Geeseytown Newry Evangelical Lutheran Parish

WISHING YOU A BLESSED EASTER!WISHING YOU A BLESSED EASTER!

Pastor Henry's Easter Sermon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsyZdx7K5bI

Pastoral Message from Bishop Rhyne on a year of living with COVID. This was sent to rostered leaders and congregations today. March 17, 2021 Dear sisters and br...others of the Allegheny Synod, May God’s grace and peace be with you. We have now lived one full year with COVID-19. March 15, 2020 was our last ‘normal’ Sunday. That day I was blessed to worship with Trinity Lutheran in Johnstown and that afternoon gather with First Lutheran in Portage to celebrate the installation of Pastor Mark Fisher. We could still shake hands, be closer than six feet, and none of us had masks. The following week our statewide shutdown began. It has been one year-- however, it feels like much more time has passed. I believe that is because we have carried so many burdens during this pandemic. We were working (and we still continue to work) to take care of our family, our friends, and ourselves when the world seems to be turning upside down. This has been hard. If you are like me, you are ready for all of this to be behind us. We are all ready to be in that place where we have gotten a majority of people vaccinated and we can see each other face to face again, safely. I want to first thank God and our Lord Jesus that we have been given the strength and courage to make it through thus far. Throughout the pandemic, Jesus continued to lead and guide us even when the church buildings were closed. Because of Christ, the work of the church has continued on. In this last year, congregations learned how to be church together even though we were apart. We have learned about livestream and Zoom services. In better weather we took the worship of Jesus into our parking lots and into the streets. Many congregations found ways to make sure that our members who were most vulnerable were being taken care of. We have seen congregations find new ways to reach out to and support the community. The Holy Spirit has shown us, time and again, that God will find a way to see that God’s will is done. God does that in and through you. My deep and abiding prayer is that this is a lesson that we can take from this time. I also thank God that we have seen rates of COVID infection begin to go down since the beginning of February. We have seen vaccines begin to be distributed. I hope you see these as signs that we will get through this. What is important for us now is to continue listening to and following that recommendations of the CDC and the PA Dept. of Health. Since things are finally looking a little better, the temptation is for us to slacken our adherence to our safety protocols. That is a natural human response. We want this pandemic to be behind us, we want to move on with our lives. However, if we stop these safety practices before health and science officials tell us it is safe to do so, we could see another spike in infections and the spread of the virus. As we begin to gather together more in groups, and we are prayerfully considering when we will resume our worship in person, I cannot overstate how important it is for us to continue the good work that we have been doing. Continue to maintain social distance. Keep wearing your masks when in public. Until we begin to reach the point where 70 80% of the population is vaccinated continue to wear masks, use hand sanitizer, and refrain from group singing in worship. We are going to get through this. We have to hold on for a little bit longer and make sure we are doing out part to prevent any further infection and transmission of this virus. May God bless you and keep you. +Bishop Michael Rhyne

Greetings! I hope that you and your families are doing well and staying healthy. On Thursday, March 4th, Geeseytown Council met and agreed to open the church for in-person services starting on Sunday, March 14th at 10:15 am.... We will continue to follow the CDC guidelines of social distancing and wearing masks. We will have Easter Sunrise Service at 6:30 am like we do every year. Unfortunately, there will be no fellowship afterward. There will not be a service on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. Council felt that it would be best to not strip the altar during the service. We will continue to operate under these guidelines until further notice. It’ll be nice to be back in church and to see everyone in our church family. Remember, March 14th is day light savings so don’t forget to spring forward! Hope to see you soon! God Bless, Larry C.

Rev. Sterlen Sheaffer passed away on January 27, 2021 at the age of 96 in Carlisle. He was a retired Lutheran pastor and uncle of Jeanne Herr Cassidy. He was p...astor of the Newry Lutheran Church from 1957-1960 in Mike's home town. Most recently he was a long-time pastor in Boiling Springs, PA, then in retirement served the Lutheran Church as visiting and interim pastor as needed. Uncle Sterlen co-officiated Mike and Jeanne's wedding in October 21, 1988 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg with many from Newry attending --Cassidys, Bentons, Harkers et al. He is remembered fondly. All the best to all of you in Newry.

Updates from Bishop Rhyne on 1) Synod Assembly and 2) indoor/in-person worship (starts at 3:16).

Pastor Henry's Ash Wednesday Sermon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRlNhAQhddw

Camp Sequanota's Summer Camp 2021 Brochure

Allegheny Synod Lessons and Carols service

Christmas service information for the Allegheny Synod https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3903378149724349&id=417754661620066

Pastor Henry's Christmas Eve message https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRZAwmuQICg