Penn Central Conference Weekly eNews

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Weekly Update - December 20

This communication is paid for by Our Church's Wider Mission

In This Issue...

Merry Christmas!

A Message from Our Conference Minister and President

January-February Events - Registration Open for Clergy Convocation!

Generosity - NEW!

Clergy News- NEW!

Church Leadership Resources - NEW!

Community Needs and Justice Issues - NEW!

Events, Training and Resources

Church News - NEW!

3 Great Loves

Hartman Center - NEW!

PCC Bay - NEW!

Faith Connection Stories

Previous eNews

There is still time to make a tax deductible year-end gift to OCWM using this link.

Merry Christmas

Greetings from Our German Colleagues - NEW

Dear friends worldwide,

I hope this finds you well. We send you warm greetings from the Ecumenical Department of Berlin Mission, the Ecumenical Centre of the Evangelical Church of Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper-Lusatia and the Evangelical Church of Anhalt!

We wish you a merry and peaceful Christmas and a happy year 2018! Our Director joins us in doing so!

Thanks ever so much to all of you for your wonderful cooperation and understanding! We are looking forward to further cooperation in the next year!

Yours ever and ever gratefully,

Christof Theilemann, Lisei Galpin, Yujin Jung und Roland Herpich

A Message from Our Conference Minister and President

Love Came Down at Christmas!

Over the past few weeks, my Facebook newsfeed has been filled with photos and videos of Christmas plays, concerts, caroling and live nativities. Children dressed in costumes playing the roles of shepherds, wise men, Mary and Joseph, re-telling the good news of the Christmas story. I loved seeing babies playing the role of baby Jesus and dressed up as sheep covered in cotton balls.

On Christmas Eve, we will hear the story of Joseph and Mary's long journey to Bethlehem (Joseph's hometown), and the less than ideal circumstances they faced. And, it was in the midst of it that God came. Many of us know what it is like to travel to the town of our birth to be with our family for the holidays. Some take the journey filled with joy and others with mixed emotions.

In Oberndorf, Austria on Christmas Eve in 1818, it was in the little church of St Nicholas that the world first heard "Stille Nacht (Silent Night) in German." This song was birthed in less than ideal circumstances. A few days before Christmas, the parish organist informed the pastor that the aging church organ was broken and could not be fixed in time for midnight services. The organist offered to play his guitar that night with the pastor's approval. The pastor agreed and informed the musician that he had written a simple poem that he hoped might be to set to music... and Silent Night was first sung.

This simple, yet beloved, song is still sung on Christmas Eve years later. As each stanza is sung this year, may it remind us that God, the Christ Child, was birthed in a less than ideal circumstances (in a feeding trough). Jesus arrived to us unnoticed, in silence, on that holy night.

God still arrives to us, taking the risk to be born as Love Incarnate, to dwell among us in our less than ideal circumstances.

In her poem The Risk of Birth, Madeleine L'Engle reminds us that, indeed, it was Love that came down at Christmas:

This is no time for a child to be born,
With the earth betrayed by war & hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out & the sun burns late.

That was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome;
Honor & truth were trampled to scorn-
Yet here did the Savior make His home.

When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn-
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth

Christmas Blessings to you and your family!!

Monica

Rev. Dr. Monica Dawkins-Smith

Conference Minister and President

Bulletin Insert

January - February Events

Penn Central Conference Epiphany Worship Service

Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 6:30 PM

Mt. Zion, York - 1054 Ridgewood Road - York , PA 17406

Live streaming will be available. Please start planning your viewing parties now for those who are interested in joining the service, but not able to attend in person

For details

Mid Winter Clergy Convocation

Proclaiming the Good News Today:

"How We Embody Jesus to the World"

Tuesday, January 30, 2018 - Thursday, February 1, 2018

DoubleTree Resort by Hilton

2400 Willow Street Pike

Lancaster, PA 17602

Keynote Speaker - Rev. Dr. Emily C. Heath

Details, agenda and pricing

TO REGISTER

We are hoping to have most of the registrations for our 2018 Clergy Convocation by the end of 2017. If you need to bill your convocation expenses in January, please register by January 3^rd, 2018, which is the final cut off for the Convocation registration.

PCC STRATEGIC (MISSIONAL) PLAN PRESENTATION - NEW

2017-2020 Strategic (Missional) Plan Presentation with Rev, Dr, Monica Dawkins-Smith

YORK ASSOCIATION - Sunday, January 21, 2018, 3:00pm at Faith UCC, York (gathering to ratify Ecclesiastical Council vote + Strategic plan presentation)

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HARRISBURG ASSOCIATION - Sunday, February 18, 2018, 2:00pm at Colonial Park UCC

Generosity

December OCWM - NEW

Thank you for your continued gifts. We invite you to help us finish the year strong and prepare for an exciting 2018 by prayerfully considering an end-of-year financial gift to Penn Central Conference.

December has just begun and our OCWM gifts (through December 18) total $45,681 month to date. For reference, we had $151,583 in OCWM gifts last December (2016).

In order to get credit for a 2017 gift, gifts must be received at The Conference Office by January 12, 2018. (If gifts are donated online, they must be received by December 31, 2017.)

Thank you for submitting your OCWM gifts monthly and adding OCWM as a line item in your annual budget. Please let us know what you have pledged to OCWM in the coming year by completing and submitting this 2018 OCWM pledge form.

Generosity Resources - NEW

"What if you got a letter with this opening: "What a friend you are to us! Once again you have honored us with a gift that is making a difference in the lives of people." Read more in Inspiring Generosity with a Thank You Letter (Lewis Center for Church Leadership)

"When it comes to getting control of your spending, living a content life, and breaking the chains of materialism, there are three reasons why giving will help you in all three of these areas or just one, and here they are..." 3 Reasons Why Giving Will Help You Be Content (Tithe.Ly)

Clergy News

Clergy/Clergy Family Care - NEW

The Clergy/Clergy Family Care program of Penn Central Conference serves the spiritual, emotional and professional needs of clergy and families, both active and retired, within our Conference. It is designed to offer support, friendship, mentoring and hospitality at various stages of a career. The goal

is to coordinate the existing programs of service and to establish ever new opportunities for more effectively supporting clergy and their families.

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Serving as a resource for Clergy, the program is an extension of the ministry of the Conference and Associations. The program facilitator, and in turn the association chaplains, work cooperatively with Conference Staff and the chairpersons of each Association Committee on Ministry. The facilitator and Association Chaplains work cooperatively with, but are not a part of the placement or oversight functions of Conference and Committees on Ministry.

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A primary goal of the program is to establish trusting and confidential relationship and to offer

assistance and or referral for more effective coping with challenges to a clergy's professional and or

family well being.

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Any clergy interested in serving as an Association Chaplain should contact Rev. Rick Luciotti, program

facilitator at 717-679-0001 or at [email protected] for more information.

Update on the Housing Allowance Case from UCC General Counsel - NEW

From Heather Kimmel:

Many of you have been watching with interest the housing allowance case in the Western District of Wisconsin. As you know, the judge determined that the housing allowance provision was unconstitutional and asked for supplementary briefing on the remedy. The order on the remedy has now been entered.

The IRS is enjoined from enforcing the housing allowance, but the injunction is stayed until 180 days after all appeals are exhausted. This means that the IRS cannot allow the housing allowance any more, but that this does not go into effect until 180 days after all appeals are exhausted. Most certainly the decision will be appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals, so the status quo is still in effect now.

There are significant questions about what enjoining the IRS from enforcing the housing allowance looks like in practice-questions that likely will not be settled until the appeals are exhausted.

Relief is prospective only. That means no one who has received a housing allowance in the past will be taxed on that income-only going forward (after the stay is lifted

The bottom line for right now: ministers may continue to claim a housing allowance until 180 days after appeals are exhausted.

Sabbatical Planning

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Sabbatical Planning? Pastor preparing for sabbatical? We have resources for you. Please c ontact Rev. Betsy Bruaw for additional details.

Church Leadership Resources

Leadership Resources - NEW

"It's probably good that most churches aren't all wrapped up in the latest fads....

But there are cultural shifts that congregations and church leaders need to track and respond to sensibly." Here are five of them in Carol Howard Merritt: Five cultural shifts that should affect the way we do church (Faith & Leadership)

"Dinner churches, cowboy churches, farm-to-table gatherings and much, much more. Across the United States, new and alternative ways of congregational life are emerging." Read more in Kara Faris: 'Divergent churches' are exploring innovative ways of congregational life (Faith & Leadership)

Penn Central Conference Church Resource Offerings (a list of some of the resources available from The Conference.)

Prior eNews Leadership Articles (Archive)

Community Needs and Justice Issues

Creation Justice

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A Call for Sermons in Solidarity with Youth Seeking Justice

Twenty-one youth have taken our federal government to court in demanding accountability and action in response to the damage done to our climate and the immense impact this damage has on their generation. One of those youth is Kiran Oommen who is the son of the Rev. Melanie Oommen of First Congregational UCC in Eugene, Oregon. Ultimately, the case brought by the youth is about seeking justice for #EachGeneration. To further the compelling and inspiring efforts of the youth, the UCC Council for Climate Justice has initiated a call for more than a thousand sermons to be preached in solidarity with them. To pledge a commitment to deliver a sermon, visit Each Generation. Youth are especially encouraged to preach.

Additional Information in June 23, 2017 The Pollinator

Disabilities Ministries

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Please join us!

We are hoping to kick off a new Disabilities Ministry for Penn Central Conference. There is a lot that can and needs to be done here!

Please let us know if you are interested and/or if you know folks from your church or Association that might want to be involved by filling out this survey.

Disaster Ministries

Generous contributions of more than $12,000 (and counting) on #GivingTuesday means UCC Disaster Ministries will be able to buy 600 more filters for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. (There's still time to contribute!)

Read the full story

Honoring the Dream: MLK Event - NEW

Please join First, Carlisle on January 14, 2018 for "Honoring the Dream" This event honoring the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held at First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Carlisle).

2:30 PM - Meet outside First Evangelical Lutheran Church (corner of East High/South Bedford Street)
2:45 PM - March from church to Old Courthouse in The Square
3:00 PM - MLK Celebration at Old Courthouse
4:00 PM - Program at First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Keynote Speaker: Rozella White)

Events, Training and Resources Available

UPCOMING CONFERENCE EVENTS

Penn Central Conference Office Closed - December 25 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Penn Central Conference Office Closed - January 1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Board of Director's Meeting - January 6, PCC CC, Board Room, 10 - 2

ONA Ministry Team - January 10, PCC CC - East, 2 - 3:30

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday - PCC Office Closed - January 15

Conference Epiphany Worship Service - January 23, Mt. Zion UCC, York - 6:30 PM

Finance Committee - January 27, PCC CC - East, 9 - 12

Clergy Convocation - January 30 - February 1 - Lancaster

Click to see our Web site for more details.

Association Links

STAY CONNECTED TO PCC ASSOCIATIONS:

Central Association Facebook

Gettysburg Association Facebook

Harrisburg Association Facebook

Harrisburg Association Web Page

Lancaster Association Facebook

Lebanon Association Web Site

Mercersburg Association Web Page

York Association Facebook

York Association Web Page

2018 - SAVE THE DATE!

Hartman Center Golf Outing - May 12, 2018 - Fairview Golf Course in Quentin, PA

2018 Penn Central Annual Meeting - June 8 and 9, 2018

Susquehanna University

National ONA Gathering - June 27-29, 2018

Dallas, TX

Partners in Peace - July 5, 2018

Mid-Atlantic Regional Youth Event - July 19-22, 2018

California University of Pennsylvania

Widening the Welcome (Disability Ministries) - November 1-3, 2018

Niagara Falls, NY

General Synod, 2019 - June 21-25, 2019

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Please check out the SAVE THE DATE Section Under Hartman Center too!

Lancaster Theological Seminary

POSITIONS OPEN!
Lancaster Theological Seminary has opened searches for two full-time jobs: a 3-year faculty position in Pastoral Theology to start July 1, 2018 (application deadline is Jan. 2) and an administrative staff job as Director of Admissions & Financial Aid to begin immediately. The job listings are posted on Lancaster Seminary's Web site.

MECK AND MOSS AWARDS

Wanted: Nominations of worthy graduates of Lancaster Theological Seminary whose ministries are making a difference! Dec. 31 is the deadline to submit nominations for the Meck and Moss Awards recognizing excellence in ministry.

Pathways

Pathways Courses Available:

Dynamics of Difference

Christian Faith Formation

Small Church Administration

For details.

Insurance Board Webinars

The following webinars are scheduled for 2018. These webinars are free and open to all. All webinars are scheduled to begin at 2 PM EST. To register for one of these webinars click on this link, and click on "Insurance Board Webinars":

Wednesday, February 7^th: Preventing and Dealing with Sexual Harassment at Church (Praesidium)

Wednesday, April 11^th: Risk Management for Camps (The Insurance Board)

Wednesday, September 12^th: Trending Risk Management Concerns for Churches (The Insurance Board)

Additional webinars and recorded webinars available under the Online Learning section.

Events, Training and More...

Events and Information

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Church News

Clergy Events - NEW

December 31 : Rev. Bil LaSalle's Retirement Service - Bethany, Ephrata

PCC In the News - NEW

"Lee Barrett, professor of systematic theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary, worries that repeal could be seen as a green light for churches to contribute to campaigns. "I think the most important aspect of the Johnson Amendment is the prohibition against direct contributions to political campaigns," Barrett said."

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3 Great Loves

3 Great Loves

There is now a section on the UCC site for you to share your 3 Great Loves.

Post Love of Neighbor, Love of Children, Love of Creation and please remember the Spotlight Awards!

Spotlight Awards are designed to lift up stories of exceptional individuals who are creating a more just world for all through love of neighbor, love of children and love of creation.

Those receiving a Spotlight Award nomination will receive a letter from UCC General Minister and President, Rev. John C. Dorhauer, a certificate and a special UCC gift. Spotlight Award winners will get a banner for their congregation, a plaque and a visit from Rev. John Dorhauer. Additionally, nominees and winners will be recognized on www.3greatloves.org, on ucc.org, in social media, in KYP and at General Synod 2019.

Please use these links and continue to share your stories with us! (Or if you prefer, send your story to Stephanie and she can share it for you!)

We love seeing Penn Central Conference congregations connected, engaged and transformed through Christ's love!

Hartman Center

Hartman Center News and Resources - NEW

New Roof

Just in time for winter... a beautiful new roof for Michaux Lodge!

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Confirmation Retreat

The PCCUCC Confirmation Retreat is on the weekend of March 16-18 at the Hartman Center.

If your church is thinking about sending your confirmands, you are welcome to attend the next planning meeting on Monday, January 22 at 1 PM at the Conference Office in Harrisburg. The focus of this year's retreat is discipleship. We will be encouraging discipleship through living faith, hospitality, personal mission, prayer and spirituality while lifting up our UCC "Be the Church" values: protecting the environment, caring for the poor, forgiving often, rejecting racism, fighting for the powerless, sharing earthly and spiritual resources, embracing diversity, loving God, and enjoying this life. Reverend Patty Dodds, Conference Coordinator of Camp and retreat ministries is facilitating the planning process. Please contact her for more information or to get your group added to the list of participants.

Love Offering

On Sunday, February 11, 2018 the congregations of Penn Central Conference are invited to take a LOVE OFFERING* to benefit the Conference's ministry at Hartman Center. Love Offering Flyer and offering envelope labels. Also on February 11 will be the BIG SPLASH 2018, when a 'wave' of visitors will go out to our churches to promote the camp. *At the 2015 Conference Annual Meeting a resolution was adopted to have a yearly offering to benefit Hartman Center.

If you would like a visitor to come to your church, please contact us: [email protected] or 717-50CABIN (502-2246).

If you are already a fan of Hartman Center and would be interested in visiting a church contact us as well. We will have a meeting to discuss ideas and hand out materials for the promotion on Saturday February 3, 10 am at the conference office on Harrisburg.

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Conference Elementary Retreat

Mark your calendars for the Conference elementary retreat to be held May 4-6, 2018. More information coming soon!

Hartman Center Wish List

----Elementary Retreat - May 4-6, 2018

More details on the Hartman Center Web site!

Thank you for your continued support!

PCC-Bay

Baptismal Fonts Needed - NEW

UCC Homes is looking for two baptismal fonts as neither chapel has one and they'd like to have it visible and available to use. If anyone has access to one and is willing to share, please contact Mark at [email protected].

Penn Central Conference Books and More

We are having a book sale - a bag of books for $10.

Additionally, Faith, New Cumberland donated some books for both Children's and Adult Ministries. These are available for free.

Please stop by the Conference Office to see these and even more holiday goodies!

Hymnals Needed

St. David's UCC in Hanover is in need of hymnals for a ministry in the Philippines. If you have hymnals that you will no longer be using, please contact Stephanie at 717.652.1560, x11.

Schulmerich Handbells

Three Complete Octaves (37 Bells)

For details

Faith Connection Stories

Passionately Declaring and Demonstrating the Courageous Love of Christ

We love to hear stories of Penn Central Conference congregations working within their communities to passionately declare and demonstrate their courageous love of Christ.