St. John's Reformed Church

StormWindow Replacement to Continue This Fall

 

The Consistory met in the copyroom of the church at 7 p.m. Sept. 5, 2019.

 

The meeting opened with prayer and members discussed the work that is being done on the windows. The painting of window frames is completed. The front doors and their frams and the hand railings on the stairs also have been painted. However the new material for the storm windows, Lexan, has not yet been installed. The hot weather over the summer played havoc with the material making it risky to install. As the weather cools the Lexan will be put in place and the windows completed.

 

This brings us to the next part of the window project—paying for it. The funding and fund raising for the windows started with a bang but in the past months has slowed down resulting in us being in the red. Although the consistory has the money to pay for the project it will leave us with little room for maneuvering for future projects that may need to be done. We are asking that the different organizations in the church have some fundraisers and that our individual members can give a little extra each week to the building fund to offset the cost.

 

Members of the maintenance committee cut down the dying spruce trees at the back of the parking lot over the summer. Not only were they an eyesore, but they were becoming dangerous with blight. The maintenance committee also will be trimming the bushes/shrubs around the church and laying down new mulch.

 

The public relations committee is planning on developing a visitor’s card or sign-in sheet to better track those who visit our church. This will allow us the opportunity to follow up with them on their visit and invite them back. Greeters will hand out the cards. We are still working out the fine details.

 

Upcoming events include a CROP Walk to be on Oct. 6 at the NB High School track. Of the money raised, 25% will go to the local food bank. The church will celebrate its fall communion on Oct. 6. Communion will be held in the pews. Also, on Oct. 20 the Women’s Guild will be hosting the annual Harvest Home service. Following the service there will be a covered dish meal in the Fellowship Hall. If the past is an indication, the food served there will be delicious! There will be a time of fellowship before, during and after the meal and activities for the children in the afternoon. A reminder— on Harvest Home, Sunday School begins at 9:30 and worship at 10:45.

 

The next meeting of the consistory will be Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in the copyroom of the church. All are welcome to attend.

 

--Submitted by Joel Ritchey, consistory president

 

 

 

Ladies 13th Retreat Oct. 25-26 at Sequanota

 

The Ladies Fellowship of the 4-Cs Allegheny Region will hold its 13th annual retreat on Oct. 25 and 26 at Sequanota Conference Center and Camp in Somerset County. Registration forms with payment are due Oct. 1. Forms are available on the welcome table and from Barb Thomas.

 

The theme of the Friday evening and Saturday retreat is “Beautiful Feet” based on a Bible study by Deb Bruma.

 

 

 

Choir Begins Practice for Christmas

 

If you haven't joined the Christmas choir and would still like to, see Barb Thomas. Folks in addition to regular choir members are welcome to join as the choir prepares for the annual Christmas program in December. Practice is each Monday evening from 6:30 to 7:30. Regular choir practice follows this.

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CROP Walk Oct. 6 at NB Panther Stadium

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A CROP Hunger Walk will be held Sunday, Oct. 6, on the track at NB’s Panther Stadium, beginning at 2 p.m. All are invited to participate as walkers or make gifts in support of walkers. See David Snyder for donation envelopes. A CROP Walk was held the last two years on the grounds of the Bedford Forge United Methodist Church in Yellow Creek, but this will be the first time at the Northern Bedford campus.

 

Gifts will be received to benefit CROP, the Church World Service organization that raises money to fight hunger worldwide, with 25% of the proceeds going to the Northern Bedford Food Pantry. CROP is celebrating its 50th year. Participants are asked to collect donations in advance of the walk. Checks should be made payable to CWS/CROP. Contributions are tax deductible. Funds raised are used to buy such things as chickens, seeds, garden tools and to finance clean water facilities in Indonesia and elsewhere.

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Ladies Encounter to Hear Lynn Cowell Oct. 16 in RS

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Beautiful fall is upon us! There are a few gatherings to be excited for! First, a total of 36 ladies attended the Fall Representatives meeting on Sept. 7. Each time I attend I am encouraged by the passion these ladies have for Christ. These ladies come from all around to gather information to spread to their home church, just as I am doing here.

 

Lynn Cowell from Proverbs 31 Ministry will be speaking on at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Faith Assembly in Roaring Spring. She will be speaking on Rahab and how she had the faith to keep that scarlet cord hanging out the window. She is also a writer who empowers teen girls and women through faith. Persons can watch a promotional video at www.ladiesencounter.com under upcoming events. There is plenty of seating, so plan a girls night out and invite your friends. No tickets required! You're always welcome to stay for refreshments also.

 

At this fall encounter there will be a donation box for t-shirts (used, new, solid, print, any size or shape). They will be used to make jump ropes for Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes! Also, it may be helpful to know that there are always ladies available to pray with you or a friend if the need arises.

 

Praise and Worship will be led by Stacey Zimmerman and a group from Martinsburg Grace Brethren Church, which will be called "Generations" because of their different ages. What a blessing though!

 

These events are made possible with generous donations and fundraisers. Quite a convenient way for you to help out with this is by taking your family to or joining friends at Hoss's for dinner on Sunday, Oct. 27. Both Bedford and Duncansville locations are participating. There are cards in the back of the church and I will be adding one to the church's Facebook.

 

Fall Prayer & Praise with Joyful Noise will be held Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at Grace Fellowship Activity Center, Leamersville Campus. Men and women are invited to pray earnestly together in one accord for our churches, pastors, leaders, communities, schools, teachers and our nation. No tickets required and light refreshments will be provided. Remember, men are encouraged to join us for this important prayer and praise!

 

Ladies, heads up for the spring encounter! You can write it on the calendar, book a babysitter, start saving your odd cash, whatever you need to do, do it. Mary Southerland is back along with Gwen Smith on Saturday, April 18, 2020, at 4 p.m. at the Convention Center! If you are interested in preordering tickets, see me! Also Gwen will be having the Pizza Party and Girl Time on Friday, April 17!

 

--Submitted by Connie Ochoa,, Church Representative for Encounter

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Homewood Auxiliary Bazaar Oct. 3 & 4

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Homewood Auxiliary will host its annual fall bazaar from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Oct. 3 and 4, in the Givler Cultural Center. There will be crafts of all sorts, including candles, quilts, jewelry, flower arrangements, dolls, pillows, woodworking, homemade jams and sauces, seasonal items and more. Lunch will be available, including hearty soups, sandwiches and homemade baked goods served in the center. A yard sale will be held the same two days in the Witmer Pavilion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lots of furniture, household items and seasonal items. All proceeds benefit the auxiliary, which purchases items that enhance the lives of Homewood residents. Auxiliary members have been asked to donate baked goods for the bazaar. They may be deliverred each day prior to 10 a.m.

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LADIES SELLING PASSES FOR BIG 1-DAY DISCOUNTS

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St. John’s Women’s Guild is conducting a fund-raising project with Boscov’s Department Store called “Friends Helping Friends.”

 

The women are selling passes for $5 each that enable the buyer to purchase items at Boscov’s on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 25% off. The guild can keep the $5 they receive for each pass and will set up a table outside the Altoona store on the 16th to offer passes to others who come to shop that day. Boscov’s will be offering refreshments and will hold and a drawing for prizes.

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Guild Again to Aid ‘Operation Christmas Child’

 

The Women's Guild is organizing a Samaritan's Purse “Operation Christmas Child” shoebox collection again this year.

 

Barb Thomas is the co-ordinator for this ministry that benefits children all around the world. Children who receive boxes are followed up by Samaritan Purse volunteers to continue sharing the Gospel. Each box filled with practical and fun surprises is an opportunity for children to experience God's love in a tangible way.

 

Empty Operation Christmas Child boxes will be available in October at a display in the church basement. Or you may fill regular shoeboxes with one “wow” item – a doll, soccer ball/pump, stuffed animal, toy vehicle, etc. Complete the box with small toys, school supplies, T-shirt, combs, brushes, etc.

 

Barb asks that you pray for the child as you pack the box and if desired you may include a personal note and photo of you and/or your family. Each box must include a $9 donation to cover shipping costs. Attach a label which indicates girl, boy and appropriate age for the box you filled and close with a rubber band. Boxes are sealed by the organization before shipping.

 

You can give online and follow the destination of the shoebox. We will collect the boxes in a designated area in the fellowship room. All boxes must be here by Sunday, Nov. 10, to be delivered to a nearby drop off site. See Barb Thomas if you have questions or want more information.

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Twin Boys Born to Barnwells

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Pastor Dave and PeggyAnne Meckley became grandparents of six with the birth of twins on Sept. 24 to EllaMae and Brad Barnwell of Frederick, Md.

 

Micah Frederick was born at 8:01 a.m. and Ansel David one minute later in the Frederick Hospital.

 

Micah weighed 5 lbs. and 4 oz. and Ansel weighed 3 lbs. and 9 oz. Both were reported to be healthy babies and their mother is “doing “great.”

 

The baby boys have a brother Alexander and a sister Maebree.

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Youth Selling Candy Bars

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St. John’s youth in Deb Bowser’s and Chris Kurtz’s Sunday School classes are selling Gardner’s Peanut Butter Meltaway bars.

 

They are asking church members to help sell the candy bars. They sell for $1 each. Persons can sign a sheet near the basement entrance and pick up the number of bars they hope to sell.

 

Proceeds will be used by the youth to help support the church and other worthwhile causes.

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Guild Program Focuses on Ordinary People

 

Jane England and Jean Wakefield began their program “Ordinary People – Ordinary Heroes” with a profound thought that while we may strive to do exceptional things for God, we can be exceptional in the ordinary things in life. These are not things to be learned in five minutes but in a lifetime of living. Jean read 1 Corinthians 1:28-29, “He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are – so that no one may boast before him.” Jane explained that God chose what the world considers low life to be considered something, that we may boast in the Lord. The extraordinary things ordinary people do are credited to God's power and glory.

 

Jane emphasized that in God's story common people take center stage. Jean read Mark 12:41-44, the widows offering, who gave only two copper coins. Because it was all she had, she gave more than the others. Jane described four heroines of the Bible — Deborah the judge, Rahab the prostitute, Queen Esther and Mary, mother of Jesus — and the ways God used them to do exceptional things for God. Jane told of a modern day hero, James Harrison from Australia, who has given blood every day for 60 years. 2.4 million babies have been saved by his blood since 1967. Seventeen percent of Australia's population need the antibiotic properties found in Mr. Harrison's blood. An ordinary person – an ordinary hero.

 

The ladies concluded their program with a short reading on extravagance. Extravagance is lovely, but so is the ordinary. A luxuriant hotel is nice, but our own bed is just as comfortable. A rich meal is delicious, but so is an ordinary soup and sandwich with loved ones. Extravagance is fun but it isn't real life. God cares more about our hearts and ordinary lives lived for Him. Jean closed with prayer.

 

Following our offering, President Peggy Ritchey opened the business meeting. Beth Clark gave a treasurer's report & Tina Gojeski read the secretary's reports from our July outing to Homewood and our August campfire at Mava's. Both were approved as read.

 

Peggy reminded the ladies of the fall retreat Oct. 25-26 at Sequanota Conference near Jennerstown. See Barb for registration forms. The deadline is Oct. 1.

 

Sandy Ibarra will be the speaker for our annual ladies salad supper, Thursday, Sept. 26, at 6:30. Please bring a salad and a friend. Peggy heads the committee consisting of Josephine Garman, Tina Gojeski and Barb Thomas. It will be a nice evening!

 

Peggy reviewed the details of the Boscov’s Friends Helping Friends shopping pass fundraiser. Barb and Beverly volunteered to help man a table on Oct. 16 at Boscov's, selling $5 passes to shoppers entering the store. All proceeds benefit the guild. Peggy encouraged the ladies to keep selling passes! Oct. 1 is also a presale date at Boscov's. More details to come.

 

Five guild members are attending the Homewood Auxiliary breakfast meeting on Sept. 19. June Mountain has resigned as Homewood repre sentative and Mava Cottle has volunteered to take her place. Peggy will complete the necessary paperwork. She reminded all that the subs made at Homewood will be delivered on Sept. 26. Plans for the Harvest Home service on Oct. 20 were discussed. Sunday School is 9:30 and worship follows. Bonnie Burr will be our speaker. We will set up tables, prepare and decorate on the 19th.

 

Mava shared a card she received from a church she visited. She expressed a desire for us to do the same when we have visitors at St. John's Reformed.

 

Motion was made and seconded to sponsor a table at April's Ladies Encounter event at the Blair County Convention Center. Our church representative, Connie Ochoa, was given the green light to purchase favors for the table and be reimbursed by the guild.

 

Hostesses Beverly Smith, Kim Ritchey and Tina Gojeski served delicious refreshments – vegetable lasagna, jello salad and peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream – to accompany our fellowship time. We were blessed!

 

Respectfully submitted, Barb Thomas, assistant secretary

 

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Donations for Hoffman Homes

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St. John’s Women’s Guild will be circulating a box during October to collect donations for Christmas gifts for children at Hoffman Homes. The money received must be sent to Hoffman Homes in November so that staff members have time to shop for the gifts.

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NB FOOD PANTRY NEEDS LISTED FOR OCTOBER

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Northern Bedford Food Pantry requests for the month of October are boxed stuffing and canned cranberry sauce. You may want to add your own ideas to this list and bring your donations in for the Harvest Home table on Oct. 20. The table will be set up by Saturday, Oct. 19, in the front of the sanctuary.

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Rally Day Observed Sept 22 by Young and Old

 

The entire Sunday School assembled in the sanctuary on Sept. 22 to mark Rally Day. “This is a day that is for everyone in our church, not just the children,” declared Kimberly Rodgers, who agreed to chair the program at the request of Matt Nelson, Sunday School superintendent. “The word ‘rally’ as a verb means to draw or call together for a common purpose,” said Kim. “As a noun, the meaning of ‘rally’ is a renewal of energy in joint action.

 

“The reason we have Rally Day now in the fall is because during the summer, other things such as vacations and activities take people away from church,” the chairman continued. “Summer can be a spiritually draining time for us. By the end of the summer we all need a renewal of energy. We need to be drawn back together for a common purpose of learning God’s word,” she asserted.

 

The chairman noted that the Bible states in several different places how important it is for all of us, from the very young to the very old, to study God’s word and the teachings of Christ. Proverbs 22:6 states, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” She continued, “As parents, it is our responsibility to make sure our children are getting the best spiritual education and guidance possible. That requires us all to learn and grow spiritually.”

 

She cited Deuteronomy 6: 6-7, which states, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

 

It was noted that St. John’s Sunday School is growing. Over the past four years. Sunday School officers define regular attendance as attending 70% of the time or missing 15 or fewer Sunday per year.

 

•In 2015-16 there were 47 members in the attendance books and 40% of them attended regularly,

 

•In 2016-17 there were 55 enrolled and 45% of them attended regularly.

 

•In 2017-18 there were 68 enrolled and 49% attended regularly.

 

•This past school year ended with 86 enrolled and 44% attending regularly.

 

St. John’s has had a tradition of recognizing perfect attendance and faithful attendance on Rally Day. Perfect attendance is missing no Sundays per year. Faithful Attendance is missing no more than three Sundays per year. Sick days do not count against a person. These were recognized for faithful attendance:

 

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David Snyder, Charlie Mountain, Peg Wachter, Kim Rodgers, Steve Rodgers, Grayson Rodgers, Ethan Hess, Pastor Dave and Barb Thomas. Wayne Kagarise was credited with perfect attendance. He had one sick day. 

 

Recognized for missing only four days during the past year were Peggy Anne Meckley, Joy Nelson, Janelle Nelson, Jude Nelson, Chris Kurtz and Beverly Smith.

 

Also recognized were these offices: Matt Nelson, superintendent; Beverly Smith, treasurer; Julie Russell, secretary; Brad Gable and Steve Rodgers, assistant superintendents; and these assistant secretaries: Sarah Gurnetty, Joy Nelson Erin Studebaker and Tina Gojeski.

 

Teachers who were honored were Beth Clark, Pergamene Merkle,Barb Thomas, Alvina Gates. Deb Bowser., Chris Kurtz, Pastor Dave Meckley, Peg Wachter and Wane Kagarise. Substitute teachers included Connie Ochoa, Kim Rodgers, Tina Gojeski, Matt elson, Steve Rodgers and Berneta Gable. Abby Jasper was a helper in the nursery all year.

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Communion To Be Oct. 6

 

The sacrament of Holy Communion will be administered on Sunday, Oct. 6, during the 9:30 a.m. worship hour. It will be served in the pews.

 

The first Sunday in October is designated as World Wide Holy Communion Sunday,

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CONSISTORY TO MEET OCT. 3

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St. John’s Consistory will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3 in the copy room.

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WHO WE ARE

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This month’s Jottings features June and Charles Mountain of 123 Salemville Road, New Enterprise. Each month one family, couple or individual from St. John’s is asked to write about themselves so that we all may get to know each other better.

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Charles and June Mountain are long-time members of St. John’s Reformed Church of Loysburg. June first attended Sunday School with a neighbor, Tillie Detwiler and her children, but she soon was bringing her own children and encouraging other young parents to bring their children.

 

June was a children’s Sunday School teacher and an active member of the Women’s Guild and its kitchen crew until the last year or two when health problems started to slow her down. For many years she maintained the calendar for altar flowers; supervised preparation of the Communion elements; and shopped for needed kitchen and cleaning supplies, often without reimbursement.

 

Charlie has been and still is active as an usher and a deacon. He puts the altar flowers in place each Sunday. Along with June he has been a faithful Sunday School attendee.

 

June was born Dec. 24, 1935, in Charlesville, southeast of Bedford, a daughter of Harold and Gladys Whetstone. Charles was born March 8, 1934, the son of Amer and Oma Mountain, and grew up on the family farm at the very southern end of Morrisons Cove. They were married Dec. 31, 1953, by the Rev. Bert Wynn, pastor of the Friend’s Cove Reformed Church. Both graduated just half a year earlier from high school — June from Bedford High and Charlie from Replogle High at New Enterprise.

 

How did they meet? That’s a long story — but June was the second of three Whetstone daughters from Friends Cove who married three young men from Morrisons Cove, causing Pastor Wynn to complain about Morrisons Cove boys taking away Friend’s Cove girls. June joked that Charlie was looking for a milk maid as well as a wife when he was introduced to her and her family.

 

June doesn’t remember their first “date,” but Charlie says it could have been when he and some friends met up at the Whetstone home with Elwood Ritchey, his neighbor, who had already married June’s older sister Florence. Some of the girls in the group wanted to go roller skating, Charlie recalled.

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Charles was farming early in the couple’s marriage, but that didn’t keep him from being drafted into the Army in 1955. He was stationed at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey after attending mechanics school. He was assigned to a new missile unit and worked on generators but eventually wound up as a cook’s assistant. June accompanied her husband to New Jersey, and that’s where their first child, Barbara, was born. Yes, that is Barb, wife of John Thomas, who has been a whirlwind around St. John’s, acting in leadership roles in various church activities.

 

After Charlie’s discharge, the couple moved back to this area. A younger sister of June, Margaret Whetstone, came to the Mountains’ home to help June care for her young family. June and Charlie arranged for a neighbor, Ferdinand Wachter, to take Margaret to her high school prom. Miss Whetstone eventually became Peg Wachter, another stalwart member of St. John’s in Loysburg. The three sisters and their husbands all lived in the same neighborhood of South Woodbury Township most of their lives. Florence and Peg are both widowed, and Florence now resides at Colonial Courtyard in Bedford.

 

After Barb the Mountains had two more children, Karen Davidson and son James. June noted that it was 15 years after Jim’s birth that their third daughter, Kimberly came along. Kim is also a dynamo at St. John’s. There are 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

 

Besides working on local farms, Charlie drove for Eastern Express trucking and worked at Furry’s Mill before taking over operations on the home farm from his father. His parents moved into the summer house on the farm and June and Charlie raised their family in the two-story stone house. Later Charlie drove milk tank trucks part time for P.E. Kramme.

 

June milked “a lot of cows” while they had a dairy herd. She didn’t get involved in much field work, but she would get called from time to time to bring out a tractor and pull Charlie’s tractor out of the mud when he would get stuck in a field that has springs running through it.

 

In 2000 the couple downsized from the historic farm house to a new one-story home nearby, and their son Jim began handling many of the farm chores. Charlie would still pitch in when Jim or a neighboring farmer needed a hand. This is the first year in a long while that he hasn’t helped fill silos on a nearby farm.

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Three of their children live close by and make sure their parents are safe and sound, keeping their doctor’s appointments and taking their pills. Their daughter Kim and her husband Steve Rodgers have remodeled and moved into the old stone farm house with their two sons.

 

Anyone who knows them will tell you the Mountains are a close-knit family and friends everyone would be lucky to have.

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Memorial Gifts Used to Pay Off Sound System

 

St. John’s Consistory authorized the use of $5,000 received as memorial gifts over the years to be used to complete payment on the new sound system. The system was installed earlier this year at a cost of $12,400. Many individual gifts were received toward the cost, as well as gifts from the Women’s Guild and the Sunday School. The balance was paid with gifts that had accumulated over many years in the church’s Memorial Fund.

 

Cathy Snider, church treasurer, has provided a list of 17 deceased persons in whose memory those gifts were given.

 

Karen Jasper                    Shirley Pennel                       Helen Imler

Herb Ferry                       Pauline Gartland                    Cecilia Kagarise

John Colyer                     Ken Detwiler                         Rev. Louis & Bertha King   

Grace Bayer                    Donna Mountain                    Rev. A.M. Gordon

Joan Hall                         James Dittmar                        Chad Yoder

Betty Snider                    John Dittmar

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4-Cs Assigns Rev. Dubeau as Mideast Regional Pastor

 

The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference has named Rev. Timothy Dubeau as Mideast Regional pastor, a newly created position.

 

The region he will work with includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the greater Hudson Valley of New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan (except the Upper Peninsula) and Ontario. He will reside in western Pennsylvania.

 

Before entering the ministry, Rev. Dubeau was employed for 23 years by the Gillette Company, where he held several professional and management roles. He resigned in 1993 to attend Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, completing a Master of Divinity in 1997. He was licensed with the CCCC in 1995 while serving as an interim associate pastor at First Congregational Church of Hamilton, Mass. In April 1998 he was called as pastor of the Congregational Church of Salem, Conn., where he was ordained in May 1999 and held the office until December 2017. He served as southern New England area representative for the CCCC and moderator of the New England Congregational Christian Fellowship for several years. He serves as the CCCC Annual Gathering coordinator.

 

Rev. Dubeau stated, “As a native New Englander I have observed the positive impact of a regional pastor in the northeast for both the Kingdom of God and the CCCC.”​

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Recycle Days Oct. 11 &12 in South Woodbury Twp.

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The Bedford County recycle bins and trailers will be at the South Woodbury Township Building Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12. Help is available to unload your recyclables from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

 

Items accepted include newspapers, magazines, office paper, junk mail and flattened cardboard. Also accepted will be Nos. 1 & 2 plastic bottles and jars (sorted by number), aluminum and bi-metal cans and glass bottles and jars. (No window glass.)