Important This Week

• PSEC office on holiday break until Tuesday
• Register for the Addiction and Recovery Taskforce book study starting in January
• Sign up for Basic Boundary Training on Saturday, Jan. 14

From the Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call:

“I have worshipped in many traditional churches where the public prayers were full of requests for healing and justice, but when the pastor asked for thanksgivings, an eerie silence filled the sanctuary. Even though gratitude is the heart of faith, Christians seem to have a hard time getting there. At least in public.” – from Dianne Butler Bass’ book Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks

Bass is right, at least in my experience. It seems so much easier for me and others to name what we now need from God than to name what we’ve already received from God. Perhaps we’re just selfish that way, but, honestly, I think most of us are more grateful than the silence that greets ministers on Sunday morning when we’re asked for “joys and concerns.” In our best moments, often quietly, we offer thanks to God for the good gifts God has given us.

Yet, gratitude needs to be spoken, it needs to be said aloud. Life is hard sometimes, something we do name during “joys and concerns” on Sunday morning, but it is also a joy, and full of such goodness and blessings, and that ought to be named as well. Anne Lamott has written that there are really only two prayers – “help, help, help” and “thank you, thank you, thank you.” She’s right, I think, and so my goal in 2023 is to balance my pleas for help and justice with words of gratitude to God for all the good God has given me, usually through other people. They need to know my gratitude as well, these bearers of blessing that keep showing up in my life.

I invite you to join me this year, to say what we need from God, and to also thank God for what has already been given. And to speak up and speak out on Sunday mornings, and beyond, to say aloud what we know to be true, which is that so much of life is a gift and a wonder from God. Happy New Year! 

Rev. Kevin McLemore

Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call

PSEC office holiday break

The PSEC office will be closed from noon on Dec. 23 thru Jan. 2. We will be back in the office on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Registration open for Saturday Basic Boundary Training

PSEC is hosting three opportunities for Basic Boundary Training in 2023:



• Saturday, Jan. 14 in Quakertown
• Tuesday, May 2 in Norristown
• Thursday, Sept. 14 in Schuylkill Haven

Click here for more information and to register for the January training. Registration will open for the other trainings closer to the events.

Details on 3-hour Advanced Boundary Trainings will be announced at a later date.

From the Addiction & Recovery Taskforce: Introduction

“We cannot stop the drowning waters of our addictive culture from rising, but we must at least see our reality for what it is, seek to properly detach from it, and build “a coral castle and learn to breathe under water.” Richard Rohr in his introduction to his book is speaking to all of us.

Please join us for his life-giving guide to a fuller life by registering for the Addiction and Recovery Taskforce book study starting in January. For more information and to register, click here.

Theology with a Twist: The Changing Christian Landscape

The religious environment of the US is changing rapidly and dramatically. In part, because of accelerating ideological polarization, secularism, and religious indifference. Join Dr. Lee Barrett, professor of Systematic Theology at Lancaster Seminary, on Jan. 3 at 7:00p to explore the ways in which new styles of being the church may be necessary to grapple with our shifting cultural context. For more information, click here.

Miss the deadline for 2023 Community of Practices?

Registration has closed for the 2023 Communities of Practice, but there are a few spots still available. If you are a Zoom or online group, one for Racial Justice Accountability, Church Growth, or interims, please email brea@psec.org.

Climate Justice Team offering Green Grants for 2023

Would your church like some seed money to kick-start a new season of climate-saving activities? The Climate Justice team of PSEC invites applications for grants of up to $250, to be matched by the churches themselves. Please apply by April 1 at psec.org/green.

• Could you use $100 for seeds and soil for your community garden? 
• $100 to buy the books on climate activism and theology you’ve been meaning for your study group to read? 
• $200 toward the $400 needed to replace every light bulb? 
• $250 to add to your $250 for a $500 jump-start on replacing a drafty window? 
• $250 toward the $500 for food, books and activities for your environmental summer outdoor school for the neighborhood? 
• A couple of hundred in sight so you can go to an individual donor and ask them to match it?

Questions: Marian Shearer (uccrev77@gmail.com), Liz Brunton (lizbrunton2462@gmail.com).

Global H.O.P.E. email from UCC available for December

The December Global H.O.P.E. email (Humanitarian. Opportunities. Progress. Empowerment.) email from the UCC's Wider Church Ministries is now available. Read about:

• a reflection on the year from Refugee Ministries
• a video update for Hurricane Ian response in Florida
• mission sites that need volunteers (including in Philadelphia!)
• and more!

Read the Global H.O.P.E. email here and use the button in the upper left corner to subscribe to receive future emails

PSEC 2022 Giving Cut-Off

Books of the PSEC will close Jan. 16. All OCWM contributions for 2022 must be in our office by that date or they will be counted towards 2023 contributions. Please mail your contributions as soon as possible due to possible mail delays.

"When Does Closure Become an Option Workshop"

Since 2014, one PSEC congregation has closed, on average, every six months. This isn’t often talked about — partly because that news is filled with feelings of profound loss and grief. It’s the source of uncomfortable shame — that somehow church members failed to do all they could to maintain their sacred space. It provokes questions about the power and/or presence of God. Taken together, these things make it difficult to say what sometimes needs to be said: “It’s time for our church to close.” 

A workshop will be held Feb. 4 in Limerick to create a safe space where difficult questions can be asked and information shared with congregations facing decline and potential closure. You will receive resources and hear about church closure experiences. Click here for more information and to register.

Transportation to General Synod Summer 2023

Every two years, General Synod brings together thousands of faithful members of the United Church of Christ for formal church witness, inspirational worship, and fellowship with friends (new and old).

In 2023, General Synod 34 will take place in Indianapolis, IN from June 30 – July 4. The PSEC delegation is contemplating taking a bus to and from Indianapolis. Travel dates would be June 29 and July 5

If you are planning to attend General Synod and would be interested in traveling on the PSEC bus, please reach out to Susan Creswell at the PSEC office at susan@psec.org or 484-949-8774 x 312.

Lay Leaders Support Group sets January meeting

A Lay Leadership Support Group exists for Consistory Presidents and those serving on Consistory. We gather once a month on Zoom – so please join us! We have found it to be a great place to form new friendships, to gain support, and to be educated on a variety of topics concerning our churches. The discussions are centered around sharing valuable information about what our churches are doing or maybe could be doing. For more info and free registration for the Jan. 14 meeting, click here.

Register now for the

Women's Clergy Retreat

Attention all Authorized women clergy! Jan. 24-26, the Clergy Women's Retreat is back after COVID-19!  It will be held again at Mariawald Retreat Center in Reading. We have invited our women clergy friends from Penn Northeast to join us this year so we are hoping to fill the center! We would like to get as many people registered as soon as possible so the committee knows how many to plan for. Who doesn't need 42 hours or so of unplugging and resting after Advent and Christmas season? Join us and let us know by registering now! If funding is an issue, please reach out to Rev. Bill Worley. The deadline to register will be Jan. 9.

We are asking everyone to be vaccinated and to get a negative Covid test within 48 hours of the retreat.

Stewardship event: Generosity and Vitality in the NOW Normal

On Saturday, Jan. 21, the Southeastern PA and Northeastern PA Synods of the ELCA will host "Generosity and Vitality in the NOW Normal - a Stewardship Extravaganza." This in-person event will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale. For more information, including workshop descriptions, registration link, and an event flyer, click here.

Addiction team hosting study on Richard Rohr book

Starting Jan. 10, the Addiction and Recovery Taskforce will host a book study on Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr. The book is written within the framework of the 12 steps for those experiencing addiction. The number of sessions will be determined by the group. If you're interested in learning more about spiritual healing, click here to register.

Apply now: Ministers' Financial Vitality Initiative

Since 2017, the Ministers' Financial Vitality Initiative (MFVI) has worked to increase and improve financial wellness for more than 210 UCC authorized ministers who are overburdened with debt.

Each year, 60 authorized ministers commit to a three-year personal finance education that encourages participants to draw upon the expertise of an Ernst and Young financial planner to help meet their financial goals, as well as obtain free access to tools and educational resources.  

The program provides a yearly financial incentive of $3,000 for three years, which participants can use to alleviate their debt, or seed an Annuity Plan account to secure lifetime income. 

Active UCC authorized ministers interested in joining the MFVI program for the 2023 cohort can email MFVI@pbucc.org for instructions. Application deadline is Dec. 31. Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Learn more by reading the Frequently Asked Questions.

PATHWAYS announces winter courses available online

PATHWAYS Theological Education, Inc. has announced their January term online, asynchronous courses.

• United Church of Christ History and Polity, Jan. 11-April 7; this course is designed according to the content recommendations of the UCC History and Polity Network Teachers group (12 weeks, $625)
• Practicing Our Faith in the Public Square, Jan. 11-Feb. 21 (6 weeks, $325)
• Understanding the Bible as a Progressive Christian, Jan. 11-Feb. 21 (6 weeks, $325)
• The Art of Worship, Jan. 11-Feb. 21 (6 weeks, $325)

For more information about PATHWAYS as an organization, our courses, and to register, visit pathwaystheological.org.

Save the date: UCC gathering for rural/small town churches

The Coalition for UCC Rural Ministries presents Nourishing the Seeds of Faith (Isaiah 55:10-11), a virtual national gathering of rural/small town churches and ministries in the UCC on Feb. 9-11. Registration will open in January. This event is hosted by Faith education, Innovation & Formation (Faith INFO), Justice and Local Church Ministry of the UCC. For more information contact Rev. Roberto Ochoa – ochoar@ucc.org.