Author: Susan George

“Called to make a difference.”  You have heard this message to be Derry Church’s stewardship theme for this year.  I would ask you to think about the meaning of these words and how they might relate to you.

I believe that I was called to make a difference when I started a term on Session in 2021.  With this Session appointment came a committee assignment, Stewardship & Finance. I would have been happy to serve any of our committees, but Stewardship & Finance seemed to make sense. I like numbers.   balance our checkbook at home.  While I’m not a banker, per se, I work in the banking industry so I’m around numbers for a living. And, I’ve led stewardship campaigns at a previous church. All of these things seem to have pointed me to where I would make the most meaningful difference as a Derry Church volunteer.

Now, I will be honest: I had not anticipated being called to make a difference as the Chair of the committee at my first meeting, but as we know, God works in mysterious ways. And so, I write to you today asking that you think about the ways in which God may call on you to do something of meaning—something of difference.

There are many ways that we can make that difference at Derry.  Just read the eNews on Thursday to see all of the wonderful things that our congregation is involved in, from helping individuals and families in need through our various mission initiatives to facilitating multiple study groups for spiritual nurturing and delivering critically important youth programming and children’s ministry.  And everything in between.

I encourage you to give of your time and of your talents as volunteers. There is a place for all of us to accept this invitation.

As you think about the leadership role that Derry Church takes in our community, we can only do so because of generous financial giving by the congregation. Year after year, the congregation responds during our stewardship campaign. You are called to make a difference, and you do so by sharing a significant piece of your personal treasure.

We have tremendous pastoral leadership, the highest caliber of music programs, mission initiatives that literally change people’s lives for the better; and so much more.  Now more than ever, we need to recognize that these programs don’t just happen on their own. They happen because of the  congregation’s financial commitment—a commitment that results from our love of God and the pride in which we all feel about our Derry Church home.

Derry does so much for so many.  And, we can do even more. We are all called to make a difference during this stewardship campaign. I hope that you will join Kristen and me as we increase our pledge for 2023. But most importantly, I hope that you will give what you can, whatever that may be. Together, we can make a difference.

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In November  we’re lifting up access to health care in the Harrisburg and tri-county areas. 

For many years Derry has supported Hope Within Ministries, Christ Lutheran Church Health Ministries, and the Community Check-up Center. 

Hope Within Ministries, founded in 2002, is a volunteer, donation-based organization which serves Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon Counties. Hope Within offers free, primary health care services for medically uninsured, low-income residents (250% of the federal poverty level or less). Appointments are required: this is not a walk-in clinic. As one of the few providers in the region, Hope Within offers counseling services on a self-pay, income based sliding scale, and in 2020 dental services were added. Hope Within was very helpful in supporting Derry Church’s efforts in the early stages of resettling our Syrian family by providing necessary physicals and immunizations. 

Christ Lutheran Church Health Ministries in Harrisburg provides a free, nurse-run, walk-in clinic Monday-Friday. Patients have access to simple lab tests, basic physical evaluations, health education, and some social services. For three days/month with an appointment, patients can receive dental care and a weekly, walk-in oral hygiene clinic. A prenatal clinic for low-income, low-risk women is available, and a partnership with Holy Spirit Hospital provides advanced care and labor and delivery. A free, non-emergency urgent care clinic run weekly (by appointment only) is available.

The Community Check-up Center in Harrisburg’s Hall Manor area is another health care provider supported by Derry for many years. This non-profit organization provides services to men, women, and children in acute situations and to those managing chronic illnesses. Preventive health screenings, and immunizations are available. The Check-up Center also provides free gynecological and family planning services for women who are uninsured and meet age and income eligibility requirements. 

These non-profit organizations are heavily dependent upon contributions for the support of their programs. Derry Church provides assistance to all three of these essential ministries through our  Mission & Peace Committee, which receives a portion of the church’s annual budget. Thus, your pledges and contributions are essential in helping to support a variety of health care services to those in need across the Central Pennsylvania region.

One of the duties of the Deacons is caring for members in need. As a Deacon at Derry, I was offered the opportunity to accompany Pastor Stephen on his monthly visits to homebound members to serve them communion. I was grateful for the opportunity since COVID had impacted our in-person contact with many Derry members.

We set out on the Tuesday morning after Labor Day. We were warmly welcomed into the members’ homes and, for those I knew, it was a chance to renew friendships or to make new acquaintances. Each visit was filled with easy conversation, listening to their news about family or hearing about any concerns they had. At one home we even sang a favorite hymn together. It was a joy to see their smiles as we chatted at leisure. Then Pastor Stephen opened his traveling communion kit and we shared the “bread of Heaven” and the “cup of salvation.”. 

Many of our homebound members live stream the Sunday service but cannot share in taking the sacrament of communion in person with others. It was clearly a joy to take the bread and cup with them and see how delighted they were to receive us in their homes.

It was a fulfilling experience for me, and I hope other Derry Deacons will choose to accompany Pastor Stephen on these monthly visits. If you’ve ever served as a Deacon (or an Elder), you can participate: just contact Pastor Stephen and let him know you’re available.

I was asked to write this article back in early August. I thought I had a good idea for things that make a difference here at Derry and I chewed on this idea a bit. Being fresh off the Youth Group trip (in full disclosure, two of the young people were my daughters), this would fall right out of my fingers and onto my screen, right? Not quite. It is now September 1 and one of you, without even knowing I was asked to write this, sent me a very nice card, with a brief message about a youth activity that let me know that my thoughts had congealed and I was headed in the right direction.

Here is my working title for this piece: Do You Make a Difference in the Lives of Our Youth? That question and my message here is not an appeal for new sign-ups for Sunday School teachers or Youth Leaders (although none of us would say that is a bad idea and we can tell you that the process of getting your clearances is not that bad at all), but this article is a call for reflection on the difference you make in the lives of our youth.

So what are the elements of our youth program here at Derry?

Sunday School? Check.

Youth Group? Check.

Food? Devotions? Check! Check.

Fellowship and Activities? Check.

So much more? Check, Check, and Check again.

Are you part of Derry’s Youth program? Check! You are!

Do you make a difference in the lives of our youth? Check! More than you know!!

My argument here is based on my observations at Derry and a reflection on my experiences growing up. You provide significant and valuable things to our youth and probably do not even realize it. You are just doing the things that you do as a person of faith. I recall attending church with my family and I remember those worshiping around me — even as I start to receive offers in the mail for senior discounts, their names and faces are still vivid in my mind. I still remember where most people sat each Sunday. I remember being led in hymns by Mr. Shebelsky in our gathering before Sunday School, and finding passages in the Bible with Mrs. Unger. Ushering with Mr. Edmands, the singing voice of the scout leader, who would later become my first boss. Other times, I remember smiles and kind words, or the good food that people shared during turine dinners (it took me a long time to figure out what turine meant). I was given the gift of experiencing the love of Jesus Christ in the people I met. They showed me what that looked like and what people living their faith meant, all without doing any one, particular thing. All these things are still part of me today.

It is a privilege to be involved with the youth here at Derry, and, I am certain others would tell you the same thing. I probably do not have enough space here or time to fully share what impacts me (and how), but here are the first things to come to mind from recent youth gatherings/events:

It is a gift to watch youth get to know each other over the course of a week, when packed in a van for at least 25 – 30 hours over the course of a week, needing to share bathrooms, walking in the woods, taking off across a lake in a kayak or on a paddle board, getting sand out of their shoes, helping to cook meals, and getting help finding the sunscreen. I am moved by their participation in devotions and worship planned by them. I often am given pause as I hear them sing the hymns I remember singing when I was growing up. I take so much from them when I hear their expressions of the intersection of their lives and faith when we go around the circle offering prayers, and it is particularly poignant when their prayers are heard by adults or they hear the prayers of adults. At other times, I am not looked at too weirdly when I join in a music experience that requires a stand up and clap, move to your left, turn around and jump required along with the singing, taking me back to memories from my younger years.

More and more each day, I realize how much I appreciate the involvement of others in the church as I was growing up and the experiences I have here at Derry. I not only appreciate the gifts that were given to me (and continue to be), I rely on them. The older I get, they are a comfort to me, but also provide a foundation for what I need in this world that seems to challenge us more each day. I suspect many of you feel the same way and rely on the gifts you have received and still receive. They make a difference.

Believe it or not, you make a difference to our youth program and are a vibrant part of it. By being here, worshiping, welcoming, expressing your faith, singing, eating together, working, or just chatting with others, you make a difference. I am pretty certain that our youth will reflect on what they have received from you in years to come, even the littlest thing may be significant to them. They will come to the same conclusion that you made a difference to them, I just bet, and will later make a difference to others, too.

I recently had my hearing tested. The audiologist asked me how my summer was going. I told her that, quite suddenly, I was very busy. My church had become involved with a Syrian refugee family and I was drawn to become involved. She thanked me. Thirty years ago her family was sponsored by a church when they were refugees after the Vietnam war ended. She said most refugee families do not have sponsors. Because hers did, they were able to survive and thrive in the new country where they knew little of the language or the customs.

Syrians have fled by the millions since the Arab Spring 12 years ago was violently quashed. Russia has armed the suppression of Syrians wanting a more democratic government. Derry Church was made personally aware of the Syrian refugee crisis in January when Church World Service (CWS) Lancaster gave a presentation at Sunday school (watch part 1 and part 2).

The Mission and Peace Committee (MAP) took note. Some contact was maintained over the months. CWS opened a new office in Harrisburg in preparation for resettling refugee families, including several Syrian families. We received word in July that partners were desperately needed to help with families. Pete Feil and Marilyn Koch, with the encouragement of MAP and Pastor Stephen, put out the word. Derry Church had been called. But did we want to answer? Could we answer on such short notice? It seemed impossible.

They needed a place to live, help to access the seed benefits the United States makes available to the small number of refugees each year. They would need help to become independent: get jobs; enroll their children in school; access medical care; have access to transportation; learn English, and so much more. MAP and a number of interested Derry and All Saints Episcopal Church members, despite this seemingly impossible mission, said yes. We would commit to help resettle one family.

The Mohamad Haikal family arrived on July 27. The parents and four children, ages 4-12, traveled over 24 hours. Each had a duffel bag with their worldly possessions. They’d been waiting in Egypt for 10 years to come to the United States. Since then, our band of volunteers have been part of the adventure of a lifetime.

Many people have been involved in resettling this family. Surprisingly we have encountered a number of Arabic-speaking people who have helped us navigate various situations. We now have a dedicated English as a Second Language (ESL) group, headed by Sue Whitaker, and augmented by members of the All Saints Episcopal Church in Hershey. The school district also provides ESL support. Love INC has provided transitional housing for the family. Hope Within provided initial medical treatment. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, the Hershey Food Bank, and Cocoa Packs have provided food and clothing. Many other donors from both churches have provided funds, food, clothing, household goods, bicycles, and transportation to the mosque, as well as a variety of appointments for health, school, job, and social assistance programs. 

All of this has made a huge impact on the Haikal family and the volunteers. None of this would’ve been possible had the call not been answered. And because we answered, mini miracles, if there is such a thing as a “mini” miracle, have occurred. Mohamad has a job but more support will be needed. Permanent, affordable housing and a car large enough for the family of six are needed. 

God has brought us this far. God will continue to call. Will Derry Church continue to answer? “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In October we’re lifting up efforts to fight hunger in our community and around the world. 

Did you know that last year 828 million people around the globe went to bed hungry?  

Did you know that 13.5 million households in the United States were food insecure? 

Did you know that right here in Central PA, 153,000 individuals visited the Central PA Food Bank every month? 

Statistics like these can be overwhelming. It can seem like an impossible problem to solve. However, there are steps that can be taken that will help those who are hungry.  Consider these mission opportunities:

1. Serve breakfast or lunch at Downtown Daily Bread. Contact Craig Smith for details. 
2. Donate Giant or Walmart gift cards to the Hershey Food Bank and the Central PA Food Bank.
3. Serve dinner to workers at the Racetrack. Derry is scheduled to provide dinner on Monday, Oct 31: contact Craig Smith to volunteer. 
4. Hold a food drive in your neighborhood to benefit the Hershey and Central PA food banks.
5. Celebrate a birthday or anniversary by asking friends and family to donate to one of Derry’s missions that support feeding programs.
6. Organize a team to walk in the CROP Hunger Walk at 2 pm on Sunday, Oct 23. Sign up online to walk or to make a donation, or stop by the table in the Narthex on Sunday morning.
7. Find out what the Presbyterian Church (USA) is doing to combat hunger: check out the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Support their work by writing a check or giving online.

Each of us in small ways can make a real difference in fighting hunger. As the CROP Walk slogan so aptly puts it, Help End Hunger One Step at a Time.  

We have reached September and are entering budgeting season. It is time for the annual update on how the church is doing financially and my projections for the rest of the year. Before I begin, I would like to thank Steven Guenther for his service as past treasurer. I wish him well in his new endeavors in Pittsburgh.

As of the end of August, we have received income contributions that are 74.4 % of our budgeted $1,250,000 income and approximately 10% ahead of 2021 contributions Y-T-D. Expenses are at 58.5% of budget. That is expected as many of our expenses are paid at the end of the year. If our contributions continue as they have in the first eight months of the year, and our expenses do not exceed the budgeted $1,293,937, we should finish the year in a break even to a positive position.

As the Session, the Stewardship & Finance Committee, and the other committees look forward to the 2023 budget and the future, we are working to ensure that Derry Church provides for the current needs of our church members and the community as well as the financial stability of the church. By planning for the future, we can make sure we are managing our resources responsibly.

Because of the generous support of the congregation, we have been able to do capital projects such as the refurbishment of the cemetery walls and planned improved signage around the church. The sound system upgrades are continuing. Lighting improvements around the church have also been accomplished and are continuing. We have been able to sponsor and support a refugee family. We have been able to do mission work in our community and throughout the world–whether it be helping youth with college scholarships or building a new wing on the school in Pakistan.

I would like to thank the congregation for your continued support of the church and its mission work in our community and the world.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything related to Derry’s finances, please contact me at treasurer@derrypres.org.

“The one who sings prays twice,” a phrase written more than 1,600 years ago by St. Augustine, is still well-known today. The word “sing” appears more than 400 times in the Bible, 50 of which are a direct call to action. As Christians, we take comfort in the words of our beloved hymns: they help us express the gamut of every human emotion, calm our fears, uplift our souls, and share the message that God is with us. They give us the charge to live as Christ calls us and are the prayers of our faith set to melody and enriched by harmony. For millions of Christians worldwide, the great hymns of faith and songs of praise permeate every aspect of our faith journey. 

When I met with members of the Derry choirs during my job interview, a great question was asked of me: “What do you envision for the future of the music program of Derry Presbyterian Church?” This question is one that I ponder each day as I drive from Boiling Springs to Hershey. What first came to mind is that Derry is a singing church, a congregation that loves and cherishes music in worship. It’s a church that worships with various styles and genres centered on its mission and vision: to proclaim God’s word, share God’s love, and practice God’s justice. To be an inquiring, inviting, and inclusive Christ-centered community.

In the tradition of a singing church, Derry offers many exciting opportunities to join singing and ringing choirs. My vision is to have a full choir loft each Sunday to lead the congregation in inspiring, uplifting, and meaningful praise, reflecting the message of the Sermon, scriptures, and worship service. The Sanctuary Choir is back in full swing, and I invite you to join us as we grow in faith, music, and fellowship. Rehearsals are held at 7 pm Thursdays in room 7.

The Derry Ringers are rehearsing on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm, and I invite you to ring with us! You don’t have to be great at reading music to ring handbells, and it’s never too late to learn. It would be wonderful to have a full five-octave bell choir, and you can help make that possible. 

Youth and children can participate in choirs that sing and choirs that ring. Claire Folts, Mark Verner, Debbi Kees-Folts, and I are working together to nurture and cultivate community and growth in our young believers because they are our future. 
It is a gift to worship with you each Sunday as you lift your voices in adoration, prayer, and praise for all that God has done for us. My vision for the music program of Derry Church is to lead a community that rings and sings for God’s glory. Come, and be a part of the music and the worship! Reach out to me and let me know how you’d like to participate. I look forward to singing and ringing God’s praises along with you.

Back in 2015, when I was working part-time as Derry’s Communications Coordinator, the Communications & Technology Committee embarked on a five-year technology plan. With former Derry member Dave Sweigert taking the lead, the committee worked to replace aging AV equipment and infrastructure throughout the church. I’m happy to report that we completed all the items on that five-year plan, and now that we’re out from under the heavy AV demands that the pandemic brought, we’ve begun work on the next five-year plan. One of the first things we’ll be addressing is the church’s aging and vulnerable WIFI network, which will improve connectivity, add security, and provide faster service for everyone who joins the Derry Guest WIFI. 

In June the team that installed our live stream equipment drove in from Malvern to make adjustments to the sound system in the Sanctuary. If you’ve attended 10:30 am Sunday worship in person, tell me what you’re experiencing as you worship in that space. The AV crew is pleased that the nagging problem with feedback has been resolved, and some in the congregation have told me they can tell the sound is clearer. If the congregation is satisfied, then we can turn our attention to other projects.

In March I reported  on the outdoor sign project and now we’re just weeks away from installation. Beginning in October, new signage will be appearing on the church campus and on the corner of Mansion Road and East Chocolate Avenue. I’m looking forward to having numbers on all the outdoor entrances, making it easy to direct everyone to the correct door — especially delivery people and guests. We’ve done some preliminary work on the indoor sign plan and we’re waiting for the first round of designs to be delivered for review. 

Tech Time on Mondays at 1 pm continues to be a bright spot in my week. A handful of Derry regulars and many new faces drop in on Zoom for an hour for conversation and sharing tips and tricks on high-tech and low-tech devices. Whether or not you have a question, you’re welcome to join for a few minutes or the full hour as we learn and laugh together. It’s the one Zoom meeting that has continued weekly since launching in May 2020 as a way for friends to practice using that brand-new Zoom technology. Let me know your ideas for other Zoom gatherings the church could offer this fall. 

I’ll close with a brief update on attendance. In 2022 we’re welcoming on average 32 people at the 8 am service, and 149 at 10:30 am. Live streaming brings an average of 151 IP addresses, which translates to about 225 people. Thanks to everyone who signs the guestbook and lets us know who’s out there worshiping with us. Pastor Stephen, Dan Dorty and I read all the comments and feedback you submit. Whether you join in person or by streaming, we’re glad you’re a part of the Derry Church family. 

PS: Following the 10:30 am service on Sunday, the AV crew invites you to stop by the control center at the back to check out what they do on Sunday mornings. If you like what you see, we’d love to have you join the crew to run audio, video, or content added with the computer. Open calls to learn more about AV operations are held monthly.

I love stories: reading, watching, singing, telling stories that entertain, educate, shape, and transform. Everybody has a story: ordinary stories, extraordinary stories, stories that delight, entertain, and educate …  stories that make you laugh, think, hope and cry. Stories are the raw material from which we live our lives. 

I understand stories as the space where I can speak my questions, express my uncertainty and brokenness, the hurt done to others by me, and the hurt done to me by others. 

In our diverse and divided nation, shaped by the ebb and flow of mutual fears and antagonisms, stories can be uncomfortable or discomforting. They can also be restorative and transformative. Each can hold a surprise that opens up life to me and allows me to know and learn about other experiences and ways of life. 

I believe we need to create more spaces for storytelling and listening, because a space of stories becomes a space of engagement, and engagement and experience precedes understanding. We cannot reconcile and move forward living better lives together without on some level understanding one another. This is why I’m excited about Derry Church embarking on a new experience together called ENGAGE STORIES. 

ENGAGE STORIES is a storytelling event where five people have up to ten minutes each to tell a true story from their own lives, and then the audience gets to ask curious questions. Our first event’s theme is “Once in a Lifetime.”  

Everybody has a story that deserves to be heard. Our first group of storytellers will be:

• George Porter is going to tell a story about how a fractured jaw helped to repair a fractured relationship.
• Sara Woodbury says, “When I was 11, I took a trip that changed me in ways I could not have imagined before boarding the plane from Cleveland to Paris. I’ll share with you some of the things I found beautiful, funny, curious, and shocking during my once in a lifetime adventure.”
• Natalie Taylor will share about her recent experience traveling to Poland to teach English to Ukrainian refugees. 
• Frances Mohler will share a story about being caught in a scary and dangerous situation on a church mission trip.
• Dan Dorty is going to tell about his 2020 life-saving and life-changing kidney transplant.

I hope you’ll come to the ENGAGE STORIES event at 6:30 pm Saturday, Sept 10 in Room 7. Come prepared to listen, to learn, to ask questions, and grow closer to one another through the power of stories.

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month (or close to it), the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In September we’re lifting up the PC (USA)’s Peace & Global Witness Offering, and our local offering recipient, Hope Within Ministries.

Hope Within Ministries is a community health, counseling, and dental center located on Route 230 (Harrisburg Pike) in Elizabethtown. Hope Within’s mission is to share God’s love with people in need through the provision of health care services, dental care, sound counsel and related education.

Their vision is to be a local community in which:

• Physical, spiritual, and emotional needs are met;
• Real hope is prevalent;
• Love for one another abounds; and
• Healthy, wholesome lifestyles are the norm

Hope Within was founded in 2002 to provide primary health care to uninsured, low-income residents of Lancaster, Dauphin, and Lebanon Counties. Through the grace and goodness of God, they are excited to share God’s love by offering excellent and free primary medical and donation-based dental care via the hands of more than 30  volunteer medical and dental providers, therapists, and nurses.  Derry member Larry Espenshade is one of Hope Within’s volunteer medical practitioners.

Hope Within offers healthcare services for medically uninsured low-income residents in Lancaster, Dauphin, or Lebanon Counties whose household income is at 250 percent of the federal poverty level or less.

Derry’s Mission Committee is grateful for the Hope Within staff and volunteers who are providing primary medical care and immunization services to the Syrian refugee family we are sponsoring through Church World Service.  Hope Within has supported many of the refugee families that have relocated in the Harrisburg/Lancaster region.

Hope Within relies on and is immensely grateful for generous support from medical and non-medical volunteers. Volunteer opportunities exist for health care providers, reception/front office services, nursing, help with fundraising and community outreach events, and miscellaneous ministry projects and needs. They would love to hear from you as to ways you would like to get involved.

In 2009, Rev. Marie Buffaloe asked me if I would be willing to embark with her on a new program for Derry Church. She had in mind a way to assist people dealing with the loss of a loved one. She explained to me that she had found a program entitled “Grief Share,” a nationally recognized Christian based bereavement program.

At that time our church had suffered the losses of several members, and a few of our members had other personal losses in their lives. We began meeting on Tuesday afternoons and our first group consisted almost entirely of Derry members. The idea was that they could attend Grief Share, then stay and enjoy fellowship around the table at Terrific Tuesday meals.

Since then, with outreach and advertising, our groups often have community members outnumbering our church members. People can visit GriefShare.org to learn where the program is being offered. They come from a variety of faith traditions and some travel quite a distance to reach our church. We have faced unique challenges with those we seek to serve. 

Knowing that Marie would not be with me this year, I asked God and my prayer warriors for direction in discerning if I could do this as the leader. In the late winter, the answer became clear that “yes,” needed to try. I was fortunate to have a woman who had gone through the program with us two times and had become a leader with us. Bonnie Landes from Palmyra Church of the Brethren was committed to making the program a success and has worked closely with me this summer to accomplish that goal. I am grateful to Bonnie for her informed guidance and compassionate heart.  

We are now meeting on Monday afternoons and are privileged to gather each week with a group who have suffered profound losses in their lives. It is an honor to be a part of their shared experience. In these two hours they find acceptance and a safe place for their pain and their tears. These are times of affirmation of God’s love and God’s care for us. We look forward to being with them each week and providing the opportunity for them to try small steps, which often lead to bigger steps and deeper understandings of a God who never leaves us. 

Editor’s note: The 13-week summer GriefShare series concludes in September, but they’ll be back next year. Watch the eNews for the 2023 schedule.