Warren Lindermann, sang Bless This House. The address was given by the Rev. Ira Reed, Pastor of the Derry Presbyterian Church and Moderator of the Carlisle Presbytery.
The next day, Rose Levonian began her tenure as the new Director of Boyd Memorial Center. Born of Armenian parents in Aleppo, Syria, Rose came to the United States as a preschooler and resided in Watertown, Massachusetts. She graduated from Springfield College and, prior to coming to the Boyd Center, worked for the YMCA in Boston and in Joliet, Illinois.
The following are excerpts from the printed program of the re-dedication describing the new Boyd program:
The Seventeenth Step Coffee House Ministry: In keeping with the contemporary desire of young adults to talk over their ideas in open and free dialogue, a coffee house will occupy a portion of the downstairs area of Boyd. Open several nights each week, the coffee house will be a place where stags or couples may come and spend leisurely hours together. Here art may be displayed, folk songs sung, debates begun and arguments settled. Here doubts can be aired without fear of social stigma or reprisal. [The name was derived from the sixteen steps leading down to the floor of the coffee house, hence, The Seventeenth Step. In the first two and one-half years of its operation, over 3,000 young people registered with the staff.]
Senior Citizen Programs: Interesting programs to enjoy and challenging things to do will be combined with counseling for people in search of help no matter what the problem may be. The program will provide nutritional information and occasional food for seniors who need assistance. A noontime meal will be offered on Mondays. Senior volunteers will assist in preparing meals for distribution through the Meals-On-Wheels program.
Youth Opportunities: The program is designed to provide the youth of Pine Street Church and the community with opportunities for recreation, leadership development, and service. Camp Understanding, an inter-racial, inter-ethnic, inter-faith experience for 8–11-year-old boys and girls will promote understanding in children of different backgrounds.
Lay Academy of Applied Christianity: A forum for social and professional groups in the community. How does the harried businessman or woman or the highly-trained professional person relate the Christian faith to the technological society of the Twentieth Century? Seminars, lectures, and discussion groups will search for the answer.
An Open Door to the Community: God has given us this magnificent new building, not to keep to ourselves, but to share with others. Meeting rooms for community groups will be accommodated as space and time permit.
The new Boyd program served many young people and adults from the late 1960’s through the next decade of the 1970’s and into the early 1980’s when changes would again occur. Our next issue of Pine Street Life will highlight the three beautiful mosaic art panels from the 1967 renovation.
- Kenneth C. Hays
Celebrating Mission and Recognizing God’s Servants
May 17, 2017
For over 16 years Pine Street has supported our members, Eric and Becky Hinderliter, in their service as Mission Co-workers and teachers at LCC International University (formerly Lithuania Christian College). Becky and Eric have now concluded their teaching roles and said farewell to their many students, friends, and colleagues. On May 17 at 7:30 p.m. we will both recognize them and also celebrate the great mission to which Christ has called his church. Our guest preacher for the evening will be the Rev. Jennifer McKenna, Associate Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Following worship, we will have a grand reception in the Fellowship Hall. The South Street Parking Garage will be open that evening.
Becky and Eric have asked that any gifts in their honor should be directed to the support of the mission at LCC International University to train new generations of Christian leaders throughout the former Soviet Union. You may send your financial contribution to Presbyterian World Mission, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Annotate your check in the remarks section, DMS Account #E200361.
- Dr. Russell Sullivan, Pastor
Year-End Thanks to Church School Staff
Pine Street’s Church School is blessed with an excellent teaching staff. Devona Van Nest has taught our youngest preschool children for several years, and Lisa Millitecs instructs those of elementary school age. Our youth have been led by Leslie and John Luciew along with Michael Brittain. Thanks are also extended to Lisa Milletics, Jennifer Garman, Austin Milletics, and Sydney Brittain for supervising and assisting with the children’s Wonder of Worship (WOW) during the 10 a.m. service.
Thank You Corner
Thank you Betty Rader for all you do for Pine Street. Your many gifts are too numerous to list. Thank you Barb Neff, Alan Schreuer, Gwen Schreuer, Keith Perago, Milica Knepp, Jane McCutcheon, Bob McCutcheon, Mike Putt, Jim Anderson, Shirley Dennis, and Audrey Bell for making our sanctuary look beautiful for Easter Sunday.
Thank you Jackie Young, Carolyn Humphrey, Ruby Fumey, Jesse Weigel, Judy Himes, Jay Himes, Jane Hess, Jay Stahl, Linda McKillop, Sarah Pearce, Elyse Rogers, Beth Alwine, Bob Kerr, Norriene Koozer, Anna Hall, and Alicelyn Sleber, members of our dedicated communion preparation team.
Thank you to Milica Knepp and Betty Rader for cleaning the communion preparation room.
Thank you to Laura Messner and Sarah Pearce for implementing and running the DDB Angel program.
Thank you to Lisa Millitecs, Jen Garman, Barb Neff, and Chantal Atnip for helping lead the Church School Singers.
Thank you Xavia Sheffield for baking and preparing the Easter communion bread.
If you have someone to “nominate” for a thank you in a future edition, please contact Anne Guenin at aguenin@pinestreet.org.
Notes from the Women’s Retreat
I was the second woman to sign up for the Women's Retreat this year. I have been attending for many years since coming to Pine Street in 1985. The Women’s Retreat answers my need to be in community with women. It is a time to renew my spirit and sense of self with other women who are also seeking renewal of self and spirit.
This year's retreat was led by Debby Madden, the Christian Education Director at First Presbyterian Church in Carlisle. The subject matter was “A Peek at the Parables through Children's Literature.” Debby took us on a journey through four parables. We read a parable, discovered the background of the time in which it was set and what the characters knew that we did not, and then put ourselves in the character's place to see his point of view. Then we read the parable again, followed by a reading of a children's story that illustrated it. Beth Alwine gave a delightful reading of Dr. Seuss' Yertle the Turtle. It was a weekend filled with friendship, food, study, laughter, food, games, puzzles, food, painting with Lisa Milletics, chair yoga with Kate Loyd from Gold's Gym, food, massage with Candace, worship, and communion. Did I mention food? It was terrific. The camp staff was wonderful, friendly, and accommodating. An ice storm was to come in late Friday night and the staff stayed so we campers would have breakfast on Saturday. As it turned out, there was no ice, but instead, a half inch of snow on every tree and every branch, turning the woods into a wonderland. The view from the windows was breathtaking.
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Thank you to Debby Madden for her insight to the parables and making it fun. Thank you to the committee for their hard work to make the weekend a success.
To those who could not attend: COME NEXT YEAR!! My spirit and self have truly been renewed. - Marna Holt
Downtown Daily Bread
A New Program – Workshops for Living
On April 18, session approved the formation of a new program for Downtown Daily Bread called Workshops for Living (Daily Lessons in Essential Life Skills). Operated by Tri-County OIC, this new program will include life skills classes designed as a series of workshops for the clients of Downtown Daily Bread. The purpose of the classes is to improve the ability of clients to use technology to access information and services, to develop employability skills, and to improve basic literacy in reading, writing, and math. The workshops will be taught by certified instructors using both traditional and computer-assisted instruction.
Classes will be held four days a week for two hours in the afternoon. The classes have been designed based on the results of a survey of Downtown Daily Bread clients. It is hoped that the workshops will begin in the summer months.
The following workshops will be offered:
Life Skills (budgeting, daily planning time management, interpersonal skills)
Using Technology to Access Information (finding services on-line)
Community Resources (where to go for help)
Basic Literacy Skills (reading, writing, math)
New Member and Baptisms
- Anne Guenin
On April 9, 2017, Paula Ruby Asimenu was confirmed as a new member. In the same service, Edwin James and Jackson Warne Summers, born November 14, 2016, to Benjamin and Christine Summers, received the sacrament of baptism.
Marcie Morrison
A Pine Street VIP
Martha Bailey Gross Morrison, known to friends as Marcie, is one of those V.I.P.’s (Very Important Presbyterians) whom our Deacons take care of so well. Having turned 91 years-of-age recently, Marcie retains a keen memory, sense of humor, and respect for her heritage in Harrisburg and at Pine Street Church. She is the daughter of Brigadier General Henry McCormick Gross (who served in World War I) and Elizabeth Bailey Gross. Her relative, Vance McCormick, was a treaty negotiator for President Woodrow Wilson.
Marcie has early memories from Pine Street:
At the age of three, she attended church, snuggling against her mother’s foxtail fur during Dr. Waldo Cherry’s “quite long” sermons.
A bit older, she remembers the Deacons marching down the aisle in their morning coats and striped pants, sounding like an army. She noted one of them vigorously chewing gum!
She sat in Sunday School on small Windsor chairs, two of which now grace her living room, painted bright red. She purchased them during renovations, and her children later used them, grocery cart style, to learn to ice skate.
She played ping-pong with Dr. Ralston Smith and other teenagers in the church basement and helped make cookies in the manse on Second Street.
She was assistant Sunday School Superintendent to Ernie Shaw, and remembers the orchestra which played for opening ceremonies
She team-taught Sunday School for 4th, 5th, and 6th grades with Bill Bauer, Margaret Mielke, and John Jewett.
She served one term as an early woman Elder and “many” terms as Trustee.
Marcie chose her major, physics, at Bryn Mawr College, because “physics clearly answers the questions, Why? and How?”
Marcie has four children, eight grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. Sadly, her husband George died in 1983 at the young age of 61 years. Now homebound by illness, she is unpretentious, optimistic, and cheerful with her caregivers, she loves a good chat, and also appreciates notes sent to her home at 430 Fishing Creek Valley Road, Harrisburg 17112. Bless you, Marcie! - Barb Taylor
Pine Street Life Summer Schedule
The June, July, and August editions of Pine Street Life will only consist of the daily lectionary. They will be e-mailed to the congregation each month and printed copies will be available at the Welcome Center. You will receive your next full edition in mid-August. Contact the church office if you have any questions.
Office Hours and Parking
Beginning immediately, the church building will be closing at noon on Fridays. If you need to visit, please remember to schedule a time in advance for Monday-Thursday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. or 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Fridays. Do not assume there is a parking spot available in the staff parking lot. Please call the church office for availability.
Pine Street Presbyterian Church
310 N. Third Street POSTAGE PAID Harrisburg, PA 17101 AT HARRISBURG, PA 17105
