March 2021 News
March 2021 Newsletter
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words” (St. Francis of Assisi)
I shared these words about my preparation for sermons during a sermon in January and some that heard that message thought it would be appropriate and good if I shared those words again here in the newsletter. I feel I need to share with you my process for preparing the messages/sermons that offer each week with you. I take this part of my leadership very seriously, I prayerfully discern what I feel needs to be shared as a message that comes forth from the Gospel and scripture passages of the day, not from any opinion or perspective that I personally carry, but from a place of faith. I begin and start all of the messages I offer to the church by coming from scripture. Everything I set out to share comes from the gospel first, and I am the vessel of the gospel sharing it with you. That is what I believe I am, as the pastor of this church, seeking to share the gospel with you at the Holy Spirit’s guidance. I do not set out to take any side or perspective on issues and I never preach at people in attempts to scold them or to change their mind on an issue. That is not the way I go about this work as a leader and follower of Christ.
I lift up the messages that I feel need to be heard by members of our community coming forth from scripture, I lift up ideas and thoughts that at times challenge folks to think a little bit differently than they have before, I lift up ideas to help us understand one another, God, and ourselves in new and more helpful ways. And many times I seek to present examples from people of backgrounds that may differ from those of Central PA. Helping us to walk in the shoes of another.
It is important that you know the rationale of my sermon process and purpose in this time, especially because of recent events and because of my role as a pastor in these times. As we deal with situations big and small, individually or collectively, may you know that this is a Spirit lead time in our worship.
Please check out the One Great Hour of Sharing information at the website: www.ucc.org/giving/ways-to-give/our-churchs-wider-mission/one-great-hour-of-sharing/
This is one of the 5 special offerings of the UCC. The OGHS offering goes forth to help folks near and far in the name of the faith which we share and offer in Christ’s name. The theme of this year’s offering is “Let Love Flow”. Please simply designate on your check, OGHS, as the envelopes have not yet arrived and we will pass it on to the leaders of this ministry among our wider church.
Please be patient as the task force decides when is the time we feel is appropriate to return to in person worship. One of the items that is holding us up, among others, is that our staff has not all had the opportunity to receive the vaccine yet. Also, many of our members have not either, like we anticipated would have occurred by this time. We continue to pray for those who are sick, dealing with loss, and for those giving of themselves for the good of our communities and world. We also pray for God’s guidance in all of this, in the decisions that have to carefully be made. Please join me in that regular time and petition of prayer.
Blessings and Prayers for the journey,
Pastor Nate
Worship Schedule this month:
March 7th – (Theme of Week: Beautiful Law) Third Sunday of Lent and 3rd Theological World: Oppression/Injustice. Exodus 20: 1-17; 1st Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2: 13-22. First Sunday Zoom Fellowship.
March 14th - (ToW: No Matter What) Fourth Sunday of Lent and the 4th Theological World: World of Alienation or of the Orphan. Numbers 21: 4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3: 14-21. Daylight Savings time begins. The UCC special offering: One Great Hour of Sharing begins to be collected.
March 21st - (ToW: Deep in Our Hearts) Fifth Sunday of Lent and the 5th Theological World: Reconciliation. Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12: 20-33.
March 28th - (ToW: Into Jerusalem) Psalms 118:1-2, 19-29, Mark 11:1-11. Palm Sunday.
Look Further Ahead
April 1st – (ToW: Maundy Thursday) Exodus 12: 1-14; 1st Corinthians 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-17, 31b-35. Service will begin at 7pm.
April 2nd – (ToW: Good Friday) Isaiah 52: 13- 53: 12; Hebrews 10: 16-25, John 18: 1-19, 42. Service will begin at 7pm.
April 4th - (ToW: Now What?) Easter Sunday. Acts 10: 34-43; 1st Corinthians 15: 1-11; Jon 20: 1-18. Our service will begin at the regular time of 9:15am. As of now this service will be a parking lot Church worship opportunity with a virtual option too.
Mifflinburg Backpack Project
We are accepting food donations for area food pantries and missions to feed children of our communities. We are again undertaking the backpack mission with Mifflinburg Area School District. Bring your items to the church or your donations of money for some of our connected members who are able to get needed items at very discounted prices. This is a wonderful ministry that Dreisbach supports in dedicated ways for the last few years. Thank you for your generosity. Backpacks will consist of 10 items per child per week. We invite you to purchase the individually wrapped and individually sized items for disbursement. We have a small crew lined up to fill and deliver the bags to the school.
# Mini macaroni & cheese (microwaveable) # Granola bars
# Mini chef Boyardee or similar microwaveable food items # Fruit Snacks
# Snack-pack puddings # Mini Cereal Boxes
# Pop Tarts # Drink boxes/pouches
# Individual packs of Crackers # Fruit Cups
Covid 19 Task Force
With the unfortunate delay in getting vaccines, the Covid 19 Task Force Committee along with Consistory has made the difficult decision to stay closed until after Easter Sunday. It is our hope that we can open up shortly thereafter. Please continue to pray that more vaccines become available for all of us and for our committee to make decisions in the best interest of all of our congregation. We miss you and look forward to seeing you soon.
E-giving
Looking for a way to make supporting our church simple and easy! Remember you can electronically send your offering or a gift to Dreisbach. Many people are already paying their bills from their cell phone, so now you can use your cell phone to contribute to the work of Dreisbach.
On your cell phone add the phone number 570-491-1377 to your list of contacts as Dreisbach E Giving. Then text the message GIVE. You will then receive a link to our giving page, open it, (it is a secure link) and proceed to fill in the information requested. You can use a credit or debit card or your checking account, making a onetime gift or set up recurring giving. Your gift will be credited to your offering envelope number. You will receive a thank you receipt via email.
You can also access the Dreisbach giving page on your home computer. Go to our churches’ website dreisbachucc.org. On the home page there is a E-Giving button half way down the right hand side of the page. Click on the button to open the giving page.
Please contact Scott Sanders at 570-898-1506 with any questions.
PPP Loan
Dreisbach has been fortunate enough to qualify for and receive another loan in the amount of $14,307 from the Paycheck Protection Program. Under the terms of the loan we anticipate that this loan will be forgiven as the last one was last summer.
BINGO
We are excited to announce a new and exciting event for Dreisbach! Join us for BINGO night held via Zoom on April 30th at 7:00! This event is open to members of ALL ages and is not just a children’s event! There will be themed baskets as prizes for our BINGO game winners. Pre-registration is required by April 16th to allow plenty of time for event preparations. If you would like to make a donation toward our themed baskets to help make our BINGO event a success, please contact Chelsea Mensch at 814-335-0291 or clallegr@gmail.com. We are hoping to have a wonderful turnout for our first event of this kind!!
Easter Gift Bags
In lieu of Dreisbach’s annual Easter egg hunt event. Easter gift bags will be available for our youth this year. If you would like to register your child (up to age 12) please contact Chelsea Mensch at 814-335-0291 or via email at clallegr@gmail.com. Deadline to register is March 12! Bags will be available to pickup on 3/27 through Easter Sunday at the church. For the safety and peace of mind for our congregation, we will only be accepting monetary donations for our Easter gift bags. Donations can be made by mail to Chelsea directly at 2160 Turkey Run Rd., Mifflinburg PA 17844 or to the church indicating Easter gift bags.
Thank You
Mary Lou Miller would like to thank everyone for the many Christmas greetings she received this past holiday season. They brought a great deal of cheer to her holidays!-
Dear Dreisbach Families,
Bob and I would like to thank you all for the many delicious meals you prepared for us in our time of need. Also, for the time it took to prepare them and taking the time to deliver and for the visits. Also thank you for the cards and prayers. We do appreciate you all and miss everyone. Thank you Pastor Nate for your visits and prayers Thank you to the Prayer Shawl group for the beautiful scarf.
Love to you all, Kay and Bob