After months and months of behind-the- scenes hard work, our Search and Call Cte presented their recommended candidate, the Rev. Dr. Amos Smith to the Congregation over the weekend of June 4 th and 5 th . Starting with a “ Meet and Greet ” reception on Saturday afternoon, Rev. Smith and his family interacted with more than 100 members and friends at the party hosted by Search and Call, their first introduction to our faith community. (They learned quickly that we like to do things around food!) His lovely wife, Cristianne, and their son, Luke (7) were given a warm welcome by all, including Mother Nature with a temperature of 110!

On Sunday, June 5 th , Rev. Smith led the worship service with a homily titled God of Abundance, based upon Matthew 15:32-38 NRSV. Immediately following the service, he and his family waited in the Chapel with our Anne Bailey and John Angiulo. While the Congregation held a meeting called for the occasion (with over half of the membership physically present (128) and with proxies (32) for representation by over 62%), the Congregation temporarily suspended its bylaws for a secret ballot, to unanimously call Rev. Smith to be in covenant ministry withus as our Senior Minister. He and his family returned to the sanctuary to a standing ovation. The results of the election were given to Rev. Smith and he was asked if he would accept this “call” and he said: “Yes!”  We are delighted that Rev. Smith and his family will be joining us in August. He comes to us with an impressive resume (detailed information available on our website). His wife, Cris, is a high-school teacher here in Tucson. Their son Luke is already a welcome member of our Sunday School with our children wanting to know why we have to wait until August to see him again! We are looking forward to meeting their daughter, Mattea before she returns to Colorado to attend high school in the Fall.

Our very own Derrick Elliot was ordained into the United Church of Christ on May 1st which followed his successful Ecclesiastical Council held here in April.  Reverend Elliott will continue his prison ministry in Florence, AZ as he prepares for an eventual career as an Air Force Chaplain.  We hope to hear from him in our pulpit sometime in July.

Members of the Congregation enjoyed a wonderful ride along the Santa Cruz River on June 14th. The ride was on the Santa Cruz River and Paseo de Iglesias trails. Following a ride on the south Santa Cruz, we rode the Julian Wash Greenway to South 6th Avenue and the "El Super" market. Along the way we saw some beautiful Pascua Yaqui artwork along the trail. These rides on the Tucson bike trails are always an amazing experience.