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The Newsletter of Southside Presbyterian Church

317 West 23rd Street, Tucson AZ 85713

S-kehg Si’alim!

(“Good morning” in

Tohono O'odham)

FEBRUARY 2016

During our Lenten journey to the cross, we will be reflecting on the theme of CrossRoads

recognizing that in many ways, today we are standing at a fork in the road and what path we

chose to take is of utmost importance. As a denomination we are at a crossroads as we think

about who God is calling us to be in the midst of denomination division and overall declining

church membership. As a nation in the midst of a highly contentious presidential race, we are at

a crossroads in deciding who we are as a nation. And certainly in our own lives, we constantly

find ourselves in places of decision making. By exploring the biblical stories of people in

moments of discernment and decision making we will consider: what it means to be a people of

faith at the CrossRoads; what it mean to look and clearly see what lies before us; what it

means to ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies and what it mean to walk in it. We

hope you will join us as we seek to walk in the good way and find rest for our souls.

February 14 At the CrossRoads: Choosing Love Ruth 1:1-18

February 21 At the CrossRoads: Choosing Healing John 5:1-9a

February 28 At the CrossRoads: Choosing Courage Mark 5:24b-34

March 6 At the CrossRoads: Choosing Compassion Luke 10: 29-37

March 13 At the CrossRoads: Choosing Eternal Life Matthew 19:16-22

STANDING AT THE CROSSROADS

“Thus says the Lord: Stand at the cross roads and look

and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way lies; and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16a

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Palm Sunday, March 20

Join us for the Procession of the Palms as we lift our voices up in

singing, “Hosanna!”

Maundy Thursday, March 24th 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Join us for a special Maundy Thursday service designed for all ages. You are invited to drop in for a light soup dinner between 5:30pm 6:00pm in our Fellowship Hall. Following dinner we will move to the Kiva and hear the story of Jesus’ last night with his friends. We will wash feet and share communion with one another. We especially encourage our littlest friends to attend this tactile and experiential worship service.

Good Friday, March 25th 7pm

Gather with us as we gather as a community around the cross and hear Jesus’ 7 last words. We will focus our hearts around song, the lighting and extinguishing of candles, and prayer.

Easter Sunday, March 27 Easter Sunrise Service — 6:00 a.m. Join us for our annual Easter Sunrise service as we renew our baptismal vows and celebrate the good news of the Resurrection. The youth will provide a breakfast following the Sunrise Service and because they will be raising money for Triennium, the will be extending breakfast so that those who want to come before the 9:30 service for breakfast may do so.

Traditional Easter Service — 9:30 a.m.

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER

NEW SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE STUDY:

Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study 8:30am Church Library

Join us during the Lenten season for a 6 week session entitled

“Gospel Portraits of Jesus” written by Donald L. Griggs

“What can we learn about Jesus from the multitude of names he is

given in the New Testament? Plenty! Welcome to a six week course

that will explore a number of the names and titles for Jesus that appear

in the four Gospels, with some attention to relevant Old Testament

passages. The sequence of the names and titles of Jesus for our course

of study moves from the most familiar

name, Jesus, to Jesus' activities as teacher, to several common

metaphors such as bread, to more abstract names like Messiah and

Son of God, concluding with a focus on resurrection and life.”

Donald L. Griggs is a respected Christian educator, author, and former teacher at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

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YOUTH RETREAT!!

Presbyterian Youth Triennium is a gathering for high school age youth that occurs every three years. Triennium is a life giving, life changing, faith moving experience and we have 3 youth who are

working hard to go this summer. We are asking for your support through buying tickets to the play Fish Eyes, which will happen at 7:00PM on April 9th at St. Mark's. The youth will be selling tickets for several weeks in February and March, after church. There will be another fundraiser specific to our Southside youth attending Trienniem or of course you can donate in the offering, with Triennium specified, thank you!

Sasha Enriquez is excited to go to Triennium to join in worship with youth from all over the country. Mary Ruiz is excited to to go to Triennium because her sister went and had a wonderful time and she is excited to meet lots of youth and be on a college campus. Harmany Carranza is excited to go to Triennium to experience a trip away from home in a new, fun place.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH

January 1st-3rd AJ, Pastor Alison and Tyler took 12 enthusiastic youth on wonderful retreat to a camp in Prescott.

We celebrated the New Year and explored the meaning of

our new lives in Christ. We enjoyed

Creation, climbing, ziplines, food and fellowship!

Thank you to Southside for your amazing support of the

youth program and these extraordinary young people

growing in their faith.

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CONGREGATIONAL NURTURE

CAMP OUT AT OAK FLAT!

March 12th

Join us as we head up to Oak Flat, the sacred land of the

San Carlos Apache. We will leave Southside at 8am and

caravan up to Oak Flat (about a 2 hour drive). Once up

there we will have a picnic, do some hiking around, and

hear from members of the San Carlos Apache community

about their efforts to protect their lands from proposed

mining. For those interested, there is the opportunity to

camp overnight on Saturday evening and returning late

Sunday morning to Tucson.

Sign ups for the picnic and for camping will happen

during the Fellowship time following worship

on February 21st and 28th.

While not directly related to worship, your elder for the worship committee, Mark Rein’l-Bautista, has a dream to bring music to our worship space, the Kiva. Our Kiva has been the home to weekly worship, meetings, rallies, vigils, and sanctuary events. But, the Kiva can also be thought of as a musical instrument itself, due to it’s size and symmetry. Mark’s inspiration came while listening to the sounds of Gary Stroutsos’s flute playing during the November benefit concert for Protecting Oak Flat. So, if you’d like to learn more, please

contact Mark any Sunday, or email him at contraturtle@gmail.com. Mark is producing a return concert for Gary on March 5th at 7 pm (World Music From The Kiva) as a benefit for the building fund, and would like to bring local and national artists to the Kiva on a regular basis to benefit our community and our church. Also, there’s a rumor that Mark Gordon Allen will be returning with the “Angel Boys” sometime in May. Stay tuned. . .

WORSHIP COMMITTEE

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE LIVABLE COMMUNITIES ACADEMY

The Livable Communities Academy is coming

to Tucson! Developed in New Orleans

after Hurricane Katrina to help

communities mobilize to improve the livability

of their neighborhoods, the LCA is a free 8-week

training workshop designed to provide training and team building for neighborhood groups.

PCOA has obtained funding to focus on zip codes 85706, 85713, and 85714. Whether you

are a member of a neighborhood in those zip codes, or work in these communities, we hope

you will give us a call to learn more. The Academy seeks to help groups identify short and

long term goals, and implement a project of their choosing and design. PCOA will provide

ongoing staffing for each group to help ensure sustainability and success. For more information, contact Sara Meza, Bilingual Outreach Coordinator,

at 520-276-5876 or smeza@pcoa.org.

THE TEACHER/EDUCATOR DIALOGUE GROUP 3rd Sunday of the month at 4:30 p.m. The Teacher/Educator dialogue group is a reading and discussion group that examines issues of structural racism and the U.S. education system, as well as addressing issues of race, racism and racial injustice in the classroom. This group is open to everyone: whether you identify as an educator or not!

We meet every third Sunday of the month at 4:30 p.m. at Southside Presbyterian Church. The Teacher/Educator dialogue group is a project of Tucson SURJ and the Tucson Black Lives Matter Solidarity Group; although you don’t need to be a member of either group to participate. All are welcome!

Tucson SURJ is a project of the Tucson Black Lives Matter Solidarity Group. SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/

The Tucson Black Lives Matter Solidarity Group is a multi-racial effort working to support the black-led

Black Lives Matter movement. Currently comprised of primarily white allies, this group recognizes that solidarity is a verb and that our actions should reflect our positions as allies to black-led social justice organizing.

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DEACONS AND ELDERS

Sasha Enriquez Deacon for Children and Youth

Yvette Gonzalez, & Jim Walsh 85614, 85713, 85714,

85735,85736,85746,85756,85757

Stephanie Jordan & Teena Cross 85701, 85702, 85705, 85706, 85712, 85747,

85742, 85743

Charlie Miller & Linda Leiphart 85653, 85658, 85737, 85755, 85745, 85704

Travonne & Vivian Smith, & Shari Larson 85710, 85711, 85716, 85725, 85732

Alisia Alverez & Connie Trecartin 85602, 85641, 85715, 85717, 85718,

85719,85730, 85739, 85741, 85748, 85749,

85750

Josefina Ahumada Stewardship & Finance

Lisa Anderson Adult Education

Paul Axinn Personnel

Deb Bergman Clerk of Session

Leslie Carlson Social Justice

Corinne Chavez Congregational Nurture

Greg Lewis ECO

Jill Markwart Children & Youth

Ellen Murphy Children & Youth

Mark Rein’l Bautista Worship

Sarah Roberts Social Justice

Karan Stewart Community Engagement

Robin Zenger Facilities & Maintenance

Deacons

Elder Responsibilities

“For the Son of Man came not to be served but to

serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS

SOUTHSIDE WOMEN’S RETREAT PRESCOTT AZ APRIL 22 - 24

Join other Southside women for a

weekend of fellowship, fun, relaxation and worship. Cost will be approximately

$125 and we hope that there will be scholarships available.

Look for more details coming soon!

SOUTHSIDE MEN’S RETREAT ROCKY POINT, MEXICO

APRIL 29 - MAY 1

Join the men of Southside on their annual retreat to Rocky Point. The time will be filled with fellowship, fun and (of course) fishing.

See Bill Captain for more details

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