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This Week in PNEC --- March 15, 2018 - March 23, 2018 |
TO CONTACT US OR TO REGISTER FOR EVENTS 431 Delaware Ave., Palmerton, PA18071; www.pnec.org website 610-826-3113; FAX 610-826-5464 Bonnie Bates bonnieb@pnec.org Gilberto Garcia Rodriguez gilbertor@pnec.org Barbara Jennings barbaraj@pnec.org Patty Rehrig pattyr@pnec.org IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO INCLUDE IN "THIS WEEK IN PNEC" PLEASE EMAIL IT TO pattyr@pnec.org |
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct,
in love, in faith and in purity." ~1 Timothy 4:12
Yesterday teens from across the country joined together in a "walk out" at 10:00 am for 17 minutes. Each minute represented a life lost during the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14th, 2018. Some of our PNEC youth joined with other students in districts across our conference area. The National School "walk out" was a time for the students to honor and remember the lives lost, and a way for them to nationally (and globally) let their voices be heard.
Area School districts that allowed the walk out to be student lead were proud and overwhelmed at the maturity shown by the students of their schools. Emmaus High School allowed the walk out to be student lead, and the students spoke up and remembered in peaceful way. PNEC Students from 3 different districts (Whitehall/Coplay, Northampton, and Catasauqua) reported their walk outs to be a time of silence, reflection, prayer, and remembrance. LCTI students formed the number 17 and held up pictures of the 17 victims to honor them and remember.
Some districts walked alongside the students and helped them. Parkland High School helped the students to allow it to be a time of education and exploration for the students. Parkland has also been working tirelessly on their Parkland for Parkland Campaign.
Not all the school districts agreed with the walk out. Salisbury School District, for example, did not allow the students to walk out, but the district is encouraging the community to participate in what they are calling, "What's your 17?"
Not everyone agrees with the students walking out of school. As adults we have various opinions as to the best way for their voices to be heard. Yet, we do not walk in their shoes. We look at things from so many different angles. We have so much life experience that gets in our way of seeing through their eyes. We should be proud that our youth are finding their own way to have their voices be heard. Their own way to gather. And, when you really think about it, the only time our teens are gathered together, in one place, all at the same time, Nationwide, is at School.
May we continue to pray, continue to remember, and let us join our youth and take action. Allow yourself to be open the the spirit's leading, to speak up, to write letters, to Walk Up or to Walk Out. No matter what you feel called to do, it is time for us all to make a difference in our world. For us to join together to make sure our children and youth are safe. And, as always, we need to continue to encourage our youth to be able to live up to their callings and to lead by example.
#neveragain #enough
-Michelle Funk
Assistant Pastor, St. John's UCC, Fullerton
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Message for congregations about coaching:
I am excited to share with you a new resource we are able to provide congregational groups or individuals. We have trained 8 individuals to serve as Trained Coaches to assist individuals and groups within congregations to support activities such as vision, mission, and core values development; governance structures, constitutions and bylaws revisions; vitality efforts; transitions and search and call; conflict and behavioral covenant development.
Coaches may be assigned through the Conference Office based on the submission of an application, click here for application. If you are a contributor to OCWM over the last two years, your fee for coaching (other than search and call, which will be offered at no cost) will be $35 per hour. If your congregation has not donated to OCWM in the past two years, the fee will be $70 per hour. Once your congregation has committed to OCWM for two years, you will receive coaches at the reduced cost.
Our coaches have been trained through the Strengthen the Church funds we retain. We would encourage you to continue support for this special offering in addition to OCWM. Our costs for COACH training allowed many of our coaches to attend the training at no personal cost. The hourly rate you provide for them will cover their administrative and transportation costs only. The higher rate, for those not contributing to OCWM, will help us recover our contributions to the training.
- Bonnie
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Act Now to End Racism
Join us on a transformational journey! The Lehigh Conference of Churches is sponsoring a bus departure from the Lehigh Valley to events taking place April 4 in Washington, DC, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Watch the video and visit rally2endracism.org for background on the event and sponsoring organizations, including the National Council of Churches.
The cost is $60 per person, with meals on your own. We need 55 people registered by March 15 to make this possible.
Please contact me at 610-433-6421 or lpickens@lehighchurches.org with any questions. We hope you can join us and take part in this remembrance and call to action!
Peace,
Rev. Larry Pickens, Ecumenical Director
The Lehigh Conference of Churches
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Call to the 56th Annual Meeting of the Penn Northeast Conference Saturday, April 14, 2018 8AM to 4PM at Union UCC, 5550 Route 873, Neffs Theme: Exploration! Workshop Leader: Rev. Michael Piazza, Spiritual Visionary, Author, Social Justice Advocate, Currently serving as Pastor of Middle Collegiate Church, NYC Guest Preacher: Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates, Conference Minister, PNEC Download a Registration form here Also available for download from www.pnec.org |
2018 Boundaries Workshops
"Essential Boundaries for Wise Leaders"
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Essential Boundaries for Wise Leaders training program is designed to enrich both our opportunity and responsibility as leaders for Christ's church.
2018 Workshops will be held:
Tuesday, May 22 - Bern Lutheran, Leesport
Wednesday, May 23 - Faith Evang. Lutheran, Whitehall
Tuesday, October 23 - St. Paul's Lutheran, Dallas
Wednesday, October 24 - Christ Hamilton United,
Stroudsburg
God's Blessings,
Mary
Rev. Mary W. Gade, Associate of the Bishop
Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod/ELCA
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Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry
we will be offering a course in
CHURCH HISTORY on Saturday, April 7, 2018 from 9am to 4pm at First UCC in Schuylkill Haven but you can also attend via LIVE BROADCAST. This class
will focus on the history of the church beginning with the 1st century through the Crusades, Reformation, and today. Dr. Randall Zachman
will be teaching the course and he is a Professor Emeritus of Reformation Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he taught from 1991-2017, and is currently Adjunct Professor of Church History at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He has published books on the theology of Luther and Calvin, and has also published articles and chapters on Schleiermacher, Kierkegaard, and Barth, among others. This is a basic class for our Licensing Prep curriculum and a wonderful refresher for all clergy & laity of our roots in the Church. We hope you will join us for a fascinating and fast paced romp through Church History. Attached is a registration form with the reading assignment for the class or you can register and pay online at our website: www.paacademyofministry.org
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Volunteers, hosts at UCC's new Harvey recovery site share skills, hugs, prayers
UCC Disaster Ministries reached
out quickly after Harvey to Gulf
Coast pastors. Working with the UCC's South Central Conference, UCC Disaster Ministries
hired a Houston couple - the Rev. Joshua Lawrence and Amariee Collins - to coordinate the UCC's Harvey recovery for two years.
"Opening a recovery site in Port Arthur fits the UCC's commitment to care for historically underserved communities," said UCC Disaster Ministries Executive Zach Wolgemuth. Once a beacon of commerce, Port Arthur is now in precarious condition after years of economic recession and job outsourcing.
$80,000 from UCC Disaster Ministries is helping pay for construction materials and to hire a retired carpenter, as a temporary site construction manager.
The UCC's Penn Northeast Conference has loaned two tool trailers to the rebuilding effort, and retired UCC pastor the Rev. Paul Longstreth of Houston is lending his time and talents as volunteer coordinator.
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REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN...
Eastern Regional Youth Event
The Eastern Regional Youth Event website has been updated to include the band information and the workshops that will be available and what a variety of workshops there are! PNEC has formed a team to help you with any questions you may have. We have been working on any details for the churches in our conference. Have you received an email from the team? If not, please contact Marge Baltz (marjoriebaltz@yahoo.com). We will continue to give updates as they are available!
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ONLINE UCC History, Theology and Polity Course
June/July 2018
A UCC History, Theology and Polity Course that meets the requirements as set forth by the UCC Polity Teacher's Network will be offered online in June/July 2018. The instructor will be Rev. David Gaewski, Conference Minister of the New York Conference, UCC. Classes will begin at 9:30am and end at 3:30pm on the following dates: June 16, 23, 30 and July 7. The platform utilized will be Zoom Video Conferencing (
zoom.us
) The tuition will be $475. For more information contact course administrator, Ms. Diana Pelletier, at dkluscombe@msn.com
This polity course is sponsored by the Oneida Association of the New York Conference. Payments should be sent no later than December 23rd to: Diana Pelletier, 114 Munro Dr., Camillus, NY 13031. Make checks payable to Oneida Association UCC.
A syllabus is available upon request. Laity, Members in Discernment and Privilege of Call candidates are all invited! Class size is limited to the first fifteen to register. The course will be cancelled if we do not obtain seven registered students. A student is considered registered when full payment has been received. Students who cancel enrollment will receive reimbursements up until June13th. Please note the last three online classes reached maximum capacity
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On-line Polity Classes
geared towards Ministerial Authorization
2.
New York Conference: contact Conference Minister Rev. David Gaewski at
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Disaster Ministries Update
Just a little reminder that all churches are to drop off Church World Service kits (clean-up buckets, hygiene kits, and school kits) to the PNEC office in Palmerton. Having everything dropped off at the Conference office is more convenient for the people who will be delivering to Maryland.
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April 6 - To BE Announced - watch for further details at http://www.ijcu.org May 11 - Getting the "Other" Right: the Challenges of Doing History Professor Robert Weiner, Jones Professor of History, Lafayette College *Please Note - Location is Seegers Union 108-110 |
REGISTRATION OPEN
19th Global Youth Justice Training
World's Most Replicated Juvenile Justice Program
TEEN/YOUTH/STUDENT/PEER COURT and PEER JURY
Historic Provincetown in Cape Cod, USA
Tuesday to Thursday -- June 12-14, 2018
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Polity Curriculum for Local Churches
MESA recently released a new UCC Polity Curriculum designed for local congregations: new member classes, confirmation classes, COM orientations, and congregations considering joining the UCC. The materials can be found online at:
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Pennsylvania lay leader creates traveling road show around UCC's 3 Great Loves...A lay leader of the UCC Penn Northeast Conference is on a spiritual journey, spending his Sundays with several different congregations, and spreading the word about the
3 Great Loves (3GL) initiative.
Click to see full article
3 Great Loves Wants to Come to
Your Congregation
The 3 Great Loves is the denomination's opportunity to express how our Love of Neighbor, Love of Children, and Love of Creation work together to address the inequities in our current world. To move this initiative forward in the Penn Northeast Conference, we have recruited Gary Barraco from Forks UCC to be our '3 Great Loves Ambassador'. Gary has been working with the National representative and Regional Ambassador to prepare our Conference to learn more about the 3 Great Loves program. Gary and others want to come to your church and deliver the Sunday morning message or present to a large group. He has put together a full liturgy for a worship serve, including suggested hymns, so we can come in with a pre-packaged service. To learn more, contact Gary at
garybarraco@verizon.net
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IN SEARCH OF...
For the complete list of churches who are searching for organists, choir directors sextons, pianist, etc., etc., and also churches who are giving away items, please CLICK HERE |
What's Happening in Our Churches
(PLEASE NOTE: We love advertising the "happenings" in our churches, however the list is getting too long for this publication.)
FOR THE COMPLETE LISTING of
"What's Happening in Our Churches"
CLICK HERE |
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