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The book club is one of our new small groups starting up! We will be starting on the first Monday in January (the 4th) at 7:00 p.m. We will be meeting at the church. The first book we will be reading is A Tree Grows In Brooklyn  by Betty Smith. You can purchase the book at Barnes and Nobel, Amazon or get it at our Lancaster Library. You have 2 months to read this great book! Invite your literary friends to join us! Please sign up for this group in the narthex! We will have a treat and drink each time. We will discuss books we read each time and also get your input in choosing books. If you have any questions contact Sandra Kleckner (898-2652) or Linda Schmitt (898-6186) or talk to us at church!

Looking forward to getting started and having a great book club. A new year- A new beginning for our new book club!

 

Christmas Tea

Thursday, December 17^th

You are invited to attend the Holy Spirit Christmas Tea. The holiday season comes quickly so you want to mark the date now.  This year’s tea will be Thursday, December 17^th, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.

 

In this month when we commemorate the beginning of the Reformation, 498 years ago, Holy Spirit will be using this month to meet to continue to discern directions for our ministry. We will do some of this in our adult Sunday School class as we learn more about the meaning of the five themes of congregational life.

And, as you will read on another page of this newsletter, we will be having a special meeting of the congregation on Sunday October 18, to take action on two recommendations of the Congregation Council.

One recommendation is to approve a contract which will result in the demolition of the house we own at 3121 Columbia Ave. After receiving direction from us at our May meeting, the Council did research, resulting in this recommendation. The removal of the house will end one chapter of ministry, and it will open another as having additional green space will assist our outdoor ministry possibilities, and enhance the first view people have of the property.

The second recommendation is to approve a contract for a new message sign. This sign will replace the current sign and be installed in the current brick frame. This will give us an updated, clean look as people view our invitation to join us for worship.

And thanks to the awarding of a grant to us, we will be able to accomplish both projects with no debt to the congregation. I am grateful to the work the Council has done over the summer on these projects. Both will be helpful to our future, as we continue to pray about, and study our role as a congregation striving to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Clifton D. Eshbach

Pastor

 

The days of intentional rest and refreshment appear to be behind us. Amusement parks have cut back the hours when they are open. The summer camping season at Nawakwa and Kirchenwald is over. We have even begin to wonder when the 2016 calendars will be available.

We have entered September. It is the traditional time when we return from our respective travels and come back together. We return to worship, to participate in Christian education, to serve in the various ministries of this congregation in a more consistent manner.

Throughout the pages of this newsletter you will find a place to serve, to learn, to fit in. You are part of a community which attempts to set its sights high on proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.  And there is a place for you in accomplishing that mission. So read on! Come back here every week to worship. And go out into the world every day to serve. And invite, invite, invite. Invite someone who you know who would benefit from the words of forgiveness, the real presence of Christ, and the inspiration to serve. Your effort to invite is an expression of the invitation of Christ himself.

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”  Matthew 10:40

 

The new weekday morning Bible Study at Holy Spirit

Wednesday, September 16 – 9:30 a.m.

Our first meeting will include morning devotions and a conversation of topics the group may like to pursue in the coming months.

Come and join in!