The Good News LetterSt. John’s U.C.C., 1027 Church St., Fogelsville, PA18051 July 2019

WEEKLY CALENDARSunday

September through May10:15 Sunday School

10:30 Service followed by coffee hourSunday

June through Labor Day10:30 Service followed by coffee hour

Monday1:00-4:00 Pastor Janet’s office hours

(except July 1st)

Wednesday3:45-7:30 Piano lessons

6:00-7:15 yogaJune through August

Thursday12:00 Dutch Lunch at Starlite Diner6-8 Lions Club on 1st and 3rd week

Friday6-9:30 NA Group

SPECIAL EVENTSJuly 7

Communion

July 8Consistory Meeting 6:30

July 8-12VBS at St. John’s Lutheran Church 9

am – 12 pm

July 12VBS Closing Ceremony 11:30 am

followed by picnic at St. John’s Lutheran Church

July 14VBS Sunday Service 10 am at St.

John’s Lutheran Church

July 20BBQ/Movie Night 6:00pm

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St. John’s United Church of Christ1027 Church Street

PO Box 817Fogelsville, PA 18051

Office Phone: 610-398-7015 Church Hospital Code # 467

E-mail:stjohnsucc1@gmail.comWebsite:www.stjohnsuccfogelsville.com

Web & Facebook Submissions: stjohnsuccfogelsville@gmail.com✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞

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Church Staff Pastor Janet Newett

E-Mail Pastorjanetn@gmail.comMinister of Music: Dave Roth

Cell: 610-737-0530 E-mail: rothd@rcn.com/rothpiano.comParish Coordinator: Tina Laudenslager

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NEWSLETTER DEADLINEThe newsletter is printed around the 20th

of each month. The newsletter must be printed and be available for distribution by the last Sunday of the month.✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞

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From the Pastor’s Desk

Hello beautiful people!

I think we are off to a great start as we figure out how to worship together and get to know each other. Thank you so much for the warm way you have accepted my friendship and leadership.

We have some exciting things coming up with VBS and various summer fun things, like outdoor worship and picnics. For us to blossom, we need to plant the seeds and make sure they are nourished. You have many roles in that process…

The Seed- by participating in the full life of our church through worship, activities, mission etc., you are the seed who gets to grow in your faith and relationship with God. This growth allows you to feel the spiritual benefits of peace, joy, and hope (among so many others)!

The Farmer- Get your hands dirty as you dig down deep to plant some seeds. Talk to your friends and family about your church, your faith and what it means to you. The number one way to grow a church is through personal invitation!!

The water and the light- You shine the light of Christ with each loving act. You participate in the Living Water which sustains each time you look outside of yourself to serve others. Be Light and Water! Keep sharing those Facebook posts and take pictures during worship to share.

Enthusiasm is contagious. Hope is contagious. Let’s make our garden grow!

One last thing: My wonderful husband sensed he and I needed a few days to ourselves. The location is actually still a surprise; he won’t tell me where we are headed ha ha ha! I will be gone July 1, 2, and 3. Should any Pastoral Emergencies arise in that time, please contact Pastor Lori Esslinger at 610-393-3522.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Janet

610-657-2189 (text or call)

pastorjanetn@gmail.com (Please note the NEW EMAIL)

✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀Busy Bees

The Busy Bees will be taking a much deserved break over the summer.

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Thank you to everyone who made a donation to the Capital Campaign.

Thank you to everyone who volunteers their time and talent for the betterment of the church.

Thank you to everyone who made a donation to the food bank.

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Prayer RequestsIrvin Moore, Catherine Csencitz, Marjorie Deroner, Ray Ziegler, Jane Laudenslager, George Rodenbach, Jessica Williamson, Elaine Conner, Ruby Grace.

If you or a loved one needs to be hospitalized, please inform the hospital staff that St John’s UCC church code is 467. We also ask that you or a family member please notify the church office of your hospitalization when you enter and when you leave—call 610-398-7015. Thanks!1✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞1✞✞✞✞✞

Birthdays & Anniversaries

July Birthdays4 – Nancy Reichert6 – Wanda Fehnel10 – Tyler Krause

18 – Roy Lehr18 – Roger Lehr

20 – Roseann Laudenslager23 – Nicholas Edelman

25 – Linda Eroh25 – Mark Laudenslager

27 – Janet Grim

July Anniversaries20 –Dean & Donna Mohr

July AssistantsAssistant MinisterJuly 7 – Steve ConnerJuly 14 – Frank GaronJuly 21 – Sue SnyderJuly 28 – Janet Grim

Offering ScheduleJuly 7 –**Jeff Grim & Larry MoyerJuly 14 – Sue Snyder & Suzanne Reigel July 21 – Frank Garon & Larry MoyerJuly 28 – Marilyn Roth & Tom Sobczak

**Responsible for supplying bread and set-up communion.

PASTOR CHATS:Pastor Janet would love to get to know you better.

Office Hours through June and July: Mondays 1-4pm (except 7/1)

There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for you to make an appointment with her. This avoids the

awkward situation of having multiple people arrive at the same time

If Mondays are not a good day for you, don’t hesitate to contact her to schedule a more convenient time. AND Pastor Janet will also be attending Dutch Lunch on Thursdays at the Starlite Diner at 12 noon.

Rev. Irvin Moore is back at Fellowship Manor

New Food Bank in our area – Katrina Sundstrom, Executive Director, of the Parkland C.A.R.E.S. Food Pantry attended the May Consistory meeting to tell us about the new food pantry which will be located on Kernsville Road across from the school in the former medical office building. They are looking to give community aid. She told us that there are currently 2,500 children in the Parkland School District who do not have enough food. Many of them get most of their food from school lunches and don’t get well fed on the week-ends. The pantry will open its doors on June 19. People will be able to come and shop for food from the choice pantry on the 2nd and 4th

Wednesdays and the 1st Saturday of the month. Eventually, they hope to be able to be open weekly. Giving families the opportunity to choose their own food gives them a sense of dignity and control, limits possible waste, and gives

them an opportunity to shop the pantry for items that best suit their needs. They are looking for community support for the food bank. They are also able to get food from the Second Harvest Food Bank. They hope to be able to do week-end snack packs to be distributed to needy children at their schools. They would like to be able to put together 250 snack packs. In putting together these snack packs, our church could help by collecting crackers, canned or bagged tuna and canned chicken. She said that we could call her every 4 weeks for pick up. Jeff Grim will take the items to the food bank. Eventually, they want to be able to put together a community cares closet which would have items such as clothing, tooth paste, shampoos, etc. Long-term they are aiming for a mobile food pantry bus. At this time, Consistory decided to donate all of our food collections to this cause so that we will not be spreading our resources too thin.

Collecting school supplies for student backpacks - We have several back packs in storage here at the church that were bought last fall when on sale.  We would like to start collecting supplies now to fill the packs in the fall.  Things to bring - #2 pencils, erasers, spiral notebooks. 1-inch 3-ring binders, notebook paper, zippered pencil cases, etc.

Vacation Bible School has been scheduled for July 8-12, 9 AM-12 PM,

held at St. John’s Lutheran. The theme is “To Mars and Beyond” and it will be held jointly with the congregation of St. John’s UCC.  Blast off at VBS and explore where God’s power can take you.  Glory to God who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us! -Ephesians 3:20 Classes available for nursery through 5th grade. Registration is going on NOW- forms are in the narthex or may be found on our website.  Reminder: clearances for volunteers are required by the state – please contact the office and we will help you complete them before the event.There will be a Closing Ceremony on Friday, July 12th at 11:30am followed by a picnic. The post VBS service will be held at the Lutheran Church on Sunday, July 14, 2019, at 10 am. We hope you all plan on attending this service.  The children are so excited to share with you what they learned during the week.

We will be having our outdoor service on Sunday August 25th at 10:30 am at Mark & Marlene Ritter’s house followed by a potluck picnic.

Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley will hold their 13th Annual Summer

Carnival on Saturday, July 27 from 10 -2. This year we will sponsor the event and set up a game, with prizes for the participants. Anyone interested in participating, please contact the Sobczaks (610-398-7065) for more information. Volunteers are always needed and you will have an amazing experience. Miracle League is always looking for volunteers to help with their games, look up the website and volunteer. St. John's UCC cares about community outreach. REPRESENT us at a game or event. Thank you!

PASTOR JANET’S INSTALLATION AS OUR NEW PASTOR: October 6, 2019 at 3pm

This is a wonderful time of celebration and our congregation is hosting this special worship service! So mark your calendars now. Penn Northeast Conference representatives will be there, as well as, many other pastors, friends and family of Pastor Janet as she is officially affirmed and installed as our pastor. More information will come this summer as the planning continues.

Joint Outdoor worship service with St. John’s Lutheran is scheduled for Sunday September 8th at 10:30 am at Breinigsville Park

The Cemetery Committee is looking to rejuvenate the old headstones in the German Cemetery and are in need of funding. If you would like to make a

donation please mark it as German Cemetery or see Dean Mohr, Jeff Grim or Larry Moyer.

✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀Amazon Smile

Amazon Smile is a version of Amazon that allows part of your payment for most items to go to a charitable organization of your choice. Go to smile.amazon.com and choose St Johns Ucc Fogelsville as your charity, or visit our website and click on the link on the homepage. Then, start shopping! Thank you for your contribution!✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀

MediaCheck out our website at stjohnsuccfogelsville.com Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsUCCFogelsville/Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/st.johnsu.c.c.fogelsv/Share your St. John's U.C.C. Fogelsville experiences on social media with #stjohnsuccfogelsville

✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀Opportunities Available

If you are comfortable speaking in public please consider being an assistant minister. If you enjoy talking to people one-on-one, consider being a greeter on a Sunday or going along with a few of our members who visit our sick and shut-ins. We can always use help with coffee hour and with the occasional fellowship meals we offer or providing food when we host a bereaved family

after a funeral service. If your time is limited and you want to contribute financially you can sponsor bulletins and altar flowers or make a contribution toward coffee hour. The cost for flowers is $40 per Sunday and bulletins for $5 per Sunday. Thank you for sharing your talent in God’s service.Sign-up sheets are on the bulletin board in the narthex.✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀

Joyful Noise Offering 2019July – Community Services for Children is a platform for numerous early education programs. Their program, Safe Start, is the regions only therapeutic classroom for abused infants & toddlers. They receive hundreds of referrals for children ages 0 – 3 affected by drugs & abuse.

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Please join us for lunch at the Starlite Diner on Thursday afternoons at 12:00 p.m. It will be Dutch Style where everyone will treat him or herself for a lunch out. We will have informal discussions of faith and life, time to share, support, break bread together, and get to know one another. ✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀Helping Hands NeededAttention anyone willing to lend a hand. There are two lists posted in the narthex. We are in need of volunteers. There is a punch list of weekly, bi-

weekly, and monthly chores. Also, there are some repairs needed here and there. If we all chip in, we can get the jobs done. If your schedule allows, these tasks are a perfect way for you to serve your church, in turn, serving your community. Please consider making a renewed commitment to your church family in the New Year. Thank you. ✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀✾✿❀

Consistory NotesJune 10, 2019

1) Pastor’s Report - a) WELCOME PASTOR JANET TO ST. JOHNS!! Report – Pastor asked for reflections on Sunday’s service. All comments were very positive. She will contact Marlene and Mark about a picnic/worship service at their home in July or August. Currently, her office hours will be on Monday from 1:00-4:00 p.m. She will be attending Dutch Lunch on Thursdays. She will be attending the General Synod meeting June 21-26 and, she has arranged for Ashley Werkheiser to conduct our service on June 23. She is thinking about planning a women’s retreat in the fall. She is also thinking about a possible mission trip to West Virginia in September. She will be attending Vacation Bible School. She will check with PNEC for a possible date for her installation at St. John’s.

b.) Irv, update. He is getting better every day. He was moved Saturday 6/8/19 back to Fellowship Manor.

2) Correspondence – a) Thank you's - Joyful Noise! Skills U.S.A. sent a thank-you note.3) Old Business - Issues

a) Need members to sign up for Cleaning schedule (thank you to those who have volunteered).b)New Food Bank in our area!! Please

continue to donate, especially crackers, canned or bagged tuna, and canned chicken for week-end snack packs for kids.

c)Collecting School supplies for local students, backpacks – We have several back packs in storage here that were bought when on sale. We could start collecting 3-ring binders, #2 pencils, erasers, notebook paper, etc. right now.

4) New Business Report - a) New member Committee - Follow up with visitors, Magnets and Coffee Mugs ready!!! Great Job Mini Breininger with popcorn packets! We also have very cool coffee mugs to hand to new visitors!! We already have one new member that has joined!! Welcome Kim Melusky.

b) David Diken of Remember Church Directories Program spoke to the group about a pictorial church directory. If we sign up 20 families to have their photos taken, each family will get a free 8x10 and a free directory. They make their money on the extra pictures that are taken and/or sold to the families. No cost to the church, only have to get the families scheduled for photos. Two

photographers will set up two photo areas. Can handle 26 families per day. Will have a custom front and back cover. We can do custom pages with our own photos and/or art work. We just submit and they will do the layouts. Will also have a roster section at the back, if we furnish them the information. Copies would be printed for all families who had photos taken with a 20% overrun for the church for free. Extras may be purchased for $5.00 per copy. They would provide a pdf of the entire directory and a cd rom of all family images. They don’t do package deals; you buy individual pictures. There is a 20% discount for seniors over 60. They need 4-6 week notice. Fall is a busy time for them and they are signing up churches right now for fall. He left a sample and information with Larry.5) Outreach Events – a) Movie Night again July date - Outdoors grill food??? No date decided as yet. b) September Fall Picnic with St. John’s Lutheran Church on September 8. c) Iron Pigs Game rain date, rescheduled for Friday July 26, 2019 at 6:30 gates open (with Meal). 6) Christian Education – Great Job!!! a) We could use more volunteers to be a teacher. Please see any Consistory Member to volunteer! There is an URGENT NEED for S.S. teachers for our church!!! Our young people are the future!! THANK YOU SANDY FOR YOUR YEARS OF DEDICATION!!!

b) Vacation Bible School will be July 8th 2019 at the Lutheran Church – Nancy Moyer will be the Coordinator. There will be a combined worship service at the Lutheran Church on July 14.7) Kiva report - Frank – Several years ago, we started this outreach with $1,750. Kiva makes microloans all over the world. Ours are no more than $25 per loan. Other groups make micro loans to the same person until they receive the required amount for their business. No one group entirely finances one person. To date, we have lent out, over the years, $10,375. We have made 357 loans in 71 countries. $718 has been loaned out this month. Outstanding loans at this time amount to $889.23.8) Media and Internet Tech – a) ADVERTIZE OUR EVENTS on Facebook! MARKETING, Great Job Lauren! b) Wi-Fi in our sanctuary – This would cost around $300-400. Janet and Jeff Grim have donated $400 to have the Wi-Fi installed. c) Don Hughes (our I.T. guy) brought Pastor Janet's new laptop on Friday - Thank you Busy Bees for paying for this computer!! 9) Property Issues - a) New Sign will help to make us visible to road traffic. Jeff brought the specs for a new sign at the front of the church angled to face both directions on the roadway. It would retain the original bell lower. There would also be an LED feature. Cost would be approximately

$8,695.95 plus installation. May be costs for backlighting. Jeff will proceed with the application process with the township which could be tricky because of the LED option and the possibility of having to involve the state. b) A "Fix it List" is posted on the bulletin Board c) Parking lot cracks and seal coating keeps water from breaking up! Mark will do some checking.10) Treasurer’s Report – May 2019 – Marlene submitted a 3-page report. a) Monthly report - Checking account balance was $12,120.18 with the General Fund having a balance of $9,838.96 and Building Fund had a balance of $2,161.22. Weekly offering for May was $4,237.00. The cost of altar flowers has gone up. By Motion of Mark Laudenslager, seconded by Suzanne Reigel, it was decided to charge $40 for the altar flowers to cover costs. b) Capital Fund – Balance is $10,835.61. c) Memorial Fund – Balance is $26,840.68.

d) Endowment Report – Tom reported a balance of $111,635.00.

For the good and welfare of the Church, around the room??

Marilyn suggested asking the congregation to consider putting $1 or $2 per week into the Building Fund to help build up funds for future expenses.

Tom has received information regarding a Miracle League Summer Picnic. We are invited to set up a booth with giveaways. It would be on July 27.