2+ week, 1+ day ago (437+ words) " St. Andrew's United Church of Christ, 1320 Spruce St., Reading, will be holding a fall food sale today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Homemade chili, hamburger barbecue, hot dogs, apple dumplings, shoo-fly pes, pumpkin pies, beverages and assorted baked goods will be available for purchase to eat in and/or take out. " Zion Moselem Lutheran Church, 340 Moselem Church Road, Richmond Township, is holding a holiday bazaar next Saturday at 9 a.m., with the raffle starting at 2 p.m. A homemade quilt will be the grand prize. There will be homemade soups and other foods available to buy, eat in or takeout " Mount Zion Lutheran Church, 1343 Long Lane Road, Greenwich Township, will hold a Christmas bazaar next Saturday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. There will be food, a Christmas flea market, basket raffle and craft vendors. The church also is collecting for Toys for Tots at the bazaar, or at the church through…...

2+ week, 3+ hour ago (518+ words) A great deal of how you live is shaped by what you choose to pay attention to, often subverted by the dangling distractions thrown your way. When that happens, life becomes interrupted by external forces, taking your mind away from whatever is inside or in front of you. It's hard these days to avoid being distracted by the sirens made lifelike by artificial intelligence. A Harvard Business Review article suggests we are interrupted every 40 seconds when we are staring at our computer screens. Our attention spans are heightened to what others want us to see, not ones we chose ourselves. We have a choice to make " to what or whom do we pay attention? You can learn how best to live by staying awake to the lessons life shares every day. Think about the miracle of life when you wake…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (669+ words) Sunlight filtered through the courtyard of the Chapel Lawn Mausoleum in Charles Evans Cemetery as a group of about 25 gathered to remember four deceased infants. The gathering in the sun-warmed space Saturday afternoon was nothing less than a mitzvah, a sacred obligation, Rabbi Brian I. Michelson told the solemn assembly. "It's what, in Jewish tradition, we might translate as a good deed," Michelson said. "But it's more than that. It's fulfilling part of our relationship with God. It is a mitzvah that you are here today." Michelson, rabbi of Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom, Wyomissing, and the Rev. Bruce G. Osterhout, pastor of a Lutheran partnership that includes Trinity Church in Reading, led the interfaith memorial for the four babies whose unclaimed ashes had been stored in the Berks County coroner's office. The service, coordinated by Chloe and Adam Ciferri of the Adalyn…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (96+ words) The people who live there will give much thanks and happy voices will be heard. I will add to their numbers. They will not be made less. I will honor them, and they will be important." Jeremiah 30:19 ... The people who live there will give much thanks and happy voices will be heard. I will add to their numbers. They will not be made less. I will honor them, and they will be important." Jeremiah 30:19 " Transformative Solutions Network " A daughter to Jason and Hilary (Hurlburt) Troutman, Centre Township. More in Local News...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (97+ words) All-powerful Lord God, the One Who is and Who was and Who is to come, we thank You because You are using Your great power and have become Leader." Revelation 11:17 " A daughter to Daniel Estiben ... All-powerful Lord God, the One Who is and Who was and Who is to come, we thank You because You are using Your great power and have become Leader." Revelation 11:17 " Transformative Solutions Network IN PENN STATE HEALTH ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER: " A daughter to Daniel Estiben Moreno Torres and his wife, Clarissa (Bias) Moreno, Newmanstown....

1+ day, 11+ hour ago (354+ words) " Blue Mountain Heritage Chorus presents a free traditional Christmas concert at Salem Bellemans Church, 3540 Bellemans Church Road, Centre Township, at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Refreshments will follow the program. A free will offering will be taken. " Christ Lutheran Church, 222 Niantic Road, Douglass Township, Montgomery County, will hold Coffee and Conversation on Sunday at 8:30 and 10 a.m. in the Welcome Center. Brown bag Bible study will be held on Wednesday at noon in the Welcome Center. " Schwarzwald United Church of Christ, 75 Church Lane Road, Exeter Township, will be holding a holiday festival next Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sand tarts and other baked goods will be available for sale. Lunch will be available from 11-1 with hot dogs, barbecue and soup for sale. There will be a holiday raffle with proceeds benefitting the church. " United Church of Christ of Robesonia, 301 W. Penn Ave., will have fellowship time after its 10:15 a.m. worship…...

1+ week, 22+ hour ago (367+ words) " The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Reading, 438 Douglass St., Wyomissing, will hold its annual Thanksgiving service on Thursday at 10:30 a.m." Along with readings from the Bible and Science and Health, there will be an opportunity for each to express gratitude. Child care will be provided. " Nativity Lutheran Church, 1501 N. 13th St., Reading, will hold its annual Christmas bazaar on Dec. 6 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Sweitzer Hall. There will be baked goods, Christmas crafts, white elephant sale, food and vendors. " Christ Lutheran Church, 222 Niantic Road, Douglass Township, Montgomery County, will hold Coffee and Conversation on Sunday at 8:30 and 10 a.m. in the Welcome Center. " Zion Moselem Lutheran Church, 340 Moselem Church Road, Richmond Township, will hold its holiday bazaar today at 9 a.m., with the "raffle starting at 2 p.m. A homemade quilt will be the grand prize. There will be homemade soups and other foods available to buy to eat in or…...

4+ day, 3+ hour ago (375+ words) The words are those drafted by Thomas Jefferson, edited by Ben Franklin and John Adams, in the Declaration of Independence, which historian and Tulane University professor Walter Isaacson says in his recent book, "The Best Sentence Ever Written," are the key to our national identity, while giving them a universal application. The Declaration of Independence proclaims a trio of future goals envisioned for the emerging republic and its citizens " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. "Happiness" here did not mean a kind of giddy bliss but rather a person's opportunity to fulfill his or her potential, a concept from Greek and Enlightenment philosophers such as Aristotle and John Locke. Thinking about Madison's fear about the lack of enlightened statesmen, I" have found myself returning to a topic that has interested me for a long time but seems forgotten these…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (591+ words) Growing up in West Philadelphia I learned there were three topics to avoid talking about in polite company " religion, politics and the Yankees. Raised in a minister's family, however, I couldn't avoid religious discussions around the dinner table, especially ones where the Bible was quoted. Don't get me wrong, my father was not a dour person. He loved being silly, finding humor in himself and others, storing jokes in a little black book he kept handy for any occasion. My two brothers and I thought we would check the book out after he died, and it was empty, the joke on us believing all these years he had actually written them down. I remember once he asked where baseball was mentioned in the Bible. When I couldn't answer he told me to read Genesis 1:1, which he then translated as "in…...