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Donation
Station
We will
continue collecting pull tabs for Ronald Mc Donald
House, eyeglasses, cell phones, and toiletries for
Downtown Daily Bread. Thank you.
Christmas Eve Baby Gifts: On
behalf of Social Education & Action Commission and the
many young families who will benefit from your
generosity, we thank the members of CPC for their
Christmas Eve baby gifts. The donations of clothing,
diapers and supplies were greatly appreciated and very
much needed during these difficult economic times.
This year the donations were given to Capital Area
Pregnancy Center, Lourdes House for Women, Morning Star
Pregnancy Service and Help Ministry of Christian
Churches United. They all expressed their gratitude for
CPC's donations and appreciate our support in their
efforts to help families and babies in our area. Thank
you all for your continued compassion and commitment to
this program.
PEACEMAKING OFFERING: Our Peacemaking Offering was
received on World Wide Communion
Sunday. This year's offering went to the Presbytery
mission work overseas and two local groups. Presbytery honored Joshua Group in
Harrisburg, a group that helps children with school work
and after school activities, with their portion of the
offering. CPC gave our portion of the offering to
New Hope Ministries to help those in West Shore
communities who need our help just to get the basics.
Thank you to all who participated in this special
offering. Your generous donations have helped others in
our community and beyond.
The United Way and CPC:
Did you know you can designate Christ
Presbyterian Church as the recipient of your United Way
contributions? If you participate in an
employer-sponsored United Way campaign, it is
permissible for you to designate CPC as the charity you
wish to support with your United Way contribution. CPC
is a non-profit 501-c-3 organization, which is a viable
charity for such contributions. However, participants in
a state or federal United Way program do not have
this option. State and federal programs limit charities
to only those listed by them. So consider CPC in your
United Way participation, if you can. |
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FOOD
PANTRY:
What
else can we do for the hungry in our community? How about
when the supermarket has a “Buy one, get one free” bring in the
“free” item and place it in the food barrel in the hallway near
the office. Or just buy a few extra items when you are
shopping to donate. We send volunteers to the
Ecumenical Food Pantry at
Messiah Lutheran Church in Harrisburg and they will take the
donations with them for distribution to those in need.
Canned goods, cereal, pasta, etc. are used to fill the bags.
Also needed are personal care items such as toilet paper,
toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc. Please be generous and
remember to bring in items and place in the barrel.
A Call to Advocacy:
God calls us to be full participants in civil society, to
make a difference for the common good in the public square. We are
looking for members of the congregation who are interested in visiting
their legislators to establish a relationship and an ongoing dialogue on
topics such as legislative reform, transparency in government and other
social issues... When we advocate for justice, we translate the
church’s convictions about justice, peace and freedom into reality.
If you are interested in receiving information about
issues currently being considered in the state and national governments,
we have an advocacy list which will send you e-mails form the PA Council
of Churches and the Presbyterian Church USA. See the links for
these organizations below.
If you would be interested in participating with others
to visit your legislator, or receiving e-mail about issues under
consideration, please notify the church office or call Jean Dankosky at
774-6642.
Goodwill’s Wheels for Work Program:
Did you know that reliable transportation is a barrier people face in
finding and maintaining a job? Sometimes a car can make the
difference between keeping and losing a job. Through the Wheels
for Work program, Goodwill provides donated vehicles to working parents
who cannot afford to buy a car or utilize public transportation.
Goodwill believes in giving “a hand up, rather than a hand out”.
Goodwill accepts cars from individuals and businesses. Car
donations are tax deductible and the donation process is easy.
Contact Marsha Banks at Goodwill at
mbanks@yourgoodwill.org or
717-525-6207.
Downtown Daily Bread – Volunteers for 2012:
If you are
currently a volunteer for Downtown Daily Bread and plan not to volunteer
in 2012, please notify Jean Dankosky [774-6642]. If you would like to volunteer for Downtown Daily Bread
5-6 Wednesdays a year, please notify the church office or Jean Dankosky
[774-6642] .
Downtown Daily Bread needed supplies: Disposable razors, deodorant and shampoo, large
bars of soap, laundry soap, men’s clothing, and blankets. Every donation
we receive allows DDB to save money to be used for extra food.
Their needs
are great as clients keep coming and winter is here!
Thank you!
DDB Volunteers:
Please use the parking space at the side of the church.
We need to reduce DDB parking bills for the parking garage, which have
gone up significantly. We will unable to stamp your parking ticket if
the volunteer spot is free. Thank you for your under-standing.
(Parking space may not be available until 12 noon.). Thanks, Elaine
238-4717. Please click on the Reaching Out tab under Downtown Daily
Bread for the current volunteer schedule.
Prayers for Peace
Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle;
the strength to be forgiving;
the patience to be
understanding;
and the endurance to accept the consequences of holding to
what we believe to
be right.
May we put our trust in the
power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome
hatred.
We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a
world emancipated from
violence,
a new world where fear shall no longer lead persons to
commit injustice, nor
selfishness make them bring suffering to others.
Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to
the task of making peace,
praying
always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill
the destiny for which we and all people were
created.
Amen.
Mission in a Mug
Around the world, coffee and fellowship come together, a
warm pot of coffee is often the centerpiece of fellowship, and
gatherings.
Yet the small
coffee farmers who grow our coffee often struggle to make a simple
living. As world coffee prices have collapsed to their lowest
point in decades, farming communities from Latin America to Africa and
Asia are facing a crisis. Many farmers risk losing their land
because of debt, families are going hungry and children cannot attend
school because their parents cannot afford enrollment fees.
But, through
the Presbyterian Coffee Project, over 1600 congregations across the
country are making a difference. By purchasing fairly traded
coffee, they are ensuring that farmers receive a fair price, have access
to affordable credit and are able to invest in their families and
communities. Starting in September, Christ Presbyterian is joining
in this mission. Through the Presbyterian Coffee Project our
congregation can enjoy delicious coffee while helping small scale
farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia build a better future for
themselves and their families. Please show your support by
stopping by for coffee, tea and fellowship each Sunday down by the
kitchen.
MISSION TRIPS
SWAP Mission Trip:
Please take an opportunity to speak with the Mission
Committee about the trip that was completed this October with the
SWAP
(Sharing With Appalachian People) organization. It
was a productive and blessed time for all those involved. Thank you to
all who supported this effort with your time, talents, prayers and
financial support. The Mission Committee is planning additional trips to
West Virginia. Also,
please consider one of the other opportunities that are
being organized by Lend A Hand. Lend A Hand is sponsoring trips to
Haiti, Tennessee and Iowa. For more information please see the list on
the Mission Trip bulletin board.
If you are interested in joining in any future ventures
please contact Cathy in the church office or ask any of the committee
members (Galen Martin, Deb Davis, Karen Robbins, Dave Duke, Diane Myers)
for more information. For more information on SWAP please click
HERE
Mission to Honduras:
Christ Presbyterian and friends were again in Honduras. The trip was
in the northern part of the country,
in the Copan area. We helped build homes and install eco-stoves in two
villages where indigenous Mayan people live. We worked with Tim
and Gloria Wheeler, Presbyterian missionaries, who work with villages in
this area.
It was our goal to build several stoves while
we are there. The stoves cost $110 to build and helped improve the
people’s health by venting the smoke outside their homes.
Currently, they build fires on the ground in the middle of their huts
and vent them through a hole in the ceiling. The new stoves had
an enclosed firebox and chimney pipe that vents to the outside.
This protects young children from falling into the fire pit and vents
harmful smoke outside to protect their lungs. The new stoves also
provided a flat cooking surface and radiate heat to warm the inside of
the home.
We sincerely thank all of you who became a part
of this mission, through your donations and prayers. Vacation Bible
School also donated the daily offering to this stove project. They were
able to fund five stoves!
The Honduras Mission Team: Karen Robbins, Dave Duke,
Tom Rogers, Matt Meadow-Rogers (Tom’s grandson) and Cindy Sproat (from
Market Square church) would love to share their experiences with you.
Lend A Hand:
Over the years many members of Christ
Presbyterian have contributed to and traveled with the
Lend A Hand group to Florida, Iowa, New
York, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi
to help with the
rebuilding efforts after natural disasters. Please check the mission
trip bulletin board outside of Bonnie's office for upcoming
opportunities to lend your hands in service. For more information on the Lend A Hand please click
here.
Due to the area flooding we have received a special request from Lend A
Hand.
Your neighbors need
your help. Once again, Lend A Hand is looking for volunteers to help
with flood recovery, but this time in our backyards! All hands and skill
levels are welcome. Clean-up is taking place at this point, but
hopefully the rebuilding will start soon. To volunteer please call Lend
A Hand at 717-731-8888 or (toll free) 1-877-211-0700, or
contact Deb (379-5859) or Jim Davis (433-4475). Your
helping hands will be greatly appreciated by others in your community.
If you are physically unable to assist in this effort, donations are
always welcome.
Please share this message with friends and neighbors.
Thank you for your support.
The Lend A Hand website is
www.lendahand.net.
Thank you!
~
from the Mission Trip Committee
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