Path 1 Webinars
If you are discerning to start a new faith community or currently working in a church planting team in your area, Path 1 invites you to join these monthly Zoom webinars. The first webinar starts on Tuesday, April 13.
April News from Camp & Retreat Ministries
By Dina Reid, Camp & Retreat Ministries Register for Summer Camp! We've been busy hiring summer staff, registering campers, and preparing the camps for summer!! Some camp sessions are at or near capacity. Register soon so that your campers are not disappointed! ...
Annual Conference Mission Project – Student Hunger
A Glimpse of Hunger at ASU By Billie K. Fidlin, Director of Outreach & Justice, and Rev. Jamie Booth, ASU Valley Wesley There are students on university campuses across the country who have difficulty securing regular meals during the best of times. In these times...
Don’t Return to Normal! Re-Launch Instead!
COVID 19 has changed the way we do church. Church leaders have had to learn new ways of being together. For many, this has been a gift. New tools for worship, meetings, and how to make giving easier have been discovered, improved upon, and celebrated. There have been...
Step into Spring with Camp & Retreat Ministries
Summer Camp Registration Open We are so excited to announce that Summer Camp registration is open!! We have fun, new camp sessions planned for the summer, and would love to have your children and youth join us at camp! To register or learn more about Potosi Pines...
New S/PPRC Training Videos Now Available Online
New training video segments for Staff/Pastor Parish Relations Committees (S/PPRC) are now available on the Desert Southwest Conference website under the DSC University Trainings and Events button or at this link https://dscumc.org/initiative/itraining/.
New March Virtual Lay Servant Ministry Classes
The West District Director of Lay Servant Ministries will be offering the Advanced course, Public Prayer, 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.
Taking Online Worship to the Next Level
The pandemic forced most churches to have an online worship presence. This was not an easy task, but leaders stepped up to the challenge. Now the question is, “What will we do when we go back to in-person worship?” We can’t go back to the way things were because the way things were wasn’t working all that well! The Conference Vital Faith Team will host a 2-hour webinar on March 17th, at 6:00 PM lead by Jason Moore that will help churches take their online presence to the next level.
Planting Seeds of Faith
Look at the Facebook page of Frontera Wesley, our campus ministry in the South District, and you’ll see pictures of college students planting a community garden together between the Campus Christian Center and First United Methodist Church of Tucson, just off Park Avenue. With shovels and laughter and joy, some young people planted seeds of faith that will one day soon be a living testimony of God’s abundance and goodness to the University of Arizona community walking past.
February Camp News
Potosi Pines Almost Camp Potosi Pines is offering Almost Camp for elementary and youth campers! These day camp sessions will include all the things that make camp great, including archery, games, crafts, and time outside - just not the overnight stay! The camps will...
The Gathering 2021
Join us for The Gathering 2021. This is a time for clergy who are serving churches or are a member of our Conference to join together for conversation, worship, and community. The restrictions of COVID make it a challenge, but we will go ahead and meet when we...
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.
