SAVE THE DATE

Ministry Day

October 10, 2019 - 8:30AM to 3:30PM

St. John's UCC (Fullerton), 575 Grape Street, Whitehall

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PNEC Fall Conference Meeting - Saturday, November 2, 2019

St. John United Church of Christ, 22 Atlas Road, Northampton

Keynote Speaker: Tod Bolsinger, PhD

Author of Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

(for bulletin insert click here )

Bonnie Bates is inviting you to a Zoom Conversation

with the Conference Minister

 

May 22, 2019 from 2 to 3PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/651938481

One tap mobile

+16468769923,,651938481# US (New York);

+16699006833,,651938481# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location

       +1 646 876 9923 US (New York);         +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 651 938 481

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abLG9pUuZf

UCC's Karl Jones is National VOAD Volunteer

of the Year

   UCC Pennsylvania Southeast Conference & Penn Northeast Conference Disaster Coordinator Karl Jones is National VOAD's Volunteer of the Year. He was presented with that honor last night (May 8) during the association's annual meeting, held May 6-9 in Nashville, Tenn. National VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster) cited Jones' long-time partnership with people and communities in recovery following disasters, both within and beyond the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

    Member organizations of National VOAD work to mitigate and alleviate the impact of disasters. Founded in 1970, the VOAD movement has grown to include more than 100 member organizations. Guided by the core principles of cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration, National VOAD works to foster more effective delivery of services to communities affected by disasters.

     "The National VOAD's Don Hampton Volunteer of the Year is the volunteer that exhibited outstanding and unique volunteer service within the VOAD movement. Karl Jones, of UCC Disaster Ministries and recent chair of the Pennsylvania VOAD, has been a long time partner of people and communities in recovery following disasters, both within and well beyond the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

     "Karl’s leadership and ability to collaborate with partners to creatively leverage resources available has been proven both in helping communities following severe flooding along the Schuylkill and Susquehanna River, and in response to evacuees of Hurricane Maria.

    "For Hurricane Maria evacuee response, Karl leveraged HUD funds in partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, identified partners from the Hispanic community for the Greater Philadelphia LTRC* and coordinated VOAD members, business, and all levels of government, to bring relief to evacuees.

    "In response to heavy rain events in August 2018, Karl liaised between VOAD members and emergency management to assist in the use of Crisis Cleanup for the first time, led efforts to develop and pilot the VALOR program in Pennsylvania, and found ways to mobilize unique resources, such as a donation of a cache of dehumidifiers.

    "Karl has been key in coordinating services to diverse communities from North Philadelphia, to tiny towns in rural Pennsylvania, with enough hope to believe in the process, and work together during times when these survivors were at risk of being forgotten."

http://www.ucc.org/disaster_karl_jones_ucc_is_national_voad_volunteer_of_the_year

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forward Recovery

Click Here for the most recent issue of Forward Recovery, the FEMA Region III Recovery Coordination newsletter.  This issue highlights Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning in Delaware, FEMA Integration Team in West Virginia, the Region III Private Sector Readiness Day and Tabletop Exercise, new initiatives in Pennsylvania and Ellicott City, MD, and various tools, resources, and trainings to enhance capabilities to support disaster recovery needs and resiliency.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Up-To-Date Information click the link below

UCC Disaster Ministries: www.ucc.org/disaster

Amigos de Guatemala

    In April the Amigos de Guatemala had a wonderful celebration for the completion of the multi-use facility and clinic in Monte Margarita. Approximately 80 people were in attendance to help us rejoice in this accomplishment. We collected close to $2,000 in donations that night!

    The team is excited to continue the project by conducting medical exams for the community. We will supply the clinic with medications and medical supplies. Our main purpose will be to educate the community about the need for clean water and basic medical care for infants. 

    A spin-off of the Amigos is a non-profit called Glasses for Guatemala. It was started by Garred and Megan Greenberg, children of Dr. Marna Greenberg of the Amigos. They have taken thousands of glasses to Guatemala. They train a few people in a community to diagnose the correct lenses for the residents. Their biggest joy is seeing a person’s smile when they can see clearly for the first time! They say if people can see, they can learn to read; if they can read, they can be educated; if they are educated, they can improve their way of life. We are very proud of their work.

MINISTRY TRAINING UPDATES (Continuing Education)

ALL Authorized Ministers, please note:  We will be identifying these kinds of continuing education opportunities – The policy is effective January 1, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact the Penn Northeast Conference Office at 610-826-3113. 

Thank You!

Click HERE for list of current and up-coming opportunities!

Theology Matters: Curriculum Resources for ALL Ages

Friends in Ministry,

    Have you ever had questions about Faith Formation in your congregation? The PNEC Faith Formation Ministry Team is sponsoring a SPECIAL EVENT for YOU! Please see the flyer below and share it with your Faith Formation team. This event will be geared to assist with planning the 2019-2020 year in the following ways:

    Continuing Education hours are available for attending.  

    If you have any questions, feel free to contact your Faith Formation Ministry team. If you have an interest in helping with the event and others, we welcome your input.

                                                                                              Yours in Christ,

                                                                           Janet Newett, for the Faith Formation Ministry Team

                                                                                       610-657-2189      janetnewett@gmail.com 

To register and pay, please click on the link below:

https://tithe.ly/event-registration/#/703628  

 Children's Sermon for May 19 (based on John 13:31-35  )  - by Rev. Dave Quinn

Items needed:  (optional extra) pair of sneakers; clear glass with small amount of water, pitcher of water, out of sight behind side door, or nearby faucet that's out of sight. If you wish to include sneakers,, put them on as kids come up. Tell kids you are going to do some magic tricks. Show glass with water. Tell them your first magic trick will be to make this water, disappear!  (Drink water.) Ta Da! Tell kids, your next magic trick will be to make water appear, again! Run out of room, use pitcher or faucet to put some more water in glass, then run back into room. Ta Da! Now there's water in the glass, again! Your next magic trick will be to make water disappear, again! (Drink water again.) And your last magic trick will be to make water appear in the glass, again! Run out of room, again, put more water in glass from pitcher or faucet that's out of sight. Run back in--Ta Da! There's water in the glass, again! In today's Bible reading, Jesus talks about love. Human love is like the water in this glass--it can run out after a while(drink water.) But when my love runs out, I can go to Jesus, to get more love. Jesus is like the water faucet, in the other room. A water faucet never runs out of water, just like Jesus never runs out of love. So, when my love runs out, I can go to Jesus, and ask Him to help me have more love, and Jesus will give me some of His love. (Run out of room, put some more water in glass, and return.) Ta Da! Jesus will give me some of His love when my love runs out!