Conestoga Valley /townlively
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LVI • NO 41
Covering Each School In Prayer BY ANN MEAD ASH
If the words “moms in prayer” calls forth a picture of mothers of schoolage children meeting in a church on a weekday morning with Bibles in hand … well, one of the many Moms in Prayer groups in the area might fit that model, but it would be only a small portion of the reality. “We don’t fit inside a box,” said Sue Forry, regional coordinator for Lancaster, Lebanon, & Berks Counties Moms in Prayer International. Forry went on to
note that groups are not necessarily church based. “We have groups for preschool moms, for mothers of children with special needs, and we have college and career groups,” said Forry. As schools begin to open up again - in a variety of formats, including public, private, cyber, homeschool, and hybrid models - Moms in Prayer groups are finding creative ways to meet - virtually or together with masks and social distancing or in Forry’s favorite format, porch praying. “We do social distancing on a See Moms In Prayer pg 7
Members of Deborah’s Circle met electronically to present funds to two area organizations that help women and children.
Women Helping Women
Area Moms in Prayer International coordinators Lynn Herr (left) and Mary Beth Will (center) gathered with regional coordinator Sue Forry (right). Moms in Prayer groups meet all over the county to cover schoolchildren in prayer.
Deborah’s Circle Forms At Temple Shaarai Shomayim
About three years ago, Rosanne Selfon, former president of the international Women of Reformed Judaism, wanted to see a group of women at Temple Shaarai Shomayim take part in a pilot program of women helping women. While that program did not quite take off, Selfon was not ready to give up, and that determination resulted in significant contributions to two local nonprofit organizations. “About 18 months ago, we decided to try it again,” said Selfon, who co-chaired the group with Gail Sterman of Willow Valley Communities. “We started to talk,” said Selfon, who noted that Sterman was newly
arrived from Jacksonville, Fla., at the time. “(Sterman) was very familiar with women’s collective giving. She had experience with it.” The two began to brainstorm. “We started thinking about what we had to do to make it work … and we laid out a plan,” said Selfon. Part of that plan was to make the group affordable. “We wanted to try to build this up within the temple community,” explained Selfon, who noted that Temple Shaarai Shomayim Rabbi Jack Paskoff puts an emphasis on charity and good deeds. “We do a lot of that, but we thought this would be something women specifically could get involved in,” Selfon said. According to Selfon, women’s
Let’s Go Camping!
philanthropy is growing by leaps and bounds, and she and Sterman saw that it was time for women in Lancaster to join the movement. “We wanted our women to come to understand the ability they have with their own money to give and make decisions about how that money is given,” she said. “They can determine to whom it is given and for what.” A small group began meeting in the fall of 2019, giving themselves the name Deborah’s Circle. “We liked Deborah because she was smart and strategic - a general and a judge,” said Selfon of the character from the Torah. She added that the concept of a circle was added because life revolves in a never-ending circle. The group’s mission is to
The pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in families looking into and plunging into camping during the summer of 2020. For fall, that trend does not seem to be slowing much, and fall weather is often ideal for camping activities. Scot Ash, general manager of Shady Maple RV in East Earl, has seen a 50% increase in sales over 2019, and he said that the majority
See Deborah’s Circle pg 5
See Camping pg 8
A Safer Way To Travel Is Trending BY ANN MEAD ASH
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