News

“Rally Day” Sunday School Kick-Off
9:15 AM SUNDAY, SEPT 10 
Each year we love to kick off our programs with a joyful day of celebration! Mark your calendars now and make plans to join. Children can check out their new classroom spaces, meet teachers and have fun getting to know their classmates. 

Kids Fellowship is Back!
12 PM SUNDAY, SEPT 10
Kids in grades 3-5 are invited to our first fellowship event of the program year following the 10:30 am service. We’ll join forces with our youth group and take over GET AIR in Harrisburg. 

Music & Creative Arts
5:45 PM TUESDAYS BEGINNING SEPT 12
Come have dinner at the church on Tuesday evenings, then stick around for music and creative arts programming. 

10:30 am – 12 pm Thursdays in room 7
This study group, led by Jan Nixon, will discuss Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine.

9:15-10:15 am Sundays beginning Oct 8 in room 2
Weekly study group led by Jenn Owsley. The letter of James is a short book with a lot of wisdom and practical advice on living the faith we profess. This discussion-based class will use James as a guide to sharing how our faith plays out in our day-to-day lives, priorities, and choices. Participants will be challenged through this letter to reflect on how we follow Christ’s teachings and share His love with the world, and how we can do it better. 

11:45 am Sundays in the Chapel
Pastor Stephen’s 11-minute lessons are back! Join him as he takes the books of First and Second Peter verse by verse as together we get to know and understand these complete letters.

11 am Mondays in the Hammond Library
This weekly study group will be considering When Christians Get It Wrong by Adam Hamilton. Contact Claudia Holtzman for more information.

7 pm on the first Monday of the month beginning Oct 2 in Room 7 and on Zoom
First up for the monthly women’s study group is a discussion of Kate Moore’s The Woman They Could Not Silence, led by Jane Robertson. Contact Sue George for more information.

1 pm on the third Wednesday of the month beginning Sept 20 in the Lounge
The Presbyterian Women’s Morning Circle Bible study for 2023-24 is Sacred Encounters: The Power and Presence of Jesus Christ in Luke-Acts. For more information, contact Doris Feil.

More options with Pastor Stephen:

• Men’s breakfast at 7:30 am on the first Wednesday of the month in Fellowship Hall
• Monthly Bible Study with Prime Timers, 12:30 pm Mondays in room 7 (12:45 pm beginning Sept 11)

Derry Church and Rebuilding Together Greater Harrisburg have been given permission to begin construction of a ramp at 197 Houston, Grantville. The posts have been set. If you would like to help complete the project, further construction will begin at 10 am Wednesday, August 30. Bring a lunch and something to drink. If you can be there, please contact Charlie Koch or Pete Feil.

You are invited to ponder and discuss the following questions with your family, with small groups and committees, or on your own so what happens in worship can follow you, inspire you, and guide you throughout the week:

1. When are you most impatient? What is really hard for you to wait for?
2. Have you ever wanted God to act sooner on a prayer, a request, or a change? What was it like waiting and seeing nothing happen? What feelings did that cause?
3. What does it mean for you to trust God even when it’s hard to wait on God to act? Have you ever experienced God acting in the past that helps you remember to trust in the future?

Cash Flow – Operating Fund as of 7/31/23:

	ACTUAL	BUDGETED
Income YTD:	$738,769	$757,750
Expenses YTD:	$733,504	$799,681
Surplus/(Deficit) YTD:	$5,265	($41,348)

Treasurer’s note: July income was again below budget. July expenses were below budget. Income vs expenses for July was $29,981.

Long-time nursery worker Sue Fox has retired, and we’re celebrating her care and ministry to the children of Derry Church on Sunday, Sept 10. You’re invited to bring cards for her that day, or mail cards to the church ahead of time. Even better, your presence is welcome and appreciated on this special day.

The Parsonage Ministry Manager provides day-to-day leadership for two Love INC Parsonages. This position is responsible to lead the volunteer House Managers and Housekeepers at each location, monitor building operations, and network with Social Workers and Care Coordinators at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. This part-time position reports to the Love INC Executive Director. View job description and apply.

You are invited to ponder and discuss the following questions with your family, with small groups and committees, or on your own so what happens in worship can follow you, inspire you, and guide you throughout the week:

1. Do you ever feel over-worked, over stressed, and over committed? How did you get that way?
2. How do you practice sabbath rest, and if you don’t, what keeps you from it?
3. How does worship help you remember what is important in life and what our time is for? How could worship do that better?

REGISTRATION 9:15-9:45 AM SATURDAY, AUG 19 IN FELLOWSHIP HALL

All women are invited to the PW in Carlisle Presbytery Gathering at Derry Church. For the morning session, Emily Sutphin — associate minister at Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church — will introduce this year’s PW Bible study, “Sacred Encounters.”  

The afternoon program, Refugee Resettlement, provides insights and information on Derry’s experience with helping a Syrian refugee family settle in the community. A light lunch will be served ($5 donation). 

RSVP to Doris Feil or Loretta Chubb.

11:45 AM SUNDAY, AUG 13 IN THE YOUTH ROOM

Youth and parents who would like to learn more about Derry’s 2023-24 Confirmation program are invited to meet in the Youth Room with Pastor Stephen after Sunday worship.

Confirmation is an opportunity for youth to explore what it means to be a follower of Jesus and be a member of the church. Confirmation is typically for youth in 8th and 9th grades, but exceptions can be made.

Questions? Contact Pastor Stephen.

12 PM MONDAY, SEPT 18 AT SKYLINE COMMONS PARK, UPPER PAVILION, 305 SHORT STREET, WEST HANOVER TOWNSHIP

Save the date for a combined Derry Day Trippers and Prime Timers potluck lunch! 

More information will be available closer to the event. Questions? Contact Kathy McGrath (717-635-5525).

9:15-10:15 AM SUNDAYS, AUG 13-20-27 IN ROOM 2

Join Jack Keene and friends for a three-part video series, “Christian History Made Easy” presented by Dr. Timothy Jones. Participants will watch a 30-minute DVD on early church history, then spend the remaining class time discussing what they heard and saw.

Here’s the schedule for this adult education series:

AUG 13:  The First Christians 1-100 AD. The general question is proposed, “Can you be a Christian without dealing with history?”  This timeframe is when God enters history in the form of Jesus Christ. Christianity is an historical faith. There were many witnesses, not all recalling Jesus in the same manner. There is a study of Luke’s writings, and an account of Rome burning and how it was blamed on early Christians. 

AUG 20:  Defending the Truth 100-300 AD. Discusses the modern effect of The Da Vinci Code. There were many different Christianities in the early church. How were the books of the New Testament chosen? Defines the Christian beliefs of the Ebionites, Docetists, Gnostics and the Marcionites. 

AUG 27:  From Persecuted to Preferred 300-500 AD. Emperor Diocletian split the Roman Empire into East and West.  Galerius convinces Diocletian that Christians were against him and thus Christians became persecuted.  Constantine and his army subsequently captured Rome and Constantine became a Christian Emperor. Christianity first became legal. The Council of Nicaea convened bringing together church leaders from all over. The “real St. Nicholas” is documented.