CURRENT OFFICERS AND CONSISTORY MEMBERS | President | Deb Dietrich |
| Vice President | Allen Dennis |
| Secretary | Brad Bunnell |
| Treasurer | Chris Dietrich |
| Trustees | Diana Decker |
| Sandy Kleger |
| Jim Stewart |
|
The liturgical and secular calendar moves very swiftly. It seems like I just wrote an
article for our August Newsletter, and here we are, face to face with the month of September.
This month is going to be see the advent of our Bible Study, monthly Blessing and
Healing Worship Service, and of course our young people returning to school and Bible
school within our church.
It reminds me of the beautiful and often quoted Bible passage from Ecclesiastes 3:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down,
and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to
mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to
gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to
cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a
time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time
for peace.
How has your time in church been spent? If you are like me, your battery is
charged for another week of work, family and friend interaction, and of course some
down time. But there is nothing better than spending time together in God’s house.
I say this month, let’s invite a friend to church. Let’s show them all of the wonderful
events at Emmanuell UCC!
My first nine months with all of you has been nothing less than a treasure
and a wonderful Christian experience and I firmly believe this is our season! We
move forward from here!
In God’s Love,
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Teen Talk is back on Sunday mornings starting on September 10 at 9:30 am. This is our own time to dig deeper into our faith. It’s not just another “Sunday School class” or Bible Study. It’s all about us – who we are, what’s happening in our lives right here and now, and how does any of this relate to God and our faith. We’ll be discussing the important things going on in the world, our town and our lives. And if you have any particular ideas to discuss, just give them to me. We’re looking for everyone in 7th grade and up to come out and talk about how God really relates to us – not just in theory, but in reality.
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Check the front entrance bulletin board for
the following pictures:
Leah Dietrich and Morgan Hodle are shown
checking out a basket of beauty items at our
indoor yard sale on August 12.
Grayson Bunnell really likes the pirate ship
complete with pirates also found at our indoor
yard sale.
Rosemary Myers enjoys her chicken BBQ
sandwich as she shows her support for the
Hobbie Carnival.
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July turned out to be a great month here at Emmanuel UCC! We had visitors to
our church on July 2nd. Rev. Angela McNally and friends came to speak to us about
the mission she oversees. It’s call Friends Can Make It Happen
(http://www.friendscanmakeithappen.org/). The mission work is predominantly
collection shoes for the homeless. Angels resides in Freeland, PA but was born and
raised until the age of 15 in Uganda, Africa. Her testimony was truly inspiring! In
typical Emmanuel ICC fashion, we managed to fill a large box to overflowing with
shoes in one week!
Let’s not forget the wonderful vacation Bible school program the week of July 23
to July 27. Many congregation members and friends came out and worked very hard
with the 15 plus young people that attended! We should be very proud because the
time spent together was fellowship along with the Word of God!
The month of August we can look forward to great worship services, communion
the first Sunday of the month, (every month), and of course, making plans for the
future.
My future plans for September are starting a weekly Bible study for anyone who
would like to attend, and a special prayer and healing service once a month. Of
course, we will get out more information to you as we get closer to September.
It seems like the only thing we are missing is some of you! If you can’t get to
church, we will come to you in the form of a personal visit. So, take advantage of the
visitation sign-up sheet always found in the back of church. I would love to meet
every single person on our rolls!
God Bless You,
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Ethel Fine will be celebrating her 94th
birthday on August 7. Let’s all give her a
great birthday by sending her cards showing
her how much she means to our church
family.
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Our annual 300 Club and Silent Auction was enjoyed by many people. Pictured dancing to a polka being performed by the Mud Pond Boys are Kathrina Cybulski and Shirley Eckrote. Our thanks to all who came out to support this fundraiser.
Some of our graduates are pictured with their class. Crestwood’s graduating class included Bradley Kotarsky and Hunter Rinehimer. We wish them God’s guidance and encourage them as they pursue the next phases of their lives.
 Crestwood High School 2017 The 2017 graduating class of Crestwood High School recently
posed for their cap and gown photo.
Shown are, row 1: Maegan Grosz, Emily Traficante, Kate Garcia,
Jelena Goldstein, Nina McCormack, Jennifer Soto, Claudia
Bafunno, Madeline Heller, Amelia Prezkop, Alyssa Cuono,
Noah Dean, Danielle Jones, Katherine Sorokes, Gwyneth
Shermanski (Secretary), Lauren Rowski (Treasurer), David
Lackenmier (President), Ian Beach (Vice-President), Schyler
Kelsch, Jeremy Jones, Tanner Pitman, Sachin Patel, Dhruv
Patel, Jason O’Neill, Tyler McHale, Scott Mangan, Thomas
Leyshon, Richard Spaide, Jordan Kotowski, Jarrod Merrifield,
Aaron Keller, Michael Pilch, Joshua Edwards, Michael Baron,
Neil Simasek.
Row 2: Monica Schuler, Emily Van Fossen, Ashley Lewis, Dhruviben
Patel, Madison Quijano, Rachel Speck, Nicole Teberio,
Erin Tollinger, Hannah Williams, Makayla Dauksis, Amanda
Goss, Alexa Hady, Zariah Januszewski, Gabriella McElhattan,
Andrea Pegarella, Alexis Rockey, Justin Lukashewski, Cataldo
LaMarca, Zachary Humenick, Alexander DeSpirito, Andrew
Bowden, Christian Zero, Tyler Tokach, Dylan Perrone, Suraj
Dalsania, John Brescia, Luke Bartley, Jacob Barney, Tyler Zaykoski,
Carlos Torres-Teran, Airex Wert, Jeremy Lewis.
Row 3: Jessica Gittens, Madisyn Granoski, Jasmin Kakalecik,
Ashton Balliet, Ivy Dennebaum, Elizabeth Dudash, AlexisTaylor
Ermish Gattuso, Natalie Everett, Anita Farah, Samantha
Forgatch, Cara Henahan, Taylor Herron, Jordan Olenginski,
Corie Schoch, Stephanie Thorpe, Reagan Venturi, Jayson
Crablo, Zachary Biros, Zackery Tomcho, Nicholas Miller, John
McGroarty, Matthieu Lacoste, Trent Kelley, Kyle Gegaris, Nicholas
Davis, Patrick Croke, Michael Ayala, Hunter Rinehimer,
Steven Evans, Aaron Frihart, Ian Priest, Justin McCloskey,
Benjamin Kreuzer.
Row 4: Hailey Johnston, Allison Knorek, Natalie MacDonald,
Abigail Martino, Stephanie McGlynn, Maria Morgante, Alexandra
Olszyk, Brianna Hischak, Kristen Petroski, Kristen Skatuler,
Gianna Uhl, Elizabeth Hines, Sara DeSino, Siri Fredmund,
Paige Good, Kara Grenzberg, Megan Hudock, James Graves,
Tyler Govan, Matthew Dopp, William Boyer, Owen Simms,
Quinn Roberts, Noah Modrovsky, John McIlvain, Alexander
Marshall, Noah Kulp, Bradley Kotarsky, Adam Keil, Zachary
Anderson, Bray Vanderhoff, Curtis Tokach, Nathanael Smith,
Andrew Tuck.
Row 5: Kristina Cragle, Mackenzie Koslop, Madison Brozusky,
Lacey Stemrich, Alyssa Allen, Marlee Dillon, Maria Ellis, Emily
Hiott, Sarah Klush, Micaela Pandya, Skylar Pickett, Kaitlin
Snipas, Taylor Wells, Alyssa Cloran, Brandy Jones, Christine
Jumper, Mark Snyder, Jacob Snyder, William O’Boyle, Garrett
McAfee, Michael Kozelsky, Kyle Katra, Jeremy Hannen, Jacob
Gerlach, Kyle Frisbie, Brady Fetterman, Drake Dewald, Gregory
Chang, Kenneth Brush, Nicholas Andrews, Erik Thomas,
Kyle Sarluca, Michael Kralj, Brandon Andes, Stephen
Wegener.
Row 6: Kelsey Price, Alexandria Smolenak, Anna Clark,
Brittany Krout, Kaitlyn McLaughlin, Alexa Gaetano,
Marissa Margalis, Emilie Stanton, Olivia Stemrich,
Keara Stout, Jamie Witinski, Alyson Muse, Gabrielle
Verbeke-O’Boyle, Sereina Brenhofer, Kyle Richards,
Justin Whetstone, Jacob Morra, Samuel Majdic, Nicholas
Jones, Noah Jackson, Thomas Hallacker, Robert
Geiser, Ryan Young, Tim Stewart, Francis Sromoski,
Troy Simko, Lance Blass, Carlo Pizzamiglio, Matthew
Trimmer.
Missing from photo: Dylan Ayling, James Canesso,
Pankti Desai, Keith Garren, Corey Gulvas, Emily Hockman,
Kristina Mayewski, Zachary Oliver, Aaron Parker,
Madison Prosperi, Hannah Ralston.
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8th Annual 300 Club & Silent Auction Report
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Silent Auction Profit: $1670.00
300 Club:
Income:
283 tickets @ $35.00 each $9,905.00
5 Guests @ $15.00 each 75.00
50/50 raffles 149.00
Donations from winners 375.00
Additional Donations 345.00
$10,849.00
Expenses:
2Prizes from drawings $ 3125.00
2 Bands 725.00
Small games license 125.00
Moonwalk for children 225.00
Allen Dennis (food) 225.57
Jim Rinehimer (food, supplies) 412.04
Steve Moyer 44.00
$ 4881.61
Income: $10,849.00
Expenses: 4881.61
$ 5967.39 (profit from 300 Club)
1670.00 (profit from Silent Auction)
$ 7637.39 Grand Total Profit
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I have always been interested, as a minister, in apologetics. The word could be deceiving, and has nothing to do with making an apology. On the contrary, Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present historical, reasoned, and evidential bases for Christianity, defending it against objections.
At times, I feel as Christians we have the right and duty to defend our beliefs. Currently. I am studying a book titled “Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers & Skeptics Find Faith” by Alister McGrath. According to McGrath, our mandate has been given by Christ in the Great
Commission both with content for teaching and power for execution. Christ’s word is what we teach and God’s presence is what Jesus promised. That’s why when we are about doing the Masters business never are we to think we’re alone.
We are to understand apologetics as the reasoned defense of the Faith which must be practiced with gentleness and respect toward outsiders—even those who are our persecutors. Apologetics defends, commends, and translates the Faith to seekers and believers. When defending we must answer honest questions and be person relative. When commending we must show the wonder and splendor of the kingdom. And when translating, we must do so exegetically, hermeneutically and humanly explain terms so that a child can understand our meaning.
Christians wanting to grow in their faith need to and must find answers to their questions. They must mine the riches of the faith and get proficient at explaining it creatively without losing the substance of the gospel. How desperate we are for church goers to be gospel proclaimers, not just attendees to hear a message.
It all begins with each and every one of us studying and knowing the Word of God. One reason to study the Bible is to learn what it has to say firsthand. Whether one is a supporter or critic of the Bible, or perhaps just neutral or uninterested in the topic, history has demonstrated that the Bible cannot be ignored. Considering that the Bible is important to three major world religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – it is worthy of study. Also, the recent rise of hostile criticism towards the Bible itself and religion in general also makes it worthy of study. Sometimes the critics do not always quote the Bible correctly or in context.
Knowing what it says firsthand and having some knowledge of the context is helpful in understanding not only current events, but key ideas the Bible addresses such as the nature and existence of God, the human condition, the biblical pattern of redemption and salvation and ethics.
We learn together, every Sunday, another wonderful lesson from the Word of God. My message is that we make apologists instead of the uninformed and lost critic. By taking a friend to church, we will continue to expand those who will finally find the truth in life, and help the lost.
We do this not just for our church, but for the community, and the greater community, our world. So, if you have some tough questions and need answers, that magnificent book, The Bible will help you along the way. Let’s study it together, every Sunday!
Peace be with you,
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The Readler Family would like to thank everyone for their best wishes, cards, prayers and phone calls for Clifford Readler.
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The profit for the Script Card Fundraiser for June is $41.01.
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Worship begins at 6:00 pm Sunday evenings beginning July 9 and continues to the end of August. If you can help with refreshments for July 9 when we are host, please see Cindy.
| July 9 |
Emmanuel UCC |
| July 16 |
St. Peter’s UCC |
| July 23 |
Mt. Zion UCC |
| July 30 |
St. James Lutheran |
| Aug. 6 |
New Hope UMC |
| Aug. 13 |
St. Mark’s Lutheran |
| Aug. 20 |
St. John’s UCC |
| Aug. 27 |
Cemetery Association |
We hope everyone will find time to worship in this historic setting.
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It’s summer and time for our choirs to be on vacation. But that doesn’t mean that we want a vacation from music. Anyone who will sing, play an instrument or (if you’re really talented) do both, is welcome to pick a Sunday to make a joyful noise to our God. Please see Denise Dean so we can fill the air with music on Sunday mornings.
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Aaron Kleger is shown amongst the Crestwood High School and Middle School students who participated in Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science state meeting. Aaron won Pennsylvania Science Talent Search Award.
Sharon and Edmund Sieminski are shown filling their plates at our annual family style spring turkey dinner on Saturday, May 20th.
Pastor Lou Aita is shown participating in the Memorial Day service along with representatives of Ashley Post 673, American Legion Post 781, Sons of the Legion, the Ladies Auxilliary, Slocum VFW and Dorrance VFW Post 288.
 
Emmanuel UCC recently honored their confirmation class. Shown are Kelsey Rinehimer, Kiersten Whitmire, Brooke Rinehimer, Samantha Kotarsky, Leah Dietrich, Morgan Hodle and Pastor Aita.
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For anyone interested in tickets, message me! $35 for 2 people and chance to win$$$$! Please share
 2017 300 club Share on Facebook
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. — Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)
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