A Progressive Christian Home on Glendale Avenue
Church of the Beatitudes sits on the corner of 7th Avenue and West Glendale Avenue in Phoenix, its recently renovated Worship Center anchored by a resplendent Great West Window. The congregation identifies itself as an open and affirming, progressive Christian community of faith-seeking and faith-keeping people grounded in the stories and truths of the scriptures. The church's tagline, "Making God's Love Real," points to a theology that prizes service, justice, and the integration of spiritual practice with everyday life.
The congregation is part of the United Church of Christ and welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds. The congregation's own welcome statement is simple and direct: "All faiths and backgrounds are welcome at Beatitudes. It doesn't matter your race, sexual orientation or creed. All are welcome here. Our emphasis is joined strongly with the life and teachings of Jesus in the pursuit to help us live with more love, integrity, compassion and harmony with the world around us." Members and visitors are invited to take part in a community that values questions as much as answers and treats the way people treat one another as the fullest expression of belief.
Five Values That Shape the Community
The church describes itself through five interlocking values.
- Christian, with an evolving approach. The congregation reads the life and teachings of Jesus as the model for perceiving both the divine and human qualities of love, compassion, and impartiality.
- Open-minded. The Bible is honored together with the insights of tradition, the humanities, and the sciences in a 21st century interpretation of scripture.
- Spiritual. The Divine is understood as intertwined with all of life, and spirituality finds expression by tangibly making love real through words and actions while seeking justice and compassion.
- Evolving. The congregation accepts evolutionary science and seeks to be rooted but not stuck, wise but not arrogant, committed to lifelong learning and the maturation of self-love and love toward others.
- Diverse. All ideologies and religions rooted in the principle of love for others are honored, and the community does not accommodate discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical abilities and background, or socio-economic status.
Sunday Worship at 10:30 AM
Sunday morning is the heartbeat of Beatitudes. Worship begins at 10:30 AM in the Worship Center, designed to take worshipers on a contemplative journey of self-discovery. Each service includes gathering prayers, sermons that invite thinking, a mix of traditional and newly inspired hymns, a meditative moment of silence, and an opportunity to share joys and concerns with the community. The service aims to leave worshipers feeling renewed for the week ahead and open to new possibilities in their thinking and spirit.
Visitors are invited to wear whatever feels comfortable, from casual to formal, and to arrive a few minutes early. A welcome area outside the front entrance of the Worship Center offers brochures and connection information, and Plaza Greeters stationed just outside are happy to direct newcomers to social activities and enrichment classes after the service.
A Family-Friendly Space in the Sanctuary
For parents with young children, Beatitudes offers a family space inside the sanctuary. The enclosed area was created with families in mind, providing seating for adults while allowing little ones to move around. The church notes that, at this time, it does not have an active youth program, but the family space reflects the congregation's commitment to including worshipers of all ages in the Sunday gathering.
After Worship: Coffee, Conversation, and Community
Immediately following the service, the Britt Chapel and surrounding plaza fill with coffee, snacks, and conversation. The Community Life Ministry (CLM) is the volunteer committee that makes the weekly social hour possible, setting up tables and chairs both inside the chapel and outdoors. Sundays are designed to give worshipers the chance to share their journey with others in the same life stage, whether that means celebrating a milestone, navigating a difficulty, or simply enjoying a root beer float on a warm Phoenix afternoon.
Music and Arts at the Church
Music and the arts have long been central to the identity of Beatitudes. The Music & Arts program supports a music ministry with soloists and section leaders, handbell and vocal ensembles, and instrumentalists who contribute to Sunday worship. Performers listed include Stephen Schermitzler as Music Director, Baritone and Pianist, with Laura Stevens as Alto Section Leader and Derick Claes as Baritone and Violinist. The music director role has more recently been filled by Andrez Alcazar, a high school music teacher and accompanist whose work focuses on building musical skill and a sense of community through music.
The church also hosts a Jazz Concert Series in Nelson Hall, a performing arts center and multifunctional meeting space on the campus. Concerts are presented in a café-style environment with two 45-minute sets and a 30-minute intermission, and viewers can attend in person or watch the livestream. The series has featured a range of Valley jazz artists and ensembles, with a $10 suggested donation at the door.
The Beatitudes Arts Council curates rotating exhibitions in the Worship Center foyer and narthex, drawing on the work of local artists and, at times, high school students from Cortez, Sunnyslope, and Washington High Schools. Recent exhibitions have included Melinda Wing's fig tree monoprints, David Pool's photographs of Phoenix hummingbirds, and a permanent installation of eight paintings by longtime member Julie Frye depicting the Beatitudes. The council meets monthly and welcomes new participants. Thirty percent of art sales help fund art projects at the church.
Faith in Action: Service in the Wider Community
The Faith in Action (FIA) committee is the congregation's outreach arm, described as a team of "doers" who believe that making God's love real for others begins with serving. FIA meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 PM on Zoom, and members coordinate an impressive slate of recurring drives and partnerships.
- NourishPHX food drives during Lent and Thanksgiving have collected hundreds of pounds of groceries and cash donations for neighbors experiencing homelessness.
- The Justa Center for seniors experiencing homelessness receives an annual Labor Day luncheon and seasonal donation drives.
- Shoebox Ministry benefits from a steady supply of new, clean socks and personal care items.
- Maryland School in central Phoenix is a long-term community partner, with a school supply drive each fall, a Christmas gift drive for families in need, a tutoring and mentorship program for K-8 students, a community garden project, and a back-to-school staff luncheon co-sponsored with Beatitudes Campus and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix.
- Duet, provides support for caregivers in the community.
- The Mother's Day Purse Drive collects purses filled with toiletries and cosmetics for mothers in need.
Anyone with an hour a week to spare can volunteer as a reading or math tutor for Maryland School students; interested volunteers can reach the tutoring coordinator through the church office.
The Building and Its Spaces
The church campus offers three distinct gathering environments. The Worship Center, renovated in December 2019, measures 9,984 square feet and seats up to 350. Recent upgrades added a center aisle, classrooms, new flooring and lighting, chancel upgrades, an electronic Rodgers three-manual organ, a 7'0" Mason & Hamlin grand piano, and gender-neutral restrooms. Seating, chancel, and restrooms are all handicap accessible. The Great West Window draws the eye from the street.
Nelson Hall is a performing arts center and multifunctional meeting space with a separate stage, sound, and lighting. It can host large meetings, performances, receptions, conferences, and dining, with capacity for up to 300 chairs in rows, 240 at rectangular tables, or 160 at round tables of eight. The space is adjacent to a full kitchen with a dual oven and an industrial-sized reach-in refrigerator.
The Britt Chapel is an intimate worship, recital, meditation, and lecture space with seating for up to 120. A soaring wood plank ceiling gives it the most acoustically attractive room on campus. A 1982 Mason & Hamlin 7'0" grand piano is available, and a kitchenette with seating for up to 10 is attached.
Audiovisual services are available in the Worship Center, and audio can be enhanced in Nelson Hall and the Britt Chapel. The campus is also available for facility rentals, weddings, and funerals.
Pastoral Care and Staff
Two interim co-pastors currently shepherd the congregation. Dr. Richard A. Wing is a preacher, teacher, and mentor whose ministry has spanned community building, youth effectiveness training, Stephen Ministry, and international work with partners in Mexico, Jamaica, Europe, Israel, India, South Korea, Kenya, Peru, and Guatemala. He was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in 1996 and has preached at chautauqua institutions, on television, and through the Walter Scott Society Library of Preachers. He is a member of Rotary International and plays violin, mandolin, and ukulele.
Rev. Sandi Anthony came to ministry later in life, after a first career as a high school English teacher in Delaware and Hawaii that moved with her husband's Army career. She graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary's Orlando Campus with her MDiv in 2007, completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education through Tampa General Hospital and Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, and served as a chaplain on the Beatitudes Campus for seven years.
The staff supporting worship, communications, and operations includes Music Director Andrez Alcazar; AudioVisual Technicians Garrett Wright and Andrea Gudeyon; Communications Specialist and Pastoral Assistant Ida Saucedo; and Church Administrator Pat Ezerkski. Pastoral care requests, including hospital visits, can be made through the church office at 602-264-1221.
Worship Online and Giving
Sunday services are livestreamed, and past services, music playlists, and podcasts are available on YouTube and Facebook. The congregation also produces a podcast and the Beatitudes Radio feed. Online giving, including one-time donations and recurring pledges, is available through a secure giving portal, and contributions support both local ministries and global outreach.
A Place to Belong
Beatitudes describes itself in two phrases that recur across the welcome materials: "All Inclusive Spiritual Connectedness" and "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are invited here." The Sunday rhythm, the arts programming, the monthly FIA meetings, the coffee hour in the chapel, and the partnerships with schools, food pantries, and senior centers all grow out of a single conviction: that spiritual community finds expression in making love real through words and actions. At 555 West Glendale Avenue, the doors open at 10:30 AM on Sundays for anyone who wants to find out what that looks like in practice.