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Important This Week
- Register by Thursday for this weekend's church closure event.
- Update on Rev. Nishan Bakalian's ministry in the Near East.
- Conference Minister reports on UCC "Reimagining Theological Formation Summit" held this month in Ohio.
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Rev. Worley reflects on Theological Formation summit
What forms your theological thinking and being? I suspect scripture, tradition, reason, experience and revelation may be very near or at the top. Spiritual practices that feed us and connect us to the Holy. Time and space devoted to questions and conversations that matter over a meal, your favorite libation or in worship.
I was fortunate enough to entertain this question with more than a hundred UCC people, including our own PSEC friends Rev. Dr. Chuck Maxfield and Rev. Dr. Stephen Ohnsman, at the
Reimagining Theological Formation Summit
in Cleveland. Leaders who guide faith formation in congregations, seminaries, conference and national staff, and diverse others who are passionate about theological formation in the United Church of Christ spent a day and a half of rich and challenging conversation. We worked together to name and strengthen the ways that the UCC roots its actions and habits in the faith we share and the God we praise. The work of this summit will be posted on
ucc.org
within the month.
Strikingly absent from the conversation was clarity about what grounds us theologically. The UCC has grown increasingly diverse with the inclusion of, and partnerships with, clergy and congregations that were not part of the 1957 merger. Our ministries have also been shaped by rapid changes to our culture and communities. That shaping has stretched our theological (and ecclesial) unity, such as it ever existed, so that the theological grounds of one region of the UCC looks very different from another.
Still, there are theological tenets that have to be normative if they are going to be formative. Without those, the notion of being ordained “in and on behalf of the United Church of Christ” will have such relativity as to be almost meaningless. The simplest is this, that Jesus Christ is sole head of the church. We claim that in all our foundational denominational documents. Personally, Jesus is the sole head of me; the source of my hope for a continually transformed life leading to a better life and ultimately to eternal life.
Several folks around our Conference are engaged in this conversation informally. At some point, we need to have this conversation across the Conference to move from assumptions to celebration of the values we espouse from the shared theological ground on which we stand to which we invite those who have no other place to call home.
With prayers for our shared life and ministry,
Bill
Rev. William P. Worley
Conference Minister
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Update from former PSEC pastor serving in the Near East
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Rev. Nishan Bakalian, and his wife Maria, are currently serving the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) as communications, worship, and leadership training coordinator. Nishan was formerly the Pastor of Armenian Martyrs Congregational Church UCC in Philadelphia, PA. He was featured in a recent UCC Global Ministries newsletter which you can
read here
.
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UCC network online talk:
"The church and HIV Testing"
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On May 8, UCAN, the United Church of Christ HIV & AIDS Network, launches the first in a series of online national conversations on HIV with a focus on HIV testing. A popular HIV testing slogan is, “Everyone has a status, do you know yours?” In preparation for National Testing Day, Wednesday, June 27, Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer will moderate this conversation via
Zoom
about the importance of everyone knowing their HIV status and the status of the church in promoting and facilitating HIV testing.
Online registration is required and can be completed by
clicking here
.
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PSEC Secretary Training event scheduled for this month
Churches can treat their secretaries to a special lunch and training event on Administrative Professionals' Day, April 25. Church admins are invited to this year's Secretary Training event, where we will fellowship over lunch, then spend the afternoon sharing ideas on setting boundaries, staying positive when others are negative, dealing with difficult/ demanding members, how to say "my plate is full" when others keep putting things on you, and sharing time-saving tips with one another. The training will be 11:30-3:30 at Church of the Good Shepherd, Boyertown. The cost is $15.
Click here to register
.
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Phoebe Berks holding free clergy breakfast on April 27
Phoebe Berks is hosting a free breakfast and presentation 9:00a on April 27. The topic is: Dementia and Pastoral Care in the Community and Congregation. Learn practical pastoral care interventions and valuable techniques for supporting those with dementia. RSVP by April 20 at 610-927-8515 or
lknox@phoebe.org
.
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Register for Annual Meeting
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Join us for Annual Meeting June 1-3 at West Chester University as we work to deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ and each other and to strengthen our gifts to ministry in service to God’s people. Friday, Conference Minister Bill Worley hosts a conversation, “Reconciling Past and Future”, for laity and clergy to both experience and engage the possibilities beyond attempting to “fix” the church to an orientation of God unfolding new possibilities before us.
Rev. John Dorhauer, General Minister & President, will preach Friday evening. Conference business will be handled Saturday morning followed by an afternoon of workshops, including one with Jeff Chu who will be the speaker for the Saturday evening program. There will be Celebration Worship Sunday morning with guest preacher, Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates, followed by lunch and fellowship to end the meeting.
- Annual Meeting info, including an agenda and workshop descriptions are at psec.org/annualmtg18
- To register now and get early registration rates, click here.
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Classified Ads
Submit your Classified Ads
here
View a complete list of Classified Ads
here
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Upcoming Church Events
April 28:
Hoe Down at Huff's Union Church
Submit your Local Church Events
here
View a complete list of Church Events
here
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Educational Opportunities
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Missed a week? Read past eNews here:
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