New Events for a New Year
Dr. Russell C. Sullivan, Jr., Pastor
The New Year is here, and there are many ministry opportunities and programs unfolding at Pine Street. Here a just a few:
A congregational meeting will take place on Sunday, January 11, following the second worship service to vote on the pastor’s terms of call and to act upon a recommendation of Session that the number of ruling elders on Session be reduced from 18 to 12.
You will be hearing more from the Good-toGreat Task Force and me on the subject of team ministry and how we encourage every member to be in ministry.
through Eastertide, I will preach on the subject, Facing Fear: Handling the Scary Things of Life. Youth Sunday will be on April 26.
The season of Lent begins with worship on Ash Wednesday, February 18. The Lenten Breakfast will be on the First Sunday in Lent, February 22. Through Lent I am planning to preach a sermon series, Last Words from the Cross. Beginning Easter Sunday and continuing
Put on your calendar March 7 and 8 for the Winter Seminar. It features this year Dr. Thomas Davis, Professor of Archaeology and Biblical Backgrounds at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His topic is Shifting Sands: New Perspectives on Archaeology and the Old Testament. Registration begins at 8:30am. Dr. Davis will present two lectures at Pine Street on Saturday and continue his series with a lecture on Sunday morning during the education hour at 9:40am. On Monday, March 9, Dr. Davis will conclude the series with a lecture at Messiah College on archaeology and the New Testament.
The annual Women’s Retreat is March 13-15. The Rev. Lorrie
What’s On My List?
by Dr. Russell Sullivan, Jr., Pastor
For all you bibliophiles out there, I thought I would share with you some of my reading aspirations for 2015. I have a sampling below of fiction and nonfiction. I hope it piques your curiosity and will guide your own reading.
Switch on Your Brain: the Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health by Caroline Leaf — I have to admit this is a different kind of book for me to read, but it intrigued me. She believes that what we
by Marty Gruver
Thank you to everyone who participated in the giving of gifts to the agencies on this year's Giving Tree.
In addition to the Giving Tree project, the Mission Committee held a Christmas sing along and luncheon at the Presbyterian Apartments on Tuesday, December 9. Over 50 residents of the apartments participated with a time of singing favorite Christmas carols and gift exchange. Carol Putt lead the singing of the residents accompanied by Barb Taylor at the piano. Pine Street members helped serve the lunch. Jo Dolbin organized the event. Also participating were Jack and Katie Taylor, Elieen Kunkle, Sue Stecher, Shirley Clark, Norriene Koozer, and Debbie and Marty Gruver Each year more and more residents attend this event. This is a wonderful ministry that Pine Street provides to these folks.
One more event to report on: On Wednesday, November 19, members of the Mission Committee visited the Brethren Community Ministries to deliver this year’s local portion of the Peacemaking Offering. The program selected this year is the Agape-Satyagraha, a ministry to young people on conflict resolution. The local portion of the offering was $386.25. The offering will be used for training materials and awards for students completing levels of training. The total Peacemaking Offering received was $1,545, with the remaining portion going to Carlisle Presbytery and the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Events
Continued from page 1
Cooney, a former member of Pine Street will lead the retreat, which is organized around the theme Well Blessed: Water on the Journey. Registration is open now. Stop by the Welcome Center and pick up a registration flyer.
A Confirmation Class is being put together. Youth who are interested should contact Cheryl Goode
Stephen Ministry Sunday is March 22. This outstanding ministry of pastoral care will be recognized and highlighted during worship and coffee hour.
I will be leading a Bible study in the summer on the subject, Who Wrote the Bible. I hope it will be the beginning of a renewed emphasis in Bible study as a place to begin our faith formation.
And don’t forget the on-going ministry of the Adult Learning Center. Serving as a facilitator is a great opportunity to make a difference in a person’s life. Won’t you consider volunteering? Contact Kathleen White at 963-7444 if you are interested in volunteering.
Pine Streeters prepare to serve lunch. Norriene Koozer, Katie Taylor, Eileen Kunkle, Susan Stecher and Shirley Clark.
Carol Putt leading, Jo Dolbin assisting and Barbara Taylor at the spinnet!
Annual Christmas sing along at Presbyterian Apartments.
Thanks to everyone who volunteered at Downtown Daily Bread in 2014. Thanks to the Thanksgiving pie makers and the Christmas holiday decoration creators and to all for the little acts of kindness, which help more than you know. And, thanks to everyone who made financial contributions to DDB. We could not do our good work without your generosity.
Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year.
Elaine, Cynthia, Chris, & Kobie
DDB Begins the New Year with Renewed Energy and Commitment
by Elaine Strokoff, Executive Director, DDB
“Downtown Daily Bread saved my life…one more day on the streets and I would have been dead” — Joe, age 54, homeless for 3 months.
“Does Downtown Daily Bread (DDB) really make a difference?” you may ask. Yes, every day, for many people just like Joe.
“It is a miracle that you are here” — Matt, age 62, vet dealing with PTSD issues.
Maybe it is a miracle that 100 people have had a place to go for hot, nutritious meals every day of the year for the past 31 years!
“I’m new to being homeless, and I didn’t know where to start” — Jeff, age 41.
Downtown Daily Bread helps “jumpstart” peoples’ lives. Countless hundreds have been able to move forward in their lives because of the untiring efforts of the volunteers and those committed to the cause of the Downtown Daily Bread:
the veteran who was homeless for 10 years now has housing,
the homeless man with a bad heart who now has a new apartment,
the little boy who was able to begin this past school year with supplies, clothing, and a bright smile, and the battered woman who entered a domestic violence program.
These miracles are only possible by the good intentions of our volunteers and team here at DDB and donations from inspired and committed people like you. Please help us continue to be a wonderful presence in the Harrisburg area for so many.
Won’t you please make a tax-deductible donation to Downtown Daily Bread of $10, $20, or $50. Better yet, a monthly pledge would be amazing.
Remember, we can only continue to provide the miracles these people need with the donations and efforts of people like you. A $10 or $20 monthly pledge feeds 5 –10 people every month for a whole year! Thank you for any kindness you would like to offer.
Trustee Notes
The Trustees reversed their decision of September 2013 and have now decided not to hire an HVAC engineer to evaluate the church’s heating /cooling system.
On Sundays there are now 4 handicapped spaces on Third Street and 2 on Pine Street.
The leaks in the slate roof have been repaired.
DDB has an operating deficit for the year.
Member contributions to the church are about 80% of the budgeted amount for the year, which is a similar proportion for previous years at the same period.
Save The Date!
Saturday, March 28, 2015 Glee for DDB! The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club will present an amazing, fun & rockin’ concert to benefit Downtown Daily Bread. Food, drink, and much more will take place that evening. So, mark your calendars NOW for an evening you won’t want to miss. Support your favorite soup kitchen while enjoying a celebration of music and song! More details coming soon.
Staff Contact Info
Main Number 238-9304
Senior Pastor
Russell Sullivan ext.101 rsullivan@pinestreet.org
Director of Family Life
Cheryl Goode ext.105 cgoode@pinestreet.org
Interim Organist-Choir Director
Ellen Hunt ext.106 ehunt@pinestreet.org
Church Administrator
Anne Guenin ext.108 aguenin@pinestreet.org
Office Manager
Michelle Kennedy ext.112 mkennedy@pinestreet.org
Facilties Manager
Brad Wise ext.114 bwise@pinestreet.org
DDB Executive Director
Elaine Strokoff ext.123 estrokoff@pinestreet.org
continued from page 1
think about affects us both physically and emotionally. Toxic thoughts, she believes, create ideal conditions for illnesses, and she describes a process to detox your mind. Detoxing your thought life to begin the new year – now there’s a challenge!
The Liturgical Year: the Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life by Joan Chittester — The author is a Catholic nun and activist who has written a lovely book on the spirituality of the church year. Beginning in Advent and rolling through the following November, the liturgical year both introduces us to the life of Jesus, whom we are called to emulate, and also becomes an adventure in learning how to make a life.
There are two books on the Bible that I can’t wait to dig into: first, Peter Enns’ book, The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It, and then Adam Hamilton’s Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today. These will be helpful to me as I prepare two courses that I will be offering in 2015. How do we read, interpret, and understand the most significant book for the formation of our faith? Solid writers like Enns and Hamilton can chart the way.
Why the West is Best: A Muslim Apostate’s Defense of Liberal Democracy and Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said’s Orientalism, both by Ibn Warraq – The author is a former Muslim who is sold on the values of modernity and liberal democracy. Warraq wants us in the West to overcome our sense of guilt and recover the greatness of the values that shaped democracy, the economy, freedom, justice, and equality.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Lauren Hillenbrand — She tells the inspiring story of Louis Zamperini and his survival of a Japanese prisoner of war camp. I love to read stories of people who overcome adversity. I know you will like it too.
Women’s Retreat Deposit Final Reminder
Reservation forms with a $100 deposit are due by January 18 to hold a space for you at the retreat.
Well Blessed: Water for the Journey with leader the Rev. Lorrie M. Cooney promises to be a special event. It will be held at Camp Hebron in Halifax the weekend of March 13–15, 2015. Registration forms are on the back page of the flyer which can be found at the Welcome Center in the Gathering Place.
General Voice Mail ext.111
And two novels for you: In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman and The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. Rahman’s work is panoramic in its scope and power and tells the story of a friendship between two men and the betrayal of one by the other. From Kabul to London, New York, Islamabad, and Oxford, a very personal story is set in the midst of some of our century’s greatest upheavals. Gilbert’s book is a lovely novel, the story of a brilliant
woman in the nineteenth century, trained in science, botany, and taxonomy, but who yearns for a fuller life of love, passion, and adventure. The book expresses a deep reverence for science, but it is also a story of a lonely woman who embarks on a personal journey of selfdiscovery.
As you can see, I have my reading cut out for me. If you have books that you can recommend, I would love to know. Pass on your recommendations. Happy reading in the New Year!
January, 2015
4
8:30
9:30AM
9:40
8:30
Pine Street Presbyterian Church
310 North Third Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
www.pinestreet.org (717)238-9304
Thursday, January 1
Psalms 98; 147:12–20
Genesis 17:1–12a, 15–16
Colossians 2:6–12
John 16:23b–30
Friday, January 2
Psalms 48; 148
Genesis 12:1–7
Hebrews 11:1–12
John 6:35–42, 48–51
Saturday, January 3
Psalms 111; 149
Genesis 28:10–22
Hebrews 11:13–22
John 10:7–17
Sunday, January 4
2nd Sunday after Christmas Psalms 20; 150
Deuteronomy 33:1–5
1 John 2:12–17
John 6:41–47
Monday, January 5
Psalms 99; 145
Josh. 1:1–9
Hebrews 11:32–12:2
John 15:1–16
Tuesday, January 6
Epiphany of the Lord Psalms 72; 146
Isaiah 52:7–10
Revelation 21:22–27
Matthew 12:14–21
Wednesday, January 7
Psalms 46 or 97; 147:1–11
Isaiah 52:3–6
Revelation 2:1–7
John 2:1–11
