Important This Week

• Tomorrow is the deadline to register for the PSEC Fall Meeting this weekend
• "Resurrecting Hope: Harm Reduction and Healing Centered Engagement to End Overdose" this week online or in Fort Washington
• Register for Women's Clergy Retreat

From the Conference Minister:

Fall Annual Meeting is this Sunday. So far, more than 225 people have registered. Your attendance is hoped for, prayed for, and expected. There is good news to share, decisions to make, and at least one surprise in store! Sign-up by tomorrow if you have not already.

Our Conference Moderator, Mr. Charles Kuthuru, and I invite you to join us in a spirit of prayer and fasting twenty-four hours prior to the 3:00pm start of the meeting so that God will bless our time and we will know, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head…” (Psalm 133:1). I very much look forward to seeing you soon.

Pastor Bill

Rev. Bill Worley

Conference Minister

PSEC 2022 Fall Meeting

Sunday, November 13  ~  3:00-5:00p

Salt & Light Community Church, Philadelphia

The PSEC 2022 Fall Meeting will be a hybrid meeting. This means you may attend in person or attend via a Zoom link. Both options will allow you to vote and participate in the meeting. The meeting will take place at Salt & Light Community Church at 5736 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia.

• Click here to register
• Read the Call to Fall Meeting
• Fall Meeting webpage (includes agenda, standing rules, election report, and more)

Keystone Project update

Every month we will provide you with an update regarding the Keystone Project in which the four Pennsylvania Conferences are working toward resource and ministry sharing. Each Conference has an initial team who will work with the Conference Ministers to explore possibilities, challenges, and opportunities. In time (2023) there will be further conversations and focus groups across the conferences, so you will have an opportunity to be part of this process. Our first large group meeting was Friday, Oct. 14 in Harrisburg. The group did community building, learned of some of the statistical results of the early 2022 clergy survey, formed a group covenant, and designed expectations and possible next steps. The next meeting is Friday, Nov. 11. PSEC members of the group are Mr. Charles Kuthuru (Moderator), Rev. Melissa Burkhart (Vice-Moderator), Mrs. Robin Hightower (Consistory Secretary), Rev. Robert Fogal (Consistory Treasurer) and staff members Revs. Bill Worley, Kevin McLemore and Cean James. Any questions regarding the project can be sent directly to Bill at worley@psec.org.

From the Addiction & Recovery Taskforce: Harm Reduction and Healing event This Week Online or in Fort Washington

Do you have 3 hours to save lives???

Harm reduction is a Justice Issue.

You can register here for the Harm Reduction workshop on November 10 from 3:30 to 6:30.

Registration now open for

2023 Women's Clergy Retreat

Join us for the 2023 Women’s Clergy Retreat Jan. 24-26! This retreat will be centered around YOUR NEEDS; so you will be able to choose what activities are beneficial for your well-being and the refreshing of your spirit. There will be opportunities for worship, discussion, engaging in spiritual practices, and more – all centered on the theme "Unprogram Yourself" and unplugging from the demands of our day-to-day life. Massages will be available for an additional fee.

The retreat will take place at Mariawald Retreat Center, 1094 Welsh Road in Reading. Modest linens/towels and simple meals are provided – you are welcome to bring snacks and drinks to share! Rooms are double occupancy and cost $130 – space is limited! First floor rooms available on request, and be sure to include the name of a roommate if you have a preference. Full vaccination and a negative home COVID test required up to 48 hours before the retreat.

To register, click here.

Sharing virtual services for Christmas morning

PSEC is offering assistance to churches for worship on Sunday, Dec. 25. Conference Minister Rev. Bill Worley will record a Christmas sermon that can be shared. The text of that sermon will also be available for anyone who wants to read it in church. Additionally, we will provide a list of churches providing live-streamed or pre-recorded services for Christmas that you can share.

If you are willing to add your church's service to that list, please send an email to brea@psec.org no later than Dec. 5 and include:

• the name of the church, including location
• the name of the pastor
• the website where the online service will be available
• if the service is live-streamed, the time the service will begin
• if the service will be pre-recorded, when it will be posted

You will receive an email on Dec. 13 with the list of virtual services and Rev. Worley's sermon.

Transgender Day of Remembrance Service planned

Transgender Day of Remembrance Service planned

The Coatesville VA Medical Center is having their second annual Transgender Day of Remembrance service Friday Nov. 18 from 11am-12pm at the Episcopal Church of the Trinity (downtown Coatesville— address on the flyer), in which they will also be joined by a handful of community partners, including Phoebe Ministries Department of Pastoral Care (who have already graciously assisted in several vital ways). They will also feature a resource fair and light food/refreshments after the service has concluded.

Click here to view an event flyer, and for those who are planning to come in person, please RSVP to Christina Clements at 610-384-7711, ext. 2806.

For those who cannot attend in person, the zoom information is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83049880294?pwd=QnVhQ3EyL0dhT3RDempNMWYyVzV2QT09

Meeting ID: 830 4988 0294

Passcode: 552291

Anyone with additional questions can reach out to Rev. Brynn White, Acting Chief, Chaplain Service at Coatesville VA Medical Center (Brynn.White@va.gov)

Rev. Beth Eustis Installation at St. James UCC, Limerick

Click the invitation below to download a PDF to share.

November ReadyPA Monthly available online now

This month's PA Emergency Management Agency's ReadyPA Monthly includes info on winter weather safety, snow squall preparedness, and more. Click here for the newsletter. Please share this information with your congregations to help keep everyone safe and prepared. 

UCC webinar: Centering Africa at the UN Climate Conference

In November, leaders from the world’s nations will be convening at COP27, the UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt. While this summit has been described as "the African COP," activists from the continent have asserted that they are already being shut out. In this webinar, we will center the climate concerns and issues faced by Africa, the continent that bears the least responsibility for the climate crisis yet is most vulnerable to its destructive impacts. The webinar will be Nov. 9 at 1:00. Register for this webinar to learn more!

Clergy Boundary Training offered online from Eden

Registration is open for Beyond Don’t Sleep with the Sheep: Boundary Training for Clergy on Nov. 11. As clergy folks or people who want to be, it is essential that we are attentive to the power and positional authority — as well historical impact — our roles have. How we show up in our congregations, our community and our commitments is reflective of our calling. Attend this 5-hour Boundary Training Certificate class to think critically about who you are in the work, and who you want to be. Come prepared to learn about power and oppression, clergy ethics and ministerial boundaries: online, in the public square, and in the congregation. Participants will leave with a personal code of ethics based on ministerial codes.

This event is available for church and community organization leaders. Check with your Committee on Ministry to be sure this fulfills the Association requirement.

The Brothers Karamazov at Contemplative Spirituality

Craig H. Bennett will offer a spiritual analysis of the novel The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky at the monthly gathering of Contemplative Spirituality on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 10:00a at St. John’s UCC, 257 W. Walnut St., Kutztown. All are welcome and there is no fee.

Bennett will discuss the many questions the novel raises regarding spirituality, morality and ethics, the conflict between the Roman Catholic and the Russian Orthodox churches, and as well as the complexity of human relationships. Click here for more information.

Lay Leadership Support Group November meeting set

A Lay Leadership Support Group has been formed for Consistory Presidents as well as those serving on Consistory. We will be gathering 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.

Our next meeting will be online November 19. Registration is free. Click here for more information and to register.

Information on Tax Exempt Status for UCC churches

This week, the UCC legal counsel compiled a resource regarding the Tax Exempt Status for local churches in the United Church of Christ. Group Exemption, Proving Your Church’s Tax-Exempt Status, and Your Church’s EIN: What Local Churches Need to Know is a thorough, easy-to-understand resource explaining different facets of exempt status.

Pennsylvania Southeast Conference staff will continue to help churches answer questions regarding this and providing churches with letters when needed.

UCC accepting applications for Generosity Officers

The United Church of Christ, National Setting has an opening for four Generosity Officers to be deployed throughout the U.S. by region. The Generosity Officers will assist the Director of Philanthropy, the Development Strategist, OPTIC team, and volunteers in carrying out the major gift program/planned giving program of the national setting of the UCC. Each will hold primary responsibility for the solicitation of individual gifts of $10k or more for the UCC. These positions will be charged to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward 75-100 prospects and donors, concentrating on one of the identified Regions of the UCC, partnering with other staff and conference offices and local churches as appropriate. This position will require both electronic and direct face-to-face solicitation and stewardship, with an expectation of travel. 

Generosity Officer: PNEC, PSEC, Penn Central, Penn West, Central Atlantic – Apply here

Conference Planning Team Seeking Additional Members

The PSEC Planning Team is the group that facilitates the PSEC Spring Annual and Fall Meetings. The committee is looking for new members who can bring creative ideas and new energy to meet the needs of our conference members. The committee meets via Zoom once a month. If you feel called to serve in this ministry, please reach out to Susan Creswell at the PSEC office at susan@psec.org or 484-949-8774 x 312.