Bonnie's Letter

“Therefore, everyone who heard these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).

Dear friends,

When Jesus spoke these words, he was trying to tell people to listen to the truth he was sharing, the good news he had to offer. We, at the Penn Northeast Conference, try to share good news and truth with you in many ways – but one of the most regularly scheduled ways we share is through the publishing of This Week in PNEC. Patty works diligently to compile all the various news, activities, educational opportunities, and information for our subscribers.

Recently we looked at the statistics of how many open and how many click on a link to a registration, additional information, or explanation page. We want to thank the 48% of you who open This Week and read it. We also want to thank the 12% of you who click on links for additional information or to register for an event or training session. We’re grateful for you doing so, as you are staying informed about the activities in the conference.

I am always dismayed when I hear individuals say they have no idea what is going on in the conference. I’m not sure how to get more information out than we already do. If you have a suggestion, I am open to hearing from you. If you get This Week and are not in the habit of opening it, reading it, and reviewing the information shared therein, I hope you will start to do so. If you know someone who is feeling disconnected from the conference, please encourage them to subscribe to This Week or if they already do, to read it more thoroughly. Sometimes the concern I get is that there is too much in This Week, but I would rather err on giving you too much information rather than not enough.

I know we are all really busy and if you are like me, with multiple e-mail accounts, sometimes it can be overwhelming to catch up, let alone keep up with all the news and events happening around us, all the emails that come in. I hope, though, you will make it a priority to read This Week, to click on links and learn even more about what is going on in the conference.  Take a moment to read This Week (and I know only 48% of you who read it will get this message) and catch up on the conference. We hope the information you find there will be of use to you. Blessings, Bonnie

Introducing Journeying toward Racial Justice with Ibram X. Kendi

by Bonnie Bates

 (If you are interested in reading this book and joining conversations with other members of PNEC, please let us know. This book study and conversation will count as the required

Anti-Racism Training for Authorized Ministers.)

The United Church of Christ has a long history of addressing and advocating for an end to racist policies and practices, including systemic and institutional racism within the Christian church. In 2003 General Synod 24 adopted a resolution calling for the UCC to be an antiracist church stating that “racism is rooted in a belief of the superiority of whiteness and bestows benefits, unearned rights, rewards, opportunities, advantages, access, and privilege on Europeans and European descendants.”

Through the Join the Movement toward Racial Justice initiative we are making explicit and concrete our antiracist commitments so that the UCC might live more fully into the historic efforts we’ve made to becoming an antiracist denomination. We are building on the revolutionary work of our freedom-making ancestors as we cultivate intersectional movements with healing and repair at the center and align ourselves with the movement of the Spirit toward justice.

Every setting of the UCC, from local churches to global partners has a role to play in expanding our practices of antiracism and strengthening our capacities as partners and participants in the burgeoning racial justice movements of our time.

To equip us on this journey toward racial justice,

we are calling on the whole church to engage in an all-church read of

Ibram X. Kendi’s book, How to Be an Antiracist.

Blurring the lines between memoir, history and social analysis, Kendi’s book invites readers into the moment-by-moment work of creating greater racial equity. By sharing stories of his own journey, he helps illuminate how each one of us is being presented with opportunities both large and small, both individually and systemically, to build a more just world through our policies and practices. We hope you will take this opportunity to lean into understanding and dismantling racism based on biology, ethnicity, body, culture, behavior, color, space, and class, as you equip yourselves for the intersectional struggle for racial justice that addresses overlapping networks of oppression and bigotry.

As Kendi says in his introduction, “This book is ultimately about the basic struggle we’re all in, the struggle to be fully human and to see that others are fully human.” As people of faith, we know that this kind of loving regard is an essential part of our discipleship. We hope you’ll join with so many others in exploring how this book and these antiracist practices can move us toward racial justice!

NEW...O & A (Open and Affirming) Community of Practice

(new COP being offered)

Facilitator: Rev. Laura Oesterle, Assistant Chaplain, Moravian College

This COP will be a half year commitment and will cost $125

If interested - please email or call Patty at the Penn Northeast Conference Office - pattyr@pnec.org;

610-826-3113

NEW...Faith Formation Community of Practice

(this is a new COP being offered)

Facilitator: Janet Newett, pastor of UCC Greenawalds, Allentown

This COP will be a half year commitment and will cost $125

If interested - Please email or call Patty at the Penn Northeast Conference Office - pattyr@pnec.org ; 610-826-3113

Generosity Updates

• Upcoming Stewardship Webinars

Selected 4th Wednesdays

7:30pm - 8:30pm

Eastern Time Unless Noted -- Webinars Are Not Recorded

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLES



“Can the Church Change?” Summit

A collaboration between the United Church of Christ and Convergence. Five days, Ten Conversations. A big question. By signing up for your FREE access, you’ll get access to two conversations daily, with leaders like Traci Blackmon, Diana Butler Bass, Brian McClaren, Miguel de la Torre and others lending their wisdom to the space. If you can’t catch the videos on the day they’re aired, but know you want to have this content for the future, think about purchasing your lifetime access - registration here. Don’t miss these galvanizing, hopeful conversations. 

PATHWAYS Theological Education, Inc. is a 501c3 program that grew from a program of the Southeast Conference UCC. It remains affiliated with the Southeast Conference. The program offers a full menu of courses for those seeking authorized ministry, for those wanting continuing education, and for those looking for a progressive theology, ethics, or practical church course. The courses are asynchronous, geographically unbound, affordable, and aligned with the UCC Marks of Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministers. Please be in touch with any questions. You may apply online at pathwaystheological.org. Click Here for full listing of classes.

Freedom School Scholar Enrollment is Open!

Dates- June 20, 2023- July 29, 2023

Time- 8am-1pm Daily 

Locations:

• Muhlenberg College- Multicultural Life 2400 Chew St. Allentown
• Easton Area Community Center- 901 Washington St. Easton
• RCDC- 144 N. Ninth St, Allentown
• Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley- 333 Union St. Allentown

Katarah A. Jordan M.Ed

Director, James Lawson Freedom School

484.274.0472

freedomschooldirector@rcdclv.org 

Resurrected Community Dev. Corporation 

144 North Ninth Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18102 

Walk to Combat Family Homelessness

Join us on June 3rd

Family Promise of Lehigh Valley has been selected to be a participating organization in the Annual Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community. This year the walk will be held at DeSales University on Saturday June 3, 2023. 

The Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community is an annual fundraising walk that benefits local health and human service agencies.  Our participation will help Family Promise build awareness and support for the many children and their families who are experiencing homelessness in our area. 

Highmark Inc. coordinates and underwrites the cost of the walk so that 100 percent of the money raised by our walkers goes to Family Promise.

• Registration is free! However walkers can fundraise for Family Promise if they wish
• To qualify for the 2023 Highmark Walk T-shirt, you must meet the following requirements:
• Be a registered walker AND have a minimum of $30 credited to your walker account by the walk date. All T-shirts will be given out on-site.

Please consider joining us by doing the following:

• Watch for and share walk information on our Family Promise Facebook Site
• Put together a team to walk on behalf of Family Promise
• Walk as an individual
• 5K Walk begins at 9:00 A.M. - 1 Mile Walk begins at 9:15 A.M.
• Purchase a Family Promise Tee-Shirt for $10.00

For more information or to sign up to walk click below or contact Family Promise at 610-351-1368 or visit our website at www.fplehighvalley.org Click Here to Register

Sponsorships available for the 25th Anniversary CPE Event at Phoebe

Dear Friends of Phoebe,

The Clinical Pastoral Education program at Phoebe Ministries is designed to offer clergy, seminary students, and qualified community members of all faiths the opportunity to practice ministry to senior adults in a variety of settings under supervision. This program has been accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education since 1998. To date we have trained over 200 students who now serve in various pastoral roles and ministries.

On June 15, Phoebe will celebrate the 25^th Anniversary of our CPE program with current students, alumni, staff, generous donors and members of the community. Click Here for Flyer. The Reverend Naomi Washington-Leapheart, currently Director of Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs for the city of Philadelphia will be speaking at the event. She is a graduate of Lancaster Seminary and an ordained UCC minister. The event will take place at the Lehigh Country Club, at 2319 S Cedar Crest Blvd, Allentown, PA 18103. 

If your church, business or organization would like to be a sponsor for the event, I’m attaching a form which explains the various levels that you can sponsor at. Our UCC Churches, Associations and Conferences and Phoebe have been partners in preparing people for ministry for many years. Your support of this significant milestone in our history will help the CPE endowment fund as well as make this event possible. Our CPE endowment at Phoebe now ensures that any student wanting to do CPE with us, can do so regardless of their ability to pay. 

Here is the link to the sponsorship page on our website: https://phoebe.org/cpe-25-years-sponsorship-form/ If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to be in contact with me. Peace, Scott

Scott Brooks-Cope, D. Min.

Regional Director, Pastoral Care and Education

Phoebe Ministries, 1925 Turner Street | Allentown, PA 18104

Disaster Ministries

Disaster information on Mississippi and Alabama

In March 2023, deadly tornados ripped through Mississippi and Alabama. On March 24th twenty tornados touched down in the two states. The town of Rolling Fork, MS was severely damaged. One week later, on March 31st, severe thunderstorms again tore through the U.S. Midwest and Mid-South . These storms spawned dozens of tornadoes across seven states. The town of Wynne, Arkansas was especially hard-hit. In the wake of these storms, lives were lost, downed trees interrupted electrical power, and some towns were almost completely destroyed.

Caring responses have begun through national and regional organizations. Varieties of aid and assistance are needed. People in these communities express hope for rebuilding and restoring their daily lives, even as they are surrounded by destruction. The UCC Disaster Ministries provide physical, financial, emotional, and spiritual care to those affected by disasters and respond through a network of Conference Disaster Coordinators.