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 3rd 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