Pastor Joel will be out of the office this Thursday, March 6 - Sunday, March 9

for meetings at the Church of the Brethren General Offices

2025 LENTEN DEVOTIONAL

"Take Up Your Cross" by Tim Harvey

Lenten devotional books are available for pick up in the gathering area. Please take one per household and let it guide you this Lenten Season.

Take Up Your Cross invites you to join Jesus’ Palm Sunday parade and then continue with him along the tumultuous path of Holy Week to the cross and resurrection. Through scripture, story, history, and reflection on current events, we will attempt to see Jesus and experience beloved worship traditions with new eyes, hands, and feet. May we, like the first disciples, discover faith through Jesus’ death on a cross, a faith that is foolishness for some and a stumbling block to others, but for us reveals the power and wisdom of God.

YOUTH GROUP ACTIVITY

Youth and School Age Children join us for Dodgeball fun!! Please feel free to invite friends and neighbors as you wish.

On Sundays, February 16th to March 23rd in Fellowship Hall, 4:00 to 5:00pm

CALENDAR OF CHURCH EVENTS/ACTIVITIES

Saturday, March 1

11:00 am  Celebration of Life for Marcus Carey – Fellowship Hall

Sunday, March 2

9:00 am   Sunday School

10:30 am  Worship Service – Sanctuary

4:00 pm  Youth Group Dodgeball – Fellowship Hall

Monday, March 3

6:45 pm Worship Ministry Team – Anna Mow Room

Tuesday, March 4

4:00 pm Food Pantry Open 4:00 to 5:30 pm

Wednesday, March 5

9:00 am  Staff Meeting – Multi-Purpose Room

5:45 Ash Wednesday Service – Chapel

Thursday, March 6

6:30 pm  Chancel Choir Rehearsal – Sanctuary

7:30 pm Bell Choir Rehearsal – Bell Choir Room

Saturday, March 8

10:00 am Food Pantry Open 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Sunday, March 9

9:00 am  Sunday School

10:30 am Worship Service – Sanctuary

4:00 pm Youth Group Dodgeball – Fellowship Hall 

Click on this button to view the full calendar

Additions and updates for prayer list or calendar of events are welcome by contacting the church office.

Special note for all Ministry Teams: Please notify the church office with any upcoming meetings or events for your team so we can add these dates to the calendar.

In addition to this prayer request list contained within each Friday's e-newsletter, we also have a "prayer chain" email list. We occasionally send immediate prayer requests to those who have opted in to receive the prayer chain and are committed to praying for each concern as they come. If you would like to be added to the prayer chain list, please notify the church office by email at secretary@yorkfirst.org or by phone (717) 755-0307. If you have a prayer request and desire it to be sent to this group, feel free to contact the church office anytime. Thank you!

Sunday School News

*Adult Church Membership Class*

9:00 AM in Room 154. Pastor Joel will be leading a church membership class for adults considering joining our church. The class series begins March 2 and concluding April 27. All are welcome. Please contact him pastor@yorkfirst.org soon if you wish to participate, so that he can prepare reading materials and share more information with you.

Children's Sunday School Classes

9:00 AM in Rooms 151, 152, and 153. Children grades PreK (age 4) and up will have class lessons. Children ages 3-4 and younger are welcome to attend nursery care.

*Combined Classes - Lamplighters, Vine & Branches, and Youth*

9:00 AM in Lamplighters Classroom. We will be following the “Animate: Practices” Curriculum. The series will be 7 weeks beginning March 2 and ending April 13.

“Animate: Practices” is an introduction to the central practices of the Christian faith, why they are important, and how we can take part in them today. Sessions feature perspectives from Christian thought leaders on topics such as prayer, worship, money, and service. They each include a brief video presentation.

Deb Klinedinst will teach Session 1. The subject is Prayer, with Brian McLaren. 

Homebuilders Class

Mondays - 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM by conference call. To join, contact Mike Martin at

717-840-4184 or Caretaker@TwinBrookFarm.com and leave a phone number. The class studies lessons from the "Guide for Biblical Studies" curriculum.  

Upcoming Events

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

Wednesday March 5 - Ash Wednesday Service, 5:45 PM Chapel

Thursdays March 13, March 27, April 10 - Lent Dinners, 5:30 PM

Wednesday April 16 - Easter Egg Hunt, 5:30 PM

Thursday April 17 - Love Feast, 6:00 PM

We will be having three Lent Fellowship Dinners

March 13, March 27, April 10 - 5:30 PM

We wish to share a meal together and reflect on

the season that is before us. Anyone in our church

family is invited.

Sign-up sheets are available in the gathering area.

OUR DAILY BREAD/SOUP KITCHEN - Friday, March 14, 2025

Sign up by calling Sandi Bowser at 717-825-7203 to make a casserole for Our Daily Bread/Soup Kitchen on Friday, March 14, 2025 (10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)

PLEASE contact Sandi to add your name and number of casseroles, so we can let

Our Daily Bread/Soup Kitchen know how many casseroles to expect.

The pans are located in the church lounge. Thank you! 

Save the Date

Denominational news and information is always available by visiting brethren.org

Read news updates by clicking the link below

Please subscribe to receive COB Newsline via email if you wish

Online Giving is safe, easy, and convenient. Sign up by going to our church website at: www.yorkfirst.org and click on the Online Giving Link or go directly to the Online Giving website at: http://www.osvhub.com/york-first/funds.

For assistance setting up your account,

call Donor Support at:  800-348-2886 – Option 2 – Online Giving Questions? Contact Sheryl Leaman - Thank you for your support!

NOTE: Online giving can be used for regular weekly or monthly offerings, special offerings, and capital campaign contributions, as well as many other specific outreach ministries that we sponsor.

LOOK WHO'S

CELEBRATING

THIS MONTH

02  Zoë Grace Miller  

05  Edward Sweigard 

06  Kevin McCracken

06  Thessa Sollenberger

08  Jason Wolf           

10  Chris Baldwin

11  Jacob Boogher

If your birthday is in MARCH

and is not on the list below or is listed

incorrectly, please contact the church office.

13  Gail Rutland

14  James Baldwin

22  Audrey Ginder             

25  Sheldon Markel      

26  Kim Witkovsky     

28  Seth Brickner 

Beginning in January 2025, Patricia Carey will be the Witness Team appointment for the Cash for Causes program. Please see Patricia before or after worship to purchase your Giant or Weis gift cards. Patricia will be at the table under the bulletin board in the

gathering area.

You may purchase the cards in amounts of $100, $50, $25, or $10. The cards make great gifts, especially at holidays. Consider donating cards to the Food Pantry or using them yourself any time you shop at Giant or Weis.

Since 2011, through the Cash for Causes program, the church has received 5% of sales to support various COB and local ministries. In 2024 the gift card sales supported The Lehman Center, New Community Project and the Carlisle Truck Stop Ministry with each receiving $233.08.    

For 2025, the Witness Team will review past giving and determine which agencies we will support this year. 

Anabaptist Community Bible: A New Testament Reading Plan

Winter-Spring 2025

We hope you are all devotedly reading scripture these days in the new Anabaptist Community Bible. Our goal as a church this season is to read the entire New Testament together by Easter. A full plan for this reading is attached below and copies can be picked up in the Gathering Area. We are nearly half way through already, let's keep going!

Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies presents “The Bible as a Source of Renewal (and Conflict) in Anabaptism and Pietism” on Thurs., March 20, at 7:00 pm., in the college’s Susquehanna Room.

In the lecture, John D. Roth will examine the question, “What is the role of the Bible today among the heirs of the Anabaptist and Pietist traditions?” Roth is project director for Anabaptism at 500, general editor of the Anabaptist Community Bible, and professor of history emeritus at Goshen (IN) College.

The annual Young Center banquet, also held in the Susquehanna Room, will precede the lecture at 6:00 pm, with a reception for John Roth at 5:30.

A related event led by Roth, “Introducing (and Reading!) the Anabaptist Community Bible: An Interactive Seminar,” will be held on Fri., March 21, 9:30 am to noon, in the Susquehanna Room. Both the lecture and the seminar are free of charge. Cost for the dinner is $25 and reservations are required by March 6.

For more information, visit www.etown.edu/youngctr/events or call 717-361-1470.

LAST WEEK IN WORSHIP

If you need to reach the pastor outside of office hours, his mobile number is

(717) 271-4888. You can also email him at pastor@yorkfirst.org. Note that laws prevent hospitals from contacting a pastor without your permission when you are admitted, so you will need to contact the church if you desire a visit or to request prayer.