Important This Week

• New church added to Ministry Opportunities
• Rev. Nathaniel Mahlberg installation scheduled at UCC Valley Forge
• Convocation for retired clergy and spouses scheduled in May

From the Conference Minister:

I get regular emails from a host of church support websites too numerous to name. All of them are filled with prescriptions for church vitality, increasing generosity, and thriving in ministry in the postmodern world. I wonder how all of that information might lead to church transformation on a grand scale and why it doesn’t seem to. Leadership, I believe, has much to do with that. So, though our Conference and the UCC we offer all manner of skills development opportunities with the understandable belief that if we can improve skills, we can improve leadership and thus strengthen the church.

But Prince Rivers, the editor of Alban at Duke Divinity School’s online resource helped me remember that, Christian leaders know there is more to leadership than expertise. It’s not that we can lead faithfully without well-honed skills; it’s that the skills alone are not sufficient.  Leaders who follow the crucified Christ are called to know how to love and what to love, which is not an abstract proposition. In our congregations, with all the messiness involved in doing God’s will together, we might be tempted to love God and tolerate people. We can fall in love with preaching and struggle to empathize with those who listen to our sermons. The call to love is more than the expectation that we will always have warm feelings about ministry and the people we serve. The call to love is an invitation to vulnerability and joy, sacrifice and blessings (www.alban.org).  

Loving others in the messiness of all our ministry settings, congregations among them, is not possible without being secure in the heartfelt knowledge that we are loved and blessed by God. I hope your heartfelt knowledge of that increases as you hear again Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from this Sunday’s gospel text. Blessed are you. And loved.

Thanks be to God,

Pastor Bill

Rev. William P. Worley, Conference Minister

Thank you!

Thank you for the difference you have made in the lives of people, communities, and pastoral leadership over the last year through your OCWM (Our Churches Wider Missions) financial support. Whether you offered what you collected or included OCWM and other givings in your annual budget, you and your church extended the reach of the United Church of Christ.

As we close the books on 2022, PSEC congregations and individuals contributed $738,627 OCWM dollars toward the work of our Conference. With those funds, the PSEC connects our church’s various and diverse ministries both locally and globally. Together, we provide our local churches, pastors, and congregations with the training and inspiration they need to carry out our church’s wider mission. We are stronger together; therefore, we embrace diversity, and above all, we spread God’s love!

Although $33,000 short of our OCWM goal of $771,700 the Conference was able to hold the line on expenses and ended the year with a positive cash flow! Your generosity in giving, besides supporting the work of the Conference, has also impacted many lives all over God’s creation. We were blessed to be able to pass through $77,170 of your OCWM dollars to the National UCC office for their work.

Through OCWM and the other special offerings of the UCC, disaster relief collections, and pass throughs, $258,819 was sent through the Conference office in 2022 to support causes including disaster relief, Lancaster Seminary, Bethany Children’s Home, E&R Historical Society, Phoebe Homes, etc.

God bless you and thank you! Here’s to a meaningful and prosperous 2023!  

Celebration of life service set for Rev. Dr. F. Russell Mitman

The Rev. Dr. F. Russell Mitman, former Conference Minister for the churches of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference died on Saturday, Jan. 7. To read his full obituary announcement, click here. A service of celebration of the Resurrection will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11:00a at Church of the Good Shepherd in Boyertown. Those who are not available to attend are invited to register to receive a link to view the service online.

AmazonSmile program ending

Last week, Amazon announced the end of its popular AmazonSmile fundraising program. Click here to read that statement from Amazon. Thank you to everyone who’s contributed to the PSEC AmazonSmile, we’ve made hundreds of dollars off of this fundraising effort and are grateful for your support.

Attention retirees and

soon-to-be retirees!

The Penn Central Conference, in conjunction with the UCC Pension Boards, is planning a Convocation for Retired Clergy and Spouses and for those planning retirement on May 9, 10 and 11 at the Doubletree Inn in Willow Valley, PA, just south of Lancaster. Cost for the three-day event, double-occupancy, will be $119 per night per room and meal costs are $125 per person for the weekend. If you are interested please contact Rev Rick Luciotti at rluciotti@gmail.com or 717-679-0001.

Antoinette Brown award nominations deadline extended

What outstanding clergywomen can you nominate? Celebrating the life and ministry of Antoinette Brown and all women in ordained ministry, nominations for the Antoinette Brown Award are open until Feb. 14.

Nominees for Trailblazers will be ordained clergywomen in the UCC who honor Antoinette Brown’s vision of women’s calling to leadership in church and society. We seek to honor exceptional current work as well as lifetime achievement, with an emphasis on forging a path for women in ministry. Nominees for Catalysts will be projects, collectives, congregations, or organizations that provide a provocative space that advances and empowers women in ministry. A persuasive nomination will offer a detailed account of the nominee’s leadership; use additional pages as needed. A minimum of three letters of support, as well as any supporting documentation, may be attached to the nomination form, which can be found here or as email attachments to accompany the nomination. Visit the ABS webpage for more information and to support the work of the Antoinette Brown Society. Awardees will receive recognition at General Synod and provide leadership at a Clergywomen’s Gathering in Spring of 2024.

From the Addiction & Recovery Taskforce: Words to ponder

“People who fail to do it right, even by their own definition of right, are those who break through to enlightenment and compassion.”

Richard Rohr, Breathing Under Water, pp.2-3.

Rev. Nathaniel Mahlberg installation at Valley Forge

Click the invitation below to download a PDF to share.

UCC response to flooding, tornadoes, severe storms

The deadly tornado outbreak across the southern United States last week resulted in at least 35 destructive tornadoes and 9 deaths across Alabama and Georgia. Among the devastated communities was Selma, Alabama, which took a direct hit from one of the tornadoes. The scale of the tornado's destruction in the city was immense. Click here to read more about the disaster, how the UCC is responding, and how you can help.

Wednesday's cyclone was the latest in a series of high-intensity storms to hammer California since New Year's Eve, leading to thousands of homes without power, thousands of families evacuated due to flooding and at least 14 deaths. For more information about the disaster, reports from the UCC churches that have been affected by this disaster, how the UCC is responding and how you can help, click here.

UCC stewardship webinar

On Jan. 25, the UCC will host "3 Best Practices: Set a New Year's Resolution for Increasing Giving". Click here to register. Lee Gagen will discuss the three practices most likely to increase giving in a local congregation: teaching about generosity, pastoral leadership, and online giving options. The webinar will examine why these practices matter and discuss how to implement them in a congregation.

PBUCC: Sign up for a Pre-Retirement Planning Seminar

If you are an actively-contributing Pension Boards member, 45 years of age or older, we invite you to join a Financial Wellness Seminar themed “Planning for the Transition to Retirement" Jan. 25 from 12:00-4:00p.

Whether you are planning to retire soon or are in the middle of your career, this seminar is designed to help you transition to retirement. Register here by Jan. 24.

In this session, we will discuss: 

• The retirement planning process and assessing if you are on track 
• Social Security planning including common questions 
• Decisions you'll need to make when starting your retirement benefits 
• Medicare and insurance considerations 
• Investing planning as you approach retirement
• Common estate planning documents 
• Planning for a fulfilling life after retirement 

Church Admins CoP

All Admins Welcome

Join with other "Assistants and Secretaries of the PSEC Conference for our "Community of Practice". On Feb. 15 at noon, the Church Admins will fellowship over lunch (via Zoom this time) and take time to share resources and connect with one another. All admins welcome. If you haven't joined us in the past, you are more than welcome to join us on Feb. 15. Register free, by clicking here.

One Great Hour of Sharing: Order materials, prepare now

March 19, the fourth Sunday of Lent, is the recommended date for the "One Great Hour of Sharing" offering. Unlike previous years, OGHS promotional materials will NOT be automatically mailed to your churches this year so that you may order only the quantities you need from UCC Resources. For your newsletters and worship planning purposes, graphics, videos and other resources are available for download on the OGHS website. Additional resources will be added soon.

Support/join Friedens UCC, Oley's mission trip to Peru

Friedens United Church of Christ, Oley is sponsoring a two-week Mission Rebuild Trip to Peru Aug. 5- 19 to help the Fuller Center for Housing build houses. Interested people, contact Sue Henne: s.henne73@icloud.com, 601-451-3209.

To support the Mission Trip Friedens UCC, Oley, is undertaking a shoe collection fundraising event. They are collecting shoes from now until April 30. They will accept any kind of shoe that can be worn on a person’s foot so long as it’s a pair and they are new or gently used. The goal is to collect 5000 pounds of shoes. For every pound they collect, they receive $.50 per pound. The shoes are refurbished and are sent to Third World countries. A poster is here. Shoes can be dropped off at Friedens UCC, 337 Main St., Oley PA 19547 at any time, including their Saturday drive-through drop off collections on Feb. 11, March 11, and April 15 between 9:00a and 11:00a in the church parking lot.

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).

"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. 18 (Please note, the date has been changed.) 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.

PA Academy of Ministry (PAM) New Class Dates

Jews and the American Civil Rights Movement, Feb. 8 and 15, March 1, 8, 15, and 22. Wednesdays, 7–8:30pm via Zoom. Instructor, Jack Paskoff. The American Jewish community played a meaningful role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. This class opens a window into this complex and multi-faceted era in Black-Jewish relations. 2.5 CEUs. $325.

Church History 1, Beginnings to Reformation Rumblings, four Tuesdays and two Thursdays, Feb. 23 and 28, March 7, 14, 23, 28. 7–8:30pm via Zoom. Instructor, the Rev. Matt Deal. Exploring how the church sorted out key paradoxes from the first century up to the Reformation. 2.5 CEUs. $325.

Click here for information and registration.

Pension Boards accepting applications for NGLI

The Next Generation Leadership Initiative is a transformative leadership initiative for younger clergy, energizing and empowering UCC church pastors to create vibrant congregations that change lives. The Pension Boards is currently accepting applications for our 14th cohort. Notice of intent to apply is February 1.

The ideal candidate is:

• 35 years of age or under by June 2023*
• Served a total of five years or less as an authorized minister in a parish*
• Authorized for ministry in and on behalf of the UCC
• Hold a called position of 20 hours per week or more in a parish setting
• Committed to long-term ministry in local churches of the United Church of Christ

(*note, if a candidate meets the last three criteria, they are allowed to be a bit over in one of the first two. We will consider people up to age 40 OR people with up to 10 years of parish ministry experience.)

Those selected to participate in NGLI receive…

• Six years of advanced training, education, and field trips to hone pastoral leadership skills,
• Cohort of colleagues that encourages, challenges, and reflects together on the life of a pastor in these changing times,
• Financial incentive—a $6,000 seed contribution to the participant’s Annuity Plan account, which should have a value of approximately $45,000 at the end of a 35-year career.

Information about the program and application process can be found here.