Important This Week
  • This week is the deadline to sign up for a Communities of Practice.
  • The position has been posted for an Interim Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call.
  • Conference staff will be working from home between the holidays.
From the Conference Minister: What's missing this Christmas?

Matthew begins his Gospel looking backward with a genealogy of family members long gone, starting with Father Abraham to the naming of “Jesus,” or “Joshua” the one who brought People of God out of the wilderness. I find this intriguing because in the Incarnation, God is so obviously moving forward with something new.

We have in common with our Biblical ancestors this tension between the certainty of what God has done and a longing for what God will do. Nostalgia, I believe, is our attempt to make them the same. What was is what will be. What will be is what was. There is a sweet assurance in that. Our Christmas celebrations are filled with it.

The problem is that what WAS never satisfies the longing for (and anxiety about) what COULD OR WILL BE. Perhaps that is why my Christmas celebrations never seem quite complete. As much as I revel in this season, there is still an unquenchable longing. Sometimes that takes shape as a longing for past Christmases but there was never a Christmas in my memory without some form of longing. Even when the members of my family were all alive and all together, when my home was so filled with food of the body and soul—even then this longing was there (I wonder sometimes if I am alone in this).
 
We sing, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” written during World War II when many would not be home for Christmas. It is written from the point of view of a serviceman who longs for home, but can only return home in his dreams. It sounds particularly poignant every Christmas when so many will not be home for Christmas, except in their dreams:
 
I’ll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
 
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the lovelight gleams
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
 
This is something more than nostalgia. What we long for, what I believe Matthew and his readers long for, is not merely an Incarnation from the past, but a gathering up of our past, present and future into a harmony that is not achieved on this side of heaven.

I know this longing only finds fulfillment in God-- the one who can take the broken and scattered pieces of our lives and make them whole. That’s a truth that hard to hear through the noise and consumerism of the season yet remain, in this third week of Advent, even more determined.
 
So I cling to the truth that God is my home and the promise that God will find a home in me. Because that means that wherever I may be, whatever might befall me or those I love, I will be home for Christmas.

May it be so for you and the people you love,
Pastor Bill

Rev. Bill Worley
Conference Minister  
Position posted for Interim Associate Conference Minister

Last week, we shared news of Rev. Sharon Morris’s resignation from our Conference Staff. If you missed that, you can find it here . Conference Consistory posted yesterday a denomination-wide invitation for candidates interested in serving as the Interim Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call. You can see that here . We expect to have an interim candidate in place no later than March 1, 2020. Consistory anticipates a year-long interim process while Conference leaders discern the current and future needs of our ministry related to this position. Check back each week for regular updates during this time of transition and as always, please keep Sharon, our staff and our Conference in your prayers.

Ms. Jennie Strauch, Moderator
Rev. Bill Worley, Conference Minister  
PSEC Office holiday hours

The Pennsylvania Southeast Conference office will be closed Monday, Dec. 23 through Wednesday, Jan. 1. Staff will be available, but working from home Dec. 23, 26-31.

Also, please note that during inclement weather staff may work from home on days where the school district in which they live is closed. If there is questionable weather in Berks/Montgomery Counties, please call before visiting the Conference Office.
Last chance to sign up: PSEC 2020 Communities of Practice

PSEC started its first Communities of Practice groups in 2014. The program gives clergy a chance to come together for support and learning. Groups meet monthly to “check-in” and learn and share about a chosen topic or issue. There is an annual $250 fee for participants to cover the cost of the facilitator and any other program costs. We ask that congregations pay this fee. (Scholarships may be available for churches/pastors with financial difficulties.)

The program has been very successful and each year we create more groups. This year, sign ups are open for:
  • an existing group that meets in Fleetwood and has some openings;
  • a re-forming group in Philadelphia;
  • a new group on Christian spirituality and direction (this will be the second such group).
Additionally, there is an open call for people who would like to join a new group in a yet-undetermined location. For that, just select “Interested in new group” and comment with your preferred time and location. We will look at the results and set groups accordingly.

If you are interested in being part of a Community of Practice and are looking for life-sustaining friendships, a new perspective, a renewed calling, a time for reflection, then sign up today. Click here to register before Wednesday, Dec. 18 . If you have any questions about Communities of Practice or joining a group, contact Rev. Sharon Morris at morris@psec.org or 484-949-8774 ext. 302.
PSEC providing daily Advent reflections on Facebook
PSEC 2019 financial giving deadline announced

The PSEC financial books will close for 2019 on Jan. 17, 2020. All OCWM contributions and pass-throughs for 2019 must be received by our office by the close of business Friday, Jan. 17 in order to be counted as a 2019 contribution.
LGBTQIA+ workshop approved as Diversity Training

The Faith-based LGBTQIA+ Cultural Competency Training that Boehm's UCC is hosting on Jan. 11 has been approved by all Associations as meeting the requirement for Diversity Training (or continuing education hours). The training will be from 9:00a-12:00p and costs $5. This is open to everyone. Registration is now open. Click here for a flyer to share.
Lehigh Presbytery sets 2020 Boundary Training workshops

The Pennsylvania Southeast Conference has a reciprocal relationship with other local judicatories to accept one another's Boundary Awareness Training workshops. In 2020, the Lehigh Presbytery will be offering training. Workshop and registration information is available here . If you need Boundary Training in 2020, please save these dates now:
  • March 12 in East Stroudsburg
  • May 21 in Bethlehem
  • October 14 in Reading
Save the date: Mark your calendar for these 2020 events

Did you know PSEC has scheduled more than three dozen events so far for 2020? Read this news story for a complete list of events on our website.
Shop AmazonSmile to benefit the PSEC this holiday season
AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that gives customers the same selection of products and the same prices, but the foundation donates a percentage -- usually 0.5% -- of eligible purchases to the charitable organization selected by the customer. If you haven't attached your Amazon account to PSEC, please consider doing so now! Support PSEC Here   
Recommend something to the conference reading list

Have a book to recommend for other clergy and lay leaders? Send an email to brea@psec.org with a 100-200 word description of the book and why you're recommending it and we'll add your recommendation to the PSEC reading list and share it in eNews.  Check out all of the recommended books at psec.org/booklist.
PSEC Events

Jan. 14: 2020 Women's Clergy Retreat in Reading

Jan. 24: Cultivating Generous Congregations in Boyertown


Feb. 22: ALICE Training in Bernville

March 7: ALICE Training in Quakertown

May 5: Clergy Convocation in Lancaster

View more events on the PSEC Calendar
Church Openings
Many openings are on UCC's Ministerial Opportunities page. Especially note:
  • Calvary UCC, Barto (part-time interim)
  • St. John's UCC, Orwigsburg (half-time designated)
  • St. John's UCC, Pottstown (part-time interim)
  • St. Mark's UCC, Reading (10 hrs/ week)
  • St. Paul's UCC, Pottstown (part-time settled)

If you’re interested in a position, contact Rev.Sharon Morris: morris@psec.org or 484-949-8774 ext. 302.
Educational Opportunities
View more events on the PSEC Calendar
Church Events
Dec. 18: Blue Christmas/ Service of Tears in Alburtis


Dec. 22: Lessons and Carols in Sumneytown


Submit Church Events here
View a complete list of Church Events here
Classified Ads

Submit Classified Ads here
View a complete list of Classified Ads here
Missed a week? Read past eNews here:
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!