Tag: Sun City AZ

Moving from commandment to calling to embodiment

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
–Matthew 22:37-40

Many thanks for your participation last Sunday in working with our Thriving Team to identify the verbs that represent who we are as the living body of Christ. The catered meal was great, and the conversations were thoughtful. All the ideas collected will be used by the Thriving team in the finalizing of our current identity statement, mission, and congregational vision.

I was moved by the blessings you wrote during our final activity. Your words were beautiful and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Not only will they influence the work of the Thriving Team, but we will share them together as spoken benedictions to end our upcoming worship services.

For the next several Sundays we will continue our work of “Living Our Verbs” by highlighting the words that appear most representative of who God is calling us to be right now. This Sunday will center ourselves around loving. Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:37-40, and John 13:34-35 will remind us how we are to love.

In Deuteronomy, we are commanded to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.” Jesus later lifts up that same commandment, adding that we are also to love our neighbor as ourselves, declaring that all of God’s law and purpose hang on this. And then, on the night of his betrayal, Jesus takes love one step further: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Through these three texts, we move from commandment to calling to embodiment. Love begins in God, is expressed through us, and becomes visible in our relationships and actions.

As we gather this Sunday, we’ll reflect on how love isn’t just a feeling or a virtue, it is an action that defines who we are and how we live. I look forward to worshipping with you in the sanctuary or on YouTube!  

Brett

Pastor’s Notes 10/17/2025

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’  
– Matthew 28:19-20

This Sunday we’ll be exploring what it means to live the verbs of faith. Our scripture, Matthew 28:16–20, records Jesus’ final words to his disciples and they are words filled with movement: Go… make… baptize… teach… remember.

As preachers Karoline Lewis and Anna Carter Florence remind us, faith is not just what we believe, it’s what we do. The verbs of our lives: how we love, serve, listen, care, and share, become the way God’s story continues in the world through us.

Living the verbs draws us into the energy of our faith story. Focusing on the verbs makes faith a living response rather than a static belief. When we do so, we see ourselves as participants in God’s ongoing story.

Viewing ourselves as an active presence changes how we see church. Instead of defining who we are by what we have (buildings, programs, endowments), we define ourselves by what we do in Christ’s name, love, welcome, serve, pray, grow, forgive, share.

After worship, we’ll gather around tables for a special meal and conversation lead by our Thriving Ministry Team. Together we’ll name the verbs that describe who we are as a congregation and who God is calling us to become. Are we a welcoming, serving, growing, encouraging church? What actions define our shared calling?

Come ready to worship, to move, and to dream together, because the verbs of our faith are still being written in us. I look forward to worshipping with you on YouTube or in the sanctuary this Sunday! 

Brett

Our shared meal becomes a mission of love

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’  – Luke 14:12-14

Last Sunday, we gathered around the Lord’s Table in the spirit of World Communion Sunday. We are reminded that Christians everywhere, in all times and places, share one bread and one cup. But if we take that moment seriously, it calls us to something even deeper: to live communion, not just receive it.

This week’s scripture from Luke 14:12–24 is one of Jesus’ parables about a great banquet. This feast table imagery mirrors the communion table we gather around each week. In the story, those who were first invited make excuses as to why they cannot attend, so the host sends servants out into the streets to bring in the poor, the blind, the lame, and the forgotten. The table becomes a place of radical welcome, widened again and again until every seat is filled.

It is a reminder that the blessing found at the Communion Table doesn’t end when the worship service does. Every act of kindness, every moment of forgiveness, every time we make space for another, that is communion, too. The Holy Spirit empowers us to keep communion a verb, an act we repeat throughout our week by doing as Jesus would.

This Sunday, we’ll continue reflecting on what it means to live as the body of Christ in daily life. We will explore how our shared meal becomes a mission of love that continues long after the bread and cup are passed.

Come ready to gather, to grow, and to go forth in service together! I look forward to worshipping with you on YouTube or in our sanctuary!  

Brett

Pastor’s Notes 10/3/2025

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?  Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. –1 Corinthians 10:16-17

This coming Sunday, October 5, we will join with Christians all around the world in celebrating World Communion Sunday. It is one of those holy days that reminds us we are a part of something greater. It is a day when our table feels a little bigger, our prayers reach a little farther, and our fellowship stretches across languages, cultures, and traditions. It is the one Sunday a year when Christians, no matter our denominational or local church practice, take Holy Communion.

Our scriptures for Sunday, 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 and Matthew 13:1–9,  help set the tone for our belonging and connection together. Fittingly, our choir ensemble will offer the hymn Seed, Scattered and Sown as special music. This hymn, written by Dan Feiten in 1987, was inspired by these very passages of scripture. It poetically ties together Jesus’ parable of the sower with Paul’s teaching about the unity of the church through bread and cup. The hymn invites us to see ourselves as seeds scattered throughout the world, yet brought together as “one bread, one body.” Its imagery reminds us that while we come from many places and experiences, at Christ’s table we are gathered and made whole.

On World Communion Sunday, we will break bread and share the cup with the awareness that we are part of something larger than ourselves. From small congregations in rural villages to large cathedrals in bustling cities, believers everywhere will echo the same words of blessing, share the same bread of life, and drink from the same cup of blessing.

Let us prepare our hearts this week to come to the table with gratitude, humility, and joy—remembering that in Christ, we are never just scattered, but always gathered and bound together in love. I look forward to meeting you at table in the sanctuary or on YouTube.

Brett

Pastor’s Notes 9/26/2025

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. – Genesis 22:14b

Fall is officially here,  and it won’t be long (God willing!) for the heat of summer to leave us. This means it is time to emerge from our air conditioning, welcome back old friends, and return to the full schedule of life together.

Wednesdays will become a very active day for us at Sun City Christian Church. 

Wednesdays at 10:00 am in a classroom off of the Library will be Supporting Seniors hosted by Fred Wieck. Sessions will begin on October 8th;  each week folks will touch base about life, celebrating highs and lows and encouraging each other through whatever it is we currently face.

From 11:00-11:50 am in Cobbs Hall will be Wednesday Workout with Bella. Come and exercise! Bella will introduce the group to some new exercises as well as work in some of the classic and helpful chair exercises from last season, so lace up the tennis shoes and get the blood flowing a bit!

At 12:00 pm every Wednesday, we will have lunch and a program/activity. Keep your eyes out for our calendar, bulletin inserts, and weekly announcements for the specifics but each month the rotation should look like this.

First Wednesday: Lunch and Learn presentation around a Health or Wellness topic.

Second Wednesday: Project day. Bring the current quilt, crochet, knitting, sewing or other craft project you are a working on and “stitch and mingle” with one another. If you don’t have a project to bring, Disciples Women will have a shared project for you to take part in. Bring a salad to share for lunch that day.

Third Wednesday: Lunch and Learn presentation around a life interest topic. Previous sessions have been about fireproofing our homes, being on the lookout for scams, and last month Bob Wasson introduced us to Scotland and Ireland.

Fourth Wednesday: Board Games will now begin at 12pm. Snacks will be the food of choice as we play some of our favorite card, domino, and tabletop games.

Fifth Wednesday: Potluck and a movie. Bring a dish to share and watch a show!

Monthly Sunday afternoon concerts will also begin soon so we will keep you posted! Many great things are happening at Sun City Christian Church—come and join us!

This Sunday, as I will be on vacation, Rev. Janel Randle, who is an associate at Foothills Christian Church, will bring the sermon entitled “Unlearning Sacrifice” based upon Genesis 22:1-14.

Brett

Wednesday Workout

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

📅 Every Wednesday
🕒 Time: 11:00 am
📍 Location: Sun City Christian Church

You’re invited to the weekly Wednesday Workout at Sun City Christian Church every Wednesday at 11:00 am. Bella leads a 30-minute class for men and women at every level. We work on stretching, breathing, and gentle muscle support all while having fun.

Come join in. Check out a video playlist of Bella’s classes by clicking HERE or scroll down to view some videos of her classes here at Sun City Christian Church.

Bella aka Deb Bell arrived in Sun City in October 2024. On her first Sunday here, she came to Sun City Christian Church and immediately felt at home. 

Bella has a passion for aqua aerobics, boxing, weight lifting, chair yoga, and helping others live their best life. She has taught various classes at 24Hour Fitness gyms and Lutheran Senior Services.  

Pastor’s Notes 9/12/2025

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.   – Romans 12:4-5 CEV

Have you heard this one?

A guy sees an ad in a pet-shop window: “Talking Centipede $100,” a deal he couldn’t refuse. He gets home, opens the box, and asks the centipede if he wants to go get a burger.

The centipede doesn’t answer, so the guy closes the lid, convinced he’s been swindled. Thirty minutes later he decides to try again. He raises his voice and shouts, “Do you want to go for a burger?”

The centipede pokes his head out of the box and says, “Simmer down! I heard you the first time. I’m putting my shoes on!”

Sometimes it feels like a monumental effort to get everyone going in the same direction. God gifts us all with skills, talents, and purpose but seeing our efforts come together can sometimes feel like we are waiting for the caterpillar to be ready.

On September 14 we’ll reflect on Paul’s words in Romans 12:4–8. As Disciples of Christ, we affirm that every member is a minister. Each of us is capable, worthy, and called to serve; whether it’s setting the Table for communion, teaching, encouraging, leading in prayer, caring for a neighbor, or simply showing up with compassion and joy.

The church isn’t whole when only a few people are doing everything. The Body of Christ flourishes when everyone brings their gifts to the table, both literally and figuratively.

So maybe this is the week to ask yourself: What gift do I bring to this Body of Christ? Where might God be calling me to step forward, to serve, speak, or care in Jesus’ name?

We don’t all have to do everything — but we are all invited to do something. Together, we become the living presence of Christ in the world. So, let’s get our shoes on and go serve together! I look forward to worshipping with you in the chapel or on YouTube this Sunday.

Brett

Pastor’s Notes 9/5/2025

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.                       

– 1 Cor 11:23-26

This Sunday, September 7, we will continue our focus of what we believe as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). We take great pride and find  true identity in being people of the table.  Our theme for the day is: “All Are Welcome at the Table.”

Our scripture readings come from 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 and Acts 2:42–47. Paul shares the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, reminding the early church that the bread and cup are to be received in remembrance of Christ. Luke then paints a beautiful picture of the first believers: they devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. “Day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

As Disciples of Christ, the Lord’s Table is central to our identity. We gather every week to share bread and cup, not because it is our tradition alone, but because it is Christ’s invitation. At this table, there are no barriers. You don’t have to be a member of our church, or of any church, to receive communion. You simply need a heart open to God’s grace.

This week we’ll reflect together on what it means to be people of the table. We will focus on how Christ’s welcome shapes the way we live and love. We will prepare ourselves for  how this meal sends us back into the world with compassion and courage.

Come ready to be fed, not only by bread and cup, but also by the Spirit, the Word, and the fellowship of God’s people. I look forward to breaking bread with you in person or on YouTube.

Brett

Supporting Seniors: aging support group

Posted on by Wende Gonzales

weekly on Wednesdays at 10:00 am

Each week folks will touch base about life, celebrating highs and lows, and encouraging each other through whatever it is we currently face.

You are welcome here each week for a morning of connection and inspiration in a safe space, led by Fred Wieck.

Whether you’re facing challenges or simply seeking companionship, you’re welcome here.

Come on down and let’s make the most of this journey together! Remember, you’re never alone when you have a supportive community by your side.