Dear Friends:

With great joy I share with you stories of the amazing work God is doing in and through our congregation. Though we are physically distanced from each other, we are still living our purpose: Gathered by God’s grace, we are empowered to serve, and sent to share Christ’s love in the world. Some of these stories I’ve shared in bits and pieces in sermons, Facebook posts, and Bible studies, but I wanted to take the opportunity to put them all in one place in order to praise God for God’s faithfulness, thank you for your generosity, prayers, care, and support that has made this work possible, and invite your further partnership in loving and serving our neighbors during these challenging weeks.

The day I heard that Northern Lebanon schools for closing (for the initial two week time frame), I contacted Mr. Rizzo at Jonestown Elementary to let him know that we would do whatever it took to continue distributing Power Packs (bags of food that go home on Thursday afternoons with students who receive free/reduced price lunches during the week. Zion’s provides 95% of the volunteers for this weekly distribution). He was grateful for that support, and we have been distributing food every Thursday afternoon, in partnership with Power Packs and the schools. We pick up the food from a warehouse in Lebanon, package it into bags for each family, and distribute it ‘drive thru’ style at Jonestown Elementary. Before COVID-19, we were distributing about 20 packs a week. It has grown every week (now we distribute to students of every elementary school in the district), with last week’s count 39 families. “Thank you, thank you, thank you”, one grandmother said, “I was completely out of milk, and money”. Another family says, “We have eight people in our house right now, and the kids are always hungry. Thank you for this.”

That same week, when I naively thought this isolation would last a mere two weeks, the idea for Evening Prayer arose as an opportunity for our members to hear from one another and be grounded in God’s truth. And, our daily Evening Prayers have definitely been that. But, by the grace of God, they have become so much more. These Evening Prayer videos are being shared widely with friends and neighbors and are touching more lives with the Good News of God’s grace and promise than we could have ever imagined. Each Evening Prayer video has been viewed at least 140 times (and some have more than 1000!!) People have reported “those videos really keep me going” and “we watch every night and look forward to them”. At one Power Packs distribution, a woman asked me “Oh, you’re the Pastor of the church doing all those evening videos! I’ve been watching them, and really appreciate them. It’s so good to hear from other people about how they are surviving these days”.

While I know we would all rather be gathering in-person with each other, sharing hugs and smiles, and singing together, these weeks of mandated virtual gatherings have provided incredible evangelism (sharing the Good News) opportunities. While we have offered our worship services online for several years, right now, our services are being shared more widely than ever, and people have been so receptive to them. For example: Our Easter worship was viewed over 600 times, and Good Friday more than 500 times. The Holy Week Kid’s Message, with a special word about the end of the school year, was shared and viewed 563 times. Some of you have created “Watch Parties” on Facebook, and have discovered long-lost friends tuning in, from places as far away as New Zealand! Over and over we’ve heard “that was so comforting” and “thank you, I needed to hear that I wasn’t alone” and “our church isn’t able to do anything like this, thank you for providing this opportunity for worship”. One of our members shared the Easter worship service with a friend whose brother died on Easter morning and reported “that message of resurrection happening while it was still dark was so appropriate [for my friend] Our worship services are being spread further than we know”. And, remarkably, our physical distance hasn’t stopped many, many voices and faces from being a part of worship preparation—thank you to all who have recorded videos or sent in photos.

Of course, we aren’t just reaching beyond our walls—we are also serving and caring for our congregation in beautiful and powerful ways. Every time we gather in prayer, we pray for healthcare workers by name, together with others on the frontline, and those who are sick or grieving. And so many cards are being sent! One day, I received an envelope stuffed with 22 handwritten and stamped cards, ready to be sent to our frontline workers. Another day, a bag of 20+ handmade cards were left on my front porch. When one of the Emergency Department managers at Good Samaritan opened a card created by one of Zion’s younger members, he remarked “this little girl must really love us”, when Debbie Long (who delivered the card) asked “Why do you say that?” He said, “It’s not just what she wrote—but that she used all of her precious stickers on one card!” From young(er) to old(er), we are doing our best to love and serve one another in unprecedented times.

And the examples of service go on: I’ve got a list of people ready to shop for groceries or pick up prescriptions, as needed (please let me know if this would be helpful to you!). One of our homebound members was very concerned that she couldn’t find antibacterial soap; while it took some searching, another member found and delivered a bottle nearly as big as the woman is! which should last her many years beyond this pandemic. One of our members is working a longer, and different, shift at the hospital, and needed some childcare help. One of our families offered to watch her kids, with another offering to pick up school lunches for everyone in the house, and another dropping off extra snacks. That, friends, is the power and beauty of community.

In these difficult, and uncertain times, the gifts of time, talent, and treasure that we share are signs and ways of trusting that we will make it through these days together. Zion’s is grateful for your financial and prayerful support that makes ministry possible, always, and especially now, and we invite your ongoing partnership. THANK YOU for sharing your offering via Simply Giving, Paypal, and old fashion snail mail, and THANK YOU for those who designated Thrivent Choice dollars towards our ministry—totaling $427! We are also grateful for the extra gifts that established our COVID Compassion Fund to help support those facing unemployment or other financial concerns. Many of us will soon be receiving stimulus checks from our government designed to provide relief for those who have lost income; if your financial situation has remained unchanged during these weeks, I encourage you think about sharing all, or part, of the check with Zion’s, JOY Pantry , LCCM, or another organization caring for the vulnerable in these weeks. To support God’s work thru Zion’s, you can always mail a check to PO Box 658, Jonestown PA 17038, arrange to drop an envelope with Cathy Houser (717 865 2128) or visit www.ZionsJonestown.com/giving to give electronically.

Finally, a really cool story of generosity: Someone in our congregation wanted to make a $6,000 contribution towards our “Renew, Restore, Remain” campaign to get us through these months before we can launch a more concentrated Capital Campaign response. They mailed the check to me…but the mail ate most of it. I had to ask them to write another check, and in the time it took me to ask, they saw that Thrivent was offering a $1-for-$2 match for designated giving. They opted to give through that venue, which netted an extra $3,000 for Zion’s! A pretty great “bad check” story, if you ask me!

This letter is longer than I intended, but these are stories that deserve to be celebrated and shared. THANK YOU for all the ways you continue to BE the Church in these weeks of separation and isolation. I can’t wait until we can safely gather again to sing praise and share in the Lord’s Supper, but, until then, I give thanks for you, and your response to God’s grace that continues to empower and send us to share Christ’s love in the world.

In hope,   Pastor Caitlin