Month: December 2023

Cash Flow – Operating Fund as of 11/30/23:

	ACTUAL	BUDGETED
Income YTD:	$1,106,855	$1,191,666
Expenses YTD:	$1,082,669	$1,256,642
Surplus/(Deficit) YTD:	$24,186	($64,976)

The annual Derry Church staff Christmas video will be delivered on Saturday morning. This one’s a bit longer (about 12 minutes), so pour an extra cup of coffee or tea and settle in for a virtual holiday treat that combines Derry-style competition and some sweet entertainment! 

Come to church on Epiphany Sunday, Jan 7, and choose a star gift for 2024! Baskets of stars will be at the Chapel and Sanctuary entrances. Choose a star gift and reflect on that word for the coming year. Take it home and hang it up where you can see it every day. Ponder what significance this word might have in your life, and how God might be speaking to you through that simple message. 

Observant users of the church website will have noticed a new “300th Anniversary” tab has been added that includes a listing of anniversary events and a brand-new interactive church timeline. Keep up with all that’s happening in 2024 by checking the events tab throughout the year.

Hershey New Year’s Eve returns on Dec 31 for its 19th fun-filled year! Revelers will enjoy live bands, great food and drinks, and family friendly activities culminating in the Hershey Kiss raise at midnight and a fireworks display. Click to view the 2023 schedule.

SUNDAY, DEC 24 IN THE SANCTUARY • LIVE STREAMING AT 10:30 AM, 5 PM & 7:30 PM

8:30-10 am: Breakfast in Fellowship Hall (donation supports mission)

10:30 am One service on the fourth Sunday in Advent.

Celebrate the birth of our savior at three distinctive Christmas Eve candlelight worship services:

2:30 pm: Worship includes Lessons and Carols and communion, with holiday music presented by the Derry Brass.

5:00 pm: A candlelight service of Lessons and Carols featuring participation by children and music for the entire family to enjoy.

7:30 pm: A traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service of Lessons and Carols, with music provided by the Derry Ringers and the Sanctuary Choir.

All Christmas Eve services include singing “Silent Night” and sharing candlelight, symbolizing that the Light of the World has come.

Child care available at 5 pm. The lounge adjacent to the Sanctuary offers a candle-free worship zone and a space where young families can move about freely.

10:30 AM MONDAY, DEC 25 IN THE CHAPEL

Come as you are for a worship service that includes carol singing and a Christmas story, followed by refreshments, fellowship, and a birthday cake for Jesus in the John Elder Classroom and Hammond Library adjacent to the Chapel.

• Christmas Eve: No 8 am worship or church school classes on Sunday, Dec 24. Instead, have breakfast in Fellowship Hall from 8:30-10 am prepared by Charlie Koch and friends (your donation benefits 2024 mission trips). After breakfast, worship on the fourth Sunday in Advent at 10:30 am in the Sanctuary and streaming, then come back later for Christmas Eve services.
• Christmas Day: come for informal worship in the Chapel at 10:30 am Monday, Dec 25, then celebrate Jesus’ birthday (with cake) in the John Elder Classroom and Hammond Library
• Church office closed Dec 26 & 27: No eNews this week.
• New Year’s Eve: No 8 am worship or church school classes on Sunday, Dec 31. Worship at 10:30 am on New Year’s Eve in the Sanctuary and streaming.

8:30-10 AM SUNDAY, DEC 24 IN FELLOWSHIP HALL • DONATION

On Christmas Eve there will be no 8 am worship or church school classes, but there will be a delicious buffet breakfast! Drop by to enjoy egg strata, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, fruit cut, assorted muffins and juices, and coffee & tea. There will also be gluten-free options and a selection of dry cereal. 

8-10 AM TUESDAY, DEC 19 IN THE PARKING LOT 

Need a little extra energy the week before Christmas? Stop by Cool Beans Brew Coffee Truck and select from a variety of coffee, cold brews, teas, refreshers and speciality holiday drinks ranging from $5-$8. Pay by cash, credit, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Brought to you by Derry Discovery Days Preschool.

In so many ways, you have spread the joy and shared God’s love this Christmas season!

BLOOD DRIVE

• 38 Donors registered!
• 31 units of blood collected!
• Derry’s blood drive will help to save up to 93 lives! 

FOOD DRIVE

• 697 pounds of Food to Hershey Food Pantry

CLOTHING DRIVE

• A giant carload of clothing delivered to Allison Hill Ministries

GIFT CARDS

• The congregation donated enough to meet our goal of 100 gift cards: 45 for racetrack workers in Grantville and 55 to Derry Township Social Ministries families

2023 offering envelopes are available for pickup in the Narthex by those who told us they would like to continue using envelopes next year. Questions? Contact Sandy Miceli.

1 PM WEDNESDAY, DEC 20 IN THE LOUNGE

“Mary and Martha Encounter Jesus” is the lesson based on Luke 10:38-42 when the Presbyterian Women’s Circle gathers this month. All women are invited to join. Each lesson stands alone, so drop in to these monthly studies as your schedule allows.

Many hands are needed to support Derry’s Christmas Eve services, from candle lighters to communion servers and cleaner-uppers. Click this link to sign up for the role that works for you. Thanks, Derry!

We HOPE you will visit the Ruth Codington Library this month to see our great collection of holiday books. We know you will find something you LOVE, perhaps in our Fiction section where Jennifer Chiaverini’s Christmas Bells explores Christmas past and present through the familiar words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Or pick up Richard Paul Evans’ mysterious Christmas Box with an ending that will fill you with the PEACE of the season. Bonhoeffer’s sermons, the Grinch, Chicken Soup for the Soul, those Herdman kids, a crippled lamb, and many more are waiting on the shelves to bring you holiday JOY.

While you’re there, read the Advent verse of the day, learn more about our staff’s holiday favorites (can you guess which movie rascal is Shawn Gray’s favorite Christmas character?) and write your picks on our graffiti wall (which is your favorite advent theme?)

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord…Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Change 4 Children will be collected on Sunday, Dec 10 to help fund programs of the Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) in Zambia.  

Salma shoulders the responsibility of being the primary breadwinner for a household of five: her three children and a younger sister who suffered a stroke. At times money is so tight that her heart breaks at the thought of not being able to buy simple things like shoes for her daughter. To keep the family afloat, Salma runs her own business selling charcoal. When she became a beneficiary of ACE’s Family Preservation and Empowerment Program, the skills training and resources she received helped her business to blossom. She now also makes rugs to supplement her income. She aspires to invest in a piece of land for security and stability as well as a legacy for her children.

Place coins in zip-closed bags, checking that all non-coin items have been removed (tokens, batteries, pins, paper clips, etc.). Bag foreign coins separately. Drop your coin donations in the designated baskets at church entrances. Thanks, Derry!

Thanks to everyone who made the 2023 Cookie Walk and Jumbles Shop such a success: those who baked cookies and called their shepherd group members, the set-up crew, those who sorted and priced items, worked on Saturday with sales and clean up, as well as all those who purchased cookies and jumbles shop items. The Cookie Walk raised $2,478.72 and the Jumbles Shop earned $999.25 for a total of $3,477.97. This does not include donations some made in lieu of cookies. Big thanks to Nancy Kitzmiller, Sally McKinney and Linda Chidester for their leadership.

Some cookie bakers have shared their recipes. Stop by the church office and ask for the recipe folder. We’ll make copies of any you’d like to take with you.

The next Presbyterian Women’s event will be the winter tea on Sunday, March 3, 2024.

Bakers, pick up your cookie containers on the shelf above the coat rack in the Narthex through Sunday, Dec 17. Any remaining containers will be donated to Jubilee Ministries.

The annual Jim Cooper Memorial Blood Drive on Sunday, Dec 3 was a great success!

• 38 people were registered
• 31 units of blood were collected, which is a great deferral rate
• This drive will help to save up to 93 lives! Absolutely fantastic. Thank you, Derry Church!

2-4 PM WEDNESDAYS, JAN 10-APR 3 IN THE JOHN ELDER CLASSROOM

GriefShare is a friendly, caring group of people who walk alongside people through one of life’s most difficult experiences, offering support to those who are dealing with the loss of a loved ones from death.

Each GriefShare session is organized in two parts. During the first 30-40 minutes of the meeting, the group views a video seminar featuring top experts on grief and recovery subjects. These videos are produced in an interesting-to-watch television magazine format featuring expert interviews, real-life case studies, dramatic reenactments and on-location video. Following the video, participants spend time discussing what was presented on that week’s video seminar and what is going on in each other’s lives.

This session continues weekly through April 3. Those interested may begin attending the GriefShare group at any time. Each session is self-contained, and any missed weeks can be joined when the next series is offered.

Register by contacting the church office (717-533-9667). No cost to attend. Child care is not available.