FEBRUARY 2016 For Members and Friends of St. Paul s UCC Fleetwood

Transcription

1 FEBRUARY 2016 For Members and Friends of St. Paul s UCC Fleetwood Preparing the Way Lent is the forty-day period before Easter which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 10th and ends the Saturday before Easter. (Sundays are not counted as one of the 40 days.) As is our tradition here at St. Paul s, we will have an Ash Wednesday Service in the sanctuary which begins at 7:00PM. We will observe Holy Communion and the disposition of ashes. On the following Wednesdays in Lent there will be weekly Lenten services. This year our theme is the The Blessings. Pastor John and I will be delivering meditations on the first eight verses of the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-8 Our evenings begin with the evening meal in the social room at 5:45 PM. You may bring a sandwich for yourself and a desert to share. At 6:45, we gather in the sanctuary for the Lenten services. Our Wednesday evening Lenten Service schedule is as follows: February 10-7:00PM, Ash Wednesday Service. Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit February 17-5:45 soup and sandwich. 6:45, Blessed Are Those Who Morn February 24-5:45 soup and sandwich. 6:45, Blessed Are the Meek Lent is a time for all of us to do a bit of soulsearching and reflection. Lent is also a time of preparing ourselves for Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent we are reflecting deeply on the final days of Jesus. Our reflecting takes place in many ways; through worship, prayer, fasting, and Bible study. Starting Wednesday February 10 I will be leading a Bible study entitled John; The Gospel of Light and Life by Adam Hamilton. This study enhances the major themes of the passion narrative and hopefully those who engage in the study will not only enhance their spiritual growth but will also have life in his name. Copies of the book are available in the church office for a cost of $15. The study group will meet in the Lounge at 9:00 AM every Wednesday morning during the Lenten season. I hope you will reserve these days on your calendar and make every effort to be part of one or both of these opportunities for growth during this season of Lent. May you be blessed in doing so as we prepare ourselves for Christ s passion. Blessings, Pastor Pat March 2-5:45 soup and sandwich. 6:45, Blessed Are those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness March 9-5:45 soup and sandwich. 6:45, Blessed Are the Merciful March 16-5:45 soup and sandwich. 6:45, Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

2 Sharon Koller 02/01 Ella Mack 02/01 Irene Moyer 02/02 Christina Scheffler 02/02 Jason Seidel 02/02 Tom Davies 02/03 Codi Nichols 02/03 Michael McDowell 02/03 Jeanette Burkert 02/04 David Stern 02/04 Ann Angstadt 02/04 Jessica Santo 02/05 Sara Wink 02/05 Dawn Pavlick 02/06 Lauren DuPont 02/06 Haley Krueger 02/06 Diane Aulenbach 02/07 Beth McKinney 02/07 Carolyn Daniels 02/08 David Balmer 02/08 Samuel Shuman 02/08 Ricky Zettlemoyer 02/08 Lee Gauker 02/08 Layla Weaver 02/08 Sharon Weiss 02/09 Kevin Fritz 02/09 Meg Young 02/09 Robert Kurzweg 02/10 Faye Buckalew 02/10 Jessie Koch 02/10 Debra Dengler 02/11 Pamela Seidel 02/11 Betsy Markley 02/11 Colleen Werner 02/12 Joan Bailey 02/13 James Herbein 02/13 Gary Mckently 02/13 Richard Leppert 02/13 Jane Wolfgang 02/13 Jennifer Juntunen 02/13 Kaila Brinker 02/13 Floyd Ulrich 02/14/ Harold Aulenbach 02/14 Brian Levan 02/14 Kristin Wulterkens 02/14 Madison Mark 02/14 Sarah Beers 02/14 Nancy Noll 02/15 Sherry Radka 02/16 Thomas Markley 02/16 Kyle Reinkemeyer 02/16 Nicholas Hill 02/16 Bill Shollenberger 02/17 Robert Wolf 02/17 Andrew Kutz 02/17 Ryan Levan 02/17 Richard Aulenbach 02/18 Alison Hauser 02/18 Larry Hartman 02/18 Bradley Williams 02/18 Chad Hartberger 02/18 Zachary Sell 02/18 Millie Dietrich 02/18 George Mayer 02/19 Linda Burkert 02/19 Stephanie Power 02/19 Sandra Eberly 02/19 Alana Rader 02/19 R. Joel Schaeffer 02/20 Cori Shollenberger 02/20 Delmar Diehl 02/21 Janet Sanocki 02/22 Clay Weidemoyer 02/22 Luke Homovich 02/22 Florence Streich 02/23 May Raudenbush 02/23 Michael Heydt 02/24 Jill Caffrey 02/24 Morgan Weidemoyer 02/24 Kamille Orth 02/24 Marie Shomgard 02/25 Joanne Broome 02/25 Susan Marchalonis 02/25 Diane Adams 02/25 Kyle Follweiler 02/25 Diane Barth 02/25 Patsy Stackhouse 02/26 Jim Scott 02/26 Shannon Emerich 02/26 Lindsey Mack 02/26 Donna Rader 02/27 Paul Moll 02/27 Sharon Morris 02/27 Beth Gauker 02/27 Paul Nahrgang 02/27 Amy Miller 02/27 Phyllis Miller 02/28 Sara Major 02/28 If your birthday is not listed or is incorrect, please call the church office at so it can be recorded for future birthday lists.

3 February 7 8:55 a.m. David Balmer, Chad Walter, Sue Creswell, Betsy Becker, Chris Vojtasek, Erin Bogacki, Donna Rader, Mike Werner 10:25 a.m. Ann Heinly, Linda Schaeffer, Steve Wentz, Tom Agnew, Paul Moll, Ian McKinney, Jenn Mowry, Tyler Mowry February 10 Ash Wednesday Paul Moll, Ian McKinney, Jenn Mowry, Tyler Mowry February 14 8:55 a.m. Lorraine Bingaman, Melissa Ruemmler, Allen Crockett, Shawn McGlinchey 10:25 a.m. David Balmer, Chad Walter, Sue Creswell, Betsy Becker February 17 Lenten Service Lorraine Bingaman, Allen Crockett, Shawn McGlinchey, Melissa Ruemmler February 21 8:55 a.m. Ann Heinly, Linda Schaeffer, Steve Wentz, Tom Agnew 10:25 a.m. Chris Vojtasek, Erin Bogacki, Donna Rader, Mike Werner February 24 Lenten Service David Balmer, Chad Walter, Sue Creswell, Betsy Becker February 28 8:55 a.m. Lorraine Bingaman, Allen Crockett, Shawn McGlinchey, Melissa Ruemmler 10:25 a.m. Paul Moll, Ian McKinney, Jenn Mowry, Tyler Mowry February 7 Diane Adams, Margie Martin and John Herring February 14 Cindy Rothenberger February 21 The Ruemmler Family February 28 Greg, Nancy, and Reuel and Lynda Shenk Thomas February 7 8:55 a.m. Dale Hollenbach 10:25 a.m. Sue Kline February 14 8:55 a.m. Scout Sunday 10:25 a.m. Scout Sunday February 21 8:55 a.m. Family Service 10:25 a.m. Family Service February 28 8:55 a.m. Sharon Dreibelbis 10:25 a.m. Max Ruemmler February 7 8:55 Dakota Bryniarski and Stephen Maurek 10:25 Taylor Pavlick and Bret Spayd February 10 - Ash Wednesday Lenten Service Olivia Downs and Brooke Mowry February 14 8:55 Meghan DeLay and Kevin Reinkemeyer 10:25 Kayla Himmelriech & Connor Raudenbush February 17 Lenten Service Emma Bigg and Ryan Levan February 21 8:55 Brooke Mowry and Travis Pytleski 10:25 Jiasu Gore and Evan Watkins February 24 Lenten Service Caroline Blickley and AJ Laucks February 28 8:55 Jordi Farr and Ian Snyder 10:25 Riley Wentz and Sam Ruemmler The deadline for news and information to be included in the March Tower Tymes is February 15 th. Thank you for your cooperation.

4 ***May 1 - Services with guest soloist, Christie Noll; guest pastor, Rev. Bill Worley, preaching, and guest pastor, Rev. Megan Huesgen, assisting with communion ***June 5 - Joint service with the Lutheran congregation in the Fleetwood Park; picnic to follow service. Did you know......that the 175th anniversary committee has been working on events to celebrate the upcoming anniversary?...the committee has been in contact with a partner committee from St. Paul's Lutheran church to plan joint activities? More details will follow as the celebration times draw near. Did you know...that the steeple of the Chapel rose more than 100 feet into the air? Until the Chapel's demolition in 1959, anyone fortunate enough to climb into the steeple could see all of Fleetwood and beyond....that the committee could still use your help with turning ideas into realities? Previously it was mentioned that the committee is looking for stories of personal experiences or stories that have been passed down from older family members that recall our days in the Union Church, our time in the St. Paul's Chapel as well as the more recent history in our present location. Old photos of the churches or church activities would also be appreciated. Please consider sharing some of your thoughts, stories, remembrances and photos with a committee member. Committee members are Lorraine Bingaman, Dennis Boyer, Sharon Dreibelbis, Dale Hollenbach, and Jean Weidner. At this time we would like you to mark your calendars and save the following dates which will be part of the celebration: ***March 27 - Easter Sunday Dawn Service at the site of St. Paul's Union Church ***April 3 - Communion Sunday following the old Reformed liturgy; guest pastor, Rev. Dana Schlegel, assisting ***April 10 - Bluegrass Services with Dave Kline ***April 17 - Family Services; afternoon walking tour of Union Church site, Chapel site, St. Paul's Lutheran Church and St. Paul's UCC ***April 24 - Anniversary Sunday/Music Sunday (one service) with covered dish lunch to follow Addresses!! If you send me (Linda) an to churchoffice@stpaulsfleetwood.org I will be able to save it into the church contact list and that way, I will have an accurate address for you!! February Christian Ed News A BIG thank you to all who supported the Jr. Department Sleep-a-thon! Here is a list of some February items to look for: February s educational focus is prayer. In Sunday school we will be discussing the importance of prayer in our worship service and in our lives. During Lent we will be collecting money for Ghana in our Easter bunny banks. Children s Choir 8:30 am each Sunday. February 14: Scout Sunday February 21: Family Worship Services and Board of Christian Education Meeting after the 2 nd service. February 26-27: Rock-a-thon Stacy Laucks Coord. Of Educational Ministries

5 prayer squares than we can even begin to count, so we will simply note that if you are in need of a prayer square, all you have to do is ask any member of the Prayer Shawl team we have prayer squares to fill all of your needs! Prayer Shawl Ministry Celebrates Ninth Anniversary On January 31, 2016, the St. Paul s UCC Prayer Shawl Ministry, also known as the Hook and Needles Crew #1, celebrated its ninth anniversary. At our January meeting, we spent some time reflecting on what we have accomplished thus far and envisioning how to continue to grow our ministry in the future. Of course our primary focus has been on prayer shawls, and to date approximately 1300 individuals have been recipients of our knitted/crocheted shawls. While the majority of these shawls have gone to those experiencing illness, grief, or distress of some sort, we have also given quite a few shawls to commemorate joyful occasions such as weddings and baptisms. What is more, most of our shawls have been received by members of our church family and their families/friends and residents of Fleetwood and the surrounding communities; however, some of our shawls have traveled to various states throughout the United States, to Canada, to England and Germany, and to Ghana. In addition to shawls, our ministry has taken on a variety of other projects over the years. Every year for the past several years, we have knitted confirmation stoles for our confirmands. With the help of Jim Ott we have created wonderful bookmarks bearing a needlepointed cross which have been distributed to the congregation on Palm Sunday and at other times as well. We have also made numerous scarves; some of these scarves were distributed to delegates as part of a special initiative at a recent national UCC gathering, while others have been given to various shelters in the county for distribution to those suffering from the harshness of our winter weather. Finally, we have made more So where do we go from here? Of course, we will always be making prayer shawls as we have done since our beginning. And we are already planning for next year s confirmation class even as we put the finishing fringes on the stoles for the class of But we are also eager to grow our ministry in several ways. First, we plan to make more scarves to meet the increasing need for cold-weather items, and we will be expanding this part of our ministry to include hats and mittens as well. Since only two or three of us have made either of these last two items, we will be having some instructional time to get this new endeavor up and running. We will also be learning to make fingerless gloves that we have learned are needed especially by patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments. And of course, we are open to suggestions regarding other fiber projects from the congregation. We are also very open to having new members join us. Even if you don t know how to knit or crochet, someone in our group will be happy to teach you. We typically meet on the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. in the lounge off the narthex; we did decide that due to the frenzy of the Thanksgiving- Christmas season, we will no longer meet in December, and this year we will also not meet in July since our meeting night falls on July 4 th. We are excited about the year ahead and our plans to grow! And we are encouraged by and grateful for your continued support of our ministry. Without your support, we could not be celebrating this milestone and looking forward to what will soon be a decade of service to our St. Paul s family and the surrounding communities. Peace and blessings. The Prayer Shawl Team

6 Helping hands: This month the volunteers for Helping Hands had a little break in action as they responded to the following: 2 Calls, 6 s, 0 transports. Thanks to all the incredible helping hands volunteers. Should you or a family member need any extra assistance please contact Lynda Shenk at shenklynda@gmail.com Fleetwood Food Pantry On Thursday, January 7th, 96 families were served at the Pantry in the Fleetwood Community Center. The next date for the pantry will be Thursday, February 4th and volunteers are needed from 3:30-6. Please note time change: Volunteers may start working in the pantry at 3:30 instead of 3:00 due to the community center cafeteria being utilized by other organizations. Thank you to all who continue to volunteer each month and help provide food donations to the pantry. Friend Inc. 75 Angel Gifts were collected for children in the Fleetwood, Kutztown, and Brandywine area. Winter Mission Project- collections of winter coats, clothing, blankets, scarves, gloves/mittens can continue to be dropped off in the coat rack area across from the church office. - 2 deliveries were made already to Bethany Children s Home, 2 to Nurse Partnership, 2 to Opportunity House. Fleetwood Friends Relay for Life Team from St. Paul s U..C.C. is having a Wixon s Shoofly Pie fund raiser to benefit American Cancer Society. Pies must be ordered and paid by February 21 st cost is $5.00. Pick up will be in the church social room on March 13 th. Team members will be in the back of the church to take orders Sundays through February 21st. Shopping Cart in Narthex With the cold winter months ahead of us, the Food Pantry would greatly appreciate donations for canned soups, hearty stews and chill for the month of February. These items can be dropped off in the grocery cart in the Narthex. Thank you so much for your kindness. Opportunity House- Women s Guild served the meal on Tuesday, January 19 th Mission Projects- Update from the busy holiday season. Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes boxes collected and shipped to children in poverty in the United States and around the world. Nurse Partnership gifts were collected for babies participating in this program. Budget & Finance News We are most blessed by the generosity and response of the congregation to our financial appeal at the end of During the months of November & December our income exceeded expenses by ~ $35,000 and we ended the year with a healthy balance in our general account while meeting all of our outstanding commitments. The budget & Finance committee is in the process of compiling financial reports to be available in February. A sincere "Thank You!" to the congregation for your faithful support. ALL YOU CAN EAT PASTA SATURDAY, FEB 20, 2016 Fleetwood Boy Scout Troop 103 All you can eat PASTA SUPPER 4-7 St. Paul s UCC, 5 W Arch Street Adults $8 Ages 4-10 $5---Ages 3 and under free

7 ST PAUL S UCC SCHOOL Happy Valentine s Day! Wow!!! Do you see all the hearts around our school. The children s hearts are filled with love, and it just bursts out everywhere around the school. The children will be decorating boxes for the Valentine Celebrations and there are bound to be Valentine Treats. Our eleventh annual Valentine Social will take place on Thursday February 11, 2016, for our current students and a significant person. Everyone comes out in their finest clothing and we dance, eat and just have fun. This was a huge success in past years and look forward to a great time. We have visitors come into our school to tell us more about our community. If you have an interesting job or hobby and would like to share it, let us know. We are accepting applications for school year. We have a lot of new adventures to explore at school. Please see Ms. Brown or call the school office for more information. Remember our classes fill quickly, so please register early. Starting February 1, 2016, we will be accepting applications from the outside, so please do not delay. Remember- FULL DAY and HALF DAY KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM AND BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE and of course SUMMER CAMP will be back. PLEASE CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT and click on school or see Ms. Brown for more information. We also have our annual Spring Open House on Tuesday March 8, 2016 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Please join us for our book fair, registration and art show. It is a real crowd pleaser. Please share this information with neighbors and friends. The book fair is open to all church members during school hours We are having a wonderful exciting adventure this year, with all the children in the journey of the children s futures. Respectfully, Ms. Peggy Brown, School Director LENT 2016 It is hard to believe we just finished celebrating Christmas and now it is time to start our Lentenn journey. On February 10 th we begin our journey with our Ash Wednesday services. There will be two services in the Sanctuary with communion. The first service will be at 11 AM and the second service will be at 7 PM with communion at the altar. A social time will follow the evening service downstairs to enjoy Fastnachts. The traditional soup and service will be held on Wednesday's. We will eat at 5:45 PM in the social room and we will go upstairs to the Sanctuary for service at 6:45 PM. Please bring a desert to share and as in the past, if you would like more to eat than soup please BYO sandwich. The soups will be made once again this year by Randy Hoffman. Thank you, Randy. The next TowerTymes will have the Holy Week calendar. Members of the worship committee are asking a favor of those who attend the soup suppers and that is to help with the clean up so that we also can all attend the worship service. We hope you will be able to join us on our Lenten journey at these meaningful mid-week services and we look forward to seeing you. Pleasee consider signing up to provide Special Music for this winter and spring for the 9 am service. Instrumentalists and vocalists are welcome, and Greta is happy to provide accompaniment if you need this. There are signup sheets on the bulletin board next to the choir room. We are especially interested in having children/ youth sign up for the following Sundays because these are Family Services. February 21 - March 20 Several children expressed an interest to play their music instrumentss at Christmas time, but did not let us know in time. This is the perfect time to pick a Sunday and prepare a special piece for a church service. It will be greatly appreciated!

8 On Tuesday, February 23, 2016, we will meet and discuss The Rent Collector by Camron Wright in the churchh lounge at 7 p.m. Summary of The Rent Collector by Camron Wright Survival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not working. Just when things seem worst, Sang Ly learns a secret about the ill-tempered woman they call "the rent collector" who comes demanding money a secret that dates back to the Khmer Rouge and sets in motion a tide that will change the life of everyone it sweeps past. The Rent Collector powerfully illustrates how literacy can change lives and how anyone can "rise from the ashes" in the most unlikely of places. (From the publisher.) Please bring suggestions for the months of March July, This is the last book that we decided to read and we need new recommendations for this time frame in Thank you for all the Christmas treats and acts of kindness; the gift bag from the Women s Guild with the beautiful cards; the Youth visit, caroling and leaving a plate of delicious cookies. I don t remember teenagers being that tall when I was in school. It was good to see parents, advisers and Pastor John in the group. Over the years when you deliver Poinsettias or bags of goodies, visiting members of the congregation, you never think that you will someday be on the receiving end of all this. I miss being involved in the activities of the church, but mobility issues as a result of aging, makes decisions for us. I look forward to the celebration of the 175 th Anniversary of the history of St. Paul s in Spring. I appreciate all the visits, calls and concerns. Sincerely, Kathleen Herman Women in Crisis: Women s Guild is once again collecting toiletries, baskets and gift bags for our annual Mother s Day Basket project. We would appreciate donations of unopened SAMPLE and FULL size body care products (shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body wash, soap, shower pouf, purse size tissue, small toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, small combs & brush, nail files or other toiletries a woman can use). A box will be provided across from the church office and in the narthex. Please contact Beth Gauker for more information, (610) Please attend our next Women s Guild meeting on March 29 th at 7pm to discuss basket preparation and much more. We will be assembling the baskets and gift bags Tuesday, May 3rd at 7pm in the conference room, please come join in the fun. Last year we assembled 28 large Mother Day Gift baskets and 70 small sample size gift bags to donate to the Berks Women s Shelter. Thurs, 2/4 Fleetwood Food Pantry 3pm-6pm Sun, 2/7 Superbowl Party 6pm-??? (Meet at church around 5:45 to carpool) Sun, 2/14 Planning for Youth Sunday 6:30-8pm Sun, 2/21 Youth Fellowship 6:30-8pm Fri-Sat, 2/26-2/27 Rock-a-thon 6pm-noon Sun, 2/28 No Youth Fellowship tonight (rest up after rock-a-thon weekend)

9 2016 Sun Mon Tue 1 Anniversary Committee 10am Prayer Shawl 7pm 2 Wed Thu Fri Sat 6 7 Children s choir rehearsal 8:30am Communion Worship 8:55 & 10:25 8 Consistory 7pm 9 10 Ash Wednesday Services at 11am & 7pm Children s choir rehearsal 8:30am Worship 8:55 and 10:25 Scout Sunday 15 President s Day 16 Staff meeting 10 am 17 Lenten Service Dinner 5:45 Service 6: Troop #103 Spaghetti Dinner 21 Children s Choir rehearsal 8:30am Family Service 8:55 and 10:25 28 Children s Choir rehearsal 8:30am Book Group 7pm 24 Lenten Service Dinner 5:45 Service 6:45 Property Committee 6:30pm Rock-a-thon 27 Rock-a-thon Worship 8:55 & 10:25

10 St. Paul s United Church of Christ 5 West Arch Street Fleetwood, PA Phone: Fax: churchoffice@stpaulsfleetwood.org Website: Non-Profit US Postage Paid Reading PA Permit #83 Our Staff Rev. Patrick W. Morris Rev. John Folk Mrs. Linda Sue Speece Mrs. Sue Creswell Mrs. Stacy Laucks Mrs. Greta Ertel Mrs. Jill Haley Ms. Peggy Brown Mr. Thomas Agnew 2016 Pastor Associate Pastor Church Secretary Bookkeeper Coordinator of Education Ministries Organist/Accompanist Coordinator of Music Ministries School Director Sexton