Pennsylvania Conference

Editorial by Gary Gibbs

This past fall, 2,237 Pennsylvania Conference members visited more than 10,000 homes to pray with people and offer free Bible studies. On that day, we united together to answer Jesus’ call to be “good Samaritans” to our neighbors (see Luke 10:29–37).

Today’s society separates us from the community around us. Visiting our neighbors is a ministry that bridges this isolation; it enables us to connect with people who need Jesus.

Shortly after one of our members left a Bible study card on the door of a home where there was no answer, we received the following message from that very home:

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Charity Stone (pictured with family), whose husband, Tom, is a pastor at the Pennsylvania Conference Kenhorst Boulevard church in Reading and the Pottstown church, and her young family attended iThrive this summer, hoping to get “healthier at setting boundaries in order to protect the overall health of our family,” she says. “As a pastoral family, we love to serve, but sometimes it is necessary to say no to tasks or people in our sphere of ministry so that we can stock up on fresh produce, take a walk when the kids need physical activity in nature or just plain connect as a couple and family.”

She says the retreat offered a way for the family to “to prioritize our spiritual, emotional and physical health. It was really fun to connect with others at the retreat, and we learned so much,” she adds.

Feature by V. Michelle Bernard 

Turkey bacon, eggs, cold cereal, cheese, lots of bread and pizza were common ingredients in Jennifer Engelkemier’s daily menu. But since attending Mountain View Conference’s (MVC) Wellness Camp last summer, she’s traded in some of her old breakfast favorites, including turkey bacon, for beans.

Before the camp, Engelkemier (pictured in middle, walking with wellness campers Herb Perrine and Susie Shaver) was overweight, had diabetes and high blood pressure, and also suffered from fatty liver disease. “I just want to get healthy overall,” she said during the first week of camp, where she lost 10 pounds and started walking more regularly.

Editorial by Bonnie Navarro 
Photo by Plichel on pixaby.jpg

Osceola McCarty was born in 1908. She lived with her aunt and grandmother in Mississippi. When her aunt returned from a hospitalization unable to walk, McCarty dropped out of school to care for her. She never went back. Instead, she became a washerwoman—getting up early in the morning to light a fire under her wash pot, wash the clothes on a scrub board, hang them on a 100-foot-long clothesline, and when they were dry, iron until 11 p.m. at night.

Story by Tracey S. Lewis

Pennsylvania Conference’s Harrisburg First church recently welcomed more than 300 members and guests to its special 125th year anniversary service, themed “Come Home to Jesus.”

The event featured a weekend of fellowship, testimonials and renewed commitment to reaching the lost through personal revival and recommitment to God’s love. Speakers included Pastor Chuck Holtry; Kenneth Stout, a professor at Andrews University (Mich.) and former pastor; and Gary Gibbs, Pennsylvania Conference president, who helped mark the church’s milestone and commended its legacy of service and steadfastness in Central Pennsylvania.