CALENDAR OF CHURCH EVENTS/ACTIVITIES

Saturday, October 25

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

Sunday, October 26

9:00 am Sunday School

10:30 am Worship Service – Sanctuary

4:00 pm Youth Group/Dodgeball – FH

Monday, October 27

10:30 am  Gifts Discernment Team – Multi-Purpose Room

Tuesday, October 28

9:30 am    Deacon Training – Anna Mow Room

Wednesday, October 29

5:30 pm  Trick or Trunk – Parking Lot/Fellowship Hall

Thursday, October 30

6:30 pm  Chancel Choir Practice – Sanctuary

Saturday, November 1

11:30 am   FCOB CDC Cultural Picnic – Fellowship Hall

Sunday, November 2

9:00 am  Sunday School

10:15 am  Worship Service – Sanctuary

11:00 am  Congregational Forum – Sanctuary

4:00 pm  Youth Group/Dodgeball – FH

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

*Junior High Youth Membership Class*

9:00 AM in the Multi-Purpose Room. Teacher Pastor Joel Gibbel. The class will be learning about the long history of the Christian faith and its major movements across many centuries.

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.

Senior High Youth Sunday School Class

9:00 AM in Room 155. Teacher Dave Witkovsky. Youth in grades 10-12 are welcome.

Vine & Branches Class

The class will be joining with the Lamplighter's Class for the fall season. Please see below.

Lamplighters Class

9:00 AM in Room 145. Teacher Deb Klinedinst. The class is now studying

“12 Daring Women of the Bible," this week - Esther

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. 

CommunityAid Partnership

First Church has initiated a partnership with CommunityAid, a source for donating gently used clothing and goods. This organization accepts donated items in good condition and offers them back to the community at affordable prices.

Making a donation is easy. CommunityAid currently has seven centers in central PA, with the York area store/donation location at 2001 Springwood Rd, site of the former Bon Ton store in the Queensgate Shopping Center. Simply drive up to the side of the store and employees will assist in unloading your items. In turn, by supplying partnership number 50344 (assigned to: First Church of the Brethren of York) to the CommunityAid employee, our church will periodically receive a monetary reimbursement based on the accumulated weight of donations.

A long list of acceptable items, along with hours of operation and other related information can be found on the display rack located on the wall in the Gathering Area at First Church. If you wish to receive a mailed copy, please contact the church office.

Access additional information at:  communityaid.org

Upcoming Events

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER:

Wednesday October 29 - Trick or Trunk - 5:30 PM

Saturday November 1 - CDC Cultural Picnic - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Sunday November 2 - Congregational Forum - 11:00 AM (Worship begins 10:15)

Sunday November 9 - CDC Recognition Sunday

TRICK or TRUNK

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

5:30 to 7:00 pm

SIGN UP SHEETS are on the counter in the gathering area.

It’s time again to decorate your car trunk for our annual

Trick or Trunk event. Cars will be parked in our parking lot so children can walk by, view the decorated trunks and receive a treat. We ask those who bring their car to also provide the treats. Plan for at least 320 treats. Cars need to be in place by 5:15 pm. Trunk owners may also dress up.

You may decorate a trunk or volunteer to help with the following:

·       Parking lot set up- Place cones and or tape to indicate traffic pattern,

·       Parking - Direct cars for trunk set-up and parking

·       Table and chair set up and take down in the all gym. We need seating for 100 people

·       Clean up- Wipe tables and sweep the floor after the event

·       Donate extra candy- Please put it in the Anna Mow room. 

CDC, Church and neighborhood families will be invited to come starting at 5:30 until

7:00 pm. The Fellowship Hall will be open for dinner and a place to warm up.

Come and join the fun!  

CULTURAL

PICNIC

November 1, 2025

11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

FCOB CDC GYM

All are welcome! Join us as we celebrate our diverse cultures with food and friends! Please bring a dish that represents your culture to share with everyone! All are welcome. 

FALL CONGREGATIONAL FORUM - Sunday, November 2, 2025

This is a meeting for all church members to attend and we will be looking to see you all there. Reports from leaders are the primary items of business.

The Congregational Forum Booklet, Moderator's Report and Treasurer's Reports are available for pick up in the gathering area.

Please take one per family and review them in advance of the meeting.

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

Sign up by calling Sandi Bowser at 717-825-7203 to make a casserole for

Our Daily Bread/Soup Kitchen on Friday, November 14, 2025 (10:30 a.m. to 12:00 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! 

LUNCH BUNCH – Here We Come!

“¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience… ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.

And be thankful.” Colossians 3:12,14-15 NRSVUE



The Lunch Bunch has been meeting every other week on a Wednesday since the beginning of June. We started gathering for lunch together during Pastor Joel’s sabbatical time as one way to stay connected to each other over the summer with food, fun and fellowship! Lunch Bunch is open to all ages and stages of life and has been meeting at different local restaurants from 11:30 am – 1 pm biweekly on Wednesdays until now. 

In an effort to make it easier for folks to keep track of when we are gathering, we have decided to meet on the first and third Wednesday of each month as of November and going forward into 2026. So, we will be meeting on November 5 and 19 and December 3 and 17. We will continue to include information about the Lunch Bunch (dates/times/locations) on the church calendar and in the bulletin on a weekly basis. There is no signup sheet or reservations needed – just show up! Each person pays for his/her own meal and if you need transportation, please contact your deacon or the church office for assistance. Or you can invite a friend or family member to join you who may provide your transportation!

We usually have between 4 and 8 friends around the table (once we had 4 generations together) but there is no limit to the number or fun we have together! We always enjoy each other’s company and stories! There is no ongoing commitment – some folks come almost every time, and others have only come once or whenever they are available. It’s a great way to meet new friends and to renew old acquaintances at York First COB as well as to share our interests and lives together! We hope you will consider joining us sometime soon!



For questions or more information, please contact Kim Witkovsky at witkovskyks@gmail.com or 814-599-7055 or the church office. We would love for you to join us - all are welcome! Shalom!   

Church of the Brethren News

Southern PA District/Denomination

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.

New Community Project - Shelter Me

As announced inWorship Service on Sunday, Oct. 19th, our congregation has been invited by New Community Project to help raise funds to keep a shelter open for Nepali girls imperiled by sex trafficking. Funding for this shelter was cut by an international aid organization, and it now faces closure. To make a donation, please click on this link https://www.newcommunityproject.info/donate-funds

The shelter is one of six run by the anti-trafficking group Shakti Samuha, NCP's partner in Nepal. It is especially critical, as it is near the border with India, and intercepts hundreds of girls every year who are at risk of being trafficked, or have been rescued and need healing from their trauma. NCP has chosen this as their fall campaign, named Shelter Me.

"This is a crisis" Shakti staff wrote. This is a key shelter and having to close it will subject girls aged 10 - 24 to being abandoned in their time of need."

Needed: $15,825 as the minimum to employ a   housemother and cook, and provide food for them and the girls for the coming year. Any extra funds raised will support additional staffing. 100% of donation go to the project. 

LOOK WHO'S

CELEBRATING

THIS MONTH

03  Barb Wueschinski

04  Dolly Furst

06  Ruoxia Li

08  Jill McCracken

08  Brad Striebig

10  Dianne Hollinger

10  Jess Dietrich

14  Diane Replogle

15  Greg Klinedinst

17  Rebecca Soyke

18  Dolores Mann

If your birthday is in NOVEMBER

and is not on the list below or is listed incorrectly, please contact the church office.

20  John Copenheaver

20  Melanie Miler

20  Bob Fitzkee

21  Elizabeth Eisenhart

21  Dan Snook

22  Charles Innerst

22  Bernadette Snook

24  Pat Paules

25  Laura (Thomas) Lash

27  Michelle Sauder

28  Eric Miller

29  Tammy Stehr

29  Luke Baldwin

DIRECTORY CHANGES:

P. 13 - Elizabeth Eisenhart - New Address:

Normandie Ridge - Personal Care

1700 Normandie Drive, Room 143, York, PA 17408

P. 15 - Alex Leair - Add phone number (717) 542-0640

P. 19 - Judy Yingling - Delete cell phone # 717-893-3384 and

add her landline phone # for Autumn House (717) 757-7039

P. 21 - Michael & Danielle Kovacs - New address: 34 Eagleton Drive, Jacobus, PA 17407

LOST AND FOUND! Just a friendly reminder that we do have a Lost and Found box in the church office with all kinds of treasures in it that might be yours! Please stop in during the week, say hello to Karen and check the "Treasure Chest" to see if anything of yours is in the box. Or you can check in on Sunday mornings as well! Thank you!

Patricia Carey is 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 Space.

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. 

LAST WEEK IN WORSHIP