Desert Notes August 8, 2024
| Rev. Sarah visits Friendship Village! Last week I took half a day and visited Friendship Village. It was a wonderful opportunity to see ten of our VUU’ers, take a tour of the facilities, enjoy lunch, and talk about end of life planning as well as enjoying life while we can! I got to see Gaylee Fretz, Jayne Burgess, Bev and Carter Rogers, Jeanne and Joe Gerber (and their lovely granddaughter!), Nancy and Jim Nielsen, and Sally and Bob Buntschuh. What a beautiful place, with many new buildings and services! We agreed to set up some more meetups out there so I could get the full experience. It was a great opportunity to get some one-on-one time in while also seeing the group. If you live out there and missed us, let me know so we can include you next time! If you want me to come visit your neck of the woods and see a group of VUU’ers in a place of your choosing, let’s make a plan! |
 Rev. Sarah enjoying AZ – This weekend I had a lovely couple of days off and enjoyed the Verde Canyon railroad. We saw the lush scenery of the canyon and many stars while tasting wine and making new friends. We also visited the top of Mingus Mountain and enjoyed some rain. What other magical spots should we explore? |
 Rev. Sarah out in the community – I also attended a board retreat for AZCEND last week. AZCEND provides direct services to Chandler and Gilbert residents that include a food bank, support for two senior centers and meals for seniors, early childhood education and school readiness supports, rent and utility assistance, emergency shelter via IHELP, and much more. I’ve been on their board for a year; this is the non-profit that we work with to house folks through IHELP in our sanctuary a few times a month. I am currently serving as the Vice President of the Board. We have an upcoming gala event on Friday, October 11 at 6 p.m. The event will feature dinner and drinks, a live auction and casino games. I’d love to have a VUU table! Let me know if you plan to attend, donate toward the live auction, or make a donation in lieu of attendance. For more information, visit https://azcend.org/gala/. October 16 we’ll also host an Empty Bowls event at the Chandler/Gilbert Community College campus where you can learn more about AZCEND as well. The bowls are $10 apiece and lunch is an affordable soup and bread. If you live out that way, this is a relaxing way for us to meet up, as well. Helping raise funds for our partner organizations extends our shared work, values, and commitments in our community–we help more of our neighbors together in ways we can’t alone. -Rev. Sarah |