Message to Trinity -- Skippack Days, World Communion Sunday, Halloween Parade, Confirmation Class

 

Greetings Trinity Family,

I hope this email finds everyone doing well. We are busy getting ready for Skippack Days and we are looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend.

SKIPPACK DAYS – THIS WEEKEND!!

We may have rain this weekend, but the show must go on!

Our church has moved our flea market and food into the Education Building. We are preparing lots of delicious food…breakfast sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, chili, pulled pork. And, our flea market has a lot of fun and interesting items.

We still need volunteers!  We will charge our guests for parking in our lot – if you are able to park across the street, we appreciate it. Also, we need volunteers to work in the Ed Building to keep everything running smoothly.

I hope to see everyone tomorrow!!

WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY IS THIS SUNDAY!

World Communion Sunday is the special day when Christians all over the world will meet at the Communion Table and eat our Holy Meal together.  If you will be worshiping at home, please make sure you have bread and juice or wine handy.

CONFIRMATION CLASS

Our church’s Christian Education Committee is pleased to announce we will have a confirmation program this year. Please come to a gathering at 7 pm on October 4 to learn the details of how the program will work. All young people in 7th grade through 12th grade are welcome to participate. 

We will continue to meet on Sunday mornings at 9:15 am for a class about the history of the ancient people of Israel, the life of Jesus, and the growth and development of the Christian Church through the ages. The young people who chose to be in our Confirmation program will also meet for 13 sessions with a mentor from the congregation to discuss topics about our life as 21st century Christians. Please let Pastor Amelie know if you are interested in your young adults participating in the program.

TRINITY MEN’S BREAKFAST – October 8, 2022

All men are invited to breakfast the second Saturday of the month. We will met at 8:30 am on October 8 at the Franconia Café & Market,  513 Allentowno Road, Souderton, PA 18964.  We meet for fellowship, conversation, and a good meal. Our men’s breakfasts will continue into the future on the second Saturday of the month. Please join us!

SKIPPACK FIRST FRIDAYS-

The good weather is here and we are in the midst of the Skippack First Friday season.  Each month, Skippack stores stay open late on the First Friday of the month. Non-profits are invited to have tables set up around town to promote our agency. Trinity needs volunteers to run our church’s table – we share brochures about our, invite people to upcoming activities, pass out prayer squares, and usually like to have activities to engager our younger neighbors. This year, our remaining Skippack First Friday is October 7. We need volunteers to run the table from 6 to 8 pm at each First Friday. Please let Pastor Amelie know if you are planning to help on September 2.

CROP HUNGEER WALK

The Collegeville Trappe CROP Hunger Walk is October 16 at 122:30 pm. The walk starts at Trinity Reformed UCC in Collegeville at 532 East Main Street.

Come walk with the Trinity Christian UCC Skippack team. The annual CROP walk is a fundraiser for Church World Service. The proceeds support local food pantries and CWS’s efforts to fight against disease, disaster, displacement and other challenges that leave people hungry.

Register at https://events.crophungerwalk.org/2022/event/collegevillepa

SKIPPACK HALLOWEEN PARADE

Once again, we are co-hosting the parade with Floral & Hardy. We need church volunteers to arrive at 9 am on Saturday, October 22. The parade starts at 10 am and we need your help with lining up families and kids. Candy donations for our guests are welcome!

TRINITY PULLED PORK SUPPER – November 5, 2022

Usually in November, our church hosts a Turkey Dinner. This year, a widespread avian flu has made turkeys very expensive. So, we pivoted and we are now having another Pulled Pork Supper. We hope to have a turkey dinner in the Spring.

We will need your help during the week leading up the 5^th, and on the 5^th, to prepare and serve the food. We are sticking to having a drive through dinner.

Our menu will include pulled pork, bbq sauce, a roll, creamy mac and cheese, coleslaw, applesauce, baked beans, and a giant cookie.  We are charging $18 a meal and the meals are very generous portions. Please invite your friends to the dinner. If you or your friends want to make advance orders, please call the church office: 610-584-4054

CHOIR REHEARSALS HAVE RESUMED

Everyone in 8^th grade and up is welcome to join Trinity’s choir. We will rehearse every Wednesday at 7 pm. Ralien and our Worship Committee are excited about all of the upcoming music we will sing as we worship God together.

CHURCH CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS TEAM

If anyone is interested in joining a team to review the church’s Constitution and By-laws, please see either Bill Vogl or Pastor Amelie.

DAILY BREAD COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY

We continue to collect food and toiletry items for the Daily Bread Food Pantry.  They can be left at the doors of the church or in the baskets next to the sanctuary doors.

The Daily Bread's Current needs change every few weeks. This is their latest list of needs:

Personal Care (which cannot be purchased with food stamps):

Laundry soap, children's toothbrushes/ toothpaste, tissues, dish soap, DEORDORANT, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, paper towels

Food:

            jelly/jam, pancake mix & syrup, canned pasta, creamed soups, canned peas baked beans, oatmeal, gravy, pretzels & chips, cake mix & frosting, shelf stable juice & flavored water

Baby Care:

Diapers

Pet Care:

Dry cat food, Litter, canned dog food

WORSHIP SERVICES

On Sunday mornings, you are invited to join us in-person and on Facebook:

Join us for our Sunday morning hymn sing at 9:45 am and our 10:15 Worship. 

If you are watching from home, you can find us at our "Trinity Christian UCC Skippack" facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/TrinityUCCSkippack

SUNDAY BIBLE STUDY – Now AT 8:30

We have a Sunday morning Bible Study in-person and on ZOOM at 8:30. Here is the link to log in:

Amelie Sell is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Trinity's Wired Word Discussion Group
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76933813590?pwd=Nzc0MkthZFBkdmVNTGYycjVtRXkwUT09

Meeting ID: 769 3381 3590
Password: 7qLSWw

LUNCH BUNCH MEETS WEEKLY!

Lunch Bunch is our Tuesday afternoon Bible Study.  Everyone is invited to join us on Tuesdays at 12 pm.  Please bring your own lunch. (In the past, we had a potluck lunch, but for now each person will bring their own food.)  Lunch Bunch typically studies the portion of the Bible that will be the focus of our worship service on the upcoming Sunday. 

TRINITY BLOG

Trinity now has a blog where I am posting notes to the congregation and the text of my sermons.  If you would like to read these notes and messages, you can find them at: www.trinityskippack.blogspot.com

I will see you in worship on Sunday!

Many blessings!!

Pastor Amelie

 

Surprising Investment -- A Message for September 25, 2022

 

Over the past few weeks, in our worship services, we have read sections from St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul was Timothy’s mentor – Timothy was the leader of the church in Ephesus, a city in modern-day Turkey. There were many problems in the Christian community of Ephesus, so Paul’s letter offers both advice and correction for Timothy and the members of his churches. This morning, the section of the letter we read focuses on the problem of valuing wealth more than we value our relationship with God:

Proclamation of the Scripture                                    1 Timothy 6:6–19

But godliness with contentment is great gain. 

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 

to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 

who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer for Understanding        

Give us your Spirit of wisdom, O God, so that we may hear your word speaking through the Scriptures with ears that understand and hearts moved to love. Amen.                      

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 

Vane Scott, a child of the Great Depression, told this story from his childhood in Ohio:

“One evening when we went down to check on the bank, there were hundreds of people out front yelling and crying and fighting and beating on the locked doors and windows. They had fires built in the street to keep warm and there were people milling around all over the downtown.”

There are few people left in our congregation who grew up during the Great Depression, but all of us had relatives -- parents, grandparents, great-grandparents -- who lived through the worst financial period in US history.  And they told stories of runs on banks, of going to bed hungry, of only having one pair of too-small, worn out shoes to wear.  After the growth of the Roaring 1920s, with flappers and jazz music and voting rights for women, everything went downhill. The economy crashed and people all over the world faced hardships and struggles

            A sudden change in circumstances caused by the stock market crash was devastating for thousands of people. They instantly felt the reality of today’s scripture – We can’t depend on money or wealth – these are temporary. As Paul said: Do not put our “hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but our hope I God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 

            In our reading from Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul spends a portion of the letter talking about money.  As followers of God, our faith in God must be our priority. Many people are distracted by the things the world makes sexy – power, privilege, money – but none of the temptations of the world are as important as getting things right with God and practicing our faith.

            Paul says “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” We can all think of examples of money becoming a problem….people who are so caught up in obtaining money or the things money buys that they inadvertently mess up their lives --- people who can’t pay their mortgages and lose their houses because they develop an addiction to gambling – people who become so engaged in their professional jobs that their work-a-holism leads to them missing out on their children’s and family’s activities – people who fall into terrible debt because they spend their money on status symbols – people who get to the end of their lives and regret the time they spent on keeping-up-with the Jones instead of enjoying time with their spouses and loved ones…We can become seduced by wealth and obtaining more and more money that they lose sight of what is truly important – our faith, our families, and our relationships with those we love.

            In Luke chapter 12, Jesus is recorded as saying: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Paul echoes this in his message to Timothy.  -- He cautions those who have wealth to be generous with their resources. He says: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

 As Americans, we are all wealthier that most of the people of the world, even if we aren’t wealthy compared to our friends and neighbors.  It is our responsibility to do good for others and to be generous and willing to share.  We are called to be generous with people in financial need. We are called to be generous with people who are different ethnic and social groups than our own. We are called to be generous and welcoming to people who live in other countries or who are new to our country. We are called to share our resources, share our wealth, to share what we have.

As Christians, we always have to balance our faith priorities with our practical priorities. We have to support ourselves and our families and earn enough money to pay for our living expenses – our rent or mortgages, our food, our utilities, our cars and gas – all of our essentials. And, we are also allowed to have fun – our money doesn’t just need to be spent on our living expenses. But, we need to be mindful that we are called to be generous – to share our extras, to support people in need, to support the work of the church. And, we have to pay attention to what we are motivated by in our lives – are we too caught up in comparing ourselves to our wealthy neighbors; are we trying to buy the right clothing and accessories so that we look like the Kardashians or the popular kids at school; are we choosing our cars or our phones or our houses because we are trying to impress other people? Where do our motivations lie? Are we focused on our faith or on the priorities of the world?

Paul’s words remind us that we can’t take our stuff or the contents of our savings accounts with us to Heaven.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  We must work to keep our focus on God and be generous with what we have been given.

May we do so with love in our hearts and love in our actions. Amen. 

Message to Trinity -- Skippack Days, Confirmation Class, Crop Hunger Walk, EGG Virtual Fundraiser

 

Greetings Trinity Family,

The weather is beautiful and we are official in the autumn season today! I hope everyone has a few minutes to enjoy the sun shining on your face this weekend!

EVERY GOOD GIFT VIRTUAL FUNDRAISER – TOMORROW!

Every Good Gift is a non-profit charitable organization that provides job training for young single mothers in the Philadelphia region at our Glenside and Kensington locations.

Tomorrow evening, on Saturday September 24, from 7:00 to 7:30 pm, Every Good Gift will have a Virtual Fundraiser. IF you would like to watch at home, please go to this webpage and click on the link: https://www.everygoodgift.org/virtual-fundraise-2022

CONFIRMATION CLASS

Our church’s Christian Education Committee is pleased to announce we will have a confirmation program this year. Please come to a gathering at 7 pm on October 4 to learn the details of how the program will work. All young people in 7th grade through 12th grade are welcome to participate. 

We will continue to meet on Sunday mornings at 9:15 am for a class about the history of the ancient people of Israel, the life of Jesus, and the growth and development of the Christian Church through the ages. The young people who chose to be in our Confirmation program will also meet for 13 sessions with a mentor from the congregation to discuss topics about our life as 21st century Christians. Please let Pastor Amelie know if you are interested in your young adults participating in the program.

SKIPPACK DAYS – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2022

Please start bringing in your items for the church’s flea market and place them on the stage in the Education Building. If you know of anyone who might like to have a flea market space, please contact Janet Crossgrove. We will need help with set-up, parking, selling food, the white elephant sale, and clean-up. Look for sign-up sheets in the Narthex in the next few weeks. 

TRINITY MEN’S BREAKFAST – October 8, 2022

All men are invited to breakfast the second Saturday of the month. We will met at 8:30 am on October 8  at the Franconia Café & Market,  513 Allentowno Road, Souderton, PA 18964.  We meet for fellowship, conversation, and a good meal. Our men’s breakfasts will continue into the future on the second Saturday of the month. Please join us!

SKIPPACK FIRST FRIDAYS-

The good weather is here and we are in the midst of the Skippack First Friday season.  Each month, Skippack stores stay open late on the First Friday of the month. Non-profits are invited to have tables set up around town to promote our agency. Trinity needs volunteers to run our church’s table – we share brochures about our, invite people to upcoming activities, pass out prayer squares, and usually like to have activities to engager our younger neighbors. This year, our remaining Skippack First Friday is October 7. We need volunteers to run the table from 6 to 8 pm at each First Friday. Please let Pastor Amelie know if you are planning to help on September 2.

CROP HUNGEER WALK

The Collegeville Trappe CROP Hunger Walk is October 16 at 122:30 pm. The walk starts at Trinity Reformed UCC in Collegeville at 532 East Main Street.

Come walk with the Trinity Christian UCC Skippack team. The annual CROP walk is a fundraiser for Church World Service. The proceeds support local food pantries and CWS’s efforts to fight against disease, disaster, displacement and other challenges that leave people hungry.

Register at https://events.crophungerwalk.org/2022/event/collegevillepa

CHOIR REHEARSALS HAVE RESUMED

Everyone in 8^th grade and up is welcome to join Trinity’s choir. We will rehearse every Wednesday at 7 pm. Ralien and our Worship Committee are excited about all of the upcoming music we will sing as we worship God together.

CHURCH CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS TEAM

If anyone is interested in joining a team to review the church’s Constitution and By-laws, please see either Bill Vogl or Pastor Amelie.

DAILY BREAD COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY

We continue to collect food and toiletry items for the Daily Bread Food Pantry.  They can be left at the doors of the church or in the baskets next to the sanctuary doors.

The Daily Bread's Current needs change every few weeks. This is their latest list of needs:

Personal Care (which cannot be purchased with food stamps):

Laundry soap, children's toothbrushes/ toothpaste, tissues, dish soap, DEORDORANT, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, paper towels

Food:

            jelly/jam, pancake mix & syrup, canned pasta, creamed soups, canned peas baked beans, oatmeal, gravy, pretzels & chips, cake mix & frosting, shelf stable juice & flavored water

Baby Care:

Diapers

Pet Care:

Dry cat food, Litter, canned dog food

WORSHIP SERVICES

On Sunday mornings, you are invited to join us in-person and on Facebook:

Join us for our Sunday morning hymn sing at 9:45 am and our 10:15 Worship. 

If you are watching from home, you can find us at our "Trinity Christian UCC Skippack" facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/TrinityUCCSkippack

SUNDAY BIBLE  STUDY – Now AT 8:30

We have a Sunday morning Bible Study in-person and on ZOOM at 8:30. Here is the link to log in:

Amelie Sell is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Trinity's Wired Word Discussion Group
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76933813590?pwd=Nzc0MkthZFBkdmVNTGYycjVtRXkwUT09

Meeting ID: 769 3381 3590
Password: 7qLSWw

LUNCH BUNCH MEETS WEEKLY!

Lunch Bunch is our Tuesday afternoon Bible Study.  Everyone is invited to join us on Tuesdays at 12 pm.  Please bring your own lunch. (In the past, we had a potluck lunch, but for now each person will bring their own food.)  Lunch Bunch typically studies the portion of the Bible that will be the focus of our worship service on the upcoming Sunday. 

TRINITY BLOG

Trinity now has a blog where I am posting notes to the congregation and the text of my sermons.  If you would like to read these notes and messages, you can find them at: www.trinityskippack.blogspot.com

I will see you in worship on Sunday!

Many blessings!!

Pastor Amelie

Prayerful Living -- A Message for September 18, 2022

 

            This morning, we return to Paul’s letter we call 1^st Timothy. The letter is addressed to Timothy, who was a man led by Paul’s evangelistic efforts to embrace Christianity.  Although addressed to Timothy, all of Paul’s letters were copied over and over again and shared with neighboring Christian groups, creating a chain of information sharing between all of the baby Christian churches.

            Listen to Paul’s words as he gave advice about prayer and how Christians are to pray as they are recorded in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 1 through 7:

Proclamation of the Scripture            1 Timothy 2:1-7

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 

for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 

who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 

who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 

And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.        

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

            If you ask people what they are personally afraid of, in addition to death and becoming a victim of a crime, public speaking typically is towards the top of their list.  People will take many steps to avoid public speaking -- They claim people can’t understand their accents; they say their nervousness will cause them to forget what they intend to say. They feign laryngitis.

I have the kind of profession that requires public speaking, and I have learned to be less nervous about leading worship, but it still causes me a lot of stress. I am usually exhausted after a morning of leading worship and need to take a nap on Sunday afternoon.  I have been a minister for 18 years, and I still am scared of public speaking.

            In addition to people being afraid of public speaking, many of us are nervous about praying out loud in front of other people.  I think this is an extension of the public-speaking fear. We are ok with saying the Lord’s Prayer in unison with others, but if we are called upon to just pray extemporaneously, most of us clam up.  We dodge the request. We say that we don’t know what to say. We compare ourselves to others and fear that our words won’t sound as pious as other prayers we hear.

            Having a template is helpful. When I have led children’s ministry programs, one of the prayer techniques I have taught is the ACTS prayer formula. ACTS is easy to remember, because of the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles. The name of the ACTS prayer formula is an acrostic – A is for Adoration, C is for Confession, T is for Thanksgiving, and S is for Supplication. So, we adore and worship God, we confess our sins to God, and we thank God for what God has done.  Supplication is a prayer for our own needs and other people’s needs.  In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul encourage us to make “supplication for all the saints” which means to pray for our sisters and brothers in Christ. The Supplication part is primarily what we do on Sunday morning when we list our joys and concerns. The Thanksgiving part of the formula is what we highlight when we mention our “God Sightings” of the week.

            The ACTS prayer formula is echoed in today’s reading from 1^st Timothy. The portion of First Timothy we read today is described as “Instructions for Worship” in the NIV Bible.  Paul starts out with saying Christians should make petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving for all people. It is our work to pray to God – prayers of Worship, prayers of requests for others and ourselves, prayers of intercession on behalf of ourselves and others, and prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings we have received.

            Paul then says the people should pray “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. “  Why would Paul tell the people to pray for kings and all those in authority? 

            In the 1^st Century, the Roman Empire’s leaders viewed the Jewish people as being horribly defiant.  The Jewish people adhered to the laws of their religion and their religious leaders, and resisted the control of the Roman Empire. They were combative – over and over again, Jewish revolutionaries led armed rebellions against the Romans.  In 70 AD, after a 5 month standoff, Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple were destroyed. 

            At this early point in the development of the Christian Church, Christianity was seen as part of Judaism. They were not fully separated, especially in the eyes of the Roman authorities. So, when Paul told the Christians to pray for the kings and the people in authority, he was praying that their hearts would be softened towards the Christians and their treatment of the Christians would be just and fair. Paul wanted all the Christians to have peaceful and quiet lives, not under threat of suspicion and terror from the powers that be.

            This message from Paul is instructive for us. It reminds us of strategies to be mindful of as we pray. And, it also reminds us of our need to pray for the people we don’t like or consider our enemies. So, we should pray for our own government so that we are able to have the freedoms and protections that allow practicing our faith. And, we are also called to pray for our enemies – for the Russian government, for the North Korean government, for the Iranian government, for the Cuban government. We pray for them not only because we value our safety as a nation not a war with them. But, all of our “enemy” countries also have Christian citizens. In some of those places, Christianity is illegal. And, all of those countries have mminority groups that are under attack and persecution – LGBTQ people, political prisoners, people who are differently abled, and people who are not part of the dominant religious group or non-religious group, in the case of Cuba and North Korea.  Our work is to pray for people who are at risk, and also to pray for the people in power that make them at risk.

            Beloved, we are called to be people who pray. We pray prayers of worship and adoration of God. We pray prayers of supplication and petition for other people and ourselves. We pray prayers of thanksgiving for all the good things we have experienced and received.  We even pray for our enemies and the people we disagree with. Our calling is to be people who pray.

            May we remember to do so with love in our hearts? Amen. 

Message to Trinity -- Harvest Home, Hoagie Sale, Skippack Days, Confirmation

 

Greetings Trinity Family,

The weather is beautiful and we are finally feeling like fall! This Sunday is our annual Harvest Home celebration.

HARVEST HOME – SEPTEMBER 18

We are asking everyone to bring fresh fruits and vegetables, either from their gardens or from the local farm stand. Harvest Home is a traditional festival of the German church and is used to benefit our neighbors who use the Daily Bread Community Food Pantry. When our ancestors were farmers, they contributed their surplus to support their pastors and their neighbors in need.

DRIVE-THRU HOAGIE SALE – TOMORROW -- September 17 10 am – 1 pm

Our Social Committee welcomes everyone to order and purchase hoagies. They are $6 each and our fillings will be Italian, Turkey, and Ham & Cheese. They can also make cheese hoagies for vegetarians. There is a sign-up sheet in the church narthex and you  can order online at https://form.jotform.com/201836095667161

CHOIR REHEARSALS HAVE RESUMED

Everyone in 8^th grade and up is welcome to join Trinity’s choir. We will rehearse every Wednesday at 7 pm. Ralien and our Worship Committee are excited about all of the upcoming music we will sing as we worship God together.

CONFIRMATION CLASS

Our church’s Christian Education Committee is pleased to announce we will have a confirmation program this year. Please come to a gathering at 7 pm on October 4 to learn the details of how the program will work. All young people in 7th grade through 12th grade are welcome to participate. 

We will continue to meet on Sunday mornings at 9:15 am for a class about the history of the ancient people of Israel, the life of Jesus, and the growth and development of the Christian Church through the ages. The young people who chose to be in our Confirmation program will also meet for 13 sessions with a mentor from the congregation to discuss topics about our life as 21st century Christians. Please let Pastor Amelie know if you are interested in your young adults participating in the program.

SKIPPACK DAYS – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2022

Please start bringing in your items for the church’s flea market and place them on the stage in the Education Building. If you know of anyone who might like to have a flea market space, please contact Janet Crossgrove. We will need help with set-up, parking, selling food, the white elephant sale, and clean-up. Look for sign-up sheets in the Narthex in the next few weeks. 

TRINITY MEN’S BREAKFAST – October 8, 2022

All men are invited to breakfast the second Saturday of the month. We will met at 8:30 am on October 8  at the Franconia Café & Market,  513 Allentowno Road, Souderton, PA 18964.  We meet for fellowship, conversation, and a good meal. Our men’s breakfasts will continue into the future on the second Saturday of the month. Please join us!

SKIPPACK FIRST FRIDAYS-

The good weather is here and we are in the midst of the Skippack First Friday season.  Each month, Skippack stores stay open late on the First Friday of the month. Non-profits are invited to have tables set up around town to promote our agency. Trinity needs volunteers to run our church’s table – we share brochures about our, invite people to upcoming activities, pass out prayer squares, and usually like to have activities to engager our younger neighbors. This year, our remaining Skippack First Friday is October 7. We need volunteers to run the table from 6 to 8 pm at each First Friday. Please let Pastor Amelie know if you are planning to help on September 2.

CHURCH CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS TEAM

If anyone is interested in joining a team to review the church’s Constitution and By-laws, please see either Bill Vogl or Pastor Amelie.

DAILY BREAD COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY

We continue to collect food and toiletry items for the Daily Bread Food Pantry.  They can be left at the doors of the church or in the baskets next to the sanctuary doors.

The Daily Bread's Current needs change every few weeks. This is their latest list of needs:

Personal Care (which cannot be purchased with food stamps):

Laundry soap, children's toothbrushes/ toothpaste, tissues, dish soap, DEORDORANT, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, paper towels

Food:

            jelly/jam, pancake mix & syrup, canned pasta, creamed soups, canned peas baked beans, oatmeal, gravy, pretzels & chips, cake mix & frosting, shelf stable juice & flavored water

Baby Care:

Diapers

Pet Care:

Dry cat food, Litter, canned dog food

WORSHIP SERVICES

On Sunday mornings, you are invited to join us in-person and on Facebook:

Join us for our Sunday morning hymn sing at 9:45 am and our 10:15 Worship. 

If you are watching from home, you can find us at our "Trinity Christian UCC Skippack" facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/TrinityUCCSkippack

SUNDAY BIBLE  STUDY – Now AT 8:30

We have a Sunday morning Bible Study in-person and on ZOOM at 8:30. Here is the link to log in:

Amelie Sell is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Trinity's Wired Word Discussion Group
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76933813590?pwd=Nzc0MkthZFBkdmVNTGYycjVtRXkwUT09

Meeting ID: 769 3381 3590
Password: 7qLSWw

LUNCH BUNCH MEETS WEEKLY!

Lunch Bunch is our Tuesday afternoon Bible Study.  Everyone is invited to join us on Tuesdays at 12 pm.  Please bring your own lunch. (In the past, we had a potluck lunch, but for now each person will bring their own food.)  Lunch Bunch typically studies the portion of the Bible that will be the focus of our worship service on the upcoming Sunday. 

TRINITY BLOG

Trinity now has a blog where I am posting notes to the congregation and the text of my sermons.  If you would like to read these notes and messages, you can find them at: www.trinityskippack.blogspot.com

I will see you in worship on Sunday!

Many blessings!!

Pastor Amelie

Growing In God's Love -- A Message for September 11, 2022

 

This morning, we turn our attention to the letter of 1^st Timothy. This letter is attributed to Paul, but may have been written by one of his followers and then attributed to Paul. In the opening portion of the letter, the writer warns Christians to not succumb to false teachers – people who say their words come from God, but are mistaken. Then, the author launches into describing Paul’s experience of God’s grace. This is the portion of the letter we read today. Hear from the word of God as we read 1^st Timothy, chapter 1, verses twelve through seventeen:

Proclamation of the Scripture            1 Timothy 1:12-17

 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer

            May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O God, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

            The Bible is full of stories of redemption. People who get things wrong and do the wrong things come to their senses, become enlightened, and turn towards God. Many of our “heroes” of the faith are people who had a pivotal, life-transforming moment and became faithful.  But, before that moment, their lives were full of mistakes.

            Paul is one of the most famous examples of a “Redemption Story.” Paul was born in Tarsus, which is now in the Southern-Central region of Turkey. His Hebrew name was Saul and his Latin name was Paul.  In the first century, it was typical for Jewish people to have both Jewish names and Greek or Latin names. Paul was privileged – he was a Roman citizen.  Paul’s family was wealthy and he was educated. When Paul was an adult, he chose to be a Pharisee like his father had been.  Pharisees worked to resist assimilation into the Roman world and encouraged the Jewish people to follow the purity laws found in our Old Testament.   So, Paul studied the scriptures, worshiped, and worked to fully adhere to the laws and rules of Judaism.

            Along with adhering to those ancient laws, Paul judged and condemned the people who were Jewish but did not follow the laws as closely as the Pharisees did or who interpreted the laws differently than the Pharisees interpreted them.  Paul was one of the Pharisees who were particularly angered by the people who were Jewish but chose to follow Jesus.  He was not alone. 

            Other Pharisees and many Jewish leaders were upset by the teachings and philosophies of Jesus and his followers. In the book of Acts, Paul was on the sidelines when the Apostle Stephen was stoned because of his Christian convictions. Paul was mentioned as the person who held the outer cloaks that the people took off before they threw the stones that killed Stephen.

            Paul then made it his mission to hunt down Christians.  For years, he rooted them out and had Christians arrested. Sometimes he got them killed. But, then Jesus stopped him.  He blinded Paul with a vision and told Paul to stop persecuting Christians. And, to make it his work to spread the gospel and grow the church. When Paul committed to Christ, his eyesight was restored and he began to be an evangelist to spread the Good News of Jesus.

            In our reading this morning, Paul refers to himself as the worst of sinners. His previous actions, his previous life, led to the persecution of Christians. He persecuted them and then he realized they were right, that Jesus’ teachings were the path to follow. And, despite Paul’s prior obsession with destroying the Christian faith, despite his harmful and hurtful actions, God forgave him. And, God called Paul to serve God and to spread the faith he once worked to destroy.

            Paul stated: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners—of who I am the worst.

            Paul’s story is a reminded to all of us, all of us sinners, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us.

            Everyone in this room has things about our pasts we are not proud of. We have done things we regret. We have said things that we are ashamed of. We have hurt ourselves and we have hurt other people. We have made mistakes and we will make mistakes.

            And, yet, Jesus Christ came into the world to save us.

            The Good News of our faith is “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” God sent Jesus to the world even though we constantly make mistakes, we constantly mess ups.  But, God loves the people of the world so much that God forgives us again and again. And, God loves us so much God sent Jesus to us – to teach us, to heal us, to direct us, and to save us.

            So, friends, we are a redeemed people. No matter how we fail, God loves us. Like Paul, we may think of ourselves as the worst of sinners. But, we are loved by God. We are forgiven by God. And we are redeemed by God’s grace.

            This is the Good News. Now, it is our work to make sure we don’t keep this news to ourselves, but make it our mission to share it, just like Paul made it his mission to share it.

            And, may we have love in our heart and radiating out of us with our words and our actions as we share the Good News will others. Amen.