Campbell Ricketts Miranda Soisson Jackson Yerger JUNE 8 Ros Ebert Kevin Kemp Amy Schneiderhan JUNE 9 Gabrielle Allen Kerry Fisher Kyle Godwin Lorraine Jagielski Andrew Karaffa Megan Keenan Eileen Loos George Rath Mark Reese Pat Ross Susan Snyder Elizabeth Stemler Don Swartz Christina Weinhold JUNE 10 Debbie Irwin Patricia Keenan Wyatt Henry Denton Mays Zach Metz R. Scott Quillman JUNE 11 Benjamin Goetz Emma Goetz Kimberly Zalmanek JUNE 12 Tyler Johnson Mackenzie Melos Diane Pepple JUNE 13 Madison Koehler JUNE 14 Lia Drayer Rachel Haldeman Elisabeth Jacobs Sarah Loeper Dawson Miner JUNE 15 John McBride

Sean Wyandt JUNE 16 Samuel Althouse Janet Bortz* Chelsea Boudreau Madelyn Bubb Wendy Fisher Lori Franckowiak Daven Lindsay Kristine Ricketts Jeffrey Snyder Sandee Tucker Allen Westbrook Jill Yoder JUNE 17 Ethan Bittner Ryan Epler Matt Farr Julie Gruber Emily Kelly JUNE 18 Serai Fessenden Tiffany Grace Donald McCarthy Jason Niggel Linda Walmer Jess Warner JUNE 19 Nicole Bleiler Patricia Chubb Pauline Epler Earl Kercher Brian Mays Carl Sipe Brian Yazemboski Charlotte Zabinski JUNE 20 Sophie Bassetti Deborah Clabaugh Kyle Dierolf Lisa Geist Jordan Haas Derek Harris April Long Konner Miller James Woodring JUNE 21 Brayden Getrost

Donna Hart Donald Ide Joanne Novack Ashlyn Rapley JUNE 22 Bernie Ballick Margo Hill Tammy Smith Myles Tytler Josie Whitney JUNE 23 Sue Allan Sarah Althouse Gerald Cook June Dando* Sally Ellis Bryce Farr Irvin Morey Joseph Ortenzi Scott Romich Karen Spohn Roxanne Weaver JUNE 24 Mary Dodge Landen Jamison Theresa Lee Nancy Martin Aaron Robert Rauenzahn Grace Rauenzahn JUNE 25 Lois Bahner Lewis Davis Jeanne Jamison Steve Jamison Laurie McCloskey Ashleigh McLean Don Mikes Jana Mikes Ruth Myers David O'Donnell Katie Wanner Matthew Waters JUNE 26 Katie Brower Kaylee Hauck Donald Laumeister Rachel Texter Gage Waltz

If we have inadvertently forgotten your birthday,

please contact the church @ 610-678-5611

*Janet Bortz 985 Brownville Rd. Wernersville, PA 19565 *June Dando Stoneridge Assisted Living Room 140 450 E. Lincoln Ave. Myerstown PA 17067

JUNE 1 Emily Basehoar Bryan Gusley Jack Kieffer Dave Martinez Lisa Schell Scott Weber JUNE 2 Brent Behrenshausen Clifford Dry Kale Millisock Carol Montaldi Del Smart David Smith Eleanor Swearingen Henry Swearingen JUNE 3 Shelley Bonk Christine Frear Patrick Grace Chad Grider Gloria Johnson David Peppers Jerry Standefer Shelby Turner JUNE 4 Victoria Jamison Donald King Marilyn Wagner JUNE 5 Amy Cruley Bryan Fick Jeremy Karacz Lynn Puc Clayton Roberts Wendy Wisniewski JUNE 6 Jenni Denny Brad Foster Kathryn Hill Matthew O'Connor Shae Ramberger Jonathan Spohn Matthew Wiederspahn JUNE 7 Brenda Bucher Robert Chambers Lindsay Rada

JUNE 27 Ian Hettinger Watson Maack Marnell McCarthy Scott Schwenk JUNE 28 Dean Hoffman Walter Strohmayr JUNE 29 Joanne Kuhn Heather MacKnight Meghann McGuire Stephanie Stamm Gale Terek Susan Thomas Mya Wascavage Donna Weber JUNE 30 Emily Brossman Louise Grace Dawn Heffner Edward Hong Andrew Koehler Beth Maurer Ian West

WEST LAWN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

201520152015

It’s almost here! VBS 2015 June 14-18

6:00-8:30 p.m. (see page 4 for

more information)

Johnny Cash’s music stands as a powerful record of a man who was true to himself, challenged authority in a prophetic way, and reached out to people who felt outside of polite society. While a lot of his music was gospel music, his faith had a power-ful imprint on everything he made. Join us on Saturday, June 6th at 7:00 pm in the Community Center for a night of worship where Lancaster worship leader Jeremy Graeff will perform a selection of Johnny Cash’s songs and share his insights into Cash’s witness of faith. This event is free and open to the public.

Saturday, June 6th at 7:00 PM

The West Lawn UMC website recent-ly got a facelift! In mid May we con-verted our webpage to an all-new, sleek, modern design for our online presence. We hope you find our new site rich with information and content, as well as pleasing to the eye. This new site is also very mobile friendly and works well on all tablets, as well as desktops and laptops. While the content remains very similar, the navigation and features are superior and easily allows for multiple changes and additions for our ever-growing congregation. Take a look!

PAGE 2 INVITE, EMBRACE, EMPOWER

The month of June includes one of the most exciting times in the life of our church! Each year, near the beginning of the summer break from school, we host children from our church family and community at our annual Vacation Bible School. It is one of our greatest oppor-tunities to reach beyond the walls of our church building, and the lim-its of our church family, to bring the Good News of God’s Love to hundreds of children and their families. This year’s theme will be “EVEREST: Conquering Challenges with God’s Mighty Power.” I’m excited for the children to learn that our God is greater than He (the devil) who is in the world. I want our children (and someday, my grandson) to know the amazing power of

God to provide for us in times of trouble, to comfort us in times of distress, and to forgive us of our many sins and shortcomings. I want YOU to know these biblical principles, too! That’s why we will be taking a short break from our “Church in Action” theme and our preaching from the Acts of the Apostles, to focus on how God helps US – all of us, of every age – to be ‘overcomers’ when we rely on God’s Might Power. So, on June 7th our theme in worship will be “Where God Guides, God Provides!” Just as God provided for Elijah (read I Kings 17), God has the ability and the desire to provide for us today, if we trust in Him. On June 14th we will offer baptisms and the reception of new members at all services. Our worship theme will be God’s power and desire to comfort us, based on I Kings, chapter 19. On June 21st we will welcome our VBS children and their families as we explore God’s power to forgive. Nehemiah 9:17 reminds us, “You are a God of forgiveness,” which is the whole point of Jesus’ going to the cross for us – where he took the sins of the whole world upon himself that we might be forgiven and have the hope of life everlasting. On June 28th we will return to the Church in Action, when our worship theme will once again come from Acts of the Apostles. Join us for worship as we recall the great faith of Stephen, as recorded in Acts 7. I remember years ago singing a rousing chorus that included this line, “What a mighty God we serve!” May that truth be our life-song in June, this summer, and always! I’ll see you in church!

Pastor Jeff

Post Notes:

(1) If you would like to help with Vacation Bible School, I’m sure there is still time to sign up. Gifts of supplies or

monetary donations are still gladly accepted. Contact Kelly at kelly@westlawnumc.org for more information on

getting involved. (Clearances are required!)

(2) Congratulations to Pastor Andrea Haldeman on her commissioning toward Elder’s Ordination and Provision-

al Membership in the Annual Conference! She was commissioned on Friday, May 15th by Bishop Johnson as a

part of our recent Annual Conference.

by Pastor Raffauf

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15 Woodside Avenue

West Lawn, PA 19609

www.westlawnumc.org

Phone: 610-678-5611

Pastor Jeff Raffauf

Pastor Andrea Haldeman

Pastor Nick Camacho

Pastor Terry Cooney

Every Sunday: Worship

8:00 am Traditional Worship

9:00 am Fellowship Time

9:30 am Praise Worship

9:30 am Sunday School

10:30 am Fellowship Time

11:00 am Celebration Worship

11:00 am Table Talk 11

11:10 am Community Worship

11:30 am Children’s Church

The Puerto Rico Mission Trip has been set for July 21-28th. If you are interested in coordinating the logistics or the construction efforts of this mission trip, please contact the office a.s.a.p. The deadline for this leadership opportunity and to regis-ter is no later than Monday, June 8th.

OTHER MISSION TRIP OPPORTUNITIES:

Biloxi, Miss. 22-30 Aug Cost $300 Trip Leader David Endy (610) 780-8398

Atlantic City, NJ 20 - 26 Sept. Cost $200 Trip Leader Jen Fuhrer (484) 637-3719

Haiti construction: being planned based on weather, progress and conditions. . . Haiti Christmas: being planned for Dec 2015 or Jan 2016 ... stay tuned Red Bird, TN: currently seeking leadership and coordination

CROSSROADS PAGE 3

For its Fall 2015 sale, the Faithful Friends Consignment team is switching to an online, web-based tagging system. At this time, we're seeking donations of three laptop (preferred) or desktop computers to be used as the hardware base for this system. The requirements for these computers include:

3-4 Gig Memory Vista 7 or 8 3 USB Ports Dual Processor PC or Mac

If you have a computer that meets these requirements, and would be willing to donate it to our sale, we would be very appreciative. Contact Jenni Denny for additional details: vanillajenni@hotmail.com, 202-841-2635.

INVITE, EMBRACE, EMPOWER PAGE 4

Final plans are now in the works for our Vacation Bible School Extravaganza: Everest! This year’s event will take place from Sunday, June 14 through Thursday, June 18. Our campus will soon be transformed into a snowy, mountainous, hiking and camping set! For five consecutive nights, children will learn how to conquer challenges with God’s mighty power. Children age 3 through the completion of Kindergarten will gather each night in the Community Center from 6:00-8:15 p.m. Elementary kids, grades 1-6, should report to the Sanctuary each night from 6:00-8:30 p.m.

Registration is still open. Parents can go online to www.westlawnumc.com/vbs to sign up children. Before the official start of VBS, families should stop by West Lawn UMC to pick up their child’s t-shirt and music CD. These items will be handed out on Sunday mornings, May 31 and June 7, between worship services, or during the week in the Church office.

Our Vacation Bible School is not possible without the help for 170+ servants! More help is still needed as crew leaders and floaters. If you are able and willing to join our Weird Animals team, immediately contact Kelly Rismiller directly at 610-507-9141, kelly@westlawnumc.org.

In addition, there are still some outstanding supplies needed for the various crafts and activities related to this year’s theme. We welcome donations of any of the following:

• Washable red paint

• Flicker lights

• White gauze

• Googley eyes

• Small nails

• Icicle Christmas light strands

• Cans of faux snow

• Empty & clean clear gallon milk containers

• Yellow, blue, white tissue paper

• 15 boxes of baking soda

• 10 cans of shaving cream

• big jars of blue glitter

• Dry Ice

• 200 gum balls

• 35 tubes of sugar cookie dough

Yes, I know. It's only June, but we are already looking forward to, and beginning to plan for, Christmas 2015. In the coming weeks we will begin laying the foundation for (1) Christmas Eve worship services and beyond, (2) our Christmas Gift to God, and (3) our several year-end initiatives, through which we seek to extend the love of God to those in need locally and globally. Why are we talking about this now? First, we need your prayers. Pray that we will be faithful and bold in our efforts to be the incarnate love of God in our community and beyond. Also, we need to hear from anyone who desires to sponsor and help coordinate ANY YEAR-END GIVING EFFORT. With the goal of "doing good better," we will be planning our year-end giving opportunities in such a way as to not compete with the several other giving opportunities, and make clear when and how God's People can support God's ministries through West Lawn United Methodist Church. So... IF YOU HAVE A NEW IDEA for a year-end collection or ministry initiative, OR YOU COORDINATE AN EXISTING year-end collection, be in touch with the church office (office@westlawnumc.org), or contact Carolann Schneiderhan or one of our pastors now! All suggestions should come in written form (paper or email) with specifics as to the Who, What, When, Where and Why. Please respond in writing by June 30th. Thank you, and we wish you a joyous Christmas!

PAGE 13 CROSSROADS

Ansley Jo Mays daughter of

Matthew & Tori Mays

Rory Sellgren (5/24/15; 8:00 Service)

Rory has lived in the West Lawn area for almost twenty-five years, and his parents, Peter & Susan Sellgren,

have been regular attenders at West Lawn UMC for over five years. Rory felt the call to ministry and ordina-

tion since he was seven or eight years old. He finally decided to answer God’s call and join West Lawn UMC

as the first of many steps on that path.

He is a PhD student at the University of Leeds, in Leeds, UK, studying Medieval Literature and Theology, and

hopes to complete his degree in 2017. He has a background in English Literature and Theology from Alvernia

College and Claremont School of Theology, and has co-taught discipleship courses at West Lawn UMC in

2011 and 2012. Rory has a real passion for Biblical reading and scholarship, music ministry, and social jus-

tice. Outside of academics, his interests include family, friends, his pet cats, and community service. His goal

for the future is to teach at a university or seminary.

Isaac,

Often times people are very quick to criticize and complain about our

young folks. Rarely taking the time to recognize when young folks do

something good, or better yet do something at their own initiative not

having to be asked.

I know you know this, but I wanted to share that you have got some

really great kids….. last evening at food prep, Andrew K stopped by

saw we were working, came into the kitchen and asked if there was any-

thing he could do… well… needless to say he may he didn’t have to ask

twice, there he was smacking chicken along side of my helpers… Short-

ly thereafter, Nick (Nate?) came in… and there he was slathering but-

ter on the chicken….. shortly after that… Stephen came in….. (While we

were just about finished… he apologized he couldn’t’ get there any

sooner… ) We thanked him just the same…

I can’t tell you how much we appreciated their help, it certainly assisted

us in getting done in a timely fashion, and filled a void as I had 3 folks

who couldn’t make it last evening.

Thank you for your (and Megan’s) leadership with this group… YOU

and THEY are making a difference …… My food prep team were

thrilled that these kids saw a potential need to help… and pitched

in….Blessings to you and your youth program, ~Cheryl F. Raffauf

What a blessing to be a

member of the West

Lawn family!

Thank you for visits- in

the hospital and at

home!

hank you for the calls,

the flowers and the

cards!

Thank you to those who

asked Bob or Michael

how I was doing!

Most of all - thank you

for all the prayers -

they helped and still

are helping.

Thank you for caring.

God bless you

all!!! Mary Lou

Hutchinson (Bob too)

Robert Michael Rohal son of

Emily & Stefan Rohal

Carter Jakob Adams son of

Aubrey & Jeremy Adams

Lucas Brien Wheeler son of

Michael & Rachel Wheeler

Matthew David Filer son of

Adam & Kim Filer

Helen A. Rupp July 10, 1923— April 24, 2015

PAGE 10 INVITE, EMBRACE, EMPOWER PAGE 12

For June, we will be reading “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Kline. Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, car-rying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck or chance. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude? Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second

chances, and unexpected friend-ship. Come join us on June 3rd at 7:00 pm in Room 102 of the Community Center to discuss this eye-opening novel.

Our next Inquirers’ Class will be on Sunday, June 7, at 12:30 pm in Room

109 of the Education Bldg. This class is for ANYONE who would like to learn more about the Chris-tian faith, The United Methodist Church, or making West Lawn your church home.

Baptism and recep-tion of new members will be offered on June 14 at all four services. If you have any ques-tions or to schedule a baptism, please contact the office at 610-678-5611.

(Next opportunity will be July 12)

Baptisms/ New Members

We still have a few tickets left for UMC Night at the Phillies on Saturday, July 18th versus the Florida Mar-lins. We are back in

Sections 142 and 143 – yeah! We will leave at approximately 3:00 p.m., and the cost for tick-et and transportation is $55. Please call Lori Madara at 610-921-2513 to make your reser-vations or for questions.

Thank you, West Lawn UMC for helping to send us to Word of Life Snow Camp, February, 2015 in Schroon Lake, NY. All of the chil-dren that attended snow camp this year were “first timers” with ages ranging from 12-17 years old. Jabari was so excited he wants to go again next year, David, a shy 15 year old who lives with his mother was so glad to go on this trip. Corrine (15) and Rebekah (17) are sisters, new to Word of Life and so excited about the Lord. They are like sponges, wanting to learn more about God. Quasia, another new member, didn’t know anyone in the club but wanted to know what Word was all about. Jaynashia is always studying what is said to her. She keeps a notebook of messages close to her to fol-low up later.

God has truly blessed us with young people that want to learn more about the Lord! Thank you to all who made it possible for our youth to experience this eye-opening, spiritually uplifting experience.

Dear West Lawn UMC, Thank you for preparing and delivering the delicious dinners while Anne Louise recovered from surgery in April—what a blessing for our family! God Bless You All,

The Reinert Family (Mike, Anne Louise, Jess & Sarajean)

Invites you to a

PANCAKE BREAKFAST FUNDRAISER on

Saturday, June 20th from 8:00 am—11:00 am at the

Kenhorst Dairy Queen

Tickets are $7.00 each and available through Wayne Weikel

(610-678-9499) All proceeds benefit Family Promise!

Breakfast includes: pancakes, bacon, smoothies & coffee.

Come, enjoy a great breakfast and help your neighbors in need!

PAGE 5 CROSSROADS

United Methodist Day at DORNEY PARK This event is on June 27th with the Park opening at

10:00am. This is a great way to reach out to friends and neighbors and invite them to a fun day of fellowship with your Unit-ed Methodist family. With these coupons the holders can enter the PARK for $33, a $21 discount off of the regular price of $54. There is no requirement to order tickets in advance. If it is a rainy day or something comes up you just don’t go. On June 27 just take the coupon to the ticket win-dow when you arrive at the Park to buy your ticket.

On the 27th the conference UM Men will have a small tent set up at the Haunted Mansion House Hotel where we can meet and greet all of we great United Methodists! This year, in addition, we will have a “Youth and Family Gath-ering” at DORNEY’S CENTER STAGE that is open to all ages and runs from 11am to 12pm. Music and inspira-

FINAL PAYMENT!

PRAISE GOD! and THANK YOU!

We praise God and extend to our deep appreciation and thanks to all who helped us

pay down our 2007 Renovation loan. We have been paying down the loan by $3,250 each month + making extra pay-ments on the principal with any gifts received in the “Debt Reduction” (PINK) offering envelopes. We are pleased to report that as of mid-May our loan is PAID OFF! (The final payment check is pictured below.)

Moving forward, gifts received for “Debt Reduc-tion” (PINK) offering envelopes will be earmarked for “future capital expansion.” As we continue to grow, reach-ing new people for Jesus Christ, we are confident that there will be needs for these funds, and thank you in advance for any gifts given for this purpose.

We will soon be changing the designation on line for our EFT donors, and hope to get the offering envelopes rela-beled as soon as possible. For now, again, we thank you, and praise God! ~ WLUMC Leadership Team

Financial

PAGE 6 INVITE, EMBRACE, EMPOWER

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION NEWS!

by Barb Piscitello

Confirmation Class 2015 This year we had a class of 10 students (4 boys and 6 girls) who completed the confirmation studies. On May 17th these wonderful students were con-firmed at our 11:00 service. It filled our hearts with joy to see each of them take the vows of confirmation and become the newest members of West Lawn United Methodist Church! It was a great pleasure for the teaching team and mentors to work with this special group of students. May God continue to bless them as they continue on their spiritual journey.

Every Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. “Women at the Well” meet in the Reiner Educa-tion building in room 112. This is a group of women who get together to encourage each other and to strengthen their walk with God through Bible study and discussion. This group always welcomes new members, so why don’t you give it a try!

SUNDAY SCHOOL SERVANTS NEEDED! God has blessed us with a thriving Sunday School every Sunday morning. Because of this wonderful blessing we are looking for additional servants who are willing to assist on a Sunday morning in the pre-school, kindergar-ten, and 1st & 2nd grade classroom. You would only need to commit to one Sunday a month and the blessings you received in helping with our younger students far outweigh the work involved. We need people who love the Lord and love our children. Our Sunday School meets throughout the sum-mer and so we really need help to cover teacher vacations. Maybe you’ve thought about serving in this ministry in the past, but were not sure, try it and see how it goes! If you are willing to teach or assist please give the of-fice a call.

(Facts about the Bible)

There are 49 different foods mentioned in the Bible. The word "Lord" appears 1855 times in the Bible. A Bible in the University of Gottingen is written on 2,470 palm leaves Newlyweds were commanded by God to honeymoon for a solid year (Deuteronomy 24:5).

Summer is just about here! Time for fun in the sun and relaxation! It is a great time for renewal of our mind and soul, too. We all get caught up in everyday life with its stresses and craziness. Take time to sit back, reflect and refresh.

CROSSROADS PAGE 11

Interested in learning more about a specific event or getting involved? Please Contact Isaac Mahler at: 610-678-5611 Or Isaac@Westlawnumc.org

The School Year Ends And The Summer Begins!!!! When most people think about seasons, they tend to think about Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

But in youth ministry there are really only 2 seasons: The School year, and the summer. (Parents

might feel this way too) The school year is great, and certainly takes up the majority of the year, but

the summer time is the best time. It’s certainly the busiest time of the year. There are roughly 70 days

during the summer and our youth group will be together in one way or another for 33 of them. That

doesn't count the impromptu gatherings and various service opportunities that will surely take place

this summer as well. Add it all together and many of our students will spend more than half of their

summer together.

That is a lot of opportunity to build relationships, make memories and most importantly to spread the

love of Jesus with them, which is why the summer is my favorite time of the year! But the truth is, I

can’t do it alone. I have a wonderful team of leaders who assist with everything all year long and I

want to take a second to name them and thank them. Our fantastic leaders are: Mary Ream, Laila

Moore, Jenna Haas, Allison Reber, Bethany Saunders, Deb Hoag, Kari Long, Dean Vandersall, Mark

Reese and of course my lovely wife Megan!

I want to publicly say thank you to them for everything they do for me and the students! And if I

could be so bold, I want to ask that if you see them around church, please say thank you to them for all

that they do. They willingly give up their evenings, weekends, time off and a lot of sleep and relaxation

time to work with the students. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful team of leaders and it is

such a blessing to see first hand the impact for Christ they are having in the lives of our students!

I also want to say that if you are interested in helping out, either for a specific event, or at all of our meetings

and events, I would love to talk with you more about that. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time!

Our Busy Summer Schedule Begins!

June 10th: Basement Clean-out and Creation Prep part 1 2-6PM In the C.C.

June 10th: Creation Information Meeting 6-7PM In the Youth Room

June 11th: Creation Prep Part 2: 9-11AM in the C.C.

June 12th: Five Hour Frenzy 5:30-10:30PM In the C.C. ($5 per person-free with Event pass)

June 14th-June 18th: Vacation Bible School (Students encouraged to assist)

June 22nd: Students Drop-off Bags for Creations

June 23rd to June 28th: CREATION MUSIC FESTIVAL

July 12 to July 18th: Missions Trip to New Jersey

July 30th to August 1st: A Closer Walk @ Wildwood NJ

August 8th: Peach Festival (Students Encouraged to attend and assist)

August 19th: Hershey Park!!!!

August 23rd: One Last Bash Before Class!!!

There will be lots more events to come including trips to blue marsh, Ice blocking, water fights, and various

other fun and service opportunities that will take place during the weeks we are here this summer. Come to

youth group and keep your eyes on the bulletin to stay informed about everything that will be happening!

PAGE 10 INVITE, EMBRACE, EMPOWER

Thank you to all of the Sunday School Teachers that have spent time with our dear children this year. Although the school year is at its end, West Lawn UMC’s Sunday School continues each and every Sunday throughout the school year. Now would be a perfect time to assist or volunteer to serve in one of our Children’s Sunday School classrooms.

We want to especially thank Barb Piscitello who is retiring from the Director of Christian Education for her years of dedicated service and want to welcome Allison Piscitelli in her new role as Pastor of Children’s Ministries. This new position will focus on the Christian development of our preschoolers through Sixth Grade. Allison is a graduate of

Kutztown University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Special Educa-tion and earned a Master’s Equivalency in Education at other local universities. Allison felt a calling to leave the Fleetwood School District where she held a position as a 5th Grade teacher, to come to West Lawn and work with our children and teachers. Allison, her hus-band John, and her daughter, Grace (6th grade) are members of West Lawn. Allison has served as an usher and greeter, and has also been active in other ministries such as West Lawn Wednesdays, Vacation Bible School and the Peach Festival. She has been shadowing Barb during the month of May and into June. If you have a chance to introduce yourself, or would like to offer your assistance in the area of Christian Education, please feel free email her at Allison@westlawnumc.org.

One of the areas of Christian Education where we need immediate servants is during the Children’s Church, which takes place during the 11:10 Community Service. If you attend the 9:30 or the 8:00 service and feel that God may be calling you to serve, or, if you attend the 11:00 or 11:10 services and you could take a turn at serving occasionally, we would like you to prayerfully consider reaching out to Allison or Barb to find out more information on what is needed. What a wonderful gift of time and talent to give an hour of time in the area children’s ministries. We would like to en-courage everyone to pray that this need is fulfilled so that this ministry can continue to reach the needs of our children and the community. We are very blessed that our church has been continuing to grow and that the 11:10 Community Service has been a blessing to so many. The Lord Jesus admonished his followers to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field (Matt. 9:38) In order to support this growth, we need to offer strong Christian Education programming during this service. If you are interested or have questions, you can also call Carolann in the office at 610-678-5611 to find out more about this ministry.

by Carolann Schneiderhan

July 7, 2015 @ 7:00pm in Room 109,in the Reiner Education Building With Guest Speaker:

FRANCISCO L. TELLEZ, MD, FACS speaking on

Eye Issues Associated With Diabetes

This meeting is open to anyone interested in all eye issues, whether related to diabetes or other issues. Please come and hear Dr. Tellez. Bring your spouse, care giver or friend. Hope to see you there.

Any questions please contact George Goldman @ 610-926-2693 or papagold@comcast.net.

CROSSROADS PAGE 9

Another session of Safe Haven Lighthouse came to a close on May 20th. We really had a great year.

We see many leadership skills developing in our older students and we look forward to seeing them as they continue in school and in the community exercising those skills. We are very proud of them.

One of our teen helpers, Brendan Salyards has been very faithful to our group and he comes every Wednesday to help, even with his enormous school workload. He made the two picnic tables out on Woodside Avenue which we use, weather permitting, to have our snack on Wednesdays. He will soon officially be an Eagle Scout. We are very proud of him and look forward to seeing him become part of the business world. Nina Hostetter says about Brendan, “We will be able to say we knew him when.”

Because of a generous grant from the United Methodist Women we were able to take all of our Safe Haven children to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey. It is a great aquarium and we had a great time. It is right on the wa-terfront and the weather was absolutely beautiful. We highly recommend checking out this aquarium if you have the op-portunity. Most Townships have discount tickets you can purchase. Bieber Transportation provided us with a wonder-ful driver, Hector, and he safely and professionally took care of our driving needs while we relaxed. He even didn’t mind when we picked Frozen as the movie for the way down. Probably the 900th time he has heard kids singing “Let it Go.”

The children were wonderful on the bus and the whole day. Some of our students took it upon themselves to pass out water and snacks to their fellow students and the adults. We are very proud of how Jazmine stepped up and took on that role and also collecting the trash afterwards. We also want to thank those that provided snack to our children for our trip and for our whole year.

We also want to thank our volunteer staff. Without them we couldn’t have the wonderful program that we do. We are very blessed to have them come out each week and be with the children and be a positive influence in their lives. Also a great big thank you to Billy Hetrich. Billy is our main van driver and he transports the kids from school and also on our field trips. Even though he has other work to do Billy stops on a Wednesday afternoon and drives the van. Dean Vandersall is our backup driver and we are grateful when he can help us out. We have a lot of plans for the children starting in September. If you know of any child that would like to be a part of our program please have them contact the church office.

And as always we want to thank our Church family for your prayers and for supporting our program and our Apple Pie sale in October which provides us resources to share with others. See you in September.

In Christ’s Service, Lori Madara and Bonnie Rissmiller