September 2020 News
September 2020 Newsletter
Pastor’s Message
The amazingly disruptive and troublesome year of 2020 continues to layout more and more events of chaos and destruction, both from nature and from humankind itself. From earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires; to shootings, marches, and political campaigns; there are a lot of hurting and struggling folks in our communities. How will we respond as people of faith? How will we respond as followers of Christ? Our response to these times will tell our story of what we stand for and what we believe. What will we tell our future generations when they ask about the events of 2020?? I believe this year will be a turning point in whatever is next for our world, for our country, and our local communities. Our actions need to be led by our beliefs, our morals, and our values.
It is a difficult time to be the church as we are separated physically and unable to gather and converse and talk about many of the issues that are overwhelming our communities and our world. There are actions that we must be willing to take and ways that we are able to build connections, bridges of compassion, and love for our neighbors. There is still much that is uncertain in the area of the school structure in the ways students will attend their classes and curriculum. Many jobs in our area are not back to fulltime employment, causing financial concerns for many families. The food needs of many families around us continue to grow and be prevalent. How can we answer those needs moving forward? We invite members of Dreisbach to be part of making plans to meet those needs, and also help us envision ideas to make a meaningful difference.
We are still inviting everyone to read: Be the Bridge: Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison. This is important work for us all to be undertaking as we stretch and grow in the reality of God’s world. May we seek to understand and learn the perspectives and reality that some of our siblings of different races and cultures live with. This is a responsibility and necessity for us to undertake individually and collectively as part of God’s diverse world.
There is work to be done, prayers, to be offered, conversations to be shared by us all. The words of a song that was part of our August 23rd worship: “we all bleed the same, we’re more beautiful when we come together, we all bleed the same, so tell me why we’re so divided?” (We All Bleed the Same, Mandisa). What are we willing to fight for? May we be led by the love, grace, and mercy we have received from God above.
Blessings and Prayers for the journey,
Pastor Nate
Worship Schedule this month:
September 6th – (Theme of Week: Remember, Restore, Renew) Exodus 12: 1-14; Romans 13: 8-14; Matthew 18: 15-20. Labor Day Weekend.
September 13th – (ToW: Road to Freedom) Exodus 14:19-31; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35.
September 20th – (ToW: Tensions in the Wilderness) Exodus 16:2-15; Philippians 1:21-30; Matthew 20:1-16.
September 27th - (ToW: God’s Sustaining Presence) Exodus 17:1-7; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32.
Look Further Ahead
October - (ToW: Wisdom for the Way) Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21: 33-46. Collection of Neighbors in Need Offering and Worldwide Communion Sunday.
Funeral Coordinator
Consistory is looking for someone to act as a coordinator for funerals held at the church. The duties would include: Opening up the church, turning on the lights, making sure the heat or air is operating correctly, directing the family and attendees to the location of restrooms and nursery, placing the “slow down” pylons by the highway, closing down the building after the funeral, and rearranging everything back to its usual spot for Sunday service.
This needs to be a person that is available mostly weekday mornings. It you are interested in helping the church in this manner then please call consistory president Scott Sanders at 570-898-1506.
Altar Flowers
At their August meeting Consistory moved to suspend the use of live flowers in the altar vases and use only the seasonal silk arrangements designed by Barb Zeller. This is due to the smaller attendance each Sunday during the pandemic.
You can still place a live floral arrangement on the altar to commemorate a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary. It will be your responsibility though to order and pay for the arrangement and bring it to the church for the Sunday service and then take it home. This way you can use the florist of your choice with the design and cost to suit you.
Please call, text or email Pam Pfirman (pam_adminsec@dreisbachucc.org), the church secretary two weeks in advance so that she can include your special occasion in the bulletin
Thank You
Dale and Linda Ruhl would like to thank everyone in our congregation who sent notes and messages of condolences as they have felt great loss over the last year. Linda has recently lost her sisters, her parents, and the loss of Dale’s mom. These are certainly challenging times and they are grateful for the church communities support.
Parking Lot
Thank you to the anonymous donor for paying for the recent paving project. On behalf of the consistory and the entire congregation of Dreisbach we offer a sincere Thank You for your generous donation. The parking lot was really starting to break up with lots of grass and weeds growing in the cracks.
Due to delays caused by the pandemic the project took longer than expected to finally get started. Then the start date kept changing by the contractor. But now Dreisbach has a beautiful parking area again that should last for many, many years. Again, thank you for your generosity. The property committee will be adding topsoil to the edges to blend in with the lawn.
Attention Graduates
We would like to offer a special thank you to Valerie Hulme for the gifts she purchased for our 2020 graduates. Unfortunately, amidst all of the changes and COVID-19 restrictions that we were adapting to on our 1st Sunday back in the sanctuary we overlooked distributing these to the graduates. Graduates please check with Pastor Nate or Pam and they will get them to you. Our sincerest apologies for our mistake.
Collection of Used Children’s Books
Looking for a home for your unwanted children’s books? Sarah Hackenberg is looking for donations of like-new or gently-used kids’ books. They will be given to students and teachers in the Harrisburg School District or other community organizations. Please drop off any suitable books at Dreisbach in the tote marked Children’s Books which will be placed outside by the elevator. For large quantities, please contact Sarah directly by email at hackenberg819@gmail.com
Calendar
A digital calendar of Dreisbach’s activities is now available on the website. You will find it under the events tab. Please contact Pam Pfirman (pam_adminsec@dreisbachucc.org) to add your committee/group meetings to the calendar. A printed copy of the calendar will be included with the newsletter each month.