Gettysburg Presbyterian Church. The Pastor s Page

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Gettysburg Presbyterian Church The Pastor s Page At a former church, I was pleasantly surprised when a long-time couple of our church left their entire estate to the church!

1 Gettysburg Presbyterian Church The Pastor s Page At a former church, I was pleasantly surprised when a long-time couple of our church left their entire estate to the church! That consisted mostly of a modest home and furnishings. With that money, we were able April 8, 2015 Inside to purchase a new piano for the sanctuary, add audiovisual equipment for our ministry, and subsidize a new Associate Pastor position for Christian Education. It was a wonderful blessing for our congregation. Recently, we received a smaller bequest from one of our members and have been informed that another PW Birthday Offering PW Rummage Sale S. Dakota Bunk Beds Update Meals & More Fundraiser Grief Share Begins April 30 New Adult Sunday School Classes Women s Sunday April 12 one is in process. I wonder if you might consider leaving a specific amount, or a percentage of your estate to the church that has meant so much to many of you. You can think of it as your last act of stewardship! Bequests can boost our endowment fund and enable us to do things that we wouldn t be able to do otherwise. Bonnie and I recently revised our will to include GPC (Sorry, kids!). If you would like to talk more about this, contact our treasurer, George Marguglio at or by at gmarguglio@acnb.com. Dave

2 Page 2 I would like to thank many church members for the kind words, phone calls and cards following the death of my mother. The messages provided support and comfort. Becky Wareham THANK YOU LENTEN SMALL GROUPS Thank you to the leaders who have led us through the seven weeks of study: Susan Kolmer, Sheryl Suplee, Kelly Jones, Lucy Breighner, Shelli Strausner, Jerry & Ellis Cleaver, Dave & Bonnie Wright, Larry Bullis, Bill Sterrett, Andy Miner, John & Corena Harman. Thank you also to all of you who were willing to share your homes, restaurants, or church locations for groups to meet. Thanks to all of you who participated in this study. If you missed the Lenten study, be watching the Grapevine for the announcement of the Fall Small Groups which will be forming in the Fall. We have all had a time of fellowship, study and preparation for the Lenten Season. Ask someone to join you next time in the small groups share the love Jesus Christ and love of community with others. Thank You From One of the 2015 Birthday Offering Recipients: Community Center for Support of Displaced and Abused Women and Children Barranquilla, Columbia Dear Presbyterian Women, There has been much rejoicing in the Seventh Presbyterian Church of Barranquilla, Columbia, since receiving the letter from Judith Jerry telling us that our Bethesda Christian Community Center has be accepted for funding through the Birthday Offering. Maybe you even heard the shouts of Glory, Hallelujah from here to Louisville! We are already engaging in additional fundraising projects to supplement the Birthday Offering grant. Many Thanks! Susan B. Wilson OPW Moderator Please use the enclosed envelope to continue to support the PW Birthday Offering. Thank you! CONDOLENCES Our thoughts and prayers are with : Bob McQuaide on the recent death of his mother. Deb Meckley on the recent death of her brother. Jim McCoy s memorial service will be held at the Brethren Home Nicarry Chapel on April 1:00 p.m. NEED A RIDE? If you are having trouble attending church services and/or church functions due to not having transportation, let the Deacons help you. We are only a phone call away. The transportation Deacon for April is Dottie Heflin at

3 Page 3 Worship Music Schedule April 12 8:15 a.m. Early Choir 11:00 am. Women s Choir April 19 8:15 a.m. Early Choir 11:00 am. Men s Choir April 26 8:15 a.m. Early Choir 11:00 am. Adult Choir Chapel Bell Choir HIGH SCHOOL FELLOWSHIP March / April April 12 5:30-7:00 Dinner & Fellowship April 19 5:30-7:00 Dinner & Fellowship April 26 5:30-7:00 Dinner & Fellowship MidSHIP Schedule March / April April 12 5:30-7:00 Fellowship & Games April 15 2:45-5:00 Small Group April 19 5:30-7:00 Digital Scavenger Hunt April 22 NO Mid SHIP SMALLGROUP April 26 5:30-7:00 Fellowship & Games Mid-Ship News The 30-Hour Famine was a wonderful success! 16 youth and several adult leaders participated in this year s 30-Hour Famine event, and $1, was raised to help fight child hunger through World Vision. Congratulations to all the Mid-Ship kids and their friends who went the entire 30 hours on a modified juice fast! Your efforts will feed 36 children for a month. Special thanks to the adults who took shifts helping out: Mid-Ship leaders Chad Dick, Sarah Dudley, and Barb Sanders; and parents Leslie Casteel, Melanie Soliday, Shelli Strausner, Amy Suarez, and Jen and Yancy Unger. The Mid-Ship group had fun roller-skating at Magic Elm on the afternoon of March 22, where we enjoyed a cake and wished Mid-Ship member Alex Nyiri good luck and all of God s blessings during his upcoming surgery. His surgery went well and Alex is now on the mend! A special Thank You to the Wednesday Mid-Ship kids who helped assemble the bags of tokens for Contemporary Worship s Palm Sunday service. Thanks to Lydia Casteel, Emily Delacruz, Ayden Dillon, Tyler Kint, Conner Lambert, Laina Nevins, and Braden Unger for helping with such a big project! Here is the upcoming Mid-Ship schedule for April and May: April 12: 5:30-7:00 Fellowship/Games April 15:- Afterschool Group- Pizza and outside devotions/play April 19: 5:30-7:00 Digital Scavenger Hunt April 22- No after school group meeting April 26: 5:30-7:00 Fellowship/Games April 29: Afterschool Group Pizza/Bowling with Youth Club May 1-3 Mid-Ship and SHIP Faith Games retreat to Camp Krislund May 6: Last Afterschool Group May 10 No Mid-Ship/ Mother s Day May 17: 5:30-7:00 Mid-Ship Year-End picnic*

Page 4 BUNK BEDS STILL NEEDED FOR SOUTH DAKOTA Last summer we built 2 sets of bunk beds as one of our construction projects on the Cheyenne River Lakota Indian Reservation.

This year we would like to build 10 sets of bunk beds and provide mattresses when we go to the reservation in July.

4 Page 4 BUNK BEDS STILL NEEDED FOR SOUTH DAKOTA Last summer we built 2 sets of bunk beds as one of our construction projects on the Cheyenne River Lakota Indian Reservation. Many people (including children) on this reservation do not have beds to sleep on. Some of them sleep on old worn-out couches or chairs, or most often, on the floor. This year we would like to build 10 sets of bunk beds and provide mattresses when we go to the reservation in July. So far we have gotten donations for 7 bunk beds and 2 mattresses THANK YOU The cost of the lumber and mattresses goes beyond what we have available in our South Dakota mission budget, so we need your help. Below are the costs for each set of bunk beds: Cost of the lumber $110 Mattresses for beds $ 60 each Total cost of a whole set (including 2 mattresses) $230 If you are interested in donating part of the cost or even purchasing a whole set, please contact Penny Messinger in the church office at Checks should be made out to GPC with S. Dakota bunk beds in the memo line. Thanks for helping our Lakota friends! The 275 th Anniversary Committee is looking for GPC families that go back a few generations or more in our church. If your family has multi-generational roots in our congregation, please contact Patti Schwartz at Calendar of Giving The Calendar of Giving is an opportunity for our congregation to support numerous local organizations. Through this program, we identify local organizations that are in need of smaller donations. Each month, we will be collecting specific items for the identified organization. For the month of: April We will be collecting items for Survivors NEW and UNOPENED Toiletries soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc. (Survivors is unable to accept hotel size toiletries.), Sheet sets, Blankets, Plug-in alarm clocks, Towels, Washcloths, Diapers, Baby Wipes, Sippie Cups, Baby Bottles.

5 Page 5 PW Rummage and Bake Sale April 17 & 18 Please call Kathy Kircher to volunteer to help with the sale. We will need brown bags. Please no toxic substances or items that require special handling for disposal. Bring only items that work, are clean and in good condition. Rummage and plant sale: Friday, April 17, 8:30 to 5:00, Sat. April 18, 8:30 to noon. Lunch will be served on Friday. Drop-offs: Monday, April 13, put everything in the corner next to the main outside entrance in Fellowship Hall. Deadline for drop-offs is Thursday, April 16 by noon. Marking and sorting will take place Tuesday 1:00 5:00 p.m. and Wednesday & Thursday 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Baked goods: Drop off by 8 AM Friday or the night before if frozen. Plants: May drop off Tues., but be sure they are moist. Clean-up: Saturday, April 18 noon until complete. Volunteers are needed!!! The more help, the faster and easier big projects get done. Please call Kathy if you can help. YOUTH CLUB FINAL ACTIVITIES Our year of youth club is quickly drawing to a close. Here are some exciting adventures for us during our last few weeks. April 15 Dinner to go; April 29th -- Bowling; May 6th Mt. Tabor Park. PLAY BALL!! We re fielding a softball team for the Adams County Church Softball League. All skill levels welcome. If you wish to play, contact Brandon or Dillons583@gmail.com Traveling Day Camp Andrea Crowe will be leading our first experience of Traveling Day Camp here at GPC July 27 31st from 9-4 a.m. This program is open for children who have completed Kindergarten through 8th Grade. The participants will be here at GPC from 9-4 Monday Wednesday and then on Thursday they will be taken up to Camp Krislund to join with the campers who have been at the camp all week for fun activities such as swimming in the pool, climbing the rock wall, etc. They will spend the night at camp and return to GPC on Friday. Younger children do not have to go to Camp Krislund on Thursday if they prefer not to but still want to join in the fun here at GPC. If this sounds like it would be fun, then pick up an application from Cheryl in the church office or in Fellowship Hall on Sundays. Fee is $91 for this fun-packed week. Deadline is May 15th for registration. Meals & More Hoss s Meals & More of Gettysburg will hold a fundraiser at Hoss s Restaurant on Thursday, April 16th from 11am to 9pm. Proceeds will go toward educational materials and groceries for homeless, hungry, and abused children. Meals & More is a summer enrichment program that will take place June 15 to August 6 at Prince of Peace Episcopal Church. Please support our community children whose lives are marginalized in many ways. SAVE THE DATE 2015 Vacation Bible School June Volunteer adults and youth, please stop at the CE table in Fellowship Hall to sign up for your choice of an area to work. We need many wonderful working hands, so come join in the fun as we prepare to share the love of Jesus with children.

Page 6 Contemporary Worship Service News: A beautiful but cold Easter Sunrise service was held on April 5 th at the Eternal Peace Light on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Special Thanks to: Kate Moyer and Kyle Clark singing and drama, Greg Trax- poetry reading, Steve Kinsey and Sal Chandonaudio, and Alan and Dottie Flecknerdoughnuts afterward!

Thanks also to Phoebe Kammerer for the beautiful song at the 9:30 Contemporary Easter Service, and to Larry Ruckman for being our substitute drummer at both Contemporary Easter services.

6 Page 6 Contemporary Worship Service News: A beautiful but cold Easter Sunrise service was held on April 5 th at the Eternal Peace Light on the Gettysburg Battlefield. There was a crowd of more than 200 sturdy people there to celebrate the Risen Christ! Special Thanks to: Kate Moyer and Kyle Clark singing and drama, Greg Trax- poetry reading, Steve Kinsey and Sal Chandonaudio, and Alan and Dottie Flecknerdoughnuts afterward! Very special thanks to Mike and Kathy Wark, who saved the outdoor service by loaning us their generator at the last minute, and to Rob Lewis, who thought of and facilitated it. Thanks also to Phoebe Kammerer for the beautiful song at the 9:30 Contemporary Easter Service, and to Larry Ruckman for being our substitute drummer at both Contemporary Easter services. Looking ahead: The Contemporary Worship Service will be held outdoors at the Gettysburg Rec Park s Kiwanis and Lion s Club Pavilions on June 28 th, with a potluck picnic lunch afterwards. Please save the date. There will be more information to follow! Griefshare Begins April 30 at Gettysburg United Methodist Church A thirteen-week session of the Griefshare ministry will begin April 30 at 6:30 pm at the Gettysburg United Methodist Church (30 West High Street). The following link will give you more information regarding the Griefshare Ministry If you or anyone you know of might benefit from this ministry, please contact group facilitators: Phyllis Carbaugh or Kim White If you have further questions, you may contact Rev. Nyiri at , ext. 4. Don t Sing Songs To a Heavy Heart by Kenneth C. Haugk is a book designed to help you relate to friends and family who have suffered or are suffering from a loss. The loss could be a death, a loss of a job, an illness, whatever life brings. Deacons have numerous responsibilities, but three that we do religiously (no pun intended) are delivering flowers every Sunday, providing transportation, and giving a devotion at the beginning of our meetings. We choose whatever we like and present it to the group. This year, however, we are reading Mr. Haugk s book instead. We are each assigned a chapter and when our turn arrives we present and discuss it. We have had some very good discussions. This is a thought-provoking and challenging book with very good instruction on helping folks through very tough times. We also, as Deacons, do quite of bit of visiting with members who aren t able to get to church, so listening is an attribute that we can always improve on. The book gives various examples of how to be a better listener and what is needed when anyone suffers through a heartbreaking situation. We are a quarter of the way through it and I have learned a great deal about helping people cope with losses. There was an early chapter that said when visiting a person in need, try to think of that person s grief as a home. When you are invited into a friend s home, you don t go looking around in the cabinets or closets. So, why would you do the same thing with trying to help that person through a time of need? In other words, you don t ask probing questions and make statements that seem unfeeling or make the person even more uncomfortable. Grieving, for whatever reason, is a very personal matter. We need to learn to watch for signs from the individual as to what they need at that given time. Sometimes we learn that just being there and being quiet can be all that the person needs or wants. We have also learned not to judge a person in their grieving process. We are all individual human beings and each has our own way of doing things, right? So, shouldn t grieving be the same? We shouldn t judge another person and the way they handle grief. We shouldn t push our own way of dealing with a trying situation. I for one can say truthfully that I have looked differently on people when they haven t performed the way I thought they should. It is not up to me and my beliefs. All people handle their feelings in the way they were taught. Another interesting point was made that when we visit a friend or family member in need, someone else has already been there before us Jesus! Mr. Haugk tells us that we need to continue what Jesus has begun and be there for whatever that person feels is needed. This is a wonderful book on how to be the person you want to be when helping a friend or family member bridge that time of need or grief. There are two copies in the Crane Library and I highly recommend it as a source of information to be able to communicate with a grieving person. I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to Wilda Betts for volunteering to help me in the library the last two weeks. We have gotten all the books, tapes, and DVD s cataloged. We will begin to work on the bookmobile shortly. I also will be going through the fiction books in the bookshelf and probably purchasing some new selections. As always, if you have any recommendations, please let me know. Til next time KEEP ON READING! Cathy G P C Book Corner

7 Page 7 New Adult Elective Sunday School Class A new adult Sunday School class begins on April 12 th on The Liturgical Church Year facilitated by John Horner. It will cover the meaning of liturgy and the seasons of our church year. April 12 Intro, Advent, Christmas April 19 Lent and Eastertide April 26 Pentecost and Trinity Join us in MacAskill Room at 9:30 in April. Come and understand what the seasons of the Church are and follow the life of Christ through the seasons. PW CIRCLES Elizabeth Circle Mary Martha Circle Esther Circle Monday, April 20, 1:00 p.m. Monday, April 20, 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 16, 10:00 a.m. Paideia House, First Floor Paideia House, First Floor Eisenhower Lounge at GPC Hostess: Joan Pore Lesson: 6 Lesson 8: 2 Corinthians 11: 1-32 Lesson 8: 2 Corinthians 11: 1-32 Study Leader: Susan Kolmer Leader: Judy Inskip Church Women United CHURCH WOMEN UNITED welcomes all local church women to a 1 1/2 hour ($3) lunch meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6, at the Gettysburg Church of the Brethren, 1710 Biglerville Rd. Following lunch we will celebrate May Friendship Day with the program, "journey of the Caregiver" and speaker Angie Pickel. Please join us in this time of ecumenical fellowship, where newcomers are always welcome. No reservations are needed. SPRING GATHERING PW Carlisle Presbytery on Saturday April 18, 2015 Upper West Conococheague Church Mercersburg PA Morning Program presented by Beth Zong, Our Synod Representative on the Global Exchange to the Caribbean Light lunch at Noon Afternoon Program presented by Pascal, a student from Haiti 2 PM closing Women s Sunday April 12 Women s Sunday is coming up soon. This is an annual Spring event in our church, which highlights a woman guest preacher. Nicole Miller, a second-year student at Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary, will be our preacher at all 3 service. She is a teaching parish seminarian at our church this year. We will also have other women participating that morning, along with a women s choir, led by Bonnie Wright. Please plan to attend on April 12

8 Gettysburg Presbyterian Church 208 Baltimore Street Gettysburg, PA Office: (717) Fax: (717) Page 8 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Gettysburg, PA Permit No. 198 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED *********************** Gettysburg Presbyterian Church Mission Statement Gettysburg Presbyterian Church believes that God calls us to invite people to faith in Jesus Christ, and equip them to grow as His fully devoted followers. As disciples we: * study regularly * pray daily * witness boldly * live faithfully * serve passionately * give generously * worship weekly Celebrating 275 years of ministry in 2015! Next Newsletter Deadline: Noon, Thursday, April April 2015 GPC WORSHIP SCHEDULE Traditional 8:15 & 11:00 a.m. Contemporary 9:30 a.m. April 12 April 19 April 26 May 3 May 10 Women s Sunday Guest Speaker: Nicole Miller Lord s Supper Jesus & Downton Abby Fans vs. Followers Lord s Supper The Most Broken Commandment

Gettysburg Presbyterian Church. The Pastor s Page. Evil in the World

Gettysburg Presbyterian Church The Pastor s Page Evil in the World If you follow Matthew s gospel immediately after the story of the birth of Jesus and the visit of the Magi, you find the horrifying story