Arizona Faith Network shares many upcoming events and news in their latest newsletter. Scroll below these bullet points to see full descriptions and links.

• Youth Connection Café, Sunday, April 23, 10:00 am MST via Zoom

• Film series screening: Current Revolution, Monday, April 24, 6:00 - 7:30 pm via Zoom

• Extreme Heat Webinar, Tuesday, April 25, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. via Zoom ‘

• Arizona Faith Talks – Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Tuesday, April 25, 6:30 - 8:00 pm via Zoom

• Mothering and the Collateral Consequences for Women in Arizona, Wednesday, May 10, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Church of the Painted Hills, 3295 W Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85745

• AFN Hunger and Housing Committee, Thu Apr 20th 12:00 - 1:00 pm via Zoom

• Heat Respite Site Position Openings

• Spotlight – Earth Day: Visit AFN's special Earth Day page for events and information about this important issue!

• Interfaith Holidays

• Racial Justice Challenge

• Working in Solidarity: Anti-Racism Retreat for Faith Communities, Wednesday, April 26 and Friday, April 28, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Valley Unitarian Universalist Church

• Weave and Cleave Conference, Thursday, May 4, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

• Arizona State Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, Friday, May 5, 3:00 - 8:00 pm, Arizona State Capitol

Youth Connection Café

Sunday, April 23, 10:00 am MST via Zoom

AFN will be hosting URI's April Youth Connection Café. The topic for this Café is "The role of diverse religions/faiths/traditions in social and environmental justice." The Café will feature a special guest, the Venerable Tri Dao, a 34 year old Theravada Buddhist monk, who is well known on TikTok (@venerable_tri_dao) where he has garnered over 1.3M followers, educating his audience on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. All are invited to join the call to meet new people and share insights and experience on projects of social and environmental justice. RSVP TO RECEIVE ZOOM INFORMATION

Film series screening: Current Revolution

Monday, April 24, 6:00 - 7:30 pm via Zoom

Current Revolution, a series of short films from the American Resilience Project, explores the transition from fossil fuels to renewables with a focus on national security, economic prosperity, and environmental justice. These films show how the nation can embrace smart policies and investments that support grid modernization through distributed renewable energy generation and ensure that the transition is just and sustainable.

Join Arizona Faith Network's Social Justice Commission working group Cherishing Creation Collaborative (CCC) for the screening and discussion. RSVP FOR ZOOM INFO

Extreme Heat Webinar

Tuesday, April 25, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. via Zoom ‘

Did you know that over 1,000 Arizonans have died in the past two years due to heat-related and heat-caused illnesses? Join leaders from the Heat Relief Network of Maricopa County and AFN staff to learn how your faith community can save lives this heat season. This short Lunch and Learn presentation will cover the impact of extreme heat across Arizona neighborhoods and the importance of houses of worship in heat relief work. All are welcome to attend and engage in this conversation Click/tap here for more details about the 2023 Heat Relief Initiative, including the 2023 Cooling Center application and more. REGISTER FOR WEBINAR

Arizona Faith Talks – Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati

Tuesday, April 25, 6:30 - 8:00 pm via Zoom

During Earth Month, join AFN to hear from Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, world-renowned religious leader, about the teachings of Hinduism and multi-religious collaboration on environmental protection.

Arizona Faith Talks is a Speaker Series featuring quarterly talks of renowned interfaith theologians who are actively transforming the world. This speaker series is created and hosted by the Arizona Faith Network’s Theological Dialogue Commission. RSVP FOR ZOOM INFO

Mothering and the Collateral Consequences for Women in Arizona

Wednesday, May 10, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Church of the Painted Hills
3295 W Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85745

Mothering and the Collateral Consequences for Womxn will feature a panel of directly-impacted womxn as well as a few stories from Inside Perryville that will be shared outside.The event is a collaboration between AFN, AZ Village, and the Church of the Painted Hills.RSVP

AFN MEETINGS

All are welcome at the following AFN commission and committee meetings. They will be held online via Zoom, and you can RSVP using the links below.
AFN Hunger and Housing Committee

• Thu Apr 20th 12:00 - 1:00 pm via Zoom

• Guest presenters: Fuerte Arts Movement and Kerwin Brown, Executive Director at Tanner Community Development Corporation

• Click/tap here to RSVP for the Zoom information

HEAT RESPITE SITE POSITION OPENINGS

Numerous positions are currently open as Heat Respite Site Lead and Heat Respite Site Assistant. The purpose of these roles is to assist the local Heat Relief Respite Centers in receiving community members and reporting, coordinating, and implementing Arizona Faith Network’s summer Heat Relief Respite Center program needs for the community members. Click on the link below for the job descriptions, duties, qualifications, and application procedures. Please share this with your faith communities. AFN POSITION OPENINGS

SPOTLIGHT – EARTH DAY

Visit AFN's special Earth Day page for events and information about this important issue!

INTERFAITH HOLIDAYS

The Arizona Faith Network wishes our Muslim friends and communities Eid Mubarak. This weekend, Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated by Muslims worldwide, because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.

PARTNER NEWS & EVENTS

Racial Justice Challenge

The Metropolitan Phoenix YWCA encourage everyone committed to racial and gender justice in our communities to join the Racial Justice Challenge journey, which started on Monday April 17. It is a 21-day self-paced challenge that will help acknowledge the institutional and structural biases inherent in our systems. Sometimes, we just don’t know what we don’t know, but if we are ever to experience change, knowing is the first step to acting justly. JOIN THE CHALLENGE HERE

Working in Solidarity: Anti-Racism Retreat for Faith Communities

Wednesday, April 26 and Friday, April 28, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Valley Unitarian Universalist Church - Board Room
6400 W. Del Rio, Chandler, AZ

Deacon Joan Crawford is offering an opportunity for people to experience her new workshop on anti-racism for faith communities. Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan, VUU Pastor will be joining her.

In this workshop, participants will learn how to avoid making false assumptions and unintentional microaggressions toward Black folks. They will learn how African Americans have relied on their spiritual strength and their creative spirit to survive centuries of oppression. Participants will be encouraged to engage spiritually and emotionally while connecting historical and cultural insights thus strengthening their relationships with African American people.

The ”In Solidarity Anti-Racism Retreat” emphasizes our call to be in right relationship with God and with all of God’s people. Many of the guidelines provided in the retreat will help participants work in solidarity with people from other oppressed communities. We will pray for mercy and justice for all. However, it is important to note that this retreat centers on the African American experience. REGISTRATION

Weave and Cleave Conference

Thursday, May 4, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Desert Willow Conference Center
4340 E Cotton Center Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85040

Weave and Cleave Conference invites faith and other community leaders to create communities of belonging for substance use prevention.

Collaborating with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, The Faithful City (TFC) launches “Creating the Communities of Belonging” project to support faith communities in building safe spaces and relationships where people experience being connected than corrected, sharing struggles in compassion, raising hope and resilience for the future journey together. The conference is free of charge, presenting local, and national speakers and training sessions for creating communities of belonging. Speakers include: Domingo Arambula, Dan Steffen, Dr. Warren Stewart, Sr, Tracy Cruickshank, Jesse Kohler, Dr. Sanghoon Yoo, Dr. Robert Rhoton, and Rev. Katie Sexton-Wood. INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION

Arizona State Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day

Friday, May 5, 3:00 - 8:00 pm
Arizona State Capitol

The Hopi Tewa Women’s Coalition to End Abuse will be hosting Arizona State Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day at the Arizona State Capitol. The event starts with workshops in the Senate Building, followed by an Awareness Walk starting on the Senate Lawn and an evening program. Please join us in support of missing and murdered indigenous peoples! RSVP FOR MORE DETAILS