|
Find us on Facebook, Youtube,
or visit our website:
| |
|
You can use this button to give to Desert Cross directly online: | |
Weekly Desert Cross Update - January 10, 2025 | |
Faith and Life with Pastor Andrea | |
CLOSED FOR SPIRITUAL MAINTENANCE | |
|
"Jesus said: 'Come away with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.' "
Mark 6:31
| |
Blessings Blog is temporarily closed for spiritual maintenance. Time to rest. Hope you also find some moments to take care of yourself.
Be encouraged by these words of wisdom in the meantime:
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." – Proverbs 4:23
See you in two weeks,
| |
|
“Nature’s music is never over; her silences are pauses, not conclusions.”
– Mary Webb
| |
Game Day!
📅 Date: Thurday, January 16th
🕢 Time: 9:30am
📍 Location: Tempe Community Center Classroom
Please join us for our Game Day on Thursday, January 16th, in the Community Center classroom, at 9:30am. It will be a great morning of fun and fellowship, and we will be playing dominoes! Coffee, tea, and delicious treats will be served.
Hope to see all of you “young at heart kids” there!
| | |
|
Sharing, Serving, Loving
Desert Cross Gilbert campus during the November “Be Thankful Food and Blanket Drive” provided 105 families many nonperishable food products for their Thanksgiving week shopping at the Concordia Charter School Food Bank. That is the equivalent of providing food for 400 people! Many blankets were also donated to distribute to those at the school and Lutheran Social Services
| |
|
The December Angel Tree tags for 110 Concordia students were all taken with Desert Cross families providing each student with a new, warm sweatshirt to wear as the weather gets cooler. Students received their gifts the week of December 16.
Thank you for your generosity!
– Jean O’Donnell, Gilbert Outreach Chair
| |
I-Help Christmas – A Night of Tears
We found her crying in the corner of the Community Center. An I-Help guest said that Sherri wasn’t there when we handed out the Christmas gifts of socks & a gift card. So, we started searching for her. It was an emotional night. It was Christmas Eve and I asked our guests to think of Christmases past. Tears flowed as memories filled the room. To my surprise, a lady exclaimed, “This is the best Christmas ever.” Wow, I thought. Sitting in a room of strangers while anticipating sleeping on the floor, and this is one of the best Christmases ever? I felt so humbled that so little, meant so much. So we set out to find Sherri. She was crying. When I approached her with the Christmas gift, she hugged me. She stood back and said through her tears, “and you prayed for me.” She embraced me again. And finally as I was turning to leave, she gave out a big sigh, and said “thank you” embracing me a third time. It was a powerful night in so many ways. I couldn’t help but wonder if that first Christmas was not unlike what our homeless friends experienced. Homeless, hungry, and cold, Mary and Joseph gave birth to a baby with no doctor, sterile room, or health plan. It had to be frightening. It had to be scary. And yes, I’ll bet there were tears.
| |
|
I don’t have the words to express my appreciation for the incredible support Desert Cross members have given to the I-Help program. I am proud to serve as your I-Help Coordinator and continue to sense that God is doing wonderful things through this simple ministry.
Thank you!
- Glen Stadler
| |
| |
|
Snack & Chat – Holiday Closure
Snack & Chat will reopen next week, on Sunday, January 19th. We hope you've been enjoying your holiday season! Happy New Year!
| | |
|
Packing Backpacks
📅 Sunday, January 26th
🕢 9:45am at the Tempe Site; 10:45am at the Gilbert Site
Desert Cross will be packing backpacks filled with toiletries and health items for folks in need. Please join us at both sites during our Education time to lend a helping hand. January Hunger Jar Offerings will support this project.
If you have any questions, please contact Denise McClellan at dmcclellan@desertcross.org or 480-730-8600.
| |
Serve 40 – You Did It!
We committed to serving 40 hours outside the walls of Desert Cross, and you did it! By the end of 2024, forty-eight people reached that goal.
Where did you serve? AZCEND, CASA, community gardens, Habitat for Humanity, Hidden Treasures, Humane Society, Mesa Arts Center, neighborhood schools, Salvation Army, VA Hospital, and many, many more places out in our neighborhoods! This is in addition to all of the hours you give to the people and ministries of Desert Cross!
You are incredible ambassadors of God's love!
| |
| |
|
Meditation Group
Tuesdays at 7:00 pm - Tempe Sanctuary
Next meeting: January 14th
OR
Thursdays at 9:00 am - Tempe Community Center Youth Room
Next meeting: January 16th
Do you want to try meditation? If so, please join Elaine Kraemer on Tuesday evenings or Thursday mornings. Elaine has practiced "passage meditation" for many, many years. She'll share the whys and hows of meditation and help you get started with this faith-growing spiritual practice.
To sign up, or for more information, please contact Elaine Kraemer at elainekraemer1892@gmail.com.
| |
Faith Formation Adult Forum
Next Meeting: January 12th
Sunday 9:45am - 10:15am
Tempe Community Center Adult Classroom
OR
Sunday 10:45am - 11:15am
Gilbert Sanctuary
| |
| |
|
Book Group
January 30th - February 27th
Thursdays at 2:00pm or 7:00pm
Tempe Community Center Adult Classroom
Desert Cross celebrated 40 years of ministry last year, and we spent some time looking back on our history together. The Book Group is taking this idea and following a family for 100 years. Jane Smiley's trilogy starts in 1920 with the Langdon family on their farm in Iowa. We read the first book in the fall, and we're continuing this series in the new year with Early Warning. Join us for the books that fit your schedule.
Book Fee: $16.00 Scholarships Available
To register for the afternoon group, contact Lola Peterson at lolabluebirds@gmail.com.
To register for the evening group, contact Denise McClellan at dmcclellan@desertcross.org or 480-730-8600.
| |
|
🔗 Schedule Your Appointment:
Visit Vitalant.org and use sponsor code "desertcross" (all one word)
👤 Contact for Sign-Ups:
Art Krzyzewski will be reaching out to past donors.
📋 Sign-up sheet available in the Narthex at Tempe.
📧 Email: krzyarty@cox.net
| |
Vitalant Blood Drive
📅 Date: Saturday, January 25th
🕢 Time: 7:30am - 12:00pm
📍 Location: Desert Cross Community Center in Tempe
💉 Donation Options:
- Whole Blood
- Power Red
🅰 Urgent Need for:
- Type O Negative
- Type A and B Positive
🎁 Rewards Await:
Earn points for prizes with each donation!
Let's come together to save lives and make a difference. Your contribution matters!
| |
Serving Pancakes!
📅 Sunday, January 26th
🕢 6:30am
📍 Grace Lutheran Church in Phoenix
Desert Cross will be helping to serve pancakes at Grace Lutheran on Sunday, January 26th, starting at 6:30am!
For more information, or to volunteer to help out, please contact Joy Petroff at joylpetroff@gmail.com.
| |
|
Lutheran Social Services Luncheon
📅 Thursday, February 27th
🕢 12:00pm - 1:00pm
📍 Marriott Phoenix Airport - 1101 N 44th St, Phoenix, AZ 85008
The annual Lutheran Social Services Luncheon, an annual fundraiser for LSSSW (Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest), will be held on Thursday, February 27th. There will be tables of 10 at the luncheon.
Registration starts at 11:30am. The lunch and program will be from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.
If you are interested, please speak with Art Krzyzewski, Laurie Selby, or Tom Selby at church.
| |
Communion Kits
If you are unable to attend worship in person and would like a communion kit to use as you watch the live stream, you can pick one up from the office in Tempe. Gluten-free options are available.
| |
|
|
If you are looking to become more involved in our Tempe and Gilbert Faith Communities, please click "Read More" and find out today where you can be of value. You'll find all the needed contact info on that page.
We are actively looking for more volunteers in all areas of service.
| | | |
If you are interested in having your child baptized, reach out to Pastor Thadd at tbook@desertcross.org. | |
Do you have a news item, event, or ministry story to share? Please send the information to Wendy at wwilliams@desertcross.org by the TUESDAY of the week that you wish to have it advertised. | |
May the Lord bless you in all your endeavors this week! | |
|
For your convenience, we have online giving up on our website or you can use the button that says "GIVE" at the top of this email. As always, we continue to appreciate all who are continuing to support the many ministries of Desert Cross!
You can also simply text the word "GIVE" to 833.636.1502 and complete the payment information. It securely saves your information and makes it possible to donate in 5 seconds once it has been set up!
Lastly, you can scan the QR code included in our live stream services and in the weekly Worship Aid. Giving is easier than ever - check it out!
All financial information is encrypted and stored by Tithe.ly's banking partner to PCI DSS Level 1 compliant standards, which is the highest possible rating one can get in the electronic payment processing industry.
| | | | | |
