Penn Northeast Conference UCC, 431 Delaware Ave., Palmerton, PA 18071
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Reminder to All Authorized Ministers
Your Continuing Education Reports for
2019
are due by January 31, 2020. When reporting, please remember that if you participated in a Community of Practice, you need to list that as 12.5 hours of face to face contact. This can all be done through the breeze database. Thank you!
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Australia and Puerto Rico
In the past weeks we have seen the fires raging in Australia and the damages caused by the earthquakes in Puerto Rico. The UCC issued an appeal for Puerto Rico. Give the limited resources of the country and the lack of support from the US government, the island will need outside assistance for recovery. We will partner with Iglesia Evangelical Unida de Puerto Rico on these efforts have we have done with hurricane Maria. We sent $20,000 to assist with providing food, shelter and hygiene kits as well as other supplies for those displaced from their homes.
We have received inquiries about Australia and support for the fires. Here too we see tremendous loss. We have no partners in Australia and Australia is a country with resources. However, while we will not issue an appeal, we will respond through the international community when the opportunity arises.
We are also sending support to assist with the earthquakes and typhoon in the Philippines. While on a small scale, these disasters have caused challenges for the Philippines.
Please direct any questions regarding disaster response to me until further notice. The position for the executive for disaster Ministries is currently vacant.
We ask your continued prayers for affected communities in these and other places affected by disasters.
Karen Georgia
Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson, Associate General Minister for Wider Church Ministries and Operations, Co-Executive for Global Ministries ; 216-736-3201
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The Penn Northeast Conference Presents.....
the 15th Annual Youth Retreat
"Faith & Foodies!"
ALL youth in grades 7th-12th are invited
May 15-17, 2020
Spruce Lake, 5389 Route 447, Canadensis, PA 18235
Cost $135/person - includes meals Saturday and Sunday
*Limited space - first 40 participants with paid deposit only
One adult chaperone per church
Registration Deadline is March 1, 2020 - please send non-refundable $50 deposit with registration flyer.
CLICK HERE FOR the Registration Flyer and More Details.
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UCC Officers Call for Prayer and Fasting
My dear friends,
Click Here
to see the Call for Prayer and Fasting which was sent out by our denominational leadership. I posted the original of this on our PNEC Facebook page, but want all of you to have access to the information.
As a Conference Board Executive Committee we discussed this.
We have chosen Tuesday, January 21
, a date during the Week of Christian Unity,
as the day of fasting and prayer for the Penn Northeast Conference
. Please consider praying and fasting for peace on January 21, and encourage your congregations to participate as well. If you gather for prayer or for a vigil please share pictures and prayers with the whole of the conference, either through Facebook or email.
May our prayers rise to God and our efforts be filled with grace and hope.
Blessings, Bonnie
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on January 19th & 20th
(
Please Note: If attending the movie
and the breakfast - this will qualify for your Anti-Racism training.)
Join us for a screening of the documentary, "Traces of the Trade" on January 19th and the annual Interfaith Prayer Breakfast on January 20th.
Click Here for full details.
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The Greater Scranton MLK Commission Events
Friday, January 17 -
7 to 8PM - Free & open to the public - Building Bridges Basketball
Sunday January 19
-
Celebration & Awards Dinner - $25/ticket
Monday, January 20
- Noon to 3PM - FREE Youth Education Program
11AM t - Celebration Luncheon & Discussion
2-4PM - Youth Dialogue on Humanity
4:45PM - March from NC Progressive Center, 414 Olive St., to the Lackawanna County Courthouse
7PM - Interfaith Closing Service
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Dear Friends,
This spring, as a part of our growth and understanding, the Penn Northeast Conference is inviting people to be a part of an all-conference book study. We will be reading and discussing the book,
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
by Robin Diangelo. This New York Times bestselling book examines the emotions and behaviors which impact our ability, as Caucasian or Euro-American individuals, to talk about issues of race.
The Conference will be sponsoring 6 Zoom conversations about the book. (
Please click here
for the flyer for dates, times and Zoom links.)
You are welcome to join us as individuals, congregational groups, or Area Mission Councils. We welcome your active participation. For authorized ministers, attending all 6 sessions will qualify as the completion of the triennial anti-racism training requirement.
You may certainly opt to discuss this book in small groups within your congregations or Area Mission Councils. I hope you will take the time to read and examine this important book as we walk this journey of faith and justice together.
Blessings, Bonnie
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2020 Spring Conference Meeting
April 24 and 25
The Chateau at Camelback, 475 Camelback Rd., Tannersville, PA
The meeting will be one overnight, dinner on Friday evening, breakfast and lunch on Saturday.
Starts at 4PM on Friday and concludes at 4PM on Saturday.
Please Note:
If Authorized Ministers attend the entire meeting it will qualify for your Cultural Competency Training.
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“Just show up!”
Exploration Gathering – All Welcome
Getting involved in social justice can be overwhelming. There are so many causes you can get behind, varieties of movements, tricky vocabulary words and big names to know —and that can make it difficult to know where to start. But that shouldn't prevent you from joining a movement that revolves around an issue you're passionate about. The first step is showing up.
Interested in being part of this group? Come to the gathering on
Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 9:30am to 11:00am.
Moravian Theological Seminary, Bahnson Center, 1200 Main St, Bethlehem, PA 18018.
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LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP...
PNEC Offering Advanced Boundary Training
Boundary Awareness in the Digital Age
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ~ Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Jordan UCC, 1837 Church Rd., Allentown
Cost: $35 per person (includes registration & lunch)
Led by Rev. Darren Morgan, Associate Conference Minister @ Maine Conference UCC
Boundary Awareness Training is part of clergy continuing education and dialogue toward healthy ministerial relationships and self-care. It seeks to promote opportunities for discussion about the hard and gray areas that make up so much of the space within our profession. This training will equip clergy to understand the importance of healthy digital boundaries in ministry and to critically discern the complexities of boundaries in pastoral relationships. Church lay-leaders are welcome to attend this training as well.
(If you are a pastor and have never taken boundary training before you should attend a regular boundary training and not this advanced training.)
You can register on-line through tithe.ly at the link below
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PNEC Communities of Practice
Are accepting participants for 2020. Cost is $250 for the year. Counts for ½ of your continuing education hours. You can apply to the Longsdorf Fund for continuing education funds.
click here
for a list of the Communities of Practice and their openings. If interested...
click here for application.
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Interim Ministry Network Training
January 28-29, 2020
Zion, Strausstown (right off Route 78)
5:30 to 8PM on the 28th & 8:30AM to 5:30PM on the 29th - presenter Arlen Vernava - cost $50
Sponsored by Penn Central, Pennsylvania Southeast and Penn Northeast Conferences.
If interested, contact Bonnie at the PNEC Office.
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Mid-Atlantic Association of United Church Educators (MA-AUCE)
2020 Annual Conference
Holistic Faith Formation:Engaging Our Whole Selves
(This event is for
"full time or part time
clergy or lay, paid or volunteer.")
April 27 - April 29, 2020
Tuscarora Inn & Conference Center
3300 River Rd., Mt. Bethel, PA
Deadline to Register is March 1.
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National Youth Event 2020
What are the Foundations of NYE 2020? Leading up to NYE 2020, the planning team has built upon the original pillars of faith, leadership, service and social justice. Adding community building so that youth might be sustained in their faith beyond NYE and expanding justice to include encounter and reflection, ensures our work comes from a place of solidarity and does not reinforce systems of power and privilege.
Read More...
Who's Going to Be There? (Speakers & Artists)
Registration opens February 1. Mark your calendar, set a reminder, and sign up to receive more information
here
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REMINDER
The Penn Northeast Conference Office is
CLOSED on
Monday, January 20
in observance of
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.
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2020 Boundary Training
offered by Lehigh Presbytery
(3 different sessions)
Click here
for the flyer for
three sessions of Boundary Training Offered by the Lehigh Presbytery in 2020. These sessions will be led by David Olsen.
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Clergy Convocation 2020
with Rev. Dr. Emily C. Heath
May 5-7, 2020
Double Tree by Hilton
2400 Willow St. Pike, Lancaster
(qualifies for 10 contact hours)
Click here
for full flyer, schedule, and how to register - Deadline April 1, 2020
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New Year
New Opportunities & Growth
provides a critical look at what we are now and how we get to a more sustainable and equitable future. Amazing presenters will be paired with innovative ideas and you will come away inspired!
(many of these courses are free of charge and will go a long way in challenging the way you lead and grow this year.)
From The Center for Progressive Renewal
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ITEMS OF INTEREST...
--January 18 - 7 to 9:30PM - Interfaith Discussion - Raising Children in a Challenging Environment
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Disaster Ministries
Revision of the drop off sites for CWS buckets and kits..
read more
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