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Important This Week
- Register now for Diversity Training next month.
- Clergy Convocation early registration closing soon.
- Mid-Atlantic Region has new regional rep. for Christian Ed.
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From the Associate Conference Minister for Congregational Development: Extra time
I am pretty sure that most people don’t really understand the science behind Leap Year. For the most part, all most of us know is that every four years we get an extra day, and that day come during the month of February. I will confess that I also don’t have this entire Leap Year thing figured out, but I do understand the value of time. Time is a limited resource, we only have so much of it. Like any other resource, it is both a gift from God and something that God expects us to use wisely. Something about having an extra day during Leap Year says to me that I ought to use this extra time to fulfill the mandate and call of God on my life. Something like Joshua in the valley of Aijalon asking the sun to stand still so he could have more time. We all could use more time and often we ask for more time to simply be busy. I wonder if this extra day also provides an opportunity for us to spend more in His presence and more time being His hands and feet in this world!
Rev. Cean James
Associate Conference Minister
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Register now for Boundary Training opportunities in 2020
There are many opportunities coming up to fulfill your requirements for Boundary Awareness Training (6 hours every 3 years) and Diversity Training (3 hours every 3 years). Sign up now:
Boundary Training
March 10: Advanced Training: Political Boundaries with Dr. Lee Barrett, 9:00a-12:00p at Zwingli UCC, Souderton.
Register here.
March 12: Basic Boundary Training sponsored by the Lehigh Presbytery, 9:00a-3:00p at East Stroudsburg Presbyterian Church, East Stroudsburg.
Register
with the Presbytery by Feb. 27.
May 21: Basic Boundary Training sponsored by the Lehigh Presbytery, 9:00a-3:00p at First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, Bethlehem.
Register
with the Presbytery by May 7.
June 4: Advanced Training: Emotional Intelligence with Rev. Dr. Carrie Call, 2:00-5:00p at the Inn at Reading (prior to 2020 Annual Meeting).
Register here.
September 24: Advanced Training: Sexual Decision-Making: How to teach it, how to live it with Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale, 9:00a-12:00p at First UCC, Schuylkill Haven.
Register here. (An opportunity for continuing education credits is available from 1:00-4:00: Advancing Sexual Health for the Christian Clergy.
Register here.)
October 14: Basic Boundary Training sponsored by Lehigh Presbytery, 9:00a-3:00p at Schwarzwald Lutheran Church, Reading.
Register with the Presbytery by Sept. 30.
November 5: Advanced Training: Responding to the Other with Rev. Dale Davis, 9:00a-12:00p at Wentz's UCC, Lansdale.
Register here.
Diversity Training
- March 4 from 10:00a-1:00. Register here.
- June 4 from 2:00-5:00p at the Inn at Reading (prior to 2020 Annual Meeting). Register here.
- October 21 from 10:00a-1:00p. Registration will open soon.
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Clergy Convocation early registration ending soon
May 5-7, join PSEC and PNEC for a time of collegiality, spiritual renewal and education for authorized ministries and members in discernment... Clergy Convocation 2020! Rev. Emily Heath will join the group as the Presenter. For more information and to register,
click here
.
The deadline for the discounted early bird registration is next week. Register now!
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UCC Insurance Board hosting Medical Marijuana webinar
On Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 2:00p, the Insurance Board will host
a live webcast on Medical Marijuana in the Workplace. More Americans are using medical marijuana therapeutically than ever before. As the laws surrounding medical marijuana continue to evolve, there are proactive steps you can take now to protect your church, business, or non-profit. For more information or to register
click here
.
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Mid-Atlantic Region has new regional rep. for Christian Ed.
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Ashley Martinage is the newly elected representative from the Mid-Atlantic Region to the National Board of Directors of the Association of United Church Educators (AUCE). AUCE is a membership organization for UCC Christian Educators and Clergy, which advocates for excellence in faith formation ministries.
Ashley is Director of Faith Formation at Rock Spring Congregational UCC in Arlington, Virginia. In her new role, she will provide resources and networking opportunities for local church educators and clergy who are working to provide faith formation. She will also advocate for faith formation within the Mid-Atlantic Region, which is made up of the Central Atlantic, New York, Penn Central, Penn Northeast, Pennsylvania Southeast and Penn West conferences of the UCC. For information on becoming a member of AUCE, go to
https://www.auce-ucc.org/membership
.
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Registration open for PSEC Spring Youth Event 2020
The PSEC 2020 Spring Youth Event will be April 24-26 at South Mountain YMCA Camp, 201 Cushion Peak Road in Wernersville for youth in grades 7 thru 12.
Registration fee of $90 per person includes meals, lodging, events, and activities.
The event will begin at 5:00p on Friday and conclude around noon on Sunday. For more info and to register,
click here
.
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Resources available, webinar set on planned giving
Many conferences and local churches express a desire to engage their members in conversations about planned giving, but they are often lacking in time, ability or confidence to proceed. The United Church Funds wants to share and increase expertise in securing planned gifts that will benefit the future mission in all settings of the United Church of Christ. As your covenanted partners, we invite you to be in touch with us any time, so that we can discover mutually beneficial ways of carrying out this important ministry. You can also learn more about our work and planned giving generally by visiting
ucfunds.org/planned-giving/
.
We want to take this opportunity to alert you to a free planned giving webinar being led by Andrew Warner, Generosity Outreach Officer in OPTIC, on March 31. Please consider attending and sharing the availability of this resource with your staff and churches in your Conference. Learn more and register
here
.
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Sign-up: MA-AUCE Christian educators conference
Mid-Atlantic Association of United Church Educators will hold their 2020 Annual Conference "Holistic Faith Formation: Engaging Our Whole Selves" April 27-29 in Mt. Bethel.
Join Faith Formation colleagues for three days of learning, networking, and renewal. We will have times of worship and spiritual practices to both renew ourselves and share, as well as time for fellowship to build and renew connections.
Click here
for information and to
register. The deadline to register is March 1.
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Registration open for Disaster Response workshop in March
Clergy and lay people are invited to join with people from throughout southeast PA on March 10 for a day of resiliency building among human services providers, houses of worship, and disaster responding organizations.
Pennsylvania is facing more precipitation, hotter temperatures, and more volatile weather overall. Not only does our region face more frequent disruptions to daily life because of these types of events, but we also find ourselves welcoming disaster survivors from outside of our area.
In an effort to build resilience to disasters in our communities, join us on March 10 to both build relationships in our communities so we can together leverage resources when disaster strikes, and so that we can look to agencies who specialize in disaster response to help bolster local efforts when assistance is needed. We need all of us!
One of the leaders for the day will be Mr. Ken Skalitzky, Recovery Specialist for UCC Disaster Ministries at the national setting. The event is approved through TrainPA, therefore continuing education credits will be available. For more information and to register,
click here
for a flyer and please feel free to share.
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Spiritual life workshops being offered for lay leaders
A course on Spiritual Life will meet at Trinity UCC, Telford on Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:00 as follows:
- March 28 - Spiritual growth through congregational worship
- April 25 - Spiritual growth through personal disciplines
- May 16 - Spiritual growth through small groups.
This course is designed for church leaders but is open to anyone who feels challenged to deepen their spiritual life. The course will be led by Dr. Charles Maxfield, an ordained UCC minister with experience in lay ministry training. He will be assisted by Constance Lezenby, a spiritual director recognized by her Friends’ Meeting as a traveling minister. Cost is $25 per congregation. Registration, including names of participants, with phone and e-mail, are required by March 20.
Click here
for more info including how to register.
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Educational Opportunities
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Classified Ads
Submit Classified Ads
here
View a complete list of Classified Ads
here
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Church Events
Submit Church Events
here
View a complete list of Church Events
here
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Church Openings
- St. Paul's UCC, Kutztown (full-time settled)
- St. John's (Hain's) UCC, Wernersville (full-time interim)
- Wyomissing UCC (part-time settled)
- St. Luke's UCC, Ottsville (part-time supply)
- Salem Hetzel's UCC (shared ministry; full-time interim)
- Trinity UCC, Rehrersburg (part-time supply)
- St. John's UCC, Orwigsburg (full-time settled)
- St. John's UCC, Pottstown (part-time interim)
- St. Mark's UCC, Reading (10 hrs/ week)
- St. Paul's UCC, Pottstown (part-time settled)
- St. John Hill UCC, Boyertown (full-time settled)
If you’re interested in a position, contact Rev.Sharon Morris:
morris@psec.org
or 484-949-8774 ext. 302.
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Staff Preaching
Rev. William Worley
Feb. 23: Maidencreek Church building dedication
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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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