The Messenger The Messenger ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH 530 Bridge Street New Cumberland, PA 17070 Volume L, Number 2 2015 Congregation Council Members 2015 Tim Dixon - President Barb Weedon -Vice President Jo Ann Painter - Council Secretary Randy Zangari -Treasurer Jim Corle Matt Loch Sharon Layman Tom Melnichak Hank Guise ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH 530 BRIDGE STREET NEW CUMBERLAND, PENNSYLVANIA 17070 FAX – (717)774-6682 Telephone – (717)774-3646 [email protected] Pastor: Elaine M. Dent Minister of Music: Karen R. Worley Office Administrator: Tammy Davis Ministers: The people of St. Paul St. Paul Web Site: www.stpaulnc.org The Messenger 2 February 2015 Dear Friends at St. Paul, A pilgrimage is usually a journey to a sacred site. It is done with a purpose and often is a spiritual quest. It involves separation from home and ordinary life. Frequently a pilgrim walks to the destination, living simply. Popular pilgrimage sites, for Christians anyway, include the Holy Land, the Camino de Santiago in Spain, the holy city of Rome, or the mystical "thin places" in Ireland where people through generations have sensed God's presence. My walk for the sabbatical is still a pilgrimage although there is no holy destination. In fact the trail I'm walking has nothing to do with any religious purpose. The Appalachian Trail travels along the spine of the ancient Appalachian mountains, starting at the top of one mountain and ending on the top of another, with a few hundred mountains in between. It is a recreational trail, a conservationist trail, a proof of endurance trail, but not a spiritual pilgrimage trail. And yet, after doing much reading, I have learned that many people seek time on this trail for spiritual reasons...or at least in hopes of improving themselves personally or finding direction in their lives. My hiking companion, Jeff Rice, and I will start unceremoniously where the trail crosses highway 7 in Virginia. Heading south we will continue until we reach the last trail town in the state--Damascus. There is nothing significant about either of these places except that Damascus claims to be the friendliest hiker town on the 2000+ miles of the AT. So what makes the journey a pilgrimage if I am not going to a special "holy" destination? (Martin Luther, who was not a fan of pilgrimages, would ask this question.) Well, I have to leave home for two months to do it. I will not only have to travel very lightly in terms of weight and environmental impact, but I also will have to live without a lot of creature comforts---a sort of spiritual and physical fasting from the conveniences in life. The hike will involve mental and physical stamina, and there will be days I want to quit. There will be a spiritual practice that I maintain as I stop five times a day, everyday, to pray through yet another Psalm. But still, I wondered, what quasi-holy sites there could be on the AT? What about McAfee Knob? There, thousands of people have gazed in awe at creation---and surely prayed if they believed in a Creator. Maybe that has become a "thin place." Or maybe White Top Mountain where a folk music festival was held during the 1930's. One year as many as 20,000 people, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, gathered on this spot for the love of Appalachian music and celebration. Or perhaps it will be on the Grayson Highlands where the (relatively) wild ponies roam. Or maybe crossing the James River (Powatan to Native Americans) where many baptisms have occurred. But ultimately one of the great things about a this pilgrimage, at least from my perspective, is that the whole trail (or at least the portion we are doing) will be the holy site, not just one final destination point. One's whole life is sometimes referred to as an earthly pilgrimage. The trail journey is a microcosm of one's life, an opportunity, like in ordinary life, to be open to God's presence along the way. God's presence can be discovered in a conversation with a passing hiker, in help gratefully received or given, in finding a faucet with treated water, or in an amazing sunrise overlooking the eastern Piedmont, and in the discipline of praying the Psalms. Who knows when and where I will be most aware of God's gifts or God's calling for compassion and trust along the way. After all, Christians were first known as "people of the way." That's the adventure for this pilgrim of the way. Yes, I am taking scraps of paper to journal what I discover. I'm sure that the God-given surprises of this pilgrimage will journey home with me and find their way into blog posts and sermons for months to come. But I'm hoping for more than that. I am praying that those gracious discoveries of God's presence, those thin places along the trail where I learn to trust God's leading, will take up lodging in my heart and change me in the way God intends so that I come back home renewed to serve. Pastor Elaine Dent The Messenger 2 27 21 26 25 6:30 Pack 63 9:30 Head Start 7:30 Narcotics Anonymous 12:00 Prayer Lunch - Baughman 12:00 Lunch 6:00 Lenten Dinner 6:00 TOPS 6:15 Evening Prayer 6:30 Pack 63 6:45 Windows on the Word 7:30 Choir Rehearsal 24 9:00 Quilters 12:00 Bible Study 6:30 NCD 7:00 Pack 63/Troop 82 22 23 The Messenger 2 8:15, 11 Worship 9:45 Sunday School 9:45 Pretzel Sunday 6:30 Bell Choir Rehearsal 15 8:15, 11 Worship 9:45 Sunday School 9:45 Pretzel Sunday 6:30 Bell Choir Rehearsal 16 9:30am Worship 19 8:30 WS Conference 6:30 Pack 63 7:00 Council 7:30 Narcotics Anonymous 18 9:30 Head Start 12:00 Prayer Lunch - Baughman 12:00 Lunch 6:00 Lenten Dinner 6:00 TOPS 6:30 Pack 63 7:00 Worship Service 7:30 Choir Rehearsal 17 9:00 Quilters 12:00 Bible Study 6:30 NCD 7:00 Pack 63/Troop 82 20 14 13 12 6:30 Worship & Music 6:30 Pack 63 7:30 Narcotics Anonymous 11 9:30 Head Start 6:00 TOPS 6:30 Keystone Moms 6:30 Pack 63 7:30 Choir Rehearsal 10 9 8 3 1 The Messenger 2 6:30 Natural Church Dev. 9:00 Quilters 8:15, 11 Worship 12:00 Bible Study 9:45 Sunday School 6:30 NCD 6:30 Bell Choir Rehearsal 7:00 Pack 63/Troop 82 6 4 5 Thursday Sunday 2 On Ash Wednesday the church began its journey toward baptismal immersion in the death and resurrection of Christ. This year, the Sundays in Lent lead us to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew Scriptures and to use them as lenses through which to view baptism. First Peter connects the way God saved Noah's family in the flood with the way God saves us through the water of baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with us individually, but the new life we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world. 9:00 Quilters 12:00 Bible Study 6:30 NCD 7:00 Pack 63/Troop 82 February 22: First Sunday in Lent Wednesday The leper is confident in Jesus' power to heal. Naaman, on the other hand, is comically hard to convince that he can be healed by such an unlikely foreigner as Elisha, who directs him to wash in such a sorry excuse for a river as the Jordan. Jesus' healing power is here among us in the ordinary water of the font, in the ordinary bread, in the ordinary people who make up the body of Christ. We would be well-advised to take the advice of the least powerful among us (like the servant girl in Naaman's household) if we want to find the one who will heal us. Tuesday February 15: Sixth Sunday after Epiphany Monday In Isaiah it is the one God who sits above the earth and numbers the stars it is that God who strengthens the powerless. So in Jesus' healing work we see the hand of the creator God, lifting up the sick woman to health and service (diakonia). Like Simon's mother-in-law, we are lifted up to health and diakonia. Following Jesus, we strengthen the powerless; like Jesus, we seek to renew our own strength in quiet times of prayer. February 2015 February 8: Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 6:30 Property Committee In Deuteronomy God promises to raise up a prophet like Moses, who will speak for God; in Psalm 111 God shows the people the power of God's works. For the church these are ways of pointing to the unique authority people sensed in Jesus' actions and words. We encounter that authority in God's word, around which we gather, the word that trumps any lesser spirit that would claim power over us, freeing us to follow Jesus. 8:15, 11 Worship 9:45 Sunday School 9:45 BP Screening Friday February 1: Fourth Sunday after Epiphany 7:30 Worship & Music Comm.10 a.m. Prayer Shall Group 9:30 Head Start 6:00 TOPS 6:30 Keystone Moms 6:30 Pack 63 6:45 Prayer around Cross 7:30 Choir Rehearsal 7 Sunday Mornings at 8:15 and 11:00 a.m. 28 Sat urday Worship at St. Paul February 1 8:15 Harlan Layman 11:00 Judy Kleinfelter February 8 8:15 Ron & Audrey Hess 11:00 JoAnn Painter 8:15 Gene & Doris Bowser 11:00 Joan Ruth February 22 The Messenger 2 February 15 8:15 Laura Grill 11:00 Deb Boehm 8:15 Carl Helstom 11:00 John Young Greeters 8:15 Barb Weedon 11:00 Breda Kiehl 8:15 Carl Helstom 11:00 Ken Lytle 8:15 Hank Guise 11:00 Sue Williams Lector 8:15 Jacques Weedon 8:15 Jim Fulkroad 8:15 Grace Ann Burke 8:15 Jim Loch Communion Assistant 8:15 Trey Weedon 11:00 Micheala O'Reilly 8:15 Mark Shultz 11:00 Micheala O'Reilly 8:15 Matt Loch 11:00 Volunteer 8:15 Jim Fulkroad 11:00 JoAnn Painter Sue Williams 8:15 Catie Loch 11:00 Volunteer Acolyte 8:15 Pat Osenbach 11:00 Heather Yoder Barb Weedon Jim Fulkroad Nancy Ambrose 8:15 Nancy Ambrose 11:00 JoAnn Painter Linda Goodhart Barb Weedon Kathy Ruble Dave Kutz 8:15 Kathy Ruble 11:00 Judy Kleinfelter Communion Clean Up Linda Goodhart Bob & Maggie Fogleman Jim Fulkroad Fulkroads Fulkroads Earl Guise Sue Williams Communion Set Up Ron & Audrey Hess Jim Fulkroad Judy Kleinfelter Youth Group Tim Repman Jim Fulkroad Flowers Jim Fulkroad JoAnn Painter Communion Bread Paraments Heather Yoder McCreary/Shindel Linens Repman/Ritter Harlan Layman Coffee Fellowship Fulkroad/Kutz Head Usher Our Lutheran Community Your MISSION, should you choose to accept it, is to invite a friend to volunteer with you during St. Paul’s next Family Promise host week in February. Our nights are 2/11, 2/12 and 2/13 . We’re trying to get more people to know about this amazing program and to make an impact in the lives of families. This message will not self-destruct after you’ve read it, but it’s still pretty important. ACCEPT YOUR MISSION, AND WE’LL SEE YOU AT HOST WEEK! Soup Sale- the youth group is having a soup sale going on from now until the Feb. 15th. Please see one of the youth to order your soup. Also if you would like to help us out even more, we are opening up the selling of the soup to everyone in the church. So if you would like to sell soup please see Amanda. Pretzel Sunday and Service Project February 22, 2015 9:45 a.m. Trip to Washington D.C. on Saturday, April 25th. St. Paul people are taking a bus trip to D.C. to the National Mall. First stop will be the National Gallery of Art to view and learn about the pieces focused on in our Lenten Wednesday evening services. There will be time to do your own exploring. The bus departs New Cumberland at 8:00 a.m. and leaves the Mall at 5:00 p.m. There will be a bus stop in Thurmont for dinner. The costs for the bus is $32 per person. To sign up see Tom Melnichak or you can sign up on the hall bulletin board. Please remember our members who aren’t able to make it to St. Paul often or at all. Evelyn Hess Harolld Stahle Cordella Felder Suzie Hill Grace Smith Bob Folk Jack Robison Ruth Fite Ida Mae Greeley The Messenger 2 Doris Cavanaugh Pat Snyder Lent Season “Windows of the Word” Wednesday Evenings, February 25-March 25 Dinner at 6:00 p.m.; Worship at 6:45-7:20 p.m. “Windows of the Word” is the theme for Wednesday evenings in Lent at St. Paul. Each week a featured work of art from the National Gallery in Washington D.C., will be projected on the screen so all can see. The art will serve as one window through which we meditate and “see” a story from scripture, sing and pray around the cross. Through these windows of art, scripture, prayer and music, we can see more clearly the good news of God’s grace for us. Added bonus: A bus trip on Saturday, April 25, will take us to the National Gallery of Art in D.C. where Dave Kutz will be our guide to see the featured art of “Windows of the Word.” He will point out techniques the artists used to tell the scripture story—things we might not notice on our own. There will also be time to visit other museums and monuments on the Mall that day. Check your bulletin for details. “Five Covenants of God“ Sunday Worship during Lent 8:15 and 11:00 a.m. This year, the Sundays in Lent lead us to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew scriptures and to use them as windows through which to view baptism. First Sunday in Lent, February 22: The covenant to save through the waters Second Sunday of Lent, March 1: The covenant to bring life to many. Third Sunday of Lent, March 8: The covenant gift of law to those freed from slavery. Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 15: The covenant that those who look on the bronze serpent will live. Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 22: The covenant where all people will know God by heart The Messenger 2 February 18 Worship Service at 9:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday Worship Assistants Greeter Lector Communion Assistant Acolyte Communion Clean Up Communion Set Up Communion Bread Paraments Linens Head Usher Volunteer Dave Kutz Sue Smith Volunteer Worship & Music Nancy Ambrose Nancy Ambrose Jim Fulkroad JoAnn Painter Earl Guise Financial Status Operating Account As of December 30, 2014 Revenue Current, Building, Plate Elements of Service Special Envelope Giving Various/Outreach/Projects Roof Repair Donations TOTAL INCOME $ 20,539.35 212.00 6,350.10 729.00 1,225.00 $ 29,055.45 Expense Staff Salaries, Wages, Benefits $ 7,948.06 Physical Plant 7,404.85 Committee 101.98 Benevolence 2,425.75 Parish Administration 3,021.99 TOTAL EXPENSE $ 20,902.63 The Messenger 2 Thank You Dear St. Pauls, on behalf of the Ecumenical Food Pantry, and those who benefit by your generosity, I would like to thank you for your generous contribution of 784 bags of candy and 5 bags of food we received in Dec. 2014. Jacqueline Young, Corresponding Secretary A huge thank you to everyone at St. Paul's for their outpouring of love this Holiday season. The children at Hansel & Gretel were so thrilled to receive their Christmas bags this year! I only wish you could see the appreciation reflected in the eyes of their parents as they receive the bags. One mother commented that she especially appreciates receiving the bags each year because the presents are wrapped. She said with them coming already wrapped, she doesn't know what to expect inside the wrappings any more than her child does! She said it makes it fun for everyone! To all who participated in this project ~ THANK YOU for your generous giving!!! Laura Grill, Director Hansel & Gretel Early Learning Center Ash Wednesday February 18th Worship Service at 9:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Dinner at 6:00 p.m. Lenten Dinners ~ Fellowship Hall, beginning on Ash Wednesday 6:00 p.m. Lenten Evening Worship ~ “Windows of the Word” 6:45 p.m. New Cumberland Ministerium Lenten Lunches Beyond Question The Kitchen Bag Project was once again a success. We distributed 200 bags to the following charities: The Bridge Head Start Program H.E.L.P. and La Casa (House of Friendship) Hansel and Gretel Thanks to Karen Worley for sewing the bag and to all who helped fill the bags and wrap all the gifts. A special thanks for all the monetary gifts you have to support our Hillside family. Below is a list of what we spent this: Dollar Tree $755.00 Doctor Day $ 58.56 Total $813.56 Wednesdays at Noon; Cost $4 Baughman United Methodist Church Feb. 18, Ash Wed. ~ Baughman United Methodist Church Feb. 25, 2nd Wed. ~ St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church March 4, 3rd Wed. ~ Faith UCC lunch; Pastor Marcy Nicholas, Community U.M., devotions March 11, 4th Wed. ~ St. Theresa’s March 18, 5th Wed. ~ New Cumberland Church of God March 25, 6th Wed. ~ Trinity United Methodist Please call the church office the Monday before, if you plan to attend. Services April 3, Good Friday - Noon Service ~ Church of the Nazarene April 5, Easter - Sunrise Service ~ Alliance Church at New Cumberland Borough Park The mitten tree was also a success. A total of 12 scarves, 61 gloves and 56 hats went to different charities. Thank you for your generosity, Kitchen Committee The Messenger 2 The Messenger 2 Announcements Happy Birthday We welcome through Holy Baptism Mia Alyana Shipley and Avery Murdock Urban on January 11th. The parish house is going green! God has given us a beautiful creation of which we are called to be stewards, so St. Paul's staff and Ventures team are finding small ways we can protect the earth's natural resources. We will be diligent about recycling the paper, plastic and cans that we use. We will be taking used batteries from microphones to proper disposal sites. And a generous donor is replacing the parish house light bulbs with LED lights. Is there anything you can start doing to care better for God's creation? Give your idea of what you will be doing to a Ventures team member or put a note in Pastor's mailbox. The people on our Ventures team are: Gene McCreary, JoAnn Painter, Diane Cline, Bob Cline, Randy Zangari, Mark Rothermel, Pastor Dent . Trip to Washington D.C. on Saturday, April 25th. St. Paul people are taking a bus trip to D.C. to the National Mall. First stop will be the National Gallery of Art to view and learn about the pieces focused on in our Lenten Wednesday evening services. There will be time to do your own exploring. The bus departs New Cumberland at 8:00 a.m. and leaves the Mall at 5:00 p.m. There will be a bus stop in Thurmont for dinner. The costs for the bus is $32 per person. To sign up see Tom Melnichak. Flower/Bulletin/Candle Dedications: The 2015 sign-up sheets are posted on the bulletin board. Please reserve your date by signing up or by contacting the church office. Offering Envelopes for 2015 are in the north hallway ready to be picked up. From the Quilters: Please remember the quilters if you have fabric remnants at least 7” wide, sheets, curtains, or blankets or mattress pads that are not too heavy. We cannot use clothing. The guidelines ask us to make the quilts warm enough to sleep outside on a Pennsylvania October night, and one of our biggest challenges is finding filler material to provide warmth. If you can join us on Tuesday mornings, even for an hour, or can cut or sew at home, it will help us to continue this project, which started more than 40 years ago. Lutheran Camping Corporation ~ Winter Fun Day, Feb. 8th. Bible Study Wittel Farm, Feb. 11th. Lenten Day Apart at the Wittel Farm, Feb. 21st. For more information visit www.lutherancamping.org/events/ Church office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Messenger 2 Harlan Layman Bruce Parthemore Edward Morrow 2/1 2/1 2/3 Margaret Warmkessel 2/6 Ryan Grill 2/8 Heather Yoder 2/10 Dana Harbold 2/11 Charles Intrieri, Jr. 2/11 Judith Zeiders 2/12 Yvonne Sultzaberger 2/12 Riley Petroff 2/16 Megan Dapp 2/17 Herman Hanemann 2/17 Chole Casselberry 2/19 Christine Dapp 2/20 Patricia Rowe 2/21 Ryan Rowe Dane Harbold Janeen LaFaver Jennifer Shuey Ruth Fite Carl Helstrom, Jr. Deborah Schmelzie 2/22 2/23 2/23 2/24 2/26 2/28 2/28 FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEERS Join The Tuesday Bible Study/lunch group At 12:00 p.m. February Sondra Parthemore, Judy Kleinfelter Carole Nace, Bill & Kathy Shindel March John Young, Joan Ruth, Mary Jane & Hank Guise, Bob Cline KITCHEN COMMITTEE February Kathy Shindel March Bonnie Urban We will be discussing Exodus and the story of Moses. TOPS Take Off Pounds Sensibly TOPS is a non-profit, international weight loss and management support group. Come join us in the Fellowship Hall on Wednesday evenings. Weigh-ins are from 6 to 7 p.m.; the meeting is from 7-8 p.m. Contact Pat Osenbach at [email protected] or 774-6633. Food Pantry Item of the Month February March Peanut Butter Canned Soup The Messenger 2 April Jello and Pudding
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