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Pastor Joel will be out of the office March 12-16 for Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board meetings. Pastoral care needs may be directed to your Deacons or the church office.

TIME CHANGE



Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday March 8, 2026

Turn clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night.

PICTORIAL DIRECTORY

Our church will produce a new photo directory this year, something we undertake every 6 years. The date we have reserved for photo session is Thursday April 16. Everyone who is active in the life of our church is encouraged to reserve a time for your family photo. You will all receive an 8"x10" print free of charge as well as a published directory. Additional products may be purchased if you wish.

You may sign up for a time slot in person on Sundays in the Gathering Area, and online scheduling is available Monday through Friday. To schedule your photography appointment online, simply go to www.ucdir.com, click on photography appointment scheduling login on the right side, enter pa1242 in the Church Code field and enter Mark in the Church Password field. 

Follow the prompts to schedule your family’s appointment time. If you have 6 or more in your family please use 2 consecutive time slots. Appointments fill up quickly, so schedule as soon as possible to secure your preferred date and time.

The 2026 Church Directory is available to be picked up in the Gathering Area. All church members and friends, please take one. 

CALENDAR OF CHURCH EVENTS/ACTIVITIES

Sunday, March 8

9:00 am   Sunday School

10:30 am   Worship Service – Sanctuary

4:00 pm   Dodgeball – Fellowship Hall

Tuesday, March 10

6:30 pm   Leadership Team – Room 154

Wednesday, March 11

6:30 pm   Women’s Bible Study – Anna Mow Room

Thursday, March 12

6:30 pm   Chancel Choir Rehearsal – Sanctuary

7:30 pm   Handbell Choir Rehearsal – Handbell Room



Friday, March 13

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

Saturday, March 14

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

Sunday, March 15

9:00 am   Sunday School

10:30 am   Worship Service – Sanctuary

12:00 pm   Deacon Meeting – Anna Mow Room

4:00 pm   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.

Sunday School News

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.

Youth Sunday School Class

9:00 AM in Room 155. Teacher Dave Witkovsky. Youth in grades 6-12 are welcome.

*Coffee with the Pastor*

9:00 AM in the Gathering Area This Sunday from 9:00-10:00 AM, join Pastor Joel for conversation about life, faith, and potential for a new adult Sunday School class to begin in the near future. Due to Daylight Saving Time beginning this weekend, this may seem like an "early" morning, but please join for fellowship and charting future study!

Lamplighters Class

9:00 AM in Room 145. The class will begin a Lenten study by Max Lucado entitled "He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart." 

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:

Thursday March 19: Lenten Dinner 5:30 PM

Sunday March 29: Palm Sunday

Wednesday April 1: Egg Hunt 5:00 PM

Thursday April 2: Love Feast 6:00 PM

Friday April 3: Good Friday Service 7:00 PM

Sunday April 5: Easter Sunday, Breakfast 9:00 AM

Thursday April 16: Photo Directory Pictures

OUR DAILY BREAD/SOUP KITCHEN - Friday, March 13, 2026

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

Our Daily Bread/Soup Kitchen on Friday, March 13, 2026 (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!

LOVE FEAST PREPARATION

This year the Deacons are trying something new for Love Feast on April 2^nd. We would like to offer a variety of soup and are inviting the congregation to participate. If you enjoy preparing soup or baking bread, we welcome your participation. There will be a sign-up sheet in the gathering area until March 15^th. Any questions contact Jeff Miller

Prayer Shawl Ministry Expansion

Prayer shawls are made and blessed for church members as well as those in the wider community who have expressed the desire to receive a prayer shawl. Also crafted and passed on with blessing are blankets – knitted or crocheted, quilts, hats, scarves, mittens, small pocket size knitted/ crocheted animals and small cross stitched crosses. The animals and cross stitched crosses go to fire and police personnel as well as hospice to have on hand for children who have experienced rapid, life altering trauma. Other items go where

needed; homeless shelters, safe houses, those living on the streets, to anyone needing something they do not have.

Prayer Shawl Ministry meets 3^rd Thursday of the month at 10 AM

in the Anna Mow room. If you have the time we would love to have you join us for some fun and good conversation. Bring along whatever project you are working on. If you need supplies for a project we can provide. No skill you say. Well join us and we can teach you one. Hope to see you in March. 

EASTER FLOWERS - order now until March 22

As we enter into the season of Lent, we may look forward to the beautiful Easter flowers which will adorn our church sanctuary on Easter Sunday morning! This year the Worship Ministry Team is again offering non-fragranced flowers in a variety of colors from Hueter's Greenhouse – 6 inch pots of daffodils and tulips for $10 each and 4.5 inch pots of gerbera daisies for $6 each. Deadline for orders is March 22.

Purchases can be made in honor, in memory or in appreciation of whomever you wish. Order forms will be available in the gathering area, from the ushers on Sunday mornings, or contacting the church office.

Payment (in the form of cash or check made out to the church) for orders must accompany the order form and can be placed in the offering plates or submitted to the church office. You may also order and pay for your flowers through online giving. 

Please list your name (s) and sentiments on the order form as you wish them to appear in the Easter Sunday bulletin.

The flowers can be taken home following Easter Sunday Worship on April 5.

Thank you for your participation in this colorful Easter tradition!  

Church Service Project Opportunity! - Meat Canning Project, April 9th

Our district meat canning project is upon us! We are looking for a group of 5-6 volunteers to participate in this project on April 9 from 9 AM-2PM in Ephrata. No prior experience necessary. Tasks range from participating in direct canning of the meat to placing labels on cans. Our own food pantry benefits greatly from this effort with canned chicken being donated for our own community and neighbors. Please consider taking part in this important service project. Sign up in the gathering space and plan to bring a packed lunch if you volunteer. Carpooling can likely be arranged, if needed. More information can be found on brochures in the gathering space. 

If you are not able to attend and would still like to participate, please consider a financial donation using either the church website or designating “meat canning” on your offering envelope. Please contact Ralph Miller or Jess Jasitt with any questions. 

II Peter 3:18 Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ

Click on button for the event flyer information is also posted on the

bulletin board

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.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers, gift cards, greeting cards, etc. I am feeling good and my doctors have me on a drug therapy plan.

Thanks again! ~ Dan E. Snook

Do you have a collection of old pairs of eyeglasses lying around with outdated prescriptions that you are not using anymore?

Well, we have a solution for you! Consider donating them, so someone else might be able to make use of them. There will be a box in the Gathering Space for ongoing glasses donations for the Lions Club Recycle for Sight program.

Thank you in advance for your donations and willingness to give.

Please contact Dan Snook or Jess Jasitt with any questions. 

Gathering Area Quilt

Every month the quilt in the gathering area is changed to another beautiful quilt. The March quilt is named "Fantastic Fans".

These quilts are made by Sid Innerst. Sid is a very talented quilter and we want to thank her for sharing her beautiful work. As you are walking through the gathering area, please take a moment to enjoy the beauty and details of these quilts. 

Community Aid 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. 

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. 

Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies presents “Church and Culture: A Shaking of the Foundations...Again” on Thurs., March 12, at 7 pm., in the college’s Susquehanna Room. In the lecture, Jeff Carter will discuss what distinguishes this moment of institutional change in American religion from earlier periods of religious transition and how the church might engage contemporary culture in response. Cater is president of Bethany Theological Seminary.

On Fri., March 13, 9:30 am to noon, in the Bucher Meetinghouse, Jeff Carter will facilitate “Church and Culture: Finding Promise Amid Change,” a panel discussion about the shared challenges facing religious leaders, the points of divergence shaped by context, and the forms of promise that emerge in each case. The panel members are Brian Messler, lead pastor, Ephrata Church of the Brethren; Amy Shorner-Johnson, chaplain and director of spiritual and religious life, Elizabethtown College; Lexi Aligarbes, co-pastor, Harrisburg First Church of the Brethren; and Audrey Hollenberg-Duffey, pastor of discipleship ministries, Oakton Church of the Brethren, and director of the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center. 

LAST WEEK IN WORSHIP