PEACE Nehemiah Action will be March 24th, 2026. While that seems like a ways away, it is important for us to be preparing now if we want to turn out 65 people from our congregation to join the 1600 people from across Palm Beach County doing justice on that night.

The action will once again be at JupiterFirst Church and busses and carpooling will be available. 

Our offering for worship this Sunday will be our commitment to attend and our commitment to invite people to come with us. Our justice ministry network members will be making lists of folks they will invite, but all of us can participate in that process. Be thinking of those you know who might be interested in doing justice with us. 

Even if you will have already returned north by March 24th and unable to attend, you can still join us this Sunday for a recap of the issues we are working on this year so you can effectively be supporting and praying for us!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Christmas offering for Guatemalan Maya Center. You donated $6,000 to this amazing organization, combined with what Lake Worth UCC will be matching, that makes $12,000 we will be giving to them. We are proud to be participating in the Kin-dom of God with GMS in Palm Beach County!

On Sunday January 18th, Father Frank O'Laughlin will be present with us in worship and we will present him with the check.

This Sunday, we wrapped up our Advent/Christmas/Epiphany worship experience, What Do You Fear? We finished with reminding ourselves that, like the magi, fear deosn't stop us! You can watch the service here.  

You can watch the entire series here.

Thank you to everyone who participated to make this such a special season: our musicians who blessed us each week: Bruce, Anna Lise, Rosa, Zach, Chuck, Nelson, Marilyn, Carolyn, and Ginny; Vickie Grimes for her beautiful fabric art; our readers; and Susan, Jolynn, Trish, and Sloan working behind the scenes to make everything work. And thank you to all of you for being to worship in new ways. We look forward to conitnuing to create a space where we can connect with God, one another, and the needs of the world.

Potluck This Sunday

Join us this Sunday after worship for our monthly potluck lunch. Bring a favorite dish and a placesetting from home to reduce waste and we will share a meal together.

Bobby Jo Valentine will be sharing with us in song and story on Sunday January 25th. Bobby Jo's music exists outside the lines of any genre, but the music’s thoughtful, spirit focused lyrics and catchy melodies reach listeners across all walks of life. The poetic nature and spiritual focus of his stories and songs has resulted in notable awards and a growing, loyal following around the country.  He’s found a voice with original, hopeful songs about the gentle everyday spiritual awakenings of an openhearted life.

Growing up and emerging out of a Baptist Church of strict lines and sharp edges, Bobby Jo Valentine has emerged into a larger, kinder, more welcoming faith…one that is excited to learn, open to growth, and focused on love. 
 

Resources for Staying Centered, Grounded, and Connected

As we enter a year of critical importance in the struggle for climate justice, the UCC is holding a Climate Action Commissioning Service. Gather with us as we faithfully prepare ourselves to take action in the coming year. The theme for this service and for the 2026 Climate Hope Art Contest is "a future with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11). Our preacher will be the Rev. Jim Antal, author of "Climate Church, Climate World" and Special Advisor on Climate Justice to the UCC General Minister and President.

Even if you cannot make the live event, still register, and we will send you a recording.

The Hope Circle Book Club

Lake Worth UCC Member Johanna Castillo is facilitating a new group, The Hope Circle Book Club. They meet every other Thursday evening in person in our office and online. They are currently discussing The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall. You can find more information here.

Together: Hope: A User's Manual

Our Together group which meets on Wednesday nights at 6:30 begins discussing Hope: A User's Manual tonight at 6:30.

In Hope: A User’s Manual, pastor and theologian MaryAnn McKibben Dana offers a clear-eyed, compassionate vision of hope for a world that often feels exhausted, divided, and afraid. Rather than treating hope as optimism or positive thinking, Dana reframes hope as a practice—something we learn, exercise, and return to, especially when circumstances don’t improve as quickly as we’d like.

The book gently dismantles common misconceptions about hope and replaces them with something sturdier. Hope is not denial, certainty, or success. It is attention, courage, imagination, and persistence. Drawing from scripture, pastoral experience, psychology, and community life, Dana shows how hope can coexist with doubt, grief, and frustration—and how it often appears in small, quiet, faithful acts rather than dramatic breakthroughs.

Throughout the book, Dana invites readers to see hope not as predicting a better future, but as participating in God’s ongoing work in the present. It is a form of holy resilience that keeps us engaged, connected, and moving forward together.

This book is especially meaningful for those who care deeply about the world, feel the weight of its brokenness, and are looking for a hope that is honest, grounded, and sustaining.

We will be discussing Chapter one tonight on site at 1415 North K St and via Zoom. After two weeks off, we will resume meeting on January 7th, discussing Hope: A User's Manual.

Spiritual Direction 

Lake Worth UCC member Stacey Harter is a seminary student focusing on spiritual direction. She is currently open to taking new directees. You can learn more about her and spiritual direction at Nautilus Spiritual Direction.

If you are looking for some direction, stamina, confidence, or just a little extra "oomph" for 2026, you are invited to join Jason from 1:00 - 5:00 PM this Saturday in the church office as he facilitates a workshop on Building Heroic Clarity and Antifragile Confidence (formerly "Building Soul Force!"). You can find more information and register here. 

If you have friends and family who would benefit from some of the principles we talk about on Sundays, but have difficulty connecting with religious language, this would be a great opportunity for them.

It is easy to give online at our website lakeworthucc.org/give.

Our app is now back up and running on all of your favorite app stores. You can watch services, keep up with what we are doing, and connect with one another. Go to our app page to find the links to download.

Join us at 10:00 on Thursday morning as we gather to catch up with one another! Currently we meet only on Zoom - you can join us here. We will resume in person meetings later in the year.