•  THIS WEEK IN PNEC                  February 6, 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]
Please bring a small bottle of water from your home church or Conference to use during our water blessing.
Call to the PNEC Spring Meeting 2020
"Growing Together"
Greetings Friends! Our Conference-wide meeting will be a special interfaith event for education, training, and building relationships. We will meet Friday, April 24 through Saturday, April 25 at The Chateau Resort and Conference Center at Camelback, Tannersville.

Attendance at the spring conference meeting, keynote through the conclusion of business on Saturday will qualify for the completion of the triennial cultural competency education requirement for authorized ministers. To read the rest of the Call letter... CLICK HERE

For a Registration Form... Click Here

You can also register through tithe.ly at the following link:
Leading Worship for Lay Leaders
March 28, 2020 - 9AM to 3PM (Registration begins at 8:30AM)
Penn Northeast Conference Office, 431 Delaware Avenue, Palmerton
Note: This is a repeat of the same workshop that was held on Sept. 14, 2019
A one day seminar designed to help lay leaders prepare and lead worship!

Who may be interested?  Congregations who struggle to find supply ministers to lead weekly worship service and lay members who are interested in leading their congregations in worship. Let’s face it, many congregations need a supply minister to fill the pulpit if the minister is away or if the church is in transition between ministers. In order to assist congregations facing this situation, the Local Congregational Support Working Group of the PNEC Committee on Ministry is conducting a one-day seminar designed to help your members develop and present a variety of worship services, using readily available resources from the Conference, the UCC website and other online and paper resources. 
 
Click Here for detailed flyer with registration information. Deadline for registering is March 17.
All Conference Book Study "White Fragility" Zoom Conversations
Dear Friends,
    This spring, as a part of our growth and understanding, the Penn Northeast Conference is inviting people to be a part of an all-conference book study. We will be reading and discussing the book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo . This New York Times bestselling book examines the emotions and behaviors which impact our ability, as Caucasian or Euro-American individuals, to talk about issues of race.
    The Conference will be sponsoring 6 Zoom conversations about the book . (Please see the attached flyer for dates, times and Zoom links.)
    You are welcome to join us as individuals, congregational groups, or Area Mission Councils. We welcome your active participation. For authorized ministers, attending all 6 sessions will qualify as the completion of the triennial anti-racism training requirement.
    You may certainly opt to discuss this book in small groups within your congregations or Area Mission Councils. I hope you will take the time to read and examine this important book as we walk this journey of faith and justice together. Blessings, Bonnie
The Penn Northeast Conference Presents...the 15th Annual Youth Retreat
"Faith & Foodies!"
ALL youth in grades 7th-12th are invited
May 15-17, 2020
Spruce Lake, 5389 Route 447, Canadensis, PA 18235
Cost $135/person - includes meals Saturday and Sunday
*Limited space - first 40 participants with paid deposit only
One adult chaperone per church
Registration Deadline is March 1, 2020 - please send non-refundable $50 deposit with registration flyer.
CLICK HERE FOR the Registration Flyer and More Details.
Healing the Earth – Our Common Home
A Call to Action – Celebrating the 50 th Anniversary of Earth Day
St. Francis Center for Renewal, 395 Bridle Path Rd., Bethlehem
This workshop will be offered twice on April 20, 2020; 9:30 – 11:30am OR 7:00 – 9:00pm and is for pastors, faith leaders, advisory council members, teachers, school administrators, teen leaders, and interested members of your community. Attendees can choose the time that works best for them. Contact the St. Francis Center for Renewal at 610 867-8890 to register. Contact Marie North, Laudato Si’ Animator, CSBA (Certified Sustainable Building Advisor) at [email protected] or 610 769-0780 with questions about the workshop sessions. Freewill offerings gratefully accepted.
“The gravity of the ecological crisis demands that we all look to the common good, embarking on a path of dialogue which demands patience, self-discipline and generosity, always keeping in mind that “realities are greater than ideas.” Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ of The Holy Father Francis On Care for Our Common Home, Chapter 5, Lines of Approach and Action, pg. 145, #201
Preaching for Lay Worship Leaders
Bringing the Scriptures to Life!!
April 18, 2020 from 9AM to 3PM
Penn Northeast Conference Office, 431 Delaware Avenue, Palmerton
Presenter: Rev .Dr. Becky Beckwith
Cost: $15 per individual; $45 for a team of 3 or more from a church
A Capella University Choir
Lenoir-Rhyne University (North Carolina) has an exquisite A Capella university choir. They are performing in Virginia on March 17th, and in Manhattan, NY on March 19th, and want a place to stay / perform on March 18th. They are willing to perform a church concert or during worship (free of charge) at one of our churches on Wednesday, March 18th. What they need in return is for a congregation (or multiple congregations) to house their 60 university students. They are aware that Wednesday, March 18th is right in the middle of Lent, and have a Lent - appropriate Christian repertoire. I am writing to see whether any PSEC / PNEC churches (or any cooperative combination of churches) would be interested. Any interest or inquiries can go DIRECTLY TO Dr. Ryan Luhrs, the Lenoir-Rhyne Director of Choral Activities: ( [email protected]), office phone 828-328-7149. Thanks! Rev. Leslie Mamas, Pastor, Oivet-Schwenkfelder UCC, Norristown
What Do Beer & Church Have In Common?
Find out at our "Craft Church" workshop!
Rev. Michael Piazza will lead the workshop and share his experience creating a "craft church."
Saturday, February 22 - 9:30AM to 2:30PM
Immanuel UCC, 99 S. Waverly St.,
Shillington, PA
Click for more info - RSVP by 2/13
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

National Youth Event 2020
What are the Foundations of NYE 2020? Leading up to NYE 2020, the planning team has built upon the original pillars of faith, leadership, service and social justice. Adding community building so that youth might be sustained in their faith beyond NYE and expanding justice to include encounter and reflection, ensures our work comes from a place of solidarity and does not reinforce systems of power and privilege. Read More...
Who's Going to Be There? (Speakers & Artists)
Registration opens February 1. Mark your calendar, set a reminder, and sign up to receive more information here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.
2020 Anniversary of Ordination
Click here for the listing of pastors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Care for the Caregiver
A Workshop For Faith Based
Caregivers!
An opportunity to share stories and receive information.
MARCH 12, 2020 - 10: A.M. to 12:00 P.M. 
Jordan UCC, 1837 Church Road, Allentown
click for registration and detailed flyer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Valley Over the Edge
May 30
The Lehigh Conference of Churches is hosting the third annual Valley Over The Edge on May 30 in which 92 rappelers will be going "over the edge" at Five City Center in Allentown to help those most in need in the Lehigh Valley. Read more...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI... NYC Emergency Management Press Release
outlining the De Blasio Administrations preparedness plans for the novel coronavirus.
ITEMS OF INTEREST...
- -February 9 - This year the Scranton chapter of Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light - an interfaith organization that "inspires and mobilizes people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change" - is one of three hosts (Philadel phia and Pittsburgh are the other two) in the state's annual conference on February 9th . You can find more information here:  http://paipl.us/what-do-we-do/annual-meeting/  and in the attached flyer .
--February 12 - I NTERFAITH DIALOGUE FACILITATOR TRAINING - 9Am to 4PM - Interfaith Philadelphia, 100 W. Oxford St., Philadelphia, PA 19122 - Learn more and register today - registrations are due January 29.
--February 22 - 2020 ONA Winter Gathering (Penn Central ONA Ministry Team) - Untangling the Knots: Christianity's Fear of the Sexual Body - 10AM to 3PM (Registration 9:30AM) - Snow Date: March 14, 2020 - Colonial Park UCC, 5000 Devonshire Rd., Harrisburg, PA; 717.545.3782
--April 24 & 25 - 2020 Spring Conference Meeting - The Chateau at Camelback, 475 Camelback Rd., Tannersville, PA - The meeting will be one overnight, dinner on Friday evening, breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Starts at 4PM on Friday and concludes at 4PM on Saturday. Please Note: If Authorized Ministers attend the entire meeting it will qualify for your Cultural Competency Training.
--April 27-29 - Educators (MA-AUCE Mid-Atlantic Association of United Church ) 2020 Annual Conference - Holistic Faith Formation:Engaging Our Whole Selves - (This event is for "full time or part time clergy or lay, paid or volunteer.") - Tuscarora Inn & Conference Center, 3300 River Rd., Mt. Bethel, PA - Click Here for Detailed Flyer & Registration Deadline to Register is March 1.
--March 9-18 - New Year New Opportunities & Growth Courageous Faith Summit - launching in March - provides a critical look at what we are now and how we get to a more sustainable and equitable future. Amazing presenters will be paired with innovative ideas and you will come away inspired!
Other courses available at FaithLead.org - (many of these courses are free of charge and will go a long way in challenging the way you lead and grow this year.) From The Center for Progressive Renewal
-- 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@IU1 o rg
DISASTER MINISTRIES UCC

What churches will need to know if they have to apply for Public Assistance funds following a declared
disaster... click here
The PA State Police shared their poster they developed for January. Please See here

There is a document passed down from DOH that provides information on the SOAR Human Trafficking trainings. Click here

TRAIN PA is a gateway into the TRAIN Learning Network, the most comprehensive catalog of public health training opportunities for professionals who serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. TRAIN is a free service for learners from the Public Health Foundation. https://www.train.org/pa/welcome

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