Bonnie's Letter

Psalm 145: 9-10 “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you.”

Dear Friends,

This Sunday, November 19, is Covenant Sunday for Penn Northeast Conference. We hope you are using some of the worship resources we provided, and perhaps using the video produced by the Generosity Team. Patty will include links to both in this issue of This Week.

As I was thinking about covenant, I was drawn back to the covenants in scripture: God’s covenant with Noah after the flood; God’s covenant with Abram after God requested he move to a new place; God’s covenant with the Israelites as Moses led them out of bondage; and Jesus’ call to a new covenant in his life and God’s love. Covenant are promises, but more than one-minute promises, they are guidance for relationships in the present and in the future. It’s not always easy to keep a covenant. Keeping faith in a covenant requires work, dedication, and commitment.

When the United Church of Christ was formed as a denomination, we incorporated covenant into our relationships between the settings of the church. The local church, as the center of our denomination, had a lot of autonomy in decision-making – about their pastors, their buildings, their budgets, their missions, and mission giving. Yet, the local congregations were called to act with that autonomy in covenant, in the promise to listen, seek, understand, and respect the words and the actions of the other settings of the church. Sometimes we forget that to be in covenant with is not the same as agreeing with every word spoken by every person in every setting of the church. Just as pastors have freedom in their pulpits, Conference leaders have freedom in their preaching, teaching, and writing, and the national setting and their staff also have that same freedom. We do not need to agree, but we are in covenant with each other, called to listen well and remain in relationship – even or maybe especially when we disagree.

Recently two churches have left the denomination because they disagree with the “doctrine” of the United Church of Christ. Friends, we have NO doctrine. We have a firm belief that Jesus is the head of the church, that there is a triune God, that we can come together in unity about the essentials of our faith, but we can acknowledge diversity of thought, opinion, belief, and words in everything else. We, in the UCC, are different from hierarchical denominations. We do not tell each other what to say, believe, or even do. We merely, or maybe essentially, request a covenantal love, respect, and care for one another as we journey in faith.

This Covenant Sunday I will celebrate my covenantal relationships with our local churches and with the national setting. I will celebrate the diversity and gift that is the United Church of Christ. Will you join me?

Blessings, Bonnie

Click Here for Covenant Sunday Worship

To give on-line to OCWM - Click Here

Click Here to Become A Friend of PNEC

New PNEC Community of Practice Being Offered

For those currently in an interim setting, or those thinking of doing interim ministry, Bob Stevens is hosting a Community of Practice group beginning in January that will meet monthly on dates and at locations determined by the participants. Participants will choose among topics such as developmental and process tasks of the interim; preaching in the in-between times; and negotiating, contracting and covenanting, depending on their interests. Bob has served as interim pastor and consultant in dozens of churches and formerly was a trainer/coordinator with the national Interim Ministry Network. 

Please contact Patty at the Conference Office if you are interested. pattyr@pnec.org

PBUCC Annuity Plan Beneficiary Designations

Effective Sept. 1, 2023, Recordkeeping Services for the Lifetime Retirement Income Plan for the UCC also known as the Annuity Plan, moved to Fidelity Investments. Existing annuitants are NOT impacted by the transition.

Beneficiary elections did not transfer to Fidelity. It is important to designate your beneficiary at Fidelity. To update your beneficiary designations, go to: PBUCC.org > Member Account > Access Fidelity NetBenefits > Profile > Beneficiaries. You can also contact Fidelity for a form. Contact Fidelity through PBUCC Member Services at 800-642-6543, 8:30a to 12:00a, Monday-Friday

Covenant Sunday - November 19, 2023

A Celebration of the Covenant among Congregations and the Conference

Click Here for for Worship Service

Bridge of Faith

a project of St. John UCC in Riegelsville, PA, and two UCC congregations in New Jersey, helps support orphanages, schools and other social service groups in Awka, Nigeria. You may know us from our Fair Trade sales tables at Conference meetings and other events, where we raise funds to support the project. Recently we have paired with Ghana 4-E, another non-profit in Washington, NJ (Warren County), to create a Fair Trade Gallery at Kathy’s Kove and Kafé, 5 East Washington Ave. (Route 57) in Washington, NJ. During November and December, we are holding a major event, featuring Fair Trade art and craft items from many different countries around the world. The Christmas tree provides details. Cross the Delaware to support our project, shop for a variety of causes, and buy unique items for your Christmas giving! 

Cultivating a Culture of Safety - November 11, 2023

Penn West Conference, working with Insurance Board, is hosting an Active Intruder Response, Emergency Planning, and Abuse Prevention workshop on Saturday, November 11, from 9 AM to 1:15 PM. Lunch will be provided. Registration will be required.

In this comprehensive workshop, we empower ministries to foster a culture of safety in these critical areas: Active Intruder Response, Emergency Planning, and Abuse Prevention. Our team of experts will help ministries gain essential knowledge to equip them with strategies to address an active intruder event, to prepare for emergencies, and to protect their most vulnerable congregants from abuse.

Presenters include: Bob Winters, CPP, is the Protective Security Advisor (PSA) in Pittsburgh for the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Winters supports homeland security efforts, serving in an advising and reach-back capacity to the state Homeland Security Advisors. Local police and county emergency representatives. Lisa Gonzalez, Director of Loss Control, Insurance Board, Elizabeth Vance, Sr. Loss Control Representative, Insurance Board

Here is the link to register: Cultivating a Culture of Safety – November 11 Workshop - Insurance Board. Please register as soon as possible; the deadline to register is Wednesday, November 8.  

Affordable, Accessible, Awesome

Are you busy with work, family, caring for others, standing up for justice but need a moment each day to deepen your faith and explore ways to hold on in a broken, fearful, too often violent world? We invite you to check out our online courses where community grows, questions arise, peace comes, and faith deepens. Courses offerings can be found on the website here. Now is a good time to look ahead to the 2024 course schedule and contact PATHWAYS with any questions you may have. Whether you would like to take one course or a whole program, PATHWAYS welcomes you. Heidi Hulme writes, “I have never been one to do things “traditionally,” and PATHWAYS allowed me the opportunity to continue to prepare my alternative path to ordination, while allowing me to serve a church, and be a wife and mother. … I am grateful for this experience and education; it has blossomed my ministry, and changed my life.”  

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 -- November 30

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

Meeting ID: 811 8812 7483 Passcode: 348630

OR

Union UCC Community -- Tuesdays 7-8pm -- November 14, December 12

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

Meeting ID: 876 8037 8046 Passcode: 954906

Retirees Luncheon

(for Retired Clergy, Their Spouses/Partners, and Surviving Spouses)

 Monday, December 4, 2023

11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

(Lunch at noon)

Jordan UCC, 1837 Church Road, Allentown

Program: Keystone Conversations

 By Wednesday, November 22, please let us know if you will be attending by:

calling the Conference Office (610-826-3113) or

emailing Barbara at BarbaraJ@pnec.org  

OCWM Basic Support Resources

Click Here for 2024 Webinars

Click Here for 2024 Annual Report for Congregations

Click Here for 2024 OCWM Bulletin Insert

Giving Tuesday

On November 28, people across our country will participate in “Giving Tuesday” by making donations to charities important to them. Our congregation encourages you to make a gift on Giving Tuesday, November 28, to support the climate justice work of the United Church of Christ.   

Gifts made this year will support the UCC’s Climate Hope program which entails a year-long advocacy campaign powered by a full-time lead organizer and 12 young people who will participate in a summer leadership program. Through the voices of the next generation, we will effectively advocate for climate legislation. Our gifts will also support a 2024 Earth Day Summit and all of our UCC environmental justice work. You can learn more at www.ucc.org/givingtuesday. 

These projects effectively combine three of the UCC’s greatest strengths for affecting change: our longstanding commitment to justice, our local roots in communities throughout the country, and our younger generation of inspiring leaders. 

Advent, which begins the same week as Giving Tuesday, celebrates the hope central to our faith. Joining together with people across the United Church of Christ to support climate justice can make our Advent hope burn brighter. It’s in action that hope is found!

Please prayerfully consider a gift to support Climate Justice on Giving Tuesday, November 28, by making a gift at www.ucc.org/givingtuesday.

THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF MINISTRY (PAM)

INTRODUCTION TO PREACHING

Connect with your congregation, make Biblical text come alive, and learn breathing techniques for a more compelling delivery. Your congregation will thank you! Six weeks online, Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30pm ET, Jan. 2 – Feb. 6, 2024. $325 for 2.5 CEUs. Information and Registration: https://www.lancasterseminary.edu/programs/pennsylvania-academy-of-ministry/

Darryl W. Stephens, he / him / his, Director, Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry (PAM)

Director, United Methodist Studies, Lancaster Theological Seminary 

Apply now: Ministers' Financial Vitality Initiative 

UCC authorized ministers interested in joining the Ministers’ Financial Vitality Initiative for the 2024 cohort, follow this link to apply. Spaces are limited and requests will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. MFVI is a three-year Faith and Finance program of the Pension Boards to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders, which seeks to empower UCC ministers with financial tools and strategies to better manage their personal finances so they can serve their ministries more effectively. To learn more, read our Frequently Asked Questions. 

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

November 12-19

Click to See Flyer

Third Annual Assamblea 2023

December 9 from 12 Noon to 2PM (ET) - via zoom

Small Steps Make a Difference

Click Here for detailed flyer

Lancaster Seminary & Moravian Seminary to Launch Joint Curriculum,

Three New Degree Programs in Fall 2024

Moravian University, Moravian Theological Seminary, and Lancaster Theological Seminary today announce that they will launch a joint curriculum - taught on both campuses - that will include three new, shared graduate degree programs in Fall 2024, pending approval by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

The three programs in the new joint curriculum, recently accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, are a Master of Divinity degree (MDiv), a Master of Ministry degree (MMin), and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS). The faculty of the two graduate theological schools will teach the joint curriculum. The joint curriculum offers students flexible options for enrollment and attendance. Students will be able to take classes in person at either campus or fully online or by combining onsite and online learning, and may choose either full-time or part-time studies. Course schedules are designed to be convenient, especially for working adults, with classes held on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings.

“Our new joint curriculum both honors the ecumenical and denominational heritages of both seminaries and advances our mission to educate and nurture transformative leaders to serve in a world of change so that all God’s creation may flourish,” said The Very Rev. Katherine H. Ragsdale, Moravian University interim vice president and dean of Lancaster and Moravian Theological Seminaries. “The joint curriculum, with fresh, relevant courses, strengthens our ability to serve an even wider global faith community and gives students more choices to pursue their call and fit graduate studies into their busy lives.”

The faculty of the two seminaries worked together for two years to create the three curricula that refresh and replace existing degree programs. They began revising the curriculum after the two seminaries and Moravian University entered into a partnership in 2021. Since then, the seminaries have combined facility operations and administrative services while awaiting final regulatory approval to combine as part of the Moravian University education system.

Two additional graduate programs remain available while awaiting accreditation approval to be added to the joint curriculum: the Master of Arts in Chaplaincy (MACh), offered at Moravian Theological Seminary, and the Doctor of Ministry (DMin), at Lancaster Theological Seminary. Non-degree certificate programs in Anglican Studies, Theological Studies, Formative Spirituality, and Spiritual Direction also continue.

In addition to announcing the new joint curriculum, the joint faculties of Moravian Theological Seminary and Lancaster Theological Seminary issued a statement to "assure our students, alumni, and friends that we share several common commitments. These commitments will shape our work in curriculum development, teaching, worship, and common life. Although we cannot claim that we have fulfilled these commitments fully, we do aspire to live them out and hold ourselves accountable to them."

The common commitments are:

·   We honor the heritage of both Moravian and Lancaster seminaries, including the distinctive ways in which each school expresses ecumenical and interfaith diversity.

·   We aspire to build learning communities in which every person experiences agency and belonging.

·   We affirm that diversity of all kinds benefits our common learning and personal formation.

·   We strive to build a community life marked by love of God and neighbor, expressed in life that is respectful of all races and nationalities, anti-racist, open and affirming toward LGBTQIA+ persons, and accessible to all.

·   We promote deep engagement with Christian traditions and other spiritual heritages, with openness to diverse expressions and emerging perspectives. We value critical reflection on self, society, church, and faith.

We promote a community that involves the whole person: understanding, practicing, and being.

LAY LEADERSHIP CONVOCATION

Sponsored by the Lay Leadership Education Team

of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ

at Church of the Good Shepherd, 35 W. Philadelphia Ave., Boyertown, PA

Saturday, April 6 -- 8:30 am to 3:00 pm

Cost $40 per person includes lunch

Keynote address by Dr. Sarah Drummond,

Dean of Andover Newton Theological School and author of Sharing Leadership.

Workshops will be offered on a variety of topics relevant to lay leaders.

Registration will be through the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference Office beginning by February.

Upcoming PAM Classes

Convenient. Affordable. Online Learning

Earn CEUs from The Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry at Lancaster Seminary

INTRODUCTION TO PREACHING Starting in January

PREACHING & WORSHIP THROUGH THE YEAR In the spring

Click Here for Detailed Flyer and Registration Information.

Disaster Ministries

Cold & Flue Season Kit - Click to Read

Cyber Safety for Kids - Click to Read

Cyber Security for Older Adults - Click to Read

Ready PA Monthly - Click Here to Read

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