Shenkel United

Church of Christ

SHARINGS AND CONCERNS

February 2013

SHENKEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

1580 Shenkel Road

Pottstown PA 19465

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Shenkel United Church of Christ’s “The NEWSLETTER” is a monthly publication prepared, edited, and mailed by the leadership and staff to all members and friends of the church. It communicates news about our life, purpose, and mission as a Church of Jesus Christ. Information related to our partnership as a member of the United Church of Christ and wider church/community out-reach is included on a regular basis. The Church is located at Unionville & Shenkel Roads in North Coventry Township.

February 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

3 Communion

Youth Group: 12—2 PM

4

5

6

Agape: 7 PM

7

Community Lunch Bunch 11:30 AM Choir: 7 PM

8 9

10

Eric Martens preaches Family Game Time: 3 PM

11 12

Quilters: 9:30 AM Consistory: 7 PM

13

Service: 7 PM

14

Choir: 7 PM

15 16

Closing wor-ship at Mensch Mill, Kline Center: 3 PM

17

Healing Prayers

Inquirer’s Class: after worship

Youth going ice skating : 1 PM

18 19

Mid-Day Din-ner Club: Noon at Michael’s Restaurant

Stewardship Committee: 7 PM

20

Confirmation Class: 7-8:30 PM

21

Card Making Class: 10 AM Choir: 7 PM

22 23

24 25

Community Meal: Noon at Christ Episco-pal Church in Pottstown

26

Quilters: 9:30 AM

27 28

Choir: 7 PM

1580 Shenkel Road, Pottstown PA 19465 610.326.3535

Email: shenkelucc@aol.com www.shenkelucc.org

PAGE 3

The Pastor’s Pen Pastor Bonnie L. Moore

484.524.8280

blmoore@comcast.net

Office Hours:

Tues., Wed., Thurs.

9 AM to 1 PM

CONSISTORY

OFFICERS

President

Jeff Graef

Vice President

James White

Secretary

Lynne Moyer

Treasurer

Ken Bevan

Financial Secretary

Chris Gray

Assistant Financial

Secretaries

Lori Scharneck

Doug Allen

Director of

Music Ministry

Rev. Douglas R. Holder

Elders

Sherry Mocarski

Lynne Moyer

Bill Faust

Chris Gray

Gary McDermit

Deacons

Jeff Graef

Aaron Gray

James White

Andrew Foss

Rick Viti

Newsletter Editor: Judy Embriani Assistant Editor: Jody Sweinhart Assistant Editor: Bill Baseley

“Have you understood all this?”

-Matthew 13:51

Christians typically think of Jesus as being the One With All the Answers, but if you

look through the Gospels, you will discover that Jesus is often the One With All the

Questions – 307 of them, in fact!

His questions are often not simple, and most of them were not, and are still not, easily

answered. Yet they almost always lead the one who hears them deeper into the heart of

God, challenging one‟s understanding of God or of the world and offering insights into

the meaning of one‟s own life.

Join us during Lent as we reflect on the Questions of Jesus:

Ash Wednesday (2/13) “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor‟s

eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”

Lent 1 (2/17) “What are you looking for?”

Lent 2 (2/24) “But who do you say that I am?”

Lent 3 (3/3) “What do you want me to do for you?”

Lent 4 (3/10) “Will you lay down your life for me?”

(Rev. Elizabeth Garrigan-Byerly, Guest

Preacher)

Lent 5 (3/17) “Why do you call me „Lord, Lord,” but do not do

what I tell you?”

Palm/Passion Sunday “Do you also wish to go away?”

Maundy Thursday “Could you not keep awake one hour?”

May our reflections on these questions of Jesus guide us on our journey to the Great

Answer!

Be God‟s,

Pastor Bonnie

P.S. Want some more questions for Lent? See the article on page 6.

SHENKEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST PAGE 4

2/3

NEED SPONSOR

NEED SPONSOR

NEED SPONSOR

8:30: Carol Pearson

10:45: Betty Kreiger

8:30:

CUL: Gary McDermit

10:45:

CUL: Jeff Graef

2/10

NEED SPONSOR

NEED SPONSOR

NEED SPONSOR

8:30: Carol Pearson

10:45: Angeline Viti

8:30: Bill & Carolyn

Baseley

10:45: Chris Gray &

Angeline Viti

2/17

NEED SPONSOR

NEED SPONSOR

NEED SPONSOR

8:30: Carol Pearson

10:45: Barry Yocom

8:30: Barb

Sweinhart &

Judy Gergle

10:45: Lisa & Barry

Yocom

2/24

David and Diane

Reinert

David and Diane

Reinert

NEED SPONSOR

8:30: Jody Sweinhart

10:45: Jenn Hauze

8:30: Joel & Jody

Sweinhart

10:45: Mark &

Sherri Dushanko

* CUL = Communion Usher Leaders (will recruit members to assist in serving communion.)

“Flours” is a collection of pantry items or a monetary donation of your

discretion to the Cluster. If a cash donation to the Cluster is made, a

wheat arrangement will be placed on the altar. Altar flowers are

$30.00 and bulletin dedications are $6.50. Food Sculptures are also

gladly accepted.

You can also dedicate a Choir Anthem with a donation of

$30. With ever-increasing costs of choral music, this sponsorship will

help stretch our budget and continue to bring quality music to Shen-

kel. Dedicate your anthem to someone special, an event in your life, or

just to the fact that you love music. Thank you for this needed contri-

bution to Shenkel. Blue envelopes are in the Narthex for your sponsor-

ships.

The are many dates open for sponsorship and dedication during this

and the upcoming months. Please complete one of the special flower/

bulletin/anthem envelopes below the sign-up chart, enclose your pay-

ment, and either put it in the collection plate or in the Secretary’s box

by the office door. You should sign your name on the chart in the

narthex by the appropriate date after you have completed your enve-

lope.

HOLY COMMUNION

Shenkel UCC celebrates the

sacrament of Holy Commun-

ion at both services on the first

Sunday of each month. Each

time communion is served,

some of the bread and non-

alcoholic wine that has been

consecrated at the altar will be saved in a travel-

ing communion kit, ready to go to the homes or

hospital rooms of members who were unable to

be present, and would like to receive the sacra-

ment. Please let Pastor Bonnie know if you, or

someone you know, would appreciate “distance-

communing” with their Shenkel Church family!

December & January Consistory Highlights….

Approved an updated Fee Schedule for 2013

Discussed the current deficit and proposed budget for 2013 at length

Elected Officers for 2013: Jeff Graef, President; Jim White, Vice-

President; Lynne Moyer, Secretary; Ken Bevan, Treasurer; Chris Gray, Financial Secretary.

Received a thank-you note from Bethany Children‟s Home for the Christmas gifts we sent

Appointed Consistory liaisons for all standing committees

Finalized plans for the 1/27 Annual Meeting

Complete copies of Consistory Minutes are available from the church office upon request..

ADMINISTRATIVE NEWS…. PAGE 5

DO YOU HAVE NEWS FOR THE

BULLETIN OR THE NEWSLETTER?

Just a reminder that all bulletin announce-

ments should be at the church office by

each Tuesday at noon to be included in

that week’s bulletin. Newsletter articles must be submitted

by the 15th of each month to be included in the next issue.

SAVE-A-TAPE PROGRAM

This is the easiest way to help our church financially.

Just ask for a Save-A-Tape card at the

customer service spot at your local Red-

ner’s store. Show your card at the regis-

ter when you check out, then bring your

register tapes to church and deposit

them in the box in the Narthex. These

tapes are collected routinely, presented

to the store, and Redner’s donates a percentage of your

total purchase to the church.

Be careful to bring your tapes in regularly instead of

saving them at home, as they do expire if not redeemed

within a certain time period. Also, please return the

entire register tape. Redner’s will not accept any regis-

ter receipt that has any part of it removed.

Keep up the good work and thank you, Redner’s!

YTD Current Fund O.C.W.M

The complete financial report for 2012

was presented at the Annual Congrega-

tional Meeting on January 27. Copies

are available by request from the church

office.

Budget

If you did not receive offering enve-

lopes and would like to, please call the

church office at 610-326-3535.

Family Game Time The Fellowship Committee will be holding a Family Game Time on Sunday afternoon, February 10, 2013 from 3:00 p.m. to ??

Bring your favorite board game (Monopoly, Candy Land), card game (Old Maid, Phase 10), dice game or even dominoes so that eve-ryone can play and share the fun of the dif-ferent games.

Please bring a snack or drink to share. The Fellowship Committee will provide barbecue to snack on for the afternoon. Hope to see you all there for a time of family fun and fel-lowship.

Any questions call Tootie or Louise Hine

at 610-385-3716.

PAGE 6 FOR YOUR INFORMATION….

Feb 3, 10, and 17 –

"THE GREATEST

STORY EVER TOLD"

Leader - Rick Viti

Everyone is invited to

join the class at 9:30

a.m.

in the Social Room.

2-3-13 — 12-2 PM: Hang-out after church, bring pizza money.

2-10-13: Morgan will be selling pretzels after church.

2-16-13: Closing Worship at Mensch Mill at 3 PM

2-17-13: Ice Skating at Center Ice in Oaks (leaving church @ 1:00 PM) Return at 5 PM

TESIA’S CONFIRMATION

PROJECT

Hello! For my confirmation project, I want to thank all

the people that have served in the military overseas. I will be asking

the congregation to write letters to the servicemen and women so we

can thank them for all their hard work and dedication to keep our

country safe. The letters will be sent to an organization called Opera-

tion Gratitude, and then from there, they will send them to the service-

men and women overseas.

One reason I decided to pick this as my confirmation project is

because my cousin, Shawn K. Dietz, is in the navy. He is a Chief Petty

Officer, and he has done more than seven tours of duty overseas.

Shawn has won two special awards for valor. One of them was the De-

partment of Defense Award. I‟m very proud of him and he is a hero to

our country, not to mention the rest of the people that have served in

the military.

Stationery will be available in the nar-

thex to write the letters. There will also be a

paper that gives you some ideas of what you

can include while you‟re writing your letters. I

will be collecting them during the month of

February. I would like to send all of the letters

by March 1, 2013; so make sure you hand in

your letters by then.

Thank you, Tesia Craner

Want Some More Questions??

Pick up a copy of Spring Clean-ing: Lenten Devotionals 2013 from the UCC Stillspeaking Writers' Group. The booklets will be in the narthex before Ash Wednesday.

If you like your spirituality a little different, Spring Cleaning is for you! In true Stillspeaking Writers' Group style, you'll find questions in this devotional that aren't usually raised during Lent, such as: “Why Jesus?” / “Just how big is heaven?” / “Is it possible you’re not the only thing on everybody else’s mind as you walk down the street? Is it possible you shouldn’t be the only thing on yours?” / “How many leaders have apologized for mistakes that have caused others to suffer?” / “How would you sum up the Gospel in seven words?”

Try Spring Cleaning for your soul...all 40 days! of Lent.

CLOSING WORSHIP AT MENSCH

MILL will be held on Saturday,

Feb 16, 2013.

(Snow date: Feb 23) All will gather at 3 pm at the Kline Center for a

closing worship followed by dinner and a time of fellowship at 5 pm.

After dinner, there will be Evening Vespers around the campfire.

Please register to attend at www.honormm@eventbrite.com.

Ash Wednesday Worship

Wednesday, February 13,

7:00 PM

Ash Wednesday marks the begin-

ning of the season of Lent, a period of 40 days

(excluding Sundays) set aside by Christians

since the fourth century of the Christian era as

a time of penitence and renewal, and for prepa-

ration for the high point of the Christian Year –

Easter.

Please plan to join us on 2/13 at 7 PM to begin

your observance of a holy Lent.

SHENKEL LOVES TO GIVE….

REMEMBER TOO….

The Pottstown Cluster Food Bank col-

lection at Shenkel is the 1st Sunday of

each month. Please place your items

in the large plastic bins in the narthex.

AND...Please bring in your used cell phones and empty

ink cartridges and place them in the box across from the

nursery, or in the box located on the coat rack shelf

across from the office. The cartridges are

recycled to Staples, and the church re-

ceives credits toward the purchase

of office supplies. The used cell phones are

given to the police department to be distributed

to abused women.

Pottstown Cluster News – February 2013 The Cluster welcomes all cash, food

and clothing donations between the

hours of 8:30 am to 12:00 pm on Mon-

day through Friday. Please come to

the back door off the alley. Parking spaces at the rear of

the building are reserved for people dropping off dona-

tions.

FOOD NEEDS:

Oatmeal, juice, jelly, peanut butter, canned pasta, boxed po-

tatoes, and canned fruit.

Please contact Sherrie at 610 970 5995 for more information.

CLOTHES CLOSET AND HOUSEWARE NEEDS:

Toiletries: tooth brushes/toothpaste, shampoo/cream rinse,

toilet paper, cleaning products, clothes detergent, multi –

purpose cleaners, and paper towels. Diapers (size 3, 4,5).

The Cluster is especially grateful for the many donations to

their holiday programs. 400 children received toys and 251

families received a holiday meal. Thanks to everyone at

Shenkel who donated to these Cluster drives.

PAGE 7

The Special Offering

for February will benefit the

Camp and Retreat Scholarship

Fund.

This fund will continue to provide op-

portunities for our children and youth to be in-

volved in church camping programs and retreats

wherever and whenever available.

Dear Shenkel Faith Family,

For my confirmation project, I would like to collect money to purchase a goat (goats) for Heifer International, whose mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth. "The gift of a dairy goat represents a lasting, meaningful way to help a little boy or girl on the other side of the world. Goats can thrive in extreme climates and on poor, dry land by eating grass and leaves. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of nutritious milk a day - a ton of milk a year. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt. Families learn to use goat ma-nure to fertilize gardens. Goats often have 2 or 3 kids a year making it easy for Heifer recipients to pass on the gift of a goat to another family in need. As a result those families who receive goats are helped to lift themselves out of poverty by starting small dairies that earn money for food, health care and education."

One goat costs: $120. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, I will have a "goat display" with a collection jar in the narthex of the church. My grandfather is helping me design the "goat display." If you'd like to help me with this project, please place your donation (loose change, or dollar bills :) in the collection jar. I will have a chart keeping track of donations so that you can see our progress of giving. I will also be inviting the children in the Sunday School to become involved in this mission project. Thanks so much for your support! I plan to collect money until Sunday, March 17th. I wonder how many "goat gifts" we can share? :)

Thank you, Michaela Craner

BULLETIN BOARD…. PAGE 8

Mid-Day Dinner Club

Shenkel's Mid-day Dinner Club

meets at 12 noon on the third

Tuesday of each month – and

you’re invited to join us! The next

meeting date is Tuesday, February 19th , and we’ll be

eating at

Michael’s in Douglassville. The Mid-day Dinner Club is

open to young-at-heart adults of any age who enjoy eat-

ing out and would like to get to know other Shenkel

members a little better. Call the church office if you’re

able to join us!

SHENKEL

QUILTERS

I'm writing this the week of

January 12th and it's not quilt

weather! It seems like spring and you probably don't need

many quilts unless you have the flu!!! I hope this is not the

case. I personally like winter to be winter and kill all those

nasty germs. I'm sure we'll have more snuggly quilt weather

in the days ahead. The Shenkel Quilters will meet in Febru-

ary on Tuesday(s) the 12th and 26th at 9:30 in the Church

Social Hall. Hope to see everyone and Happy Valentine's

Day!

Margie Allen

Editor‟s Note: Apparently, per above, Margie ordered the

weather we had the week of Jan. 21st, so it was “nice and

cold” for the Quilters to come out and sew on Janu-

ary 22nd! Brrrrr…...Thank you, Margie!

CARD MAKING

CLASS The card making class

meets on the third Thursday

of each month at 10 AM. The cost of the

class is $8.00 which will provide all partici-

pants with three beautiful cards.

In February, the meeting date will be Febru-

ary 21st. To insure there will be enough ma-

terials prepared for everyone, please call

Connie Armbruster at 610-326-6516 if you

plan to attend.

Hope to see you on February 21!

YOU SHOULD KNOW….

Sunday worship is never cancelled due to snow or inclement

weather. If possible, though, please plan to attend the 10:45

service to give the snow removal crew time to clear the park-

ing lot and sidewalks. The choir directors and Sunday School

teachers will contact you if there is a cancellation of any pro-

grams. Of course, you should always use your judgment as to

whether it is safe enough to drive.

COMMUNITY

LUNCH BUNCH Thursday, February 7th

11:30 AM in the Social Hall

COME ONE, COME ALL….

FOR: Lunch,* fellowship and an interesting pro-

gram. Our program plans for February have

changed and Linda Ingram will be here with us in

March.

In February, we will have a North Coventry Township

police officer here to discuss safety for seniors in

the home. Come and enjoy this time of fellowship

with your friends and neighbors and learn how to be

safe!

*All participants are asked to contribute $6.50 to

cover the cost of the lunch and program. Please

sign up on the sheet in the narthex, or call the Shen-

kel UCC church office at 610-326-3535 by the Mon-

day prior to the program to reserve your spot.

Winter Inquirer’s Class

The Winter Inquirer’s Class will be held fol-

lowing the 10:45 service of worship on Sun-

day, February 17th. This is a great opportu-

nity to learn more about the mission and

ministry of Shenkel UCC, as well as the UCC

in general. This will also serve as a segue to

church membership, if desired. Please

share this information with anyone you know who might

be interested and ask them to let Pastor Bonnie or the

church office know of their intention to attend. Child-

care can be available upon request.

PAGE 9

STEWARD’S CORNER

Secretary Judy reminded me that I need to produce an article for Shenkel‟s February News-

letter. She did not give me any suggestions as to what to write! I can think of one thing that you

might like to know. It took place on Christmas Eve between church services. I attended the 7

o‟clock service and the 10 o‟clock service. I enjoyed both services and the beautiful decorations,

complete with the angel Christmas tree, the candle light, and the program presented by the youth

group.

Well, the one thing you might like to know did not take place at either service. It happened between services. I

don‟t know why some people went outside at that time. It was dark out there and cold, and soon they were run-

ning back in, all in an uproar. They were shouting, “Steward‟s outside running around. We saw Steward outside in

the parking lot!” I was stunned. I never left the social room, not with all those cookies and other snacks spread out

on the table. But they all insisted that they saw Steward outside.

Now, you know that I am smart enough to know that, on Christmas Eve, “Not a creature was stirring, not even a

mouse”…and especially not this mouse! I was happy to remain indoors. Next time anyone thinks they see me, I

suggest they take a photo of me and Secretary Judy can print it in the newsletter.

Happy to be where I am,

SATISFIED STEWARD

Healing prayers are now

offered on the third Sun-

day of each month at both

services of worship.

The Prayer Chain list is con-

tinually being updated. Re-

quest for prayers should be placed in the

prayer box in the Narthex, or get in touch with

any member of the Wholeness Committee. If

anyone has a special prayer request, please

contact Ann Baccari or Freda Wanner. Prayer

requests will be carried for one month. If

anyone is interested in ministering on the

Prayer Chain, please contact Ann Baccari or

Freda Wanner. Members of the Wholeness

Committee are Ann Baccari, Ted Gray, Tootie

and Louise Hine, June Hartung, Carol Stubbe

and Freda Wanner.

OLIVIA’S CONFIRMATION

PROJECT

Dear Congregation,

As one of the confirmands this year, I have the

opportunity to lead a project to help others in

need. Along with my mentors, I have decided to

help the Hurricane Sandy victims through

Church World Service, by creating school kits for the children af-

fected. All the important information is listed below. Thank you

for all your support.

Sincerely,

Olivia Dushanko

Collection will continue through February 10, 2013. Items needed

to complete one kit:

blunt metal scissors

3 spiral notebooks

1 ruler

1 hand-held pencil sharpener

1 eraser

6 new pencils

box of 24 crayons (ONLY 24)

12" X 14" to 14" X 17" finished size

cotton or lightweight canvas bag with cloth han-

dles

$2.00 per kit for shipping

Cash donations to purchase items needed to supplement incomplete

kits and offset shipping costs are also needed. Items can be placed

in the "bin" in the narthex. Cash donations can be put in the offer-

ing plate clearly marked "Olivia Dushanko Confirmation Project."

Any donations above would be greatly appreciated!

PLEASE HELP….. If you know of any full-time employ-

ment opportunity in the field of of-

fice management and/or account-

ing, please call the church office at

610-326-3535. One of our mem-

bers is searching for a position and

would greatly appreciate any lead!

Thank you!

02/04 Jesse Painter

02/04 Barry Miller

02/04 AUSTIN ATKINS– DWINCHICK

02/08 RONALD CHRISTMAN

02/08 CHRISTINA M. FAUST-HERD-BEALER

02/08 Anna Shenk

02/10 Nicole Miller

02/11 Doug Allen

02/12 Georgina Heimbach

02/15 LORI SKULSKI

02/15 RACHEL LLOYD

02/16 Eden Richard

02/17 Sherri Dushanko

02/18 George Ellis

02/18 SETH DAWICKI

02/22 JACOB DWINCHICK

02/25 EMILY LLOYD

02/26 Gary McDermit

02/26 AMERIC MCCULLAGH

02/26 Isheunesu Chidawu

02/27 Kathy Iezzi

SHARING WITH OUR CHURCH FAMILY AND FRIENDS….

During the month of February, Shenkel will be praying for these randomly selected members and friends of our congregation :

2/3 Emily Lloyd Dillon Gaul America, Kevin, Max, Myles and Maggie McCullagh Carolyn and Bill Baseley

Eden Richard

2/10 Eric Klein Angela Reid Quashigah Pattie Hughes Evelyn Rodriquez Elizabeth Bevan

2/17 Jordan Caplan Mary Sue Moyer Derek Painter Betsy and Ken Bevan Heather Burhans

2/24 Brian Iezzi Paula and Steve Terrell Dottie McCann Jeremy Matthews Richard, Christine, Ricky and Ryan Golden

PAGE 10

We received a thank you note from Bethany Chil-

dren’s Home regarding the gifts from our Giving Tree at

Christmas….

“Through the generous support of individuals like you, all of the

kids at Bethany had a wonderful Christmas this year. They

surely enjoyed the presents you provided. Thank you!”

Thank you to the Shenkel

Carolers for their visit before Christmas. I enjoyed

all their songs, their hats, and I cherish their

friendships. My favorite Christmas carol is

“Oh, Holy Night,” and their version was

beautiful. What a wonderful way to remem-

ber a Sunday afternoon! Ann Hartzell

Adelynn Rae Woodman was

born on January 17, 2013. She is

the daughter of Sharon and Robert

Woodman and baby sister to Ella.

Jim and Alice Clair Faust are her grandparents. Ade-

lynn weighed 8 lb. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long at

birth. All are doing well! Congratulations to the

Woodman and Faust families!