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

Coronavirus Information

The extremely difficult decision was made to close the church buildings to public worship, meetings, and other gatherings for the next two weeks (March 28). Since response to the pandemic may change, we will update information by March 27.

We will not gather for worship in person on March 15, 22, or March 29.

Congregational Letter, March 20, 2020, from our pastors and elders

Please read this letter with some updates on our closure status. Especially note that no one should be entering the building, even if you have a key, in order to maintain the deep-cleaned status.

Worship service will be live-streamed at this link: Zwingli Youtube Link

(temporarily cancelled, see COVID message above)
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.

Lenten Program 2020

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.

See COVID message above, these services are cancelled:

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

March 15th: Saint Patrick's Pot Luck Luncheon is cancelled

Blood Drive at Zion Mennonite, March 17th

Zion Mennonite Church will be holding a blood drive in conjunction with Zwingli on Tuesday, March 17th, from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at their church on 149 East Cherry Lane, Souderton. Register on-line at giveapint.org. Click on Give Blood on the top left, click on the Schedule Now box, key in your zip code, choose Include Mobile Drives, set both dates to 03/17/2020, then click on Search. Choose the Zion Mennonite Church Schedule and pick your time.

If you would like Jim See to schedule the time slot for you, he'll be in the Atrium immediately after worship on March 15th, or e-mail him no later than Monday, March 16th, providing him with your name, phone number, and a preferred time.

Lenten Mission Project: Anything Is PAULssible!

This year's Zwingli UCC Lenten mission project celebrates the life of Paul Detweiler. Paul was diagnosed with a brain tumor while attending Gettysburg College and passed away in June of 2013. Staff, faculty and friends of Paul remember the optimistic, caring, and selfless young man with the annual Anything Is PAULssible 5K Run/Walk at Gettysburg College. Proceeds go toward the Paul Detweiler Memorial Scholarship Fund, which supports an incoming Gettysburg College student with financial need who exemplifies the values Paul displayed in his lifetime. Some of the proceeds are also used to support the event in future years.

The 6th annual 5K Run/Walk is scheduled for April 19, 2020. Zwingli members are welcome to either a) join Dave and Julie Detweiler (Paul's parents), Pastor Butch, and other friends at Gettysburg for the fun run/walk, b) register as a virtual runner (for those who cannot attend in person), or c) make a donation to sponsor Zwingli UCC walkers/runners. If you would like to actively participate (in person or virtually) please register here and let us know that you plan to attend. To make a financial donation, envelopes were included in our newsletter and will be collected through Easter, April 12th, the last Sunday before the Walk/Run. Please contribute in honor of this very special young man whose life touched many others, and whose memory continues to influence and inspire the Gettysburg College community.

Spring Cleanup is March 28th

The more the merrier! Come help with the spring cleanup of our grounds, just in time for the Easter Egg hunt the following week.

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!

Fastnachts!

Thanks for all the Fastnacht Day help! Our 248 dozen doughnuts raised over $1400 for the Bean Bag program to help nourish food-insecure local children.

Stained Glass

Our stained glass window panels were installed in early April, 2019! 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.