Bonnie's Letter

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about^] these things. As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9.

Dear Friends,

As I write this article, I am a week into serious back pain the cause of which is not yet clearly identified. I have been on loads of medicine, bed rest, and still have limited mobility.

As in all things, I seek a reason. I'm not sure there is one. Granted last week’s vacation didn't turn out to be much of a vacation. I am learning some things though. I don't tolerate upsets to my schedule very well. I, who generally don't ask for help, have sought assistance from friends to help with rides to the doctors (I can't drive), grocery store pickups, food deliveries, care for my beloved dog Tuki, and myriad other chores and help.

I'm sure there are more things I'm learning, not the least of which is patience. I am dealing with delays, missed meetings, difficulties sitting, standing and walking. For an active person, this is particularly hard, and I'm not adjusting well. Yet, I am learning the virtue of patience, asking for help, and just letting go of those things I don't have the capacity to change.

Thank you to all those who have reached out to help, all those patiently taking on new tasks, and all those offering prayers. You are blessings to me. I appreciate it very much.

Love and blessings, Bonnie

Meditation and Prayer Gatherings with Kris Snyder

Looking for some peace and ways to decompress?

We meet by zoom monthly for meditation and prayer.

Penn Northeast Conference Community

Thursdays at 12noon

September 14 and 28, October 12 and 26, November 9 and 30

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81188127483?pwd=TzdmTFpIaXVtMjRQSHY1K1hOdkV2dz09

Meeting ID: 811 8812 7483 Passcode: 348630

NOTE: You can count this as continuing education credits.

OR

Union UCC Community

Tuesdays 7-8pm

September 12, October 10, November 14, December 12

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87680378046?pwd=QmozYWJFemJOVENCdWJBbzRpbDVIUT09

Meeting ID: 876 8037 8046 Passcode: 954906

Christian Creyer installation as chaplain of Phoebe, Richland

Phoebe Ministries, Richland Invites you to the Installation of Rev. Christian B. Creyer, M.Div. as Chaplain on Monday, Aug. 28 at 2:00p. Because the event will be held outdoors, under the pavilion (in Meadow Glen multi-purpose room should the weather not cooperate), clergy are invited to wear what they are most comfortable in wearing (robes and stoles not required). Phoebe Richland is located at 108 S. Main St., Richlandtown. Click here for a flyer to share.

OFFERED by Penn Central Conference

Fifth Stream Conversations - Rev. Dr. Nora is planning three fall conversations open to the whole church on the recognition of the UCC’s fifth founding stream, the Afro-Christian Convention. At Synod the Historical Council made a formal report that the Afro-Christian Convention has been named the “fifth stream” alongside the Congregational, Christian, German Reformed, and Evangelical Synod. The Convention was always a part of the denomination but had been lumped in with the (white) Christian stream. There were, as Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer put it in his official apology, “always five.” He shared his grief of how so many children and adults had learned that there were only four theological streams/traditions present at our founding and this fifth tradition had been willfully subjugated, rather than lifted up for recognition.

This will be exciting learning for us as we explore the Afro-Christian Convention together and refresh our existing knowledge around the Christian, Congregational, Evangelical, and Reformed traditions also present at our founding. The first two sessions will be largely the same with in-person and zoom options available and the November date will be sort of a deeper dive into the Afro-Christian Convention with some of the contributors to the new book Afro-Christian Convention: The Fifth Stream of the United Church of Christ available from Pilgrim Press, Amazon, and your favorite local bookseller.

3pm September 24^th Mt. Zion, York In-person and Zoom

3pm October 15^th St. Paul’s at the Farm, Lewisburg In-Person and Zoom

3pm November 12^th ZOOM for all Participants

Register here: https://penncentralconference.regfox.com/the-fifth-stream

Trauma Training Program

Sept. 23rd and Sept. 30th

 (Offered by Pennsylvania Southeast Conference)

A partnership between The Welcome Project PA, Lakeside Global Institute, & PSEC

The Welcome Project PA [WPPA], in partnership with Lakeside Global Institute and the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ , is pleased to offer professional trauma training modules for ministry leaders and volunteers in their respective contexts, to prepare them to better assist their constituents who have suffered trauma. The purpose of this program is to assist professionals in their caring for people who have suffered various forms of trauma, to create an awareness of the causes and consequences of trauma, and how it affects our human relationships and social interactions. Finally, this program strives to enable those who have suffered/continue to suffer from trauma, a path forward to progress and a way out of destructive cycles. Trauma 101 and 102 will cover the basics of trauma. The subsequent sessions with The Welcome Project PA and the PSEC will apply the trauma training to more specifically define, explore, and discuss religious trauma and its effects on both individuals and faith communities.

For more information and to register, click here.

Local Church Security: Resources and Best Practices

The UCC General Counsel, Heather Kimmel, posted a blog post last week on Local Church Security: Resources and Best Practices. This post compiles a number of resources available for Local Churches to assess their physical security. In the past year the UCC has had a number of churches experience property damage and vandalism as attacks on their theology. We’ve also had several pastors experience having their conversations recorded, heavily edited, and posted to extremist websites, resulting in threats to the church and the pastor. We hope this post helps.

2023 Stewardship Theme Materials

Click Here for details...

Join Us for Upcoming Webinars and Events from the UCC

Nurture The Soul - Thursdays - 3:30-4:30PM Eastern

Creation Justice

CLICK HERE for Full Listing and details

Diversity Training

 Wednesday, November 8 on Zoom

Facilitated by Rev. Cean James and Rev. Kevin McLemore (PSEC)

Diversity - what is it, how does it increase the vitality of our communities and congregations and our commitment to Christ? All authorized ministers are required to regularly complete training on Cultural Diversity/Sensitivity and Institutional Racism.

If you cannot make the scheduled time: we are offering an option to "view the recording of the event on your own time and complete a one-page synopsis of what you viewed".

REGISTER

https://diversity110823.eventbrite.com

Lehigh Valley Pride

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center PROUDLY announces that the 30th anniversary of Lehigh Valley Pride will be a FREE event held on Sunday, August 20, at the SteelStacks in Bethlehem from 2 to 8:30 p.m.

• Rev. Gary Barraco reserved space for a unified PNEC booth again. Folks can email him if they want to be part of the planning team. garybarraco@verizon.net
• Want to learn more about becoming a vendor at Pride? Click here..
• Want to learn more about becoming a sponsor at Pride? Click here..

Here is the link to sign-up to help at the Pride event on 8.20.23 --.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044DAAAA29A3F94-pnec2

We celebrate having had the opportunity to meet a number of our UCC conference ministers, staff, delegates, COM members and clergy while we were at the recent General Synod meeting. If we didn’t get to see you personally, we hope we have an opportunity to do so in the future.

           It’s time for us to alert you to PATHWAYS’ Fall Schedule of Courses, especially the Fall II courses that begin in October. Fall I begins in mid-to-late August and people can still sign up any time during the first week of class. Fall II courses will begin in October. Now is the time to try one of our courses and to invite friends and colleagues to sign up for the Fall courses.

Cost Effective Apply online at PATHWAYStheological.org

6-week courses are $325.

The 12-week UCC History and Polity course is only $625.

UCC History & Polity

●     HT21206 UCC History & Polity (12-weeks) (Sept 6- Dec 8)

Fall I: 6-week Courses Begin August 21, 2023

●     TH10603 Variety of Belief within Christianity Today (6-weeks) (Aug 21-Sept 30)

●     TH10601 Making Sense of Theology (6-weeks) (Aug 21-Oct 2)

●     MP10605 Spiritual Care of Self and Others (6-weeks) (Aug 21-Sept 30)

●     MP20603 Small Church Administration (6-weeks) (Aug 21-Sept 30)

●     TH30607 Contextual Theology (6-weeks) (Aug 21-Sept 30)

Fall II: 6-week Courses Begin October 2 or 9, 2023

●     BF10602 Understanding the Bible as a Progressive Christian (Oct 9-Nov 10)         

●     BF20602 Old Testament Hermeneutics (Oct 9-Nov 19)

●     TH30605 Ecological Theology (Oct 2-Nov 12)

●     MP30609 Practicing Our Faith in the Public Square (Oct 9-Nov 19)

●     HT10604 Stories of Christian Saints and Sinners (Oct 9-Nov 19)     

           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 progressive theology courses in theology, ethics, praxis and more. The courses are asynchronous, geographically unbound, affordable, and aligned with the UCC Marks of Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministers. The learners cannot hide in these online classes! The course requires people to answer the weekly questions as a blog post to which the other learners respond. This asynchronous approach builds community among the learners and with the facilitator. Please be in touch with any questions. Individuals may apply online at pathwaystheological.org.

Disaster Ministries

Our Lutheran partners in the Lehigh Valley are hosting an event on September 10, 2023 to replenish hygiene kits and flood buckets that we used to respond to the flooding events of July 2023 in Berks, Northampton and Bucks counties. The event will take place at the Lutheran Center, 2354 Grove Road, Allentown, from noon to 3 PM. There are several ways you can help:

• Sign up to donate supplies for Flood Buckets  and Hygiene Kits
• Make buckets ahead of time and deliver them on Sept 10
• Come to learn how you can get more involved

See the attached flyer for more information. Questions? Please contact Heidi Shilanskas.

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URGENT HELP NEEDED

Significant flooding occurred the weekend of Juy 15^th & 16^th in the Bangor and Marshall’s Creek areas. Approximately, 14-16 properties need either debris clean up, removal of downed trees or mud removal (mucking) from basements & 1^st floors. If anyone from your congregation would like to assist the clean up teams please contact PNEC Disaster Coordinator Steve Hummel at 484-239-5578 or revstevehummel@gmail.com so we can record your availability and provide it to the teams working in those areas. Let us truly show love of neighbor by stepping up and helping out. Thank you for your consideration!

For those who survived the flooding but still require help you can call up until Aug. 4th: (844) 965-1386 to register your property with Crisis Clean-Up!

Recover flyer & Recover Flyer in Spanish

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Focus Group Study Seeks Participants

Heavy rain brings flooding impacts: What information to you need to be prepared?

See three flyers below (one date is August 9, another date is August 10, and one is in spanish)

August 9

August 10

Spanish