Fine…You Can Celebrate Christmas Now
“Fine… You can celebrate Christmas now” – Weekly Tucson YSA 1st ward 30 Nov – 6 Dec 2025 Email
“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.” (Terry Pratchett)
Hey y'all! Hope you are ready for another week! I finally will digress and permit y’all to begin your Christmas celebrations. One request, please keep your Maria Carrie and Jingle Bell Rock to a minimum for the following weeks as I will go insane. Anyways, the following events are scheduled for the ward:
· Tithing Declaration
Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday
Please schedule with Dan at +1 (520) 977-0442
Home Evening every Monday at 7:00pm
This week: Giving Machines activity
Where: La Encantada Mall
Be sure to show up at 7 if you need a ride
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: Christmas Karaoke & Just Dance, Christmas Craft Table
Board games and friends are always an option whether an activity is planned or not
Institute - 1333 E 2nd St
Relief Society Upcoming Activity:
· Relief Society Cookie Exchange (December 2 at 7 pm)
o Bring your favorite cookie to share and then make Christmas cards. You can choose to donate cards to an old folks home or give them to your ministering sisters.
· December 11th at 7:30 PM:
o 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 – 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
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
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:
Linus Van Pelt: Well, I can understand how you feel. You worked hard, studying for the spelling bee, and I suppose you feel you let everyone down, and you made a fool of yourself and everything. But did you notice something, Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown: What's that?
Linus Van Pelt: The world didn't come to an end.
(Charlie Brown)
Verse of the Week:
18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
(1 Nephi 11:18-23)
God be with you all