I've been thinking about...

...the proposed Mission Statement of the Southwest Conference.

As a United Church of Christ congregation we are joined in covenant partnership with the 42 other UCC Congregations in the Southwest Conference (a geographic area that covers all of Arizona, all of New Mexico, and a small corner of Texas).

After much planning and discussion, praying and considering the Board of Directors of the Southwest Conference has proposed the following Mission Statement as a description of our communal identity and a guide in our future endeavors together.

As the Southwest Conference: We are extravagantly welcoming and affirming followers of Christ, called to embody God's unconditional justice and love.

Recognizing that we are a part of the Southwest Conference and that for any Conference-wide Mission Statement to truly be authentic and powerful, the Board of Directors has asked that each congregation spend time in prayerful discernment of those words.

Do they honestly capture the essence of who we are as the Southwest Conference? Are they helpful in framing the priorities for who God is calling us to be? Will they motivate us to step boldly into the work and witness that characterize us as the Body of Christ in the world?

Read those words again. As the Southwest Conference we are extravagantly welcoming and affirming followers of Christ, called to embody God's unconditional justice and love. And then pray for the Holy Spirit’s guiding power in helping us discern if this truly, authentically, deeply represents who we are as the Southwest Conference of UCC.

Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian