St. Andrew's United Church of Christ & Olivet Reformed Church, UCC

Hello and welcome from St. Andrew’s and Olivet Reformed United Church of Christ in Reading. Thanks for visiting our combined website. We hope you will find this churches snapshot to be helpful and informative. We invite you to visit our churches so that we may welcome you in person!

THIS WEEK @ CHURCH

WEEK OF MARCH 20 — MARCH 26

Sunday
9:15 AM – OLIVET REFORMED Service of Worship
10:45 AM – ST. ANDREW'S Service of Worship
Wednesday
12:05 PM – Midweek Lenten Worship Service at Olivet Reformed U.C.C.


NEWS & NOTES
Spring Fundraising Event
	St. Andrew's Church's Spring Fundraising Event will take place on Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the church social hall (please use the Miller Street entrance to access the building). The menu for this event includes Homemade Ham & Bean Soup; Homemade Beef Vegetable Soup; Homemade Hamburger Barbecue; Homemade Macaroni Salad; Lancaster County Shoo-fly Pies; Beverages; and Assorted Homemade Baked Goods available for purchase to eat in and/or take out.
OnLine Giving
	Our OnLine Giving page is now fully functional for St. Andrew's Church! Please feel free to give it a try. Just click on the ST ANDREWS GIVING button at left to activate the link to our secure giving page. OnLine Giving for Olivet Reformed Church is in progress; we hope to be fully functional sometime in March, 2025.
We Extend Our Sympathy
	We extend our sympathy to the family and friends of Waynette Wilson, who entered the Church Triumphant on March 11, 2025. A long-time resident of Mount Penn, Waynette last resided in the Essick Commons unit at Berks Heim.
One Great Hour of Sharing
	On Sunday, March 30, 2025, we join with worshiping congregations across the United States of America to offer our gifts for the annual One Great Hour of Sharing special mission offering. The proceeds of this annual offering are used to support Christian mission work outside of the USA (except for that portion of the gifts for disaster response, which is used anywhere in the world there is need, including in our homeland). A special One Great Hour of Sharing offering envelope is included with members' boxed envelope sets. You can also contribute to One Great Hour of Sharing by clicking on the link to our online giving page.
Special Lenten Worship Services
	Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. This year Ash Wednesday will be March 5, 2025. St. Andrew's Church will be joining with our friends from Olivet Reformed United Church of Christ, 1648 Centre Ave., Reading, PA 19601, in a Service of Word and Sacrament with Imposition of Ashes (optional) offered at Olivet Church at 12 noon; all are invited to attend. Midweek Lenten Services are also being offered this year at Olivet Church on Wednesdays at 12 noon. Our special Lenten series of services runs for five weeks beginning on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. These special Lenten noonday prayer services run about thirty-five minutes in length. Each service includes hymns, scripture readings, prayers, and a brief homily from Pastor Baal.
Third Sundays Combined Service of Worship
	With the agreement between Olivet Reformed United Church of Christ and St. Andrew's Church to share Pastor Baal's services, both congregations pledged to create programming to foster interactions between the churches' members. An outgrowth of that plan is monthly combined Sunday morning worship services. On the third Sunday of each month, St. Andrew's Church members will join in the 9:15 a.m. service of worship at Olivet Reformed U.C.C., 1648 Centre Avenue, Reading, PA 19601, and for a time of fellowship with refreshments following the service. On the third Sunday of the month, there will be no worship service offered at St. Andrew's Church. Please be advised that in April, we will be joining with our friends at Olivet Church for Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025, instead of the usual Third Sunday gathering.
Easter Lilies
	St. Andrew's Church will be adorned for Easter with ten Lilies wrapped in green foil from our supplier Temple Greenhouses. We invite members of our church family to support our Memorial/Friendship Fund by sponsoring an Easter Lily. The cost of a sponsorship is $10.00 per plant; any money received over and above the cost of the plants will be given to Helping Harvest. Please call the church office or click on the link to our online giving page if you would like to become a Lily Memorial/Friendship Fund sponsor. Easter Lily sponsorships for Olivet Reformed Church are available at $8 per plant. Please contact Janice Kaucher by April 6, 2025, to sponsor yours. (A Lily sponsorship form was included with the March newsletter.)
Altar Flower and Worship Bulletin Sponsor Information
	At St. Andrew's Church, the worship bulletin sponsor sign-up sheet for 2025 is posted on the narthex bulletin board. The cost per Sunday or special service remains $5. You can just enter your name to claim any available date, or call the church office, and we'll do it for you! We also invite you to consider sponsoring our weekly altar flowers (or a memorial or honorarium bouquet); the cost for 2025 remains $45.00. If you would be interested in becoming a sponsor for 2025, please contact the church office. Alternatively, you can also access our online giving page to set up and pay for your sponsorship, although without checking first with the church office, we cannot guarantee that your preferred date is still available. In the event it is not, we will provide you with the nearest available date for your sponsorship. Olivet Reformed Church Altar Flower sponsorships are available at a cost of $40 per Sunday or special occasion. Please contact Janice Kaucher to reserve your date(s).
Spirit on Tap
	"Spirit on Tap" is a program to encourage theological discussion, explore alternative viewpoints, and stimulate dialogue around issues of faith and spirituality. Sponsored by area United Church of Christ congregations, Spirit on Tap gatherings are usually held on the fourth Tuesday of the month from September through May (check the schedule for occasional alterations in the routine) at 7 p.m. The location for the 2024 - 2025 season of Spirit on Tap is the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Reading.
Food Pantry Sunday
	The first Sunday of every month is Food Pantry Sunday. On that day at St. Andrew's Church, a chest is placed in the church narthex to receive worshipers' gifts of non-perishable food items for our local food pantry. Some foodstuffs are retained for emergency distribution, and the remainder plus monetary gifts are forwarded to Helping Harvest (formerly the Greater Berks Food Bank). Olivet Reformed Church invites monetary gifts for Helping Harvest. You can click on the link to our online giving page to make your monetary gift now.
Sharing a Pastor
	As of January 1, 2020, St. Andrew's Church entered into a shared ministry agreement with Olivet Reformed United Church of Christ, 1648 Centre Avenue, Reading, PA 19601. Pastor Baal serves both congregations, with Olivet Church worshiping on Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. St. Andrew's Church provides office support for the Olivet congregation; Olivet Church contributes to the cost of health insurance for the pastor.
Redner's Save-A-Tape Program
	St. Andrew's Church and Olivet Reformed Church continue to participate in Redner's Markets' Save-A-Tape program, which enables us to receive a 1% rebate contribution from all eligible customer receipts we collect for submission. To participate, you must stop at the Customer Service desk or store office and obtain a Save-A-Tape Card (at no cost, and there are no forms to fill out); then present the card to the Redner's cashier whenever you check out, save your register tape, and (St. Andrew's) place it in the box in the church office, or (Olivet Reformed) drop it in the envelope posted by the tower entrance.
Sharing St. Andrew's Space with Spanish Congregation
	St. Andrew's Church's Consistory has entered into an agreement with Restauracion de Fe Church allowing the congregation to make use of St. Andrew's Church facilities. This non-denominational Pentecostal congregation conducts Sunday morning worship services as well as Tuesday and Thursday evening activities in the downstairs classroom areas.