Join us this 5th Sunday of Lent for our Live Stream Worship Service at 10:15 am. Special thanks to John Barone for reading scripture, to Darin Jellison for sharing his amazing music with us, and to our "Stream Team" for filming the service.

Click HERE to print a bulletin to follow along on 03/21/2021.

Our Wednesday Evening Lenten Program will continue this Wednesday, March 24th. Scroll down for details and the Zoom Link.
We are thrilled to let you know that Faith UCC plans to reopen for in person worship service in Mid April! There were many different committee meetings and sharing of ideas to get to this exciting decision! 

In the coming weeks you will see a few things regarding reopening:

1) A survey about reopening: So we can best prepare for a return to worship. (click here to complete the survey)

2) Our Faith UCC reopening plan: The church will look different and we want to provide those details prior to worship.
 
3) Faith UCC Covid Screening form: We will need to utilize a screening/registration form for each church service attended. 

Stay tuned for more details on our first service back! 

-The Consistory
Is there someone in your life in need of prayer? Click here to fill out a prayer request form and Pastor Bruce will mention that person’s first name during worship. Please be sensitive to privacy. Permission to share from those involved must be granted before making a request.
No!
by John Edgerton | published on Mar 14, 2021

Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. – James 5:12 (NRSV)

As far as this “let your yes be yes and your no be no” business goes, toddlers have it on lock. When a two-year-old tells you she does not want Cheerios, God help you if you put a bowl of Cheerios in front of her. She was not kidding. 

Conversely, if you offer a toddler pancakes, you had better be prepared to make good on that offer of pancakes immediately if you don’t want to fall under condemnation. Because if said toddler indicates that yes, indeed, she would like to have some pancakes, she really, really means it.

A toddler has just learned to talk. It has taken them months and months of concerted effort. They have to learn the sounds, shape their mouths, twist their tongues. Glottal stops and velar ejective fricatives and voiced dental plosives—all learned from first principles simply by watching and listening. Their learning is driven by a deep need to be understood—to speak and have an impact on the world. 

Words are precious to toddlers and, frankly, they have it right. It’s we who have spent decades swimming in words who have learned to treat them lightly.

Words can make meaning and shape reality, create connection or summon help. To take something as precious as words and waste them, is unthinkable to a toddler. Yes should mean yes, and no should mean no. James, chapter 5 will tell you that. James, age 2, will tell you the same thing.

Prayer
God, will I follow you? Yes.

You can find more Daily Devotionals on the UCC website
Heifer International
AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY!
A chance for you to give
children a future free from
hunger and poverty.

Each Sunday morning the youth who participate in Faith’s Christian Ed program drop their offerings in a pretty white church bank. This offering is dedicated to Heifer International. Each year the children select animals they wish to purchase with their offerings. They have donated many heifers, rabbits, alpacas, bees and more. 

From September 2019 thru February 2020 the youth have collected $150. It was Mission’s intention to hold onto this offering until the end of 2021. However, we were presented with an exciting opportunity that we feel cannot be ignored. 

A group of generous donors will match all donations by adding $2 to every dollar we donate. So, our $150 will now become $450. 
Not just 1 Sheep BUT 3 Sheep… and more.

If you wish to add to Faith’s Heifer donation please send a check made out to Faith UCC and designate Heifer Mission on the memo line. You'll also find a Heifer designation on Tithe.ly. It must be done soon because this matching offer will not last long. Please do it today. Our goal is to have our donation in
the mail by the end of March!

For years Faith’s youth have been donating to Heifer. Won’t you help us continue with this wonderful tradition that helps create lasting change around the World.
40 Days - 40 Items
How is your 40 days - 40 items challenge going? Don't forget to take some pictures to share with the congregation in an upcoming newsletter!
Please take pictures of yourself and your items and email them to pastorbruce@faithchurchucc.org so we can share our projects!
Our Wednesday Evening Lenten Program (sans the covered dish dinners) continues each Wednesday through lent via Zoom. This year's video/study program is Vanishing Grace by Phillip Yancy.

We will start at 7:00 with some time for fellowship then begin the program at 7:15 and conclude by 7:45.
This week's topic: Holy Subversives!

Click below to join the Lenten Program Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 862 8823 3580
Passcode: 872408
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,86288233580#,,,,*872408# US (Chicago)
+16468769923,,86288233580#,,,,*872408# US (New York)
Water is life. Water is love. Let love flow.

Access to clean fresh water is vital for all of humanity, but for women in particular, water access means the difference between life and death for them and their families. The United Nations International Observance of World Water Day (March 22) reflects on the importance of water in our daily lives and remembers those who lack access to adequate drinking water supplies.

For women and girls around the world, it can be a 12 hour walk to the nearest water source to collect water to maintain basic needs and crucial hygiene practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With your support, 100 families will benefit from the Water Well project, sponsored by the United Church of Christ in Mozambique (UCCM). When you give to One Great Hour of Sharing, you invest in the hopeful future of women and girls around the world and serve as co-workers with God to build a just world for all.

March & April are One Great Hour of Sharing Months.
To learn more about OGHS
 
For those of you who give online through Tithe.ly—there is a designation for OGHS. For those mailing in donations,
please designate your offering OGHS.
CURRENT NEEDS

The pantry is well stocked but could use

SPAGHETTI SAUCE
MEAL HELPERS
(chicken/tuna/hamburger helper)

Drop your donations at Center Valley or Coopersburg Post Offices
or the Southern Lehigh Library. Donations can also be dropped
off on Wednesday mornings from 9-10 am at the pantry.
Thank you for your continued support.
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:

March
23 Lisa Koch
24 Katie Y 
26 Andrew Miller
26 Thomas Miller
28 Barbara Strimple
30 Tom Herstine
31 Patricia Babos
 
(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!
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:

  1. Mail your offering directly to the church
  2. Make an electronic donation through Tithe.ly on our website's Giving page
  3. Use your bank's Bill Pay service
IMPORTANT LINKS


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.





Contact us via email or call the church office at 610.282.3939

Dennis J. Duda, Organist & Music Director
Sandy David, Parish Administrator
(click on names to send an email)