This Week in PNEC --- August 25, 2016 - September 8, 2016 

TO CONTACT US OR TO REGISTER FOR EVENTS

431 Delaware Ave., Palmerton, PA18071; www.pnec.org website

610-826-3113; FAX 610-826-5464

Alan Miller    alanm@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

               
2017 Annual Meeting of the Penn Northeast Conference will be
Saturday, April 29, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  - Place TBA.

IMPORTANT REMINDER...

For those pastors who have not yet returned their

Periodic Support Consultation Questionnaire...

please do so as soon as possible.  

Thank you!               

pa conference of churches

MORE INFO ON Church Volunteer Clearances
Please  Click Here  to read about further information about church volunteer clearances.
                                         - Sandy
The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss
Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach
Pennsylvania Council of Churches
717.545.4761; Fax 717.545.4765
Cell 717.350.0165
 
PNEC Sleep Out For Homelessness
at St. John's UCC, Fullerton
575 Grape Street, Whitehall
FOR  7th THROUGH 12th GRADE
Saturday, Sep 17 at 6pm to
                Sunday, Sep 18 at 9am
The idea:
- To be the eyes, hands, and heart of Jesus in our community and the world.
- To spend a night learning about what it might be like to be homeless.
- To raise money for VALLEY YOUTH HOUSE which helps abandoned, abused and homeless youth.
 
Children's Sermon for
   for Aug. 28 (based on Luke 14:1, 7-14)  Theme:: What food do they serve in Heaven?  Items Needed: card table or stand, large glass bowl, large can of chicken noodle soup, water, ladle, some soup bowls( preferably glass), cover.  A good amount of time before worship, empty can of soup into large glass bowl on the table and add enough water to fill up bowl. (The idea is that the solids will have time to settle to the bottom.)  Put ladle and bowls on table and cover with a cloth.    When it's time for children's sermon, ask kids what food they serve in Heaven.  After some guesses, tell them you know that it's soup they serve in Heaven, and you can prove it!  Uncover table.  See, I have soup in this bowl.   Ask kids to line up.  Now let's pretend some of the line pushed up to the front,  so they were first.  (Get ladle and bowls)  What would those at the front of line get (demonstrate with ladle)--they would get only the thin,  watery soup at the top.  But the people who are humble enough to be at the back of the line (demonstrate) will get the good stuff, the chicken and noodles, that are at the bottom of the bowl.  In today's Bible reading, Jesus notices some people who try to push to the front of the line.  Jesus tells them that, with God, you need to try to help others, rather than trying to get ahead of them.   Heaven is full of people, like Jesus, who have tried to serve rather than trying to win.  That's how I know they serve soup in Heaven-the people who have put others before themselves get the best!   
- Rev. David Quinn
 
What Makes Your   Sing?
 
Let's find out and let's do it together!
It's happening...the PNEC Women's Retreat and you are invited to be a part of it!    
Friday, September 23 - Sunday, September 25, 2016 at Trout Lake
 
(Click HERE for registration form for details) 
 
Please share this good news among
your sisters in faith.
 
-- The Planning Team
            Becky Beckwith, Jane Hess, Susan Kuder &
Barbara Jennings
 
CROSSROADS
CROSSROADS
Moravian Theological Seminary, 60 W. Locust Street, Bethlehem 
    
     CROSSROADS offers a variety of courses in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere. Maybe it's the right time for you to jump in and take the courses to build skills or deepen your faith and get ready for the next chapter.
     Our Fall schedule includes Compass (a great place to start and to explore your sense of call), Missional Leadership (real, practical skills to help you lead in your congregation or in community ministry) and Culture & Change (how does our church culture hold us back and why is it so hard to change?)  Missional LEadership and Culture & Change will be offered in a Distance Learning format for those who do not live in the immediate area.
Register for classes online.  Check out our website at   www.moravianseminary.edu/crossroads
    
Or Contact Jill Peters,CROSSROADS Director at jpeters@moravian.edu to answer any of your questions.  Come and join us!  We promise that you will work hard, learn much and have a good time doing it!
  
 
Jewish Institute
FIRST FRIDAY (2nd Friday)
Luncheon Discussion
September 9 @ 12:00-1:00pm
What Do We Mean By Communities
David Lewis, President,
United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley 
Seegers Union, Rooms 111 & 112 (Muhlenberg College)
 
~Free and open to the public~
(Bring your lunch or buy lunch at Seegers Union) 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WALLENBERG TRIBUTE LECTURE
Sunday, September 18 @ 3:30p
Raoul Wallenberg - A Humanitarian for an Inhuman Age - Then & Now
Kati Marton, Best-selling & award-winning writer and human rights advocate
Moyer Hall, Miller Forum
 Muhlenberg College
Co-sponsored by:  The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley and The Berman Center for Jewish Studies
 
~Free and open to the public~
For more information, click here

WALLENBERG TRIBUTE HONOREE
(RECEPTION & DINNER)
Sunday, September 18 @ 4:30p
Honoree:  Rabbi Allen I. Juda, Retired, Congregation Brith Sholom, Bethlehem PA
Seegers Union, Event Space & Great Room, Muhlenberg College
Reception Sponsor:  Congregation Brith Sholom in honor of Rabbi Juda
 
~There is a cost associated with this event~
For more information, click here  
 

MINISTRY DAY

Monday, October 17, 2016

 9AM - 3PM

(Registration Begins at 8:30AM)

St. John's UCC (Fullerton)

575 Grape St., Whitehall

Keynote Speaker:

Rev. John C. Dorhauer,

General Minister and President of

the United Church of Christ

 

Watch for Registration Information Coming Soon! 

 
ANNOUNCEMENTS & CLERGY CONNECTIONS
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Services of Interest...
October 23 - 3:00PM- INSTALLATION - Sharon Frye - Salem UCC, 330 First St., Weatherly
November 6 - Time TBA - INSTALLATION - Rev. Teresa Martin - St. John's UCC, 538 E. Thomas St., Coopersburg

 
calendar
UPCOMING DATES            
AUGUST
23 - 9-11:30AM - Joint Conflict Resource Team - NEPS Office
24 - 6PM (supper) - Annual Meeting Planning Team - St. Johns UCC, Laurys Station

FOR THE COMPLETE LIST OF "Upcoming Dates"
Penn Central Conference UCC Announcement
The Rev. Dr. Monica Dawkins-Smith
New Conference Minister!
 
     Saturday, August 20 th was a great day
for Penn Central Conference United Church of Christ.  Over three hundred people gathered to worship and praise God and to elect Monica Dawkins-Smith as our next Conference Minister.  We are especially grateful to all the voting delegates and pastors (all 297 of you) and those visitors who attended as well.  We ran out of worship bulletins, BUT WE DIDN'T RUN OUT OF PIE.  Thanks to all those great bakers who blessed us with more pie than we could eat.  Some of the uncut pies were donated to the Transitional Living Center of Lancaster. 
     A special thanks to St. Paul's UCC in Mechanicsburg for offering us amazing hospitality. 
 
Dave Bushnell, Acting Conference Minister
 
pa conference of churches         PA Council of Churches
     Friends... We're taking this opportunity to introduce you to the newly revamped Pennsylvania Council of Churches website at http://www.pachurches.org/
(same address). While it continues to be a work in progress, we hope you will take the opportunity to look through it, and provide feedback, suggestions, etc. so that we can work to improve it and make it more useful to you and the Council community.
    
ALSO...  time is getting short, but we now have a live registration page for our 2016 Shalom Conference on September 24-25 at the Hartman Center in Milroy (between Lewistown and State College). We are excited to tell you that Shane Claiborne will be joining us on Saturday evening, and the theme of his talk will be "Another World is Possible." Our other featured speaker is Saadia Ahmad, current McCormack Scholar and Master's student in Conflict Resolution at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. The event page is at
and the registration link is at
 
     Please share this information with your congregations and networks and encourage peacemakers of all stripes to join us on September 24-25.
Blessings and peace,
The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach
 
The Annual Meeting of the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society
will be held Saturday, September 24, 2016, on the campus of the Lancaster Theological Seminary, 555 West James St, Lancaster, PA 17603. The meeting will be in the Hafer Center on the second floor of the Schaff Library building. The keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. Linden DeBie, who will give an address on the 1866 Liturgy entitled "Unless a Grain of Wheat Fall to the Ground and Die: The Remarkable Liturgical Fecundity of Mercersburg."
  
Registration begins at 12:45pm, and the meeting commences at 1:00pm. Admission is $10 at the door (cash or check only, please), and Seminary are students free with ID. All proceeds support the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society. Contact the office (717)-290-8734 or erhs@lancasterseminary.edu with questions.
 

IF YOU ARE A LICENSING/COMMISSIONING MID (Member in Discernment) 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

November 19, 2016 - 9AM to 3PM - Licensing/Commissioning MID Day - Place TBA

 
The Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry (formerly Lay Ministry of the 21st Century) is beginning its NEW curriculum with ALL classes being held at First UCC in Schuylkill Haven on specified Saturdays below from 9am to 4pm with each class being LIVE-STREAMED and recorded. We begin our Fall curriculum with:
 
CARE GIVING
Part of Christian discipleship, both within and outside the church, revolves around sharing Christ's care with others. This session will consider ways to develop listening skills, visitation guidelines, and compassionate presence .
 
and THEN
a 3 Session Series
September 17, October 8, and November 19, 2016
UCC HISTORY AND POLITY
       "Who are we? Where did we come from? What do we value? How do we work together?
Participants in this class will not only journey through the founding and history of the United Church of Christ, but will develop an understanding of how we live in covenant together, from the local church to Associations and Conferences to General Synod."
 
and on October 15, 2016
STEWARDSHIP
As God's stewards, we are called to make use of all God's gifts for the growth of God's reign on earth. How do we deepen our own sense of stewardship and encourage good stewardship practices within our churches?
 
VISIT OUR WEBSITE for registration information (that is under construction) BUT CONTINUING AT www.lm21c.com.
 
Save the Date... 
 
PNEC Annual Youth Retreat
May 19-21, 2017
Spruce Lake
More information will be forthcoming!
 
secretary
Dear Parish Secretaries,
Administrative Assistants, Business Managers, or Office Assistants:
 
You are cordially invited to join us this October 4 and 5 for the annual Parish Secretaries' Seminar, which will again be held at the Bird-in-Hand Family Inn, located in Bird-in-Hand, PA.
 
For a full explanation flyer and registration form,
 
IN SEARCH OF...

Part-time Sexton Needed:  Hope U.C.C., Wind Gap is
in need of a part-time Sexton.  Resumes may be mailed to the church at P.O. Box 425, Wind Gap PA  18091 or call the church office for more information (610)863-4474
Free - a new Alb for a pastor of about 5'8"; light in color,
includes cincture.  Call John Hoff at 610.928.0082
Friedens UCC, Slatington, is looking for an
Organist/Pianist (part-time and or full-time).  For more information, please contact Karlene Laub at 610-760-1170
Church of the Goo d Shepherd UCC, 135 Quarry Road,
Alburtis, PA 18011, is seeking a Choir Director to accompany and lead our Senior Choir of 15 adults; 5 women & 10 men.  Contact the Rev. Scott M. Sanders at the church office: 610-966-2991 or Email: gsucc71@ptd.net.
ORGANIST or PIANIST NEEDED: St. Mark's UCC,
Allentown is in need of an organist for Sunday service and special services throughout the year. Approximately 90 minutes per service. Salary is negotiable. Please respond to smucc@ptd.net or mail to:  St. Mark's UCC, 52 East Susquehanna St., Allentown PA 18103;  Att: Consistory Elders
UCC, Greenawalds, 2325 Albright Ave., Allent own, PA
18104  is seeking a Director of Music Ministries to serve as church choir director, organist and/or pianist. This is a part-time position, to play for one worship service at 10:30 am on Sundays, direct weekly choir rehearsal, and play for special services. Pay is based on experience. Resumes may be submitted to Grant Field at dgfield67@yahoo.com or mailed to the church office at the above address.  Additional information can be obtained by calling 610-395-0821
 
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