Events – Page 2 – The Church of the Palms UCC

Holy Week and Easter at Church of the Palms

ALL are welcome at these events!

April 14: Palm Sunday. Our Sanctuary Choir will share a musical presentation, Reflections on Holy Week.

April 18: Maundy Thursday 5:00 p.m. We’ll host a community service that will include our sister churches: United Church UCC and Sun City Christian. Communion will be served.

April 19: Good Friday self-directed labyrinth walk* 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Bell choir plays at 12:30.

April 21: Easter. Communion will be available at both services:

- Early Service at 8:00 a.m. Pastor Jim will be preaching from Luke 24:1-12. Our hope is in the risen Christ. Worship will be on the patio.
- Regular Worship at 10:00 a.m. The story is familiar. Can you notice anything new in the resurrection story? Pastor Paul recently did. He’;ll reveal it during the sermon. Read John 20:1-18.

*More about the Good Friday labyrinth walk:

The “Labyrinths at the Palms” will host the church’s Good Friday service this year. There will be a self-directed walk on the larger labyrinth from 12:00 – 3:00 pm on Friday, April 19th. The Bell Choir of Church of the Palms will play at 12:30 p.m. The smaller labyrinth will also be available to accommodate those using wheelchairs and walkers.

The walk into the center of the labyrinth will have the 14 Stations of the Cross marked on the path. Each walker will be given a guide that provides a scripture reading and prayer corresponding to each of the stations, following Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Tomb.

Once at the center, walkers will be able to linger in prayer/meditation, and then walk directly off the labyrinth or return to the entrance by the path. There will be chairs available under the tree for journaling or a time of prayer.

Labyrinth volunteers will be available to assist as needed. The guides will be available throughout the afternoon and evening in the literature box near the sidewalk.

Celebrate Your Roots and Embrace Your Personal History

Presented by the Social Justice Action Team

Sunday, March 17th, in King Hall at noon, following worship

Come to an all-church potluck and program event for members and friends where we will share, explore, and celebrate our various personal heritage stories.

Please bring a dish to share that reflects your ancestry, or a salad, side dish or dessert. Don’t know your history/ancestry? Just bring a favorite dish. You may wish to wear clothing which reflects your ancestry/heritage. Think about sharing stories, perhaps about how family traditions have been maintained, or how holidays and birthdays have been celebrated.

Featured Speaker: Attorney Brendan Mahoney, a member of First Congregational Church UCC in Phoenix, will be our presenter. Brendan will share his extensive knowledge of immigration patterns to the United States over the centuries. Where have our immigrants come from and what were the motivating factors that brought them here? How has the richness of our past histories enhanced our country? A Social Justice Action Team member has heard Brendan’s presentation and rates it A+ so you won’t want to miss this event.

There will be a signup in the narthex beginning late February. If you ride the church bus, that’s no problem, because transportation will be arranged so that you can attend this event.

2019 Spring Rummage & Bake Sale: first call for donations and volunteers

Important dates to mark on your calendar:

Wednesday, February 14, 9 a.m.: Organizational meeting

Sunday, March 10: Bake sale sign up begins (sheet in narthex)

Monday, March 25–Wednesday, March 27: Bring donations to the church

Thursday, March 28–Saturday, March 30: Rummage Sale and Pop Up Bakery!

The hours of the Rummage Sale have changed this year. Sale hours will be as follows:

- Thursday 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
- Friday 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Saturday 7:30 AM to 12:00 Noon

You’ll also be able to use a credit card for all purchases of $100 or more.

The organizational meeting is for volunteers and all those interested in finding out more about the sale.

If you can help or have questions, please contact one of the members of the 2019 Rummage Sale coordinating team:

- John Durbin ~ Board of Mission and Outreach
- Pat Durbin ~ Board of Evangelism
- Judy Jondahl ~ Board of Stewards

Or sign up on one of the volunteer sheets in the narthex or office. We need lots of help and we would love to have you be involved.

If you’ll be baking something for our wonderful bake sale, please plan on filling out the bake sale sign up sheet which will be available in the narthex.

Now’s the time to go through your closets and storage areas and donate those items that have served you well but now need a new life with new owners who’ve been looking for just such items. Your donation items will be sorted, priced, and staged for the Rummage Sale!

If you need to have an item picked up prior to Sunday, March 24th, please contact John Durbin.

We’ll be accepting all donations during the dates above, but the items for the March sale include:

More details will follow. Thank you very much!

We’ll do it all again in October . . .!

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Monday, December 24 at 7 p.m.

Experience Christmas Eve in word and music as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The Christmas Eve Candlelight Service features carols, communion, readings, and the music of our choir and handbells.

All are welcome; no exceptions. Bring family, friends, and neighbors.

Fellowship Breakfast

Tuesday, January 8, 2019, 8 a.m. TBA

Tuesday, February 12, 8 a.m.

The Stones Cry Out: The Story of the Palestinian Christians

Christians have lived continuously throughout the Middle East for 2000 years. They’re the descendants of those early followers of Christ. Yet few are aware of their continuing existence there. It’s important that people understand the living aspect of Christianity in Palestine. That it’s composed not only of the “dead stones” of archeological sites, but of living people, practices, resistance to occupation, and steadfast hope.

Church of the Palm’s Social Justice Team will sponsor the February Fellowship Breakfast – Tuesday, February 12th at 8 a.m. Using a recent video, we’ll focus on both the history and present of Palestinian Christians. In addition, Beth Moore will provide an update on the Nassar families international peace work at the Tent of Nations – outside of Bethlehem.

Be sure to sign up for this event in the narthex or by calling the church office!

Thanksgiving Feast

Joyce Spaulding Memorial Community Thanksgiving Feast

The Church of the Palms invites all to join us for our annual Thanksgiving Day dinner!

The meal is free and the event is handicap accessible.

Please call early for reservations 623-977-8359 or use the sign up sheet in the narthex.

Wendy Whitlock has graciously offered to serve as event coordinator; please let her know if you can volunteer or have questions.

Bring-a-Friend Sunday

Sunday, November 11, 10 a.m.

Worship will be followed with a free lasagna and salad lunch.

Meet new people, share worship together, and enjoy a homemade lunch!

Like our rummage sale, this event helps people to learn about the church and to be blessed by the love and welcome that we share.

Bring a friend, bring two, bring a bunch!

Palms people: Use the sign-up sheet in the narthex so we know how many to plan for.

50th Anniversary update

Those of us who use social media have seen the question, “Where were you on July 20, 1969?” Most of us can give a reasonably accurate account of whether or not we witnessed the lunar landing on that day. I have another question for you – where were you in October, 1969?

From some of the conversations I have had lately, I can tell you that in the fall of 1969, as newlyweds, Sandy and Bob Krueger were setting up housekeeping; Jane Zukowski was a stay-at-home mom making sure her young son, Jim Alexander, got off to kindergarten during the week in Winslow (we will try not to hold that against you Jim); while Carol and Clint Reynolds, with their four children, had recently relocated from California to Flagstaff where Clint was the pastor of the First Congregational Church, a church near and dear to my heart.

Meanwhile, here in Sun City, in the fall of 1969, there was a dedicated gathering of kindred souls, under the direction of Dr. Albert King, also relocating from Calif, who envisioned building a new church. They met weekly in the parsonage, discussing the formation of the first church in Phase II of Sun City. The United Presbyterian denomination, the Disciples of Christ, and the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ worked together helping establish the new church.

So, where were you, specifically, on October 5th, 1969? Any thoughts? I can tell you it was Worldwide Communion Sunday and the first Sunday of worship in Sun City for Church of the Palms. The congregation met in Town Hall North, which I believe was Oakmont Center, for a time, waiting for the completion of Lakeview Recreational Center before the groundbreaking of the building of our current sanctuary.

Needless to say, we are celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2019. The anniversary committee has designed outstanding projects and events as part of our celebration. The first event is a fundraiser (yes, celebrations of this nature need funding), a Chili Cook Off following worship September 23. A freewill offering jar will be available. Kevin Nicastro and Michael Cullen are leading this event.

We currently have enough volunteers who are cooking chili, thank you. We are in need of salads and condiments such as sour cream and shredded cheese.

Also, please sign up in the narthex if you will be attending so that we can be prepared.

Come with us on the journey ahead. We are looking back at the early years of our church and toward what the next years will bring. We are celebrating the past and embracing the future.

Sandy Znetko
50th Anniversary Chair

Jack Evans presents: The Palms’ monthly film

Good friend and film aficionado, Jack Evans, will once again be our guide this Fall and Winter for an eclectic and varied line-up of movies.

This season, we have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue:

September 21st: HAROLD AND MAUDE
Hal Ashby’s cult classic from 1970 about a young man who falls in love with a 79 year old woman.

October 12th: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
The highly imaginative Charlie Kaufman wrote the screenplay for this Michel Gondry film about two lovers who have erased memories of each other’s existence . A new cult classic that’s postmodern cinema at its best.

~~November 2nd: THE HOTEL BUDAPEST~~ NOVEMBER FILM IS CANCELED
One of America’s best filmmakers of the past quarter-century, Wes Anderson borrows stories from the once popular but now obscure Austrian author Stephan Zweig to forge this intricate tale of love and intrigue.

December 14th: THE DEEP BLUE SEA
This destructive love affair set in World War II, features powerful performances by Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston and is directed by the great British filmmaker Terrence Davies.

rummage sale gift certificates

The next best thing to inviting a family member, neighbor or friend to join you in church on Sunday morning is to invite them to the Rummage Sale. And who knows, if they come to the Rummage Sale and meet our wonderful volunteers, they may just decide to try church!

So, here is the deal: Buy a $5 (or $10 or $20) Rummage Sale Gift Certificate and give it to your family member, friend or neighbor. Encourage them to come, have fun, meet great people, and find a new treasure!

Rummage Sale Gift Certificates will be available starting in early October!