Faith United Presbyterian Church

Welcome To Faith!

Lent Supplies! Faith Church, there are a number of supplies at the church that you might like to make use of this season. 1. Little bags of ashes for use on Ash Wednesday, so that you can "impose" them on each other during our Zoom worship service at 7PM. 2. Daily Devotional booklets, "The Road Back to God." These devotionals are great for individuals, couples, and families. They offer a daily spiritual reflection and a suggestion for concrete discipleship each day. 3. Daily Prayer books are in. If you are interested in trying out an historic way of Christian prayer, please consider joining our Daily Prayer group (see info on Realm).

Faith Church, tomorrow we will gather for worship in the sanctuary and online. This Sunday is "Transfiguration Sunday." We remember that Jesus' glory was revealed to his disciples (Mark 9:2-9). The gospel lesson and Psalm 50 (our primary Scripture for the sermon) call us to "listen" to God through Christ, so we can be his beloved people. I invite you to join in worship tomorrow.

Welcome to worship!

Thank you, Dottie, for beautifying our music space!

Thank you, Deacons, for taking down our Christmas decorations and getting our sanctuary ready for worship in this new year!

This Sunday, I welcome you to a new sermon series which is designed to help us connect with Christ and each other. The Psalms: "Our Words to God". The Psalter, a collection of 150 songs, prayers, and poems, is the prayer book of the Bible. It is fitting that the Psalter is located in the middle of the Bible because the whole point of the Scriptures are to bring us into relationship with God. The Psalms, like the rest of Scripture, are the God's Word. Yet the Psalms are also ...our words to God. God's people have lamented, praised, given thanks, repented, and renewed their trust by praying the Psalms. Jesus himself would have known and used the Psalms, so they are also God's word to God. As we pray the psalms, we get to be drawn into the heart and ministry of our Lord and Savior. As a church, our motto is "connecting with Christ, Connecting with you." As we focus on the prayer book of the Bible -- the Psalter -- we will talk about God and we will seek to talk directly to God. Similarly, during the difficult times in which we find ourselves, the Psalter can be a powerful way to connect with each other. We can pray the psalms together, sing them, share favorite portions of them, and discover God-given language to pray together. As we move into the winter season, I look forward to exploring the psalms together with you and with God. See more

Chalking the Door! Tomorrow is January 6th, the Day of Epiphany. There is an old tradition on Epiphany called Chalking the Door. You write the date of the New Year on either end and in the middle you put the letters C, M, B, separated by small crosses. The letters come from the names traditionally given to the wise men: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. Others say they stand for a Latin phrase that means Christ Bless This Dwelling. If you prefer not to use chalk, you can just make a sign. Why not try out this tradition and then post a picture for all to see?

Welcome Everyone!

New Year Message

Christmas 2020 - O Holy Night

Performed by Kitty Fischer & Katy Fischer Herold

Merry Christmas to All! Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth!!!!

Christmas Eve Service of Light

Happy Christmas Eve, Faith Church. We will be worshiping on here on Facebook Live at 7PM. Remember, you do not need a Facebook account to view the service: just use this link: https://www.facebook.com/FUPco... and share it with friends and family.

Tonight during our Faith UP Facebook service, a duet of one of my favorite Christmas Anthems Do You Hear What I Hear? will be sung. Maybe next Christmas we will hear the entire Choir sing this beautiful music.

And the winner of the Favorite Carol challenge IS Mary Did You Know? Thanks for casting your vote! CHRISTMAS WEEK CHALLENGE #2 - What’s on top of your Christmas tree??? Go!

This Christmas Eve at 7:00 pm, thanks to the miracle of modern technology, you will be able to hear, on Facebook , the Faith UP Choirs sing the Anthem, How Quietly that was sung on Christmas Eve in the past. There will also be bells, a duet a solo and many favorite hymns. Please join us for this unique Christmas service.

Christmas Week Challenge! Share your favorite Christmas Carol! Go!

Christmas is the church’s celebration of the incarnation and nativity of Jesus Christ. At the Nativity of the Lord and throughout the 12-day season of Christmas we give thanks that, in the fullness of time, God’s Word became flesh to live among us, full of grace and truth. We proclaim this good news of great joy for all people: that God has sent us a Savior, the Messiah, the Lord. We bear witness to the light of Christ that has come into the world, the light that darkness cannot overcome. We commence the Christmas Season on Christmas Eve. We will worship online only here at Facebook Live. You are invited to have candles ready for the singing of "Silent Night"; if you would like to pick up a little, white, sanctuary candle you may do so on Monday and Wednesday mornings at the church office.

Faith Church, On Christmas Eve's past, we have had two sanctuary services and two of our exceptional musicians -- Katy Fisher Herold and Noah Pleunik -- would offer solo-rendition of the beloved hymn: O Holy Night. This year, to offer as much tradition as we can, Noah will be singing during our online worship service and Katy will offer a recording that will be posted here on Facebook. ... Thank you Noah and Katy for sharing your musical talent with us this Christmas!

Worship Service

From today's Midday Prayer (PCUSA) this phrase: Eternal God, as you led your people in ages past, you direct our journey into the future...... What a comfort to be reminded that God has always led his people through uncertain times. In the Old Testament, we witness the dramatic journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land. In the New Testament, we rejoice that Christ leads us from sin and death into the Kingdom of God. Throughout the Scriptures, God cares for and leads his people when they need him most. Our current pandemic has impressed upon us that we do not know what the future holds....but as God's people, we can take comfort in knowing that God will direct our journey. As a popular maxim says, "I do not know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future!"

3rd Sunday of Advent

Got those hats ready yet???? You’re decorating for Eat’nPark Cookies!!!! Check the Events page to log on! Did I mention there will be CHARADES????

Ready for some Hot Chocolate Floats??? We taste-tested them this morning with our family in Denmark and everyone loved them!!! Get yours ready to enjoy at our Faith Virtual Christmas Party Sunday evening at 6:00 PM!

Here’s my hat! Where’s yours????

See you Tuesday online at 7 PM for this and other stories at our Advent Evening of Story, Song and Scripture! Join at www.gracechurchmartinsferry.org

You are invited to a virtual evening of Advent Stories, Songs and Scripture at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, December 8th! Go to the webpage for Grace Church - www.gracechurchmartinsferry.org, click on Internet Church Live Worship and you’ll see the link for Stories, Song and Scripture.

Advent Preaching Menu ADVENT PREACHING MENU This Advent, our worship and preaching will be based on the New Testament readings suggested by the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL provides a structured way to read the Scriptures, privately and as a community. The congregation is invited to read the lessons listed below before Sunday morning or to follow the daily reading plan of the RCL to absorb more deeply the Scriptural lessons for this season (check out the "Daily Le...ctio" app for your mobile device). ADVENT 1, Nov. 29th 1 Corinthians 1:39: God strengthens us so that we be a hopeful people ADVENT 2, Dec. 6th 2 Peter 3:8-15: God is patient with us, so we can amend our lives ADVENT 3, Dec. 13th 1 Thessalonians 5:1624: God is sanctifying us, so that we can be filled with joy ADVENT 4, Dec. 20th Romans 16:2527: God is revealing the truth to us, so that we can glorify God CHRISTMAS EVE, Dec. 24th Luke 1:1-20: The Birth of Jesus, the Christ

Advent and Christmas Worship Plans Advent is a season of expectation and hope, for Christ comes (vent) to (ad) us. We look back in history to the First Coming of Jesus, when the Son of God was incarnated as a human being and born of the Virgin Mary. He joined his divinity to our humanity. We also look forward to the Second Coming, when Jesus will bring us to himself. Our humanity will be joined to his divinity. In Christ, God is with us in a way that we can scarcely understan...d but that we can celebrate. We must cling with all our might to this truth as we enter into what promises to be a challenging winter. Recognizing that the combination of COVID-19's impact on life and winter's gloom may push our community toward desperation, Faith Church is extra committed to find ways to fulfill our mission of "Connecting with Christ, Connecting with you." 1. Sunday mornings in the sanctuary: We will offer Sunday morning public worship whenever a balance between COVID-19 safety and communal worship can be maintained. All are invited, but none are obligated to attend. 2. Sunday mornings online: We will provide online worship consistently, and in a variety of formats. We will stream services to outlets like Facebook Live and meet virtually in Zoom. By installing new audio and video hardware in the sanctuary we are making strides in this new (for us) form of ministry. 3. Christmas Eve online only: We will worship online only on Christmas Eve. While this departure from a beloved tradition is regrettable, we do not have the resources to provide sufficient safety for our staff and congregation on this occasion. 4. We are developing new modes for online engagement that we hope to launch to the congregation before the New Year. These resources will be easy to use by computer, tablet, and phone. 5. We invite the congregation to make free and liberal use of all of our social resources, like our Facebook page, Realm, and the new tools that emerge. Chat, post, call, reach out, connect. This is an all-church effort. During this unpredictable time, the leadership of Faith Church knows that we do not have as many answers as we have questions, we do not have as many solutions as we have challenges, and we do not expect that everything we attempt will work BUT we do know this: God is good -- we see that clearly in Christ -- and God will get us through this winter. As we lean into God's faithfulness, he will deepen our faith. As we move toward Christ, we will experience how near he is. As we strive to be the church, he will be our Lord. +Rev. Jason

An Advent Evening of Story, Song and Scripture will be broadcast live on Tuesday, Dec 8th at 7:00 PM on the Grace Church website at gracechurchmartinsferry.org!

Everyone is invited to an evening of stories told by Linda Webster along with special music by Kitty Fisher, Pam Stewart, Sherry Stratton and MaryJoanna and Matt Webster! Visit the Grace Church website to log in!

Calling all Young Disciples! The Season of Advent begins this Sunday! Don’t forget to pick up your Advent Activity bag at the church!

A Pre-Advent Prayer: "Almighty God and Lord, come to us with all your power and help us who are anxious and troubled. Send us the Savior, that he may enter our hearts and, with your light, illumine our night, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." -- from a German prayerbook.

Check out this Advent Wreath ready to go at the Webster’s! Used what we had at home with some fresh holly from our front yard. Would love to see what you come up with! Share a pic!

This Sunday as we begin the season of Advent we will have the opportunity to sing some of our favorite Hymns. Our second hymn this Sunday will be O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. You will hear this hymn throughout Advent as we will be singing the first verse as our Choral Benediction.

This Thanksgiving, we will not be holding a worship service but you are encouraged to worship and pray in your homes. In Realm, a litany for Thanksgiving has been posted that will assist you in giving thanks to God. I encourage you to use it before your meal or at a time that will allow your family to talk, share, and pray together. Every year, Faith Church designates special offers to the Washington County Food Bank: The mission of Greater Washington County Food Bank i...s to provide food as well as nutritional health and wellness education to those residents of Washington County who are food insecure. For over 33 years Greater Washington County Food Bank, a non-profit organization, has been providing groceries and nutritional information/education to food insecure residents of Washington County. It is estimated that Washington County currently has over 25,000 people who are food insecure. While the food bank does not distribute food from their home office; they do distribute food through their network of 48 distribution sites and 7 agencies located throughout the county. They also support several after school food programs that help ensure food insecure students have something to eat over the weekend. Currently over 30% of their recipients are children under the age of 18, and over 20% are seniors. They rely primarily on community support to meet these objectives in a caring and compassionate way. You are invited to send a check to this agency or to drop off non-perishable goods: Greater Washington County Food Bank 909 National Pike West Brownsville, PA. 15417. May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving!

The sanctuary will re-open for public worship this Sunday (11.22.2020), after two weeks of closure. The session continues to adapt our congregational practices to the dual responsibilities of combatting the spread of COVID-19 and providing for the spiritual well-being of the congregation. All are welcome to attend, none are compelled. All members are encouraged to live and worship within the parameters of their own judgment on risk management, mental/emotional well-being, ...and Christian faithfulness. We can expect to continue to open and close the sanctuary during the unpredictable months ahead. 1. Worship will still be streamed online at Facebook Live. 2. On-site worship: Facemasks required. Reduced sanctuary capacity, social distancing, hand/surface sanitizing, and changes in liturgy to mitigate risk are in place.

Here is the link to the recording of our Zoom worship service last Sunday: Topic: Sunday Morning Worship Start Time : Nov 15, 2020 10:23 AM... Meeting Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us//0QcDcxRTzb8Hr4MlTndZFyO36FxZF58Li

Sunday Morning Worship Date: 11-15-2020 Worship recording: https://us02web.zoom.us//EJsEhCYk-p78tJogEvojhts6gIon5wSAI

Hello, everyone. I hope you are planning to "Zoom" into worship tomorrow morning at 11AM. During these difficult times, it is especially important that we take time to connect with God and with each other. I look forward to seeing you and worshiping with you tomorrow! Jason Hefner is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Sunday Morning Worship... Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83329976884 Meeting ID: 833 2997 6884 One tap mobile +19292056099,,83329976884# US (New York) +13017158592,,83329976884# US (Washington D.C) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 833 2997 6884 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdBFyxjpwm Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

Hi, Faith Church. You are all welcome and encouraged to post to Faith UP Church's Facebook Page. Your posts will appear on the "community" tab. Posting about the church's ministry, your spiritual life, and the things that God is doing is always an encouragement to all. Thanks for sharing!

Jesus said ,"Don't worry so much...but seek first the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness, and everything else will work itself out." (Matthew 6:33) Today we can choose to set our priorities. Instead of stressing over what we cannot control, we can choose to focus on what we can control. We can choose to seek first God's Kingdom and determine to have a godly character. This is up to us. Today, how can you focus on God, allow everything else to be taken care of, and li...ve according to your faith? (Replies and encouragements are welcome)

This prayer of the week reminds us of the hope that sustains our spirit. "O God, your blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of evil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life. Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen." -- Presbyterian Church. Book of Common Worship, Daily Prayer (Kindle Locations 6005-6012). Presbyterian Publishing. Kindle Edition. If something in the prayer "speaks" to you, share an encouraging comment.

Sunday Morning Worship Date: Nov 8, 2020 Worship Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us//H6NxVVsPa8xJXa286O8sSc3TzPzdjv8DA

One of our staff members tested positive for COVID-19 this week. To protect the congregation, the session is adopting the following course of action. 1. Persons who were attended on-site worship on 11/1/2020 are encouraged to monitor their health, take precautions to mitigate against the spread of COVID19 and to get a COVID 19 test if they experience symptoms compatible with that condition.... 2. On-site worship is cancelled temporarily and until further notice. 3. Faith Church will WORSHIP ONLINE via ZOOM so that worship leaders can facilitate services from quarantine at home. As an added benefit, the congregation will be able to see each other and "chat" with each other before and after service. The session encourages the congregation to continue to pray for those directly affected by COVID19. The session also expresses its ongoing gratitude to church leaders and to the congregation for being flexible and solution-oriented during these unpredictable times.

Faith Church is worshiping ONLY online with Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83329976884 Please join us at 11AM

The Mission Team is collecting donations of canned food AND mittens, gloves, hats & scarves for local food banks & organizations for folks in need. We have placed plastics outside by the BACK door of the church for easy drop off at any times. Items will collected frequently by Mission Team members.

This Sunday is All Saints Sunday. We will be celebrating communion with individual serving containers in the sanctuary. If you are worshiping online, you are invited to have bread and wine (juice) prepared for use in your own setting. During worship, we will also recall the names of members of our congregation who, having died in the past year, have completed the journey of faith and have joined the saints in heaven. Here is a little information about All Saints Sunday ...from our Book of Common Worship: "Saints’ days began as a way to mark the anniversaries of the deaths of martyrs their birthdays as saints through the completion of their baptism. By the middle of the church’s first millennium, there were so many martyrs that it was hard to give them all their due. All Saints’ Day was established as an opportunity to honor all the saints, remembered and forgotten, known and unknown. It has been celebrated on or around November 1 since the ninth century. In the Reformed tradition, the emphasis of this festival is on the ongoing sanctification of the whole people of God. While we may give thanks for the lives of particular luminaries of ages past, we also give glory to God for the ordinary, holy lives of believers in this and every age. This is an appropriate time to give thanks for members of the community of faith who have died in the past year, and to pray that we may be counted among the company of the faithful in God’s eternal realm." --- Presbyterian Church. Book of Common Worship (p. 383). Presbyterian Publishing.

Treats from Trunks -AND- Parking Lot Picnic - this Sunday!! Join the Family and Friends of Faith Church for our annual Treats from Trunks on Sunday, Oct. 25th at 5:30 PM. OR come a bit earlier and enjoy an outdoor Parking Lot Picnic at 4:30. ... You can bring your own food and your own lawn chair. We will set up in the lower parking lot. We can all enjoy some conversation and fellowship before Treats from Trunks begins at 5:30. (We ask that all treats be purchased and wrapped treats.) Please feel free to invite your family, friends and neighbors to join us! This is always a special night for both the "treaters" and "treatees"!!!! See you then!

Faith Church, The session has been working hard to lead our congregation through during these difficult times of COVID. Their task has been multi-layered: promote the witness and worship of the congregation, protect the safety of the congregation, and cooperate with the efforts of other ecclesiastical councils. Relying on prayer, informed deliberation, and the goodwill of the congregation, the session continues to fulfill this mission. While the session recognizes that th...Continue reading

Every year, after Labor Day, we switch back from summer hours to winter hours. Beginning this Sunday, we will worship at 11AM. Normally, we would complement worship with Sunday School and fellowship at 9AM and 10AM. Due to COVID19, these plans are temporarily suspended. Worship will be broadcast live on Facebook Live.

This Sunday our congregation will commission our new Stephen Ministers. Stephen Ministry is the one-to-one lay caring ministry that takes place in congregations that use the Stephen Series system. Faith Church now joins a network of over 13,000 congregations that employ this ministry! Stephen Ministry congregations equip and empower lay caregiverscalled Stephen Ministersto provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting. (You can learn mor...e about Stephen Ministry at our webpage: http://www.faithupchurch.org/stephen_ministry) Throughout history, when God has called people to special ministry, members of their community have commissioned them for the important new work they are taking on. Now we invite you to help carry on that biblical tradition by being a part of commissioning those who have responded to God’s call to be part of our congregation’s Stephen Ministry. Our Stephen Ministers -- Christie Campbell, Nancy Tilley, Heather Pleunik and John Davison -- and our Stephen Leaders -- Jan Farrington and Pam Stewart -- have completed substantial training to equip them for their task. We now lay hands on them, pray for them, and send them out to minister, asking for God’s blessing and the Spirit’s wisdom and power. This commissioning service offers an opportunity to show our support for this ministry. Our Stephen Ministers will be depending on our support in the time ahead as they assume the duties of their ministry. How can we help? First of all, we can pray for our Stephen Leaders, our Stephen Ministers, and their care receivers. This ministry calls for both time and effort. At times they may feel tired, discouraged, or convinced that they are not accomplishing anything. The assurance of our prayers and appreciation will help them keep moving forward. We can also affirm and show our appreciation for this valuable ministry. We can tell them how much their hard work means to us, tell others how much we value our Stephen Ministry, and focus attention on our Stephen Ministers to bless and affirm them in special waysas we do with our commissioning services. We can become involved in this ministry in many ways. Some of us may recognize a call to use our special gifts in this ministry and may apply to be a Stephen Leader or Stephen Minister. Others may accept the care of a Stephen Minister. We can be ministers of referral, watching for people in need and suggesting a Stephen Minister’s care. We all can give our enthusiastic support by keeping Stephen Ministry always before us and by praying for and affirming those who have answered God’s call to serve in this way. As we commission our newly trained Stephen Ministers this Sunday, let us thank God for all that they will bring to this congregation in providing care to others, and let us promise them our daily prayer and support as we send them out to minister among us.

Vote for Faith! Until September 15th This is such an honor to make top 5! Go to: http://o-rbest.com/contest#//... People & Places Place to Worship Faith United Presbyterian Church See more