Garden Spot townlively.com
JULY 19, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LIX • NO 30
City Gate is an answer to prayer BY ANN MEAD ASH
e don’t pursue places to go,” said Kim Zimmerman, who founded City Gate in 2007 with her husband, Brian. “We told God wherever He provides the building we will go.” That modus operandi first led the Zimmermans to rent a basement in a former Lancaster hotel where they began meeting with the homeless community each Friday night. Following God’s lead, City Gate has since opened additional locations in Lititz, Columbia, and Ephrata. Opening the New Holland location happened quickly, according to Kim. After the owner of 117 E. Main St., New Holland, contacted her on a Tuesday in late February, Zimmeran reached out via Facebook asking if anybody would be interested in partnering with the organization. “By Friday, we had a team,” Kim recalled. “ We had financing committed, and we signed a lease that weekend.” By March, the
“W
ministry was paying rent on the property, and by April 1, City Gate - New Holland had opened. As the New Holland location was preparing to open, Kim heard from leaders in local churches and ministries who said they had been praying for a City Gate to come to the area.
“It feels like equal parts worship, prayer, and community. People are hungry for community.” Originally, the Zimmermans focused on prayer and service for the Lancaster City Gate location, and Janelle Weaver, who will provide leadership at the New Holland outreach, plans to do the same. She is starting with a Thursday evening praise and worship event called Fill My Cup Café, which will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. “There’s a light meal with it,” said Weaver, who noted that for the summer,
that will probably be pizza. “Come down. Have a slice of pizza and listen to a song,” she invited. “If you need prayer, we’ll do that.” Weaver added that services may include a short devotional. “It feels like equal parts worship, prayer, and community,” she said, adding, “People are hungry for community.” Weaver had visited the Ephrata City Gate in the past, and when she heard a New Holland location would open, she dove in. “This is an opportunity in my backyard with my neighbors,” she said. “ We (already) minister to a lot of people who live close by.” The organization is looking to work with local individuals, businesses, churches, and ministries. “We don’t try to reinvent (what another group in the community is already doing),” Kim explained. “We do what we are called to do, and we partner.” So far, City Gate is building relationships with CrossNet Ministries and working with a church that only rents space for Sunday services and is looking for a place to meet during See City Gate pg 3
GDN
Full STEAM ahead with ELANCO Library kits BY ANN MEAD ASH
Anna D’Agostino (left) and Jen Watson display some of the many kits the ELANCO Library has available for local patrons to borrow.
“It’s not just about books at the library,” said Jen Watson, assistant director and youth services coordinator, with the ELANCO Library, located at 11 Chestnut Drive, New Holland. Watson noted that items to aid all learning styles are available for children and adults at the library. Recently added
Playing and learning in the park BY ANN MEAD ASH
The first Community Action Partnership (CAP) of Lancaster’s first Thrive to Five Home Visiting Park Play Date began at 9 a.m. on June 30 in the Reamstown Memorial Park, and by 9:10 a.m., bubbles filled the air as nearly 10 children and their caregivers were engaged in educational play. “It’s for the whole family,” said Ocean Smith, family engagement specialist with CAP and CrossNet Ministries in New Holland. “The little and the
big (children) are learning, and the adults are too.” In addition to the Reamstown session, a playdate was held at Long’s Park Kids Place on July 7, and two upcoming dates are scheduled for Friday, July 28, and Friday, Aug. 18, at Daniel’s Den Playground, 530 Central Manor Road, Lancaster. Registration to attend a Park Play Date is encouraged. Parents may register at https:// bit.ly/TTFHVPPlaydates23. “The Park Play series is a continued learning connection for the families over the summer,” said Smith, who
See ELANCO Library pg 2 GELT BUS SCHEDULE M Brandywine Shoe Shop Honey Brook, 9a-5p
THE BANK THAT COMES TO YOU
Kim Zimmerman (left) and Janelle Weaver are excited about the new City Gate location in New Holland.
See Thrive to Five pg 4 www.bihbank.com Nolt’s Greenhouse Supply
717-768-8811
Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
Ephrata, 9a-5p
T Noble Road Milking
Oxford Produce Auction
Valley View Hardware
John M Hess Auction
Kirkwood, 9a-5p
Oxford, 8a-12p Apr-Nov
Lincoln Univ, 12:30p-5p Apr-Nov
Manheim, 9a-5p
W Sunrise Green House
Beiler’s Sawmill
Vibrant Church (parking lot)
Reifsnyder’s Ag Center
Peach Bottom, 9a-11:30a
Quarryville, 12p-5p
Terre Hill, 9a-5p
Bernville, 9a-4p
TH Dutch-Way Market
Green Tree Hardware
Meadowcreek BBQ Supply
Gap, 9a-12p
Quarryville, 12:30p-5p
New Holland, 9a-5p
F RH Rohrer and Sons
Oxford Produce Auction
Valley View Hardware
Reifsnyder’s Ag Center
Quarryville, 9a-5p
Oxford, 9a-5p Dec-Mar
Lincoln Univ, 12:30p-5p Dec-Mar
Bernville, 9a-4p
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