Finals Week or My Final Week? Stay Tuned…
Tucson YSA 1st Ward
“Finals Week or My Final Week? Stay Tuned” – Weekly Tucson YSA 1st ward 8 Dec – 14 Dec 2025 Email
“Are you saying I’m a liar?!?”
“I’m saying you’re an optimist, those are basically the same thing” (Avatar the last Airbender)
Hey y'all! Hope you are ready for another week! This is the dreaded Finals week. This is the week where many will pass and many others will pass out. Good luck to all of you! Anyways, the Institute is hoping to alleviate some of the stress this week from your lives so here are the following events that are scheduled:
· Tithing Declaration
Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday
Please schedule with Dan at +1 (520) 977-0442
DO IT QUICK!
Home Evening every Monday at 7:00pm
This week: Christmas service project - wrapping Christmas presents for Lutheran Family Services & making Christmas cards w/ hot chocolate
Where: Institute
Game Night every Wednesday at 7:00pm
Evening institute class ("Brother Bauer Power Hour") starts at 6:00pm in the chapel
Food at 7:00pm (in the gym), games afterwards combined with both wards
This week: Snowball Dodgeball(not sure how they’re gonna pull this one off), Candy Cane Grab & other Christmas games. Christmas craft table & Christmas movie
Board games and friends are always an option whether an activity is planned or not
Institute - 1333 E 2nd St
Friday 12/12 at 7PM
Ward Christmas Party!!!
Jacob Schagel’s home 4811 N La Lomita Tucson AZ 85718
White Elephant Gift Exchange
$15-$20 limit!
Dessert Potluck
Bring a treat or sweet to share
· Relief Society Baptism Trip (December 11 at 7:30 PM)
Other Clubs and Activities:
Tuesday
Dungeons & Dragons,- 7PM
Open Volleyball - 7PM
Thursday
Adaptive Institute class 6-6:50 Rm 102 – Gentle and slower paced
Pickleball - 7 PM
Art Workshop (Christmas Themed)– 7 PM
Friday
Basketball – 7PM
Wildcat Gospel Band – 7 PM
Saturday
Nerf Club – 4:30
Magic the Gathering Club – 7 PM
Social Dance – 7- 9:30 (LAST SOCIAL DANCE) [West coast swing]
Cookies and Hot Cider will be provided
Church meetings every Sunday at 1:00pm
Sacrament Meeting
Food afterwards
If you can't find parking at the institute, nearby uncovered lots on campus are free on Sundays
They're also usually free to park most evenings, but double-check the signs to be sure
Institute - 1333 E 2nd St
Ward Choir every Sunday at 3:30pm
All abilities are welcome!
Contact Macy Halverson with any questions: 801-671-1591
Institute (back classroom) - 1333 E 2nd St
Queer Christian Initiative 5PM
Institute classes run daytime Mon-Thurs
Evening classes Wednesday and Thursday at 6:00pm
Institute - 1333 E 2nd St
Light The World Giving Machine Entertainment
Volunteers Needed
Please sign up to help promote the Light the World Giving machine this Christmas season at the La Encantada mall. Our stake has been assigned two days, (Sunday Nov. 30th and Thursday Dec. 4th) to provide entertainment next to the machine. Any entertainment such as piano, singing, instrumental music, ward young women, primary children singing, or even dramatic short acts or readings are needed to perform next to the machines to encourage people to light the world.
You can sign up on the following sign up genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0844A5AC2AA75-59609857-entertainment#/
· The beautiful grounds of the Mesa Arizona Temple will light up with Christmas spirit this year from Friday, Nov. 28, through Tuesday, Dec. 30. The lights will be on each evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event is free and Christ-centered.
· In addition, there are 10 favorite biblical vignettes placed among the olive trees that help tell the Christmas story, including figures of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem, a near life-size Italian Fontanini nativity scene with a star above shining with tens of thousands of twinkling lights, three lighted wisemen with camels, and more!
· During the Christmas season, the Mesa Temple Visitors’ Center hosts the annual International Nativity Exhibit. This event is also free to attend. Visitors can view hundreds of unique nativity scenes from around the world and enjoy the Christmas story through inspiring works of art — many which are handmade — depicting the Savior’s birth. The nativity display runs the same dates as the Christmas lights event and is open 5-10 p.m. each evening with daytime viewing 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Tuesdays/Thursdays at the Visitors' Center, 455 E. Main St., which is located just west of the temple grounds on the corner of LeSueur and Main Street. Free parking is available nearby.
· See the Christmas lights and feel the spirit of Christmas throughout the holiday season on the beautifully landscaped grounds of the historic Mesa Arizona Temple in downtown Mesa!
· More information, including FAQ, can be found at MesaTemple.org.
Lots of other Gathering Place activities at the institute every evening of the week
Calendar of events/activities for both wards: https://www.tucsonysa.org/
Special thanks to Orlando Rodriguez for keeping this up to date!
Give something new a try, even if you're skeptical - you might find something you like! I discovered a love for dancing at social dance nights every Saturday night and recommend that to everyone. We need lots more men to show up - no one expects you to be an exceptional dancer, just being willing to try is enough.
Upcoming Events:
· 01/23-01/25 YSA Desert Days 2026 Arizona YSA Conference: ysadesertdays.com for more info & to register
Quote of the Week:
“In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of Inner Strength” (Avatar the last Airbender)
“You sound like my nephew, always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone’s support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you, help you.” (Avatar the last Airbender)
(I’ve been watching a lot of Avatar)
Verse of the Week:
12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:
13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.
14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.
(3 Nephi 1:12-14)
God be with you all