THIS WEEK AT FAITH
May 16, 2021
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No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey you are welcome here.
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FAITH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
5992 Route 378
Center Valley, PA 18034
610.282.3939
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Join us this Sunday, May 16th at 10:15 am for Worship
Special thanks to all our volunteers taking part in the service:
Kim Ritter, Head Usher
Joan Hassler, Usher
Cindy Talaber, Usher
Joan Hassler, Lay Reader
Justin Koser, Stream Team
Darin Jellison, Special Music
To print out the order of worship click here.
If you plan to attend worship in person you may want to print out a bulletin to take along.
To register to attend the service in person click here.
Everyone attending must register each week.
This includes the volunteers taking part each Sunday.
(Each family member must register separately to
keep the count accurate.)
To view the live streamed service from home at 10:15 am
To listen to the service via live phone streaming, call
1-855-883-5992.
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If you are ready to return to in-person worship and would like to take part in the service as usher or lay reader, please email Joan Hassler .
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Is there someone in your life in need of prayer? Click here to fill out a prayer request form and Pastor Bruce will mention that person’s first name during worship. Please be sensitive to privacy. Permission to share from those involved must be granted before making a request.
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Next Sunday, May 23rd is Pentecost Sunday. Communion will be celebrated during worship. For those participating in person, communion kits will be available as you enter the sanctuary. For those participating from home, you can stop by the office foyer Monday – Friday from 9 am – 5 pm to pick up your communion kits, or simply prepare the elements at home prior to worship.
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This will be a special day for Lily Maginn, Sadie Shafer, and their parents. The girls completed a Children & Communion class with Pastor Bruce last November and will be receiving their first communion during the Pentecost Sunday service.
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Friends and Strangers
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. – Acts 10:44-46a (NRSV)
My dog is adorable, with fluffy hair and a ridiculous swoop of a tail that bounces when she’s happy, which is most of the time.
She looks very touchable, but she came of age in a pandemic when my family did not have visitors to the house or go out much. So when someone comes near who is not a member of her pack, she lunges and barks ferociously.
We are working with her to be friendlier, which involves carefully choosing our walking routes, a lot of saying “easy” with varying degrees of patience and copious amounts of treats. Yesterday, she surprised me (and herself, I believe) by going happily up to a stranger as she would to a friend, tail wagging and tongue out. This happy little surprise gives me hope that one day she will most always act as approachable as she looks.
In the book of Acts, the first believers are a close-knit group who tend to lunge and bark ferociously at anyone who is not a member of their pack. So it must have been a delightful surprise when they began to see the faces of friends in those they had considered strangers.
We are still pack animals, we humans. And we still have the capacity to be surprised by the strange friends that the Holy Spirit puts in our path.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, help us to see that your pack is deep, wide, and numerous. Amen.
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Dear Friends,
Returning to live, in person, worship has been wonderful! Seeing your faces (even masked), hearing your voices, and listening to your singing has been such a blessing to me! Some have asked why have we keep windows open during the worship services especially since we have installed the REME-HALO cells. We have been advised by medical professionals that the best protection from COVID-19 are the following practices: masks, social distancing, REME-HALO technology, and fresh air. It is for that reason that the windows have been left open. It is my hope that more will get vaccinated, COVID-19 transmission rates will fall, and as they do we can close the windows and use the air-conditioning and heating as needed. One more question that I was asked is, “How often do the cells need to be replaced?” We were told by Deiter Brothers that the cells are good for two years.
~Pastor Bruce
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Due to COVID, instead of collecting food this year, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is coordinating monetary donations to local food Pantries.
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We have some openings for Lawn Crew volunteers. Please take a look at the 2021 schedule and see how you can help. Call Tim Hovis (484-223-9476) to let him know what dates you can cover.
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Let's remember our Friends, Members, Forget-Me-Nots and others as we continue through this pandemic. Keep each other in your thoughts and prayers and stay connected if possible.
Birthdays:
MAY
13 Lily Frech
15 Mia Miller
16 Ken Ritter
17 Autumn Kandt
19 Sandi DiSanto
19 Kim Ritter
19 Brian Bross
20 Meagan Santoro
20 Brandon Barone
21 Michele Keeler
22 Megan Farino
23 Dennis Duda
23 Edison Zehnder
24 Heather Koser
24 Spencer Gunkle
25 Ezekiel Sosnowsky
27 Alex K
31 Gavin Gunkle
31 Kristen Jellison
(If you would like to send cards, addresses can be found in the Members & Friends Directory link at the bottom of this email.)
Click here for a list of birthdays and addresses of our Forget-Me-Not's. Some phone numbers are also included if you'd like to give a call! Also included on the list are names, addresses, and phone numbers of members who usually attend services but don't get to see the recorded services on a regular basis. Reach out to them and say hello or fill them in on the weekly news!
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A Special THANK YOU to all who continue to financially support our ministry as you are able. Through these uncertain times our financial obligations continue and our regular bills are still coming in. Again we'd like to remind you there are several ways you can do this:
- Mail your offering directly to the church
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Make an electronic donation through Tithe.ly on our website's Giving page
- Use your bank's Bill Pay service
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Need to make changes, corrections, or additions to our Church Directory? Click HERE to let us know if your info is current or if we need to make
changes. Thanks in advance for taking the time to keep our
Church Directory up to date.
Contact us via email or call the church office at 610.282.3939
(click on names to send an email)
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