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THIS WEEK AT FAITH
May 19, 2024
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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
Office Hours:
Monday (*remotely) - 9 am - 4:00 pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - 9 am - 4:00 pm
Friday - Closed/Pastor's Sabbath
*Sandy will be working remotely but will check messages
on a regular basis. If you find yourself in immediate need,
call or text her at 610-967-6232.
faithchurchcv@gmail.com
www.faithchurchucc.org
MEMBERS & FRIENDS DIRECTORY
(Updated May 2024)
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THURSDAY NIGHT 5/16 - 7:00 pm CONSISTORY MEETING | |
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Join us for Worship this
Pentecost Sunday
May 19, 2024
10:15 am Worship
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Thanks to our Volunteers:
Tom Hovis, Head Usher
Chuck & Karen Talboo
Brenda & Tom Hovis, Ushers
Patience Stevenson, Lay Reader
Talboos, Altar Flowers
Jerry Trexler, Financial Secretary
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Sunday 5/19 - PENTECOST; 10:15 am WORSHIP COMMUNION
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Monday 5/20 - Sandy will work IN the Office
- Tuesday 5/21 - 2 pm Faith in Stitches
- Thursday 5/23 - Sandy - personal day
- Friday 5/24 - Office Closed/Pastor's Day Off
- Sunday 5/26 - 10:15 am WORSHIP
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CALLING ALL GRADUATES!!
We would like to share your accomplishments
in the June Focus on Faith.
Please send your graduation info, your future plans, and a picture to
faithchurchcv@gmail.com
no later than May 22nd.
We'll celebrate our Graduates on June 16th!!
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May is STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH month!
The Strengthen the Church offering supports the expansion of ministry and growth of UCC local congregations. Your support of this offering will help the UCC fulfill on its commitment to creating a just world for all by investing in new ministries and practices that meet the emerging needs of local communities.
As God calls our congregations to be the church in new ways, your generosity will plant new churches, awaken new ideas in existing churches and develop the spiritual life in our youth and young adults.
Offering envelopes can be found in the Narthex.
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Youth Bowing Party!
We're having a bowling party for Faith Youth on Sunday June 2!
When: June 2, 12:30 – 2:30
Where: Earl Bowl, Quakertown
Who: All Faith Youth, Guests are allowed
Cost: FREE!!!
Lunch: Pizza and Soda include!
RSVP: ASAP to Mrs. Sonya Dill, thelildill@gmail.com
or Pastor Bruce, pastorbruce@faithchurchucc.org
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Native Plants In My Garden
Sunday, June 2, 2024
6 - 7:30 pm at Faith UCC
You are invited to attend a presentation hosted by Faith UCC Justice Committee and given by Penn State Master Gardener, Consuelo Almodovar on NATIVE PLANTS!!
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There will be an activity for children! Please register the age(s) of your children so we can plan accordingly.
The first ten people to register will take home a NATIVE PLANT!
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Looking to recycle unused gardening containers? We are looking for gently used gardening containers for our June 2 Native Plant program (5 inches or larger). Please leave them in the designated box in the narthex. | |
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A LOOK AHEAD...
JUSTICE COMMITTEE EVENTS
SATURDAY, JUNE 22ND
POLLINATOR CELEBRATION AND NATIVE PLANT SALE
BURNSIDE PLANTATION BETHLEHEM
10-2
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Water Communion
Don’t forget to pick up a water tube for Water Communion. Water tubes are available in the Narthex.
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From
The Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates
Conference Minister
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“Connection has the power to ground us when the world is chaotic. Connection gives our lives meaning and offers joy, even in the dark [of the unknown]”[1]
Dear Friends,
I read this quote in the Center for Action and Contemplation devotional. I love the idea of being grounded in connection.
For me this is one of the benefits of all the work we are doing in approaching a possible Keystone Conference merger, connection. Our connections inside congregations make us stronger, our connections inside associations and conferences make us stronger, and our connections in the possible Keystone Conference have the potential to make us even stronger, more resilient, and more grounded in the face of the shifting climate of our culture and communities.
As Jesus moved into his public ministry, he created a community of believers and disciples. He focused on teaching and preaching and healing, but he acted with his disciples and friends. He encouraged them to go forth spreading the good news with partners, going two by two. There are deep lessons in scripture about connection and community building and we are called to live and work and share our faith in community.
The next few months will be times of connection, with our All-PA UCC Conference meeting in June, with follow-up town halls to discuss our learning, with committee on ministry chairs meeting together to look at processes and procedures, with our Conference Board Retreat, which will enable leaders in our Conference to be ready for the transitions, and with our review of materials in preparation for meeting in November to talk about and decide on our movement forward (or not) as one Conference. Connections are important. Our connection with Jesus moves us forward. Our connections with each other nurture us and provide both hope for the future and joy in the journey.
As I reflect on my more than 6-1/2 years as your Conference Minister, I am reminded of the connections and relationships I have experienced with our pastors, with our ministry teams, with our boards and committees, and with our staff. I love this Conference. I love its people and its congregations. I know things will be changing but the one constant I hold in the chaos of our world and all our internal and external transitions is our love of God and each other. This love anchors us. This love nurtures us. This love enables connection, an ever-expanding connection with those who move along the journey of faith, following Christ, with us. May it continue to be so.
Blessings,
Bonnie
[1] LaUra Schmidt with Aimee Lewis Reau and Chelsie Rivera, How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: Ten Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet (Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2023), 11, 12.
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Incline Our Hearts
by Jennifer Ruth Lynn Garrison
The Lord our God be with us, as God was with our ancestors; may God not leave us or abandon us, but incline our hearts to the Holy One, to walk in all God’s ways and to keep the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that were commanded to our ancestors. – 1 Kings 8:57-58 (NRSV, adapted).
When I think of inclinations, I don’t generally think of hard commitments. I’m inclined more toward rotini than toward angel-hair for example, but if you put a plate of pasta in front of me, I’m likely to eat it whatever the shape. I’m inclined toward dogs more than toward cats, but will happily cuddle any furry little thing. I’m inclined toward summer’s sun more than toward autumn’s leaves, but I can see that both have their pleasures. In other words, my inclines are more gentle slopes than mountain sides, more bunny hills than black diamonds.
So what does it mean to incline my heart towards God? Inclining my heart requires more than the casual ease of my quotidian inclinations. After all, I can only choose rotini or puppies or even sunshine sometimes. But my heart beats 100,000 times a day, so that is 100,000 times to choose, again, to walk in all God’s ways. Instead of an occasional inclination, an easy stroll downhill, a heart incline is a serious undertaking, a wild ride on the mountain that is the Divine.
It takes practice, this inclination of the heart. Like graduating from the easy slopes to the expert ones, inclining your heart is not something you can achieve in a day or even a week. It takes a lifetime of returning, again and again, to the holy who is as close as your beating heart.
Prayer
Holy God, My heart inclines toward you not once or twenty or even 257 times but 100,000 times today. Thump-thump, God-God, thump-thump, God-God. Amen.
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About the Author
Rev. Jennifer Garrison (formerly Brownell) is a writer, spiritual director and pastor living in the Pacific Northwest. Her published work most recently appeared in the book The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, available from The Pilgrim Press.
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WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
SUPPLYING 100 BOTTLES OF DETERGENT
FOR BETTY LOU'S PANTRY THIS MONTH.
THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!
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FOOD ITEMS DESPERATELY NEEDED:
PEANUT BUTTER
PASTA
MACARONI & CHEESE
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MAY
17 Autumn Kandt
19 Sandi DiSanto
19 Kim Ritter
19 Brian Bross
20 Meagan Santoro
20 Brandon Barone
21 Michele Keeler
22 Megan Farino
23 Dennis Duda
23 Edison Zehnder
24 Heather Koser
24 Spencer Gunkle
25 Ezekiel Sosnowsky
27 Alex K
29 Darcie Greger
31 Gavin Gunkle
31 Kristen Jellison
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A Special THANK YOU to all who continue to financially support our ministry as you are able. 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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