I hope you are doing well and staying safe during our prolonged season of pandemic. I felt it in my bones a desire to connect and communicate with you. There is much to share. Thank you for giving this letter your attention and energy.

 

It is with both excitement for Abeth and sadness for the Shadow Rock staff that I'm announcing Abeth's decision to accept a position working in an elementary school as a media resource/librarian. She has worked on our staff providing leadership for children's ministries and communications for over 10 years. We will miss her expertise and knowledge, but most of all we will miss her creativity, sense of humor, uncanny gift for gift giving, and her unique joy. Abeth has been open about her desire for personal and professional growth, and the changes that come with starting a family. This was not a sudden decision for her and we supported her decision along the way. We will miss her on the staff but we wish her the best. Her love of books and sharing that love with children is realized in her new work. We look forward to seeing all the Spencers at Shadow Rock when it's safe for us to all be together face-to-face. 

We are happy to announce that Karen will be expanding her work with Shadow Rock to include spiritual direction/formation, social justice work, worship planning, and social media, as well as Rock the Week. Karen's hours with Shadow Rock will increase and so much of what she does now ties closely to our messaging that we are excited to see her role expand and take on new areas. We also have a part-time intern assisting us with social media and our website. Dallas Zinn will be working closely with the staff to make changes to the website and enhance our social media. We welcome Dallas and appreciate his many gifts.  

 

It is early in the process of rolling out the vaccine but there still seems to be some twists and turns. Through Dr. Rev. Patricia StandTal Clarke, Shadow Rock has been approved to be a vaccination site and we are excited to be part of the public health solution. However, the start date is unknown and we are dependent upon others. There are many variables before it happens at Shadow Rock. Therefore, get your vaccination ASAP anywhere you can. Also, as more information comes in and experts gather the information, observe trends, redo the epidemiological calculus, and interpret the data, new variables for making decisions about in-person gatherings are emerging. We will be sending you a congregation wide letter dedicated to this topic soon. Your cooperation and patience has been extraordinary. Keep social distancing, wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep up the good fight for public health as well as for personal health.

 

For many months Shadow Rock has been purchasing food to provide assistance to African refugee families. Ben Chris African Market has been an essential partner in this ministry. They are very good letting the families make purchases and then bill us. Through the market we are able to buy beans, rice, oil and flour in bulk. Also, the families can make some purchases of meat, seasonings, vegetables, and so forth that are preferred by the families. Heidi says we are averaging about $945 per month of support and this feeds about thirty families. This comes to $31.50 per family per month. Our assistance also inspires other congregations to help. Last week Church of the Palms helped us with a large purchase, and we are grateful for their partnership. The families we help have been hit especially hard by COVID, either directly or indirectly because many of them are employed at assisted living facilities. We think there is light at the end of the tunnel as many of them are getting their COVID vaccinations because of their work as caregivers. Thank you for your generous support.

 

We continue to work for immigration justice for our sanctuary families. I email the attorneys working for our families and they keep me up to date. Misael Perez was denied his appeal for asylum. He has two more opportunities which may take 18-24 months. In this time his attorneys have the opportunity to strengthen his case, and we pray for immigration reform which will allow Misael to stay safe and keep his family together. Ishmael Delgado's case is still waiting for a decision on his U-Visa application. He was told it could take two to three years and we have passed the three-year mark. The best opportunity for Sixto Paz is in the Biden Administration's immigration reform efforts. Each attorney and judge that hears Sixto's case shakes their heads in disbelief that he is singled out to be deported, but they will not reverse the unjust decision. Hopefully, new laws and decisions will empower the immigration system to do so.

 

As of the writing of this letter I have heard rumblings of a new flow of refugees from the border. Churches and organizations in the Valley will be working to provide hospitality and help families to connect with relatives all across the US. We took the lead on this almost two years ago. Our sanctuary families were the point people for hospitality, and many of you volunteered hours of work and hundreds of dollars. Since that time coalitions have been formed and facilities have been secured for hospitality on a large scale. We are grateful to them and will do our best to support them. For example, on January 30, Travis Myers saw on Facebook an appeal for help to provide emergency meals for an unscheduled ICE drop-off of about fifty people at the Welcome Center located downtown. We offered immediately to buy pizzas to quickly respond to the need. We can expect to see more of this in the near future.

 

Finally, I come full circle. We have known for a long time we could not keep "doing business as usual." We passed a large deficit budget in 2019. We knew changes were necessary but COVID minimized expenses, and we received a $149,000 Paycheck Protection Plan loan (most or all of which will be forgiven). With COVID, our focus was initially shifted to serving the community in a virtual manner. While this temporarily postponed our most crucial discussions about our future, the staff and board are having many discussions about various paths forward for Shadow Rock.

 

I hope what is next will include the previous discussions about wedgeblade ministries, board visioning, and consistency with our history, values, vision, and mission. There are the practical realities and the reality that God calls us into Spirit partnerships as God acts in the midst of history.

 

Many things are going on. Shadow Rock continues to be the church as we care for each other and for the world. Thank you everyone!