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Important This Week
- General Synod 2023
- Our Faith Our Vote 2022
- Tips on Church Property Use
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From Our Acting Conference Minister
(and Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call):
In Wendell Berry’s novel "Jayber Crow", the narrator tells of something he witnessed at the orphanage he had been placed within:
"I remember a little girl, the E. Lawler I mentioned before, who came to The Good Shepherd when she was about seven years old. She was a slight, brown-haired, sad-looking, lonesome-looking girl whose clothes did not fit. She looked accidental or unexpected, and seemed to be without expectation, and resigned, and so quiet that even in my selfishness I wished I knew a way to help her.
I watched her all the time. When her class went out to play, she did not take part but only stood back and watched the other girls. She always wore a dress that sagged and brown cottons stockings that were always wrinkled. She was waiting. I did not understand that she was waiting, but she was. And then one day as her classmates were joining hands to play some sort of game, one of the girls broke the circle. She held out her hand to the newcomer to beckon her in. And E. Lawler ran into the circle and joined hands with the others.
I wrote E. Lawler in my tablet so that I would not forget her." (38-39)
“I did not understand she was waiting, but she was.”
Waiting for an invitation to be included, to be welcomed, and to be a part of a community that draws the circle wide. I am quite aware that many people aren’t interested in that kind of Christian community – someone quite literally shared with me yesterday the people she was sure shouldn’t be included – but so many are, and so many times we don’t simply invite people into the story.
We’re shy, we know that people, many people are hostile to the current dominant expression of our Christian faith in the country (rightfully so, I think), and we’re respectful of other people’s faith journeys. We’re not for everyone, but we are for far more people than we believe. I’ve been to countless, thoughtful workshops on church growth, but the fundamental truth remains that an invitation from a friend, a co-worker, a relative, a stranger, is the most effective way of getting a new person in the door. Some people are just waiting to be asked. May we beckon those who need us in particular into that circle, into a life together following after the way of Jesus.
Rev. Kevin J. McLemore
Acting Conference Minister/ Associate Conference Minister for Search & Call
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"Making All Things New"
General Synod 2023
Making All Things New” will be the theme of the 34th biennial General Synod of the United Church of Christ, scheduled for June 30–July 4, 2023, in Indianapolis.
The General Synod of the United Church of Christ will get back to business a year from now. And it will do so in person.
After an all-virtual experience in 2021, the UCC’s biennial national meeting will require all voting delegates to be in Indianapolis in 2023. That’s according to the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, the associate general minister who serves as Synod administrator.
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Single Day
Volunteer Opportunities
Assist the Eastwick neighborhood in Philadelphia to rebuild.
Who: Volunteers with general construction/carpentry skills & those willing to learn ages 18+
What: Rebuilding residential homes (insulation, flooring, painting, framing, taping, etc.)
When: Saturday, August 6th
Wednesday, September 14th Thursday, September 15th
Why: To help our neighbors recover after damage from Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020
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Three Different Advanced Boundary Trainings Available
Advanced Boundary Training "Keeping Time for Rest and Renewal" with PSEC Staff - September 14th, 9:00a - 12:00 noon, via zoom. To register for "Keeping Time for Rest and Renewal" click here.
Advanced Boundary Training "Power and the Office of Pastor" with Rev. Nora Faust - October 19th, 9:00a - 12:00 noon via zoom. To register for "Power and the Office of Pastor" click here.
Advanced Boundary Training " Pastoral Self Care" with Rev. Wanda Craner - November 2nd, 9:00a - 12:00 noon at Church of the Good Shepherd, Boyertown. To register for "Pastoral Self Care" click here. |
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Our Faith Our Vote 2022: Faithful Engagement in a Time of Increased Voter Suppression
Throughout Scripture and in the teachings of Jesus, we hear the faith call to be in just, compassionate right relation with each other. So discipleship draws us to engagement with our common life, what we call the political process, as the way we order our relationships.
Join this webinar and learn how the UCC Our Faith Our Vote campaign can be integrated into congregational life and shape congregational identity, complementing and amplifying other congregational covenants like ONA and Just Peace. Click here to register.
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Tips On
Church Property Use
Heather Kimmel, General Counsel for the United Church of Christ has received numerous questions regarding one-time or short-term use of your church property by individuals and groups.
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From the Addiction & Recovery Taskforce: Step Eight
We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
Our experience tells us that we must become willing to make a list of all persons we had harmed. This step is not easy; it demands a deeper kind of honesty about our relationships with others. This begins the process of forgiveness, and we become ready to understand rather than to be understood.
In preparation of making our list, it is beneficial to define harm. Examples could be defined as physical or mental damage, inflicting pain, suffering, or loss. Addicts have difficulty admitting that they caused harm because we believed that we were victims of our disease. A separation of what was done to us from what we did to others removes our ideas of being a victim.
Working this step helps us to repair the wreckage of our lives. In writing our list, we admit that we hurt others. We honestly examine our wrongdoings and become willing to make amends.
Thoughts and fears of making our amends can be a major roadblock both in writing our list and in becoming willing. Listening to other addicts experience will help us through this process. When our willingness has grown, we are free to begin making our amends and continue to Step Nine.
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Shaping Generations: Queer Justice and Love in the UCC
2022 National ONA Gathering
Join us Aug. 5-7 for our first National ONA Gathering since 2019! Our virtual event will celebrate the 50th anniversaries of the ONA Coalition and Bill Johnson’s ordination as the first openly gay man authorized to serve an historic Christian church as a minister of word and sacrament.
Leaders include the Rev. Rhina Ramos (worship leader), Bishop Yvette Flunder (closing address and charge), the Rev. Bill Johnson and the Rev. Anne Holmes, and the Rev. Andy Lang (State of the ONA Movement).
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Faith-Based Security & Resilience Learning Series
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Homeland Security (GOHS), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the three Fusion Centers (PaCIC, WPAHFC, DVIC) across the Commonwealth, Faith-based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (FB-ISAO), and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), cordially invite you to attend the third a quarterly event of our virtual learning series for Faith-based Organizations. This learning series will provide valuable information to religious leaders, security personnel and members of the houses of worship to enhance security and resilience. The next session is on Thursday, July 28, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please see the attached flyer with additional details. Registration is now open.
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SNEUCC Faith Formation Leadership Program
Beginning in the fall, the Southern New England Conference UCC will be coordinating a Community of Practice for youth ministry leaders and clergy through their Faith Formation Leadership program. There are already three PSEC clergy and faith formation/Christian education leaders committed to joining the group, but there are still a few open spots. The cost is $250/year. For more information or to sign up, contact Debbie Gline Allen, the SNEUCC Minister of Faith Formation, at glineallend@sneucc.org.
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Tips on Leasing Your
Church Property
Heather Kimmel, General Counsel for the United Church of Christ has received numerous questions regarding leasing your church property.
Heather posted "Leasing Church Property to a Tenant: What Churches Need to Know". To access this article, click here.
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Here is your last chance to sign up for this choral and spiritual retreat in Lincoln, Nebraska, where UCCMA will have a presence. This gathering is sponsored by First-Plymouth UCC and will take place July 22-24, 2022. UCCMA members can get a special hotel rate. To register and for complete event info including workshop descriptions, click here.
The deadline for registration is July 15, 2022. For travel and hotel information, click here.
If you plan to go, do let President Greg Chestnut know so that he can look out for you. Send him a note here.
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Upcoming opportunities from the PA Academy of Ministry
Personal Finances for Ministers, July 12-Aug. 16. Tuesdays, 7-8:30p. Instructor Lovett Weems. Introduction to basics of personal financial management, including special considerations for religious professionals and congregations where they serve. Topics include budgeting, debt, compensation and taxes, insurance, investing, and estate planning. For pastors and lay leaders. 2.5 CEUs. $125
Ministerial Ethics and Professional Development, Aug. 23-Sept. 27. Tuesdays, 7-8:30p. Instructor Jessica Young Brown. A Ministerial Institute class. An in-depth look at ethics in ministry, including confidentiality, fiduciary duty, healthy boundaries, and self-care. 2.5 CEUs. $325.
Church Finances, Oct 11.-Nov. 15. Tuesdays, 7-8:30p. Instructor, Lovett Weems. Skills for creating and presenting budgets grounded in the church’s mission, expanding means of giving and sources of income, presenting accurate tracking and reporting of giving, proper financial administration of funds, and exploring new options for funding ministry. For pastors and lay leaders. 2.5 CEUs. $125.
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Church Openings
- Barnesville-Delano Tri-Charge, Schuylkill County (full-time settled)
- Bern Reformed UCC, Leesport (three-quarter time settled)
- Brownback's UCC, Spring City (full-time interim)
- Community UCC, Reading (full-time interim or designated)
- Glenside UCC, Glenside (full-time settled)
- Immanuel UCC, Shillington (half-time associate pastor)
- St. Andrew's UCC, Perkasie (full-time settled)
- St. James UCC, Havertown (full-time interim)
- St. John's UCC, Lansdale (full-time interim)
- Trinity Reformed UCC, Pottstown (full-time interim)
- Wentz's UCC, Lansdale (full-time settled)
If you’re interested in a position, contact Rev. Kevin McLemore: 484-949-8774 ext. 302 or mclemore@psec.org.
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Classified Ads
Submit Classified Ads here
View a complete list of Classified Ads here
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Missed an email? Read past emails 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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