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Southwest Conference
Staff: |
Please do not hesitate to contact
us if we can be of service to you.
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Conference Minister:
Rev. Dr.
John C. Dorhauer
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John
serves on staff as Conference Minister. Coming to the Southwest from
the Midwest, he has fallen in love with the mountains and the desert.
He served on staff of the Missouri Mid-South Conference for five years
after having served two churches in Missouri, each for almost 8 years.
He celebrated his 20th anniversary of ordination in June 2008, the
same month he celebrated his 24th wedding anniversary.
His wife Mimi and he have three children: John (23),
Adam (22), and Molly (19). John loves baseball (a die-hard Cardinal
fan), long bike rides, golf, hiking, kayaking, poetry, and good art
and literature. He has his M. Div. from Eden Theological Seminary
(class of '88), and a D. Min. from United Theological Seminary, having
studied White Privilege and its effects on the church. He considers it
an honor and a blessing to serve on staff of the Southwest Conference.
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Assistant to the Conference Minister:
Barbara
Decker |
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In January
2008, Barbara was named to the position of Assistant to the Conference
minister. Besides support to the Conference Minister, her position
includes support work for Search and Call, Committee on Church and
Ministry and the Personnel Committee. Since joining the Southwest
Conference staff in 2001, Barbara has had responsibilities in almost
every area of conference support work: receptionist, financial
matters, support to committees and the youth program, planning the
Annual Meeting--to name a few.
Barbara is a
graduate of Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. Her career
has been ecumenical. She has served Disciples of Christ, the Lutherans
(ELCA), and an order of Catholic nuns. She is married to the Rev.
David Decker, a Disciples of Christ pastor who serves the East Mesa
Christian Church in Mesa. They have two grown children and one
granddaughter. The Deckers are natives of the Pacific Northwest and
served a Disciples congregation in Spokane, Washington, for 15 years
before moving to Arizona. They have enjoyed exploring the Southwest,
learning the history and appreciating the natural beauty of this area.
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Office Manager:
Holly
Herman |
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Holly Herman
has been with the Southwest Conference for two and a half years and is
currently the Office Manager for the Conference office. Her duties
include financial matters, office support for the Board of Directors
and several Committees, planning for Annual Meeting, office supplies
and equipment, and other event planning and support.
She is retired
from Citibank where she was a Vice President in charge of Commercial
Foreclosed properties and Commercial Workout Loan Operations. Her
previous association with the conference included membership on the
Board of Directors and Stewardship Committee, six years service as
Treasurer, and several years as chair of the Open and Affirming Task
Force. She is also a member of the Church Building and Loan Fund board
at the national UCC office. Holly is married to John Herman, pastor of
Desert Palm UCC, and has two grown children and two grandsons.
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Director of Communications & Resources:
Peggy Ice |
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Our
Director of Communication and Resources, Peggy Ice, came to the
Southwest Conference in 2007 bringing with her over 5 years of
experience in a similar position with the Rocky Mountain Conference.
She is responsible for overseeing the development and production of
all external communication media, as well as informing churches about
resources available and helping to connect churches with these
resources.
Although her education focused on architecture, she discovered her
passion for publishing as a volunteer in her daughters’ school where
she developed a program to publish these young authors’ original work
in hard bound books. Peggy and her husband, Larry Ice, have 2
daughters, Jessica (23) and Lauren (20).
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Camp Coordinator:
Rev.
Dr. Barb
Doerrer-Peacock |
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Rev.
Dr. Barbara Doerrer-Peacock, coordinates the Southwest Conference
camping program for children and youth between 2nd grade and graduated
high school seniors.
Barb
is also a co-pastor with her husband, Rich, at South Mountain
Community Church in Phoenix....which at times feels more like a camp
family group than a church, especially on occasional Sundays Barb not
only preaches but accompanies congregational singing with her guitar.
(All she needs is a campfire and some marshmallows!)
Barb
is a graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Pacific
School of Religion (D.Min.). Her passions in ministry are to create
"sacred space" for a transformative encounter with God. She is a
watercolor artist, a writer (including the camp curriculum each year),
a mother of three adult children, and is attentive to the regular
spiritual direction she receives from her two dogs who never cease to
point out the true priorities of life.
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Interim Youth Director:
Brian Gruhn |
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Brian Gruhn grew up at
Sierra Vista Community UCC in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He received his
bachelor's in Theater Arts in 2004 and has served as Youth Director at
Shadow Rock UCC since 2005.
Brian just began his
first year in Andover Newton's Masters of Divinity program. When not
attending weekend youth events (which is at least 1 out of every 15
weekends...at least) Brian enjoys movies, learning to play the guitar,
and attending plays (Thank you Youth Rocks for the season
tickets!). |
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Read
Covenant Connections
John Dorhauer's daily blog |