Conestoga Valley townlively.com
NOVEMBER 29, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LIX • NO 49
Making a good thing better Saint Joseph’s University expands offerings to Lancaster County BY ANN MEAD ASH
Barb Dagen (left), Tabitha Shilalo (center), and Cindy Yingling are looking forward to the Cookies and Greens Benefit Sale, which will support Shilalo’s ministry with Unto.
Holiday sale to support ministry BY ANN MEAD ASH
good friend has your back. Barb Dagen has been a good friend to Tabitha Shilalo by holding two benefit events to help support Shilalo’s LuoPad Pack Project ministry, which provides feminine pads for women and girls in developing countries. Shilalo is connected to Unto, a ministry based in Mount Joy, that works with “strategic global partnerships to relieve suffering through humanitarian aid in more than 75 countries,” according to the organization’s website. On Saturday, Dec. 9, Dagen will hold the third Cookies and Greens Benefit Sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in her rustic barn at 80 Hellers Church Road, Leola. This year’s sale will once again focus on delightful and delicious things. “Cookies will be sold by the dozen and the half dozen,” said Dagen, who noted that live evergreens, winterberry, and some wreaths done in faux greenery have been created for the event. Dagen
Last year’s sale raised more than $2,000 for Shilalo, who traveled to Asia in 2022 and to Africa last June as part of her mission. She also visits churches in Pennsylvania to teach groups how to make LuoPads for Unto. Cindy Yingling, who is helping Dagen to organize the benefit, knows how much the funds mean to Shilalo. “(The money) helps Tabitha in her mission trips abroad or needs they didn’t know about that come up,” she pointed out. Shilalo, who is originally from Kenya, said she is grateful for Dagen’s efforts. “It’s so helpful (that she holds this fundraiser),” Shilalo noted. “Because I was not born here, and I don’t know a lot of people, and I don’t go to a big church, (Dagen and her friends) helping me really boosts my account and helps me to keep going.” More information about the ministry may be found at https://unto.com. Readers with specific questions may email tabitha.shilalo@unto.com.
Joseph DiAngelo
business schools in Philadelphia,” DiAngelo pointed out, adding that the school offers the largest food marketing program in the country, along with health administration, insurance, and hospitality programs. “ We think there are some natural niches there for us,” said DiAngelo. The dean pointed out that the school’s redesigned stackable Master of Business Administration program allows students to earn the degree or certificate that meets their needs and the needs of their employer. “Our programs are synchronous, so students interact with faculty See Saint Joseph’s University pg 3
Divine inspiration 13th Journey to Bethlehem planned BY ANN MEAD ASH
“This is the fourth year in a row we have a new scene,” said Adam Fox, program director at Woodcrest Retreat. “If you came (to Journey to Bethlehem) five years ago, the script is 80% different (now).” The 13th presentation of the Journey to Bethlehem event at Woodcrest Retreat, which takes visitors on a trek through the woods of Woodcrest to a live Nativity, will aim to make the experience real for attendees. To that end, each year, fresh creativity is poured into the project.
This year’s Journey to Bethlehem will be held at the retreat center, 225 Woodcrest Drive, Ephrata, on Fridays, Dec. 8 and 15, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and on Saturdays, Dec. 9 and 16, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to dress warmly and wear appropriate water-resistant shoes on the hourlong trek. Although the event is family-friendly, strollers and those with mobility issues cannot be accommodated because of the rugged landscape. As in the past, the event will give participants the opportunity to become part of the Christmas story See Woodcrest Retreat pg 2
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has also decorated winter-themed items, such as skates in Christmas colors and décor for sale. Many of the wreaths carry reminders of the Christmases of yesteryear in their subtle colors. Dagen used items from nature, such as birch and Queen Anne’s lace, to complete the look. Other door décor sports orange slices and cinnamon sticks. Decorative baskets of fresh greens and everlasting wreaths for use year-round will also be offered for sale. Dagen has added gift baskets to this year’s collection of items to sell. “This is a date-night basket with chocolates and sparkling cider,” Dagen said, displaying one of the baskets. She also pointed out a basket with personal care items such as lavender spray and orange peppermint body scrub. “This is a kitchen basket. It has dill pickles, sweet pickles, and apple butter,” she said of another basket. Other items offered for sale will include coffee sugar scrub and scented foot soaks.
Joseph DiAngelo, dean of the Erivan K. Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, is excited about what the school can bring to Lancaster County residents as the organization looks forward to merging with the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, 850 Greenfield Road, Lancaster, in January. “Several years ago … our strategic planning was looking to expand into health care,” recalled DiAngelo. “We were interested in affiliating with programs that are already accredited, and we were interested in nursing.” After a successful partnership with Lancaster General Hospital, providing business courses for doctors and senior administrators, strategists saw possibilities in the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, but DiAngelo sees the acquisition as bringing opportunities to Lancaster residents. “Nothing is going to change in Lancaster,” said DiAngelo. The goal, rather, is to embrace what exists and offer more. “We are one of the largest