September 2026 Hilltop Highlights

September, 2026

HILLTOP

Highlights Highlights

This summer 49 members of LPPC participated in our mission trip to Morgantown, WV

LPPC is an intergenerational church seeking Jesus together and shining His light from this hill.

In this Month’s Issue: Upcoming Events .......................................................2-3 Kids and Youth Summer Programs ................4-5 Intergenerational Mission Trip ...........................6-7 Deacons Parish List ........................................................8 Summer of Fun, Summer of Impact ...................9 September Birthdays & Thank you Notes ......10

Fall Programs Begin September 13 Fall Sermon Series A Journey of Grace: A study from the book of Romans Sunday School for Kids and Youth Classes meet from 9:45-10:45am for students through grade 7 Adult Sunday School Class meets from 11:00am-12:00pm in Williams Hall Youth Group Kickoff For students in grades 6-12 and their parents, 9/13 from 6:00-8:00pm

Upcoming Special Events

September Small Groups

Weekly Events

Caregiver Support Group | September 2, 1:00-2:00pm | Rowland Parlor Contact: Nancy Care (ncare@lppcmin.org) Men’s Lunch Small Group | September 10, 12:00-1:00pm | Library Contact: Ron Jobson (jobson.ron@gmail.com) Sisters in Spirit | September 10, Lunch offsite at 11:30am Bible study at 1:30pm | Sanctuary Contact: Vicki Rahmer (vrahmer2@gmail.com)

Prayer Ministry Tuesdays @ 10:00am

Circle of Faith | September 11, 12:00pm | Offsite Contact: Linda Horoho (horoho226@gmail.com) Men’s Breakfast | September 12, 8:00am | Atrium Contact: Ted Mingle (tmingle@lppcmin.org) The Esther Circle | September 14 at 7:00pm | Rowland Parlor Contact: Jill Rule (rule3032@gmail.com) Love and Unity | September 15, 10:30am | Rowland Parlor Contacts: Pat Reiche (reiche.patrice@gmail.com)

Men’s Basketball Wednesdays @ 7:30pm Saturdays @ 10:30am

Mosaic Friends | September 20, 11:00am | Rowland Parlor Contact: Nancy Care (ncare@lppcmin.org) Women’s Lunch Bunch | September 21, 12:00pm | Rowland Parlor Contact: Ellen Beswick (abeellen630@aol.com) Empty Nesters | Sep. 27, 6:30-8:00pm Contact: Jeff & Patti Campbell (jphscampbell@comcast.net) Grown and Flown | September 27, 6:30-8:00pm Contact: Amybeth Weaver (amw823@yahoo.com)

Zumba Mondays & Wednesdays @ 7:00pm Saturdays @ 8:30am

Dad’s Small Group | September date TBD | Offsite Contact: Dennis Sparks (dennisbsparks@gmail.com) Mom’s Small Group Morning | Begins in October Contact: Meg Sparks (megsparks59@gmail.com) Mom’s Small Group Evening | Begins in October Contact: Muoy Jobson (jobsonmuoy@gmail.com)

Pickleball Schedule varies Click here for dates/times

THE GREAT ESCAPE: FIVE DAYS OF FUN AND GROWTH This past July, our middle school students had an incredible opportunity to attend The Great Escape—a four-day retreat filled with worship, games, competitions, pool time, late-night activities, lessons, and much more! The experience challenged students to grow and take another step in their faith.

A total of eight students participated in this trip. From enjoying ice cream to spending personal time with God, the retreat was perfectly designed for our students and thoughtfully planned and prayed over by an amazing team of leaders.

My biggest takeaway from this experience is that it left both Kelly and me pleasantly exhausted—and incredibly grateful. Watching our students have fun, build friendships, worship together, and take steps in their faith was such a joy. If this retreat was even a small glimpse of what heaven will be like, I can only imagine the immense joy and love that awaits us there! --Tim Eiesemann, Youth Director

“The speakers at the Great Escape reminded us that God wants you no matter what and that his love is unconditional.

I liked Refreshing Mountain Camp, especially hanging out at the playground and making friends with kids from other churches.”

--Julia Hobbs, 8th Grade

Pet Rescue VBS: God’s Love Makes a Dif-fur-ence!

“Our VBS experience was such a special time for our family! Logan loved meeting with Pastor Cara and hearing the Bible Stories, while Kenzie especially enjoyed taking the inflatable dogs for a walk and tackling the fun obstacle course. Mason loved getting his own pet and creating a special nametag for it. As a parent, my favorite part was simply being able to spend quality time together as a family while hearing each of the kids’ reactions to Pastor Cara’s Bible lessons. It was such a joy to see them learning, having fun, and growing in their faith together!”

– Jennifer Cohle

The Cohle family during family huddle

This past June I had the pleasure of helping with this year’s “Pet Rescue” Vacation Bible School as Pastor Cara’s assistant at the Bible station. After enjoying a delicious dinner and some great fellowship, the families would head to the Sanctuary, where, MaryAnn would introduce the lesson and the theme for the night.

Afterwards, they would arrive in our “Veterinary Hospital”, and Pastor Cara would greet them with a fun lesson based on the evening’s theme. Each night, we would welcome a different person from the Bible. We learned about their struggles early in life, they shared their encounter with Jesus and how it changed their lives for the better.

Something about them seemed so familiar, like I’ve met them before! To wrap things up, the families would have huddle time doing an activity that went along with the evenings lesson. It was really exciting to watch them work together and learn new things about each other.

– Caroline Deininger

Caroline is right, this Bible character does look familiar!

Morgantown, 2026: Built to Love

By Kathy Phillabaum If you have heard me share before about what our church means to me, you know it is all about connection – connection with a higher power, a diverse church family, and a relationship with the outside world through service. Our family has attended the intergenerational mission trip for the last four years. We went because I wanted to carry on a family tradition that my dad started with my brother and I when we were teenagers.

Now, I am not going to sugarcoat it.

The first mission trip, especially with kids, can feel a little daunting. The logistics of living in a college dorm with your whole family many hours from home might make you think twice, but do not let the fear hold you back if you are considering joining the fun. Someone will always be there to help you in your time of need. (Muoy has been our family’s personal angel providing laundry support and upset stomach remedies.) You will work, worship, and live side by side with your church family and get to know them in new and enriching ways. You will also be humbled by the West Virginia community, the homeowners you serve, and the fellow servants of God that run some of the organizations our church works with in the area.

Your family will gain a new perspective on the life that you have built for them, the blessings god has provided them, and the ways they can support each other in this world.

What LPPC has created through this intergenerational mission trip is so unique. It is not a common thing for fifty people to choose to take a week out of their summer to serve others and spend time connecting with the people that they see at church each week. The first year that I suggested this trip to my sons Cole and Chase, they were not very excited. Chase even protested wondering why we had to travel somewhere far away during summer vacation to help people we did not even know. At the end of each trip, Ted passes around a hammer for everyone to sign and you get to share your experiences with each other if you feel so moved. On Chase’s turn at the end of the first trip, he shared how much he learned about helping others, about the struggles that the people of West Virginia face, and he begged to be able to come back again the following year. We have gone every year since!

Your life will be forever made better from the experiences that you encounter on this trip. Come be awakened again through the connection that is built while working together to help others.

Pastor Ted has quite the collection of signed hammers!

A Week in Photos Our 2026 mission trip theme was Built to Love, and we definitely lived that out during this week of service. We hope you can join us next year!

The Ministry of the Deacons We are pleased to introduce our new Deacons who have committed to a ministry of service for our church.

New Deacons:

Heather Kearney

Kelsey Rule

Anyce Miles

Melissa Ferstenfeld

Evelyn Lare

Parish Lists

Cathy Shaw

Lynda Kihle LPPC's congregation is divided into parishes, or groups, and each parish is looked after by one of our deacons.

Please reach out to your deacon if you are ill or in need of assistance.

Summer of Fun, Summer of Impact

Bowling with the Mosaic Friends small group

The July Senior Fellowship featured a “What’s this antique item?” guessing game.

During August LPPC collected backpacks and school supplies for Urban Promise Camden and Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. Both organizations were very grateful for our support. In total, LPPC collected 84 filled backpacks plus loose school supplies and teacher supplies.

Also during August, volunteers met every Tuesday morning to prepare sandwiches for distribution in Norristown by the Cecil and Grace Bean Soup Kitchen. Volunteers prepared 1,400 sandwiches to help fight food insecurity in our community! Finally, LPPC provided dinner and fellowship for the Forteniter’s Club, a group for adults affected by mental illness. It was a special event for our volunteers and those in attendance!

A big thanks to everyone who has served our community this summer!

Happy Birthday to those with September Birthdays!

September 1 Karen Hommer Donna Moser

September 8 Barbara Bailey Bob Brunner

September 2 Carolyn London Jake Smull Julianna Smull

September 18 Diane Kuehn Larry McGranahan Janet Smith

September 10 Jackie Betz

September 19 Sue Norris

September 13 Mark Miles Tamara Rood Sally Schmidt Justin Shearer

September 20 Anthony Schulz

September 3 Derrick Emerson Jessica Wells September 4 Jodi Bohr Nancy Hebding Kelly Herr Becky Krisko September 5 John Boytim Jr. September 6 Michael Cerrato September 7 Gina Kratz Taylor Mingle

September 14 Josh Meck Annabelle Trabulsy September 15 Janet Brown Kathy Crane September 16 Aiden Hagner September 17 Sue Bercaw Paulina Lowery

September 23 Amanda Dalton Armand Tecco September 24 Laura Marconi Carla Skuchas September 28 Chrissy Rittenhouse September 29 Meghan Jones Kathy Westwood September 30 Dillon Alderfer