Susquehanna LINK - January/February 2011


WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS Shape the future! Check out the past


REV. PHYLLIS


M. BOWERS Executive Director United Methodist Stewardship Foundation


Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but


store up for yourselves treasure in heaven...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21


When facing an uncertain fu- ture, one of the best sources of guidance is history. Looking to the past teaches us that others have suffered the same problems. Their solutions may or may not work for us, but it is certainly good to know they survived that which causes us fear.


As we become more and more experienced with life (a new eu- phemism for getting older) history becomes much more important. As we open the history books we discover experiences that inform today’s decisions. Our children might complain we suffer from the


Market crashed. Anyone with reli- able memories of that day is now approaching ninety years in age. If they have not already done so, they need to record their experi- ence to teach the rest of us a thing or two.


“good-old-days” syndrome, but what we’re really trying to do is find an experience to relate to a contemporary problem. This is the tragedy caused by the passing of an entire genera- tion. There has been a lot of dis- cussion during the past year about the Great Depression and how it relates


to our current economic


situation. The onset of that era began in 1929 when the Stock


As we wade into the murky wa- ters of recovery from a recession that has fallen short of another Great Depression, perhaps the best thing we can do is look to the past. I don’t mean just for economic advice, but also for guidance on how to live. In my own search for this guidance I discovered a story reported on the front page of the Canton, Ohio, newspaper dated December 18, 1933. The atten- tion-grabbing headline read, “Man Who Felt Depression’s Sting to Help 75 Unfortunate Families.” Now that’s the way to shape the future!


Adapted with permission from


an article in issue 209 of “Stew- ardship News” by Terry Austin. Have a New Year filled with God’s peace and love!


For more information contact Phyllis Bowers at (local) 717-766-5376 or (toll-free) 1-877-619-5974 or e-mail pbowers@susumc.org


OPEN : Monday - Friday 9 a.m. -


Susquehanna Conference 303 Mulberry Drive, Ste. 400 Mechanicsburg, PA 17050


1-800-682-2615


e-mail discovery@susumc.org Web www.discover-place.org


JODY ROBINSON Director Discovery Place


Hospitality through compassion and caring


There has been a lot of talk around the Susquehanna Conference lately about hos- pitality in our churches. Being hospitable isn’t just about welcoming folks into our churches. It’s also about caring for one an- other as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.


Caring for the suffering in our congrega- tions and communities isn’t just a duty for the pastor; it’s a ministry to which Christ calls all of us. But often we feel uncom- fortable with the idea of caring and com- forting those in our midst who are strug- gling with illness, broken relationships, job loss, or other hardships.


Discovery Place has some resources that will help prepare you for a ministry of car- ing and compassion.


The Lay Pastoral Worker’s Hospital Handbook: Here is a prac- tical guide to the art of hospital


visitation, model, writ-


ten by a hospital chap- lain. With Jesus as the theological


the May their tribe increase! Rev. Dr. Pamela H. Ford, State College District Superintendent


When church treasurers call the district superintendent at the end of the year, it is often not good news. This is the time when churches and charges are feeling pressed to end “in the black.” As we all know, black ink has been in shorter sup- ply these past few years!


Praise God that many congregations have dug deeper and remained faithful in their commitment to Shares of Ministry; for others it has been just too much. You can imagine my surprise when


the treasurer of a small local church (average worship attendance of 40-ish)


called to offer a gift of grace to a strug- gling congregation. In short, this blessed congregation had fulfilled their Shares of Ministry commitment and decided to bless another congregation by contribut- ing $1,000 to that congregation’s Shares of Ministry. This was easily arranged and was such an uplift to the receiving con- gregation.


God knows who these giving people are, but they insist on remaining anony- mous in this act of extravagant generos- ity.


May their tribe increase!


THE ART OF WELCOME The next best thing


REV. DIANNE


B. SALTER Deacon,


Chambersburg District


“The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”Ephesians 1:23b. (The Message)


We have just celebrated Christ- mas and the whole experience of Jesus coming in person. Apart from his earthly parents, Jesus came first to the lowly poor shep- herds. They were invited to come and see, so they left quickly to find and experience Jesus. It took lon- ger for the rich and knowledgeable wise men, but they finally found themselves in the presence of Je- sus also.


To experience Jesus personally is life’s greatest gift. For those of us who have had that amazing transforming experience in our lives, we should want everyone in the whole world to have that same experience. Yet our fears so intim- idate us that we simply don’t make efforts to bring others to come and see.


Perhaps one of our greatest mis- conceptions is that we need to do this “all by ourselves.” God has planned a buddy system in helping us bring others into the presence of Jesus. It is called the church.


When the church works as God has designed, with each person al- lowing the Spirit to flow through them, and using their unique gifts and experiences, amazing things happen in helping others find Je- sus.


A few simple practices by faith-


ful Christians will help the church become a place where newcomers experience Jesus. • Being willing to invest a little time in caring friendship


• Inviting a friend to something specific (Sunday school class, worship service, gram)


special pro-


• Introducing your guest to others at church


• Partnering with other members to help connect your guest


• Being consistent in love and re- peating invitations, without bad- gering


• Praying while being patient yet persistent


Andy Stanley says, “The next


best thing to meeting Jesus in per- son is to experience the body of Christ when it functions like it’s supposed to.” Is your church func- tioning as it is supposed to?


DR. MILTON LOYER


Conference Archivist OUR HERITAGE


100 Years Ago – January 1911 At 1 p.m. on January 1, 1911, the newly painted and papered Methodist


Kylertown, Clearfield


Episcopal Church at County,


burned to the ground. It was origi- nally feared that the insurance pol- icy had expired at noon that day. But through the thoughtfulness of one of the trustees, the policy had been renewed and receipt for the premium had been received the previous day.


The conference’s announcement


50 Years Ago – February 1961 Noted


missionary, evangelist,


and author E. Stanley Jones was the speaker for a week-long evan- gelistic mission at the Methodist Church [now Wesley UMC] in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, beginning February 26, 1961. The average nightly attendance for the meetings was 792, with a total of 196 persons recording a decision to accept Christ as Sav- ior. In addition, 57 young people


registered decisions to enter full- time Christian service. A similar campaign with similar results was held with Dr. Jones the following week at Trinity Method- ist Church in Clearfield. Confer- ence Director of Evangelism Rev. Larry Lykens served as director of the two missions and trained 246 persons in the methods of visita- tion evangelism in the Blooms- burg and Clearfield areas prior to the actual events.


Get connected - visit the Susquehanna Conference web site at www.susumc.org


of the incident concluded with, “This was a close call and ought to be a warning to ministers and lay- men to see that our church and par- sonage property is insured and the policies promptly renewed.” The replacement church erected nine months later has been elegantly remodeled into a private home, as the Allport and Munson con- gregation united with Kylertown in 1988 to erect the present Geth- semane United Methodist Church.


author presents practical approaches to hospital


visits, with guidelines on such topics as awareness of patient needs, ministering in times of crisis, and the place of prayer in the hospital visit. Also included is a selec- tion of prayers to offer in a variety of cir- cumstances.


The Compassionate Visitor: Resources for Ministering to People Who Are Ill: Here is prac- tical help for anyone in- volved in congregational visitation ministry. Exam- ples of actual hospital vis- its illustrate the basic dos


and don’ts of caring for patients’ personal and spiritual needs.


The Art of Care giving: This resource is a guide for individuals and churches in providing care for ill loved ones. It includes practical tips, helpful forms and suggestions, and points you toward


available re-


sources. Tina M. Rockwell is a diaconal minister in the Susquehanna Conference certified in Older Adult Ministries.


A Ministry of Caring: This group study explores the theologi- cal foundations of listen- ing, speaking, and caring. It covers ministering


to


those who are divorced, those who lost jobs, the homebound,


HIV/AIDS


patients, and bereavement. Leaders guide and workbook available.


Care for Returning Veterans: About half of all service members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are members of the Na- tional Guard or Reserves, which means they return to their home communities and churches after deployment. Often churches do not know how they can help. This DVD resource can aid churches in ministering to returning veterans. The DVD contains full PowerPoint presentations, videos, work- shop outlines, and brochures.


Communicating with Compassion: In this video Karen Fox explains a step-by-step method for communicating with peo- ple who are ill, injured, iso- lated, or in distress. Karen demonstrates


four key communication skills that


empower, encourage, bring hope, and lift the spirit.


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