December 2021 good news

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

Dear Friends:

In last Sunday’s Pentecost worship service, we sang “I am the Church, you are the Church, we are the Church together…all who follow Jesus, all around the world, YES we’re the Church together!” and I shared snapshots of how Zion’s is continuing to be the body of Christ in the world, even in these weeks of separation. I wanted to take the opportunity today to share more stories of God at work through our congregation, thank you for your support, and invite your continued partnership in loving and serving our neighbors, near and far during these challenging weeks.

We are continuing to feed families in our community through our partnerships with Power Packs, Jonestown Outreach Pantry (JOY), and Lebanon County Christian Ministries. For eleven weeks (and counting) Zion’s has picked up Power Pack food in Lebanon, sorted the food into bags for each of the forty families, and then distributed the food alongside staff from each of the Northern Lebanon elementary schools. Our “Summer Session” begins tomorrow, which will continue to feed families for the next three months. Every week we hear “Thank you so much, I can’t wait to see what’s in here!” and “My kids look forward to trying these new recipes” and “Thank you! My children are bottomless pits these days!”

Your generous gifts to Zion’s COVID Compassion Fund have allowed us to purchase fresh fruit and milk for clients at JOY Pantry, which we plan to continue to supply for families with children.  They also purchased about twenty carrot peelers and a can opener for Power Pack families, which will make it easier for families to use the fresh produce and canned goods that are often provided in these packs. We have also received a donation of baking sheets that will be distributed this summer and have plans to purchase paring knives. These simple kitchen tools help local families prepare healthier meals, which we know contributes to a child’s overall wellbeing. The COVID Compassion Fund has also purchased a grocery gift card for a single parent home with three children, provided rent assistance for someone whose work hours have been substantially cut because of the virus, and contributed towards an appreciation luncheon for the nursing staff at Spang Crest as they tirelessly care for some of the most vulnerable in our community. THANK YOU for your generosity and the ways it provides a tangible sign of God’s love and care for people enduring difficult times.

The people of Zion’s are sharing time and talent to do the work of God, too. Together we made 20 isolation gowns for Luther Acres in Lititz which will help protect healthcare workers until the rest of their shipment of personal protection equipment (PPE) arrives, sometime in August. We are also in the process of making 500 (!!) cloth masks for Lutheran World Relief which will be shipped to people living in countries around the world where access to clean water and soap is limited, and where “social distancing” is nearly impossible.

While the school year certainly didn’t wrap up as expected, Zion’s is serving the students in our care until the very end. We’ve dropped off Release Time (Bible education for 3^rd graders at Jonestown Elementary school) Bibles with the students’ teachers so that they can pick them up when they retrieve their personal belongings. Missy, our Preschool Director, has been distributing packets of lessons and activities for our preschool families, creating opportunities for continued learning and exploration, and plans are underway for a socially distanced graduation parade to celebrate this milestone. Preschool families have expressed gratitude for these creative responses to our current situation and say that this commitment to serving the children is emblematic of the Zion’s Preschool culture. We are grateful for the students God has entrusted to our care and privileged to continue serving in these circumstances.

The work of God through Zion’s has never been limited to our immediate community; it continues to span our nation and world through our participation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For example, back in 2015-2016, your financial support of the general fund enabled Zion’s to sponsor Ralen Robinson as she served as a Young Adult in Global Mission in Jerusalem. A few weeks ago, Ralen graduated from United Lutheran Seminary with a Masters of Divinity degree; soon she will be serving as a parish pastor. In a small way, we got to be a part of God’s work in her life and contributed to the growth and development of another pastor who will serve the Church for many years to come. A portion of your general fund contributions also goes to support Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), one of the first organizations on the ground after a disaster hits, and one of the last to leave. In response to COVID 19, LDR has provided financial aid to over 100 feeding ministries, particularly in communities with high rates of poverty.  Together, we are doing the work of God by serving and loving our neighbors, wherever they are found.

It’s clear that we are living the Good News in deed. Importantly, we also continue to preach the Good News in Word. Over the past eleven weeks, we have offered 34 Evening Prayer opportunities (with a Summer Series on the Fruit of the Spirit beginning this week), 25 worship services, and many Bible studies. New people, looking for hope and some Good News amid so much difficult news, are tuning in, in addition to our regular worshipers. We also recently added a “Call for Church” option that allows people without internet to listen in to our Sunday worship services, and we mail bulletins and sermons to those without internet. This may not be how any of us envisioned ministry, but God’s work of loving and serving, teaching and leading, will not be thwarted. God is finding a way, through us.

The final “Pandemic” verse of the song we sang on Pentecost says “Though we may now be scattered, the Church is open wide, the Spirit’s working through us, all we need God will provide”. It’s clear that God’s Holy Spirit is blowing through our congregation, “empowering us to serve” and “sending us to share Christ’s love”, just as our purpose statement says.  THANK YOU for sharing your gifts of time, talent, money, and prayer, all of which makes ministry possible. We invite your ongoing partnership as we walk with God and one another into the future. To contribute financially: use the enclosed envelopes to mail a check to PO Box 658, Jonestown PA 17038, arrange to drop an envelope with Cathy Houser (717 865 2128), bring offering to the communion service on Sunday June 14, or visit www.ZionsJonestown.com/giving to give electronically. If you have received a stimulus check, designed to provide relief for those who have lost income, and 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, Lutheran Disaster Response, Lutheran World Relief, or another organization caring for the vulnerable in these weeks. Together, with God and one another, we will make it through this storm.

In hope, and with deep gratitude, Pastor Caitlin