The Youth Group is planning a trip to the Wilcox Corn Maze on Friday, October 5.  We will meet in the church parking lot at 6:30 pm.  With over 8 miles of trails that wind through a 25-acre maze of corn, this is sure to be an exciting adventure!  Kids and adults are welcome!  Cost is $6/person.  Please contact Tonya or Lynn if you plan to attend.

Friedens has received many new members since our last Church Directory was published in 2013 and it is time for an update.  The Church Directory Committee recently met with a representative from Lifetouch and the Consistory approved them to create our new directory.  Family and individual pictures for will be taken on November 8, 9 and 10.  Lifetouch will have the pictures available before Christmas.  If you are interested in volunteering for this project, please contact Ron and Naomi Klein.

If you would like to reserve church space for a meeting or event, please contact the church office as soon as you know your date.  There are many groups that use our church weekly for meetings and events.  The calendar kept electronically in the church office is the official church calendar and all meetings and events must be added to it to avoid conflicts.

Military families stationed overseas love your unused coupons!  They can be used on base at commissaries and exchanges up to six months past their expiration date!  The Mission Team is asking you to save your unused coupons and drop them off in the box in the Narthex.  The coupons will then be mailed to Guam where all five branches of the military are stationed.  Please keep in mind that coupons must be manufacturer coupons.  Store specific coupons (e.g. Target, Weis, McDonald’s) cannot be used. 

Our next Hoagie Sale will be held on Thursday, October 4 with orders due by Sunday, September 30.  The cost per hoagie is $6.  If you would like to place an order, use the sign-up sheet in Weidner Hall, call the Church Office at 610-987-3536 during regular office hours or leave a message on the Hoagie Hotline at 610-987-3536, ext. 3 any other time.  If you have any order changes after the July 8 order deadline, please contact Jeff Parkhouse (phone 215-272-7451, e-mail  jeff.parkhouse@comcast.net) or Jeff Shearer (phone 610-921-2896, e-mail jlshear1@verizon.net).

Please consider using AmazonSmile when doing your online shopping.  AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Friedens UCC every time you shop—at no cost to you!  Friedens recently received a donation in the amount of $24.57 from AmazonSmile.  For doing nothing at all!  On your first visit to smile.amazon.com, you will need to select Friedens United Church of Christ in Oley, PA to receive donations before you start shopping.  Your selection will be remembered and every purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a 0.5% donation to Friedens UCC. 

Each time you purchase merchandise at Redner’s Warehouse Markets, Redner’s donates 1% of sales to Friedens UCC.  Simply stop by the store office or customer service area to get a Save-A-Tape card.  The card is free!  By presenting this card at check-out, your receipt will be designated as a Save-A-Tape customer receipt.  Bring your receipts to church for collection.  Do not cut the tapes in any way!  The entire receipt must be submitted for acceptance by the program.

A free Flooding and Recovery Workshop will be held on Saturday, September 29 from 9 am to 3 pm at Bear Creek Camp in Wilkes-Barre.  This training will cover the rebuilding phase of recovery, establishing construction orders and helping a client put together a recovery plan.  Lunch will be provided.  Please contact Sue Henne if you are interested in attending.

The 2018 CROP Hunger Walk will take place on Sunday, October 7 at Gring’s Mill.  Registration begins at 12:30 pm and the Walk begins at 1:30 pm.  Walkers of all ages can be involved and you walk at your own pace by choosing a 1, 3 or 5 mile loop.  Walkers who collect at least $100 will receive a free event t-shirt!  The Mission Team will match all donations raised dollar for dollar up to $1,000 in donations collected.  75% of the money raised supports CWS and 25% supports the Greater Berks Food Bank.  Please turn in all donations to Sue Henne by Sunday, September 30. 

We continue to collect used clothing for New Journey Community Outreach and the Hope Rescue Mission.  Please label where you would like your items donated to—if you have a preference—and  place your donations under the stairs in the Narthex.