Join us this 3rd Sunday of Lent for our Live Stream Worship Service at 10:15 am. We are happy to welcome back our organist Dennis Duda! Special thanks to Darin Jellison for sharing special music and to our "Stream Team" for filming the service.

Click HERE to print a bulletin to follow along on 03/07/2021

Our Wednesday Evening Lenten Program will continue this Wednesday, March 10th. Scroll down for details and the Zoom Link.
Just a reminder that the church is still closed aside from the preparation and conduction of virtual worship services, church administrative duties, and maintenance of the facilities. We continue to monitor the ever changing situation monthly. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you soon! 
-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.
Letter from Bonnie
Friends, Recently I was listening to music at home and heard the newly released song by Lauren Daigle, “Hold On To Me.” The chorus of the song is:
 
“Hold on to me when it's too dark to see You
When I am sure I have reached the end
Hold on to me when I forget I need You
When I let go, hold me again”[1]
 
One of the things I have missed most during the pandemic is hugs, being held in the embrace of another human being. This has gotten a little better since Steve has moved back to Pennsylvania from his year-long stay with our children. He and I can hug each other. But I miss hugging friends and people at church, all those folks with whom I am in loving relationships. I’m sure many of you feel the same way.
 
There were a few days last month when I wasn’t even feeling the embrace of God. That’s unusual for me. I have felt the embrace and presence of God almost every day of my life. Whether I was simply sad, not feeling with my heart and spirit, or disconnected from God, I know that God doesn’t leave me, has never left me. Even in the deepest moments of grief, I knew the presence of God. As I listened to these lyrics, tears rolled down my cheeks. God’s presence with me was reaffirmed. God holding me was clear and I felt God’s presence in my very bones.
 
Often music is a tool for reconnecting with my heart and my spirit. There are enough distractions in my life, personally and professionally, that it’s easy sometimes to miss the fact that God is still holding me. Does it ever feel that way to you? How do you reconnect with God in those moments?
 
As I write this message to you, it is Wednesday, March 3 and my Just Act Calendar from the UCC reads, “Spend some time with God today and let grace shine through your life.” That is one of my hopes for you. Let grace shine through your life. Another of my hopes is that you will know that God is present and holding you. Perhaps the third is that you will have the courage to act on the grace, love, and blessings which have been poured into your life and touch the life of someone else, someone who may not be able to feel the presence of God for themselves. The fourth verse of the song is:

“I could rest here in Your arms forever
'Cause I know nobody loves me better
Hold on to me
Hold on to me.”[2]
May it be so.

Blessings,
Bonnie
 
[2] ibid
The March issue of Focus on Faith is here!

Inside you'll find:

  • A Note from the Pastor
  • Lenten Program Details
  • March Mission News
  • March's Special Offering
  • Daily Bible Readings
  • Puzzles
  • and more
40 Days - 40 Items
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: Who are the Grace dispensers?

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)

(For more details about Vanishing Grace see page 6 in February's Focus on Faith.)
Thank you to all for your generous support of Blanket Sunday. You contributed $1,250 which surpasses our goal and will purchase 125 blankets to Blanket the World with Love.
Dear Friends at Faith UCC,
 
Thank you for your generous and faithful sponsorship of seven families in Beyond Borders' Family Sponsorship Program.
 
Your sponsorship is making it possible for these families to begin earning a living, to start saving, to enroll all their children in school, and to have a safe and sturdy home in which to live.
 
Just as important, your sponsorship -- together with their own hard work and determination -- is restoring their sense of dignity and self-confidence.
 
And it’s that sense of confidence and dignity regained that gives them hope for the future, opening the door to genuine and lasting transformation in their lives.
 
That’s because these vulnerable families often live their lives on the margins of society -- isolated, excluded, and hopeless. They feel as though they have little or no reason to hope for a better future, much less plan for one, so they don’t.
 
Your sponsorship is giving them a reason to hope and teaching them how – some for the very first time – to earn a living, plan for the future, and have confidence in themselves.
You can see what I mean in the face of one of those who has already graduated: Lavila Alneus, pictured above. 
 
The 110 families in this current cohort of the Family Sponsorship Program -- including the seven families you sponsor-- are now more than half-way through the 18-month program.
 
I will continue to keep you updated each month, leading up to their graduation. If you have any questions about your sponsorship, please write or call me anytime.
 
Thank you again for your generous and faithful sponsorship of these families. Their future is built on dignity and self-reliance and filled with opportunity and hope -- and it is made possible by you.
 
With deep gratitude,

David Diggs
Co-Founder & Executive Director | Beyond Borders

Note from the Mission Team -
Our commitments will be coming to an end in April, 2021. Please see that your pledge is fulfilled before the end of April. If you can not meet your pledge please contact Karen Talboo.
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
04 Glenn Scholl
05 Gail Nagy
07 Dan Schaffer
07 Weiland Hite
07 Isabel Hovis
08 Charlotte Gasda
11 Tom Davis
12 Joan Demkee
12 Jennifer Amato
12 Tim Hovis
15 Dalton Biery
16 Joan Jones
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)