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Important This Week
- Less than two weeks until the PSEC Fall Meeting. Register now!
- A message from the Conference Minister on the lectionary text.
- Retired UCC pastor featured at Veterans' Day event.
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From the Conference Minister:
Everything that was and is and will be is connected
27Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30then the second 31and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. 32Finally the woman also died. 33In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be?
Luke 20:27-38
The Sadducees were being snarky trying to trip Jesus up in a ridiculous Tic Toc nature of a scenario. If a woman, say for instance Elizabeth Taylor, is married 7 times in this world, who will she belong to in the next world when all the resurrected people get back together again?
Years before Luke wrote down Jesus’ answer, Paul penned to the Corinthians that the resurrection will not be physical -- “It’s the same with the resurrection of the dead: a rotting body is put into the ground, but what is raised won’t ever decay… It’s a physical body when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised as a spiritual body.” (1 Corinthians 15: 42, 44, CEB).
Paul says bodies won’t be the same, and Jesus says relationships won’t be the same. The connections we have on this side of heaven are of our making. Most of our connections are made on the basis of what makes us comfortable. We forge relationships with people with whom we agree, who make us feel safe and good about ourselves; people we love and who love us back. On the other side of heaven all is love, everything. Everything that was and is and will be is connected. Reminds me of our 2020 Vision plan mission -- “strengthen local churches and pastors by making them, our Associations and Conference, agencies of connection.”
I’d like in my time, in whatever way I can, to bring a little of that side of heaven to this side of earth. I think that’s what it means to be a disciple and follower of Jesus. I am better at that on some days more than others. But I am working at. And I am blessed beyond measure to be working with others who are too. Thanks be to God for them and for you.
Pastor Bill
Rev. William
Worley
Conference Minister
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Less than two weeks until the PSEC 2019 Fall Meeting
On Sunday, Nov. 17, the PSEC 2019 Fall Meeting will be held at Ursinus College at 3:00p. Registration is open.
How do your OCWM contributions benefit your pastor, your members, and your church?
Conversation around social justice issues: the opioid crisis and climate change.
Discussion concerning a possible PSEC mobile office.
These are just a few of the questions that we will answer at the Fall Meeting. Join us and learn what is happening in PSEC and how your church benefits!
More information and advance materials can be found on the
PSEC website
.
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Retired UCC pastor featured at Bethlehem Veterans' Day event
Phoebe Terrace Korean War Veterans Richard “Dick” Reider, who was a U.S. Army Corporal, Louis “Lou” Wolf, a U.S. Army Sergeant, and The Rev. Wilbur “Bill” Albright, a Communication Technician First Class with the U.S. Navy will discuss their experiences of military service during the Korean War on Monday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at 7:00p at the ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.
This panel discussion, “The Forgotten War: Stories from the Korean War”, will be moderated by retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel and head of Lehigh University’s Veterans Association, Frank Gunter, followed by a screening of the feature film “Unforgettable: The Korean War.”
The event, which is free to attend, will also be taped and rebroadcast on PBS39. For info and ticket reservations go to
steelstacks.org
or call the ArtsQuest Center Box Office at 610-332-3378.
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Old First, Philadelphia's breakfast ministry needs help
Old First UCC, Philadelphia, has a clothing closet and breakfast that serve 80 people on Saturdays. Volunteer groups to provide and serve breakfast are needed. To read more about the ministry and how your church can help, read this
PSEC.org news story
.
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Hurricane Michael recovery starts in Florida panhandle
$5,000 seed grants from UCC Disaster Ministries will go toward costs for four Hurricane Michael long-term recovery groups in the Florida Panhandle. UCC Disaster Ministries is also supporting recovery in Bay and Washington counties, Fla.,
including with recruitment of volunteer work teams.
Community-based LTRGs help guide disaster survivors through recovery, including mobilizing resources such as FEMA and SBA grants, insurance payouts and personal financial resources. LTRG case managers look for the unmet needs, prioritizing the most vulnerable survivors, including elderly and disabled residents. Other functions include fundraising, construction and volunteer management, with the goal of stretching resources to help as many people as possible recover.
“Many residents still have blue-tarped roofs that leak when it rains," reported Liberty Strong. "Still others are struggling to feed and clothe their families while trying to pay for repairs to their homes." Hurricane Michael made landfall as a Category 5 storm Oct. 10, 2018, northwest of Mexico Beach, the most powerful hurricane on record to hit the Florida Panhandle.
Needs include repairing and rebuilding homes - along with spiritual or mental health services, especially for those whose homes have been completely destroyed and are still in need of suitable housing.
For more information on Disaster Ministries in Florida,
click here.
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UCC funds resiliency training for a whole Sulawesi village
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Money and Ministry scheduled for this weekend in Palmerton
On Nov. 9, PNEC and Financial Ministries of the UCC present "Money and Ministry" with workshops on:
- Repurposing Your Building for Revitalized Ministry
- The 10 Best Practice of Financially Healthy Congregations
- Protecting Your Church
- A Four Step, 20-Point Checklist Approach to Better Stewardship Results
- Planned Giving: The Keys to Building a Successful and Sustainable Program
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Free UCC webinar: Worker justice is climate justice
As the climate movement pushes our society toward becoming fossil free, how can we ensure that the transition happens in a way that is just and fair for workers? This question will be at the heart of the UCC’s next
Creation Justice Webinar
. The featured guests will be Michael Leon Guerrero from the Labor Network for Sustainability and Michael Williams from the BlueGreen Alliance. In a world that often falsely pits the well-being of workers against protection of the environment, they will help us see how matters of justice are interconnected rather than oppositional. The webinar will be on Nov. 14, but register even if you can’t make it.
Sign-up now!
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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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Transitions
Week of Nov. 10
Rev. Linda Kozlowski's last Sunday at Calvary UCC, Barto
Mr. Jason Stump's Ordination Service at St. Peter's UCC, Pine Grove
Week of Nov. 17
Rev. Linda Kozlowski's first day at Good Shepherd UCC (Tuckerton), Reading
Week of Nov. 24
Pastor Jason Stump's last Sunday at St. Peter's UCC, Pine Grove
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Church Openings
- St. Mark's UCC, Reading (10 hrs/ week)
- St. John's UCC, Orwigsburg (interim)
- St. John's UCC, Pottstown (part-time interim)
- 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.
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Staff Preaching
Rev. William Worley
Rev. Sharon S. Morris
Rev. Cean James
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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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