Adults
There are several weekday and seasonal opportunities for adults to participate in faith formation. The Centering Prayer group gathers on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays for prayer and reflection on books by spiritual leaders. The Contemplative Prayer & Worship group gathers on Wednesdays for prayer, meditation, and reflection on readings by contemplatives. The Gospel Co-op group gathers to reflect on the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday, and offers a liturgically inclusive prayer service.
Wednesday Book Groups
Parishioners and community members have gathered to discuss books such as:
Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the World by John Philip Newell
We Shall Be Changed: Questions for the Post-Pandemic Church, ed. Mark D.W. Edington
Virus as a Summons to Faith: Biblical Reflections in a Time of Loss, Grief, and Uncertainty by Walter Brueggemann
An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story, by Jeremy L. Sabella
Citizen: Faithful Discipleship in a Partisan World, by C. Andrew Doyle
The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, by Richard Rohr; The Power of Forgiveness, based on the documentary by Martin Doblmeier.
Children
Children of all ages are welcome to participate in the service with family members. We have small clipboards with drawing paper, crayons and markers, and small toys in baskets near the back left side of the church. For families interested in discovering more about how our lives are connected with God through the sacred stories of our holy ancestors, we offer Godly Play storytelling and reflection.
Godly Play stories are usually offered monthly during Sunday services.
For more information, contact Bishop Kirk Smith, interim rector. through the parish office.
Safe Church, Safe Communities
The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona is committed to maintaining a safe environment that is free of exploitation, harassment, and abuse of any kind in its churches, schools, and any of its institutions. The Diocese requires that its clergy, lay employees, and church workers make the same commitment.
Our diocese utilizes the Church Pension Group (CPG) online children, youth, and vulnerable adult abuse awareness and prevention education training entitled Safe Church, Safe Communities. Any church worker that works with children must have the training before they work with any children or youth. This training must be updated every 3 years.
The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona maintains a zero tolerance policy of sexual misconduct for clergy, employees and church workers. We believe that the church must be a safe place where everyone can find the love of God and we live into our Baptismal Covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, striving for justice and peace for all people and respecting the dignity of every human being.
Click here to read The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona’s policy on Safe Church, Safe Communities.
Racial Reconciliation
The Diocese of Arizona’s Anti-Racism Training curriculum, Pathways for Engaging in Anti-Racism Initiatives, is designed to provide an understanding, self-examination, and spiritual awakening grounded in our Baptismal Covenant into issues of racism. The training will “strengthen our life together as a denomination that understands the intricate ways in which the sin of racism infects individuals, congregations, and communities.” (General Convention 2018- A044). Learn more about the diocesan Anti-Racism Training here.
The Episcopal Church’s Sacred Ground curriculum was developed by The Episcopal Church as part of a long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society. The dialogue series:
- brings participants’ attention to various key chapters in U.S. history of race and racism, as well some of the latest thinking by scholars and practitioners of racial healing, racial equity, and whiteness.
- focuses on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian American histories as they intersect with European American histories.
emphasizes personal story-sharing and deepening relationships. - invites exploration of how people of color have been harmed by racism, and how white people have been hurt in other ways, creating a shared – if deeply unequal – brokenness that compels us to overcome these legacies in deliberate partnership.
Sacred Ground groups are offered in Northern Arizona via Zoom.
For more information contact The Rev. Lynn Perkins through the parish office.
