Month: October 2022

One of the duties of the Deacons is caring for members in need. As a Deacon at Derry, I was offered the opportunity to accompany Pastor Stephen on his monthly visits to homebound members to serve them communion. I was grateful for the opportunity since COVID had impacted our in-person contact with many Derry members.

We set out on the Tuesday morning after Labor Day. We were warmly welcomed into the members’ homes and, for those I knew, it was a chance to renew friendships or to make new acquaintances. Each visit was filled with easy conversation, listening to their news about family or hearing about any concerns they had. At one home we even sang a favorite hymn together. It was a joy to see their smiles as we chatted at leisure. Then Pastor Stephen opened his traveling communion kit and we shared the “bread of Heaven” and the “cup of salvation.”. 

Many of our homebound members live stream the Sunday service but cannot share in taking the sacrament of communion in person with others. It was clearly a joy to take the bread and cup with them and see how delighted they were to receive us in their homes.

It was a fulfilling experience for me, and I hope other Derry Deacons will choose to accompany Pastor Stephen on these monthly visits. If you’ve ever served as a Deacon (or an Elder), you can participate: just contact Pastor Stephen and let him know you’re available.

I was asked to write this article back in early August. I thought I had a good idea for things that make a difference here at Derry and I chewed on this idea a bit. Being fresh off the Youth Group trip (in full disclosure, two of the young people were my daughters), this would fall right out of my fingers and onto my screen, right? Not quite. It is now September 1 and one of you, without even knowing I was asked to write this, sent me a very nice card, with a brief message about a youth activity that let me know that my thoughts had congealed and I was headed in the right direction.

Here is my working title for this piece: Do You Make a Difference in the Lives of Our Youth? That question and my message here is not an appeal for new sign-ups for Sunday School teachers or Youth Leaders (although none of us would say that is a bad idea and we can tell you that the process of getting your clearances is not that bad at all), but this article is a call for reflection on the difference you make in the lives of our youth.

So what are the elements of our youth program here at Derry?

Sunday School? Check.

Youth Group? Check.

Food? Devotions? Check! Check.

Fellowship and Activities? Check.

So much more? Check, Check, and Check again.

Are you part of Derry’s Youth program? Check! You are!

Do you make a difference in the lives of our youth? Check! More than you know!!

My argument here is based on my observations at Derry and a reflection on my experiences growing up. You provide significant and valuable things to our youth and probably do not even realize it. You are just doing the things that you do as a person of faith. I recall attending church with my family and I remember those worshiping around me — even as I start to receive offers in the mail for senior discounts, their names and faces are still vivid in my mind. I still remember where most people sat each Sunday. I remember being led in hymns by Mr. Shebelsky in our gathering before Sunday School, and finding passages in the Bible with Mrs. Unger. Ushering with Mr. Edmands, the singing voice of the scout leader, who would later become my first boss. Other times, I remember smiles and kind words, or the good food that people shared during turine dinners (it took me a long time to figure out what turine meant). I was given the gift of experiencing the love of Jesus Christ in the people I met. They showed me what that looked like and what people living their faith meant, all without doing any one, particular thing. All these things are still part of me today.

It is a privilege to be involved with the youth here at Derry, and, I am certain others would tell you the same thing. I probably do not have enough space here or time to fully share what impacts me (and how), but here are the first things to come to mind from recent youth gatherings/events:

It is a gift to watch youth get to know each other over the course of a week, when packed in a van for at least 25 – 30 hours over the course of a week, needing to share bathrooms, walking in the woods, taking off across a lake in a kayak or on a paddle board, getting sand out of their shoes, helping to cook meals, and getting help finding the sunscreen. I am moved by their participation in devotions and worship planned by them. I often am given pause as I hear them sing the hymns I remember singing when I was growing up. I take so much from them when I hear their expressions of the intersection of their lives and faith when we go around the circle offering prayers, and it is particularly poignant when their prayers are heard by adults or they hear the prayers of adults. At other times, I am not looked at too weirdly when I join in a music experience that requires a stand up and clap, move to your left, turn around and jump required along with the singing, taking me back to memories from my younger years.

More and more each day, I realize how much I appreciate the involvement of others in the church as I was growing up and the experiences I have here at Derry. I not only appreciate the gifts that were given to me (and continue to be), I rely on them. The older I get, they are a comfort to me, but also provide a foundation for what I need in this world that seems to challenge us more each day. I suspect many of you feel the same way and rely on the gifts you have received and still receive. They make a difference.

Believe it or not, you make a difference to our youth program and are a vibrant part of it. By being here, worshiping, welcoming, expressing your faith, singing, eating together, working, or just chatting with others, you make a difference. I am pretty certain that our youth will reflect on what they have received from you in years to come, even the littlest thing may be significant to them. They will come to the same conclusion that you made a difference to them, I just bet, and will later make a difference to others, too.

I recently had my hearing tested. The audiologist asked me how my summer was going. I told her that, quite suddenly, I was very busy. My church had become involved with a Syrian refugee family and I was drawn to become involved. She thanked me. Thirty years ago her family was sponsored by a church when they were refugees after the Vietnam war ended. She said most refugee families do not have sponsors. Because hers did, they were able to survive and thrive in the new country where they knew little of the language or the customs.

Syrians have fled by the millions since the Arab Spring 12 years ago was violently quashed. Russia has armed the suppression of Syrians wanting a more democratic government. Derry Church was made personally aware of the Syrian refugee crisis in January when Church World Service (CWS) Lancaster gave a presentation at Sunday school (watch part 1 and part 2).

The Mission and Peace Committee (MAP) took note. Some contact was maintained over the months. CWS opened a new office in Harrisburg in preparation for resettling refugee families, including several Syrian families. We received word in July that partners were desperately needed to help with families. Pete Feil and Marilyn Koch, with the encouragement of MAP and Pastor Stephen, put out the word. Derry Church had been called. But did we want to answer? Could we answer on such short notice? It seemed impossible.

They needed a place to live, help to access the seed benefits the United States makes available to the small number of refugees each year. They would need help to become independent: get jobs; enroll their children in school; access medical care; have access to transportation; learn English, and so much more. MAP and a number of interested Derry and All Saints Episcopal Church members, despite this seemingly impossible mission, said yes. We would commit to help resettle one family.

The Mohamad Haikal family arrived on July 27. The parents and four children, ages 4-12, traveled over 24 hours. Each had a duffel bag with their worldly possessions. They’d been waiting in Egypt for 10 years to come to the United States. Since then, our band of volunteers have been part of the adventure of a lifetime.

Many people have been involved in resettling this family. Surprisingly we have encountered a number of Arabic-speaking people who have helped us navigate various situations. We now have a dedicated English as a Second Language (ESL) group, headed by Sue Whitaker, and augmented by members of the All Saints Episcopal Church in Hershey. The school district also provides ESL support. Love INC has provided transitional housing for the family. Hope Within provided initial medical treatment. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, the Hershey Food Bank, and Cocoa Packs have provided food and clothing. Many other donors from both churches have provided funds, food, clothing, household goods, bicycles, and transportation to the mosque, as well as a variety of appointments for health, school, job, and social assistance programs. 

All of this has made a huge impact on the Haikal family and the volunteers. None of this would’ve been possible had the call not been answered. And because we answered, mini miracles, if there is such a thing as a “mini” miracle, have occurred. Mohamad has a job but more support will be needed. Permanent, affordable housing and a car large enough for the family of six are needed. 

God has brought us this far. God will continue to call. Will Derry Church continue to answer? “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In October we’re lifting up efforts to fight hunger in our community and around the world. 

Did you know that last year 828 million people around the globe went to bed hungry?  

Did you know that 13.5 million households in the United States were food insecure? 

Did you know that right here in Central PA, 153,000 individuals visited the Central PA Food Bank every month? 

Statistics like these can be overwhelming. It can seem like an impossible problem to solve. However, there are steps that can be taken that will help those who are hungry.  Consider these mission opportunities:

1. Serve breakfast or lunch at Downtown Daily Bread. Contact Craig Smith for details. 
2. Donate Giant or Walmart gift cards to the Hershey Food Bank and the Central PA Food Bank.
3. Serve dinner to workers at the Racetrack. Derry is scheduled to provide dinner on Monday, Oct 31: contact Craig Smith to volunteer. 
4. Hold a food drive in your neighborhood to benefit the Hershey and Central PA food banks.
5. Celebrate a birthday or anniversary by asking friends and family to donate to one of Derry’s missions that support feeding programs.
6. Organize a team to walk in the CROP Hunger Walk at 2 pm on Sunday, Oct 23. Sign up online to walk or to make a donation, or stop by the table in the Narthex on Sunday morning.
7. Find out what the Presbyterian Church (USA) is doing to combat hunger: check out the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Support their work by writing a check or giving online.

Each of us in small ways can make a real difference in fighting hunger. As the CROP Walk slogan so aptly puts it, Help End Hunger One Step at a Time.