THIS WEEK AT FAITH December 6, 2020 No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey you are welcome here. Our Welcoming Statement FAITH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 5992 Route 378 Center Valley, PA 18034 610.282.3939 www.faithchurchucc.org ‌ ‌ ‌

Join us this Second Sunday of Advent for our Live Stream Worship Service at 10:15 am. Special thanks to Darin Jellison for his gift of song, and to Wes Koser for filming the service. Click HERE to print a bulletin to follow along on 12/06/2020 In order to watch the live service at 10:15 am you must go to our YouTube channel (use this link or the link on the home page of www.faithchurchucc.org) Check it out ahead of time - you may want to subscribe and turn on notifications to get notified when Faith UCC, Center Valley goes live! If you prefer to watch the service later in the day, or watch past services, the recorded service will be available on our YouTube page and on Facebook and our web page. If you have prayer requests you would like Pastor Bruce to share during worship please click here and fill in the information before noon on Saturday. To listen to the service on your phone, call 855-883-5992.

UPDATE ON REOPENING FAITH CHURCH: With the rising cases of COVID-19 in the Lehigh Valley the PNEC Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates, and Gov. Wolfe are advising against social gathering. For the same reasons our own Re-opening Task Force is also advising against re-opening. We will continue to follow the cases of COVID-19 in the Lehigh Valley as one barometer in the decision to re-open. ~Pastor Bruce

Dear Faith Family,   Most of you are aware of Donna Schoenberger and her family having a devastating house fire. They suffered a complete loss.  As her family in Faith, I know we all feel her loss and want to help her in some way. Many have already offered to help and Donna has said she is overwhelmed with people's kindness. She does however need so much more help to function normally again. Therefore, she has created a house-warming registry at Target. You can go online at Target.com and purchase something that would help Donna immensely. Please check out the registry and anything you purchase can be delivered directly to the home the family moved into this week. The address is:    124 Robert Drive    Allentown, PA 18104 (The registry does have this address on file and offers to send it directly to this address.) Or if you buy in the store, you may drop the items off in our church conference room. The office lobby area is open Monday - Friday from 9-4:30. Thank you so much for caring and your help! Caroline Frantz  *We continue to accept monetary donations for the family as well. Please designate your gifts "Helping Hands". Thank you.

Thank you to all who provided Christmas gifts for our Forget-Me-Nots! If you haven't already done so, please drop off your gift (wrapped or in a Christmas gift bag) to the church conference room by December 12th. The office lobby area is open Monday - Friday from 9-4:30. Thanks again for sharing the spirit of Christmas with our Forget-Me-Nots!

Due to COVID precautions the Christmas stockings for the staff, usually hung in the narthex, will not be happening this year. Instead please feel free to reach out to the staff with a note, card or anything else you would like to drop in a mailbox. Please mail to the church: Faith UCC 5992 Route 378 Center Valley, PA 18049 Thanks and Merry Christmas - Faith Consistory

Let's remember our Friends, Members, Forget-Me-Nots and others as we continue through this pandemic. Keep each other in your thoughts and prayers and stay connected if possible. Birthdays can be found in the latest issue of Focus on Faith. Our friends with Upcoming Birthdays include:  Anna Breisch - December 4th (Anna continues to receive her mail at her home address.) Shirley Baldwin - December 22nd (If you would like to send cards, addresses can be found in the Members & Friends Directory link at the bottom of this email.) Click here for a list of birthdays and addresses of our Forget-Me-Not's. Some phone numbers are also included if you'd like to give a call! Also included on the list are names, addresses, and phone numbers of members who usually attend services but don't get to see the recorded services on a regular basis. Reach out to them and say hello or fill them in on the weekly news!

DECEMBER’S SPECIAL OFFERING The Christmas Fund for the Veterans of the Cross and the Emergency Fund is a Special Mission Offering that is administered through the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance, the charitable arm of the Pension Boards. Funds provide direct financial support to those who serve the church and are facing financial difficulties. For more info go to: https://www.pbucc.org/index.php/christmas-fund-home

Thank you for your support of our Special Offerings. Please designate your offering “Christmas Fund”. For those who use tithe.ly for your giving, you will find a Christmas Fund designation.

FROM THE PENN NORTHEAST CONFERENCE

Become a Friend of the Conference Cozy up to the PNEC! “For we are co-workers in God’s service, you are God’s field; God’s building.” -1 Corinthians 3:9 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, including the Penn Northeast Conference! Within our congregations, we have 33,000 individuals! If each member were to donate an additional $10, that would be $330,000. And I know what you’re thinking, another thing I have to donate to, but consider the fact that $10 is less than what the average American spends on coffee in a single week…. It’s roughly the cost of a fast food meal. For less than your weekly coffee you can make a difference Don’t give out of obligation, for God loves a cheerful giver. And small gifts in great numbers make a huge difference. If this is something that you believe in, and you want to help the Penn North East Conference by becoming a friend of the conference, you can give online using the conferences tithe.ly, mail in a donation, or email the conference for more giving options.

PNEC  431 Delaware Ave., Palmerton, PA 18071  610-826-3113 / pattyr@pnec.org

A Special THANK YOU to all who continue to financially support our ministry as you are able. Through these uncertain times our financial obligations continue and our regular bills are still coming in. Again we'd like to remind you there are several ways you can do this: Mail your offering directly to the church Make an electronic donation through Tithe.ly on our website's Giving page Use your bank's Bill Pay service

IMPORTANT LINKS

FOCUS ON FAITH (Archived Newsletters) CALENDAR MEMBERS & FRIENDS DIRECTORY FAITH'S MISSION BOOKLET  Need to make changes, corrections, or additions to our Church Directory? Click HERE to let us know if your info is current or if we need to make changes. Thanks in advance for taking the time to keep our Church Directory up to date. PAST WEEKLY EMAILS PENN NORTHEAST CONFERENCE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Contact us via email or call the church office at 610.282.3939 Rev. Dr. Bruce C. Stevenson, Lead Pastor Dennis J. Duda, Organist & Music Director Sandy David, Parish Administrator (click on names to send an email)