Building Bridges of

Inclusion, Justice, and Spirituality

Travis Meyers and Cindy Gattorna Lead Worship November 5th at 10:15 a.m.

Travis and Cindy attended the Convergence Music Workshop in Nashville TN a few weeks ago and they will share what they learned, who they met, and their positive emotional and spiritual experiences. Come and hear the music and their stories.

Shadow Rock UCC’s Golden Celebration Art Show Opening & Sale

Shadow Rock United Church of Christ has from the very beginning affirmed the goodness of life and celebrated the creative human spirit. Art, beauty, and a comprehensive view of life is a crucial part of who we are. In this spirit, we move toward closure of our celebration of our 50^th Anniversary with the Golden Celebration of Community Art Show & Sale. This art show will feature artists from the Southwest, and many of whom share a connection with Shadow Rock UCC and the Moon Valley area. Also, on the day of the art show, there will be an interactive event for young artists and families to do together the day of the kick off.

This is a great opportunity to share some of the best of who we are with the community we are called to love and serve. The Art Show Team recommends that all of us invite four people to this event. In addition to the grand opening on Nov. 18th, 3-6 pm, we will have the additional days and times for viewing on Nov. 19th, Nov. 26th and Dec. 3, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. Bring a friend, go to lunch, appreciate art, and be in good company.

There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

This painting is submitted by artist Paul Trapp. Thank you Paul and art show team for the "sneak pig" of the upcoming show.

Do not forget to buy your raffle tickets for the painting titled "Sunflower" donated by artist Kathleen Stuart. Kathleen is a long-time Moon Valley neighbor and her child went to the Shadow Rock Preschool many years ago. The painting is about the size of a sheet of notebook paper. The colors and energy pop off the canvas. Kathleen Stuart has donated the painting for use as a raffle item. We will sell raffle tickets at $5 each or five for $20. Buy tickets here! The drawing will be the last day of the art show which is Dec. 3, 2023.

Thank you, Kathleen and the art show team for the "sneak peek".

No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey,

you are welcome here!

Think and Pray How Your Support Changes Lives!

When we have a stewardship campaign to create a budget for the next year we ask people to make a pledge or notify us of their intention of financial support. This helps with the income side of the budget. It is not uncommon for 50% of our people to respond within the first few weeks. The other 50% of respondents trickle in their responses over the next 4-5 months. We are kind of relaxed about it. Let's challenge ourselves to have 100% response rate by Thanksgiving. Thank you for receiving the challenge in the spirit of a collaborating family.

Our power to change lives comes from our commitment to be on the cutting edges of inclusion, justice, and spirituality. This power propels us into the next 50 years. Thank you for all you do and will do to empower the next 50 years. Renew Your Financial Support Here.

If you have a story about how your life or someone else's life has been positively affected by Shadow Rock, please share it with Pastor Ken.

Ways to Give

Electronically

You can donate securely online using a credit card, a debit card, ACH, or your checking account bill pay. Also, you can enter donations directly on the church donation page.

Check or Cash

You can mail a check to:

Shadow Rock UCC

12861 N. 8^th Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85029,

or bring a check or cash to one of our services at 10:15 a.m. every Sunday morning, or bring it to our church office, or set up bill pay with your bank.

Planned Giving

To discuss planned giving or other giving options, please contact our pastor, Rev. Ken Heintzelman, by emailing [email protected] or calling the church office at 602-993-0050. This is a way to extend Shadow Rock values, vision, and mission into the future. FYI, we have also been blessed with gifts of stock and QCD donations. The mechanisms for this are in place and info is with our CFO, Heidi Zinn.

This Sunday at Shadow Rock

9:00 am

Spiritual Formation for Adults in the Multi-purpose Room. We continue our study series about the politics of Jesus. Does his birth announcement offer any insight? Does the concept of Jubilee have implications? Is the forgiveness of debt a political move? Does the story of his temptations give us any clues?
Childcare is in the Blue Room, 9-11:30 a.m.
Spiritual Formation for Children is in the Red Room, 9-10 a.m.

10:15 a.m.

Worship in the Sanctuary. Come and celebrate!

The next Coffee Chat is on November 19th with the architect who designed our sanctuary, Susanne Rothwell. If you want to host, let us in the church office know.

11:15 a.m.

Sermon Reboot will happen this Sunday after worship.

4:00 p.m.

Join us for food, fellowship, and discussion at North Mountain Brewery. We officially call it Love Seed and affectionately call it Beer Church. Soft drinks, tea, and water are also legitimate choices! We will be discussing Affirmation 10 of the Phoenix Affirmations of Progressive Christianity. Read about it below.

Affirmation 10: Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts, recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the pursuit of truth;

Proverbs 1:20-22; 1 Corinthians 3:18-19; 1 Corinthians 14:15.

As Christians, we seek to develop intellectually as sincerely as we seek emotional development. We further seek to clarify that the truths contained in Scripture are not conveyed primarily through scientific revelations, but through wisdom which may be gleaned frequently in story and song, symbol and parable.

We affirm that the Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers value the pursuit of wisdom, which is found at the intersection of head and heart, where God seeks relationship with the human soul.

We confess that we have moved away from this Path when we have denied either the role of the mind, or that of the heart, in the seeking of wisdom. Further, we have moved off the Path when we have denigrated the role of doubt or pursuit of scientific knowledge as if they were enemies rather than allies of faith.

Scout Troop 426 Flag Burning Ceremony

November 13th at 7:00 p.m. Troop 426 will conduct a Flag Retirement Ceremony outside the sanctuary. It is open to the public. If you have a flag to be retired you may bring it to the ceremony or to the office at any time.

Our National Office Promotes Neighbor In Need Offering and We Dedicate Our Nov. 5 Communion Offering to The Cause!

In 2023, the Neighbors in Need “BEHOLD!” theme continues. This year’s focus is on environmental justice. Plastics, electronics, and other non-compostable wastes are being shipped across, and even tossed into, our waterways, launched into space, as well as buried in landfills. As people of faith, we believe these egregious acts are sinful and unholy. We must be better stewards of our planet!

Please join us in promoting this year’s NIN “Behold!” campaign at your church.

As you may recall, one-third of the offering supports Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). Two-thirds are used by Justice and Witness Ministries to provide grants to UCC churches and organizations as well as supporting a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects.

Watch the video about the national poster contest.

Dr. Cindy Hoard is a member of our staff as the developer of Spiritual Play. She is a published author and through her blog she offers words of spiritual encouragement. To connect with Dr. Cindy and her resources go to

drcindyauthor.com.

Children's Spirituality Program is Coming and You Can Help!

We have been working hard to prepare for our new program of Spiritual Play and we are grateful for all the people who have stepped up to help. We are now looking for volunteers to offer coffee and hospitality for parents who may want to stay while their children are in Spiritual Play. Parents need coffee! Contact Dr. Cindy or Pastor Ken if you want to help with this facet of our new program.

The program starts on Sunday, November 5th, and will be 6 weeks long. [Nov. 5, 12, 19 (skip Thanksgiving) and Dec 3, 10, 17] from 8:45 AM to 11:15 AM. If you want to be a part of the success of this program there are other jobs in addition to teaching. We want to provide hospitality for parents who bring their children. This provides a quiet place for parents to hang out, drink coffee, read, play on their devices, and have quiet conversations. If you think this is something that would give you joy for these 6 weeks, please contact Dr. Cindy Hoard (602-616-9682, or her email) ASAP to learn some more and explore options.

Speaking of Children's Spirituality

One of our preschool teachers is instructing some of the children in basic yoga poses. Thank you Danielle Heckel for the picture and teaching!

Sacred Sites Group Invites You to Visit Historic Immigration Justice Church Nov. 12th

Join us for this visit to sites in Southern Arizona on Sunday, November 12. Southside Presbyterian Church was started in 1906 as a mission to the Tohono O’odham (Papago) people. Since then, it has served Native American, Black, Anglo, Hispanic and other peoples. The church has spawned three moderators for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, one of whom, The Rev. John Fife, will meet with us prior to worship to tell us about the history of the church and of the kiva-inspired sanctuary where we will worship. The preacher will be Alvaro Enciso who leads a sacred ministry to place crosses at the death sites of migrants. He will meet with us after worship. Then we will have lunch and travel to San Xavier Mission where Father Eusebio Kino established an outpost to the Papagos in 1697.

To register, contact Arlene Dominguez at 602-882-0967

or [email protected]. We will depart from the church

parking lot at 6:45 am and plan to return around 5:00.

We will share gas expenses and will each pay for our own

lunches.