Manheim Central townlively.com
JANUARY 24, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
Manheim author highlights North American animals BY CATHY MOLITORIS
A place to call home BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Grace Community Fellowship may be a church, but pastor Jon Barrett wants the building to serve as something else as well. “Our mission is to make this a place you can call home,” he said. “And what is home? It’s a place you can dwell in, a place you can be comfortable and a place you can feel relaxed and welcome.” Barrett became pastor
at t h e c h u rc h , l o c ate d at 1483 N. Colebrook Road, Manheim, last summer. Over the past few months, he’s been working on encouraging people to walk through the doors. “My heart hurts for how many people in our community are struggling with loneliness,” he said. “People have also lost their trust for the church. I want our community to know they can come here, and they will feel See Home pg 5
Jon Barrett (second from right) and his wife, Sarah, (third from right) with members of Grace Community Fellowship
Chelsea Kirby
“Some of the letters were harder than others to find an animal for,” she remarked, noting that she discovered Xantus’s hummingbird for the letter “X.” “I didn’t know they existed before I wrote this book.” After spending several months working on the book, Kirby began searching for a publisher. She found Dorrance Publishing online and liked its Christian focus and large inventor y of children’s books. She’s happy with how the book turned out, and her daughters enjoy reading it with her. “They each have a copy of the
book, and they each chose one of the original pictures to put in their bedrooms,” she said. Looking to the future, Kirby shared that she might sell copies of her book locally at some businesses and events, and she may consider writing a second book after taking a break. “It’s not as easy to write a book as I thought it would be,” she said. “It’s a long process, but I enjoyed doing it.” “ Nor t h A me r ic a n A n i m a l ABC’s” is available at https:// bookstore.dorrancepublishing .com/north-american-animal-abcs and on Amazon.
Youths encouraged to audition for musical soundtrack BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Calling young singers between the ages of 10 and 16. Steven Courtney is looking for you. Courtney, a renowned singer-songwriter, has written a youth musical, “When We Climb Trees,” and he’s ready to start recording the soundtrack. “We are searching for talented and passionate volunteer youth actors to record and sing on
the production soundtrack for this enchanting musical,” said Courtney, who is collaborating on the project with Kami Deppen, owner/creative director of Big Dream Creative Arts Studio in Manheim. Selected actors will record their vocal parts at Courtney’s studio in Manheim between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3, and between 2 and 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4. “You must be able to commit See Musical pg 3
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helsea Kirby is the perfect example of having a dream and turning it into reality. “I’ve always wanted to do an ABC children’s book,” said the Manheim mother of two, who loves to paint and draw. Last year, she found herself with some extra time and a desire to channel her energy into a creative project. The result is “North American Animal ABC’s,” a 58-page hardbound book written and illustrated by Kirby. It was published in December. “I would work on the book when the kids were in bed in the evening,” said Kirby, whose daughters are 2 and 5 years old. “I did a lot of the painting after they went to sleep so they wouldn’t get into the stuff I was working on.” From alligators to zigzag salamanders, the book features an animal for each letter of the alphabet. “All of the animals are found in North America, and each page has a little fact about the animal underneath it,” Kirby explained. “It’s geared toward kids ages 5 to 12, and there’s a little something for everyone in that age range, between the pictures and the facts.” During her research for the book , Kirby learned several interesting things about her animal subjects. “It was really cool learn to learn about cats called ocelots that live in Texas,” she recalled. “They are a South American cat that used to be found all over the Southwest, but they’re dying out, and now they are endangered.” Although she enjoyed creating the book, it did present a few challenges, she said.
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