Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Happy Tuesday!

Today we have two brief announcements and then a feature story about a recent improvement on our church grounds.
ANNOUNCEMENTS

Covid Vaccine Clinic is relocating

The Bethlehem Health Bureau has decided to change the location of the Covid Vaccine Clinic it had scheduled to hold at our church building. It will relocate to a larger facility.

If you have questions about previously scheduled appointments or any other inquiries, you need to contact the Health Bureau directly at 610-865-7083 or visit their website. Please do not contact the church; we do not have any information about the clinics. Thank you!

Tomorrow evening's Adult Ed offering

If you are planning to attend the third session of our "Living Spiritually in a Material World" series - entitled "Decluttering as a Spiritual Discipline" - you are asked to bring three items (or have them in mind, if too large to show on camera). We'll discuss why they're important/meaningful to you.

If you didn't attend the first two sessions, not to worry - you are welcome to attend tomorrow night's, which begins at 7 p.m. You can also view the first two sessions here.


To join via phone (audio only): Call 929-205-6099; when prompted enter the Meeting ID: 842 4025 0484 followed by the # key. You will be asked for the participant ID – simply press the # key again.
Chimney Swifts get new home
Thanks to Don Masters for assistance with this story

Several months ago we were approached by an Eagle Scout candidate, Elijah Sivick (son of Charlie and Lori), a member of FPCB's Scout troop, to approve a project he was proposing. After some discussion we agreed upon his project, to build a Chimney Swift Tower on our property.
There is currently a large Swift population that has been using the church's main chimney as a nighttime roosting place. If you are interested, the chimney swift is a medium-sized, sooty gray bird with very long, slender wings and very short legs. Like all swifts, it is incapable of perching, and can only cling vertically to surfaces.

It builds a bracket nest of twigs and saliva stuck to a vertical surface, which is almost always a human-built structure, typically a chimney.
The local Audubon Society had plans and information for the building of a tower for the birds, which Elijah and his family and friends utilized (above).
The completed tower is located on the north side of the church property, near the CommUNITY garden. Including the planning and write-up, a total of over 150 person-hours were involved.

This will provide alternate nesting space for the hundreds of chimney swifts that nest annually in the church's chimney.

Many thanks to Elijah and his family and friends (right) to help support this vulnerable species. We look forward to seeing the swifts using the new tower, as they begin their spring migration in April.
First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem has proudly sponsored
Boy Scout Troop 302 since November, 1917 - the longest continuous
sponsoring relationship of a Boy Scout troop in Bethlehem.