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June 2022

News for SSPC families & young adults

There is so much going on at the church this summer! In this sixth issue of the Enlighten newsletter you’ll find many meaningful opportunities for connection and other useful information for young adults, families with children, and recent (or soon-to-be) empty nesters.

FAITH

Sermon Series on God’s Goodness

When you think of the picture the Hebrew Scriptures paint of God, what images come to mind? The divine creator who wipes out creation in the waters of a great flood? A God of wrath ever ready to judge and punish his unfaithful people? These are the images we often remember, but there are many more images of the Old Testament God as a God of goodness who shows mercy and showers his people with blessing. Join us for worship in July for Five Pictures of God’s Goodness:

 

July 3   Redeemer Who Comforts, Isaiah 66:10-14

July 10  Law-giver Who Prospers, Deuteronomy 30:9-14

July 17  Judge Who Shows Mercy, Genesis 18:1-10a

July 24  Covenant Partner Who Blesses, Genesis 18:20-32

July 31  More Than Enough - The One Who Provides: The Feeding Miracles of Jesus Christ


Worship Music

The choirs are on a summer break, but looking forward to starting back up in late summer/early fall.

  • Sanctuary Choir will start back on Wednesday, August 24 at 7:15 pm in the choir room. They welcome new members! The choir will start rehearsing the Cantata the first Wednesday of October at 8 pm in the choir room for anyone who wants to join. Please contact Kyle Weary with any questions.
  • The Intergenerational Choir had a very successful start. Thank you to everyone who participated-- singing is such an awesome way to praise God! We sang twice with the Gathering band and once with members of the Sanctuary Choir. We will be resuming short Intergenerational Choir practices at the beginning of Sunday School starting in September. This choir is for all ages. We would love to have you! Please contact Tracy Wieseman if you have any questions or would like more information.


Acolytes

Acolytes play a very important role for the church at the traditional service. When you become an acolyte, you join a long line of Christians who have helped their congregation and pastors worship God. When acolytes light our candles, they are the ones who give our church family the signal to begin the worship of God. Who can be an acolyte? Any youth in grades 3 - 12 can participate. Even adults can be acolytes!


If you had been an acolyte in the early centuries, you would have been dressed in colorful costumes. Lighting the candles began in biblical times when the church was new. Because Christians met in dark and secret places, early Christians needed light to read the scriptures. The lighted candle not only let them see, but it also became a symbol of Jesus Christ. The people remembered what their Lord said, "I am the light of the world."  We invite you to contact the church office by emailing Priscilla and submit your name to become an acolyte! 

 

MATE ROAR Trip

The ROAR Team will be returning to Farmington, Maine this summer (July 30 to August 6). MATE (Mission At The Eastward) has been helping people in need for over 60 years. SSPC has been participating in this rural ministry in central western Maine for over 25 years! The ROAR Team is not a specific group of people on any given mission trip. They are a group of volunteers who are God’s hands and feet on the ground at a specific mission location. You do not need to be skilled or even “handy.” Every set of hands doing work for the Lord is valuable. Also, do not let your age be a factor; the team consists of people ages 16 and older. ROAR welcomes everyone!

 

The Saturday arrival allows us to worship together on Sunday morning at the Fairbanks Union Church and tour the project sites on Sunday afternoon. We have breakfast and dinner as a group in the St. Jo’s fellowship hall and prepare our lunches to take to the job sites. We stay in a dormitory at the University of Maine, Farmington Campus, and with St. Jo’s church for the kitchen and fellowship hall. At this point in time the college is requiring people who have been vaccinated to have their shot record card with them when we check in at the dorm. People who are not vaccinated will need to take a rapid COVID test after three days; updated information from the college will be passed along when it is available.

 

Jim Smith adds: "Each year we have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of several families by rebuilding or repairing their homes. Nothing compares with the feeling I get observing the grateful look in a person’s eyes when they know that they can live through a harsh winter comfortably, safe from the elements. This has been accomplished by repairing doors, windows, bathrooms, roofs, floors, and decks. These are examples of projects that myself and others have worked on over the years."


If anyone is interested in being part of this ROAR Team (church member or friend of the church), please let them know about the dates and have them contact Terry Reed, 717-766-2714, or see him in church. 

FAMILY

Enlighten Spotlight: Heather McCarthy and Amy Meadows,

co-editors of ENLIGHTEN

Heather McCarthy

Heather McCarthy has been a member of SSPC since 2018. Heather, an attorney, is wife to Justin, an engineer, and they are the proud parents of Autumn (5), Luke (2), and Zoe (8 months). Heather and Justin have known each other since sixth grade! In addition to being co-editor of the Enlighten Newsletter, Heather is a deacon and a member of the Christian Education committee. Heather grew up in Allentown and has lived in Minnesota and Texas, before returning to Pennsylvania.

 

The McCarthys moved to Mechanicsburg in 2016, visited several churches and really liked SSPC and made it their church home!  Heather says they like the people at Silver Spring, the history of the church, and the fact there are two different services offered.

 

Heather says her favorite church memory is getting married at First Presbyterian Church in Allentown, in 2015, and among her favorite hobbies are going for walks, photography, and reading.


Amy Meadows

Amy Meadows has been a member of SSPC since 1999, after church "shopping" at the multiple Presbyterian churches in the area. She was drawn to the warm welcome she received, Dr. Hood's sermons, and the music program. Amy’s husband, Tony, joined in 2004 and son Landry (13) joined when he was confirmed in 2021. 

 

Amy is a marketing professional with Gannett Fleming, a design, engineering and construction company, and Tony works at the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System. Landry is a rising high school ninth grader at Mechanicsburg Area High School. Amy is from Kane, PA and graduated from Westminster College. Tony moved often throughout his school years, and spent time in Florida, Kentucky, and Maryland, before graduating from Albright College. 

 

Amy and her family like how active SSPC is in the greater community. A daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Amy says her favorite church memory is the “glow of the candles when the lights are turned down while we sing Silent Night at the Christmas Eve service.” 

 

The Meadows are adventuresome! In addition to enjoying traveling and supporting Landry's sporting events, Amy is a runner and Tony is a cyclist. The couple have gone skiing in the Swiss Alps, skydiving, parasailing, and zip lining!

VBS 2022

Vacation Bible School: August 15-19

The Christian Education Committee is thrilled to announce that Vacation Bible School will be an in-house-directed program this summer!  Plans are underway for an inspirational and fun week here at Silver Spring Presbyterian Church!

 

The dates are August 15-19, 2022, from 9 am – 12 noon. The theme, Celebrating God’s World, will include earth-care education, creative drama, crafts, recreation, songs, snacks, and a special pageant at the end of the week. Registration will open up July 6, 2022 and will be accessible online and through paper registration forms in the Gathering Place. Registration is open to children age Pre-K (4) through rising fourth graders. We are limiting the number of spaces to 50 children.

 

Items needed at the moment are paper towel / toilet paper rolls (sans the paper!) and empty egg crates. There is a box for empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls in the Gathering Place.

 

Volunteers are needed in the following areas: set-design, set-up and break-down, crafts, recreation, snack preparation and service, floaters, and group leaders. There will be a sign-up sheet for volunteers and shifts in the Gathering Place, beginning June 22nd. You may participate as much as you’d like, or just pick a couple of shifts. If you are working directly with the children, you will need a recent clearance. Pastor Lisa and Heather McCarthy are working on those. For more information, please contact Pastor Lisa at 717.766.0204, ext. 3104. Thank you – it will be a blast! 

CORE Youth Ministry

Backyard missions
Beacon clinic

Backyard Mission Trip: June 20-24

We had a great Backyard Mission Trip!

We helped some church members, the Beacon Clinic, and worked around the church,

including assisting in the preschool with some creatively colored chairs!

             Keep an eye on the church Facebook

 for some pictures!

Window washers
CORE summer

Summer Retreat 2022

We are going to pivot to local summer activities for the retreat. Bryan is thinking of spreading it out through the summer, maybe every other Sunday, with activities such as Dave and Busters, Trindle Bowl and Glow in the Dark mini golf, Senators' game, Knoebels, Escape Room, and anything else the youth want to do. 

GroupMe image

GroupMe Chat

Bryan recently set up a GroupMe chat for the Youth Ministry. This is another way he will send out Youth Ministry announcements.

You can request to join the group

with this link: Click here.

For questions or ideas related to Youth Ministry, please contact Bryan Corbin at [email protected].

FELLOWSHIP

Grounded in faith

(clockwise) Susan Howe, long-time friend of Arnita Hawkins who has been visiting from Nevada, Pastor Lisa Chase, Arnita Hawkins and Priscilla Franklin enjoy getting together at the inaugural Coffee Gathering, "Ground(ed) in Faith," which is planned monthly at a local restaurant.

Coffee & Fellowship with

Pastor Lisa:

Ground(ed) in Faith

Pastor Lisa invites members to join her for coffee and fellowship on a monthly basis at local restaurants. The first two meetings occurred at the Panera near the church on June 24 and 25! 


Please watch the announcements for the July and August dates!  A sign up sheet will be in the Gathering Place or you may email Pastor Chase at [email protected].

RECAP: June 5th Summer Kick-Off Picnic

Our summer picnic was June 5 and was great fun! Complete with a dunk tank, water games, corn hole, and delicious food, the evening was a wonderful opportunity for the church to come together for fellowship! Some of our preschool families joined us for the festivities!


A special Thank You to all those church members who set up, prepared food, cleaned up, and organized the evening.

 

As it stands now, Bryan Corbin had the best pitch, which dunked Pastor Lisa into the chilly water, as he threw the ball without his glasses on!


And our amazing 98-year-old dynamo Ralph Tygard remains Bethany's and Silver Spring Presbyterian Church's Corn Hole Champion!

 

You can access more photos of the evening on our Facebook photo album HERE.

Lisa and Bryan
Ralph Tygard

Bus Trip to see The Story of David

The bus trip has been postponed until a later date in either September or October. There were not enough church members signed up - there must be a minimum of 30. Scott Pepperman is working out the details and will have a new date and sign-up soon. Be on the lookout for new information. 

 

Save the Date – Summer Brunch 

The Fellowship Committee announces that the Summer Brunch will be on August 14th in the Gathering Place between the two services, 10-11 am. Please save the date!


Contra Dance

Contra Dancing!

On the second Friday evening of every month, Harrisburg Contra Dance Association uses the gym at Silver Spring Presbyterian Church for its contra dances. Contra dance is much like square dancing; it is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles in the 17th century. If you have seen any of the movies made of Jane Austin’s novels, and there is a type of patterned, line dancing, you have witnessed a form of contra dancing.

 

Pastor Lisa has joined the group, and it is a wonderful time and a wonderful way to get some awesome cardio exercise.

 

The next dance is Friday, July 8th. There is a lesson for beginners at 7:30 pm; the dance is from 8 pm - 10:30 pm. Right now, participants must wear a mask and show proof of vaccination against COVID.

 

The costs are as follows/per dance:

  • Adults: $12 ($10 for members)
  • Students: $7
  • Ages 13-19: $7
  • Ages 12 and under: Free!
  • Members of HACDA save $2 on admission at each dance. Membership costs only $20 per year.


For more information, go to www.harrisburgcontra.org.

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