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Important This Week
- Virtual Hospitality workshops with Rev. Cean James begin Saturday
- Sign up for next week's Computer-Side Chat on Ministerial Profiles
- Register for boundary training opportunities
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From the Conference Minister:
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also…” Mark 1: 35-37
“Everyone is searching for you…” sounds like a line from a recent nightmare; the one where I wake up to the screams of unanswered emails, text messages, and phone calls and the heart pounding pressure to heal people, fight evil systems, dispel conspiracy theories, and proclaim mind-changing messages (like this one, for instance).
Jesus doesn’t appease his searchers. At all. In fact, he leaves them and moves on -- after already taking time in the early morning darkness to move closer to God by moving further from people. So often in ministry we are driven by the opposite. We move toward needy people and further away from God.
In this Sunday's gospel lectionary text, Jesus models two very simple lessons that take a lifetime to internalize. First, there is the old adage that you don’t have to do it all. If Jesus doesn't attempt to meet the needs of everyone, we should take that as a clue. Sometimes you must move on to where the Spirit leads, even if it means people are going to be left in need. Because, let’s face it, there are always going to be people in need.
And second, as vitally important as healing, feeding, teaching and preaching were to Jesus’ earthly ministry, they were not so important that he didn’t take regular time away to pay particular attention to his relationship with God. If Jesus can find the time to care for his spiritual center, how much more can I? Can you?
Today, the world outside my window seems to collude with these two lessons. An unusual depth of snow surrounds my home. Between it and the pandemic, there is literally nowhere to go. The earth is intent on conveying its annual winter message. Stop. Rest. Hibernate. The world is revolving quite nicely without you. So, go pray and play with God.
Pastor Bill
Rev. William P. Worley
Conference Minister
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Thank you and congratulations to PSEC churches |
Church friends, you did it! As of the cut-off date in January, the OCWM contributions reached 92.7% of the budgeted goal for 2020. Congratulations and thank you to all who pushed to get their year-end commitments fulfilled to help us close this year in a much better place than we may have thought we would, due to the pandemic. Thank you to all who have faithfully and regularly sent in your support throughout the year! Blessings to you and your 2021 ministries!
~ with gratitude, PSEC staff, Consistory, and Budget and Finance Team
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Need help with yearend reporting, virtual attendance?
Yearend church reporting is now open. Last week, the Church Admin Community of Practice heard a presentation on reporting 2020 numbers, especially calculating virtual attendance. You can see the PowerPoint presentation from that meeting and other resources at psec.org/reporting If you have any questions about reporting or need assistance, contact Conference Registrar Brea Rarick at brea@psec.org or 484-949-8774 ext. 311.
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Virtual Hospitality events start this weekend; register now
Did you know that most church remembers report that they are more comfortable inviting a friend or family member to online worship than in-person worship? Virtual church provides a wonderful opportunity to invite new people to experience your church from the comfort of their homes. It is also important to make sure you recognize and welcome people when they join your online community for the first time. This workshop will explore ways we can all be both invitational and welcoming in this “new normal” of congregational life.
Virtual Hospitality – Developing a Welcoming Atmosphere For Online Church, facilitated by Rev. Cean James, will be offered twice:
This seminar is paid for by your OCWM contributions!
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"Evangelical Christianity and the Climate Crisis" webinar
With its size and its collective power, evangelical Christianity has had a significant presence in the political, cultural, and religious landscape of the United States. As such, it becomes important to understand evangelical Christianity today in relationship to the climate crisis. February’s Creation Justice Webinar will feature a panel of speakers who will help us develop this understanding. Even if you can't make the webinar’s scheduled time on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 1:00p, still sign-up, and we will send you a recording of it. Sign-up now for the webinar!
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This weekend: MA-AUCE online Christian ed event |
This has been a truly strange year and continues to be so. We were forced to cancel our gathering in 2020, and missed the valued time of being together and sharing successes and challenges. Providing Christian Education has never been more mystifying whether you are a pastor, youth minister, children's program coordinator, or lay leader. We need each other and the sooner the better. So our 2021 retreat is going virtual – like everything else. We've changed the dates from a mid-week event to a Friday-Saturday event hoping to make it accessible for more of our churches' part-time leaders. Workshops will include an opening presentation, small group reaction/ sharing, and large group report outs. All of our conversations will include ideas for virtual, in-person, and hybrid situations.
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Lancaster Seminary hosting black preaching workshop
On Feb. 18, renowned preacher, author and civil rights activist Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III will lead an online presentation and discussion on "Using the Arts in Black Worship & Preaching. Register here.
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From the PSEC Addiction and Recovery Task Force: Stigma
Stigma is a perceived negative attribute that causes someone to devalue or think less of the whole person. Much of our society views substance abuse disorders as shameful. This causes people with substance abuse and their families to hide addiction. Stigma can be as damaging as the addiction itself. Stigma produces isolation, shame, denial and hopelessness. Stigma is associated with poor health outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, relapse).
There may well be people struggling in isolation with substance abuse in your congregation and you don’t know it because they are afraid to tell anyone. Stigma can prevent people from seeking help for their condition. There may well be families struggling with the isolation that stigma can bring. They are afraid of being judged, feel overwhelmed and helpless.
You can do something about this. You can bring God’s healing love to these families and individuals. There are resources for you to learn how to encourage your members to trust you with this issue. There are resources you can help them find that can change their lives.
See the resource page for this taskforce on the PSEC website. Keep reading these columns. Trust that God will bring those in need to you.
Join us for a Zoom chat on this subject on Feb. 15 at 11:00a with Bill Worley. Click here on Feb. 15 to join that call.
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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:
United Christian Church, Levittown: Our Green Chalice Team has been certified by DOC, yet thought I'd share with you "some of" our efforts. Installed solar panels – roof and to heat hot water heater, had energy audit, upgraded lighting systems for energy efficiency, installed low-flow toilets, installed programmable thermostat, added rain barrels – use rainwater for irrigation, Earth flag in front yard flag display, replaced disposable communion cups with glass communion cups, Tom Wells Sunday speaker – lobbyist for ecological legislation, reduce or eliminate use of disposable dinnerware – moved to using regular dishes and silverware, reducing single use plastics/items, trying reusable paper towels, reducing announcement insert in bulletin to reduce paper use, regularly provide eco-tips in newsletter and Minute for Mother Earth – Sunday morning eco announcement during worship announcements
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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Monday Meetings with the Conference Minister continue
Each Monday at 11:00a, authorized ministers and church leaders are invited to check in with Conference Minister Rev. Bill Worley on a Zoom call, share experiences in this season of COVID, ask for advice, and be in community. We encourage you to join this opportunity for theological and practical reflection and discussion. Click here to join the call on Monday.
Mark your calendar for the Feb. 15 call for a special conversation with the Addiction and Recovery Taskforce on how addiction effects our churches and the stigma around addiction.
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February Computer-side Chat (MIDs, clergy only) on profiles |
The February Computer Side Chat is for ONLY CLERGY and Members in Discernment! On Feb. 9, join me for a conversation about Ministerial Profiles. Even if you are not ready to search for a call…it is good to use Ministerial Profiles as a spiritual practice for your own discernment.
After reading profiles for almost a year now, I have some thoughts about what you might want to highlight and even some thoughts about what you might want to reconsider when preparing how you tell your story to search committees.
So join me 7:00p for a conversation. If you have any questions contact me at minasian@psec.org. To sign up, so that you will receive the Zoom link, email brea@psec.org.
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Struggling with your Church's Annual Meeting via Zoom?
Are you anxious about your church’s upcoming annual meeting being held via zoom? Do you know how to handle the voting process? Do you know how to handle attendance and manage Zoom bombers? If you are uncertain and have questions, reach out to PSEC staff member Sue Creswell at susan@psec.org.
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PNEC offering on-demand virtual Boundary Training
Penn Northeast Conference is offering virtual Ministerial Boundary Training for $75. Once registered, participants can work at their own pace to complete the five modules and required written reflections. Click here for details and registration. Registration is open until Feb. 11 and a check must be received before that point.
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Family/Church Boundaries training event next month
An Advanced Boundary Training on Family/ Church Boundaries will be held March 11 from 9:00a-12:00p. Sometimes pastors and their families feel like they live in a glass house, a spouse and/or children feel imposed upon, or the lines of being part of the same community as the church make it challenging for the pastor’s family. This training will offer ways for clergy family to maintain boundaries. We will look at a couple of cases and then use the collective wisdom of the group to consider healthy ways to navigate those situations with faithfulness and good boundaries. Click here to register. The fee is $20.
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Sign up for new Cybersecurity Training Opportunity
PSEC has an opportunity to purchase a block of cybersecurity training videos. This is a 3 year, once per year, training commitment that will take place from the comfort of your own computer at your own convenience. The training will take less than an hour of your time each year for 3 years. In this time, cybersecurity is incredibly important as those who would cause harm to our computers, our private information, our friends who may not have the savvy to understand the difference between a safe email and a phishing email, are getting more sophisticated in their tactics when trying to infiltrate our computers and when spoofing our own email addresses. If you don't know what a phishing email is, what spoofing means, what ransomware and malware are, what a trojan horse is or a worm is, what spear phishing is or what clickjacking is, you might want to consider signing up for this training. Again, it is a 3 year, one hour per year training on the internet. If you are interested, let your intent known to Tammie Wisniewski at tammie@psec.org. The cost is $66 per person for all 3 years and must be paid upfront when we would purchase the course. More information will follow on that piece. Please email your interest asap to Tammie so we can discern if there is a need for this cybersecurity support in the Conference.
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Register now: Penn Central Ministerial Excellence Forum
You are invited to register for a monthly "Ministerial Excellence Forum" hosted by the Penn Central Conference on the third Thursday at one of two time slots: 10:00a-12:00 and 6:00p-8:00p.
Feb. 16: Pastoring Challenging Parishioners: A Mental and Relational Health Perspective
Pastors know the dear ones in our congregations who are beloved yet bristly; loveable and frustrating at the same; and sometimes just a perennial thorn in our sides. We may struggle how to be in relationship with these dear ones, while not allowing their bristle to push us or others away. This two-hour workshop will present a compassionate framing for how to understand these folks and relate most effectively with them in effective pastoral ways. (Qualifies for Boundary Training.)
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Updated list available:
PSEC churches online
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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Church Openings
- Allegheny UCC (Sunday supply)
- Bern Reformed UCC, Leesport (three-quarter time settled)
- Calvary UCC, Barto, and Pennsburg UCC (full-time designated-term)
- St. James UCC, Limerick (3/4-time, interim)
- St. John's UCC, Pottstown (part-time interim)
- St. John's UCC, Schuylkill Haven
- Salem Hetzel's UCC (shared ministry; full-time interim)
- Wyomissing UCC (part-time settled)
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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Church Events
Submit Church Events here
View a complete list of Church Events here
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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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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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