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Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, Landis Valley Road, Lancaster, will host a Winter Holiday Day Camp on Wednesday, Dec. 28, and Thursday, Dec. 29. The camp will run from 9 a.m. to noon both days and is open to children ages 5 to 11. Campers will explore both the holiday and winter season through literature and enjoy crafts, games, and snacks based on both old and new children’s books.

There is a fee to attend. To register for camp, contact Sheri Brown at c-sherbrow@pa.gov or 717-569-0401, ext. 228.

In addition, hands-on craft classes will be held in Landis Valley’s museum store. The fee for each class covers the costs of supplies and materials. All classes will take place on the second floor of the museum store. Classes will include Leather Bookmark from 10 a.m. to noon and False Grain Painting from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14; Jar Basket from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21; and Upcycled Heart Garland from 10 a.m. to noon and Upcycled Journal from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28.

For details and to sign up for classes, visit www.landis valleymuseum.org and look under Classes/Learning.

AARP Chorus To Perform Christmas Concert

The Lancaster AARP Chorus will present a Christmas concert on Friday, Dec. 16, at 2 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church, 1290 Fruitville Pike, Lititz. The entrance is off Koser Road.

The Lancaster AARP Chorus was founded in 1983 and consists of volunteers who are in their 60s through their 90s. The group performs two concerts: one in December, featuring both sacred and secular holiday music, and one in May, featuring fun patriotic music and showtunes. The artistic director and accompanist is Phyllis Strittmater, and coconductors are Lucy Esbenshade and Phyllis Miller. The chorus is based out of The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.

The concert is open to the public, and a freewill offering will be accepted. Light refreshments will be served after the concert.

Seating is limited, so those who plan to attend are asked to reserve a seat in advance by contacting the church office at 717-560-0321. For more information, call the church office or visit www.faithumc.us.

Christmas Dinner Planned

A Christmas dinner will be held on Sunday, Dec. 25, at the West Earl Fire Company, 14 School Lane, Brownstown. The meal will be served free of charge from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to anyone unable to afford a dinner. The meal is sponsored by three Brownstown area churches: Carpenter Community Church, Emmanuel United Methodist Church, and Ebenezer EC Church.

Takeout meals will be available, or a scheduled delivery may be requested by calling 717-656-7570 for individuals in Akron, Brownstown, Denver, Ephrata, Farmersville, Leola, Lititz, New Holland, Reamstown, and Rothsville.

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THOMAS W. FLECKENSTEIN

Nelson Coblentz (left), along with his wife, Sarah (not pictured), were asked to sing and speak at the Restart Training Center Ministrry Valentine Banquet by Restart founder Jaime Santiago (right).

“The whole theme of forgiveness is one of the biggest things in a marriage relationship.” With a chuckle, he added, “Keep forgiving and give flowers.”

Nelson and Sarah will sing and share their advice at the eighth annual Restart Training Center Ministry (RTCM) Valentine Banquet to be held at Faith Mennonite High School, 5085 Woodland Drive, Kinzers, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and a fellowship meal, catered by Shady Maple, will begin at 6:30 p.m. RTCM is an organization that strives to help men who have turned to abusing chemicals or have developed other kinds of addictions.

Gospel Express has focused on prison services and crusades, evangelism, revival meetings, discipleship materials, and more in the United States and Canada, as well as internationally. Nelson and Sarah and their five children traveled and lived for many years in a 40-foot bus. “How do you keep a marriage alive on and off the road?” asked Nelson. “You are doing marriage living in a glass house, which means you’re visible to everybody and you are under the microscope.” Nelson and Sarah have negotiated the years successfully, bringing their adult children and now grandchildren into the ministry. “We have been able to minister three generationally for the first time stateside and internationally,” said Nelson. “That has been a dream.”

Jaime Santiago, founder and executive director of RTCM, noted that the Coblentz team is a good fit for the banquet because of the couple’s devotion to each other and experience with prison ministry. “(Gospel Express) helps people in prison, and a lot of people in prison suffer from trauma and addiction,” said Santiago, who added that the organization evangelizes and disciples inmates in the U.S. and Canada. “We are trying to evangelize and disciple broken people,” explained Santiago.

Currently, RTCM is graduating about a dozen students a year and mounting a capital campaign with the goal of purchasing the former Strasburg Elementary School. “The old elementary school building would be a good fit for us, and it would allow us to expand and add a second phase to the program,” said Santiago. Goals for the second phase, which would offer 12 beds, are to provide rooms students could rent while working locally. RTCM would continue to provide meals, transportation, and a supportive environment. “We could house 40 students and up to 10 live-in staff members,” said Santiago, who noted that the goal is to raise $1.3 million to purchase the building and a total of $1.6 million with renovations included.

Seating at the banquet will be limited. Table sponsorships are available. Readers who would like to purchase tickets or sponsor a table may call or text 717-304-3291 or email officemanager@restart ministry.org. Tickets may also be purchased at www.restart ministry.org/events.