Month: December 2023

Rev. Stephen McKinney-Whitaker • PAstor

December 21, 2023

What’s the most important word in the Bible? There are a lot of good answers: love, salvation, grace, and Jesus. We tend to think of important words in terms of belief: the most important words in the Bible must be about our belief, right? 

When I was studying at the Corrymeela community in Northern Ireland two summers ago, one thing that was said stood out above all others. It’s that we must hold relationships above beliefs. So often seminaries and churches focus so much on right belief, but we don’t spend enough time on right relationships. This idea of holding relationships above belief has changed my answer to the question: what is the most important word in the Bible?

The Christmas story reminds me of the power of this word. The angel says to Joseph, “‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’” And then in John’s gospel, we get the summary statement of what Christmas means: “The Word became flesh and lived with us.” It’s an unprepossessing little word, but this is the word that lies at the heart of Christmas and at the heart of the Christian faith. The word is “with.” 

Think back to the very beginning of all things. John’s gospel says, “The Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God. Without him not one thing came into being.” In other words, before anything else, there was a “with.” The “with” between God and the Word, or as Christians came to call it, between the Father and the Son. “With” is the most fundamental thing about God. And then think about how Jesus concludes his ministry. His very last words in Matthew’s gospel are, “Behold, I am with you always.” In other words, there will never be a time when I am not “with.” And at the very end of the Bible, when the book of Revelation describes the final disclosure of God’s everlasting destiny, this is what the voice from heaven says: “Behold, the home of God is with mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.” 

We’ve stumbled upon the most important word in the Bible, the word that describes the heart of God and the nature of God’s purpose and destiny for us. That word is “with.” That’s what God was in the very beginning, that’s what God sought to instill in the creation of all things, that’s what God was looking for in making the covenant with Israel, that’s what God coming among us in Jesus was all about, that’s what the sending of the Holy Spirit meant, that’s what our destiny in the company of God will look like. It’s all in that little word “with.” God’s whole life and action and purpose are shaped to be “with” us.

At Christmas God said unambiguously, “I am ‘with’.” Behold, my dwelling is among you. I’ve moved into the neighborhood. I will be “with” you always. My name is Emmanuel, God “with” us.

The story of the Bible, the good news of the Gospel, the joy of Christmas is “with.” God is with us, but we are also designed and made to be with each other. We need each other. We cannot be Christian or truly human alone. 

So much of the Bible is about how to live well in this world with each other. The promised day of God looks like wolf laying down with lamb, lion and calf dancing with each other, all of God’s children at the same table with one another. 

We’ve been talking about “Home for Christmas” this Advent. Home isn’t a place; it’s a way of being and living. Home is with God and with one another not just in physical presence but in purpose and love and spirit. With is not always easy. Relationships are hard. Those who have large extended families and in-laws coming for Christmas may attest to the stress of “with.” We do not always live with each other well, as the news is quick to remind us. We are not home yet, the world is not as it should be.

God, above all, knows how exasperating, ungrateful, thoughtless and self-destructive company we can be. Most of the time we just want God to fix it, and spare us the relationship. But that’s not God’s way. God could have done it all on his own. But God chose not to. God chose to do it “with” us. Even though it cost the cross. That’s the wonder of Christmas. That’s the amazing news of the word “with.”

December 2023 Financial Snapshot

December 20, 2023

Cash Flow – Operating Fund as of 11/30/23:

        ACTUAL        BUDGETED
Income YTD:     $1,106,855       $1,191,666 
Expenses YTD:      $1,082,669       $1,256,642
Surplus/(Deficit) YTD:           $24,186         ($64,976)

Ephiphany is Coming… and so are Star Gifts!

December 20, 2023

Come to church on Epiphany Sunday, Jan 7, and choose a star gift for 2024! Baskets of stars will be at the Chapel and Sanctuary entrances. Choose a star gift and reflect on that word for the coming year. Take it home and hang it up where you can see it every day. Ponder what significance this word might have in your life, and how God might be speaking to you through that simple message. 

Claire Folts • Children’s Music Director

December 14, 2023

This fall and winter I have continued to have the privilege of making music with the kids of Derry Church.  Our schedule looks a little different this year from last year. Some parts are the same, on Sunday mornings from 9:00-9:15 am, I still make music with preschool through 5th grade children. On Tuesdays, however, we have done some rearranging.  From 5:45-6:05 pm, I make music with preschool children and their families; from 6:05-6:35 pm, I make music with K-2nd grade children; from 6:35-7:00 pm, I make music with 3rd-5th grade children; and from 7:00-7:20 pm, I ring bells and chimes with 3rd-5th grade children. All of our groups, especially our 3rd-5th graders have been BUSY!

The 3rd-5th grade group has already sung and rung in worship three times this school year, AND they are getting ready to do it again on Christmas Eve at 5 pm! We are looking forward to a slightly slower paced January. The songs they have been working on are much more complicated than what they worked on last year. The vocal range is larger, the songs are longer, and some have had multiple parts happening at once. The K-2nd group sang on Children’s Sunday and are getting ready to sing on Christmas Eve.  They are working hard on consistently staying in their singing voice, accurately echoing pitch, keeping a steady beat, and playing musical games together. Our new group, the preschool and family group, has been having fun exploring together. Adults and kids alike ride “Engine No. 9,” sing and move at rabbit or turtle speed, and learn songs together.

While all the groups work very hard to get ready to lead worship, that is never the primary focus. Rather, we are exploring our faith together and building a safe, nurturing, joyful community in the process. These kids are kind, joyful, curious, and extremely hard-working. It is a privilege to be in community with them every week.

Christmas Eve at Derry Church

December 13, 2023

SUNDAY, DEC 24 IN THE SANCTUARY • LIVE STREAMING AT 10:30 AM, 5 PM & 7:30 PM

8:30-10 am: Breakfast in Fellowship Hall (donation supports mission)

10:30 am One service on the fourth Sunday in Advent.

Celebrate the birth of our savior at three distinctive Christmas Eve candlelight worship services:

2:30 pm: Worship includes Lessons and Carols and communion, with holiday music presented by the Derry Brass.

5:00 pm: A candlelight service of Lessons and Carols featuring participation by children and music for the entire family to enjoy.

7:30 pm: A traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service of Lessons and Carols, with music provided by the Derry Ringers and the Sanctuary Choir.

All Christmas Eve services include singing “Silent Night” and sharing candlelight, symbolizing that the Light of the World has come.

Child care available at 5 pm. The lounge adjacent to the Sanctuary offers a candle-free worship zone and a space where young families can move about freely.

Christmas Day at Derry Church

December 13, 2023

10:30 AM MONDAY, DEC 25 IN THE CHAPEL

Come as you are for a worship service that includes carol singing and a Christmas story, followed by refreshments, fellowship, and a birthday cake for Jesus in the John Elder Classroom and Hammond Library adjacent to the Chapel.

Holiday Schedule: What You Need to Know

December 13, 2023

  • Christmas Eve: No 8 am worship or church school classes on Sunday, Dec 24. Instead, have breakfast in Fellowship Hall from 8:30-10 am prepared by Charlie Koch and friends (your donation benefits 2024 mission trips). After breakfast, worship on the fourth Sunday in Advent at 10:30 am in the Sanctuary and streaming, then come back later for Christmas Eve services.
  • Christmas Day: come for informal worship in the Chapel at 10:30 am Monday, Dec 25, then celebrate Jesus’ birthday (with cake) in the John Elder Classroom and Hammond Library
  • Church office closed Dec 26 & 27: No eNews this week.
  • New Year’s Eve: No 8 am worship or church school classes on Sunday, Dec 31. Worship at 10:30 am on New Year’s Eve in the Sanctuary and streaming.

Derry Serves Up Christmas Eve Breakfast

December 13, 2023

8:30-10 AM SUNDAY, DEC 24 IN FELLOWSHIP HALL • DONATION

On Christmas Eve there will be no 8 am worship or church school classes, but there will be a delicious buffet breakfast! Drop by to enjoy egg strata, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, fruit cut, assorted muffins and juices, and coffee & tea. There will also be gluten-free options and a selection of dry cereal. 

Coffee Truck Comes to Derry

December 13, 2023

8-10 AM TUESDAY, DEC 19 IN THE PARKING LOT 

Need a little extra energy the week before Christmas? Stop by Cool Beans Brew Coffee Truck and select from a variety of coffee, cold brews, teas, refreshers and speciality holiday drinks ranging from $5-$8. Pay by cash, credit, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Brought to you by Derry Discovery Days Preschool.

Thank You, Derry Church!

December 13, 2023

In so many ways, you have spread the joy and shared God’s love this Christmas season!

BLOOD DRIVE

  • 38 Donors registered!
  • 31 units of blood collected!
  • Derry’s blood drive will help to save up to 93 lives! 

FOOD DRIVE

  • 697 pounds of Food to Hershey Food Pantry

CLOTHING DRIVE

  • A giant carload of clothing delivered to Allison Hill Ministries

GIFT CARDS

  • The congregation donated enough to meet our goal of 100 gift cards: 45 for racetrack workers in Grantville and 55 to Derry Township Social Ministries families

Join the PW Bible Study!

December 13, 2023

1 PM WEDNESDAY, DEC 20 IN THE LOUNGE

“Mary and Martha Encounter Jesus” is the lesson based on Luke 10:38-42 when the Presbyterian Women’s Circle gathers this month. All women are invited to join. Each lesson stands alone, so drop in to these monthly studies as your schedule allows.

Dan Dorty • Director of Music and Organist

December 7, 2023

Come, rejoice and celebrate the wonder and mystery of the birth of the Christ Child with the choirs of Derry Church as they take you on a journey to Bethlehem! 

The Sanctuary Choir and Derry Ringers will  join with soprano and tenor soloists Nina Cline and Christian Seay to present our 2023 Christmas concert, Gaudete!* The concert features works by Dan Forrest, including his settings of O Little Town of Bethlehem for choir, piano, and soprano saxophone, and Angels from the Realms of Glory for four-hand piano and violin. 

The orchestra will accompany the choir in my setting of The First Noël, and you’ll enjoy  J. David Moore’s stirring setting of Gaudete with choir, soloists, and tambourine. Harold Darke’s alternate tune set to the text In the Bleak Midwinter features Nina and Chris accompanied by our Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. You’ll also hear accompanists well-known to Derry: pianists Mary Lemons and Kurestin Miller, and organist Mark O’Hearn.

Other works include Mary Did You Know?, Angels Carol by John Rutter, and Alfred Burt’s beloved Caroling, Caroling. The Derry Ringers will perform two well-known carols, Fum, Fum, Fum and the Ukrainian Bell Carol, more commonly referred to as Carol of the Bells. 

The concert begins this Sunday, December 10 at 2 pm** and 5 pm in the Sanctuary, but you’ll want to get there 10 minutes early to hear a pre-concert recital by our harpist, Marilla Clay.  Join us for a sojourn that begins with a star above the stable, on a cold winter’s night where Mary, Joseph, and the Babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, await the shepherds and wise men. As we lift our voices together, I pray that each audience member will be caught up in the most tender warmth of love that the most humble birth of Jesus gives to each of us.

* In case you were wondering, Gaudete means “rejoice” — an apt description for this concert orchestrated to fill your heart with Christmas joy.

** You can also attend the 2 pm concert by live stream, but I heartily encourage you to attend in person, if at all possible. Click here to download the concert program.

Seasons Readings from the Ruth Codington Library

December 6, 2023

We HOPE you will visit the Ruth Codington Library this month to see our great collection of holiday books. We know you will find something you LOVE, perhaps in our Fiction section where Jennifer Chiaverini’s Christmas Bells explores Christmas past and present through the familiar words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Or pick up Richard Paul Evans’ mysterious Christmas Box with an ending that will fill you with the PEACE of the season. Bonhoeffer’s sermons, the Grinch, Chicken Soup for the Soul, those Herdman kids, a crippled lamb, and many more are waiting on the shelves to bring you holiday JOY.

While you’re there, read the Advent verse of the day, learn more about our staff’s holiday favorites (can you guess which movie rascal is Shawn Gray’s favorite Christmas character?) and write your picks on our graffiti wall (which is your favorite advent theme?)

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord…Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Your Spare Change Makes a Life-Saving Difference

December 6, 2023

Change 4 Children will be collected on Sunday, Dec 10 to help fund programs of the Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) in Zambia.  

Salma shoulders the responsibility of being the primary breadwinner for a household of five: her three children and a younger sister who suffered a stroke. At times money is so tight that her heart breaks at the thought of not being able to buy simple things like shoes for her daughter. To keep the family afloat, Salma runs her own business selling charcoal. When she became a beneficiary of ACE’s Family Preservation and Empowerment Program, the skills training and resources she received helped her business to blossom. She now also makes rugs to supplement her income. She aspires to invest in a piece of land for security and stability as well as a legacy for her children.

Place coins in zip-closed bags, checking that all non-coin items have been removed (tokens, batteries, pins, paper clips, etc.). Bag foreign coins separately. Drop your coin donations in the designated baskets at church entrances. Thanks, Derry!

Thank You, Cookie Bakers and Helpers!

December 6, 2023

Thanks to everyone who made the 2023 Cookie Walk and Jumbles Shop such a success: those who baked cookies and called their shepherd group members, the set-up crew, those who sorted and priced items, worked on Saturday with sales and clean up, as well as all those who purchased cookies and jumbles shop items. The Cookie Walk raised $2,478.72 and the Jumbles Shop earned $999.25 for a total of $3,477.97. This does not include donations some made in lieu of cookies. Big thanks to Nancy Kitzmiller, Sally McKinney and Linda Chidester for their leadership.

Some cookie bakers have shared their recipes. Stop by the church office and ask for the recipe folder. We’ll make copies of any you’d like to take with you.

The next Presbyterian Women’s event will be the winter tea on Sunday, March 3, 2024.

Bakers, pick up your cookie containers on the shelf above the coat rack in the Narthex through Sunday, Dec 17. Any remaining containers will be donated to Jubilee Ministries.

Blood Drive Report

December 6, 2023

The annual Jim Cooper Memorial Blood Drive on Sunday, Dec 3 was a great success!

  • 38 people were registered
  • 31 units of blood were collected, which is a great deferral rate
  • This drive will help to save up to 93 lives! Absolutely fantastic. Thank you, Derry Church!

GriefShare Support Group Begins

December 6, 2023

2-4 PM WEDNESDAYS, JAN 10-APR 3 IN THE JOHN ELDER CLASSROOM

GriefShare is a friendly, caring group of people who walk alongside people through one of life’s most difficult experiences, offering support to those who are dealing with the loss of a loved ones from death.

Each GriefShare session is organized in two parts. During the first 30-40 minutes of the meeting, the group views a video seminar featuring top experts on grief and recovery subjects. These videos are produced in an interesting-to-watch television magazine format featuring expert interviews, real-life case studies, dramatic reenactments and on-location video. Following the video, participants spend time discussing what was presented on that week’s video seminar and what is going on in each other’s lives.

This session continues weekly through April 3. Those interested may begin attending the GriefShare group at any time. Each session is self-contained, and any missed weeks can be joined when the next series is offered.

Register by contacting the church office (717-533-9667). No cost to attend. Child care is not available.