CALENDAR OF CHURCH EVENTS/ACTIVITIES

Sunday, September 8

9:00 am  Sunday School

10:30 am  Worship Service – Sanctuary

12:00 pm Deacons Meeting – Anna Mow Room

Monday, September 9

6:45 pm  Worship Team – Anna Mow Room

Tuesday, September 10

6:30 pm  Leadership Team – Rm 154

Thursday, September 12

6:00 pm  Chancel Choir Rehearsal – Sanctuary

Friday, September 13

8:30 am  Soup Kitchen – (Casseroles due at church by 8:30)

Saturday, September 14

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

Sunday, September 15

9:00 am  Sunday School

10:30 am  Worship Service – Sanctuary

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

Children's Sunday School Classes

9:00 AM in Rooms 151, 152, and 155. Children grades PreK (age 4) and up will have class lessons. Children ages 3-4 and younger are welcome to attend nursery care.

Youth Sunday School Class

9:00 AM in Room 149. Teacher Dave Witkovsky. This class is for youth in grades 7-12.

Vine and Branches Sunday School Class

9:00 AM in Room 154. Teacher Luke Miller. The class is following the "Guide for Biblical Studies" curriculum entitled "Worship in the Covenant Community."

Lamplighters Sunday School Class

9:00 AM in Room 145. Review and select lesson topics for fall.

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 DATES TO REMEMBER

Sunday, September 15 - Faith Markers and Food Pantry Collection

Friday-Saturday, September 19-20 - SOPA District Conference, Newville COB

Sunday, September 22 - Calling of Leaders-Gifts Discernment Process

Friday-Saturday September 27-28 - Disaster Relief Auction, Lebanon Expo

Sunday, October 6 - Love Feast

OUR DAILY BREAD/SOUP KITCHEN - Friday, September 13, 2024

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

Our Daily Bread/Soup Kitchen on Friday, September 13, 2024 (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. 

"It's not used......

if it's new to you!"

The Almost New Jewelry Sale is September 17th!

Support the Friends and refresh your jewelry collection at the Almost New Jewelry Sale on Thursday, September 17, in the Garden Room at Harmony Ridge from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. There will be no sale previews or early sales. Payment by cash or check please, no credit cards. All proceeds will support various projects of the Friends.

Please contact Karen Norris at ext. 5239 or 717-624-5239 with any questions.

Thank you for supporting the Friends of Cross Keys Village and

their projects benefiting residents and team members.

CALLING OF LEADERS – GIFTS DISCERNMENT PROCESS

Sunday, September 22nd

The life and work of our church depends on the calling of gifted leaders to serve our congregation, and each Fall Congregational Forum presents a slate for affirmation of those being called. Part of our process will involve an “open ballot” that we are planning for September 22, in which all church members are invited to prayerfully suggest names for open positions in leadership. We share this notice well in advance of date so that all have time to consider who they may suggest. Nominees for all positions must be members of our congregation.

Here is a list of positions with those currently serving and their eligibility for serving another term:

Moderator – Ed Martin, eligible

Church Clerk – Arden Kile, eligible

CDC Ministry Team Chair – Deb Klinedinst, not eligible

The following church members are already serving on Leadership Team, therefore they are not eligible for the above positions:

Greg Klinedinst, Kim Witkovsky, Diane Gibble, Ruoxia Li, Cheryl Weyant, Steve Hoover, Dave Witkovsky, Arlene Martin, Ralph Miller, Sheryl Leaman. Church staff are not eligible for the above positions.



Staff Relations Team – Patricia Carey, eligible

Gifts Discernment Team (4) – Beth Drawbaugh, Cheryl Weyant,

Arden Kile – eligible, Sam Weyant – not eligible

Annual Conference Delegate and Alternate – all members eligible

District Conference Delegates (2) and Alternate – all members eligible

Camp Eder Needs You

Our 46^th Annual Fall Fest is camp’s biggest fundraiser of the year. The proceeds go to our camp’s monthly expenses, summer camps, programs throughout the year and most importantly camp scholarships (for those children whose families cannot afford to send them to camp to hear Gods’ word.)

Camp Eder Fall Fest Auction is being held at Camp Eder on Sat., Oct. 19, 2024, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Silent Auctions: 10:00-10:45 & 11:00-11:45, Live Auction: 12:00 Noon

Turkey & Pork Lunch: 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, Food Court: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Fall Fest is quickly approaching and we need your help to make it a success. Your attendance and donations to the auction are two of the best ways to help raise $$ for camp. We will again we accepting donations for gently used or new items as well as basket donations to be sold at the silent and/or live auction, (see your church office for a basket suggestion list with ideas.) If you are a designer of furniture, art work, quilts, wood products, etc., or know someone that is, please consider donating one of your creations. Please drop off all donations at Camp Eder before Thursday, October 17^th.  

If you need to have any items picked up, please call me.

Thank you for your support, Deona Schmittel (717) 451-3797

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

Read news updates by clicking the link below

You may also subscribe to receive 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.

MESSAGE FROM SANDI BOWSER ABOUT OUR DAILY BREAD/SOUP KITCHEN

Dear Church Members,

We are in need of Volunteers, who are willing to prepare baked spaghetti casseroles for the soup kitchen in York city. Presently, we have some very generous people who prepare 1, 2, or 3 casseroles once a month. I, for example, prepare 2 casseroles each month. You know if I can do it, it’s not that difficult.

The recipe is easy, and the foil baking pans are provided for you, the schedule is not difficult. Contact Sandra Bowser for more details, and scheduling (contact information below).

It is a very rewarding experience. I have to say that 95% of the people are very appreciative. It would be greatly appreciated if you could volunteer your time.

Thank you. Contact information: Sandra Bowser 717-825-7203 

Since 2011 our Witness Team has sponsored the Cash for Causes program by selling Giant & Weis gift cards. The church receives 5% of sales to support various ministries. For 2024 the gift card sales will support The Lehman Center (Children’s Aid Society), New Community Project, and Carlisle Truck Stop Ministry. 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.

If you’d like to support this program, please see Becky Wenger before/after worship service OR mail your check (paid to York First Church of the Brethren) to 3011 Bedford Pl, York, PA 17408 and your cards will be mailed to you.

Upcoming Presentations for The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College:

Thurs., Sept 19th, 7:00 pm - Presents “Discovering Fianna Bucher Meyer” by

Nancy L. Bieber, in the Bucher Meetinghouse. Meyer was an Elizabethtown College student (1907–1908) from a family of Brethren leaders and a victim of tuberculosis at age 28. She was also a grandmother of Nancy L. Bieber, who discovered her grandmother when she unearthed boxes of letters a century after Fianna’s death. Bieber, a spiritual director, writer, and retired psychologist, is the author of Fianna’s Story: A True Story of Love, Grief, and Faith (Masthof Press, 2020). Copies will be available for sale and signing after the lecture. For details about the talk, visit www.etown.edu/youngctr/events or call 717-361-1470

Sat., Sept. 21st, 3:00 pm - Presents a symposium, “What Does It Mean to Be Church? Anabaptist and Pietist Perspectives,” in the Bucher Meetinghouse. Led by Tony Walsh, director of the Centre for the Study of Irish Protestantism at Maynooth University in Ireland, Sam Funkhouser, director of the Brethren & Mennonite Heritage Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Jeff Bach, director of the Young Center emeritus, the symposium will provide an opportunity for members of various Brethren and Mennonite groups of Plain or mainline identity to discuss their concepts of church. Registration is not required, and lunch will be provided. For details, 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.