St. Andrew's United Church of Christ

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

THIS WEEK @ CHURCH

WEEK OF MARCH 22 — MARCH 28

Wednesday
12:05 PM – Community Midweek Lenten Worship at Olivet Reformed U.C.C., 1648 Centre Ave., Reading, 19601
Sunday
10:45 AM – Service of Worship


NEWS & NOTES
Special Lenten Worship Services
	Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. This year Ash Wednesday will be February 22, 2023. 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 1, 2023. 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.
One Great Hour of Sharing
	On Sunday, March 19, 2023, 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).
We Extend Our Sympathy
	We extend our sympathy to the family and friends of Pastor Baal on the death of his mother Earlene K. Baal, who entered the Church Triumphant on March 8, 2023. A memorial service for Mrs. Baal was held on March 16, 2023, at St. John's United Church of Christ, 120 W. Market St., Jonestown, PA 17038.
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 if you would like to become a Lily Memorial/Friendship Fund sponsor.
Holy Week Worship Services
	Our observance of Holy Week begins with our 10:45 a.m. worship service on Sunday, April 2, 2023. The special liturgy for Palm Sunday / The Sunday of the Passion includes the distribution of palm branches and the singing of "The Palms," and the worship service culminates in the dramatic reading of the Passion According to St. Matthew. Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week, April 3 & 4, 2023, we gather in St. Andrew's Chapel at 12 noon for a Noonday Prayer Service. Each day the gathered congregation will sing hymns, meditate upon scripture readings, and offer prayers for the church, the world, and those with special needs. On Wednesday of Holy Week, April 5, 2023, we offer a Service of Confession and Forgiveness in St. Andrew's Chapel at 12 noon; this service is based on the Evangelical and Reformed Church's Preparatory Service. Maundy Thursday, April 6, 2023, is our commemoration of Jesus's Last Supper; again this year, we are gathering at Olivet Reformed United Church of Christ, 1648 Centre Ave., Reading, at 4 p.m. for a joint Service of Word and Sacrament. April 7, 2023, is Good Friday, the most solemn day on the Christian liturgical calendar. This year, we gather in the nave of Olivet Reformed United Church of Christ, 1648 Centre Ave., Reading, at 12 noon for an hourlong Adoration of the Cross service, including hymns, scripture readings, and prayers, with the reading of the Passion According to St. John as the centerpiece of the worship experience. Easter Day, Sunday, April 9, 2023, we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior with a Service of Word and Sacrament in St. Andrew's Church at 10:45 a.m.
Altar Flower and Worship Bulletin Sponsor Information
	The worship bulletin sponsor sign-up sheet for 2023 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 2023 remains $45.00. If you would be interested in becoming a sponsor for 2023, please contact the church office.
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 2022 - 2023 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 our 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 now being forwarded to Helping Harvest (formerly the Greater Berks Food Bank).
Sharing Our Pastor With Olivet Church
	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 continues 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 place it in the box in the church office. We have earned $200.64 from this program in fiscal year 2020-2021.
Sharing Our Space with Spanish Congregation
	The Consistory has entered into an agreement with Discipulando las Naciones Church allowing the congregation to make use of St. Andrew's Church facilities. This non-denominational congregation conducts Sunday afternoon worship services as well as Tuesday and Friday evening activities in the downstairs classroom areas.