Vol. 14- No. 10 – Friday, March 8, 2019, Karen Bowman-Editor secretary@yorkfirst.org
Web Site: yorkfirst.org Facebook: “York First Church of the Brethren”
Our Vision Statement: “To become a community of committed Christians who Love God, Share Christ, and Serve the World”
Our Mission Statement: “People dedicated to Spiritual Growth, Loving Relationship, and Sacrificial Service”
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SUNDAY, March 10, 2019
9:00 a.m. – Sunday School (classes for all ages)
10:30 a.m. – Worship, Sanctuary
– SCRIPTURE: Luke 4:1-13
– MESSAGE: “It Is Written”

From Pastor Joel:
This week the season of Lent has begun, traditionally a time for repentance, fasting, and rituals that remind us of our mortality. For many Christians, rituals include marking foreheads with ashes and fasting on particular days. I commend their commitment and willingness to embrace their faith and follow its teachings. I am also drawn to the words of Isaiah, chapter 58, in which fasting defined as simply humbling oneself and laying in ashes is called into question. Instead the work of feeding the hungry, undoing injustice, and “removing from among you the pointing of the finger and the speaking of evil” is what will cause “your light to rise in the darkness… and the Lord will guide you continually.” I ask us to ponder what this means to us this season. What is the fast that we choose? May we seek to return to God, to be reminded of our need to be restored, yet also to recognize that own piety is not the first priority. Instead God must be central to our worship, and compassion toward others is essential to our practice of faith. May God guide us and grant us strength during this season, as we journey toward the cross and resurrection of Christ.
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ATTACHMENTS: Calendar of Events, Friends to Remember in Prayer, & Sunday School Schedule

ATTENDANCE – March 3, 2019, 10:30 a.m. Worship Service – 67

COPIES OF this week’s e-news, the March calendar, and March Newsline Digest are available to be picked up on the table in the narthex and can be viewed at yorkfirst.org
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LENTEN DEVOTIONAL GUIDES are available in the narthex – “New World Coming” by Edward L. Poling, Devotions for Ash Wednesday through Easter. From the devotional; Lent is a season for transformation, a time to turn inward and consider the health of our own souls. It’s an opportunity to see how we are a part of Jesus’ beloved community, and where we are in Christ’s vision of God’s coming reign. Please take one and use it often this season.

YEAR END GIVING STATEMENTS are available for pick up on the table in the narthex.

2019 CHURCH DIRECTORY is available for pickup on the table in the narthex.
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THIS WEEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MARCH 14, 2019 – OWLS NEWS – The OWLS (Older, Wiser, Loving, Seniors, and friends) will gather in the Homebuilder’s Classroom 154 on Thursday March 14 at noon for lunch, followed by an interesting and informative program about the stars, moon, and sky, presented by Ron Bolton. Bring your bag lunch and a friend. Drinks and dessert will be provided. Please sign up on the sheet in the narthex by March 10 so we know how many to prepare for.

MARCH 14, 2019 – Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies invites you to attend the dedication for its building expansion on Thurs., March 14, at 4:00 p.m. The dedication will feature a presentation by Jonathan Stayer of the Pennsylvania State Archives. An open house will precede the dedication, beginning at 3:00 p.m. The dedication will be followed by a reception featuring light fare in Leffler Chapel.

MARCH 14, 15 2019 – Christopher Herbert, in collaboration with Elizabethtown College’s concert choir, presents “Forgotten Sounds: Researching, Transcribing, Performing, and Reimagining the Music of the Eighteenth-Century Ephrata Cloister” on Thurs., March 14, 7:30 p.m., in the college’s Leffler Chapel. On Fri., March 15, 10:00 a.m. to noon, Herbert presents “Voices in the Pennsylvania Wilderness: An Examination of the Music Manuscripts, Music Theory, Composition, and (Female) Composers of the Eighteenth-Century Ephrata Cloister” in the Young Center’s Bucher Meetinghouse. Herbert is the Young Center’s Durnbaugh lecturer for 2019. A graduate of the Julliard School with a DMA in voice, he is an assistant professor at William Paterson University and the baritone in the critically acclaimed ensemble New York Polyphony.

MARCH 17, 2019 – Special Offering: “One Great Hour of Sharing” reaches those near and far, sometimes changing the life of someone in distress in your own community, while at other times impacting the lives of those we may never meet but who are in need of our compassion. God provides the resources so that we can give back. It’s not the size of the gift that matters; it’s that we give of what we have. We’re simply giving back to God what is already God’s—and that means everyone has a gift to bring!
Gifts given through this special offering empower ministries like the Church of the Brethren’s Global Mission and Service, Congregational Life Ministries, Brethren Disaster Ministries, Brethren Volunteer Service, workcamps, the Global Food Initiative, and many others. Please give generously to One Great Hour of Sharing. Thank you for partnering in this important work!

MARCH 17, 2019 – EASTER FLOWERS ~ It’s that time of year to be ordering flowers for Easter Sunday, April 21st. Orders will be taken on Sunday – March 17th , 24th , and 31st in the narthex.
Tulips – 6″ pot -5 bulbs, Red, Yellow, Pink, White, Orange, Purple, Two-Tone $10.00 /Daffodils – 6″ pot – 4 bulbs $ 10.00 /Azaleas – 1gallon -red or pink $ 12.00
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THANK YOU. . . . . . . . . . .
Thanks to Tanya Dehoff and Anna Stoolmaker for volunteering at the Brethren Home last Sunday, March 3rd. We missed seeing you at York First but appreciate your willingness to serve, thank you!!

Suzanne Gray and family would like to say thank you for all the calls, cards, visits, kindness, support and especially prayers during this very difficult time.

From the family of John Kovacs: Please accept our heartfelt thanks for your prayers, cards, encouragement, and support during our time of loss. We deeply appreciate each of you. Love and prayers, Kathy, Sarah, Michael, Josh, Alexandra and family.
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BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT ~ Athena Gibble Cospito had twins born on Monday March 4th, Gibson Lloyd and Ansley Marie. Both babies spent several days in the NICU this week but all are doing well. Athena is the daughter of John and Diane Gibble and the granddaughter of Frank and Sheryl Leaman.
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JAM CHOIR NEWS – We will NOT have JAM choir practice March 31, April 7 or April 14th. Otherwise practice will be from 9:50 to 10:10 am Sunday mornings for children ages 4 to 5th grade through May 19th. All children are welcome to join us! We meet in the children’s Sunday school room. The JAM choir will sing during Sunday worship on March17, May 12 and May 19th.
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York First Church of the Brethren Children’s Ministry
March
Nursery 9:00-10:15
(birth-K) K-5th Teacher
9:00-10:00 Nursery 10:15-11:45
(Birth-1st)
3 Tom McCracken Jill McCracken Tom & Jill McCracken
10 Kathy Kovacs & Gail Rutland John Anderson Kathy Kovacs & Gail Rutland
17 Greg & Marie Bachman Diane Gibbel Judy Yingling & Tonya/Ashley DeHoff
24 Bob & Stephanie Stoolmaker Alicia Weyant Bob & Stephanie Stoolmaker
31 Michele Gibbel & Audrey Ginder Barbara Jo Brown Sam & Alicia Weyant
Thank you to all those who help with Children’s Ministry. Your time, energy, and dedication are appreciated. If you need to make a schedule change or would like to serve as a teacher or in the nursery, please contact Michele Gibbel (717) 318-5442 or mgibbel@yahoo.com
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Online Giving:

We have #11 On Line Giver! Let’s make it lucky 13! ~ A special treat for the next 2 givers who sign up.
If you are not a regular church attender, please consider using our online giving. Even if you can’t make it on Sunday, you can still support our programs and outreach.
Go to our church website at: www.yorkfirst.org and click on the Online Giving Link or go directly to the Online Giving website at: www.acionlinegiving.com/4706.
You simply complete the information including your name, address, email address, and bank or credit card information. Then choose the fund, date and frequency for your contribution. Choose General Fund for tithes/offerings.
TIP: If you use a credit card that earns points, you get double benefits!! 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!!!!!
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LOOKING AHEAD . . . . . . . . . . . . .

APRIL 6, 2019 – From the Spiritual Enrichment Team: “Come Away” – A Time of Retreat, Saturday, April 6th, 8:30 am – Noon at York First
You are invited to a time of quiet reflection and sharing of our faith journeys. The morning begins in the Lounge with light refreshments at 8:30 am. Our time together will be led by Nancy Jones.
APRIL 6, 2019 – Life Line Screening, a leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings, is pleased to offer a preventive health event at First Church of the Brethren on 4/6/2019. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to: blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke; abdominal aortic aneurysms which can lead to a ruptured aorta; hardening of the arteries in the legs which is a strong predictor of heart disease; atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat which is closely tied to stroke risk; and a bone density screening, for men and women, used to assess the risk of osteoporosis. Register for a Wellness Package which includes 4 vascular tests and osteoporosis screening from $149 ($139 with our member discount). All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. There are three ways to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off any package priced above $129, please call toll-free 1-888-653-6441 or visit http://lifelinescreening.com/communitycircle or text the word circle to 797979
SAVE THE DATE – MEAT CANNING PROJECT – April 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 & May 1 ~ More information to follow. Sign-up sheets are posted on the board in the lobby.
SAVE THE DATE – APRIL 27, 2019 – The Hershey Handbell Ensemble will present a concert featuring handbells and other instruments in our sanctuary on Saturday April 27, 2019 at 7:00 PM. They are an auditioned group with a large following in the York-Harrisburg-Hanover area, and we look forward to a “full house” for their first visit to York First COB. Look for more information to follow in the near future.

APRIL 27, 2019 – 2019 District Women’s Spring Luncheon, “Living a Worshipful Life”, Sat., April 27th at 9:00 am held at Chambersburg Church of the Brethren, 260 S. Front St., Chambersburg, Pa. See bulletin board for more information and registration forms. Registration Deadline is April 15, 2019.

SAVE THE DATE – MAY 8th, 2019 – CDC 50th Anniversary Celebration – Wednesday Evening, May 8th we will be hosting a dinner and celebration for the Child Development Center marking 50 years in operation! Mark your calendars now and plan to attend. More information to follow.
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Save the Date & Spread the Word
VBS
June 23-27, 2019
Sunday-Thursday Evenings

Ages 4-5th grade
More info to come in the months ahead.
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CONTACTING THE PASTOR: Pastor Joel can be reached most mornings in the church office Monday—Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Afternoons and evenings are set aside for visiting those in need, for meetings, and for other pastoral duties. Pastor Joel is also available for Pastoral Counseling by appointment. If you need to reach the pastor outside of office hours, his home phone number is (717) 318-5442, and his cell number is (717) 271-4888 . You can also email him at pastor@yorkfirst.org. By the way, HIPAA laws prevent the hospital from contacting the pastor when you are admitted, so you will need to let hospital staff know that you would like the hospital to contact your pastor.
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York First Church of the Brethren, 2710 Kingston Road, York, PA 17402, Ph: 717-755-0307, Fax: 717-755-1382, yorkfirst.org