PENNSYLVANIA SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE
OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
St. Andrew's
United Church of Christ

1320 Spruce Street, Reading, PA  19602-2161
"More than a Century of Service to the City"
EXPLORE



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  18 — MARCH  24
  Wednesday
 12:05 PM – Midweek Lenten Service of Worship at Olivet Church
  Sunday
 10:45 AM – Service of Worship
NEWS  &  NOTES
  One Great Hour of Sharing
  On Sunday, March 10, 2024, 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).
  Special Lenten Worship Services
  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. This year Ash Wednesday will be February 14, 2024. 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, February 21, 2024. 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.
  Holy Week Worship Services
  Our observance of Holy Week begins with our 10:45 a.m. worship service on Sunday, March 24, 2024. 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. Mark.

Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week, March 25 & 26, 2024, 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, March 27, 2024, 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, March 28, 2024, 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. March 29, 2024, 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, March 31, 2024, 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.
  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.
  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.
  Altar Flower and Worship Bulletin Sponsor Information
  The worship bulletin sponsor sign-up sheet for 2024 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 2024 remains $45.00. If you would be interested in becoming a sponsor for 2024, 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 2023 - 2024 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 morning worship services as well as Tuesday and Friday evening activities in the downstairs classroom areas.

OUR CHURCH
The congregation of St. Andrew’s U.C.C. has been worshipping and serving in our community since 1891. The church is located in the residential neighborhood of East Reading. The hospitality is warm and the people are friendly. We gather for worship on Sundays at 10:45 a.m., except the third Sunday of the month when we worship with our friends at Olivet Reformed U.C.C., 1648 Centre Ave., at 9:15 a.m. (Any other exceptions for special occasions will be noted on the calendar.) St. Andrew’s Church offers many opportunities for volunteering and service to others. So, come be challenged and refreshed, and find a place where YOU can make a difference in the world. You'll be glad that you did!

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