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Important This Week
- Computer-Side chat TONIGHT
- New church opening posted - 3/4-time interim at Christ Delong UCC and St. Peter's UCC, Topton
- Register for PSEC Fall Meeting
- 2021 insurance rates available
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From the Conference Minister: Advent preparations
Dear Friends,
Christmas decorations have started to appear in stores around our area which means that Advent is close at hand. I have encouraged our colleagues to begin planning and communicating to members the worship services and rituals for Thanksgiving and our celebration of the Incarnation which will, no doubt, be affected by the ongoing presence of the pandemic and recent upticks of Covid in our communities.
As the weather has turned colder, many of you are making decisions to move worship services inside, return to on-line/Zoom, or some combination of both. Each local church discerns how to best care, physically and spiritually, for their members while extending their mission services and witness to the gospel. The decision-making process has not gotten easier, even with months of practice, in the ongoing absence of clear guidance from the agencies on which we have previously relied.
In an effort to help, I share with you updated recommendations from your Conference staff. These are only recommendations. You and your leadership must make your own decisions about how you will worship, and we will continue to respect each other’s choices.
1. Our traditions around Advent and Christmas are deep and carry very high expectations. We strongly encourage you to begin planning now and to communicate those plans clearly and often so that folks have time to adapt to what will most likely be a very different experience of this liturgical season.
2. If you are moving your worship back inside (or if you’re already there) we continue to recommend social distancing, wearing masks at all times, limiting the number of people in attendance (which will vary depending on the size of your worship space) and very limited or no singing-- the most controversial of worship topics.
3. If you do not yet have a plan in place to respond to a report virus transmission, make one. I have been pleased with the transparency of our leaders in those ministry settings where Covid has been found to be present by their quick, clear and transparent communication that safeguards the safety of everyone potentially exposed.
4. Our staff has resumed meeting periodically in person and Rev. Minasian and I are preaching and leading worship in those places that take seriously wearing masks, social distancing, and no singing. We are deeply grateful when congregations safeguard our well-being and especially those of their members.
Finally, our Conference staff is trying to stay connected with as many of you as possible. We trust that if you have an immediate need for assistance you will reach out to us. Be in touch to let us know what is working for you, what is not, and how we can put the resources of the Conference to work for you.
“[W]ith the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.” God cannot do this redeeming by leaving us alone and God will not. That is the heat of the Incarnation season toward which we head. So let me reassure you that you are not alone.
In continued social distancing,
You Are Not Alone.
In establishing relentlessly new life patterns,
You Are Not Alone.
In feelings of being overworked and under connected,
You Are Not Alone.
In discovering new ways of doing the holidays that may feel clunky and uncertain,
You Are Not Alone.
Even in the aloneness of being single or separated,
You Are Not Alone.
Trust in that and keep the faith,
Pastor Bill
Rev. Bill Worley
Conference Minister
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Church holds 'virtual' CROP Hunger Walk this weekend
Eight Friedens UCC, Oley walkers participated in a "virtual" CROP Hunger Walk on Saturday, Oct. 10 in the Friedens Cemetery. $430 has been collected so far.
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Insurance Board creates video on Reopening during COVID-19
The Insurance Board has created a video training on "Reopening During COVID-19: Considerations for Church Leadership and Clergy". You will need to register to view this video by following this link. This video is free to Insurance Board members and $5 for non-members. You will need your ID# during registration.
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Register now for the PSEC Fall Meeting next month on Zoom
Registration is now open for the 2020 PSEC Fall Meeting taking place Sunday, Nov. 15 from 3:00-5:00p on Zoom. The agenda includes social justice issues, plans for moving toward a hybrid PSEC office, and approval of the 2021 budget. To register, click here. For more information and advanced materials, click here.
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2021 Pension Board Insurance Rates now available
The Pension Boards released the 2021 medical and dental rates for clergy and lay employees. Use the updated interactive rate finder by clicking here.
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UCC holding denomination-wide All Saints virtual service
You are invited to join the UCC in honoring those who have passed, especially to COVID-19, for a service of All Saints with music, prayer, and lifting of names. We will gather via Zoom on Nov. 1 at 6:00p. Click here to register for the Zoom worship. To contribute a name to the virtual list of people in memoriam, fill out this form. Additionally, if your congregation has done a communal memorial, you are welcome to send photos to UCCPhotos@ucc.org and have them included in the national service.
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Volunteers needed to make disaster response phone calls
Crisis Cleanup, the tool we use when disaster strikes to help guide our response, is working on a huge push to get 200 phone volunteers to make or return 20 calls each day for five days. Doing so would clean up the maps of both Sally and Delta-Laura-Marco plus handle the wave of inbound calls we anticipate. To get all the details about how you or your church can help, go to http://bit.ly/DeltaCalls. For additional information contact: Gina Newby, Crisis Cleanup VOAD rep, 406-461-2388, gina@crisiscleanup.org.
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Open enrollment available for UCC Dental Plan 2000
There is an opportunity for UCC employees and retirees who do not have dental coverage, or who have coverage in a plan other than the UCC’s to enroll in the UCC Dental Plan 2000 until Oct. 31. Coverage will be effective Jan. 1 and is available on a stand-alone basis, regardless of participation in the UCC Health Benefits Plan or UCC Medicare Supplement Plan. UCC Dental Plan offers 100% coverage for preventive care services, with no deductible or coinsurance. Preventive care services will not reduce the annual plan maximum. Click here for a summary of benefits. Click here for an application.
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Safety Symposium for Faith-Based Communities planned
Strengthening Relationships between Law Enforcement & Communities of Faith will be held Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 1:00-3:15p. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and InfraGard National Capital Region Chapter will host a free webinar to gather faith-based leaders, security professionals and law enforcement to share information, best practices and risk mitigation strategies in support of protecting houses of worship. To register, click here.
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Search & Call Computer-Side Chat: You Are Not Alone!!! |
My guest on Oct. 13 will be Rev. Matt Hoover. Rev. Hoover serves as the chair of JMAT: Joint Member in Discernment Assessment Team.
If YOU are a MID: Member In Discernment
OR
If you are currently serving on an Association Committee On Ministry
OR
If you have a role in your congregation supporting a MID
OR
If you are a pastor who wants to be up to date on what it means to pastor someone who is a potential MID
OR
If you are just curious and would like to learn more about this…please join us.
If you have any questions, please contact me at minasian@psec.org. The link to join that call on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 7:00p is here. If you need information to phone in, email brea@psec.org.
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Disaster Response update on Puerto Rico disasters
UCC Disaster Ministries has invested close to $820k to date in Hurricane Maria recovery in Puerto Rico, including $50k just authorized for roof repair once the COVID-19 lockdown ends. From 2018 until March 2020, 542 UCC volunteers, including nearly 3 dozen from PSEC and PNEC, restored 121 Maria-damaged roofs and performed other repairs. Also pending are repairs following earthquakes early in 2020. No damage is reported yet from the recent earthquakes.
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Churches commit to change;
PSEC 50-50-50 Challenge
The PSEC Climate Justice Working Group has started the 50-50-50 Green Church Initiative, challenging 50 PSEC churches to make a commitment to do something to mitigate climate change in the coming months. Churches can hold a special service, share educational materials, take on a project of recycling or composting, or many other things. One is example is here:
John’s UCC, Lansdale: We currently have an active and enthusiastic team of church members focused on caring for God's Creation. The Team is working toward having St. John's identified as a Creation Justice Church and has written and affirmed a statement to that effect. Numerous gardens have been planted on the church grounds to attract butterflies and bees, and these gardens are cared for entirely by volunteers. During the pandemic, several meetings have occurred outdoors in our labyrinth, which has been intentionally landscaped with plants and flowers that are important to the ecosystem. Our Buildings and Grounds Supervisor has been working to gradually change all lighting in the church building to LED, and each Board of our Church Council has been challenged to find small ways to demonstrate care for God's Creation (printing fewer reports on paper, using more recyclable items in the church kitchen, etc.)
For a list of all churches that have made a commitment, more suggestions for actions your congregation can take, and a form you can use for your church to accept the challenge, visit psec.org/green.
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Lecture video: 'How to Live When Things Fall Apart'
Tony Robinson (UCC writer, pastor, teacher, and theologian) was part of a lecture series this past weekened, presenting 'How to Live When Things Fall Apart.' You can watch a video of that lecture here. Rev. Austin Chinault (Zion UCC, Pottstown) said the lecture was "insightful and helpful in our current situation." Conference Minister Bill Worley said "It is worth the watch and will, I believe, inspire your thinking and soulfulness."
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New resource for churches to share worship components
Several churches asked for more worship resources: music for live-streaming, worship components, and services from the Conference staff. In response to that, PSEC created a Google Drive for churches and pastors to share worship components. If you or your congregation recorded a service, sermon, children's moment, musical selection, or order for communion you would allow others to use, upload that video to the Google Drive. Note: each church needs to take responsibility for its own copyright use. Visit the Google Drive (drive.google.com/drive/folders/18wnxvyEEbyEaVhx0Tonj0DU_j2TbZ_by?usp=sharing) and read "PLEASE READ: Requirements" for more information.
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Coronavirus resources available for churches, pastors
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Three churches come together for joint Confirmation class
Brownback's UCC in Spring City (Rev. Mark Stryjak), St. Matthew's UCC in Chester Springs (Rev. Ron Hughes), and Wentz's UCC in Worcester (Rev. Dale Davis) are working together to share a three-church Zoom confirmation class. To read a description of that effort, written by Rev. Stryjak, click here.
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Webinar: Impact of Faith Leaders on Human Trafficking
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (a division of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Act), the first comprehensive law in the US to address the transnational crime of human trafficking, child sexual exploitation and forced labor. To commemorate the Act, the Department of Homeland Security Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives is hosting a webinar on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:00 to highlight the contributions of faith and community leaders, our frontline service providers who diligently work to counter the detrimental effects of modern day slavery in all of its forms. Click here to register.
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Monday Meetings with the Conference Minister continue
Each Monday at 11:00a, authorized ministers and church leaders are invited to check in with the Conference Minister, Rev. Bill Worley, on a Zoom call. Share your experiences with ministry in this season of COVID with other clergy, ask for advice, and be in community together. Click here to join the call on Monday.
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Updated list available: PSEC churches online this fall
If your church isn't currently worshipping or you are not able or comfortable attending services, we have compiled a list of churches in PSEC that are holding digital/ virtual worship experiences. Share this with others that might not have another option for worship. Click here for an updated list.
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UCC to host digital Faith Rally: Election Day Home Stretch
Feeling bruised, battered, or fatigued by this election season? Looking for a source of uplift down the home stretch to Nov. 3? Then, this digital event is for you. This will be a time to renew our energies and our focus as we approach an election day with so many profound implications for those who care about the climate crisis and the many interconnected issues of justice that we face today. Our three featured speakers are: Karenna Gore of Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. of the Hip Hop Caucus, and Rev. Gerald Durley of Interfaith, Power & Light. The webinar will be co-hosted by Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt of the UCC’s Environmental Justice Ministry and Rev. Michael Malcom of Alabama Interfaith Power & Light. Even if you can't make its scheduled time on Oct. 14 at 1:00p, still sign-up, and we will send you a recording. Click here to sign up.
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Rental housing needed in the Pottstown tri-county area
Chester County’s Department of Community Development provided an update on the progress of the 45 families displaced from their apartments by the devastating fire at Ashwood Apartments on July 30 in North Coventry Twp. Twenty families still need to find a home, with ten of these families now living in hotels. For more information on the recovery from this fire and how you can help, click here.
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Church Openings
- Allegheny UCC (Sunday supply)
- Bern Reformed UCC, Leesport (three-quarter time settled)
- Calvary UCC, Barto, and Pennsburg UCC (full-time designated-term)
- Christ Delong UCC, Bowers and St. Peter's UCC, Topton (3/4-time interim)
- St. John's UCC, Orwigsburg (full-time settled)
- St. John's UCC, Pottstown (part-time interim)
- St. Paul's UCC, Birdsboro (half-time interim)
- Salem Hetzel's UCC (shared ministry; full-time interim)
- Trinity UCC, Rehrersburg (part-time settled)
- Wyomissing UCC (part-time settled)
- Zwingli UCC (full-time associate)
If you’re interested in a position, contact Rev.Dr. Susan Minasian: minasian@psec.org or 484-949-8774 ext. 302.
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Classified Ads
Submit Classified Ads here
View a complete list of Classified Ads here
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Educational Opportunities
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Church Events
Submit Church Events here
View a complete list of Church Events here
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Missed a week? Read past eNews here: |
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PSEC is the link that connects our church’s various and diverse ministries both locally and globally. Together, we provide our local churches, pastors and congregations with the training and inspiration they need to carry out our church’s wider mission. We are stronger together; therefore, we embrace diversity, and above all, we spread God’s love! |
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