News

In preparation for Graduate Recognition Sunday, June 1, the church office requests information on all those graduating from high school, college, and grad school by Wednesday, May 28. Please send the following details to Pastor Stephen: name of the graduate (and their parents); school graduating from, school attending in the fall and anticipated course of study or the graduate’s future plans. 

3-5 PM TUESDAY, MAY 6 AND 10 AM – 12 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 28 IN ROOM 7A | RSVP APPRECIATED: EMAIL CLAUDIA HOLTZMAN

Derry Church is partnering with Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC’s) ongoing project to sew eco-friendly, washable menstrual pads for women and girls who don’t have ready access to these items. Access to these supplies increases school attendance.

MCC supplies the fabric layers, we supply the labor: people who can sew, people who can prep materials, people who can turn completed projects inside out and add finishing touches. 

This project will continue monthly on different days and at various times so that as many people as possible can participate. Keep an eye on the eNews for upcoming dates.

Cash Flow – Operating Fund as of 3/31/25:

12:45 PM MONDAY, APRIL 28 IN ROOM 7
6 PM TUESDAY, APRIL 29 IN THE CHAPEL 

In Eastern Christianity, icons are considered “windows to heaven,” serving as both visual representations of sacred figures and a means of spiritual connection with the divine. They are not merely religious art, but objects of veneration and prayer, believed to possess a spiritual power that can draw the believer closer to God.

On April 28, Pastor Stephen will share his icon collection with the Prime Timers, talk about the messages held within, and give more information about how icons are made and used.

Icons will also be the focus in Tuesday evening worship led by Pastor Stephen on April 29.

9:15 AM SUNDAY, JUNE 8 IN ROOM 2 AND ON ZOOM

Historian Timothy Snyder draws on the lessons of history to offer insights into how democratic societies can resist the rise of authoritarianism. Through 20 clear and compelling lessons, Snyder warns of the dangers of complacency, the erosion of truth, and the importance of protecting the values that sustain freedom.

In this book discussion led by Pastor Stephen, we’ll reflect on the historical parallels Snyder highlights, examine the lessons he urges us to learn, and explore how these lessons can shape our actions today. Our time together with this book will challenge us to think critically about our responsibility as citizens and the role we each play in safeguarding democracy and shaping a just society.

8:45 & 11:45 AM SUNDAY, APRIL 27 IN THE CHAPEL 

Why are good people divided by politics and religion? Why do some people like spicy food while others do not? In “The Righteous Mind” (The April selection for Read and Reflect with Pastor Stephen) Professor Jonathan Haidt attempts to answer the first question by developing a framework that he calls Moral Foundations Theory (MFT). Haidt argues that humans have six moral foundations through which we view politics and policy: Care/Harm, Fairness/Cheating, Loyalty/Betrayal, Authority/Subversion, Sanctity/Degradation, and Liberty/Oppression.

These moral foundations, according to Haidt, act as our political “taste buds” and explain our political preferences in the same way that our lingual taste buds explain our culinary preferences. Some political ideologies rely on the Care/Harm foundation while others rely on Loyalty/Betrayal. Some people taste Fairness in terms of equality while others do so in terms of proportionality. Some people prefer salty food, some prefer sweet.

On April 27, join Pastor Stephen for this introductory lesson on Moral Foundations Theory.

April 13
Palm Sunday Worship
8 am Chapel
10:30 am Sanctuary | Live streaming

April 15
Evening Worship & Communion
6 pm Tuesday, April 15 | Chapel
No Terrific Tuesday dinner tonight

April 17
Maundy Thursday Worship
7 pm Sanctuary | Live streaming
12-9 pm Walk the Labyrinth | Fellowship Hall

April 18
Good Friday Worship
7 pm Chapel
9 am-9 pm Walk the Labyrinth | Fellowship Hall

Saturday, April 19
9 am – 12 pm Walk the Labyrinth | Fellowship Hall

April 20
Easter Sunday (Note worship time change)
8-10:30 am Breakfast | Fellowship Hall | Donation supports mission trips
9 & 11 am Worship | Sanctuary | Live streaming

Click here to sign up to be an usher on Palm Sunday or Easter

Overall Champ:
McKinsey “Beginner’s Luck” Bailey (friend of Jeremy Mohler who filled out a bracket for the first time ever!)

Top 5 Overall Finishers (receives engraved medal)
2. Dennis “The Menace” Hosler
3. Jim “Satchmo” Royer
4. Jack “Pristine” Keene
5. Jim “Grizzly” Cunningham

Best in Staff/Session/Deacons
Mike “The Bracket Doctor” Reed (also the first ever Mission Madness grand champion!)

Best in Music
Cindy Royer (impressive husband-wife showing this year!)

Best in Children
Ollie “Outsmarts” Bartz

Best in Youth
Andrew “Phanatic” Burke (son of 2020 Grand Champion Tracy!)

Best in Seniors (born before the Truman era)
Dave “The Bearcat” Gloeckler

Shout-out and thanks to commissioner Pete Steelman for organizing this annual fundraiser nine years running, creating nicknames for the winners and keeping us entertained with bi-weekly emails. The total amount raised for Paskistan scholarships will be reported in an upcoming edition of this eNews.

8 AM SATURDAY, APRIL 26 IN HARRISBURG • RSVP to Pete Feil or Charlie Koch by Thursday, April 24

Join Derry members and friends in partnership with Rebuilding Together Greater Harrisburg to repair two houses in Harrisburg. Bring your own tools if you like. Lunch and a T-shirt provided.

8:45 & 11:45 AM SUNDAY, APRIL 6 IN THE CHAPEL WITH PASTOR STEPHEN

Among other cherished values, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech. “Congress shall make no law . . .  abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” What does this mean today?

Generally speaking, it means that the government may not jail, fine, or impose civil liability on people or organizations based on what they say or write, except in exceptional circumstances. The question of what constitutes free speech and what are its limits has been a hot topic in recent weeks. The U.S. Supreme Court has struggled to determine what exactly constitutes protected speech. For this Timely Topics, Pastor Stephen will discuss some broader definitions and limits of free speech as determined by past Supreme Court cases, and look at questions raised today through the lens of one particular Supreme Court case: Texas V. Johnson, which dealt with the act of burning an American flag.

You can help offset the cost of Derry’s Terrific Tuesday Easter ham dinner on April 8 by sharing free ham certificates with our hospitality coordinator, Amanda Bentley. Contact her no later than Sunday, April 6. Thanks, Derry!

Place your order for Easter flowering plants in honor or in memory of loved ones by filling out and returning forms available at the insert rack outside the kitchen. Include checks payable to Derry Church, notated “Easter Flowers.”

Pots of Easter lilies and tulips (new this year) will decorate the Sanctuary on Easter Sunday, April 20. You can take them home after the 11 am service. Plants are $12 each. To ensure your loved ones’ names will be printed in the Easter bulletin, submit dedication information to Kathy Yingst by April 16.