ROCK THE WEEK
31 March 2021
~Easter Happenings and More~
easter eggs flowers
Easter Joy

It's time to make a reservation to attend services in-person on Easter morning! Please use the form, responding just once per household, rather than a personal email. The staff and Shadow Rock Safety Team are using the automatically generated attendance tally to help prepare for Sunday. Reservations will continue to be part of our routine for services after Easter. Just as a reminder, we will have three services Easter Sunday:
  • 7:00 am in the Festival Garden
  • 9:00 am in the Sanctuary, also streamed to YouTube
  • 11:00 am in the Sanctuary, available on YouTube and Zoom

Let's all be prepared for safety: make a reservation, wear a mask, observe social distancing. Questions about in-person worship for Easter and beyond? Just click reply to this email to connect with the staff.

One final bit of Easter news: our campus partner St. Teresa of Avila Ecumenical Catholic Community will have Holy Week services as follows: Maundy Thursday at 6:30 pm, Good Friday at 6:15 pm, and Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil) at 6:30 pm. Rev. Kate and the STA congregation invite your participation!
This Week Online
Wednesday (3/31): Connections Count on Zoom at 7:00 pm
On Wednesdays, we pray! Connections Count has been part of our week since Summer 2020 and it's been a blessing to so many. Bring your whole self: celebrations and prayer requests. Click here at 7:00 to participate.

Thursday (4/1): Season of Nonviolence / Spirituality Thursday
A fresh look at Maundy Thursday - this is our topic for Spirituality Thursday this week, live on the Shadow Rock Facebook page. Catch this short video live or tune in later to watch the recording.

Monday (4/5): Small Group at 7:00 pm
Small Group Ministry is starting fresh this coming week. During Eastertide, we'll be on Zoom Monday evenings for an exploration of Easter stories, Easter appearances, and Easter creativity. What does resurrection art from different parts of the world tell us about how our spiritual ancestors understood Easter? What does our own creativity tell us about ourselves? Planning to participate? Get a reminder and a fresh Zoom link by emailing Karen.

Sunday, April 4
Adult Spiritual Formation is will not meet on Easter morning. We'll return, with new topics and new hybrid format on April 11. April's topic is "Inventive Faith;" May's topic is "The ABCs of Spirituality." The 10 o'clock hour continues to be a time of listening and exploration. All are welcome!

Worship in Person: 7:00 am, 9:00 am, 11:00 am
Worship on Zoom: 11:00 am
See above for the link to make a reservation. The worship theme is 'Crumbs and Stones.' No matter how we gather, we extend a welcome to everyone. The Sunday morning worship email with the order of service and Zoom link will continue to arrive in your inbox!
Learn and Explore
Our patience and Dr. Patricia's perseverance have paid off! Shadow Rock will be distributing the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine beginning this Saturday. For all the details (please read carefully!), see the special communication from Pastor Ken here.
Shadow Rock's 2021 Lenten Offering is directed to RIP Medical Debt. We're excited to be part of this campaign by UCC churches in the Southwest Conference. As Lent draws to a close, this special offering will also wrap up soon. Please make your gift here by Monday, April 5.
We're using Rock the Week to share anti-racism resources as our congregation continues work to de-center whiteness and reckon with our nation's history of white supremacy and colonialism. ASU's Institute for Humanities Research just hosted Distinguished Lecturer adrienne marie brown, author of Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism. Take a listen as they talk through emerging and new ideas here!
The Phoenix Welcome Center continues to meet the needs of asylum seekers and refugees. Shadow Rockers are helping by keeping the clothing room at the Welcome Center well-stocked! There are specific needs at this time, including men’s jeans and sweatpants, men’s t-shirts (small), women’s leggings or stretch pants, shoes and flip-flops, men’s underwear, women’s socks, hoodies and jackets, towels, and backpacks. Pastor Ken is making runs to the Center with donations. You can send a quick email to arrange to meet in the church parking lot.
Supporting Shadow Rock
Thank you for your love and support of Shadow Rock! The Shadow Rock General Fund makes our ministry possible. If you have questions about giving electronically, contact Heidi. You can give to the General Fund and to special offerings by clicking the yellow donate button below.
Rock the Week is published each Wednesday, and covers the upcoming week and future special events. To submit content or offer comments, please email karen@shadowrockucc.org.