News

9 AM – 1 PM SATURDAY, OCT 2 AT LEBANON HIGH SCHOOL, 1000 S. 8TH ST., LEBANON 

• Penn State Health is holding a free drive-thru flu shot clinic for ages three and older
• No ID or insurance required
• Face masks required
• Adults must be able to access the middle part of their arm to receive a shot, so loose-fitting clothes are recommended
• Reservations suggested but not required: please click here to register each person over the age of three who will receive a shot

Derry Family and Friends, it’s been a long time coming, but I would like to reach out and thank each of you for your phone calls, cards, words of encouragement and especially the prayers that you sent our way. The last 16 months have sometimes been difficult for me. With God’s help, on August 10 I was blessed with another lung. I am at home recovering and each day I feel myself getting stronger because of your prayers. Keep them coming. Thank you again for all of your continuing thoughts and prayers. Although I do not know who my donor is for my new lung, please keep his family in your prayers through the difficult time they must be experiencing. Until we meet again at Derry! Peace to all, Jim Carns

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we greatly appreciate your gift of $3,000 in August. We are tremendously blessed by this partnership. Thanks to you, we added a weekly dental hygiene clinic which is in high demand. God bless our siblings in Christ at Derry. Rev. Andrew Stockstill, Christ Lutheran Church, Harrisburg

Pastor Stephen’s first 11-minute lesson focuses on the theme, “Can God Suffer?” Lessons continue in the Chapel after 8:00 and 10:30 am worship and will be posted on YouTube and Facebook on Sunday afternoon.

4 PM SUNDAY, OCT 24 IN THE SANCTUARY • FREE WILL OFFERING • AN ARTS ALIVE EVENT

Bill Carter and his quartet last played at Derry Church in 2013 , which means our newest Derry Church members and friends haven’t yet had the opportunity to hear the ensemble’s jazz music that glorifies God, renews the Christian church, and models the integration of faith and the arts. Click to sample their music, then save the date and get ready for an afternoon of music that adds new dimensions to the faith and worship of the Christian church.

Orange Day is the day each month that Presbyterian Women wear orange or an orange ribbon to remember female victims of exploitation and those trying to end it.

At 15 years of age, Theresa Flores was drugged, raped and tortured for two long years – kept in bondage, forced to pay back an impossible debt as a sex slave – all while living at home attempting to keep her family safe in an upper-middle class Detroit suburb. She attended school during the day along side her traffickers, only to be called into “service” late each night while her unknowing family slept. Involuntarily involved in a criminal ring, she endured more as a child than most adults do in their lives. Today Theresa share her story and raises awareness of trafficking. She tells her story in “The Slave Across the Street.”

Support Theresa and others to end this exploitation by wearing orange on the 25th of the month.

The 2021 Hershey/Hummelstown CROP Hunger Walk is about one month away. That means it is time to plan how you will participate. To keep walkers healthy and safe, this year’s CROP Hunger Walk will once again be VIRTUAL.  

Here are the steps to prepare for this year’s walk:

Step 1: Decide if you will walk alone, or with a group. 
Step 2: REGISTER ONLINE with TEAM Derry Presbyterian.  Encourage friends and family to support you.  Donations can be made online by credit card. Checks can be made out to CWS. Write Hershey/Hummelstown CROP Walk on the memo line. Checks should be sent to the church by October 31, 2021.
Step 3: Choose a date and time to walk.  Officially, the walk is scheduled for Sunday, October 23, however, you may walk on any day prior to that date.
Step 4: Select a safe place to walk such as a park, walking path, your neighborhood, the church grounds, etc.  
Step 5: If you have participated in previous CROP Walks, dig out your old CROP Walk t-shirt and wear it during your walk.
Step 6: Prior to starting out on your walk, take a moment to pray for the vulnerable in our community, nation, and world.
Step 7: As you walk, take photos or videos and send them to Sue George. She will post them on Derry’s Facebook page.
Step 8: Questions? Contact Jane Robertson

Last year we met our goal of $5,000. We are aiming to meet or even exceed that goal this year. Help end hunger, one step at a time by supporting the 2021 CROP Walk for Hunger. Thanks, Derry!

Love INC of Greater Hershey seeks donations of artistic creations, jewelry, gift cards and items for a variety of gift baskets, services, tools, electronics, household decor and, of course, homemade pies and kitchen creations that can be auctioned online Oct 20-24. Food items DO NOT need to be made for the the day of the event. Baked creations may be made at a time agreed upon between the baker and winning bidder. MORE

Cash Flow – Operating Fund as of 8/31/21

	ACTUAL	BUDGETED
Income YTD:	$833,531	$833,333
Expenses YTD:	787,608	879,580
Surplus/(Deficit) YTD:	45,923	(46,247)

Notes from the treasurer:

• Contributions are in line with 2020 and budget at this point.
• Committee spending generally in line with or under budget. 
• Cash flow at 8/31 is in line with last year.

11 AM MONDAYS BEGINNING OCT 4 IN THE JOHN ELDER CLASSROOM

Derry members will take turns leading this new group as it begins with a short study of Adam Hamilton’s book “Half Truths,” which examines some of the platitudes we typically say about God which aren’t completely accurate. To journey in faith along with this group of recent retirees, please contact Pastor Stephen.

10:30 AM SERVICE OF DEDICATION IN THE SANCTUARY (FACE MASKS REQUIRED) AND LIVE STREAMING • PLEASE RSVP FOR NURSERY CARE (AGES 1-3)

The service of dedication in the Sanctuary for the new-to-Derry Aeolian-Skinner organ will feature hymns, anthems, and a litany of dedication.

The Sanctuary Choir will sing Martin Shaw’s “With a Voice of Singing,” and the upper voices of the choir will sing “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” to a beautiful tune written by the American composer Calvin Hampton. The dedication will also feature his “Postlude on [the tune] Engelberg” as an extended introduction to the singing of the same hymn, which you may know as “When In Our Music God is Glorified.” Other hymns will be “Praise to the Lord” and “Alleluia, Sing to Jesus.” “Praise to the Lord” will feature our lower voices on a four-part arrangement a cappella.

We will have remarks from Nicholas Thompson-Allen, the organ builder in charge of the installation, whose father Aubrey presided over the initial installation in 1950.

The service will conclude with Charles-Marie Widor’s beloved Toccata from his 5th organ symphony. This was the final piece heard on Derry’s previous Reuter organ before it was dismantled.

Officer elections will follow the service, and there will be no 8 am worship.

4 PM ORGAN RECITAL IN PERSON (FACE MASKS REQUIRED) AND LIVE STREAMING
After more than a year of restoration, the 1950 Aeolian-Skinner Op. 1132 originally built for the Redeemer Church in New Haven, Connecticut, is ready for its inaugural organ recital presented by Grant Wareham, our Director of Music Ministry and Organist.

The program will highlight all the capabilities of the new-to-Derry organ, including soaring, pure flute tones of the new Harmonic Flute (1929 E.M. Skinner pipes that were not included in the instrument’s original installation) on Louis Vierne’s “Clair de Lune,” a bubbly prelude and a soaring fugue in Maurice Duruflé’s tribute to his fallen friend, Jehan Alain, in his “Prelude and Fugue on ALAIN,” and the organ used as a full orchestra in an organ transcription of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Overture to Ruy Blas.” The program will conclude with Max Reger’s Chorale Fantasy on “How Brightly Shines the Morning Star.”

Organist Grant Wareham is particularly excited to present the world premiere of “Up to Eleven,” a piece written specifically for this instrument by Derry’s own Dr. Jamie Mosher.

A free will offering will be received at this Arts Alive Cultural Series event.

ON SUNDAYS FOLLOWING THE CONVERSATION WITH CHILDREN IN 10:30 AM WORSHIP

KIWI [Kids In Worship Instruction] • Age 4 – Kindergarten
MEETS IN THE CHAPEL • LED BY MRS. STEELMAN
KiWI offers children an opportunity to learn about the sacraments of baptism and communion, and to practice and better understand the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and the Doxology. Children will discover hidden beauty in our worship spaces and learn more about worshiping as a church family.

RECONNECT • Grades 1 & 2
MEETS IN THE JOHN ELDER CLASSROOM (JEC) BEHIND THE CHAPEL • LED BY ONE OF OUR PASTORS
Children will learn about our sacraments of baptism and communion, practice and better understand the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and the Doxology, and how to navigate the hymnal and Bible. This semester-long program is designed to help children RECONNECT with worship and be better equipped to participate. 

Parents, after worship you can pick up your children in the Chapel or JEC. Adults, extra hands are needed each week. Contact ME Steelman to volunteer.

Derry Church’s Mission & Peace Committee has approved an allocation of $5,000 from its 2021 budget to support the work of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) as they providing active response to recent natural disasters including Hurricane Ida, the flooding in Tennessee, and Colorado wildfires.

This allocation is in addition to dedicated PDA donations already made by Derry members totaling $2,488. To give in support of PDA, click here and choose the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance box.