Members and friends of Penn Central Conference,

You have come down to the lakeshore, Seeking neither the wise nor the wealthy, But only asking for me to follow.

Refrain: O Lord, you have looked into my eyes, Kindly smiling, you've called out my name. On the sand I've abandoned my small boat; Now with you, I will seek other seas.

You know full well what I have, Lord; Neither treasure nor weapons for conquest, Just these my fishnets and will for working.

Refrain

You need my hands, my exhaustion, Working love for the rest of the weary, A love that's willing to go on loving.

Refrain

You who have fished other waters; You, the longing of souls that are yearning; O loving Friend, you have come to call me.

Refrain

This hymn of invitation, humility, willingness to love without ceasing, and to follow always, has always been one of my favorites; from the time I first sang it from a UCC hymnal. It so beautifully puts flesh and intention and spirit onto the brief story of Jesus’ call to his first disciples in Matthew 4:18-22:

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

What was it, I have often wondered, that Jesus saw in this ragtag group of fishermen that compelled him to decide they would live with him, learn from him, grow by fits and starts and tragic circumstances, and become the founders and planters of Christ’s church for the centuries?

What was it, I have wondered even more, about Jesus that these down-to-earth fishermen would decide to follow this unknown, seemingly run of the mill lake preacher?

For me, the hymn put flesh and spirit to these questions. Jesus was looking for quite ordinary people, with no sense of pretense or hubris. He was looking for a willingness to work, a willingness to love those who are too weary to love, with an intention to keep on loving even when—especially when—it seemed too hard to love.

And Jesus needed folks who would be willing to go into the unknown future…commit to continuing the work for love, not give up, not veer from left to right, even when—especially when—the future looked so ominous.

When I first had the blessed opportunity to follow Jesus to Penn Central Conference two and a half years ago, I was not sure what God was asking of me or what I could expect from the beloved folks of Central Pennsylvania. I came with an intense love for our churches, especially our struggling and smaller churches, and a seminal sense that God wanted me to express that love through actions as God led me and the churches of Penn Central. I learned more than I imagined, both the deeply blessed assurance of God’s hope filled future and the troubling present reality of the status of churches in Penn Central and all over the United States. I pray in my deepest being that I have been present enough to Jesus to follow as he led me here, without pretense or hubris, using my hands and feet to spread love and hope where love and hope have been needed, where folks have struggled or have been too weary to hold onto hope.

Now as I follow Jesus into the blessed opportunity to partner with the Maine Conference, I do not know fully what God is asking of me or what I can expect from the beloved folks of Maine. I go to Maine with an even more intense love for and determination to help our churches, larger and especially smaller; to lean into, to boldly venture into the foreboding unknown with the faith that God has a hope-filled future although we may not know what it is. I do believe in my heart of hearts that God is yearning to unfold something new into the life and spirit of the churches in the UCC. I am just humbly grateful that Jesus has called me, ordinary minister that I am, but O so willing to work and to bring love where Jesus calls me.

Jesus calls any of us, all of us to follow. We don’t always know what that means. As Thomas Merton so eloquently prays,

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.”

I wonder if that sums up how the disciples felt. It certainly reflects how I feel every time Jesus  has called me to follow in a new direction; along a different path: as faculty to teach music in a Christian College, as therapist to help troubled souls to heal, as local pastor to partner with a church to be vital in their greater community, as Associate Conference Minister to join with churches across the Penn Central Conference for hope and vitality, as Conference Minister to partner with the churches and associations of the Maine Conference as we venture together into the unknown of God’s future.

My prayer for all of you, beloved of the Penn Central Conference, is that you will follow Jesus, into the unknown, with the openness of unpretentious willingness to love those who are too weary to love, and to bring hope to those who are not so hopeful—with a persistent and unwavering faith that God knows the road ahead, and the road is filled with hope-filled goodness, as God is always making things new!

Marisa

Rev. Dr. Marisa Laviola

Associate Conference Minister

Penn Central Conference

Save the date:

September 10, 2022, 10:00AM-1:00PM

Open House to celebrate ACM Marisa Laviola's final month with PCC before moving on to her new position as Conference Minister in the Maine Conference. Refreshments will be served and a presentation will happen at noon. At Colonial Park UCC, Harrisburg.

Scheduling notes:

September 11 - St. John Center UCC, East Earl - Rev. Dr. Carrie Call preaching

September 18 - St. John UCC, Denver - Rev. Dr. Carrie Call preaching

September 25 - Salem UCC, Harrisburg - Rev. Dr. Carrie Call preaching

Printable eNews are available. Pastors and secretaries, please feel free to share with your congregation members that don't get this weekly email. Download and print this PDF with the weekly message to the conference, prayers for Penn Central and brief list of events.

Prayers for Penn Central Conference

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)

This week, we pray for each other as we continue to live into God's calling...

St. Paul's UCC, Bowmansville

St. Jacob's (Stone) UCC, Glenville

Salem UCC, Campbelltown

Chapel Hill UCC, Camp Hill

Old Zion German Reformed Church Anniversary Service

Sunday, September 11, 2022

3:00 p.m.

The history of Old Zion German Reformed Church, Brickerville, is commemorated each year during its annual Anniversary Worship Service. The theme for this year’s Anniversary Service will be “Old Zion During the Revolution.” During the Revolutionary War, Old Zion, then known as Reyer’s German Reformed Church, served as a hospital for wounded soldiers following the Battle of Brandywine and the Philadelphia campaigns of 1777-1778. Revolutionary War veterans are buried in the cemetery.

Rev. William LaSalle will give the sermon, playing the part of Rev. John Christopher Gobrecht, the pastor from 1770-1779. The worship service will include music and hymns from the time period with soloist Amanda Mrenna and J. P. Welliver on Old Zion’s pump organ.

Gary Meyers of the German Battalion and other Revolutionary War reenactors will be present and offer a display of Revolutionary War equipment they might have carried.

Seeking to following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), while indoors masks are encouraged and remain optional at Old Zion events.

Old Zion German Reformed Church is located near Brickerville at 187 Reifsnyder Rd., Lititz, PA.

Sunday, September 25 - Installation Service of Rev. Heather Kurtz - Zion UCC, Arendtsville - 3:30PM

Sunday, October 23 - Installation of Rev. Ken Peterkin - Emmanuel UCC, Hanover - 3:00PM

PCC has launched a new monthly email just for clergy, with news, events and clergy transitions. If you did not get this month's email on Tuesday, please let Paul know.

We will be including some items in the eNews (see below), but please check out the full email here for more events and news!

UCC Webinars

These webinars are designed to help you enhance your local church ministries. Most are free to attend. Check out the calendar here.

UCC Colectivo de Latinx Ministries: Present & Future  - September 8, 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

The Birth of a Movement: A 40th Anniversary Retrospective- September 14, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Just Peace Churches and the Disruptive Power of Peace! -  September 15, 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Upcoming Classes:



Church Finances, Oct 11–Nov 15. Tuesdays, 7–8:30pm. Instructor, Lovett Weems. Practical skills for creating and presenting budgets grounded in the church’s mission, expanding means of giving and sources of income, presenting accurate tracking and reporting of giving, proper financial administration of funds, and exploring new options for funding ministry. For pastors and lay leaders. 2.5 CEUs. $125.

Information and Registration: https://www.lancasterseminary.edu/programs/pennsylvania-academy-of-ministry/

Office Administrator - Christ Church UCC, Elizabethtown

The Office Administrator provides administrative support for Christ Church UCC, Elizabethtown's pastors and lay leaders and coordinates church-wide communications. The Office Administrator position is Part Time—4 days per week, 7 hours per day, 28 hours total.

The Office Administrator should have education and/or training and/or experience in secretarial, clerical and computer skills—specifically in databases and publishing software; mainly MS Publisher, MS Word both for word processing, skill in inter-personal relationships, ability to honor confidences, and organize and implement an office routine.

The Office Administrator should have education and/or training and/or experience in secretarial, clerical and computer skills—specifically in databases and publishing software; mainly MS Publisher and MS Word, bookkeeping and accounting skills, skill in inter-personal relationships, ability to honor confidences, and organize and implement an office routine.

UCC National Positions:

Faith Education, Innovation & Formation (Faith INFO)

Team Lead & Minister, Faith Education, Innovation & Formation Close Date: October 3, 2022

OPTIC - Marketing and Communications (MarCom) Digital Content Specialist Close Date: September 30, 2022

Human Resources (HR) Human Resources Generalist Close Date: September 30, 2022