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FAITH

Volume 49, Number 9 2020

Join us for worship each Sunday at 10:15 am You'll find us at and at faithchurchucc/

LEAD PASTOR: Rev. Dr. Bruce C. Stevenson DIRECTOR OF MUSIC/ORGANIST: Dennis J. Duda

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Faith United Church of Christ

5992 Route 378 Center Valley, PA 18034 610-282-3939 faithchurchcv@ We are an Open & Affirming Congregation

No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey you are welcome here.

OUR VISION STATEMENT

United with Christ, we are committed

to sharing the transformative love

of God's grace and peace through service to our neighbors.

2020-21 Consistory

Officers: President: Becky Hite Vice President: Mike Ford Secretary: Mary Ellen Long

Elders: Mike Ford Jerry Trexler Becky Hite Kim Ritter

Deacons: Tom Berghold Mary Ellen Long Brenda Hovis Ken Koehnlein

Tracy Adams Justin Koser Matt Long Joan Hassler

Liaisons:

Church Treasurer: Deb Herstine

Christian Ed: Mike Ford Fellowship/Outreach: Matt Long Enduring /Mem. Gifts: Mary Ellen Long Property: Ken Koehnlein Staff Relations: Joan Hassler Worship: Kim Ritter

Budget/Finance: Jerry Trexler Mission: Tracy Adams Youth Group: Becky Hite Day Care: Pastor Bruce Fundraising: Brenda Hovis Choir: Tom Berghold

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A NOTE FROM THE PASTOR

Dear Friends,

This is a bit of a "repeat" from a Children's Sermon from this summer. Many of you know by now that for many summer's my daughter and I get season passes to Dorney Park and once we are done with work at our respective jobs we head on over, have dinner, and ride the coasters. We do this at least one night a week. This year was a little different with the COVID-19 pandemic and we weren't sure if we should make the investment but once we heard that if you bought a season pass for 2020 it would also be good for 2021, we decided to go for it! And we are glad that we did. Even with its limited hours of operation, social distancing, mandatory mask wearing, constant hand sanitizing, etc. each visit was still a great time.

Every night that we go steel force is the last roller coaster that we ride. Since this was going to be the last ride of the season, we decided to wait a little longer so that we could ride in the first row. Catherine loves roller coasters but she's not too keen on heights so she usually keeps her eyes closed as we slowly climb up that first hill. We were just about to arrive at the top when ... the train stopped!

I calmly said to Catherine "Oops, we're stuck." She opened her eyes and said "WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS???" I unwisely said "Sure, take a look out there. Does it look like we're going any-

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where?" I will admit that as a parent that was not one of my finer moments! Given that Catherine was clearly anxious I tried to calm her down with some reasonable conversation.

"Catherine, this has happened before and you know this. No one has gotten stuck up here forever and no one has gotten hurt. They will either get the ride going or someone will come up these stairs and walk us done. Just be calm. Why are you so nervous?"

Catherine gave me three reasons to be anxious:

1. I don't like being so high in the air. When the coaster is running its fine but when we're just sitting here like this it's something else altogether.

3. I don't like not knowing what is going to happen next or when its going to happen.

3. Those stairs frighten me and the idea of having to walk down them really makes me nervous!

Not to be vain, but the only thing that made me anxious was how evident my hair loss appeared in this picture!

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Catherine was right to be anxious at that moment. All three of her fears were based on the same thing: "Fear of danger in the midst of the unknown." In a dangerous situation we all want to know as much information as possible.

Sitting in the roller coaster train I was not anxious. I've been to Dorney Park enough times to see just about all of their coasters get stuck and yet no one has ever gotten hurt. I had faith in the equipment and I had faith in the staff. HOWEVER, had I never seen this happen before it would have been a different story.

Over the centuries God has demonstrated His faithfulness to us. When fear and anxiety are the normal reactions to a stressful situation we would be wise to remember how God has been present in the past and promises to be in the future. If God was reliable in the past, surely He will be reliable to us in the future under any circumstances even if God has yet to reveal precisely how He will act. And so, BE NOT AFRAID!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. -Isaiah 41:10

Peace,

Long time member, Stan Turel, 79, passed away peacefully in his home on Friday, September 11, 2020. Please keep Stan's family in your thoughts and prayers.

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World Wide Communion will be celebrated on Sunday, October 4th. If you haven't picked up a communion kit from Pastor Bruce, feel free to prepare the elements at home prior to watching the service.

Angel Mission Sunday

October 18, 2020 Our Faith Angels will finally be sharing their Missions with us on October 18. After a lengthy wait we will be hearing about a wonderful variety of missions. Be sure to tune in! THEN...After our virtual worship service, you can join your Faith friends on Zoom at noon. Grab your favorite dessert and a cup of your favorite hot beverage and get caught up with everyone you've been missing for months!

The Zoom link will be available the week before on the weekly email message--This Week at Faith.

Traci & Steve Wasylkowski welcomed a son, Owen Carson, on July 31, 2020. Don & Linda Koch are the proud grandparents, and Donald & Tootie Koch are the proud Great Grandparents! God's blessings to the new family!

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Puzzle Answers: root, seed, sow, thorn, crop, wither, farmer, soil, seed, soil crop, sow

Neighbors in Need (NIN) is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). Two-thirds of this offering is used by the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants. Neighbors in Need grants are awarded to UCC churches and organizations doing justice work in their communities. These grants fund projects whose work ranges from direct service to community organizing and advocacy to address systemic injustice. This year, special consideration will be given to projects focusing on serving our immigrant neighbors and communities.

Neighbors in Need offering will be taken during October. Please designate your contribution as NIN. Tithe.ly users will find this designation online.

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Dear Friends of Faith, I sincerely thank all of you who have sent me get well cards for my recovery from knee replacement. It sure helped me feel better each day! Thanks so much. Jean Rau Dear Friends, Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, cards, calls, and emails following my recent surgery and hospital stay! I'm feeling much better than I did 2 weeks ago but know I still have some healing to do. I'm finding out that I'm not as patient a person as I thought I was:( I'm so grateful that I can continue to work from home as I recover--I do think the work is good medicine for me:) Thank you again and look forward to seeing you all back in the office sooner than later!! Sandy

If you missed worship on Harvest Home Sunday, you may want to take some time to watch. Pastor Bruce invited members to stop at the church at noon for a SOUP DRIVE BY!

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