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Calendar of Events
Sunday, January 17
2nd Sunday after Epiphany
Worship Online
messiahsouth.org – Worship Resources
Monday, January 18
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 6:30 pm Executive Committee -Zoom
Wednesday, January 20
Penguin Awareness Day
Thursday, January 21
Friday, January 22
Saturday, January 23
Tuesday, January 19
12:00 pm South Little League
Registration – Bald Eagle Alley
National Pie Day
MESSIAH MESSENGER USPS 342-060 Published each week by Messiah Lutheran Church, 324 South Howard Street, South
Williamsport, PA. Publication Office, 324 South Howard Street. Entered as a periodical October 15, 1940, at the Post Office at Williamsport, PA under the Act of March 3, 1879.
POSTMASTER: Send address change to Messiah Lutheran Church,
324 South Howard Street, South Williamsport, PA 17702.
Fun Facts about Penguins:
http://www.arizonapetvet.com/blog/fun-facts-national-
penguin-awareness-day/
January 13, 2021 VOL. 79 – NO. 02
RESPONDING IN GOOD FAITH…
Recently I was dialoguing with another pastor about anonymous notes and complaints. In particular, we were discussing the pandemic and how it has caused so many challenges. One big challenge has been the dispute by some to cancel in-person worship.
My colleague described the following note that came anonymously… “I hope we can look back at our response to 2020 as a community of faith and realize that we failed the people and the community. We bowed down in fear to the government and shuttered doors when the world needed the church the most. We had an opportunity to help spread the gospel in the face of fear and we failed. We are no better than the world we claim to serve. Shame on us.”
We discussed this for a bit and after we hung up I thought about it more. So often we are negative about unfamiliar situations. The anonymous narrative was not only negative but also limiting. As an alternative to the above commentary, what I would say about Messiah Lutheran Church is the following: When we look back, we can say that we loved our community. We loved our community by not sponsoring superspreader events and encouraging safe worship. We can celebrate how we greatly expanded our online presence and spread the gospel to hundreds of people. (We had up to 341 viewings of our Easter Liturgy)
We can celebrate how we used ZOOM and phone calls to stay connected to our brother and sisters in Christ. We can celebrate how we distributed food to our families in the School District for three months. We can celebrate how our inter-connectedness served us well, with many churches partnering to face new challenges. We can celebrate how we drew closer to Christ by utilizing spiritual practices that needed exercised: private prayer, worship, fasting, meditation, scripture study, and experiencing God in unconventional ways.
We can celebrate how we became more innovative and creative, realizing that our “normal” ways of doing Church and being the body of Christ perhaps needed some change. We have no reason to be ashamed.
I remain on this journey with all of you, in Christ. Pastor Reinsburrow
Week of January 10, 2020 at Messiah: Offering: $ 6691.01 Capital Campaign: $2057.00
Daily Bible Readings
Sunday Jan 17 Samuel 3:1-20; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51
Monday Jan 18 Psalm 86; 1 Samuel 9:27-10:8; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
Tuesday Jan 19 Psalm 86; 1 Samuel 15:10-31; Acts 5:1-11
Wednesday Jan 20 Psalm 86; Genesis 16:1-14; Luke 18:15-17
Thursday Jan 21 Psalm 62:5-12; Jeremiah 19:1-15; Revelation 18:11-20
Friday Jan 22 Psalm 62:5-12; Jeremiah 20:7-13; 2 Peter 3:1-7
Saturday Jan 23 Psalm 62:5-12; Jeremiah 20:14-18; Luke 10:13-16
Food Pantry Needs: Chicken Noodle Soup, Cereal, Pop Tarts, and Raisins.
Each week we are paying tribute to loved ones in this space in lieu of altar flowers.
January 17, 2021 In loving memory of Jamie Wither on the anniversary of his birthday, January 12, by his wife and son, Kathy and Sean Wither, his daughter and son-in-law, Vanessa and Brett Hollfelder and grandchildren, Ali Rudinski, Gordie Emick, and Jackson Summers.
Capital Campaign Update for December 2020 Pledged amount given: $ 1895.00 Pledged amount to date: $ 79404.75 Unpledged amount given: $ 1228.00 Unpledged given to date: $ 60070.53 No new pledges in December
United Churches of Lycoming County Celebrates 75 Years!
Join us in making 2021 a year of Prayer and Celebration as we celebrate 75
years of Ecumenical Life with United Churches of Lycoming County.
Kick off Anniversary Celebration Service: January 17, 2021 at 3 p.m.
at New Covenant United Church of Christ Williamsport, 202 East Third St.
-also on Zoom and live-streamed on Facebook
Guest Speaker: Bishop Barbara Collins (ELCA)
The Library Corner – Highlighted Books Families - We have a great selection of family DVD's for
these cold winter days and having to stay inside. The Quigley's Village series is great.
Adult - Mere Christianity BY C.S. LEWIS - In the classic Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis, the most important
writer of the 20th century, explores the common ground upon which all of those of Christian faith stand together. Bringing together Lewis’
legendary broadcast talks during World War Two from his three previous books The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality, Mere Christianity provides an unequaled opportunity for
believers and nonbelievers alike to hear this powerful apologetic for the Christian faith. Found in our Adult Non-Fiction section.
Camp Mount Luther is now accepting applications for Summer Staff. Candidates must possess a commitment to Christ, a passion for the outdoors, and strong leadership and teamwork skills. The camp is accredited by the American Camp Association. If you or someone you know might be interested, please contact the camp office at Mount Luther, 355 Mt. Luther Lane, Mifflinburg, PA 17844, Phone: 570-922-1587 or email: [email protected]
or submit an application www.campmountluther.org/application
GROW in the Snow Cancelled This year’s synod youth retreat at Camp Mount Luther has now been cancelled due to the pandemic. It will not be rescheduled. Look for details in late 2021 about 2022’s event.
Knitters for Neighbors would like to share our report for the items we
knitted and distributed in 2020. We gave: 300 pair of mittens to Head Start;
333 baby hats to UPMC’s newborn nursery;
15 hats to our Seafarer’s Christmas at Sea
program;
29 cat mats to the SPCA;
A total of 20 chemo hats to Geisinger/Lewisburg
& UPMC Cancer Centers;
6 knitted bears to Evangelical Hospital;
And 12 knitted bears to our ambulance service.
We invite ALL knitters and crocheters to join us the 1st Thursday of each
month (COVID-permitting) from February through May in the Jensen Lounge
at 10:00 a.m. Each month we turn in what we’ve made since our prior
meeting. If you can’t attend our meetings but would like to contribute items,
we also welcome that kind of participation in our mission. Please join us!
Are you moving or have you moved? Please be sure to notify the church office of your change of address. We are charged a postage return fee of any mail that comes back to us. Please also remember to notify the office if you change your phone number or email address. Thank you!
Reminders for the new year:
Messiah’s Office Hours Monday – Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Friday 8:00 – Noon. Phone: (570)326-9171 Press 1 for Office; Press 2 for Preschool.
Lead Sexton work hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Submissions for The Messenger must be received by the office by Noon on Mondays. For the Sunday Bulletin by Noon on Wednesdays.
HELP WANTED Susquehanna Council Boy Scouts of America is excited
to announce that Chris Kilgus is returning as Camp Director for Camp Karoondinha's 2021 Camping Season! Chris was Camp Director in the early 2000's and knows Camp K traditions! He is recruiting staff for the 2021 Summer Camping Season and will be interviewing candidates soon. Go to: https://susquehannabsa.org/camping/camp-karoondinha/resident-camp/ to download a fillable pdf and for directions to email your applications to the Council Office.
Messiah on a Snowy Day Photo by Steve Koch
Submitted by Chris Haefner
