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Homecoming
O Lord, you hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
– Excerpts from Psalm 139
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When I returned this past week from Sabbatical, many of those whom I encountered graciously welcomed me. Most offered something along the lines of, “Welcome back!” However, some said, “Welcome home!”
Welcome home. Most people returning to their workplace are not met with “welcome home.” For many, this would not be an appropriate (or even sane) kind of greeting. “Home” is a word we connect often with a house, apartment, townhome, condo, etc., but not usually with our work environment.
Even so, “home” speaks to something more than domiciles for most of us. For some, “home” does not fit our current living situation, but may speak to some past ideal or imagined future - - “home” may be the farmhouse or mid-century ranch of our childhood, or the hoped-for dream-house with the ideal spouse and well-behaved children, or some distant heaven that we will enter upon death. For some “home” is wherever we experience belonging and being loved. What do you think of when you hear the word “home?”
In the Psalm above and some of Jesus’ teaching in Luke 14 (from this past Sunday) in which we hear the idea that our deepest sense of “home” (belonging, belovedness, integration, healing) comes not in a building, a peaceful setting, or even necessarily in our blood relations, but comes when we choose to entrust ourselves to the care and presence of God. We feel “unsettled” when this God-consciousness is missing. I do not like the unsettled feeling, and most often want to wish it away or numb it. However, we can understand the unsettledness, the anxiety, or the distress as a call to turn around and come home, to turn our minds, hearts, and bodies to the Spirit and those who embody this Spirit that we will be embraced, enveloped, filled with all that is “home.” In this we become those who help others to experience homecoming, too.
I appreciate how Henri Nouwen puts it: The many contradictions in our lives - such as being home while feeling homeless, being busy while feeling bored, being popular while feeling lonely, being believers while feeling many doubts - can frustrate, irritate, and even discourage us. They make us feel that we are never fully present. But there is another response. These same contradictions can bring us into touch with a deeper longing for the fulfillment of a desire that lives beneath all desires and that only God can satisfy. Contradictions, thus understood, create the friction that can help us move toward God, (From Bread for the Journey).
“Welcome home” was a most appropriate greeting to me upon my reentry. As I enter into a community of people seeking to praise God, to listen in prayer, to serve in love, to share in the Spirit as we follow the Way of Jesus, to embody creativity and justice, I see that this is indeed some part of what it means to be at home. And for this I am deeply thankful.
Love,
Pastor Michael Bush
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Watch other messages online: click here.
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We will be serving Mexican food, will be playing music, have decorations and some folks will be speaking (including the results from all the postcard responses...
see the article below).
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Postcard Thanks
Thank you for EVERYTHING you have done to make this possible!!!
Thank you for your more than 300 sabbatical postcard responses!
Each postcard has been carefully read and logged into our spreadsheet/summary to be presented Sunday, September 21st during the Welcome Back Party.
Collectively, your honest reflections help our already vibrant community in building renewal paths.
Marilyn and Steve
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Learning@Eleven Java and Justice Series
In the spirit of our Sabbatical season theme,
Awe: Transformation at the Borders, please join us on Sunday, September 14th for a session titled, Encountering Tides of Humanity in the Borderlands of Southern Arizona, 2014 to 2024. We welcome back U of A Religion professor, Alex Nava, and a panel of U of A professors and activists who will share with us their research and experience over the last decade. Joining Alex are: Liz Oglesby, Lise Nelson, and Christy Volker. Pastor Michael will introduce our panelists by inviting us to reflect on some Biblical passages around "welcoming the stranger." Please sign up and indicate if you plan to join us in person or online so we will be set up appropriately. We will meet 11:00 am to 12:00 Noon in Rooms 3/4 and via Zoom.
Let us know you will be there, sign up, our website, Unite page: Click here.
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Keeling Elementary School News
(Prayers and Service Opportunities)
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Prayer:
We are dismayed to report that Keeling Elementary was severely damaged by vandals over the Labor Day weekend.
Two classrooms on the second floor of the building were ruined and two rooms below them were also badly damaged and flooded. It could be many months before they are operational again.
The culprits, who sadly are students, were identified and arrested.
The school staff has done an incredible job of getting the classes relocated. Please hold the school in your prayers as we assess how we at church might be of some assistance.
Service:
If you are looking for a new volunteer opportunity, we are in need of additional volunteers for our Thursday, September 18th, free food pantry. Join us to share our blessings with up to 85 families, from the Keeling Elementary School. Set up time is from 1:00 pm until 2:00 pm. Then we will be welcoming our participants at 2:00 pm. Available and interested, contact Dennis Thomas @ 520-604-5861. Thanks!
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Eclectic Book Club
The Eclectic Book Club meets the second Saturday of each month (except in December) at 9:30 am to discuss that month’s book and enjoy each other’s fellowship. This coming Saturday, September 12th.Upcoming book:
September: There Are Rivers in the Sky: A Novel, Elif Shafak
All are welcome to join us. Please contact Bonnie Mardian for more information and/or to be added to their email list: click here for her email.
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Have Your Blood Pressure Checked
This Sunday, September 14th
in Room 1 (next to Library).
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Centering Prayer
Tuesdays, 12:00 noon, Room 1
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Pondering Class
Wednesdays at 10:00 am on Zoom
Sep. 10: We will continue Paul’s Journeys to the Christian communities...Rome!
Centering Prayer
Wednesdays, 12:00 noon, on Zoom
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September Is A Good Time To Join A Spiritual Formation Group
(or simply check one out)!
Beginning the last week in September, Pastor Michael facilitates two weekly Spiritual Formation groups. Some call these “Bible studies,” and while we certainly do engage the biblical text each week with critical questions and scholarly resources, these sessions are intended to be more than a study of Bible verses. The groups are committed to one another for the purpose of deepening in experience of the Spirit and growing in trust and love with each other in ways we hope will empower and equip us to be Christ in the world. We do this by considering where we might “fit” within the stories, share life experiences, our own stories, laughter and tears, and pray for and with one another.
The Tuesday group meets in Rooms 3/4 and on Zoom 11:00 am to 12:00 noon beginning Sept. 30th and are moving through the stories of how the first followers of Jesus carried on the work, ministry, and mission Jesus began.
The Thursday group meets via Zoom (except the second Thursday of the month when we have Taizé worship) 6:30 to 7:30 pm beginning Sept. 25th. This group is in the early chapters of the Gospel of Mark, often called the “action Gospel,” focusing more on the plot and movement of Jesus and considering what it looks like for our plot and movement here and now as we follow.
If you have questions about either group, please talk with Pastor Michael.
If you would like the Zoom link to either group, please request that from the church office here.
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Rillito River Trail Bike Ride
Saturday, September 20, 2025
The ride for this month will be a 12.0 mile (round trip) out and back along the flat, asphalt Rillito River trail. We will meet at the west end of the Rillito Race Track parking lot, 4502 N. 1st. Ave., (NOTE: Not at the Rillito Park along 1st. Ave.) at 7:00 am, ride to Craycroft Rd. and return. Please wear a helmet and bring a water bottle.
Toward the end of the ride there is a café nearby for those who would like to satisfy their appetite.
For additional information, contact Charlie or Marj Wippermann at 520-373-4248.
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Upcoming Learning@Eleven
Sundays this Season
Sept. 28 through October 12: Transformation at the Borders: Awe and Engagement
Join Pastor Michael and fellow CAUCC friends as we spend three weeks looking at what happens at the various “borders” of our lives, what we can do to open ourselves to awe (per Sabbatical theme and Dacher Keltner book of the same title), and how awe invites us into engagement practices that transform ways we see and interact in the world. Whether you join us in person or online via Zoom, please register so we can send you some materials to prepare ahead of time. Each Sunday we will also engage something of “awe” to give us ideas of what we might do in the week ahead.
October 26 through November 16: You Are Changing the World
This three week series (10/26-11/9) will engage the book of the same title by David LaMotte. David will then be here in person for the final session (November 16) to share his work and thoughts with us (he will also be performing in a concert on Saturday November 15). More information on all of this to come, but in the meantime his book is in our church library or you are welcome to order your own copy online.
November 23: Tucson Pride weekend
We are hoping to offer something connected with living into our Open and Affirming Covenant more fully in the Tucson community and our daily lives.
November 30 through December 21: Advent Series
Watch for information about a creative way to lean into this season of reflection and birthing new life.
In 2026 we will be looking at some opportunities for additional Java and Justice Sessions, a series on “DEI: the connection between ‘Imago Dei’ (image of God) and Social Justice,” a Lenten series focusing on the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), and a series after Easter attending to how we “Live Resurrection” (beyond celebrating a story, what does resurrection look like here and now?).
Click here to sign up for classes.
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Casa de la Misericordia y de Todas las Naciones
Take a look at the new video and see what Sister Lika and her team have accomplished, together with support from Cruzando Fronteras, other organizations, and many volunteers at La Casa de la Misericordia y de Todas las Naciones in Nogales, Mexico.
Our Casas Adobes Ministry of Justice Advocacy and Mission (MJAM) Team and Compassion on the Boarder group help all of us in our community promote and support Sister Lika and La Casa together.
It is amazing the work being done, click here.
Peace,
Pastor John
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A TIHAN (Tucson Interfaith HIV and Aids Network) Community Dance
Join Us for Some Fun!
Dust off your dancing shoes and join us for a fun and festive evening of music, movement, and community! We’re hosting a social and dance for volunteers, donors, CarePartners, and friends on Monday, September 29 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 1200 North Campbell Avenue, in the Activity Building.
DJ Michael Lopez will keep the energy high, and you’re welcome to bring a guest (age 18+). RSVP now to OperationsManager@tihan.org, and mark your calendar and get ready to step onto the dance floor!
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Wednesday, September 10
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10:00 am Spiritual Life Group, Ponderings with Pastor John, Zoom Ponderings Link or Meeting ID: 622 421 179 and Passcode: 118704
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12:00 Noon Centering Prayer Zoom Click on Centering Link or use Meeting ID: 890 1364 9732 and Passcode: 769422
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1:30 pm Alzheimer's Support Meeting Rooms 1/2
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6:00 pm Bell Choir Practice Bell Room
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7:00 pm Choir Rehearsal Sanctuary
Thursday, September 11
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8:30 am Men's Breakfast Beyond Bread on Ina
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9:00 am Stitch Witches Rooms 5/6
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6:30 pm Taizé Service Sanctuary
Friday, September 12
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10:00 am AA Meeting Rooms 5/6
Saturday, September 13
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9:00 am AA Meeting Rooms 5/6
Sunday, September 14
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8:30 am Communion and Contemplation Service Chapel
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9:30 am Worship Sanctuary Online Worship; click on the Livestream and Recorded Services box on that page. (click on the box after 9:25 am)
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10:30 am Blood Pressure Checks Rooms 5/6
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10:30 am Community and Coffee McNear Hall 7-10
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11:00 am Awe:Transformation at the Borders Class Rooms 3/4 (see article above in the newsletter "Learning @ Eleven")
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11:00 am Family Funday Zoom: Funday Link or use Meeting ID 781 414 384; Password 883239
Monday, September 15
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2:30 pm Campus Cleaning Entire Campus
Tuesday, September 16
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12:00 Noon Centering Prayer Room 1
- 2:00 pm Christian Ed Meeting Zoom
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4:00 pm Council Meeting Zoom
Wednesday, September 17
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10:00 am Spiritual Life Group, Ponderings with Pastor John, Zoom Ponderings Link or Meeting ID: 622 421 179 and Passcode: 118704
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12:00 Noon Centering Prayer Zoom Click on Centering Link or use Meeting ID: 890 1364 9732 and Passcode: 769422
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3:00 pm Worship Arts Team Meeting Zoom
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6:00 pm Bell Choir Practice Bell Room
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7:00 pm Choir Rehearsal Sanctuary
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Staff Meetings
are once a month on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 1:30 pm and the office is closed during that time.
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Have you seen last year's CAUCC Annual Report?
If not, here it is in color...
Click here
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Council meetings are open to any member of the CAUCC community. Next meeting is Tuesday, September 16th, 4:00 pm on Zoom.
Approved June meeting minutes are available, click here.
Email Anne Bailey for the upcoming meeting Zoom link.
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To support the ministry and mission of CAUCC,
please donate online here:
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