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Important This Week
- One Great Hour of Sharing offering resources available.
- Church World Service kits needed.
- Registration still open for this weekend's Boundary Training.
- Yearend church reporting is due next Wednesday, March 6.
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From the Conference Minister: A reflection on diversity
To honor black history month, I have been reacquainting myself with Colin Powell’s biography (
My American Journey
) and James Cone’s
The Cross and the Lynching Tree
. Life with Colin as my President and Jim for my Pastor would have been, in my opinion, a blessed life; blessed for the rich diversity of thought, experience, and culture those relationships might have provided.
Relationships across lines of difference not only foster empathy and civility, they expand self-understanding and the capacity to embody the Divine. For this reason (among many others), UCC clergy are required to participate in diversity training every three years. Most approach that willingly with an open heart bent toward opening the hearts of others.
But according to
a study released this week
by the
Public Religion Research Institute
and
The Atlantic
, a significant minority of Americans do not think or live this way
—
and would not if given the choice. According to the article, “One of the many questions the Trump era has raised is whether Americans actually want a pluralistic society, where people are free to be themselves and still live side by side with others who aren’t like them.”
For the disciple of Christ, that question has been clearly and irrevocably answered — “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Pluralism is not just good for democracy (some would say essential), it is the very nature of creation and the Creator. Without the kind of broad inclusivity (political, religious, cultural) that is now beginning to upset many, it is a stretch to say that we are moving toward becoming One in the Body of Christ.
It is true that many of us are not in control of the amount of physical diversity to which we’re exposed. Some of us would have to drive long distances to not be surrounded by sameness. But that does not absolve us from cultivating the kind of communities that perceive diversity as our unfolding destiny along the way toward unity with the Divine.
I will always hope and pray that PSEC congregations embody the power of the resurrected Spirit of Jesus Christ to live together because of, not in spite of, all our diversity as testimony to the truth that “all things really are possible with God.”
May It Be So,
Bill
Rev. William Worley
Conference Minister
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One Great Hour of Sharing offering date coming soon
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The suggested date for the One Great Hour of Sharing offering is March 31. One Great Hour of Sharing, as part of Our Churches Wider Mission, is the special mission offering of the UCC that carries God’s message of love and hope to people in crisis. The UCC works with international partners to provide sources of clean water, food, education and health care, small business micro-credit, advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons, and emergency relief and rehabilitation. OGHS also supports domestic and international ministries for disaster preparedness and response. In 2017, OGHS offering received over $2 million to support disaster, refugee, and development activities. Visit the UCC website for
OGHS resources
, including videos, preaching/lectionary notes, sermon starter, bulletin inserts, children’s sermons, and more.
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Youth volunteer leaders can apply for national council
Students in 8th-11th grades who have done community service or are interested in emergency preparedness can apply to serve on the FEMA
Youth Preparedness Council
. The
application
, two letters of recommendation, and academic records are due March 31. The Council offers youth a chance to serve on a national council and participate in the Youth Preparedness Council Summit in Washington, D.C. During their two-year term, the youth will complete a local and national-level project and share their ideas regarding youth disaster preparedness with FEMA leadership and national organizations.
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Church World Service kits needed; grants extended
PSEC congregations have been faithful in completing Church World Service kits in response to the many storms. Because of this faithful response, CWS was able to get nearly 50,000 CWS Kits into the hands of families impacted by storms, fire, and other disasters. However, these continuing events brought the supply of CWS Kits to a critical low. Therefore, it is important that our churches keep putting these kits together. To encourage us to complete kits, UCC Disaster Ministries has extended the matching grant program for churches that want to build Disaster buckets! For the details you can
click here
.
You can help in another way as well. We need churches that have a room to spare that can serve as CWS Kit Depots. For more information on this opportunity please contact Conference Disaster Coordinator Karl Jones at
kjones275@comcast.net
.
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UCC grant, savvy support recovery in Schuylkill County
Read about how Schuylkill County flood victims are being supported by the United Church of Christ and its members, in this story from the UCC this week.
Six weeks of rain caused repeated flooding last summer in Schuylkill County, Pa. Some areas had severe damage to homes, including loss of furnaces and water heaters.
A UCC Disaster Ministries grant of $10,000 is ensuring that affected families have heat and hot water through the winter.
Funds are designated for people with few or no resources and with severe unmet needs. They are being allocated through the UCC’s Pennsylvania Southeast Conference and its Schuylkill Association, which have stepped up to support the flood recovery effort.
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Don't forget to complete your church's year-end reporting
Thank you to the churches that have already completed the year-end church reporting! To start this week, some associations have more than a quarter of churches reporting! For more information on your church's reporting, visit
psec.org/reporting
or contact Brea Rarick at
brea@psec.org
.
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Register for PA Academy of Ministry at Lancaster Seminary
Registration is now open for the Ministerial Institute of Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry at Lancaster Theological Seminary. This is a three-year nondegree program for lay ministers pastoring churches, pastoral leaders in part-time or bi-vocational ministries, individuals in discernment, and laity serving churches. The program will begin in July and registration is open now.
Click here
for more information.
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Ecumenical Advocacy Days and UCC Pre-meeting event
On April 5-8, the
2019 Ecumenical Advocacy Days Conference
(EAD) will be held in Washington DC. EAD uses music, art, worship, education, and social activities to inform and engage participants on how to work for positive change and to live out their faith.
The UCC’s Washington office will host a pre-meeting for UCC advocates on Friday, April 5. This will be a time to connect with one another and find points of intersection between the work of the national setting and the many justice movements which our advocates are engaged in. Register for the
UCC gathering here
.
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Consistory Presidents gathering scheduled for March
To All Consistory Presidents:
A Gathering Community for Consistory Presidents is forming now.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good
– 1 Corinthians 12:7
Many of our Pastors meet regularly in clergy groups to support one another, share ideas, and pray for each other. A gathering community for Consistory Presidents will offer similar opportunity for these critical lay leaders. As Presidents of Consistory (or other governing body of your church), we have opportunity and roadblocks facing us at all times. Our goal is to brainstorm, support, pray, laugh, and learn together in a confidential environment, so that we are strengthened to build healthy, vibrant, and faithful churches.
There is no fee to attend.
Brenda Semach, Consistory President of Falkner Swamp Reformed UCC, invites you to a gathering on
Saturday, March 16
, from 9 – 11AM, held at Falkner Swamp, 2077 Swamp Pike, Gilbertsville, PA (Covenant Association). Please RSVP to her directly:
kbsemach@aol.com
We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
– 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
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Last chance to register for Saturday Boundary Training
Committees on Ministries and Conference staff have heard many complaints from bi-vocational pastors that it is hard to fulfill the Boundary Training requirements while holding a secular job. Therefore, a Boundary Training workshop has been scheduled for
this Saturday, March 2
in Lansdale. Registration has been very low considering how many people who have requested this training. Please register for upcoming BAT opportunities:
- Basic Boundary Training, Saturday, March 2 in Lansdale
- Basic Boundary Training, Tuesday, March 26 in Quakertown
- Advanced Boundary Training on Over-Functioning and Addiction, Tuesday, April 2 in Reading
- Basic Boundary Training, Wednesday, May 15 in Kutztown
- Basic Boundary Training, Thursday, Oct. 3 in Schuylkill Haven
- Advanced Boundary Training on Pastoral Transitions, Tuesday, Oct. 22 in Norrsitown
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Musicians Association opens registration for summer event
The "Uniting Church and Community Through Music & Art" summer conference will be held in Madison, Wisconsin June 25-28. (The days after General Synod, at a church just an hour east of Milwaukee.) Registration is open for the event, which features workshops, music for purchase, and networking opportunities. Workshops will range from organ, choral and handbells to drumming, liturgical art, liturgical movement, to working with a variety of aged voices, and promoting the arts in a variety of ways.
Click here
for more details and to register.
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Joint PSEC/PNEC Disaster Ministry Team to meet in March
For some time both PA Southeast and Penn Northeast conferences have been active in disaster ministries in eastern PA and throughout the UCC. We can celebrate the ministry that we have had, but now it is time to take a fresh look at what God is calling us to do and be. Over the past few years our Conferences have affirmed that we share a ministry relationship, even though we are not moving forward with the unified conference council at this time. Therefore, we are seeking to consult with people who have a passion for Disaster Ministries as we seek to discover if and how we can work together. Therefore, you are invited to the initial meeting of the joint PNEC/PSEC Disaster Ministry Team on
March 11 at 6:30p
at the Penn Northeast Conference Office (a Zoom option will be available). We will explore some
"What if..."
questions, seeking ways to grow and enhance our Disaster Ministries Initiatives:
- What if … our Conferences would be engaged in a collaborative disaster ministry program, sharing leadership and resources? Is this the right time?
- What if … we could get others involved? Who should that be?
- What if … we had some common goals and objectives? What protocols should guide our collaborative ministry?
- What if … we would start working together? What are the first steps we would take?
We ask that you pray about your response to this opportunity. If you will participate, respond to
kjones275@comcast.net
, so we can prepare for your attendance.
Karl
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