May 2021 News
May 2021 Newsletter
Pastor’s Message
“I have too many faults to be perfect, but I have too many blessings to be ungrateful” ~unknown author
Spring is coming, in some ways it’s here in abundance, in other ways we are still waiting. It has been good to see some folks return to in person worship and activities, and we look forward to seeing many more of you when you are ready and able to return in person. We are cautiously getting back to certain activities at church, like VBS being set up, and our annual congregational meeting, which will have a few components to it (budget/financial presentation, steeple proposal, and Vision Committee report). This will happen on May 23rd, I hope you will be able to join us. The vision committee presentation will bring everyone up to speed as to the work that is being done with the conference empowerment team program that we have agreed to take part in. We are going to present a purpose statement for the church that we hope everyone will learn and share with others in our community when you express what Dreisbach is about and means to you. We will present this statement and then open some conversation and reflection in the weeks to come before affirming something as a congregation sometime in the fall. Very grateful for the committees work during this time to help us move forward out of this pandemic time to an opportunity of growth and new life for our church ministries and relationships.
The Central Association is sponsoring an outdoor ministries opportunity for our churches in the area at Camp Mt. Luther this August. It is our hope to keep the spirit of Hartman Center alive and well in this experience of camp ministry and community. There are options for all age groups and options for a couple of days, or participating in a day camp experience, or the whole weeklong experience. There is more info available by reaching out to me or Kara. The camp of the heart will be part of the camps that are being offered and this is a camp that is a blessing and quite the experience. The dates are August 8th – 14th.
We give thanks for the generous gift of a storage unit full of fabric to the church by Marianne Beney. Marianne connected with me about donating thousands of dollars of material to the church in hopes that it would be used and shared with ministries that need fabric to operate, like quilters, blanket makers, scout groups, and countless other important outreach groups. We made it known to many places locally and regionally about the free fabric and we have shared this blessing with scout groups, close to 10 churches, other ministries like a school kit operations (the backpack that everything is sent in), the Linus ministry, and many other creative ideas. Fabric can be an expensive purchase and this gift has been greatly appreciated and welcomed in this time. Any financial donations that were given are being passed on to the Dreisbach Mission Funds for later distribution.
Blessings and Prayers for the journey,
Pastor Nate
Worship Schedule this month:
May 2nd - (Theme of Week: Abiding in Love) 5th Sunday of Easter. Acts 8: 26-40; 1st John 4: 7-21; John 15: 1-8. First Sunday Zoom Fellowship Time
May 9th – (ToW: Friends Together) 6th Sunday of Easter & Happy Mother’s Day. Acts 10: 44-48; 1st John 5:1-6; John 15: 9-17.
May 16th – (ToW: Guided in Prayer) 7th Sunday of Easter. We celebrate the baptism of Kamryn Mensch, child of Daren and Chelsea. Acts 1: 15-17, 21-26; 1st John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19.
May 23rd - (ToW: Spirit For All) Pentecost Sunday and Annual Congregational Meeting following worship. Ezekiel 37: 1-14; Romans 8: 22-27; John 15: 26-27, 16: 4b-15.
May 30th – (ToW: Mysterious Encounter) Trinity Sunday & Memorial . Isaiah 6: 1-8; Romans 8: 12-17;
John 3:1-17.
Look Further Ahead
June 6th - (ToW: God Will) Celebrate Communion. 1st Samuel 8:4-20; 2nd Corinthians 4:13- 5:1; Mark 3:20-35.
June 13th - (ToW: Flourishing) Celebrating our Graduates. 1st Samuel 15:34 - 16:13; 2nd Corinthians 5:6-17; Mark 4: 26-34.
Congregational Meeting – May 23
A meeting of the congregation will be held immediately after the worship service on Sunday May 23. We will review the 2021 budget and a report from the Vision Committee. The main part of the meeting will be to approve the bell tower proposal. The meeting will not be shown on Facebook Live or You Tube. The church by-laws require that active members must be present to cast a vote.
Bell Tower Proposal
On March 5 the property committee and several members of the consistory meet with Todd Ross and Steve Fogel of T Ross Brothers Construction. The purpose was to look at the water leaks from the tower down into the west vestibule.
The proposal calls for the removal of the steeple, replacement of the tower roof, the cleaning, painting, and sealing of the dryvik , which is the white stucco area that now covers the windows. The steeple will be cleaned, repainted and put back on the new roof. Numerous other modifications will be made within the tower and are covered in detail in the proposal.
The proposal is for $ 24,284. Since most construction projects have unforeseen problems and expenses not covered in a contract the property committee recommended to consistory that the amount should be bumped up to $ 35,000 but not to exceed that amount. Consistory approved the recommendation of the property committee. There is currently $ 14,597. in the endowment fund earmarked for this project. Funds left over from the parking lot paving donation are $ 9,744 and $ 4,853 was gifted from PMF from Williamsport. There is currently in excess of $ 350,000 in the endowment fund.
Copies of the proposal will be available on the back table in the sanctuary or you can call Scott Sanders, consistory president at 570-898-1506 and he will email or mail a copy to you prior to the meeting.
2021 Graduates
If you or a member of your family will be graduating this year please contact Pam Pfirman (pam_adminsec@dreisbachucc.org, 570-898-9774). We plan to honor our graduates during worship service on June 13th. Additionally, because we are unable to hold our traditional reception for the graduates we would like to instead present a slide show of our graduates. Please send (text, email) us a few photos of your graduate over the years that we can share with our congregation! Thank you
Attention Youth – MACY event
There is a MACY youth event in the afternoon on May 16th at Camp Krislund in Madisonburg! We will be ziplining and playing black light dodgeball! Exact time of departure will be shared soon. If interested, contact Kristy or Tim!"