Bagels & Belief
February 3
Human Trafficking: The Modern Slave Trade
Pastor Lang
March 3
Why Evolution Won’t Go Away
Dr. Ted Davis
April 7
The Culture of Disbelief
Dr. Ted Davis
May 5
It’s the Economy (again), Stupid!
Pastor Sullivan
June 2
Is it the End of Marriage as We Know It?
Pastor Sullivan
All forums are held at 9:40 am in Fellowship Hall
LENT
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and religious devotion, and by fasting and abstinence from all things that tend to draw our hearts from God. The purpose of Lent then is to deepen the religious life, to purify the heart, and to unite us more closely to Christ.
Fasting? Isn’t that a superstitious practice? Not at all! Jesus and his disciples fasted. (Matthew 6:17) Fasting reveals the things that control and dominate our minds. We cover up those things with food, activity, and busyness, but in fasting these things come to the surface. The main point of fasting is a voluntary denial of an otherwise normal function for the sake of intense spiritual activity. By fasting, we create a space in our hearts and minds for God to occupy. Imagine giving up talk shows, especially the political chatter? Try avoiding the television, radio, the internet, newspaper, anything that interrupts our concentration. That gives us the opportunity to re-focus on the things of God and fill the emptiness fasting creates with prayer.
What are some other practices in Lent? Plan to worship on Ash Wednesday, every Sunday, and Good Friday. Read your Bible more. A good idea is to read through an entire Gospel, such as Luke, which is featured in the Sunday lectionary for Lent this year. Pray more. Read books of a spiritual nature. Find a person from whom you are estranged and seek reconciliation. Exercise more, and pay attention to your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. And practice some solitude. The Adult Education and Spiritual Formation Committee will also offer in-home, small group studies for all who are interested.
As your pastor, I look forward to our journey together in Lent towards Cross and Resurrection. Have a blessed and meaningful Lent!
Session Notes for January
Heard the report of Cheryl Goode on jump in Wonder of Worship participation.
Noted the hiring of Elizabeth Anderson to complete the Choir Quartet.
Elected Elders Alwine and Poorman as Commissioners to February 26, 2013 Presbytery.
Initiated planning for a Session Retreat in 2013.
The choir is back after their post-Christmas break and it’s a great time to come and join the group. All you need is a good singng voice and the willingness to give your time and talent to this ministry. Rehearsals are Thursday evenings 7:30 – 9:45. Child care is provided. If you wish to join, please speak to Tom Clark-Jones so he can set aside some music for you. We’re please to welcome new members to our choir, and hopeyou will consider this ministry. Besides. . .we have a lot of fun, too!
Mission Lab is an opportunity for you to help our church grow and flourish. Have you ever wanted to invite somebody to church, but didn’t know how or what to say? Mission Lab can provide you with the tools you need to initiate the type of relationships that will also open doors to discipleship. Mission Lab was created by Dan and Alison Siewert, pastors for the New Church Development in Harrisburg. Mission Lab runs for three Saturdays (March 9th, April 6th, and May 4th) from 8:45am –12:45pm and if we can get at least 12 people from our congregation to sign up, Dan and Alison will run Mission Lab at Pine Street. The cost for the three session is $125 and you can sign up at the Welcome Center.
Better Late Than Never
Elaine Strokoff, Executive Director
December 12, 2012
I love receiving cards and letters this time of the year. Yesterday, I received a contribution along with a thank you note from the grandmother of a young man who was raised in northern Pennsylvania. She wanted to thank DDB for “feeding her grandson when he was down on his luck” and for “caring for him” when she could not. The young man’s grandmother referred to his eating at Downtown Daily Bread for three months, receiving clothing, and using DDB lockers and showers. She wrote us that “he is now back on his feet and doing much better.” She sent us her “blessings.”
Another card came from the father of a bi-polar son, “Alan,” who was helped by Downtown Daily Bread. He wanted to thank the counselor who took the time to get to know Alan and to help him receive the mental health counseling he needed. The father told us that Alan “is doing much better, has an apartment, and may go back to school next year.” He ended his note “without you, I don’t know where my son would be sleeping nights.”
One of the most meaningful notes we received came from a DDB client in the form of a poem. It was entitled, “New Beginnings.” The last two stanzas of the poem read as follows:
“It does not take a new year to make a brand new start, it only takes a deep desire to try with all your heart.”
So never give up in despair and think that you are through for there’s always a tomorrow and a chance to start anew.”
A “New Beginning” is something that Downtown Daily Bread would like to offer everyone. In this season of hope, please help us bring hope to the hungry, poor, and homeless of Harrisburg. The men, women and children who come to us depend upon your generosity. Please send your tax deductible donation payable to Downtown Daily Bread to help us feed the hungry for $2 a meal ($10 for 5 meals; $20 for 10 meals, etc.) and to provide our Lunch Plus services to the homeless. DDB sends warm regards to you and yours and warm wishes for a Happy Healthy 2013.
Trustees Notes for December
Concurred with the budget already approved by Session. The planning deficit for 2013 is $23,000.
Noted that the 2013 budget does not include the $75,000 annual investment in to the fund for capital repairs.
Discussed the rusting of the hot water heater in the kitchen, a need for a replacement soon and whether a heating element at each faucet might be a better option.
Love Songs for Valentines
Tickets are on sale at the Welcome Center for the Love Songs for Valentines Broadway and Hollywood Revue to take place on Friday, February 8 at 7:30pm in Fellowship Hall. Join fellow Pine Streeters as we enjoy music from our choir and soloists celebrating Valentines Day and benefitting DDB. Tickets are limited, so get yours early. Great desserts and coffee, plus an evening of great music await your $15 ticket, $10 of which is a donation directly to DDB.
Lenten Food Drive
Don’t give something up this Lent — unless it’s non-perishable items for the Ecumenical Food Pantry!!! Mission committee will again gather food and other items during the Lenten season. A list of needed items will be on the Mission Table in the Gathering Place. Please take a list with you and use it when you are shopping for groceries. Place items on the Mission Table throughout Lent. They will be taken frequently to the Ecumenical Food Pantry.
Giving Tree 2012 Report
Thanks to everyone on the Mission Committee who supported this year’s Giving Tree Project, especially to those on the subcommittee who helped with sign-ups, decorations and collection, AND also to those who delivered gifts to Delta, Promise Place and Community Check-Up Center, AND finally, to those who handed out gifts to DDB clients. Summary of Gifts:
Monetary:
DDB: $435
CCC: $75
HELP:$800
Delta: $100(2 gift cards)
TOTAL: $ 1,410
Items:
Delta: Gifts for 16 individuals/ families
Promise Place: Gifts for 16 individuals
CCC: @ 100 books
DDB: various gifts including 25 gloves, hats and scarves, 120 pairs of socks, over 40 T-shirts, over 70 razors.
We have been serving Fair Trade coffee during coffee hours on Sunday for several years. Many members of Pine Street were not aware of this. Some don’t know what Fair Trade coffee is. Hence this short article. Information was taken from Wikipedia.
“Fair Trade coffee refers to the purchasing of coffee from the growers with better conditions for workers at a higher price than standard coffee. The purpose of fair trade is to promote healthier working conditions and greater economic incentives for producers, since in many parts of the world there are no restrictions or labor standards.
Coffee farmers producing fair trade-certified coffee are required to be part of a ‘co-op (co-operative) with other local growers. The co-ops determine how the premiums from fair trade coffee will be spent. Growers are guaranteed a minimum price for the coffee, and if market prices exceed the minimum, they receive a
premium that is calculated in accordance with every pound produced.
The Fair Trade Certification label allows farmers and farm workers to escape poverty by providing them the skills and the means to compete in the global market of agriculture products. This label assures consumers that strict social, environmental, and economic measures are taken when the production and trade of an agriculture product occurs. Fair Trade standards require that farmers receive fair wholesale prices for their crops.
Using Fair Trade coffee during coffee hour is another mission of Pine Street. It costs a little more than other coffee, but at Session’s approval several years ago we started this practice. If anybody is interested in financially supporting this mission, please make your check payable to Pine Street Church and place ‘Fair Trade’ in the memo section.
LUNCHEON
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The luncheon will be the “kick off” to several events throughout the year to “celebrate and educate” about DDB and its 30 years of progress in serving the needs of the hungry in downtown Harrisburg.
Words from the book of Isaiah offer a strong light onto our path: … if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. - Isaiah 58:10-11
At the luncheon on March 10, Brenda Ervin, DDB Kitchen Manager, will be preparing the main entrée. The Pine Street Congregational Life and Mission Committees will also be lending a hand in the preparation and service of the meal.
DDB is a pivotal part of Pine Street and our faith. It has been, still remains and is an active and essential component of our faith as a positive agent in Harrisburg and in the world. Words found in the epistle of James explain its true significance: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. - James 20:17
For three decades, DDB has provided daily meals at noon time in the Boyd Center. Over the years, its services have grown and diversified to include counseling, showers, job search assistance, lockers, mail and more.
In the beginning, only a handful of local congregations were a part of the effort. During the past three decades, the list of involved groups has grown beyond Pine Street to include:
• Baughman United Methodist Church
• Beth El Temple
• Camp Hill Presbyterian Church
• Cathedral Church of St. Stephens
• Christ Presbyterian Church
• Colonial Park United Church of Christ
• Derry Presbyterian Church
• Ebenezer United Methodist Church
• Faith Presbyterian Church
• Halifax United Methodist Church
• Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church
• Paxton Presbyterian Church
• Perry Valley Presbyterian Church
• Progress Immanuel Presbyterian Church
• Silver Spring Presbyterian Church
• Temple Ohev Sholom
• Trinity United Methodist Church
• Zion Lutheran Church
Please come and join us for lunch on March 10, and invite your friends. There will also be a presentation about DDB and its programs. There is no charge for this lunch, but you are encouraged to make a contribution to Downtown Daily Bread in gratitude and appreciation for its mission in our community. Please sign up at the Welcome Center beginning on Sunday, February 10, 2013.
Let’s Go To A Show!
On February 10, Pine Street is offering tickets to Theatre Harrisburg’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone. This 2006 Tony Award winner pays homage to American musicals of the Jazz Age. It is set in the dngy apartment of Man in Chair who, to cure his sadness, plays a recording of a fictional 1928 musical comedy – The Drowsy Chaparone. As he listens he is transported into the show and his apartment is transformed into an impressive Broadway production filled with zany characters, glitzy costumes, and amazing sets. Tickets are $15.00 and are available in the Gathering Place. A light lunch is also available for $5.00 at Pine Street before the show. Please sign-up for the lunch at the Welcome Center so we know how many to expect.
