THIS WEEK AT FAITH

November 16, 2025

No matter who you are

or where you are on life’s journey

you are welcome here.

Our Welcoming Statement

FAITH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

5992 Route 378

Center Valley, PA 18034

610.282.3939

Office Hours

Monday (*Remotely) - 9 am - 4 pm

Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday (in office) - 9 am - 4 pm

Friday - Office Closed/Pastor's Sabbath

*Sandy will be working remotely but will check messages

on a regular basis. If you find yourself in immediate need,

call or text her at 610-967-6232.

faithchurchcv@gmail.com

www.faithchurchucc.org

MEMBERS & FRIENDS DIRECTORY

(Updated November 2025)

Join us this

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

November 16, 2025

for

Sunday School at 9:00 am

Worship at 10:15 am

Order of Worship

Click on the circle above to watch the service on YouTube

FAITH UCC CALENDAR

Sunday 11/16 - 9 am SUNDAY SCHOOL; 9:30 & 11:30 am FAITH SINGERS IN THE LOFT; 10:15 am WORSHIP; Congregational Meeting; Holiday Hope Chest Packing Party
Monday 11/17 - Sandy works remotely
Tuesday 11/18 - 2 pm Faith in Stitches; 7 pm Budget & Finance Meeting
Thursday 11/20 - 7 pm Consistory Meeting
Friday 11/21 - Office Closed; Pastor's Day Off
Sunday 11/23 - 9 am SUNDAY SCHOOL; 9:30 & 11:30 am FAITH SINGERS IN THE LOFT; 10:15 am WORSHIP

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING AFTER WORSHIP

THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16th

2026 BUDGET LETTER

BUDGET FOR REVIEW

HOLIDAY HOPE CHESTS

Join us for the Holiday Hope Chest Packing Party on this Sunday, November 16^th. Lunch will be provided and afterwards we will work at packing shoe boxes.

If you would like to pack the shoe boxes on your own please have the filled boxes back to the church by next Sunday, November 23^rd.

The Worship Committee is taking orders for Poinsettias to decorate our sanctuary for Christmas. You can print out the order form, fill it out, and return it with payment to church or by mail before November 30th. Thanks for helping us decorate for the holidays!!

Print Out Form

While enjoying “The Caring Place” Sunday presentation and the displaying of our Stitches donations …. I thought it would be appropriate for me to note that we have just passed our 20 year milestone!!

We have evolved from a “Learning how to do this YARN thing” to creating squares to be made into afghans, to producing hats, scarves, etc. to be donated to Appalachian Elementary schools and to various locally appreciated causes in our area. All this has been accomplished with donated yarn and a lot of time and effort by Stitches. In just one year we met for well over 100 hours!!! (No attendance taken.)

We meet each Tuesday 2-4 in the Memorial Room and welcome anyone interested to learn or just stop by for a visit …. and bring a friend!!? See you?

Thanks,

Stitches (Jane)

Gifts to Neighbors in Need (NIN) support the United Church of Christ’s ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). The other two-thirds of the offering support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, direct service projects, and grants. Neighbors in Need grants are annually awarded to UCC churches and organizations doing justice work in their communities.

We’ll be accepting your donations for this special mission through the month of November.

Special Offering Envelopes are available in the pews.

FROM THE REV. DR. BONNIE BATES

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’…‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25: 34-36, 40, NRSVUE)

Dear Friends,

I reflected yesterday with some friends about how many challenges some of our siblings have. There are so many people who are unhoused, uninsured, and hungry. We keep putting band-aids on the situations that are causing these crises by dealing with the aftermath and not the cause.

I am no expert. I am a Christian woman striving to be faithful amid so much worry and want. What am I to do? Well, I donate to food pantries, bring blankets and other resources to shelters, and donate financially what I can. Yet, this doesn’t solve the problems. There are systemic issues, bigger than I can understand or impact by myself. Yet, I speak out. I act in ways that I think Christ is calling me to act. When so few have so much and so many have so little, it’s an issue too big for one person to manage. What are we going to do?

We are called by Jesus in Matthew 25 to act with care for our siblings, to feed the hungry, bring water to the thirsty, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned as if we were caring for Jesus himself. That is because we are. Jesus, divinity, lives in each of us. We all need nurture and support. We all need care and blessing. We all need love and we all need hope.

Listening to some music I heard a song that called me to act in my faith. Ryan Stevenson recorded a song which includes the lyrics:

“I talk about grace; I talk about love; I talk about faith; But some days I don′t have enough; I talk about forgiveness; Still learning how to give it; Lord, I need Your strength to live what I believe.

[Chorus]

I want my life to preach. Every breath, every beat. I want my life to preach

When I'm strong, when I′m weak; Through valley lows and mountain highs

Every moment testifies; Further than my words could ever reach

Lord, I want my life to preach.”[1]

That’s what I want. That’s what I want all of us, all of us who follow Jesus, to do. I want us to care for the immediate needs, and to speak to the systems that are crippling our siblings. I want our lives to preach the Gospel – the Gospel of care, of hope, of love. May it be so, my friends.

Blessings,

Bonnie

[1] https://genius.com/Ryan-stevenson-and-matt-hammitt-preach-lyrics

Body Parts

by Vicki Kemper

Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. … I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. – 1 Corinthians 12:12 & 14 (MSG)

Your body, your church, your community, has many parts. And I want you to think about how all this makes you less significant, not more.

Yes, the standard interpretation of the body-of-Christ-with-many-parts metaphor is that all people are needed and all gifts are valued. We need every gift and each person to make this church thing work.

This is all true. But it has led some of us to conclude that we're

indispensable. If we’re a foot, for example, a beautiful head of hair will get us nowhere. If we’re a collective, each of us has a critical part to play.

Yes, but perhaps not all the time.

When our eyes can’t see, our ears increase their sensitivity. When an ankle is sprained, we devise workarounds. A toothache rarely incapacitates; the body manages to carry on.

And so it is with the body of Christ. If you, in your role, have a scheduling conflict or need a break, trust that the other parts of the body (read: people) will step up and fill in. Someone may discover a gift they didn’t know they had. Other body parts will get stronger.

I recently skipped a major church event so I could do something else very important to me. The event succeeded without me, the world went on, and I returned refreshed and even more grateful for the amazing people I do church with.

Prayer

Body-building God, thank you for every person and the part they play, and for each person who works harder when another rests.

About the Author

Vicki Kemper is the Pastor of First Congregational, UCC, in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a spiritual director.

NOVEMBER

18 Nicole Gasda

22 Nolan Ryan

25 Rebecca Hite

26 Eric Koch

A Special THANK YOU to all who continue to financially support our ministry as you are able. We'd like to remind you there are several ways you can do this: