Zwingli United Church of Christ

Never place a period
where God has placed
a comma.

– Gracie Allen, 20th century
American comedian

...you're welcome here!

Worship with us on Sunday mornings

350 Wile Avenue, Souderton

Worship at 9 am.
Fellowship after worship
Church School from 10:30 am until 11:30 am

We welcome children of all ages in our services. "Busy Bags" are available from the ushers. And for families who desire it, nursery care is available for preschool children during worship services.

We are wheel-chair accessible and air-conditioned.

Regular office hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Friday. Closed 12-1 daily.

Check the twitter feed (below left) for cancellations due to inclement weather.

More information sources about weather-related cancellations...

Worship Service:
Website: www.zwingli.org and then check the Twitter feed on the left side of screen.
Facebook: Zwingli UCC
Instagram: zwingliuccsouderton
Church Office: 215.723.1186
Call Lisa at 215.808.8926
Radio: 1440 Am-WNVP
Evening Events/Activities:
If the Souderton Area School District dismisses early or is closed due to inclement weather, all evening events will be cancelled unless you hear directly from your leader.

Fastnacht Making is Monday, February 24th, 9 am until we finish!

Needed: mixers, rollers, fryers, sugar bag shakers, runners, tasters, and of course sellers. No experience necessary. The Missioners need you all. It's a fun day for all ages! Come for the morning or the afternoon, or better yet stay all day. Lunch is always provided. This is a long-time, wonderful Zwingli tradition and we need your help to keep it going.

Fastnacht Cruller Orders

Fastnacht Day is Tuesday, February 25, so be sure to order your doughnuts! Sign up on the order sheet in the atrium on the Missioners' bulletin board, or call the church office at 215.723.1186. Pick them up Monday, February 24th from 4-7 pm.

Open and Affirming Lunch and Learn

Gender, Sex, and Sexuality — Do You Understand the Difference?
Sunday, February 23, 2020, 11:45 am – 2:30 pm
Speakers: James and Jane Mast

Today LGBTQ issues are discussed in almost every social forum. However, the language and concepts used by the scientific and LGBTQ communities evolved over the years and it can be hard to keep up with current usages. One of the goals of this seminar is to strengthen attendees' understanding of gender (identity/expression), sex (biology), and sexuality (attraction)—three distinct aspects of human development that are often misunderstood or used interchangeably. The presenters of this workshop (James Mast, a Licensed Professional Counselor from Penn Foundation, and Jane Mast, the Chair of the Dock Mennonite Academy Science Department) strive to highlight the importance of talking about and understanding LGBTQ issues within a Christian context. This session is meant to raise attendees' awareness of the complicated nature of gender, sex, and sexuality. The session is also meant to help leaders in the Christian community be better equipped to respond to questions about sex, gender, and sexuality.
Please sign up on the ONA bulletin board in the atrium by February 19 so we prepare enough lunch.

Child care is available for this event.

Lenten Program 2020

Ash Wednesday, February 26, 7 pm, at Trinity UCC, 101 South Main Street, Telford.
Imposition of Ashes, Communion

Wednesdays, from March 4 through April 1, join us at Zwingli, 350 Wile Avenue, Souderton, for a simple soup supper at 6:00 p.m. followed by worship at 7:00 p.m. The theme will be based on the Howard Thurman poem, The Work of Christmas:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.

March 4, To Feed the Hungry
March 11, To Release the Prisoner
March 18, To Rebuild the Nations
March 25, To Bring Peace Among the People
April 1, To Make Music in the Heart

Holy Week worship services will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 69 West Broad Street, Souderton:
Maundy Thursday, April 9, To Heal the Broken
Good Friday, April 10, Seven Words

Help with Lenten Soup Suppers

During the five weeks of Lent, Zwingli is responsible to host our soup suppers on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm, before the 7:00 pm worship service. Zwingli will be providing soup, bread and dessert for March 4 and 18. Please sign up on the bulletin board if you're interested in making soup, providing bread or dessert! Questions? Contact one of our Shepherds: Lois Hunsicker, Sandy Schuler, Joann Johannsen or Gladys Amspacher.

Blue Bell Brass Concert, March 1, 4 pm

Open to all, no tickets needed! Come hear Curry Moyer's brass ensemble in concert. Free will offering, reception following the concert.

Adult Volunteers Needed for the Youth 30 Hour Famine

The Youth Group is gearing up to participate in the 30 Hour Famine which will take place at the end of February. There are many ways for you to get involved, which won't require fasting, to make this event a success. Check them out below and contact Nikki with any questions, bech.nikki@gmail.com.

Ways that you can help:

Be A Fasting Buddy (no fasting necessary) - You will pray for your fasting buddy leading up to and throughout the 30 hour event. You will be asked to write encouraging notes for your buddy and to decorate a cup for them to use during the event. Your identity will be kept a secret until the grand reveal at our Break-the-Fast meal on Saturday night. We will need one prayer buddy per faster, so if you're interested and available Saturday evening, February 29th, let Nikki know!
Fast With Us (We need at least one adult chaperone to fast) - We are in need of at least one more adult to chaperone this event and fast alongside our youth for the full 30 hours. (Nikki is unable to fast this year.) Contact Nikki for more information or to commit to fasting for 30 hours and chaperoning this event, February 28th - February 29th.
Provide Transportation - A few of our activities planned will require us to leave Zwingli's campus. If you are available to provide transportation to our participating youth and leaders Friday night, Saturday morning, or Saturday afternoon please let Nikki know.
Donate Juices & Water - You can place donated bottles of water, Gatorade, and clear fruit juice (ex: apple juice) in the marked boxes under the Youth Group bulletin board (next to the ladies room).

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.
— 1 Peter 4:10

Sign Up Now to Help Teach Children's Sunday School

Interested in leading or helping with our Children's Sunday School? Sign up here! Children learn different Bible Stories over the course of 5 or 6 weeks by using different methods. This year we will be exploring the stories through Art, Games, Science, Music, Cooking and Video. Curriculum is provided to guide you through the lessons. Have questions or need help getting your clearances? Ask Erin Chalmers or Monica Jalboot. We would be happy to help.

Share Your Music

We have a calendar for those of you who are willing to share special music during worship. Please check the list in the choir room or click on the following SignUpGenius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f49afa62ca02-zwingli to sign up. Please indicate what Sunday you are available and what music you would like to provide. It's a great time to enjoy each other's gifts.

Prayer Bench on Wile Avenue

EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT: We are thankful for Konnor S. Pierce and Boy Scout Troop #401 for their work on our prayer and meditation bench. And thanks to all who donated toward expenses. We met our goal!

Sunday Worship Service

If you missed Sunday's service, here's another chance to worship. Just click here!

Stained Glass

Our new stained glass window panels were installed in early April! As we experience this beauty in our sanctuary, may we be reminded in new ways of God's presence with us and the beauty of God's creation all around us. Thanks to all those who made this possible, especially creative craftsman Mark Beard.

Soup for Table of Plenty

The Table of Plenty is in need of soup to serve to the community guests, usually about 25-30 people, attending the lunches at Zion Mennonite Church every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you would like to donate a few bags of Bear Creek Soup, please contact Carol Reiff at 215.723.7014 for more information.

Chancel Flowers and Worship Bulletins

Would you like to sponsor the flowers in the chancel or worship bulletins one Sunday morning? You'll find sponsorship forms on the bulletin board next to the church office.

Fundraising with Food

We have partnered with Fasageo's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria, 724 Ridge Road, Sellersville, PA, for an ongoing fundraiser. Fasageo's will return to Zwingli 10% of any food sales. You just need to inform them when placing your order for dine-in, pickup, or delivery that you are a member of Zwingli. It's that simple!

Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministry congregations equip and empower lay caregivers—called Stephen Ministers—to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting. Thanks to Jonathan Widgins and Pastor Butch, our Stephen Leaders, we have a trained group of Stephen Ministers. Now it is important for all of us to understand how this ministry will best benefit our congregation and community.

To learn more about Stephen Ministries, check their website.

Clothing and Food Needs Continue

We continue collecting gently-used clothing, which we take to the Laurel House thrift shops of Marian's Attic and Laurel's Loft. And the needs at Keystone Opportunity food pantry include fresh produce and lots of other items. Check out their list here.

Our Garden of Health support for those with special dietary needs is now part of our regular Keystone collection. Roughly 25% of the population has either diabetes, heart disease, food allergies or celiac disease, and for low-income neighbors eating wisely can be financially difficult. There's ongoing need for gluten-free, sugar-free, and low- or no-sodium foods. Click here for more information about Garden of Health.

AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. When you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to Zwingli.

On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you are prompted to select a charitable organization from a list of eligible organizations. Type "Zwingli United Church of Christ" in the search box!

This link will take you directly to Zwingli's Amazon page.

Grocery Cards

We now have ShopRite gift cards, as well as GIANT and Landis Supermarket cards!

As always, your gift card purchase from Zwingli church automatically gives the church 5%. Cards are available for purchase Sunday morning or through the church office during the week.

Yoga

Yoga class meets Thursday nights at 6:30 in the basement youth room. This hour-long session begins with calming yoga breathing techniques and flows into gentle poses that help reduce the stresses of the day. It ends with a short meditation.

Vision Statement 2020

Zwingli United Church of Christ, as a community blessed with a spirit of abundance and generosity, is called to:
Create a safe place to explore faith and worship, full of life, energy and enthusiasm.
Connect to the world through our local and global commitments, becoming stronger in our faith.
Celebrate all people as God's children, affirming each other's unique gifts.
With God's help, we are united in the Spirit, listening and preparing for God's work — embracing all possibilities.

Three Great Loves

Love of children, love of neighbor, love of creation...
"For the UCC, fused with our Three Great Loves campaign, the love of everything begins with this creation. Its protection is a moral duty calling us to action. This is action born in an awareness of our responsibility to keep this beloved blue ball we call 'earth' healthy enough to sustain and nurture everyone."

– UCC bulletin cover, November 11, 2018

Paper Recycling!

There's a bin at the back of the parking lot!

Recycle all of your newspaper, magazines, shopping catalogs, office and school papers and mail 24 hours/ 7 days a week right here in our green and yellow bin. You save water and energy by recycling .

Sunday Refreshments

Adopt a Sunday morning to provide some goodies for our fellowship and coffee time after worship. Look for the signup sheet on the bulletin board near the coffee maker in the lobby.

Mission Presentation, One Great Hour of Sharing

Watch this video of the inspiring mission presentation in our worship service of March 13, 2015. Each year we support One Great Hour of Sharing!

What is that picture?

These pictures were taken by the Zwingli Youth Photography class as a way to understand that we may not always see things as they are...each picture is just a part of an item in Zwingli. Can you tell what the entire picture would be? We may only see a part of a person, item or activity around us. Stepping back and looking at a bigger picture could change our view of situations, people and experiences. At the same time, isn't it nice to see some of the detail in each item and person if you look closely?

Z, closure on door to sanctuary (look up!)
W, music folder in choir room
I, window frame
N, books on a shelf
G, leaves on a plant
L, space between bricks
I, space between chairs in sanctuary

...store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

-Matthew 6:20-21

We believe...

God loves us unconditionally.
We are one family in Christ.
We are called to follow Jesus.
We are called not to judge, but to accept and forgive others, as we have been accepted and forgiven.
We are called to care for, to develop, and to share cheerfully the gifts and talents God has given us.