Weekly Update - August 29, 2018
This communication is paid for by Our Church's Wider Mission
In This Issue...

UEK Partnership - NEW!

Resources 

Calendar  - NEW!

Events and Training - NEW!

Clergy News - NEW!

Generosity - NEW!

Church Outreach- NEW!

Previous eNews
OtherResolutionUEK Partnership
"The Arc of the Moral Universe Bends Towards Justice" - NEW
"The Arc of the Moral Universe Bends Toward Justice-
   Reclaiming the Hope of Martin Luther King, Jr. Today"
 
This was the theme of the 2018 PCC-UEK Pastoral Colloquy, held August 12 to 17 in Berlin, Germany. The colloquy was hosted by our partners in the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO for short). We gather for study, learning, exchange of ideas, and fellowship every two years, alternating between central Pennsylvania and the Berlin-Brandenburg area. This year, marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the theme focused on his life and legacy, with a major concern for interpreting his teaching for the persistent problem of racism in both of our countries today.

The primary presenter for our colloquy this year was Prof. Dr. Michael Haspel of the University of Erfurt, Germany. He has studied the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. extensively and has lectured both in the U.S. and in Germany. His first lecture focused on "Christian Love and Social Justice," and the second session dealt with King's concept of justice and human rights. The information he shared with us was both enlightening and thought-provoking. We went deeper into some of King's ideas in small groups which looked closely at some of his sermons and other speeches. King visited Berlin on September 13, 1964, including an unscheduled visit into East Berlin. On Wednesday, August 15, we took a bus tour of some of the places where he stopped-on both sides of the wall-including the Church of Reconciliation, the Church of St. Sophia, St. Mary's Church, and Checkpoint Charlie. It is safe to say that all of us came away from the colloquy with a heightened sense of white privilege and of the need to continue to work to end racism and to promote social justice and human rights for all God's people.
            
This year's colloquy had an added dimension, as our EKBO partners "extended the table" by inviting all their UCC partner conferences. So joining PCC were Penn Northeast, Penn Southeast, and Wisconsin. This brought a new dimension to our conversations and to our circle of friends. The Penn Central delegation consisted of the Rev. Dr. Chris Anderson and his wife Wendy, the Rev. Dr. Monica Dawkins-Smith and her daughter Monica Robinson, the Rev. Ed Dickel, Pastor Rose Shepley, and the Rev. Dr. Larry Smith. We also "adopted" the Rev. Herb Davis, who was one of the original "freedom riders" during the struggle for civil rights in the 1960's.
            
Looking ahead, the next pastoral colloquy will take place in the summer of 2020 here in Penn Central Conference, at a time and place to be determined. Clergy, both active and retired, are encouraged to consider being part of our next colloquy. More information will be made available as the time approaches. If you want to hear more about this year's event, feel free to contact any of the participants, who will be more than happy to share their enthusiasm.
            
One final note: The UCC's current emphasis is on "The 3 Great Loves," one of which is Love of Neighbor. Our partnership with the UEK (Union of Evangelical Churches) in Germany, just one of PCC's three partnerships, and our biennial pastoral colloquies are very concrete expressions of the fact that our love of neighbor extends far and wide to brothers and sisters not only in Germany, but around the world. Our conference is truly blessed to have these kinds of opportunities to make the love of neighbor a concrete and global experience.
                                                                                                                                                                  Larry Smith, Chair                                                                                                                          
PCC-UEK Partnership Ministry Team

 
ResourcesResource Links
 
CalendarofEventsCalendar of Events
 
        
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!
 
Widening the Welcome (Disability Ministries) - November 1-3, 2018, Niagara Falls, NY

Mid-Winter Clergy Sabbath (formerly Clergy Convocation) - January 22 - 24, 2019

Annual Meeting - June 7-8, 2019, Susquehanna University

General Synod, 2019 - June 21-25, 2019, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 
EventsandTrainingEvents and Training
PCC Events - NEW!
These fall events are offered at Free or nominal charges thanks to your OCWM gifts.
 
Click on the blue links to register today!
 
SEPTEMBER

September 8 - Search and Call Conversations (LTS) - FREE


September 23 - Money Matters: Managing God's Money (St. Paul's Selinsgrove) - FREE

September 27  (NEW DATE!)  - Retired Clergy Boundary Training (St. Paul's, Mechanicsburg) - $10

September 30 - Money Matters: Managing God's Money (Hayshire UCC, York) - FREE

OCTOBER
  
October 6 - Healthy Church Workshop (First UCC, Carlisle) - $5

October 8 and 9 - Clergy Wellness Retreat sponsored by the Pension Board (LTS) - FREE


October 20 - Lay Boundary Training (Middleburg UCC) - $15
  
NOVEMBER

November 12 - Boundary Training - Educating Educator's (Trinity, Dalmatia) - $10
 
November 14 - MEF: X. Peter Wernett, Sr. Vice President, MissionInsite for Lay and Clergy (St. Thomas, Harrisburg) - FREE

 
The Uniqueness of Rural Ministry
The Uniqueness of Rural Ministry

Thursday, September 6, 1:00-4:00pm - See corrected day!

At Orchard Hill, Millerstown
  
$35     .5 CEU's  

Christ UCC, Elizabethtown celebrates 275! 
Family and Community Night
Friday, September 7 at 7:00 PM
 
275th "Inspiring a Legacy of Faith" Festival
Saturday, September 8 from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
 
"Inspiring a Legacy of Faith" Dinner Buffet
Saturday, September 8 at 6:00 PM
 

Kenya Bus Benefit Concert - NEW 
Emmanuel United Church of Christ, York
Kenya Bus Benefit Concert
Sun., Sept. 16 at 3:00 PM
At Heidelberg UCC
47 West Philadelphia Street, York

Concert includes gospel, jazz, contemporary and show tunes.
Performers include Dominique Denman, Kellie Turner and more.
Sponsored by Emmanuel United Church of Christ hosted by Heidelberg UCC

Healthy Church 2  
Join Us for A Healthy Church Workshop  
  (A workshop to review the impact of cultural changes on the church and introduce you to appreciative inquiry. Come learn how you can discover, dream and design a vision for your church)

Saturday, October 6
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
 
First UCC, Carlisle
30 N Pitts Street
Carlisle, PA 17013

The cost is only $5.
Breakfast and lunch are provided.
         
GenGenerosity
 Narrative Budgets - NEW
Too often and to too many, budget meetings feel a lot like Charlie Brown's school teacher talking. "Waah, wah, waah, waaah, wah, wah...."  

A way around this is putting together a narrative budget. Narrative budgets weave together a compelling, inspiring story about your mission and ministry. In essence, a narrative budget transforms spreadsheets and numbers into a moving picture.
A few tips for starting your narrative budget:
  • Review your overall mission (mission statement, strategic plan, vision) and use that as a baseline to build your narrative budget.
  • Group your missions into four headers for your narrative budget (worship, outreach, education, youth, community, missions, education, etc.)
  • Tie salaries, operating costs and program costs and other aspects to the mission.
  • Write one or two descriptive paragraphs for each ministry area.  Let readers see the impact of the ministry.
  • Use visuals! Visuals are key - pie graph, call outs to increases/decreases, pictures, color (or even colored paper) can paint the picture well.
If you need assistance getting a start on your budget for 2019, please don't hesitate to reach out to Stephanie.

ClergyWebsiteClergy News
 August - September - October
  • September 9 -  Pastor Ron Heagy Installation at St. Stephen's UCC, York - 3:00 PM
  • September 9 - Rev. Caroline Saxton Installation at St. John's UCC, Chambersburg - 3:00 PM
  • September 16 - Ecclesiastical Council Panel for Laura Ramsey & Nilda Roman at Christ UCC, Elizabethtown - 3:00 PM
  • October 21 - Rev. Dr. Fred Young Installation at Trinity, Gettysburg - 3:00 PM
ChurchOutreachPrayers1Church Outreach
Outreach to Colleges - NEW 
 
Penn Central Conference has many churches in close proximity to many colleges.  'Tis the Season to be thinking about ministry to college students.



1.  Host a free laundry night.
2.  Serve midnight breakfast during finals.
3.  Offer career coaching.
4.  Use your church bus as transport
5.  Offer free proof reading
6.  Recruit strong back for move-in day.
7.  Offer free church bus tickets to an out of town game.

Christ Church, Annville shares one way they are marketing to college students.  (Thanks, Christ Church!)

Dear friends,
 
Christ Church, Annville is in walking distance of the Lebanon Valley College campus.  With the arrival of a new freshman class, we would like to INVITE any PCC young adults  attending LVC to come visit our church.  

If you would provide us with contact information, we would be sure to invite students to events that might be of great interest to them  (INCLUDING  Sundays that we have potluck meals with really GOOD EATS).  

Just send information to xx (pastor's email) or xx (secretary's email) or call the church at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thanks for helping us minister to our community.
 
Dave Bushnell  

Prayers1Prayers for Our Churches
 
 
Prayers for Penn Central Conference Churches

"Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you."  (2 Thess. 3:1)
 
Beginning in 2018, we have created a prayer list to invite you to pray with us as we pray for all of our congregations. Each week we will list names of various churches in Penn Central Conference hoping you will add them to your prayer list, and hold them in prayer throughout the week.
  • Emmanuel (Freysville) UCC, Red Lion
  • Saint John's UCC, Red Lion
  • Richfield UCC, Richfield
  • Grace Evangelical and Reformed UCC, Richland
HCHartman Center
More Upcoming Events
Upcoming events:
Elementary Retreat (grades 3-6) - September 21 - 23
Women's Retreat - November 16-18 
Middle and High School Retreat (grades 7-12) - November 16 - 18

If you're attending a retreat:

  1. Registration Form and Permission Slip This is the form you send to us one week prior to your participation in a retreat.
Medical Form This is the form you send to us one week prior to your participation in a retreat. We must have this form for all participants.

Hartman Center Fall Fest - October 13 from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
 
And in 2019...
Spring Confirmation Retreat -  March 15-19  --  please contact Patty if your church is interested in participating.
 
May 7-9, 2019 Hartman Center Work Weekend!
---Elementary Retreat - May 4-6, 2018
More details on the  Hartman Center Web site!
  
 
Thank you for your continued support!
 
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Contact information:      Stephanie Rader-Titzel
email: [email protected]   phone: 717-652-1560                fax: 717-652-4769
web: http://www.pccucc.org