On Sunday, September 12, we hope you will make plans to join your church family for a wonderful day of fellowship at our annual church picnic, which is to be held at Village Park.  Village Park is located off Calvary Road – turn at Suncrest Drive.  (Calvary Road can be accessed from Rt 11/Harrisburg Pike or Route 34/Spring Rd.)  We’ll gather beginning at 3:00PM and the meal will start at 5:00PM.

Hot dogs and beverages will be provided.  Please plan to bring an EXTRA LARGE covered dish to share, along with your own table service.  Don’t forget lawn chairs and any games, Frisbees, etc. you think might be fun.  We will be located at the Number 4 pavillion, with all new playground equipment.  There are ball fields, a bocci court and bathrooms located nearby.

Seekers Class

• ¨ Topic: Fulfilling the Mission of the Church – Being a Fruitful Congregation
• ¨ Room 3
• ¨ Leader: Gary Ankabrandt
• ¨ Starts September 5th

Sharing in Faith Class

• ¨ Topic: No Intelligence Allowed, by Ben Stein
• ¨ Room 303
• ¨ Leader: Matt Kulp
• ¨ Starts September 12th

Thelma McCullough Class

• ¨ Topic: The Inescapable God (Exodus and Psalms)
• ¨ Room 105
• ¨ Leader: Earl Keller
• ¨ Starts September 5th

Ever Faithful

• ¨ Topic: The Inescapable God (Exodus and Psalms)
• ¨ Room 104A
• ¨ Leader: Harry Priest
• ¨ Starts September 5th

Journey in Faith Class

• ¨ Topic: TBD
• ¨ Room 11
• ¨ Leader: Kurt Paul
• ¨ Starts September 12th

Faith and Fellowship Class

• ¨ Topic: Walk as Jesus Walked, by Ray VanderLann
• ¨ Room 304
• ¨ Leader: Mike McCommon
• ¨ Starts September 5th

Other Christian Education Opportunities

Second Saturday Men’s Bible Study

• ¨ 2nd Saturday each month
• ¨ Time 8:00AM-9:15AM
• ¨ Harold Otto

Mental, Spiritual and Physical Fitness
Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy

• ¨ Tuesdays &Thursdays,   Sep 7 – Oct 7
• ¨ Time: 7-9pm
• ¨ Dick Ocker

Disciple II: Into the Word Into the World

• ¨ Tuesdays   Sep 7 – Dec 21
• ¨ Time: 9:30am – Noon
• ¨ John Seaton, Stephanie Krebs

Invitation to Genesis

• ¨ Thursdays, Sep 16 – Nov 18
• ¨ Time: 7-8:30pm
• ¨ Marge Young

Disciple III or Disciple IV

• Sep – May
• (Day/time TBA)
• Glenda Axsom, Chris Lay

New Beginnings: Knowing God

• ¨ Saturday, Sep 18
• ¨ Time: 9AM-1PM
• ¨ Joanne Monoski, Pastor Josh

Disciple I: Becoming Disciples Through Study

• ¨ Mondays, Sep 6-Jan 8
• ¨ Time: 6:30-9PM
• ¨ Charles Reynolds, Pastor Bruce

Classes at Allison UMC or First UMC

Susquehanna Conference is joining in this effort at the September 11, 2010, Conference meeting in Williamsport. Those in attendance will be asked to place the chip/snack bags and cookie bags that will be in the box lunches in special containers for recycling. Look for the bins specifically for these items at the YMCA following the lunch break.

TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. With over 50 products available at major retailers, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. The Company hopes to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage.

TerraCycle was founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University freshman. It started as an organic fertilizer company and has grown into a multi-category, eco-friendly powerhouse. The founder’s dream was to find a new, more responsible way of doing business that would be good for the planet, good for people and good for the bottom line! TerraCycle has won many awards and accolades for its environmentally responsible business model.

TerraCycle partners with major companies to sponsor their recycling brigades. The partnerships create free collection programs that pay schools and non-profits nationwide to collect used packaging. The collected materials are upcycled into affordable, high quality products ranging from tote bags and purses to shower curtains and kites. This program prevents 1000′s of tons of waste from going to landfills. For more details go to Terracycle.net.

Come join our pastors Sunday evenings beginning September 19 for a service of Praise and Prayer. This weekly service will be dedicated to honoring God by coming together as the Body of Christ for a time of deep and focused prayer. We will spend time seeking God’s guidance for our lives and our ministry together. We will also pray for the concerns of the church, for our ministries, for our nation and our world and for one another.

The service will differ from week to week as the needs of our community and our world change. On Sundays when the Lord’s Supper is celebrated at our morning services, it will also be celebrated at this service. In addition, there will also be special occasions when healing prayer is offered.

We are excited to offer this new service for our community and look forward to what God is going to do as we spend time in His presence. Look for more information in the Sunday announcements in the weeks to come.

“God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of praying.” Mother Teresa

• – 5-gallon bucket with reseal able lid
• – Bleach (two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle. Do not include bleach if you are shipping the bucket through the US Postal Service, UPS or FedEx)
• – 5 scouring pads
• – 7 Sponges
• – 1 scrub brush
• – 18 cleaning towels (reusable wipes)
• – Liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
• – 1 household cleaner, 12-16 oz. bottle
• – Disinfectant dish soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
• – 50 clothes pins
• – Clothes line (two 50 ft. or one 100 ft.)
• – 5 dust masks
• – 2 pair latex gloves
• – 1 pair work gloves
• – 24-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket)
• – 1 Insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps.)
• – 1 Air freshener, 8 or 9 oz. can (If aerosol cans must have protective caps.)

Mission Central’s phone number is (717)766-1533, please contact us if you have questions about the cleaning buckets.

I’m sending this to the people I know connected with the hopes that you will pass it on to anyone you would like. Some of you may already know some of this information but I thought I’d pass along what I know.

My roommates Hannah and Jen and I just got back from Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg where Emily and Joanne Kerstetter  are staying. They are both in the Intensive Care Unit there, and with the help of very kind staff, we were able to find them just before visiting hours were over. We were able to speak with both of them, and even though they are tired and mild (probably from drugs for pain) they were in good spirits. After two operations, Emily is glad that her leg is starting to heal. Apparently soon after the accident, the doctors thought her leg would have to be amputated – Praise God that this will not happen now! She said that she misses the U.S. (as they were to fly home today) but she is excited to see her parents in the morning. Joanne was very sweet, right away thanking us for coming and asking for our prayers. Her face is a little beaten and bruised, and she is hoping to have surgery on her arm in the morning. She is also happy that her son and daughter in law are able to come.

They asked to pray for Peter, Becky, and Francis – three of their friends in Uganda who were sitting right next to Joanne and Emily when the bomb went off. The three of them went home to be with Jesus. Please pray for their families. I believe another member of their team, Lori, is staying in Uganda for a little while to help their families.

Emily said that three other members of the team – Kris Sledge, Pam Kramer and Thomas Kramer – are to be taken to that hospital soon. I thought that Kris was there already, the receptionist on the phone told me he was, but there was no record of him when we arrived. Please pray for their travel there as well.

We will be visiting again tomorrow so if anyone has any messages for them please email them to me and I will be sure to pass it along! We will look for Kris and Thomas and Pamela as well. I’ll send updates as I know them and please share with me updates that you hear. Thank you for giving me information to get in contact with them, it has been a blessing for all of three of us to be with them tonight. How beautiful is the body of Christ.

Peace to you all,
Rachel Keller
Mission Intern
General Board of Global Ministries
rachelinsouthafrica.wordpress.com

‘Pastor Josh’ grew up in Central New Jersey and upstate New York, the son of a United Methodist pastor. His father is currently a District Superintendent in the Upper New York Conference. Joshua became more involved in the church during high school through videotaping and playing in the praise band. In college, he played guitar and held leadership positions in the Protestant Community and Students for Christ. He graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Chemistry.

Following college, Pastor Josh began to feel a career in chemistry was not where God was calling him. He started thinking about seminary, and his sense of call was clarified through the affirmation of pastors he knew, including his father and the campus minister in Ithaca. A work trip to Jamaica, a mission trip to Cuba, and a summer spent in a program called “A Christian Ministry in the National Parks” helped prepare him for his time at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.

Pastor Josh recently graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in May with a Masters of Divinity degree. Grace Church will be his first appointment following seminary, and he is already excited to observe how God is working in Grace Church.

He is engaged to marry Ashlinn Sarani, who is finishing her thesis to graduate with a dual Masters Degree in Theology and in International Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Please join us in warmly welcoming Pastor Josh, and eventually Ashlinn, to Grace Church.  We look forward to beginning ministry with them and together following the direction in which God calls us.

Thank you,
Fred Spease
Vice President, Board of Trustees