Week of February 27, 2017

Food Bank
Needs: Specifically—cold cereal, rice or rice helpers, pasta, crackers, dry soup, and canned items, including soups, fruits, beans, baked beans, tomatoes, and tuna.

Ash Wednesday Service
Ash Wednesday service will be held on March 1 at 7 pm. Focusing on the theme “Wherever You Are, We’ll Meet You There,” we will explore where we are in life, and will acknowledge our mortality through the distribution of ashes and how we fail to live as Christ did. Join us as we seek to find God in those dark places and learn all there is to be taught through the experience. 

Heritage and Horizons
The spring 2017 session of Heritage and Horizons will begin on March 7 and continue for five Tuesdays through April 4. The five-week series costs $15 for the entire series, or for as often as you choose to attend. Sessions will be held from 9:30 am—11:50 am and includes a 20-minute break with snacks and refreshments.

Lent Theme: Wednesday Evening Services
Based on themes explored in the book Gifts of the Dark Wood by Eric Elnes, we will study the proposition that our best help on life’s journey often comes from the most unlikely and misunderstood of places: a place known famously, or infamously, as the Dark Wood. On Wednesday evenings at 7 pm, we will watch video clips from some famous thinkers and share some of our own experiences of the Dark Wood, those times and places where we felt lost, afraid, tempted, or out of place.

Service dates and topics will include:

  • March 8: The Gift of Uncertainty with Brian McLaren
  • March 15: The Gift of Emptiness with Chuck Marohnic
  • March 22: The Gift of Being Thunderstruck with Melvin Bray
  • March 29: The Gift of Lostness with Diana Butler Bass
  • April 5: The Gift of Temptation with Parker Palmer

Girl Scout Cookies
On Sunday, March 12, Girl Scout Daisy Troop #70435 will be hosting a cookie sale in the lobby from 10-11 am. These Daisies are Girl Scouts in kindergarten and first grade who meet at the church Youth Center. This year marks the 100th year of the cookie sale, and March 12 is the 105th birthday of Girl Scouting in the U.S. Come help us celebrate this huge milestone by supporting our girls between services. Cookies are $4 or $5 and can be paid for by cash or check. Please contact Linda Lewis at (717) 392-7437 if you have any questions.

Service of Remembrance
Hospice & Community Care is hosting a Service of Remembrance in memory of loved ones who died in 2016 on Sunday, March 19 at 2 pm. The service will be held at Highland Presbyterian Church (500 E. Roseville Road, Lancaster, PA). Childcare will be available. For more information, please call (717) 391-2413.

Hershey’s® Kisses Collection
The Intergenerational Events Committee is collecting PLAIN Hershey Kisses for stuffing eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt. There is a collection box in the office.  Thank you for donating PLAIN Kisses. This helps us to avoid any allergy issues. We draw a huge crowd for the egg hunt, and it is a great way to welcome the community to COA.