Friday, June 9, 2023 Newsletter
SUMMER WORSHIP
NEW TIME! 10:00 a.m.
NEW LOCATION! In the Sanctuary
(in person and livestreamed on Facebook and our website)
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A MESSAGE FROM THE REV. J.C. AUSTIN: GOING WITH THE FLOW
Way back in January 1994, I woke myself up coughing at 2 a.m. from an overwhelming haze of smoke that had penetrated the bedroom of my flat in Sydney, Australia, where I was living for the year. It was so bad that I would have thought that my apartment itself was actively on fire if I hadn’t seen the warnings about bushfires around the city on the news before I went to bed.
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As you may know, Sydney surrounds a glorious harbor on three sides, emptying into the open Pacific Ocean on its eastern side. The fires were close enough that I could see the glow on the horizon, and they were far from under control.
I remember thinking to myself that, well, worst case scenario, I guess I can retreat to the water, but then I recalled the four-meter (13-foot) tiger shark that had recently been captured in the cove near my flat, and decided that wasn’t much of a solution.
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And so for several days, I waited out the fires, watching the bizarre orange and green haze during the day and trying to sleep with the overwhelming smoke at night.
That experience has been on my mind this week, as I’ve never experienced anything like it until the smoke from the Canadian wildfires arrived in the Lehigh Valley. How many of you had “Apocalyptic Air Quality” on your 2023 Bingo card? This has been a truly crazy week in so many ways; it never occurred to me that I would ever have to close the church because there was too much smoke in the air from wildfires hundreds of miles away to be safe, but that’s what happened.
As I write this on Thursday, I am relieved to say that I can finally see the Lehigh University Observation Tower on the southside mountains from my home office window, which has not been the case for several days now, so I am hopeful that there will not be any disruptions to our worship plans this Sunday.
Our ventilation, filtration, and air conditioning systems are in the midst of repairs right now and have been overwhelmed by the intensity of the smoke this week. At the moment, however, the system that seems to be working best is the Sanctuary, and so our plan is to hold worship there at 10 a.m. this Sunday.
Just in case, however: one thing that we learned during the pandemic is how to do fully remote worship, which we made preparations to hold this Sunday if the smoke continues to be at levels that are unsafe for gathering inside the church.
We do not expect that to be the case, but if it is, we will post announcements to that effect on the church Facebook page and website, as well as send out a special email and leave a special greeting message on the church phone. So if you are curious on Sunday about whether we are actually having in-person worship, please check one of those resources; if there is no message saying otherwise, we will be gathering as planned in the Sanctuary at 10 a.m.
As you may have heard, the best defense outside of a well-functioning air filtration system is the trusty N95 masks that got so many of us through the pandemic. If you are concerned about air quality on Sunday, especially if you are dealing with respiratory issues of any kind, please remember that wearing an N95 mask to worship may be the prudent choice for you.
Hopefully, we will be back to something resembling normal on Sunday, but one way or another, we will gather in worship to God this Sunday, and I hope you will join us in whatever way seems best to you as we continue our “Gospel According to Ted Lasso” sermon series!
Grace and Peace,
J.C.
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This week’s sermon: The Gospel According to Ted Lasso: The Ties the Bind by The Rev. J.C. Austin
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We post the video of each week’s services and sermon text on our website: fpc-bethlehem.org
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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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NEW TIME! Child care will be available from 9:45 - 11:15 a.m. this Sunday morning; please ask an usher for directions.
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Your children are a joy in our worship services, and should the need arise, “kid bags” are available for their use. They are in the Narthex.
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We offer nametags for folks to wear – these are for everyone! You can pick up as you enter the worship space; please clearly PRINT your first name.
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LEMONADE ON THE LAWN
Join us after worship for our social time, “Lemonade on the Lawn” – everyone is welcome to come and connect.
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We are looking for other groups or families to take on the hosting duties.
Basically, you will need to provide a few treats to eat and to get the beverages, cups and napkins, ice, and coolers out of the church kitchen. Clean-up is as simple as returning those items to the kitchen.
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It doesn’t have to be a “formal” group, like a K group or the choir – it can be a family or group of friends. It’s easy to sign up on this online form or call the church office at 610-867-5865. We’ll also have a paper sign-up form at each event.
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INQUIRERS CLASS
About once a quarter, we hold Inquirers Seminars for folks who might like to learn more about our congregation and our denomination and/or those who may be considering the possibility of becoming members at First Presbyterian.
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We’re planning to hold the in-person portion of that this Sunday, June 11 from 2-5 p.m. The afternoon will be casual and conversational, and it will offer space to connect with other newcomers along with J.C., Suzanne, and Lindsey.
There is also typically have a 90 minute follow-up session by Zoom, but that will be scheduled after this first session.
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ASSISTING AT OUR SERVICES
If you are interested in reading at one of our summer services, please sign up through the link provided, below.
You will be sent the scripture several days before the service, so you can prepare. If you have any trouble signing up on this form, please drop us an email. |
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KNOW ANY COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS?
The Barry Brandt Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to provide income for scholarship assistance to students, with first preference to members of First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem who have financial need and demonstrated scholastic ability.
For an application form and more information, please contact us.
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KICKING OFF OUR SUMMER WORSHIP |
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We began our Summer Worship schedule this past Sunday, with a large crowd in Fellowship Hall – always love it when we have to break out more tables and chairs!
We followed that with a Lunch & Learn about the current housing situation in our community – we’ll have more about that in next week’s newsletter.
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CARE CONCERNS AND HOSPITAL VISITS
If you are hospitalized, please tell the hospital our church code is 724. Also, please call the church office at 610-867-5865 to let us know as the hospitals do not always collect this information. After hours, leave a message or call our answering service at 610-778-7003.
PRAYER REQUESTS...
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Send us your news and photos to share:
**Deadline for the 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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TO JOIN OUR LIVESTREAM WORSHIP SERVICE
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Visit our Facebook page and look for the post with our live feed
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If you don’t have a Facebook account, go to our website to view the service - click on the "Watch the Service" button
- 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 archives
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THIS SUNDAY
- 9:45-11:15 a.m.: Child Care (ask ushers to direct you)
- 10:00 a.m.: Summer Worship, in-person in the Sanctuary and livestream on Facebook Live and our website
- 11:15 a.m.: Lemonade on the Lawn, our social time – all are welcome; front lawn (in case of bad weather, inside in Fellowship Hall)
WEDNESDAYS: 7 p.m. - Overcomer’s Outreach Christian 12 Step Recovery Group weekly meeting, via Zoom (Meeting # 380 435 9056 / Password: overcomer)
CHURCH OFFICE AND BUILDING INFO:
For Monday, June 19: In honor of the Juneteenth federal holiday, the church office and building will be closed. The Preschool will be open. We will re-open on Tuesday,
June 20 for normal hours.
Regular office hours are Monday - Thursday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Many of the office staff are working remotely for some of the time, so please make an appointment if you need to see someone specific. The answering service (610-778-7003) can take your urgent pastoral concerns, 24 hours a day.
IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER: Look for updates on our website (fpc-bethlehem.org), Facebook page, and WFMZ (channel 69 and wfmz.com). We will also put the info on our church phone message, 610-867-5865.
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
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