Writing Retreat
When the pandemic crisis hit, many of us were stunned into silence with the loss of social freedom, the threat of infection, as well as concerns about friends and neighbors. The killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed heightened our need to “find our...
Climate Reality Presentation – November 17
The Climate Crisis is already affecting ecosystems and communities across the globe, but it is not too late to take action. The climate reality presentation will show you how!
Fall Into Camp This October
October is the perfect time to visit our camps - cooler weather, changing leaves, crisp mountain air......... and DSC Camp & Retreat Ministries has a number of opportunities for you to experience the beauty of God's Creation at Mingus Mountain and Potosi Pines...