Around the Church for May 3, 2023

A big Thank You from TURF, Inc.
During the month of April, Pine Streeters donated 10 pairs of gloves, 6 sets of hand tools, 7 buckets, one tabletop hydroponic garden, a set of grow bags, and $675 toward the Boys & Girls Club Garden and Nutrition Education Program for 2023. TURF, Inc. is very thankful for the donations which will be put to use throughout the growing season as the children learn about food production and healthy eating.

A Special Popup Adult Forum

On Sunday, May 7 at 11:30 am, Pine Street welcomes Veda Javaid Gill, Mission Representative of Friends of PEB (Presbyterian Education Board), a mission of the PCUSA. Veda will share the vision of PEB to transform lives through education-putting wings to dreams. PEB operates 25 schools in Pakistan, touching the lives of more than 5,000 students. In January, Debbie Hough, Jim Kroh, and Nancy Reinert talked about their visit to Pakistan. Veda will paint a picture of the day-to-day operation of the schools, their successes, and challenges.

Please join us in Fellowship Hall following worship. All are welcome!

The Zoom link for all forums is:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89329030010?pwd=Q2loblVkN043TWlwdnlkRDNCV0J4Zz09

Meeting ID: 893 2903 0010
Passcode: 885645
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Summer Food Program is a GO!
Session has agreed to pursue a collaborative effort in partnership with Downtown Daily Bread and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank to participate in the Summer Lunch Program, utilizing Pine Street facilities to serve lunches to school age children in the area.
As you may recall, Pine Street had plans last year to serve as a food distribution site for K-12 school children during the summer recess. Many Pine Streeters enthusiastically volunteered to help. But, as a result of a post-COVID return to the original program format, we were unable to proceed with our plans to hand the lunches out as bagged, pick-up-and-go meals. As a result, we put a pause on Pine Street’s involvement in the 2022 program.
This year, we are making plans to conduct the program in the required ‘eat-in’ format. Central Pennsylvania Food Bank will prepare the lunches and deliver them to our location. DDB will partner with Pine Street on this project and use its established relationships and expertise to support our efforts.
Meetings are underway between Pine Street, DDB, and the Food Bank to iron out details. More information about volunteer roles and how to sign up will be shared in the very near future. We hope that the enthusiasm Pine Street members demonstrated in their willingness to help last year will continue with this new project as we will need to organize a team of volunteers to help serve lunches at Pine Street on designated days over the summer. Please consider volunteering for a few hours this summer!

May Giving Barrel Opportunity
Supporting Ukranian refugees in our area is the focus of May’s Giving Barrel. Here’s an excerpt from the International Service Center’s (ICS) recent appeal:

“Since May 2022, displaced by the war in their own country, many asylum seekers from Ukraine began to arrive in this region. We recruited two fulltime and a part-time Ukrainian Interpreters to begin implementing the Ukrainian Parolee Support Services (UPSS) Project on July 1, 2022. The UPSS Team did such a fantastic job that by September 30, 2022, it has been providing needed services to 152 Ukrainian parolees, including 29 men, 36 women, and 87 children under 18.

Most of the services provided by our Ukrainian Interpreters consisted of helping Ukrainian clients apply for vital government benefits, adjust their legal immigration status, and meet other basic necessities. However, as the number of Ukrainian parolees had jumped from 152 since September 30, 2022 to 285 on March 31, 2023, new challenges have been overwhelming for our modest UPSS Team. We are compelled again to ask for help from the community to meet the growing needs of those most unfortunate refugees.”

Please bring what you can to the church. For the larger items, stay tuned for how that will be handled. Thank you!!

Toiletries, personal hygiene items, household cleaners
Diapers, baby cribs, strollers
Food preparation utensils, cooking ware, tea maker pots, cutlery
Plates, bowls, glasses, napkins, toilet papers
Small children’s toys (boys and girls), outdoor toys (bikes, scooters)
Dish washing liquids, powder laundry detergent
Rug, carpet, yarn
Salt, sugar, flour, rice, black pepper, green tea
Cooking oil
Small kitchen appliances (toaster, microwave, coffee maker)
Sofa, table, coffee table, chairs, computer table
Bed covers, bed sheets, pillows, and mattresses of any size

Notes from Session
The Session met on April 24 in its regular monthly meeting and the following are the highlights from that meeting:
• Session called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday, May 21 to elect officers for the new program year.
• Treasurer Joan Hayes reported that the actual deficit is only $16,000 which is good news compared with the deficit that was expected to be $24,000 by this time in the year. Session asks that all members keep their pledge up to date. This is especially true since insurance premiums have increased some $2,000 per quarter higher than budgeted.
• The insurance payment for the water damage to the Boyd Building caused by a leaking hot water heater has been received. Estimates from Reynolds have also been received and are being reviewed. It is hoped that work can begin very soon.
• A request from the Community Free Church to use the Pine Street sanctuary on January 7, 2024, was denied.
• The Pastor Nominating Committee took a short break over Easter from their work but have started back up and are hard at work.
• An officer retreat for members of all three boards is being held at the church on May 5 and 6.
• Session approved Pine Street’s participation in the Summer Food Program. This will be in partnership with Downtown Daily Bread. The Engaging Our Neighbors Committee will be asking for volunteers to help in this effort this summer.

Sunday, May 21 at 11:30am, Kenneth Hays and Barbara Neff will present the second installment of Pine Street’s Lunch and Learn series. The topic will be Pine Street architecture. Lunch is included and all are welcome. A signup sheet is available at the Welcome Center. Donations will be accepted to help cover the cost of the meal.

Current COVID Procedure
Pine Street Presbyterian Church will follow CDC guidelines to ease masking requirements and allow in-person gatherings, including food. While Dauphin and Cumberland Counties are in the low or medium community levels (according to the CDC’s “COVID-19 by County” page found at:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html). Masks will be optional for all Pine Street events, including worship. Session and staff will monitor the community levels and change health and safety guidelines if the local counties are high. Worshipers are welcome to wear masks if that helps them feel comfortable in worship.

Dates for your Calendar
Sunday, May 7 — Fifth Sunday of Easter —8:45 am Sunday School — 9:00 am Café conversations and Bible Study — 10:00 am Worship, Rev. Matt Drumheller Preaching | 11:30 am Adult Forum, Fellowship Hall, in person and via Zoom | 3:00 pm Brandon Cedel Concert hosted by the Wednesday Club for Performing Arts. Tickets available at the door
Sunday, May 14 — Sixth Sunday of Easter —8:45 am Sunday School — 9:00 am Café conversations and Bible Study — 10:00 am Worship, Rev. Matt Drumheller Preaching
Sunday, May 21 — Seventh Sunday of Easter — 8:45 am Sunday School — 9:00 am Café conversations and Bible Study — 10:00 am Worship, Rev. Matt Drumheller Preaching followed by annual congregational meeting | 11:30 am Lunch and Learn, Fellowship Hall, in person, led by Ken Hays and Barbara Neff | 5:00 pm Antonio Centenera Senior Piano Recital to benefit Carlisle Area Family Life Center