Important This Week

• Are you due for Boundary or Diversity Training? Register now.
• Church World Service announces two new kits
• Several events coming up this week

Message from Rev. Kevin J. McLemore,

ACM for Search & Call and Acting Conference Minister:

Friends,

I hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend, as we remembered the impact labor and unions have had on America and its workers.

Some good news: our Conference Minister Bill Worley will be returning this week from his much-deserved sabbatical. I know the PSEC staff are looking forward to his presence and leadership, and I’ll be glad to hand over the Conference Minister duties back to him. As I said last week, it has been an honor to serve in this capacity, and I appreciate your patience as I navigated those duties for the first time. Welcome back, Bill!

As we move into fall, I’d like to invite the PSEC clergy to update their boundary and diversity training. Based on Brea’s yearly research, most of us are not current on either boundary or diversity training – and sometimes both. The good news is that the Conference is providing three opportunities in both areas in the coming months. If you don’t know whether you are current, I would invite you to just go ahead and sign up for some of the six trainings offered below.

Have a wonderful week – and may God bless you as you regather after a busy summer and welcome back some of your members and friends into the rhythm of our life together!

In Christ,

Kevin

Rev. Kevin McLemore

Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call

Advanced Boundary and Diversity Training Events

Below are numerous opportunities to bring your standing current. Two of these opportunities – one for advanced boundary and one for diversity – allow you, if the scheduled time does not work for you, to view the video after the event and submit a paper to receive credit.

Advanced Boundary Training:

• Wednesday, Sept. 14, 9:00a: Advanced Boundary Training "Keeping Time for Rest & Renewal" on Zoom. Facilitated by PSEC staff. (allows for self viewing)
• Wednesday, Oct. 19, 9:00a: Advanced Boundary Training "Power and the Office of the Pastor" on Zoom. Facilitated by Rev. Nora Faust.
• Wednesday, Nov. 2, 9:00a: Advanced Boundary Training "Pastoral Self Care" at Church of the Good Shepherd in Boyertown. Facilitated by Rev. Wanda Craner.

Diversity Training:

• Tuesday, Oct. 4 - Thursday, Oct. 6: Men's Clergy Retreat "Racism in Church and Society: Past and Present". Led by Rev. Bill Worley, Rev. Kevin McLemore, and Rev. Dr. Stephen Ohnsman.
• Thursday, Oct. 13, 9:00a: Diversity Training. Facilitated by PSEC staff. (allows for self-viewing)
• Fall 2022: Recovering Racists Book Study. Facilitated by PSEC Racial Justice Initiative. Two sessions: Tuesday afternoon option and Tuesday evening option. Registration coming soon.

Celebrating Open Table UCC this Sunday in Pottstown

 Sunday, Sept. 11^th, 2022 at 3 – 5 p.m.

The Carousel at Pottstown - 30 W King St, Pottstown, PA 19464

Join us in our celebration as we launch Open Table UCC, Pottstown, an Open and Affirming (ONA) and intentionally antiracist, Pottstown-centered, Christian community. We are gathering at The Carousel at Pottstown for a worship of celebration and thanksgiving, information sharing, refreshments and fun for the whole community. Please bring a pre-approved child-friendly food donation to our celebration for Operation 143 Weekend Backpack program for food insecure children, and share the love. (Click here for full flyer and link to pre-approved shopping list). 

Affirmation of Ministry Service

for Peter Detterline

Click the invitation below to download a PDF to share.

SNEUCC Faith Formation Leadership Program

Beginning in the fall, the Southern New England Conference UCC will be coordinating a Community of Practice in Pennsylvania Southeast Conference for youth ministry leaders and clergy through their Faith Formation Leadership program. There are already three PSEC clergy and faith formation/Christian education leaders committed to joining the group, but there are still a few open spots. The cost is $250/year. For more information or to sign up, contact Debbie Gline Allen, the SNEUCC Minister of Faith Formation, at glineallend@sneucc.org.

Contemplative Spirituality resumes tomorrow

The Contemplative Spirituality group will meet on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 10:00a at St. John’s UCC, 257 W. Walnut St., Kutztown.

The topic will be “Conflict: How We Deal With It in Our Personal Lives and in Our Society.”

During the past few years we have witnessed the polarizing of America and the increasing rage of one group against another as adversarial positions become more trenchant. Whether family, politics, race, ethnic, or other, we have divided ourselves into an “us vs. them” camps and find ourselves at each other’s throats. Our discussion will consider the recommendations provided in the best-selling book, High Conflict - Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley. “When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side” – in our politics, at work, or at home – it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over.”

Contemplative Spirituality is a part of the Spiritual Exploration Project. All are invited and it is free. For more information contact Rev. Dr. Harry L. Serio, hlserio@aol.com

UCC Summit: The Church in a Post-Pandemic World

How has COVID affected our congregations and the church in community? What did you learn when your church had to pivot quickly to be present? Join us online for the UCC Summit, The Space Between: The Evolving Church in a Post-Pandemic World” on Sept. 19-21. A virtual event, engaging presentations and an invitation to bring your best thinking for what we’ll need to reimagine vibrant church of today and tomorrow. Register here.

Registration open for Drew Hart event at Ascension UCC

Join Ascension UCC and Dr. Drew G. I. Hart, professor, author, community leader, organizer, activist and man of faith for an engaging discussion on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 2:00-5:. Discussion will be based on Dr. Drew’s book “Trouble I’ve Seen."

This FREE hybrid event is being held in conjunction with One Book One Norristown. Reception following event.

All are welcome! We hope you can join us!

To register, click here.

'God's work. Our hands.' event in Allentown this weekend

On Sunday, Sept. 11 from 12:00-3:00p, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA is hosting a 2022 Skills Day for disaster response. Learn how you can volunteer for missions and ministries through skills workshops and power tool demonstrations. Click here for more information.

New CWS kits: Welcome Backpacks and Period Packs

Church World Service has two new Kits: Welcome Backpacks and Period (Menstrual Hygiene) Packs. And UCC congregations assembling them and all other CWS Kits are $250 Match Grants eligible. The grant is to help them stretch their own contributions of these essential supplies. Learn more.

Active Shooter Webinar offered Wednesday, Sept. 7th

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is presenting an Active Shooter Webinar on Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at 1:00 pm ET with a focus on Houses of Worship and Faith Based Organizations. Preparing employees and volunteers for a potential active shooter incident is an integral component of an organization’s incident response planning. Because active shooter incidents are unpredictable and evolve quickly, preparing for and knowing what to do in an active shooter situation can be the difference between life and death. Every second counts. Objectives:

• Discuss the elements of active shooter incident response planning with guidance from expert instructors.
• Describe common behaviors, conditions, and situations associated with active shooter events.
• Discuss how to recognize potential workplace violence indicators.
• Provide information about best practices, communications protocols, and resources that will assist stakeholders to develop or enhance their emergency planning, preparedness, and response to active shooter incidents.
• THIS IS NOT TACTICAL TRAINING

To register, click here.

'Birth of the Environmental Justice Movement' webinar

One of the most significant events in the history of the UCC was a six week nonviolent action campaign that gave birth to the environmental justice movement with its pioneering focus on environmental racism. This webinar will feature three leaders from the protest against the dumping of toxic waste in Warren County, North Carolina: Dollie Burwell, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr., and Rev. William Kearney. Even if you can’t make the scheduled time on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 1:00p, still sign-up, and we will send you a recording. Register now!

From the Addiction & Recovery Taskforce: A new tool

From the Health and Human Services Health News August 2022: 

As a faith or community leader you know that the road to recovery from addiction is lived out in community where challenges to maintaining sobriety are most often encountered. Around the country, faith and community members are saving people from dying of overdoses, connecting them to treatment and recovery support programs, bringing restoration to the lives of individuals and families who have suffered the consequences of addiction, and are strengthening the resilience of younger generations.

To further encourage these efforts, the HHS Partnership Center has released its newly revised Practical Toolkit for Preventing Drug Overdose and Supporting Recovery in Faith and Community Settings.

Christianity in America:

Sacred or Supremacist?

The PA Council of Churches is beginning a dialogue on Christian Nationalism, a topic of rising interest in a critical election year where individual candidates describe themselves as part of this movement. The Council of Churches will present a forum titled “Christianity in America: Sacred or Supremacist?” on Oct. 6 at Colonial Park UCC, 5000 Devonshire Road, Harrisburg.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Robert P. Jones, the President and founder of Public Religion Research Institute and the author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity and The End of White Christian America.

Dr. Jones’ presentation will be followed by a panel discussion which, in addition to him, includes: Marilyn Mayo, Senior Research Fellow, Center on Extremism, Anti-Defamation League, addressing anti-Semitism in the movement; Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards, Founder and Senior Pastor, Resurrected Life Community Church UCC, Allentown, addressing racism and white supremacy; and Rev. Jennifer Butler, Founder in Residence, Faith in Public Life, addressing a scriptural response to the movement. Dr. Greg Carey of Lancaster Theological Seminary will moderate.

We also plan to livestream the program via YouTube Live inclusive of remote sites for groups to participate throughout the state.

Click here for more information and to register.

UCC event: Join the Movement Toward Racial Justice

Join us at 7:00p on Sept. 15 as we kick off the historic Join the Movement Capital Campaign with co-chairs Otis Moss III, Naomi Washington-Leapheart, and Starsky Wilson sharing their visions of a church and a world moving toward fuller embodiments of racial justice. On the 59th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that galvanized movements to end segregation and establish civil rights, we come together to remember and discover how our sharing of resources can fuel and grow our racial justice work today and for generations to come. Register here.

Rev. Karl Jones Highlighted

in UCC News

Rev. Karl Jones, PSEC Disaster Ministries Coordinator was highlighted in this week's UCC News.  To read Karl's response to: How does your faith inform your commitment to disaster response and recovery, click here.

Local Clergy Attending IAWM

Two PSEC ministers, Marian Shearer and Margaret Ernst, will be attending the international assemblies of the International Association of Women Ministers, and the World Council of Churches, in Germany this month.

The IAWM meets August 26-28 in Karlsbad, and the World Council meets nearby in Karlsruhe, with workshops and pre-assembly activities starting August 29. The main assembly is Aug. 31 to Sept. 8. The theme is “Christ’s Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity."

They’ll be visiting WCC events and staffing an exhibit booth for the International Association of Women Ministers.

You can follow the World Council events at https://www.oikoumene.org/events/the-11th-assembly-of-the-world-council-of-churches. 

From Knowing to Transforming Your Community

First UCC in Quakertown is offering Free Training for Faith Leaders on Thursday, Sept. 22. This training has been approved by the PSEC Church & Ministry Council for 7.5 hours of Continuing Education. For more information click here. For a flyer click here, and click here to register.

Neighbors in Need 2022

"Behold"

The Neighbors in Need "BEHOLD!" offering focuses on economic justice. With inflation impacting all of our households, we wanted to provide a way to discuss this topic through a faith lens.

Join us by promoting this year's campaign at your church. Explore the promotional toolkit, which contains a four-week bible study, coloring book, three posters, social media banners, and a leader's guide. These materials will assist you in planning and carrying out the 2022 NIN

campaign.

Items available by clicking here.

Tutorial Offered

on Curriculum Recommendation

A one hour curriculum tutorial training on "Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints", with Lucinda Megill Legendre, is offered on behalf of the Racial Justice Initiative of the PSEC on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

This 12-lesson digital companion curriculum are designed for middle-grade children with activity options for younger and older participants. The lessons are designed to introduce children to the concepts of holy troublemaking as modeled by the people profiled in the book, Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints, from diverse faiths, who worked for love, compassion, and justice, even when that rocked the religious boat. These lessons ask questions such as: What is holy and good trouble? What is not? What lessons can we learn from those who have gone before on this path? How do we keep our joy and inner peace while working for a world where all can flourish? What might my contribution be?  For more information and a link to register, click here.

New Book by Harry Serio published

A new book by Dr. Harry L. Serio has been published by Wipf and Stock Publishers and is now available.

The Other Side of Memory is the attribution of meaning and significance to the events of our lives. There is purpose in our being, and it may take a lifetime to realize it and understand it. In this book, the author attempts to make sense of his varied experiences by exploring a few dimensions of his life. His family heritage, work as a pastor and teacher, interest in archeology, theater, mystical experiences, and more all contributed to who he has become and have added texture and meaning to his life. Read more on the PSEC News page here.

Preaching Classes Offered

All Welcome!

Rev. Dr. Steve Ohnsman, Pastor of Calvary UCC in Reading is offering preaching classes. It doesn’t matter if you are lay or clergy, all are welcome. 

The first class will meet Oct. 2 from 12-2pm. We will cover the basics of exegesis, different ways to prepare sermons, and better public speaking skills. We will choose 5 more two hour classes that will end in May. The class is free and will be held at Calvary UCC, 640 Centre Ave., Reading. For information contact Steve Ohnsman at ohnsman@comcast.net.