My friends,
As our stay-at-home and social distancing practices continue into the six or seventh week, it has become more challenging for some of us to manage the work we are used to doing. We are not able to greet people with warm handshakes or hugs. Our worship services, even if livestreamed, seem a little flatter without the energy of the congregation around us. Pastoral care and spiritual support has been offered, but in ways that can feel less than enough when people are ill, injured or grieving. Yet, we are all in this together. We are learning about what is most important to us. We are sharing across airwaves instead of across pews. We are loving from afar. We are continuing to nurture one another.
The gifts we are gaining through this experience are many. Confirmed luddites, our no-tech crowd, have learned to use technology in new and amazing ways. There is a new appreciation that the church is not the building, maybe doesn’t even need the building, to be faithful, committed to worship, dedicated to the work Jesus left us to do. We understand in new ways who is essential to our communities and our very survival: farmers, farm workers, truck driver, grocery clerks, postal carriers….and every single person who offers medical care in our communities and hospitals. I know I have left out janitorial staff, computer tech specialists, administrative assistants, and a whole range of other people. There are too many to name. One group I will name is pastors. Our pastors have been essential to the care of our spirits, the continuation of our mission and ministry to each other and the world, and our ability to be connected with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Our pastors are making such a difference and I cannot thank them enough.
As we move into month three of this pandemic, and statistics are telling us that it might actually have begun on February and is therefore the beginning of month four, have hope: hope in the God who loves us, hope in those who are leading us with the best science and medical knowledge available, hope in our families and our friends, hope in the future. In some of the darkest days of the Jewish diaspora, Jeremiah prophesied, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). I do not know the future – none of us does. Yet, I know God will be there with us, guiding us, forgiving us, loving us. Let us be there for each other in the same way.
Blessings, Bonnie
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Summary Notes of the PNEC Board Meeting 4.15.2020
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WEBINAR - Tuesday, April 28 at 2PM
The Insurance Board will host a WEBINAR on
Financial Controls and Best Practices
Click Here to view the flyer and registration information.
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Introduction to Becoming a WISE Congregation
(Virtual Training)
Is your congregation considering becoming a Welcoming Inclusive Supportive Engaged (WISE) Congregation? Have you ever wondered why it is important to be a WISE Congregation? Or maybe you are just wondering what it means to be a WISE Congregation. On
Wednesday, April 29 from 10AM to 12 PM,
Christian Creyer, PNEC Search and Call Associate and Pastor of Chestnut Hill Church in Coopersburg will be hosting a 2 hour introductory session on what it means to be a WISE Congregation and giving an introduction into how to become a WISE Congregation. The session will cover some definitions, resources, and a brief introduction to the process. The session
qualifies for 2 hours of continuing education credits.
See below for the link to join the ZOOM meeting on April 29 at Noon.
Meeting ID: 559 777 477; Password: 006159
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May 20 Bruce Epperly Book Study via Zoom
PSEC, PNEC and PCC clergy, lay leaders and friends are gathering on line to discuss Faith in a Time of Pandemic by Bruce G. Epperly
Wednesday, May 20
th
@ 3:00pm via Zoom
You can download or order the book here:
The Coronavirus is changing our church and culture (and the culture of church). It’s provoked isolation and self-interested individualism. It also inspires kindness, generosity, patience, and compassion. Facing the pandemic with God as our companion deepens our sense of agency as well as peace. Bruce Epperly’s very short treatise provides a theological, pastoral, and spiritual pathway to help us find a way through the wilderness of the Coronavirus pandemic. Joint the discussion!
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The Festival of Homiletics -- May 18-22, 2020 -- On-Line and Free
The World Needs Good Preaching…Now More than Ever
The Festival of Homiletics is moving online! And because there’s no better time than our current crisis to learn how to “preach a new earth,” registration for the virtual conference is totally FREE!
Preaching a New Earth: Climate and Creation
Be inspired by God’s Word proclaimed by some of the nation’s finest ministers and teachers. Experience the fellowship of hundreds of preachers. Learn and worship in an atmosphere that is dynamic, friendly, nurturing, and prophetic. Come renew, refresh, and recharge your spirit.
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“The Last Pastor: Faithfully Closing a Church”
Zoom Webinar
–
May 21st
How does closing a church impact pastors? Learn leadership skills that lead to grace-filled transformations and church closure in a zoom webinar with Gail Cafferata, author of
The Last Pastor: Faithfully Steering a Closing Church
.
Rev.
Cafferata will be speaking from her interviews and research with pastors who served closing congregations, as well as her own congregation’s experience.
Cafferata
helps pastors and church leaders understand the complexity of concluding a ministry with sensitivity to the spiritual and practical dimensions of closing a church. Register
here
for
The Last Pastor Zoom Webinar
on
Thursday, May 21
st
at 3 PM Eastern Time.
Hosted by Rev. David Schoen and sponsored by the UCC Church Building & Loan Fund.
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FREE (for now) Online Learning
FULLER Formation
, is an online learning product that enables you to grow in your faith through access to a variety of guided lessons from Fuller experts. Join the 3,300+ FULLER Formation subscribers and get access to:
- 64 guided lessons that have been created specifically for FULLER Formation
- 9 new guided lessons that will be released in the upcoming months
- Content created in collaboration with organizational partners, including Missio Alliance
We are offering FULLER Formation for FREE to new users who would like to use our resources to grow in faith or serve their faith community. Click the button below to create an account and gain immediate access to our FULLER Formation resources on topics such as discipleship, hope, and spiritual practices.
No subscription is required until July 1, 2020.
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Surgical Grade Masks
During the pandemic we have been trying to determine how our company can help. We decided to supply face masks – because we have a friend who can make them. For everyone sold through the UCC we will return $.25. Let me assure that we, The Cranford-Group will not profit from this endeavor.
Due to a long relationship with a fellow hosiery manufacturer, we have the ability to supply surgical grade masks.
The company is located in Asheboro, NC. The masks are 100% made in the USA. The factory is FDA approved and is ISO 1348 medical compliant. The masks are durable, washable and well-made; machined-made to avoid human contact.
The cost is $3.50 per mask and we can order all anyone needs because our friend’s capacity is 8 million masks per week and our orders will be given priority. There is a minimum order of 300. He has been shipping within 7 to 10 business days.
We reached out to our friend because we kept hearing stories about the shortage of good quality masks. If you know someone or a company or organization that needs masks – let them know about us and we will see that they get what they need.
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