THIS WEEK AT FAITH
February 21, 2021
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No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey you are welcome here.
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FAITH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
5992 Route 378
Center Valley, PA 18034
610.282.3939
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Join us this 1st Sunday of Lent for our Live Stream Worship Service at 10:15 am. Special thanks to Darin Jellison for sharing special music, to Wes Koser and Matt Long for filming the service, and to Matt Wehr for filling in for Dennis Duda.
Communion will be celebrated this Sunday . If you did not pick up a communion kit from church please prepare your bread and juice/wine prior to the service so you can partake during worship.
Click HERE to print a bulletin to follow along on 02/21/2021
Our Wednesday Evening Lenten Program will begin this Wednesday, February 24th. Scroll down for details and the Zoom Link.
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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.
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Our Wednesday Evening Lenten Program (sans the covered dish dinners) begins this Wednesday, February 24 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: We've Got Problems!
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)
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FEBRUARY IS BLANKET MONTH
February is the month to try to keep warm! It’s also the month when we take our annual Blanket Offering on the last Sunday in February. Since we are not “in” church we will be accepting your mail in, or tithe.ly, or bill pay donations throughout the entire month of February. All you need to do is designate your donation BLANKETS.
Each warm blanket costs only $10 and our annual goal is to purchase at least 100 blankets. CWS uses these blankets around the world, including the US, during emergencies. Each blanket provides victims of natural and man-made disasters with warmth and shelter. We have met our goal for several years. Let us continue with this generosity.
(to learn more click on the picture below)
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FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
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end
Each Sunday in February
Pastor Bruce will feature a significant African American leader or event that has contributed to the cause of Social Justice.
This Sunday Arthur Ashe will be featured.
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Update on Reopening from Faith's Consistory
Our "Reopening" Task Force continues to monitor two things:
-the level of COVD transmission in the Lehigh Valley
-the level of hospital occupancy in the Lehigh Valley
When these two numbers fall to a safe ratio we will consider
our options for opening our church building for worship.
In the meantime the church will still be used for filming services
and members needed to assist with this filming will be granted permission at Pastor Bruce's discretion.
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A Note from our Conference Minister
Psalm 141:2 “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.”
Dear Friends,
The season of Lent has begun. In my Roman Catholic upbringing Lent was a time of sacrifice, of fasting, of no meat on Fridays, of more church attendance than usual. Yet, the reality is not much changed in my life. As a child, I would give up something I didn’t have very often anyway, chocolate or pie or cake. My Dad usually was off traditional work in the winter (he drove heavy equipment to build roads and northeast NY didn’t do that in the winter) so we had a lot of fish anyway from his ice-fishing. I sang in the choir and my mother taught religious education, so I was at church pretty often all year round. Not much changed about that in Lent.
As I grew into adulthood and became a member of the United Church of Christ, I began to explore the religious significance of fasting, sacrifice, prayer and meditation in new ways. Lent was to become a time of introspection for me. It still is. As I have written in the last couple of weeks, I am focusing on the spiritual gift of Generosity this Lent. I am seeking to be generous in my attitudes, in my remarks, in my giving, and in many parts of my life – including being generous in my prayer and meditation time. Perhaps God doesn’t need me to be generous with my time in prayer, but I need it.
I can get really busy; can’t we all! Taking the time to pray, to sit in the quiet, to listen to music that moves my heart and spirit, and to listen for the still small voice of God are increasingly important in these busy days. I remember hearing a long time ago, based on my complaint that I didn’t have enough time, the statement, “We all have all the time there is, the same amount of time as everyone else. The difference is how we spend it.” It is a lesson I haven’t forgotten. We don’t make time, but we do determine how we use time.
This Lent I am using some time to be in prayer and meditation, to give thanks in gratitude for all I have been given, and to offer generosity to those I encounter and to myself. I may do some fasting. I may attend church more frequently. I may even decide to give up something (although maybe not). In any case I will seek the face and voice of God as one of God’s Beloved. Please remember you are each one of God’s Beloved as well. May you feel that blessing. ~ Bonnie
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Betty Lou’s Pantry
Hygiene Supplies Update
The Mission Team wishes to thank everyone who has contributed hygiene supplies for the Pantry families. We have adjusted our goal to 100 from 75 kits. If you still wish to donate we could use a few more toothbrushes and deodorant. We have been able to obtain several items from Second Harvest and the Southern Lehigh Community. A message was posted on the BLP Facebook page and the response was very generous.
However, the families are always requesting hygiene supplies and laundry detergent so please don’t hesitate to donate these items at any time. You can drop these items of at both Center Valley and Coopersburg Post Offices, the Southern Lehigh Library, or Betty Lou's Pantry any Wednesday between 9 & 10 am. Thank you again for your generous gifts for our neighbors in need.
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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.
February Birthdays:
18 Steve Fosbenner
Eric Hite
19 Sandy Sosnowsky
22 Nancy Gollie
Dana Kernick
Monica Gunkle
Elisa Talboo
23 Brenda Hovis
24 Marian Barrick
28 Donald Koch, Jr
(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!
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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:
- Mail your offering directly to the church
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Make an electronic donation through Tithe.ly on our website's Giving page
- Use your bank's Bill Pay service
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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
(click on names to send an email)
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