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ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH, 470 Yocumtown Road, Etters, PA 17319 717-938-0651 Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

http://www.facebook.com/zionetters www.zionetters.com

ZION TIDINGS

Dear People of God, Ever wonder, “What did I do before the internet? Funny thing is there is a whole generation of young folks are asking, “What did people do before the internet?” Because they have never experienced a world without the internet. Crazy isn’t it?! So the church now has a whole new platform on which to share the message of Jesus Christ. Seriously – people are learning about and engaging in the love of God on their computers, their tablets, and their smart phones. Zion is using a variety of resources to help interact with each other and with God’s love on a daily basis. www.zionetters.com – Our website offers - among other things - a calendar of events, an opportunity to list people or issues you’d like the church to pray for, information about our worship service, our contact information, our weekly bulletin, our newsletter, and audio recordings of my sermons. www.pinterest.com/zionetters - Pinterest is a place where I archive ideas (and the websites the ideas came

August 2014

Our Mission Statement

 

We are rooted in God’s Love, • We proclaim

Christ’s message, • Support each

other, • Share our joy, • And live our faith.

WORSHIP: 9:00 am

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION:

10:30 AM (during school year)

Reverend Abigail Leese

432-3771, 521-2167

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from). At this point our boards are mainly geared toward ideas for children to engage in their faith through games and other activities. www.youtube.com/zionlutheranchurch1 - Our youtube account is where you can find brief videos of Ben and I discussing faith topics. You can also find a series of prayer videos I created here. www.facebook.com/zionetters - Zion uses Facebook as a way to connect members and friends with the church. Often times we post resources, articles, or information from the synod or ELCA on Facebook. We also post information about events going on at Zion. Facebook is also a great way to share photos of things happening in our congregation. Facebook users can also post on our page so please share your photos directly to Facebook or you can email them to me at pastor.abby.leese@gmail.com. Text Message Reminders – If you’d like to receive text message reminders about Zion events text “Follow zionettersnews” to 40404. You will begin receiving messages from the phone number 40404 reminding you of events and activities at Zion. Approximately three text messages a week will be sent. You will not be able to reply to these messages. www.goodsearch.com – You can earn the church money every time you do an internet search! Go to goodsearch.com (you’ll have to sign up – it’s free! – be sure to name your cause as Zion Lutheran Church, Etters) and every time you search for something you earn the church a penny. Be sure to change your default search engine to Good Search! If you need help

Photos for the Newsletter! Have something fun going on in your life (we know you do!)? Email us (pastor.abby.leese@gmail.com or zion.etters.news@gmail.com) a photo of something that you’ve been up to in the past month or two and we’ll put it in the newsletter. Let’s share our joys, our accomplishments, and our loves with each other! Worship in the Park We will be worshiping the first Wednesday of August and September at 6:30pm at Goldsboro park. Communion will be served at this service. Come early and enjoy a bring your own picnic at 5:45pm!

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getting this set up please see me and I can either help you or find someone who can! It seems a little overwhelming – but the church really is connecting with people every day of the week online! Sometimes in little glimmers of the reign of God we connect people to Jesus, sometimes we connect them to the church, sometimes we connect them to each other. Feel free to be a part of those connections – virtually or in person. And know that all of those connections are valuable! Pastor Abby

Fellowship with Lutherans in our area. The North York Conference will be hosting an ice cream social the second Wednesday August at 7pm at Ketterman Park in Goldsboro. Please do make an effort to gather with our Lutheran neighbors for some yummy ice cream and good conversation.   Want to receive text message reminders of Zion happenings? Text “Follow zionettersnews” to 40404. You will begin receiving messages from the phone number 40404 reminding you of events and activities at Zion. Approximately three text messages a week will be sent. You will not be able to reply to these messages.

 

 

Aiden Pierce Vandermark

born July 1, 2014 7lb 4ounces

20.5 inches tall Son of Leah and Eddie

Vandermark, Great Grandson of

Liz Wolf

Congratulations!

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Sermon July 6, 2014

Matthew 11.16-19, 25-30 Timothy loves to water plants. He loves filling up the watering can and then running around the yard and watering flowers, vegetables, grass, weeds, our cactus garden. Anything he deems in need of water. He can't turn the spigot outside yet so we have to turn that on for him but after that step he screams, "No me!" if we try to help him. Basically this means we have to watch how much water we put in the watering can for him. Because he can easily do it on his own if its just a quarter full. But any more water than that he either can't pick it up at all, he spills a great deal of water, or in some cases he and the watering can fall over. He wants to do it all himself. And I'm sure developmentally that is perfectly normal and its probably an important part of his learning that he insist on doing things himself. But it can also be frustrating. Because he can't do it all himself. He can't yet fix his own sandwich or dress himself or give himself a bath. He can't be trusted with an open cup because while he can drink out of it he often choses to pour it on the floor. He wants to do everything himself - especially those things beyond his capabilities. In our relationship with God we are Timothy. We are screaming, "No me!" when God tries to come beside us and help us carry the watering can. We can do it ourselves. Now like I said Timothy is going through what I understand to be a perfectly normal part of his

We will be having Communion every week in July, August, and September. Due to a positive forum held after worship in May we have decided to try having communion every week for a four month trial period. Please note two things. 1. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions please see Pastor Abby or a council member. 2. Please do not feel obligated to receive communion every week. Communion will no longer be ushered in an attempt to make it less obvious should you wish not to commune.

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development. We however are at the age where we are just being childish. But we all do it for so many reasons. Sometimes we want to do it ourselves because we think we know better than God and we can't just relinquish that control to someone else - even if that someone is God. Sometimes we just can't bear to reveal our souls to someone else. We have to do it ourselves because we've gotten ourselves in to this mess and we are getting ourselves out. We will not tell anyone else the dirty details of what got us here and we certainly won't let anyone else help us out. Sometimes we are embarrassed, prideful, too tired, or just too programmed to say anything but "No me" when someone tries to help us with our load. And we all carry loads. We all have burdens in our lives. Many of them the realities of living in a broken sinful world. We carry the load of lies we have told, mistakes we have made, illnesses we have been diagnosed with, guilty consciences, work we feel we must do. We may carry the scars of abuses, missed opportunities, grief of lost loved ones, insecurities, anxieties. We carry this stuff around with us like a yoke around our neck but when Jesus comes after us offering to share our burden - to help us carry it we so often scream "No me!" We love this passage, "Come to me you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest....Take my yoke upon you, and you will have rest for your souls." But do we live into the reality that Jesus is saying - let's wear this yoke together. Let's share the burden. That is just so hard to accept. So hard to allow

Volunteer Needed to Advertise Events! There is an opportunity available for you to help our community know more about what we are doing at Zion. If you are interested in helping to advertise Zion’s events please see Pastor Abby. If you’d like to get an announcement in the bulletin please get it to Kim Seitz by 9am Wednesday morning. You can put an announcement in Kim’s box in the church office, by emailing her a speedygirl64@comcast.net or texting her at 717.817.1505. Thanks!

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Jesus to do something for us that is so close to the vest - something that we just don't deserve. Now whether or not we "allow" Jesus to help us you should know that we are yoked to him - it happened in our baptisms there is no going back - he's carrying our burdens with us. But it is so much easier if we just let him instead of fighting him off all the time! If Timmy would just let us help him he and we wouldn't get so frustrated. What is your burden right now? What is it that deep in your souls you wish someone would help you shoulder but you just can't bear to bring it to light? You should know that someone is already walking beside you lifting you up as you stumble from the weight. Jesus is yoked to you and will never let you carry any load alone. And I know it stinks to need help. It stinks to have to "lower" yourself to the point of needing someone to help you do something you "should" be able to do alone. But here's the deal - Jesus is the perfect guy to be sharing your load. He did not have a ton of friends, he was homeless, he was killed, and he hung out with the wrong crowd. He knows what its like to feel like we feel. He doesn't want to overpower us, he doesn't want to make us feel weak. He just wants to be what we need him to be - a friend helping us carry our load. Like I said it doesn't matter if you want him to be there or not he's going to share your load with you. But as a mother of a two year old embrace him wanting to help you. Embrace what you can't handle and love that there is someone there ready and able to help.

 

Power Up! We are participating in the Stream Energy Power Up Fundraiser - switch your electric provider and earn money for Zion @ http://www.zionlutheranchurch.streampowerup.biz/ To date the church has already received $25 from those who have switched.

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Blueberry picking for the food bank at the Adam's blueberry patch!

2014 Conformation Camp Adina Lightner, Trey Humpreyville, Taylor Robinson

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 3rd - Food Pantry Sunday; Homebound Communion Sunday; 10:30 am VBS Volunteer Training; 2:00 pm Worship at Manor Care August 6th – 6:30 pm - Worship August 8th – VBS setup and decorating August 9th – 9:00 am to 3:00 pm – Vacation Bible School August 13th – 7:00 pm – Ice Cream Social with North York Conference, Ketterman Park, Goldsboro August 17th - Newsletter Deadline August 19th – 6:30 pm - Bible Study August 24th – 11:00 am – Church Picnic at the Craigs’ Home

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Trey and Taylor celebrating their birthdays at camp

Youth group mini golfing! Still time to win-I mean join in! See George Trout for info.

Thursdays in August, 6:00 pm – Knitting and Crocheting

LOOKING AHEAD September 20th – 10:00 am to 3:00 pm - Newberry Twp. Community Fair Day at Newberry Commons

COMMUNITY NEEDS

Red Land Food Bank – canned goods and non-perishables Diapers and wipes for Bell Socialization in York Red Land Senior Citizen Center - white copier paper (8 ½ x 11), cookies and snacks, sanitizing wipes, toilet paper, bathroom cleaner/toilet bowl cleaner, sandwich bags, paper towels, and postage stamps. Thank you for your generosity.

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Blessing 550 items made for people in need on Friday morning. Zion, Etters paid for half of the cost of these items (including personal care

kits, baskets of love, and letters to our senators about food aid reform.)

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PRAYER REQUESTS

Members and Friends of Zion

Ella Barton Janie Baum Genevieve Miller Margaret Price Don Snelbaker Dottie Roller Dan Thrush Denise Staats Linda Trout Brianna Rehm George Cizauskas Betty Kohr Brandon Neifert Becky Collins

Kathy Bittner Pete Brown Shayna Steinhauer Mary Rider Daniel Thrush Donna Martin Pam Schoen Dave Scheibel Barb Nearhood Charles Shenck David Davies Damon Morris Gwen Dunchock Judy Treaster Jacqueline Bahr Donna Winterburn Tray Fry Andy Helsley

SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN

Matthew Biesecker Evan Hoke Adam Anderson Kyle Buss Amy Plante Daniel Oestreich

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Happy August Birthdays To:

Tina McDade August 1 David Find August 10 Tiffany Lightner Gary Yanko August 11 Dwight McClain August 12 Andreas Gagas August 16 Gregory Neifert August 18 Steve Shissler Meredith Staats Joel Yacono August 25 Donna Shaffer August 28 Chris Sternberger August 31

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CHURCH LEADERSHIP

President: Russ Collins 938-8046 Vice President: Tim Dunchock 497-1751 Secretary: Tena Hunt 873-4403 Treasurer: Steve Shissler 460-0657 Assistant Treasurer: Dawn Shissler 979-1964 Financial Secretary: Liz Wolf 938-1202 Fellowship Committee Becky Collins 774-3595 Music and Worship Committee Helen Hoover 938-2589 Property Committee Dwight McClain 766-1469 Social Ministry Committee Mary Ann Bittner 938-4874 Christian Education Committee Denise Appel 932-1880 Evangelism Committee Tena Hunt 873-4403 Christina Miller 855-4822 Newsletter Editor Gail Craig 932-2481 Communications Director Tena Hunt 873-4403