Important This Week

• How churches can help with UCC wildfire victims in Hawaii
• Trauma Training set for September
• Vanco workshop set for next week; churches can save money through this program and learn about online giving

From the Conference Minister of the Hawaii Conference UCC

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133: 1

Dear Friends,

We live in unity with UCC friends in the 117 congregations that make up the Hawaii Conference. Four of those congregations are on Maui. While the island is 4,800 miles away, the suffering there is as close as a next breath or tear. Conference Minister David Popham shared the following thoughts August 11. The latest news on how to help follows that.

Pastor Bill

Rev. Bill Worley

Conference Minister

“Once again, thank you all for your kind words, prayers, and holding us in the light of God. Many of you have been through disasters before and I appreciate your insights and hard-earned wisdom.

…the fire has become the worst natural disaster for the islands since becoming a state. The Hilo tsunami of 1960 killed 61 people, Hawaii's deadliest disaster. The death toll for Lahaina is now 67 [96 as of today, Tuesday, 8/15]. Authorities are letting residents back in. But it's over a dirt road that runs along cliffs. On top of that once you get in there is no electricity, water, or phone service. A few hearty folks are remaining in town. 80% of the town of Lahaina (1700 buildings) were destroyed or damaged.

Waiola UCC, the first church on Maui, is the 200-year-old home to Christian friends who have rebuilt their building in part or whole four times: 1858 following wind damage; 1894 following an accidental fire started by the caretaker; 1947 following a rubbish fire; 1951 following wind damage. This congregation’s DNA is resiliency. Their church campus did burn. The concrete walls of the sanctuary remain. Interestingly the front lawn and historic cemetery were not touched by the fire…All members of the church have been accounted for except for one couple [no update about them was available at the time of eNews publication]. All totaled, four UCC churches were under threat by the fires.

Along with what's being carried in the news, Maui regularly has brush fires this time of year. It is the midst of our dry season and August heat does not help. On Tuesday [August 8] multiple brushfires broke out across Maui, the four large ones and I've heard about five small ones as well. Living on islands, we cannot call in the fire brigade from the next county over. The fire above Lahaina had been contained and was all but extinguished when the winds picked up - 60 to 80 miles-per-hour gusts. The fires broke out and thinly stretched personnel could not keep up with them.

The magnitude and longevity of recovery is just now becoming a reality for our Maui clergy. The adrenaline rush is fading and grief and a sense of being overwhelmed is on the rise. Pacific Island culture is about pulling together and that is happening across the neighboring islands, but access to Maui is limited to essential workers and residents and much of "pulling together" means "presence" for our folks. I am not sure how this will play itself out.

I will be on Maui on Tuesday [August 15] as part of an ecumenical prayer service. The Catholic Bishop got that declared an essential activity. Woot! Woot! Bisho Silva.

Mahalo for all the kind words and prayers.

Rev. David Popham

Conference Minister

Hawaii Conference, UCC

There are multiple ways to contribute to the response. We recommend:

1. Donate to UCC Disaster Ministries through the Conference Office. You can either mail contributions to the office (1441 Laura Lane, Suite 100; Pottstown, PA 19464) and indicate "Hawaii wildfire relief" or through the Donation button on our website (indicate the amount under "OCWM Special Support - Wider Church" next to "Wider Disaster Relief for:" and indicate "Hawaii wildfire relief" in the space to the right.
2. Gifts can also be made specifically to help rebuild Waiola UCC. Those gifts can be sent to the Conference Office as noted above, but must specify "Waiola UCC" or they will be forwarded for the general Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund.

From the Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call:

Helping to Care for Those Who Have Experienced Religious Trauma (“Church Hurt”)

– the Rev. Kevin J. McLemore

I’ve often heard it said that there is nothing quite like “church hurt,” meaning there is nothing like the hurt done to us and others by our fellow believers or the institutional churches we’re part of. In my last parish in Chicago, there was influx of Roman Catholics into our church around the turn of century, primarily because of the horrific scandals around child sexual abuse. We were a place of refuge for those who felt deeply betrayed by a fellow religious institution that was supposed to protect their children. What they experienced was a form of religious trauma, almost a “moral injury” that such a trusted place could be so untrustworthy with something so basic as the safety of children. Many others never returned to any form of church. Trauma, and religious trauma, have always been with us, but now there is a greater understanding of how to care for those who experience it. On two Saturdays in late September (23rd and 30th), the PSEC along with The Welcome Project PA, and Lakeside Global Institute will share the basics of trauma and the religious aspects, as well as how to do some basic trauma-informed care. Clergy and laity alike are invited to this ZOOM gathering. For more information, please contact me at mclemore@psec.org and sign up at this link. 

Trauma Training Program Sept. 23rd and Sept. 30th

A partnership between The Welcome Project PA, Lakeside Global Institute, & PSEC

The Welcome Project PA [WPPA], in partnership with Lakeside Global Institute and the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ , is pleased to offer professional trauma training modules for ministry leaders and volunteers in their respective contexts, to prepare them to better assist their constituents who have suffered trauma. The purpose of this program is to assist professionals in their caring for people who have suffered various forms of trauma, to create an awareness of the causes and consequences of trauma, and how it affects our human relationships and social interactions. Finally, this program strives to enable those who have suffered/continue to suffer from trauma, a path forward to progress and a way out of destructive cycles. Trauma 101 and 102 will cover the basics of trauma. The subsequent sessions with The Welcome Project PA and the PSEC will apply the trauma training to more specifically define, explore, and discuss religious trauma and its effects on both individuals and faith communities.

For more information and to register, click here.

Save the date! PSEC Annual Lay Leadership Convocation

The Second Annual Lay Leadership Convocation of Pennsylvania Southeast Conference UCC will be held Saturday, April 6, 2024, at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Boyertown. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Sarah B. Drummond, Dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School and author of Sharing Leadership. The convocation will include numerous workshops on topics of interest to Elders, Deacons, and other church leaders. Registration should open by the end of January. For now, please save the date!

Churches can save money with Vanco online giving

Exciting news for online giving! Whether your church already uses Vanco OR if you are using another vendor OR if you haven’t yet set up an online giving platform, we invite you to attend the webinar on August 22 and learn what Vanco offers. Through the Conference’s partnership with Vanco, all will benefit from reduced transaction fees when you come under the umbrella of the Conference! Register now and mark your calendar! 

Approximately 750 UCC congregations trust Vanco for online giving and driving engagement. And with good reason. Vanco provides UCC Churches with…

• Increased giving: Vanco clients see an average increase of 26% in giving.
• Easy donation reconciliation: We integrate with more than 60 of the most popular church management software systems.
• Complete virtual church: Vanco Live is the single tool congregations use to combine online worship, giving and discussion to a single website window.
• Service: Our U.S.-based client services team is always here to help. And we answer the phone with nearly zero wait time.
• Pricing: Discounted group rates available because of Pennsylvania Southeast Conference’s partnership with Vanco.

Learn all the benefits congregations get from Vanco here.

Join us for a presentation about how you can grow your giving through Vanco on Tuesday, Aug 22 at 12:00p. Register here

From the Addiction & Recovery Taskforce: Local Church Action

The United Church of Christ of Robesonia has developed interest groups with God's inspiration and help. People with knowledge and skills and a passion for certain activities volunteer to lead one of these groups. Both members of the church and friends in the community participate.

A fellowship and study group on addiction and recovery meets twice-monthly. The leader is Rev. Jack Abel, a member of UCC of Robesonia who also serves as Corporate Director of Spiritual Care for Caron Treatment Centers in Wernersville. The Life Recovery Bible and its associated materials for Life Recovery Groups provide the basic study resources for this small group ministry. Meetings provide the members, who are persons of faith, with an opportunity to fellowship and provide one another mutual support as individuals and family members affected by addiction.

Anti-gun Violence Letter Writing Campaign in Phila.

Frustrated by gun violence in Philadelphia? Episcopal Community Services is taking action! Join ECS Philly and "Heeding God's Call" at St. Barnabas Community Resource Center on Wednesday Aug. 16 to take another crucial step in the fight against gun violence. Click here to learn more.

Lay Leadership courses scheduled for the fall

Growing Our Spiritual Lives

The first step in making our churches more vibrant, faithful and effective, is for each of us to cultivate our spiritual lives. Our congregations are like trees: in order to reach out with our branches and bear fruit, we must first deepen our roots in our faith. This course on Spiritual Life will meet for three sessions at Saint James United Church of Christ, 321 S Limerick Rd, Limerick, on Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:00 as follows:

• October 7: Spiritual growth through congregational worship
• October 28: Spiritual growth through personal disciplines
• November 4: Spiritual growth through small groups.

The course will be led by Laura Walters and Charlotte Fiedler. They have received training from Wanda Craner, and Charlotte received a certificate in Spiritual Life from Immaculata University. Click here for more information and to register.

Discerning Our Mission

How do we go about reaching out to the world in the name of Christ? This course on Mission will meet for three sessions at Saint James United Church of Christ, 321 S Limerick Rd, Limerick, on Saturday afternoons from 12:30-2:30 as follows:

• October 7 - What is mission?
• October 28 - Local mission
• November 4 - Global mission

This course will be led by Dr. Charles A. Maxfield, a minister of the United Church of Christ, with a Ph.D. in Church History with an emphasis on mission history. Click here for more information and to register.

60th anniversary of the March on Washington event

Join together in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington! Friends from across the region will join together Sunday, Aug. 27, to celebrate and remember through a modest neighborhood march (as you are able), eyewitness testimony, and worship in the historic House of Faith (the former Harold O Davis). Click here for more information.

From Disaster Ministries...

An Invite and a Challenge

The invite:

Our Lutheran partners in the Lehigh Valley are hosting an event on Sept. 10 to replenish hygiene kits and flood buckets that we used to respond to the flooding events of July 2023 in Berks, Northampton and Bucks counties. The event will take place at the Lutheran Center, 2354 Grove Road, Allentown, from noon to 3 PM. There are several ways you can help:

• Sign up to donate supplies for Flood Buckets and Hygiene Kits
• Make buckets ahead of time and deliver them on Sept. 10
• Come to learn how you can get more involved

See the attached flyer for more information. Questions? Please contact Heidi Shilanskas.

The challenge:

Consider having your church or Association have an event in the near future to replenish our supply. We have depleted most of our supply of kits and buckets. I know that a few churches are planning events to put them together. Will you join them? Remember:

• The national setting of the UCC is still providing a $250 mini-grant to churches who put together kits and buckets. Click here to learn more.
• Take lots of pictures and write a story about how you did it. Send them to Rev. Karl Jones. Take your buckets and kits to the most convenient drop off location. Learn more by clicking here.

Upcoming Training events

Registration is open for:

Basic Boundary Training on Sept. 14 in Schuylkill Haven. More info

Advanced Boundary Training (Managing Pastoral Transitions) on Sept. 27 on Zoom (or view the recording of the event and complete a one-page synopsis). More info

Advanced Boundary Training (From Gutenberg to ChatGPT: Tools, ethics, technology and best practices in the life of Church) on Oct. 18 on Zoom. More info

Diversity Training on Nov. 8 on Zoom (or view the recording of the event and complete a one-page synopsis). Click here

Rev. Dr. James Mills Sr. installation at Wentz's UCC

Click the invitation below to download a PDF to share.

Local Church Security: Resources and Best Practices

The UCC General Counsel, Heather Kimmel, posted a blog post on Local Church Security: Resources and Best Practices. This post compiles a number of resources available for Local Churches to assess their physical security. In the past year the UCC has had a number of churches experience property damage and vandalism as attacks on their theology. We’ve also had several pastors experience having their conversations recorded, heavily edited, and posted to extremist websites, resulting in threats to the church and pastor. We hope this post helps.

Christian Creyer installation as chaplain of Phoebe, Richland

Phoebe Ministries, Richland Invites you to the Installation of Rev. Christian B. Creyer, M.Div. as Chaplain on Monday, Aug. 28 at 2:00p. Because the event will be held outdoors, under the pavilion (in Meadow Glen multi-purpose room should the weather not cooperate), clergy are invited to wear what they are most comfortable in wearing (robes and stoles not required). Phoebe Richland is located at 108 S. Main St., Richlandtown. Click here for a flyer to share.