Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 Newsletter
SUNDAY SERVICES IN-PERSON AND
ONLINE VIA FACEBOOK LIVE:
9:00 a.m. Contemporary
11:00 a.m. Traditional*
(* also available on our website and via phone)
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A MESSAGE FROM THE REV. J.C. AUSTIN:
A TREASURED MENTOR AND FRIEND
This has been a hard week for so many of us with the death of our beloved Pastor Emeritus, The Rev. Keith Brown.
For decades, Keith was the pastor of this congregation and was renowned for the strength of his faith, the warmth of his spirit, the wit and insight of his preaching, and the power of his commitment to relational ministry. I only got to know Keith since I arrived about three and a half years ago, and yet I experienced all that from him almost immediately when we first went out to lunch together shortly after I was called here and talked for hours about life and faith and ministry and his experiences at First Presbyterian. And we did so from time to time until the pandemic came and made it unsafe to do so, moving our conversations to the telephone. For me, as for so many of you, he was a treasured mentor and friend.
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Keith’s tenure at First Presbyterian, which he described to me at that first lunch together, was a very unusual one. I remember getting advice from a prominent older pastor early in my ministry that the “correct” career path for a pastor was “5, 10, and life,” meaning you served your first congregation for five years, your second for ten years, and then served out the rest of your ministry in the third congregation. |
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Implicit in that advice was that you were supposed to move up to larger and more prominent congregations with each one of those moves. There are so many things wrong with that advice that it would take at least another whole newsletter to discuss them! But I say it to highlight what was not an uncommon perspective in the 1970s-1990s about a “career” in pastoral ministry.
Keith, on the other hand, was an associate pastor here before he was called as senior pastor. But when the senior pastorate opened up, the search committee eventually asked Keith to apply, feeling that he was a strong potential candidate. But Keith, as he told me with that big smile and chuckle of his, was very reluctant! He found his ministry focused on adult discipleship to be very meaningful, and he didn’t see himself as having the same gifts as Lloyd Ogilvie did, who had just left as senior pastor.
But the search committee was wise enough not to be looking for a clone of the previous pastor (though many search committees make that mistake!), and they convinced Keith that they felt that God was leading them to him as the next pastor they were looking for, and he finally accepted. And Keith stayed not 10 years, but for the rest of his ministry, because Keith had the maturity and strength of faith to be focused on answering and fulfilling a calling, not pursuing a career.
Of course, in so ably and faithfully fulfilling that calling, Keith achieved a remarkable career anyway, garnering enormous respect and affection not only from the membership of the church, but from those who served with him as pastors or staff members, and from the larger church. When I was called as pastor here, almost 20 years after Keith retired, my network of connections across the country kept saying, “Oh, that’s where Keith Brown served!” and they would launch into a story of Keith’s kindness or generosity that they had somehow experienced.
I always felt, and continue to feel, extraordinarily blessed to have had Keith as a friend in ministry and as the Pastor Emeritus of this church. I know that so many of you who experienced him as your pastor know the blessing of that even more than I do. And I know that you and so many people who now live elsewhere want to make sure they are present for Keith’s memorial service so they can share their own memories and stories of the impact that Keith had on so many, many of us.
Plans are actively in the works for that service, and as soon as we have a date, it will be announced loudly and frequently! So in the meantime, let us continue to grieve Keith’s death together and celebrate Keith’s life together. Let us give strong support and comfort to his wife Carole and his family as they mourn the death of Keith as husband and father.
And let us continue to give thanks for the powerful ways in which God worked through Keith to bless so many in this congregation and beyond.
Grace and Peace,
J.C.
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FOR THIS SUNDAY
Scripture lesson:
Click the link to read the verses
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· This week's sermon: A Good Word:
Attention by The Rev. J.C. Austin
· We post each week’s sermon
(audio and text) on our website:
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TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT on 8.5" x 11" paper for Sunday
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FOR SUNDAY’S IN-PERSON WORSHIP:
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Everyone over the age of 2 is required to wear a mask.
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Child care will be available from 8:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. in Room C1-2 – please ask a greeter for directions to that space.
- We will offer nametags for folks to wear – you can pick up as you enter the worship space; please write your first name.
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Our popular “Lemonade on the Lawn” social time will be offered from 10-
11 a.m. on Sunday, between the services. Stay after the first service or come early for the second, and stop by for a cool drink, snack, and fellowship.
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We’ll also have a table set out for a “fresh produce exchange.” If you have extra bounty from your garden, bring it with you to place on the table to share with others. We’ll do this every week through the growing season.
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EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE: NEW WEBSITE IS UP
After many months of work, we are excited to share that our new website is now up at fpc-bethlehem.org. The new site is a collaboration between Imagevolution, a Bethlehem marketing solutions firm, and FPCB’s Engagement Committee.
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The version we launched is a ‘work in progress,’ as we will be adding to it and refining it over the next months.
In the meantime, we invite you to check it out, and give us your feedback: is it easy to find what you’re looking for? Is there info you don’t see, but expected would be on our site? Typo’s/incorrect grammar?
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NOTE: If you typically watch our live-streamed services on our Facebook page, you will need to look for the “Watch” button in the middle of the homepage, and then click on the “Watch the Service” button.
We want our site to appropriately represent us in the community and bigger world, as well as serve as a source of timely, accurate information for our members. We are very grateful to have this dynamic, fresh new way to connect!
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LEHIGH VALLEY PRIDE IS BACK! |
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The Lehigh Valley Pride festival will be held on Sunday, Aug. 15 from noon-6:00 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Allentown. We are still looking for some volunteers to help us at our info booth (right – our crew from Pride 2019).
The day will begin with a Pre-Pride Interfaith Service at 10:30 a.m., hosted by the Bethlehem Interfaith Group. All are welcome (it can also be viewed on the BIG Facebook page).
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We’ll share a booth with our friends at First Pres in Allentown, and have a fun, easy community art project for festival-goers to participate in. It will be a great opportunity to share more about our church with folks who may be interested! If you’d like to volunteer, please email Lindsey to sign up.
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The Endowment Committee is accepting applications for the
2021-2022 school year for scholarships from the
Barry Brandt Educational Assistance Fund.
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OFFICE RE-OPENING UPDATE
Staff and volunteer receptionists have not yet returned
to the building. We encountered some unexpected complications
in getting the office suite ready for regular operations again.
We’ll share more about when office hours will resume
as updates are available.
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We’re looking for volunteers to contribute baked goods to serve at
Lemonade on the Lawn social times. If interested, please contact
or leave a message at 610-867-5865.
Please specify the date and what you’ll donate.
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IF YOU ARE HOSPITALIZED…
We would like to know when our members are entering the hospital. Please tell the hospital that your church ID is 724 and they will contact us. You can also contact Phil
PRAYER REQUESTS...
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Send us your news and photos to share:
**Deadline for next week's newsletter: WEDNESDAY at noon**
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Your likes / comments / shares help us spread the word about First Pres!
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CALENDAR
THIS SUNDAY
- 8:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Child Care in room C1-2
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9:00 a.m.: Contemporary Worship Service, in-person in the Kirk Center AND livestreamed
- 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.: Lemonade on the Lawn social time, east side of building
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11:00 a.m.: Combined Worship Service, in-person in the Sanctuary AND livestreamed - see instructions in blue box, below, to join us online, and in the yellow box to join us via phone
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FOR THIS SUNDAY: : Worship with us “Live” on Facebook
To watch “live”- as it happens:
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Visit our Facebook page and look for the post with our live feed
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NEW! If you don’t have a Facebook account, go to our website to view the service - click on the "Watch" button (midway down the homepage) and then click "Watch the Service"
- Please check in with a comment so we know you’ve joined us!
- Captions will now be available on our livestream, for those who would like to use that feature
To watch a video – available after the services have aired: Visit our website
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IF YOU DO NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS: You can participate on your phone to listen to the 11 a.m. Traditional service
To listen on the phone (audio only): Call 929-205-6099; when prompted enter the Meeting ID: 848 4170 9518, followed by the # key. You will be asked for the participant ID – press the # key again.
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WEDNESDAYS:
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7 p.m.: Overcomer’s Outreach Christian 12 Step Recovery Group weekly meeting, via Zoom (Meeting # 380 435 9056 / Password: overcomer)
ALL OTHER PUBLIC EVENTS AND GATHERINGS ARE CANCELLED AT THIS TIME unless offered online (see listings on our Facebook page under “Events”)
CHURCH OFFICE AND BUILDING INFO: The office staff is working remotely and checking email and voicemail daily. The answering service (610-778-7003) can take your urgent pastoral concerns, 24 hours a day.
CARE CONCERNS AND HOSPITAL VISITS: If members of the FPCB congregation are hospitalized and would welcome pastoral and hospital ministrant visitors and/or prayers, please contact: Phil Fair, Prayer Ministrant (prayer@fpc-bethlehem.org).
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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BETHLEHEM |
First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, 2344 Center Street, Bethlehem, PA 18017 610-867-5865 | info@fpc-bethlehem.org
Cristy Mette, Administrative Operations Manager: ext. 228;
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