Weekly Update - June 27, 2018
This communication is paid for by Our Church's Wider Mission
In This Issue...

A Message from Our Conference Minister - NEW! 

Thank You, Janice - NEW!

Resources 

Events and Calendar - NEW!

Events and Training - NEW!

Church News - NEW!

Generosity - NEW!

Hartman Center 

PCC-Bay  
ModeratorA Message from Our Conference Minister


Dear Friends,
 
As we breathe a sigh of gratitude for the opportunity to gather at Annual Meeting, I want to pause and highlight a few moments of our work together.
 
The unanimous approval of the two resolutions presented this year was heart-warming. We joined a growing number of UCC Conferences which have ratified the amendments to the UCC Constitution, passed by General Synod 31. The other resolution focused on the discontinued use of plastic foam at church events. It was sponsored by Trinity UCC, Waynesboro and co-sponsored by the PCC Creation Justice team. A few days after Annual Meeting, we got news from Rev. Larry Smith (Pastor, Mt. Zion UCC in York) that their Consistory voted unanimously to adopt the Conference resolution to discontinue the use of plastic foam at all their church-related activities.
 
We welcomed the following ministry partners as first-time guests: Andy Lang (ONA Coalition), Heather Kimmel (UCC General Counsel), Anja Vollendorf (Evangelical Church in the Rhineland), Rev. Dr. Chris Davies (Program Manager  for UCC Congregational Assessment, Support and Advancement), Rev. Dr. Brenda Alton (UPMC) and Steve Wolma (Lancaster Theological Seminary).
 
Andy Lang welcomed our newest ONA congregation, St. Paul's UCC in Selinsgrove on Saturday of Annual Meeting. The next day, he gathered with several PCC ONA congregations to present a new rainbow flag to St. Paul's UCC in Dallastown to replace the one that was stolen. 
 
We offered rousing applause for our clergy celebrating special anniversaries. We also expressed our gratitude to outgoing members of the PCC Board of Directors and welcomed new Board Members and Officers.
 
Lancaster Theological Seminary President, Rev. Dr. Carol Lytch blessed us with an insightful theological reflection based on Colossians 2:6-19, the focus Scripture for Annual Meeting. Due to your generosity, we were able to share $1,089.44 (half of the closing worship service offering) with our ministry partner, Lancaster Theological Seminary. The other half of the offering was added to OCWM. Thank you for your generosity!
 
Your financial gifts to OCWM and Strengthen the Church make a difference to the work we do together as Christ's Church !
 
Rev. Nora Foust introduced the new Architects of Excellence Program. This program has a team of clergy and lay people with various competencies to help churches thrive. A Healthy Church Checkup workshop is being offered on July 14, 2018 to help you assess the needs of your church. Please register to attend ... it's free! Nora also introduced a new Innovation Grant.  This grant will provide up to $5,000 in start-up funds to churches with innovative outreach project ideas for their communities.
 
These are only a few of the resources available to help local churches, like yours, to thrive as you continue to share the love of Jesus in your community.  We appreciate your ongoing prayers as we seek ways to better serve you.
 
As a reminder, if you have questions, contact us via email or call the Conference Office at 717.652.1560 :
  • Search and Call - Rev. Dr. Monica Dawkins-Smith
  • Committee on Ministry/Congregational Excellence - Rev. Nora Foust 
  • Administrative Support - Wendy Hepler or Janice Mountain
  • Communications and Generosity - Stephanie Rader-Titzel
  • Hartman Center - Rev. Patty Dodds
  • Clergy Care - Scott Watts
Possib ilities and challenges await us as the winds of the fiery Spirit blow us in new directions and into the future that God has in store for us.  May we trust that as things continue to change throughout our Conference, things are actually falling into place.

In Christ,
Monica
Rev. Dr. Monica Dawkins-Smith
Conference Minister and President
JaniceThank you, Janice!
 

   
Join us in expressing our gratitude for Janice Mountain and all that she's meant to this Conference over the past 18 years! Janice has served as Profile Coordinator and Administrative Assistant, readily available to assist with your search and call questions.  Janice's resignation is effective in early July, and her last day will be Thursday, July 5.  We appreciate the time, energy, enthusiasm and compassion that Janice has shared with all of us.  She will be sorely missed. 
 
If you would like to thank Janice, please send cards and well wishes to the Conference Office - Penn Central Conference Attn: Janice Mountain, 900 S Arlington Avenue - Room 227A - Harrisburg, PA 17109.
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A Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Adapted from Paul's Letter to the Church at Philipi)
 
Penn Central Conference thanks our God every time we remember you.   In all our prayers for you, we always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 
 
And this is our prayer for you: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.
 
Holy One, Our conference is so very grateful for the years of dedicated service to us by your faithful servant, Janice Mountain. We offer her and You our thanksgiving! Janice knows our congregations, our clergy and our staff so well, she can often anticipate needs and fill them often before they are really known. In this ministry, O God, your servant has been truly faithful. We offer our "well done!" in chorus with yours, we pray. Amen. 
ResourcesResource Links
 
CalendarofEventsCalendar of Events
 
    
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!
 
Partners in Peace - July 5, 2018
  
Mid-Atlantic Regional Youth Event -  July 19-22, 2018
California University of Pennsylvania
 
Widening the Welcome (Disability Ministries) - November 1-3, 2018, Niagara Falls, NY
 
Annual Meeting - June 7-8, 2019, Susquehanna University

General Synod, 2019 - June 21-25, 2019, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 


EventsandTrainingEvents and Training
PCC Conference Events
 
Communities of Practice Groups  Sign up for a place where the focus is ministry and shared knowledge is practice and experience based.  These communities covenant to offer care, support and accountability while they nurture practices of spiritual discipline.

Healthy Church Checkup: Sign up for a workshop to introduce you to assessment tools for churches and how they can help you identify what's next for your church.
WebsiteChurch News
Installation of Rev. Nora Foust - NEW


Churches in the News

GenerosityGenerosity
Grow Your Church - NEW
The New Spiritual Communities and ReNewing Churches grant program of the United Church of Christ seeks to enact the Vision, Mission, and Purpose by investing in programs and ministries which live into the ethos of the United Church of Christ's becoming. Ministries that are meant to be sustaining, as well as ministries that are meant to be impactful for a particular time and place, are encouraged to apply. 

Grants are awarded based on how the ministries are impacting their local communities in alignment with the Vision, Mission, and Purpose of the UCC.  

Grow Your Church Web Site and   Apply for a Grant  -  Due: September 7th, 2018, 5pm EST.


WebsiteHartman Center - Camp and More!
Hartman Center News
  
Summer Camp at Hartman Center

  
Snacks:
This year we are providing our own snacks for campers. Please contact Pastor Patty if you can help with food items OR with grocery store gift cards (Dollar General, Weis, or Giant)
  
And don't forget these other upcoming events:
          Youth and women's retreats November 16-18 

---Elementary Retreat - May 4-6, 2018
More details on the  Hartman Center Web site!
  
Thank you for your continued support!

 
Prayers1Prayers for Our Churches
 
 
Prayers for Penn Central Conference Churches

"Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you."  (2 Thess. 3:1)
 
Beginning in 2018, we have created a prayer list to invite you to pray with us as we pray for all of our congregations. Each week we will list names of various churches in Penn Central Conference hoping you will add them to your prayer list, and hold them in prayer throughout the week.
  • Maytown Reformed UCC, Maytown
  • Saint James UCC, Littlestown
  • St. Paul's UCC, McConnellsburg
  • Saint John's UCC, McEwensville

 
Prayers1PCC-Bay
Hymnals and Bibles
Tony Fields has 50-60 copies of The Hymnal as well as several older Bibles.  If you are interested, please contact Tony.
ArchiveArchive
Our Previous eNews
Contact information:      Stephanie Rader-Titzel
email: [email protected]   phone: 717-652-1560                fax: 717-652-4769
web: http://www.pccucc.org