Keen observers of our weekly newsletter might have noticed something a little different last week. The four descriptive words displayed prominently at the top of each addition had changed. For a while now Fellowship Southwest has described ourselves as faithful, agile, ecumenical and kind. We still hope these all describe our ministry. But two of these words seem to describe more of how we want to do our work, rather than the characteristics we hope to embody.

Starting today, Fellowship Southwest is accepting resumes for a full-time director of programs and outreach. This position will enable Fellowship Southwest to focus on expanding its ministry and mission capacity with churches who want to serve our region, as well as fostering new multi-racial and ecumenical relationships.

St. Ignatius of Loyola has been credited with saying, “Pray with all five senses.” During the post-Easter retreat entitled “Nature as Spiritual Practice,” I had the pleasure of praying alongside fellow travelers from across the southwest in a variety of create ways tied to nature.

Fellowship Southwest will build its advocacy efforts on three key bases, the organization’s new executive director, Stephen Reeves, told the FSW board of directors April 12.

Stephen Reeves, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s public policy leader, has been elected executive director of Fellowship Southwest.

When COVID-19 caused several members of Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo to lose their jobs and income, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship grant enabled the Fort Worth congregation provide relief to its community.

CBF established the coronavirus fund shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began inflicting its wrath globally. The catastrophe particularly harmed immigrants, who live closest to their communities’ crumbling edges of vulnerability. In the United States, for example, many immigrants were the first to lose their jobs when the economy restricted. And although they pay taxes, they were not eligible to receive stimulus checks provided to citizens.

Fellowship Southwest celebrated its third anniversary the first of this month, and to quote the great Yogi Berra, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

About three weeks after FSW launched on Aug. 1, 2017, Hurricane Harvey blasted the Texas Coastal Bend and deluged Southeast Texas. We dropped what we were doing and pitched in to help. Lately, we’ve been helping the Rio Grande Valley and northeastern Mexico mop up from Hurricane Hanna. (Note to us: Let’s convince the people who name hurricanes to stop using the letter “H.”)

A fresh loaf of bread in Missouri gave rise to a relief program in northeastern Arizona, serving people pummeled by COVID-19.

CBF West has launched a ministry on the Navajo Nation, guided by Pastor Greg Long of Flagstaff and CBF West Coordinator Glen Foster of Tucson. But the idea began with that bread back in Missouri.

“The Navajo Nation continues to be a hotspot for COVID-19,” Foster reported. Indeed, the Navajo Times reported almost 9,000 coronavirus cases among Navajos across the high-desert region as of Wednesday. Given the area’s sparse population, those infections have propelled the Navajo Nation to be one of the most acutely affected groups in the United States.

Webinar hosted by Marv Knox, coordinator of Fellowship Southwest.

Contributors:

• Mary Alice Birdwhistell, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas

• Glen Foster, pastor of Pantano Baptist Church in Tucson, Arizona

• Becky Jackson, pastor of Northwest Baptist Church in Ardmore, Oklahoma

• Garrett Vickrey, pastor of Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas

• Jorge Zayasbazan, pastor of Baptist Temple in San Antonio

Webinar moderated by Marv Knox, coordinator of Fellowship Southwest.

Contributors:

• Benjamin Dueholm, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church

• Mike Gregg, pastor of Royal Lane Baptist Church

• Victoria Robb Powers, senior associate pastor of University Park United Methodist Church

• Kerry Smith, pastor of Greenland Hills United Methodist Church

• Andy Stoker, pastor of First United Methodist Church

As governments loosen shelter-in-place restrictions and churches consider the next phase of ministry in light of COVID-19, Fellowship Southwest is producing webinars to help church leaders think about when to reconvene in person and how to go about it.

“These will be open-ended conversations about the spiritual, ethical and technical questions involved in ‘doing church’ face-to-face again,” FSW Coordinator Marv Knox explained. “We wouldn’t presume to tell congregations it’s time to go back to church. In fact, we advocate caution born of love for neighbor. But we know pastors and church leaders have to think about opening their doors again, and we believe these conversations will help.”