HISTORY OF SCOTTSDALE CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Index and links:
Our Vision: To experience and extend God’s love for all creation.
Our Mission: To embody the ministry, message and hope of Jesus Christ.
 Founding
SCUCC’s first worship service was held on Sunday, September 27, 1959, at the Messinger Mortuary Chapel with the Rev. Lee J. Smallsreed, Jr. conducting the service. A group of forty-one persons joined the Church on the first membership Sunday in November. The Charter Member Roll was closed on Sunday, May 8, 1960 with one hundred members.
Called Pastors
and Moderators
 Rev. Lee J. Smallsreed, Jr., founding pastor (1960-1967)
Winfred Coady - 1960 and 196l
Jay Piccinati - 196l and 1962
Jack Flock - 1962 and 1963
Bill Jenkins - 1963 and 1964
Everett Cross - 1964 and 1965
Von Schwartz - 1966 and 1967
Rev. George Phearson, interim (1967-1968)
Rev. Kenneth Widney (1968-1974)
Cullen Moore - 1968 and 1970
Ray Gentry - 1971 and 1972
Robert Bleakley - 1973 and 1974
Rev. Alan Richardson, interim (1974-1974)
 Rev. Alan B. Bond (1974-1987)
Bill Chamberlain - 1975
Richard Johnson - 1976 and 1977
Donna Gentry - 1978 and 1980
Hartley Noble - 198l and 1982
Gary Winebrener - 1982 and 1983
Bill Chamberlain - 1984
Nan Lesnick - 1985 and 1986
Rev. Ken Faulk, interim (1987-1988)
 Rev. Dr. Kevin Brown (1988-1994)
Phillip Demeree - 1987 and 1988
James Svoboda - 1989 and 1990
Virjean Svoboda - 1991 and 1992
Donald Nordlund - 1993 and 1994
 Rev. Dr. David D. Trask, interim (1994-1995)
Howard Greenlee - 1995
 Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes, senior pastor (1995-2008)
Barbara Nordlund - 1995 and 1996
Joan Hausler - 1997
Barbara Nordlund - 1998
Joan Hausler - 1999
Don Mark - 2000
Carrie Abts - 2001
Wayne Novak - 2002
Rebecca Glenn - 2003
Mike Bull - 2004
Elaine Trask - 2005
Catherine Junius - 2006
Lori Simonson - 2007
Tara Bailey - 2008
Rev. Laura Adelia, associate pastor (1999)
 Rev. Charlotte Wright, associate pastor, (1999-2001)
Rev. Victoria Freiheit, associate pastor (2001)
 Rev. Katharine Harts, associate pastor (2002-2009)
 Rev. Robert Macfarlane, interim (2009-2010)
Karl Stambaugh - 2009
Diana Winston - 2010
Church Facilities
Although we began worshiping at the Messinger Mortuary, it wasn’t long before we began building our own church on 5 acres of land at Camelback and Granite Reef Road. The groundbreaking for the first church building, the Lee J. Smallsreed, Jr. Education Building, was held on October 22, 1961 with the Service of Dedication on Sunday, May 6, 1962.
Later on, in order to raise funds for the expansion of our facilities, we sold three of our five acres of land. The present Sanctuary building was completed in 1971 and by that time membership had grown to 263.
By 1985, our membership had climbed to 355, an all-time high. To accommodate this growth our Fellowship Hall building was completed in 1988. In October of 2009 the congregation voted to rename Fellowship Hall and call it Alan Bacon Bond, Jr. Hall in honor of Rev. Bond who passed away in 2009.
We were able to celebrate the burning of the mortgage on the Smallsreed Building in late 1976. In 1984 we were able to burn the mortgages to our Sanctuary and Parsonage.
We sold our parsonage in 1997, after leasing it out since 1992. This was a happy transaction which enabled us to retire several debts and to establish an Endowment Fund for the church.
In mid 2004 the church recognized the immediate need for funds to make urgent building repairs. We sought loans from members based on a list of about $75K worth of triage repairs. We received $56,500 in loans, including a total of $13,825 in interest. We currently owe principal and interest due through 2014, when all of these debts will have been repaid.
From 1972 until 2006 we leased the Smallsreed Building to various preschool organizations and also to the City of Scottsdale for extra school space. However, in 2005 during our Vision 2010 process we agreed to take back the Smallsreed Building in order to nurture and expand our outreach programs and ministries.
 SCUCC Columbarium/Memorial Garden
The SCUCC Columbarium/Memorial Garden located east of the Fellowship Hall contains the cremated remains of members and friends of the church who have chosen to purchase a niche. In the niche is an urn with the cremains. The niche has a red granite cover with the deceased’s vital statistics engraved on it. The Columbarium/Memorial Garden is akin to a churchyard cemetery found in New England and the Old South as well as in Europe.
Our Columbarium/Memorial garden was planned and seriously discussed from 1995 to 2000. In early 2001 construction started and the Columbarium/Memorial Garden was dedicated Memorial Day weekend that year. A primary financial supporter and dreamer for the project is Helen Henderson, and the plaque “In the Garden” inside the Columbarium honors Helen and Clarence Henderson.
Social Justice
The Smallsreed Years
We have historically supported a wide variety of social justice issues, which have formed part of the “personality” of the church. Our pastoral leadership was supportive of the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s. As part of a group of UCC clergymen who helped with voter registration in the South, our first minister, the Rev. Lee J. Smallsreed, took a part of his vacation in 1964 to work with a group of students engaged in the Mississippi Summer Project to register black voters.
Later, when the surrounding community in Scottsdale sought to exclude a black family from settling in our local neighborhood, our congregation took a stand in support of the family’s right to seek housing in the area. They later joined the church.
The same Rev. Smallsreed, when seeking membership on the Scottsdale School Board, outwardly campaigned for participation in federal programs which would assist our public schools, a view which at the time was frowned upon by many citizens of the community. Although unsuccessful in the election, Rev. Smallsreed’s actions caused this community to explore new approaches in the funding of our public schools.
Open and Affirming
In the late 90’s, members of an SCUCC Constitution rewriting team created a new preamble to the Constitution that sought to establish the vision, mission and identity of our church. The section entitled; The World: Our Life with Others was designed to include an Open and Affirming statement. The members of the team knew that they could not just write a statement and expect that it would be accepted by the congregation. They recognized that prayer, study and conversation needed to precede its acceptance.
A Bible study program led by our minister Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes was designed and offered to the congregation. It explored what the Bible says and what it doesn’t say about homosexuality. Participants in the study learned about the context surrounding the biblical statements that are often used to condemn homosexuality and most importantly during the course of the study they met and heard the stories of two lesbian women. The prayers and study resulted in not only the acceptance of the statement in our constitution in 1998 but a public declaration with other UCC churches that people of all sexual orientations are welcome in the full life and ministry of our church.
Mission and Outreachxx
Our mission outreach has always been a strong element in the life of the church. The list of past and current outreach projects is long and varied and includes both domestic and international organizations such as Family Promise, Borderlinks, Heifer Project, OCWM, OIKO Micro Credit, WHEAT, CROP Walk, Vista Del Camino and Shoebox Ministries, to name just a few.
In 1994 we were honored by having our newsletter, Scottsdata, recognized as the best newsletter among UCC churches nationwide.
In 1995 and again in 2009 our church was selected to host the Annual meeting of the UCC Southwest Conference.
Sacred Grounds Coffee House
In 2003, with the help of a grant from Bob Ravenscroft, we began a smoke-free jazz coffee house called Sacred Grounds. This venue has been well received and continues its Thursday night year round weekly program featuring outstanding local and international jazz performers.
 Scottsdale Neighborhood Arts Place (SNAP); formerly The Ocotillo Center for Creativity (OCC)
The mission of SNAP is to explore, express, and experience creativity in all its forms through stimulating learning opportunities within a transforming community.
SNAP, formerly known as the Ocotillo Center for Creativity, grew out of the original vision of the Oh, My God! program. Once SCUCC had taken back the Smallsreed educational building we wanted to expand our creative programs into the community. SNAP is a ministry of SCUCC and it is also a separate 501c3 non-profit corporation and seeks funding through grants. SNAP broadcasts the leadership our church has taken in worship, arts, music and dance, and its programs have included summer jazz camps, performing arts camp, science camp, dance and music lessons, ongoing yoga classes and clay and sculpture classes.
Worship and Prayer
Music has also always been an important part of our church life, and we currently bring to our traditional service outstanding musicians from the Phoenix Symphony and elsewhere. At the Studio service we have a variety of live music, including contemporary jazz.
Our Sanctuary Choir has been part of our worship from the very beginning and continues to offer wonderful pieces at the traditional service.
In 1982, our first handbell choir, the Jubilate Bells, was formed and continues to enhance our worship experience. We are blessed to own four octaves of Malmark bells plus chimes, which are also used with the youth and for Christmas caroling.
Our church is also a prayerful church. We have a prayer group that has met regularly for over 20 years, and also an active prayer line and eprayer list. Prayer retreats have been a frequent feature of our community life over the years.
Our worship is not limited to Sunday mornings, nor is it limited to traditional forms of worship. We often have Lenten series. One year was a series that included harp music and healing ceremonies and prayers; one year we did jazz meditations; in 2010 we had the Open Studio, where participants studied together and then made creative expressions of their experience.
In 2008 we had &ldquoThe Uprising,&rdquo which was an Easter celebration that lasted throughout the night before and into the dawn of Easter Day. This included intergenerational activities such as sharing a special meal, telling Bible stories around an open campfire out back, walking a labyrinth, holding a prayer vigil, and greeting the Easter dawn with joy and song.
Christian Education
Bible Study
Our congregation is one that likes to study together. We have had many and varied opportunities over the years for in depth study of the Bible and other inspiring books. Rev. Elnes led a study of the book of Luke that extended over several years. We often have offered a study group that parallels a worship series, such as when we studied the book of Revelations.
Shortly after Christmas in 1997, our church sponsored a two-week tour of the Holy Land led by Rev. Elnes - an activity which was not only greatly beneficially theologically and spiritually to those who went but also helped to make our church even better known in the area. This trip was followed two years later with a congregational pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey.
BEACH
In 1996 we began our B.E.A.C.H. (Bible Education and Activities at our Church home) program, which is based on the Logos program promoting education, nurture and spiritual growth of our children and youth through Christian relationship. Held on Wednesday nights in the fall and the spring, it is an intergenerational approach to learning together.
Youth
Our church has had a strong emphasis on youth. In 1996-1998 Rev. Elnes developed alt.faith services directed at teens, introducing new concepts of dialog with contemporary culture using a multi-media approach. These services were held on the first Sunday evening of each month for over two years. They planted the seeds for what would become our Studio worship .service.
During her tenure Rev. Katharine Harts led confirmation classes, wrote and directed four Christmas Pageants, initiated a Cultural Blessings Program and continued with the already established LOGOS (BEACH) program. She also introduced the Borderlinks program to our youth and adults who made trips to Mexico to better understand the culture and economics of the people who live there. Under her tutelage, our youth became more involved with Conference Activities and participated in the Conference Youth Service program, Thanksgiving Alive and Summer Youth Camp.
Fellowship
We are a church who likes to play together as well as worship together. On Labor Day weekend, 1981, sixty members attended our first Mingus Mountain Campout, an annual event that has continued ever since.
Our Oasis small group ministry encourages people with like interests to get together and explore the spirituality of mutual activities. The Oasis Hiking group, the Oasis Film group and the Bon Appetite (dinners for 8) are good examples of this.
We often have all-church picnics, taking advantage of our large outdoor barbeque and spacious lawn area for fun and games.
Church Vitality
Oh My God!
In November of 1999 our church developed ” A Modest Proposal for renewing Mainline Christian Worship and Ministry,” and as a result received a grant of approximately $500K.
The key elements of this project were:
- Creation and development of the Studio worship service
- Creation of the Oasis small interest group infrastructure
- Integration of arts and technology into education programs
- Creation of a web based community ministry.
- Delivery of workshops and materials in support of wider mission
- Renewing and equipping the wider church
We began The Studio worship service in 2000. By 2002 we had over 20 active Oasis groups and had designed and launched our SCUCC web site.
Rev. Charlotte Wright served as Associate pastor from 2000 – 2001 and helped in launching our OMG program.
Rev. Katharine Harts was called as Associate Pastor on March 17, 2002 and served at SCUCC until 2009.
Chuck Marohnic served as Director of Music for the Studio from 2000 – 2005, and Sandy Champion served from 2005 – 2010. Bruce Marion served as artist in residence from 2005 – 2008. Rev. Tex Sample was our scholar in residence during this time.
As a result of our cutting edge explorations with experiential worship we have had many visitors from all over the country come to observe and experience The Studio for themselves, and SCUCC has been cited in several publications as a leader in innovative worship. The Rev. Tex Sample says of us “This is truly an extraordinary congregation. Their worship event, called The Studio, is one of the most theologically sound, biblically grounded, creative, multisensory and multimedia worship experiences I know.”
In 2004 Dr. Elnes with dialog and input from the congregation published a book based on some of our fundamental insights about this new paradigm for worship. The book is called Igniting Worship Series: The Seven Deadly Sins. In addition to text on the biblical and theological background of experiential worship, the process and the resources used, it also includes services & video clips on a DVD of an eight-week series that we held at SCUCC specifically on the seven deadly sins and seven lively virtues.
Eric Elnes’ 2004 Sabbatical
During the summer of 2004, Rev. Elnes took a three-month sabbatical, funded by a Lily Grant. He traveled to northern Ethiopia and southern India to study early Christian churches there, and took a month to reflect and write about the experience. While he was gone Rev. Katharine Harts served as our Senior Pastor. Part of the grant provided funds for congregational renewal and during that trip Rev. Harts taught a Digital Storytelling project as an opportunity for the church to celebrate its historical roots. When he returned, Eric brought back with him wonderful pictures, stories and insights that enriched our worship and learning for long after he returned.
The Phoenix Affirmations/Crosswalk America
In August of 2004, Dr. Elnes returned from a three-month sabbatical in northern Ethiopia and southern India to find Scottsdale Congregational UCC in turmoil. We hadn’t suffered from his absence (indeed we had wonderful pastoral and lay leadership while he was away). Rather, many in the congregation were fed up with the immense influence right-wing Christian extremists had gained and held over both faith and society for many years. As one congregation member put it, “I’m tired of being a ‘Christian, but …’ – meaning she was tired of having to apologize for her Christian beliefs to her friends and acquaintances saying, “I’m a Christian but I love people of other faiths … but I love the earth and its ecosystems … but I love gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons … but I affirm the separation of church and state,” and so on. Congregation members openly wondered about what the future of Christian faith in America would be if all the public knew were the extremist voices.
To make a very long story short, Dr. Elnes and Rebecca Glenn – a lay leader from our church – spearheaded an effort to create a new, national, non-profit organization called CrossWalk America. CrossWalk America’s first project was to create a brief summary articulating the essence of moderate/progressive Christian faith. This document, which is now known around the world as The Phoenix Affirmations, was ultimately created by clergy, laypeople, biblical scholars and theologians representing every mainstream denomination from around the country. Organized around the Three Great Loves that Jesus identifies as love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self, the Phoenix Affirmations are being studied, discussed, and celebrated in and outside of churches in the United States and Canada, and as far away as Great Britain, France and Australia (probably many other countries as well!).
Walk Across America 2006
Having created this document, for which Dr. Elnes served as chief editor and later wrote a book to support (The Phoenix Affirmations: A New Vision for the Future of Christianity), CrossWalk America’s second major project was to walk the Affirmations across the country in a 2,500 mile walk from Phoenix to Washington, DC! This Walk started on Easter Sunday (April 16 th), 2006 and ended on September 3 rd. Core walkers and support people from our church (those who participated in the whole journey) included Rebecca Glenn, Ray Gentry, Chris Brown, and Eric Elnes. In addition, a number of SCUCCers helped as key support team “back home.” Ray Steiner served as CrossWalk America’s Communications Director and on the Board of Directors. Donna Murphy served as Logistics Lead. Dorie Roepke served as Volunteer Coordinator and on the Board of Directors, and Scott Logan served on the Board and as Director of Strategic Relations. Many others served either as part of their teams or as walkers for part of the way.
Over the course of The Walk, the core team was hosted by 150 churches and seminaries, stayed in over 200 homes, met face-to-face with nearly 12,000 people. The Walk is the focus of Dr. Elnes’ called Asphalt Jesus: Discovering a New Christian Faith on the Highways of America.)
Rev. Katharine Harts served as Senior Minister during the five-month walk, and Rev. Larry Bridge filled in as Associate Minister.
CrossWalk America has since merged with the Center for Progressive Christianity.
Recent Changes
Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes served as our Senior Pastor for over twelve years, until April of 2008, at which time he was called to be the Senior Pastor of Countryside Community Church in Omaha, NB. After an intentional interim period and time of discernment Rev. Katharine Harts also left in October, 2009. We currently have an active Search Committee and hope to call a new settled pastor very shortly.
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