The emails I don’t like to write ...

Written By Paul Dedewo

Church Leaders,

I really miss sitting face to face with pastors and church leaders in our city. It remains both encouraging and sobering to see the challenges we are navigating together. We appreciate all the church and personal updates many of you send in response to these newsletters. Keep sending them!

I don’t particularly like writing “announcement” emails...event promotion is one of the least favorite things I do. However, we’ve designed some unique environments for this season of leadership. Please take a look and see if it would serve you or your church members: 

Regional Surge Gatherings - Perhaps what we most need from one-another as co-laborers is to break bread and be honest about our hearts. Networking environments are simply a platform to launch into deeper connection with others as we seek to be healthy ministers together in this city. We are doing our regional gatherings differently for the remainder of this year and encourage you to make space to be around other pastors, even if it’s only a few one-on-one connections with other pastors between now and the end of the year. See below for details.

Virtual Surge Seminars - We have designed two series of seminars this fall with a line-up of great local and national leaders presenting to Surge. These Surge Seminars are designed to bless leaders in your congregation, but will be fruitful for pastors as well. We will send promo material and registration links soon to distribute if you wish. Here is a picture of what’s coming:

Life in the Pandemic - these are designed for church members in various vocations seeking to follow Jesus through the pandemic. We will host workshops such as:

  • Elisa & Caleb Mitchell Parenting in the Pandemic (August 26, 7-8:30 pm Register Below)

  • Gavin Linderman and Dennae Pierre Praying in the Pandemic (September) 

  • Dr. Christina Edmondson Team Leadership in the Pandemic (TBD)

  • Jennifer Chan Talking about Jesus in the Pandemic (October)

  • Warren Williams, Aaron Dailey, & Tracy Matthews Vocation in the Pandemic (Nov)


Race & the Church - these are for pastors, ministry leaders and anyone else within your congregation you’d like to invite:

  • Dr. Esau McCaulley Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope (August, Register Below)

  • Vermon Pierre How to Vote: Our Common Identity (September) 

  • Dr. Efrem Smith and Kimberly Deckel Becoming the Beloved Community in a Multiethnic World (October)

  • Irwin Ince Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity and the Church at its Best (November)

  • Robert Guerrero, Michael Carrion, and Dennae Pierre Racial Justice & the Missio Dei (December)

Brothers, Sisters, Arizonans, Church People… I miss the regular rhythms of being together and yet and endlessly thankful for the ways the Spirit has prepared us to follow Jesus in this season of suffering, disorientation, and hostility. May we surrender to his beautiful work in and among us!

With you in prayer,
Dennae Pierre 

Announcements

Our First Two Seminars are coming up!


Dr. Esau McCaulley
Reading While Black- African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope
August 19 at 11:30-12:30 p.m. 

In the African American context, a key element in the fight for hope, has long been the practice of Bible reading and interpretation that comes out of traditional Black churches. This ecclesial tradition is often disregarded or viewed with suspicion by much of the wider church and academy, but it has something vital to say. Listen and learn from Esau as he discusses his forthcoming book and calls the church to a dynamic theological engagement with Scripture, in which Christians of diverse backgrounds dialogue with their own social location as well as the cultures of others.  
Register here


Elisa and Caleb Mitchell
Parenting in the Pandemic
August 26 at 7-8:30 pm 

How do we parent while we are in a pandemic and dealing with an awakening to racial inequity? Things seem so big these days, but we still have our “normal” life to live. We want to be good parents, we want to love our kids well. But, we get angry. Our kids are bored. We are fighting with our spouse. In the end we feel a mountain of shame that we just can’t seem to “pull it together”. This talk with Caleb and Elisa Mitchell will be a conversation about what physiologically and emotionally is going on in us as parents and in our children, and how we can attempt to parent our kids more generously and lovingly as well as find the grace for our own selves in the process.  
Register here


Surge Seminars & Gatherings Fall 2020 (August- November 2020):


Since COVID suspends our monthly gatherings, we encourage pastors and ministry leaders to connect 1:1 with others in their region. In addition, please connect with the pastor below who is coordinating monthly in-person small group discussion & prayer.

Regional/ Affinity Group Contact Person

Paul Dedewo
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