Holy Heat: Daily Glimpses of Grace, Discernment, and the Holy Spirit from the Phoenix CWA

by Rev. Stewart McDonald

 Welcome to Holy Heat

July 23, 2025 - Earlier this year, the Lutheran Church of the Foothills Council approved my request to be our Congregation Observer at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix. At this assembly, voting members along with volunteers and visitors from around the country gather to give direction to the ELCA, shaping the church’s mission “for the life of the world.”

 As a Congregation Observer, I will be spending the coming week listening, watching, and reflecting in the heat of the Phoenix desert. Each day in this blog, I will share glimpses of grace, moments of discernment, and signs of the Holy Spirit at work—not just in agendas and speeches, but in conversations, worship, prayers, and personal encounters. These reflections are my way of helping our congregation stay connected to our wider church—and of noticing how the Spirit who moves us in Tucson also stirs among the broader church in Phoenix and beyond.

Want more? Click here to read what will happen at the Churchwide Assembly.