•  THIS WEEK IN PNEC                  January 2, 2020
Penn Northeast Conference UCC, 431 Delaware Ave., Palmerton, PA 18071
www.pnec.org   610-826-3113; 610-826-5464 FAX
Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates    [email protected]        
Rev. Gilberto Garcia Rodriguez    [email protected]
Rev. Christian Creyer     [email protected]       
Barbara Jennings    [email protected]
Patty Rehrig    [email protected]
   SEND ARTICLES TO BE INCLUDED TO   [email protected]
IRS Standard Mileage Rates Announced
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has  issued  the 2020 standard mileage rates. Beginning on January 1, 2020, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:
·        57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven (down from 58 cents in 2019)
·       17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes (down from 20 cents in
2019)
·       14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (currently fixed by
Congress)
PNEC’s 2019 Closing Date will be Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Please plan your closing so that your final 2019 remittance will be received in the Conference Office by Wednesday, January 15 . Receipts received after the 15th will be credited to 2020. Do not include 2019 remittances with 2020 and make certain remittance slips are marked for either the year 2019 or 2020 .

Thank you for your cooperation and support.
“Just show up!”
Exploration Gathering – All Welcome
Getting involved in social justice can be overwhelming. There are so many causes you can get behind, varieties of movements, tricky vocabulary words and big names to know —
and that can make it difficult to know where to start.
But that shouldn't prevent you from joining a movement that revolves around an issue you're passionate about. The first step is showing up.
Members of groups or individuals interested in advocacy, justice and social issues:
·       want to work with others who are interested,
·       do not want to duplicate the efforts of other groups,
·       feel isolated in their current setting and do not know who to reach out to,
·       desire an opportunity to learn and share resources,
·       need to garner support for themselves and others as efforts are undertaken.
 
The Penn Northeast Conference of the United Church of Christ is facilitating an open discussion session to begin the exploration to form an inter-faith, non-denominational Justice and Advocacy group.
 
The group will develop and share educational resources with individuals and groups seeking to participate in local, national and global issues of justice for all. Based on the participation on the team any number of issues may be addressed, but in all cases we will act in a non-partisan way, addressing the issues and advocating for improvement and corrections of rules, practices, funding, and actions to improve the lives of those affected by the issue(s) at hand.
 
Interested in being part of this group? Come to the gathering on
Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 9:30am to 11:00am.
Moravian Theological Seminary, Bahnson Center, 1200 Main St, Bethlehem, PA 18018. 
For more info, contact Gary Barraco at [email protected] .
Summary Notes of the December 2, 2019 Conference Board Meeting
PNEC Offering Advanced Boundary Training
Boundary Awareness in the Digital Age
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ~ Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Jordan UCC, 1837 Church Rd., Allentown
Cost: $35 per person (includes registration & lunch)
Led by Rev. Darren Morgan, Associate Conference Minister @ Maine Conference UCC
Boundary Awareness Training is part of clergy continuing education and dialogue toward healthy ministerial relationships and self-care. It seeks to promote opportunities for discussion about the hard and gray areas that make up so much of the space within our profession. This training will equip clergy to understand the importance of healthy digital boundaries in ministry and to critically discern the complexities of boundaries in pastoral relationships. Church lay-leaders are welcome to attend this training as well. (If you are a pastor and have never taken boundary training before you should attend a regular boundary training and not this advanced training.)

You can register on-line through tithe.ly at the link below
2020 LGBT Spirituality Mini-Series
spiritual inclusion for trans people in faith communities - January 6 at 6PM; January 13 at 6PM
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, 522 West Maple St. at Bayard Rustin Way, Allentown
www.bradburysullivancenter.org
Moderated by Rev. Beth Goudy, Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley
Note to PNEC Pastors...Attending both would qualify as Cultural Competency Training
PNEC Communities of Practice
Are accepting participants for 2020. Cost is $250 for the year. Counts for ½ of your continuing education hours. You can apply to the Longsdorf Fund for continuing education funds.  click here for a list of the Communities of Practice and their openings. If interested... click here for application.
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Interim Ministry Network Training
January 28-29, 2020
Zion, Strausstown (right off Route 78)
5:30 to 8PM on the 28th & 8:30AM to 5:30PM on the 29th - presenter Arlen Vernava - cost $50
Sponsored by Penn Central, Pennsylvania Southeast and Penn Northeast Conferences.
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Plymouth's Pilgrims
Their Church, Their World, and Ours
A historical introduction and discussion guide for churches, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the landing at Plymouth.
The Congregational Library & Archives in Boston, MA has put together a short, informative, and free discussion and study guide. This study guide is available to all, free of charge, on their website...
along with a variety of other resources, including historical documents, suggestions for further reading, and eventually an "ask the experts" feature. They are also providing a version of the study guide written by a curriculum expert, specifically geared toward youth groups and confirmation classes.
2020 Boundary Training
offered by Lehigh Presbytery
(3 different sessions)
Click here for the flyer for three sessions of Boundary Training Offered by the Lehigh Presbytery in 2020. These sessions will be led by David Olsen.
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Message from Amy Johnson - Our Whole Lives information
I'm excited to announce that, in early 2020, the UCC will be launching an Our Whole Lives newsletter, to be delivered quarterly. This will include information on how Our Whole Lives and Sexuality & Our Faith help to dismantle shame and stigma around bodies and relationships. Our hope is that this venue will help spread the good news about OWL, answer commonly asked questions, share a scripture focus, and give people ongoing info about upcoming trainings. Please help us spread the word in the UCC!
The sign-up link is here:    https://www.ucc.org/owl_signup
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Clergy Convocation 2020
with Rev. Dr. Emily C. Heath
May 5-7, 2020
Double Tree by Hilton
2400 Willow St. Pike, Lancaster
(qualifies for 10 contact hours)
Click here for full flyer, schedule, and how to register - Deadline April 1, 2020

ITEMS OF INTEREST...

--January 13 - 4PM - Churchwide Webinar: How Your Church Can Accompany Asylum Seekers - 4PM
--January 18 - 7 to 9:30PM - Interfaith Discussion - Raising Children in a Challenging Environment
-- July 22-25, 2020 -- NYE 2020 -- Here’s the link   http://www.uccpages.org/nye2020/ --
**If your church plans on attending, please contact Kayli Freeman ( [email protected] ) or Tracy Whitehead ( twhitehead@IU17. o rg ).
Disaster Ministries
Revision of the drop off sites for CWS buckets and kits.. read more .

You can find more information & updates at UCC Disaster Ministries: www.ucc.org/disaster