Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Welcoming Our Parish Associates

In September, Rev. J.C. Austin nominated The Rev. Dr. Stephen Simmons and
Rev. Cynthia L. Simmons, retired pastors within our worshipping community, as Parish Associates. The Personnel committee carried this nomination forward to the Session where it was approved. 
Parish Associates provide significant value to the congregation and to Rev. Austin, and fulfillment to the pastors who fill this important, unpaid position.  Cindy writes: "Since retired Presbyterian clergy cannot belong to congregations (we belong to the Presbytery), becoming a Parish Associate is a way of saying, 'We consider this our home church and want to help out as needed.'
Both Cindy and Steve will continue to do occasional preaching; Steve assists the Discipleship Committee with Adult Ed, and Cindy writes scripture introductions for members of the congregation serving as lectors.

Although not officially in their job descriptions, both sing in the Chancel Choir and Cindy is involved in Zoom Sunday School.

Cindy and Steve are both natives of Illinois, and served congregations in Oregon and Illinois before coming to the Lehigh Valley in 1995. Cindy served 15 years on the staff of First Presbyterian of Allentown and later pastored First Presbyterian of Easton before retiring in 2016.

Steve was on the pastoral staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia before joining Moravian Theological Seminary in 2001 to direct the continuing education program and teach theology, until his retirement in 2017.

They are both also active in the Bethlehem Interfaith Group (BIG) and support a number of local and global community organizations and initiatives.

We are fortunate to have Cindy and Steve as valuable resources for our church community!
TONIGHT AT 5:30 PM

As part of a national memorial honoring those lost to Covid-19,
we will be ringing our church bells.
You can also listen to them on Facebook Live.
We had a great time at our first-ever virtual Trivia Night last Friday, sponsored by the Congregational Life committee, and we are looking ahead to offering another Game Night this Friday, January 22 at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

Everyone is welcome to join us!
We’ll plan to play Scattergories, which is a fun-for-all-ages game in which you choose items to go in specified categories – easy for everyone to do (“name a fruit that starts with the letter ‘L’”). Each player should have paper and something to write with.

Member ID: 861 1654 4393

To join via phone (audio only): Call 929-205-6099; when prompted enter the Meeting ID: 861 1654 4393 followed by the # key. You will be asked for the participant ID – simply press the # key again.

We look forward to seeing you!