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Important This Week
- Church World Service matching grants deadline approaching.
- Sign up for a webinar on hostile event preparedness for the church.
- Bethany Children's Home hiring CEO
- Check out the summer reading list.
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Church stocks school, hygiene kits as CWS grant deadline nears
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This weekend, Valley Forge UCC put together Church World Service school kits and hygiene kits. Here's how one member, Rhonda Matlack, described the work:
"Valley Forge UCC embarked Sunday Father's Day to gather and assemble school kits and hygiene kits to support the 2019 UCC Disaster Ministries. We enjoyed our time together and as care givers and disciples of Christ humble ourselves to support those still in need from past crisis and are sensitive for the need of supplies for future preparedness. We hope next year to double our efforts and to include clean up buckets. With the help of UCC.org Disaster Ministries, we received a $250 grant to get us started and are most appreciative!"
UCC churches assembling clean-up buckets, school kits, and/or hygiene kits for Church World Service are encouraged to apply for matching grants from UCC Disaster Ministries for up to $250 per congregation.
The deadline to apply for 2019 has been extended to June 30
.
For information on the matching grants,
click here.
For the UCC Disaster Ministries Kit Matching Grant Application, including a list of what to include in the kits and buckets,
click here.
To see how Church World Service kits, buckets, and blankets were distributed in 2018,
click here.
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Webinar: Hostile event preparedness for the church
On Thursday, June 20 at 1:00p, the
Faith-Based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization
(FB-ISAO) is hosting the webinar “Hostile Event Preparedness for the Community of Faith.” This webinar will cover active shooter incidents, workplace violence and workplace attacks, lone actor and low-tech terrorism, complex coordinated terrorist attacks, fire as a weapon, weapons of mass destruction, and other related activities. This webinar presents threat analysis, actionable recommendations, and best practices.
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Bethany Children's Home seeking new Chief Executive
Bethany Children's Home, a Berks County nonprofit that provides individualized services to youth aged 6-20 in a group home setting in Womelsdorf, is seeking a Chief Executive Officer to oversee the strategic planning and visioning for Bethany and its programs, functions and activities. The CEO creates, communicates and implements Bethany’s mission, vision and overall direction while supervising a staff of 160 on a 385-acre campus. Candidates must possess at least a Bachelor's Degree in human services or related field with a minimum of five years of progressive nonprofit executive-level experience. Applicants should send a resume and cover letter with salary requirements to
applyCEO@bethanyhome.org
by July 1. For more on the position,
click here
.
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PSEC summer reading list: "The Time is Now, A Call to Uncommon Courage"
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Sister Joan Chittister is a Benedectine Sister who has written over 50 books and many articles for publication. She has always worked on behalf of the marginalized, including women’s issues, and on behalf of a just world for ALL. Most of her books that I have experienced have helped my faith formation and spiritual practices but this latest one, has spoken to my heart in a way that I didn’t realize I was yearning. I posted to Facebook that this book was written “just for me” but realize maybe it was for you too! LOL
I ordered her book after hearing her interview with Oprah Winfrey for the SuperSoul Sunday show. The interview moved me to tears! In the interview she called out the daily injustices that we are all witnessing in real time and was emphatic about her belief that this country has to make a decision right now about what type of a country we want to be.
Her book outlines the hard work of being prophetic and includes a whole lot of biblical and historical references to support her words. According to the book cover, this book is “for the weary, the cranky, and the fearful, this energizing message invites us to participate in a vision for a world greater than the one we find ourselves in today.” I couldn’t agree more. It is the boost of energy to carry on the hard work, the understanding of the loneliness for the journey, and the vision of a more just world that I know most of us yearn for.
Tammie Wisniewski
New Jerusalem Zion UCC, Lenhartsville
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 it to the PSEC summer reading list and share your recommendation in eNews.
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Great news in PSEC's OCWM report for January-May 2019
Through May 31, the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference has received $11,000 more in OCWM contributions than we had at this point in 2018. Both years had the same amount of Sundays, same special services, and celebrations through May 31 as the prior year.
Of the 120 churches who pledged to the conference for 2019, 81 are either ahead of schedule on their giving or are right on schedule, 17 churches are behind schedule, and 22 churches have sent no money towards their commitment. There are 3 more churches who have pledged for 2019 over churches who pledged in 2018.
This is wonderful news for the entire PSE Conference as our OCWM funds support scholarships, training, churches and pastors who are searching, workshops and PSEC meetings, just to name a few. Our healthy OCWM status signifies a healthy PSE Conference! Thank you and keep doing the wonderful, outreach you do!
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Support unaccompanied youth thru Bethany Children's Home
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Helping Hands is a humanitarian program that reunites unaccompanied youth from Central America with family that already resides in the USA. Bethany Children's Home provides them with a safe place to live and grow until they are reunited with their families.
Click here
for a list of the items they are currently in need of, as many of the youth, aged 5-14 years, arrive with just the clothes on their backs.
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PA Academy of Ministry delays Ministerial Institute opening
The first classes of Lancaster Theological Seminary’s new Ministerial Institute of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry will not be held until next summer: July 19-24, 2020. The non-degree program, designed to prepare people for ministerial leadership, debuts with an intensive weeklong summer session held on campus in 2020.
The Ministerial Institute’s three-year program includes online classes plus an on-campus summer session for one week each year. The application deadline for the 2020 summer intensive is July 1, 2020.
Director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry at Lancaster Theological Seminary is Rev. Darryl W. Stephens, PhD. "PAM’s Ministerial Institute is an ecumenical program designed for lay ministers, bivocational ministers, individuals in discernment, and others seeking an alternative to or preparation for graduate theological education,” Stephens said.
The Ministerial Institute is the first and largest of three planned components of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry at Lancaster Theological Seminary. After the Ministerial Institute’s first full year, the Seminary plans to launch a discipleship program that will offer educational programs for congregations, and a continuing education program for clergy. To learn more about the Ministerial Institute, application requirements and classes, visit
lancasterseminary.edu/academics/PAM
.
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Earlington church bowling league looking for teams
An inter-church bowling league that bowls in Earlington is looking for more church teams. The season starts Aug. 27. For more information,
click here
for a flyer.
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Help needed: Camp Noah is coming to Philadelphia
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Camp Noah provides a safe, caring and fun environment where children whose communities have been impacted by disasters can get help to process their disaster or trauma. The camp uses a proven curriculum designed to, Build Resiliency, Restore Hope and Change Lives! Camp Noah this year will be held Aug. 19-23 at the New Creation Lutheran Church, 162 W Tioga St;, Philadelphia. The focus this year are children affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, ranging in age from 6 to 13.
Organized nationally by Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, Camp Noah works with local organizations and community groups to serve children. To make this fantastic endeavor a success, we need your help! Volunteers who speak Spanish are especially needed. For more information or to volunteer, contact Julia Menzo, Lutheran Disaster Coordinator, at 267-464-7740 or Karl Jones, UCC Disaster Coordinator, at 570-617-4018. UCC Disaster Ministries has supplied financial assistance for this program!
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Highlands at Wyomissing looking for part-time chaplain
The Highlands at Wyomissing, a 450+ resident continuing care retirement community in Berks County, is seeking a part-time Chaplain (20 hours per week) to serve the spiritual needs of their residents. For a letter from the Call Committee,
click here
. For the job description,
click here.
June 28 is the deadline to apply.
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Disaster readiness workshop at General Synod and in PNEC
In this workshop the UCC's Amanda Sheldon and Gerald Sink of the Insurance Board will show you how your church -- as a building and as a community -- should prepare for various types of natural disasters. You will also learn preparedness measures that will position your church to be engaged in effective and helpful disaster response ministry when an event occurs in your community.
The workshop will feature the launch of a new church preparedness toolkit, created collaboratively. Attendees will receive a thumb drive with the toolkit, comprising all preparedness documents for their church.
The tools and strategies presented at this General Synod workshop will form the basis of a training experience to be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, at a place and time to be determined
within Penn Northeast Conference
. This training will be led by the PSEC Disaster Coordinator, Karl Jones, and UCC Disaster Recovery Specialist, Ken Skalitzky. It will be open to pastors and leaders of PA Southeast Conference. Watch for more information about this event coming soon!
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