Maundy Thursday Online Worship Service

Blessings to you on this Maundy Thursday. 

In a more normal year, we would be gathering for Maundy Thursday Holy Communion. While that is not currently possible, I hope that our recorded services feed you spiritually during this Holy Week.

Maundy Thursday Worship

You should also know that when we are cleared to return to worship in our beautiful sanctuary, we will revisit the Easter Liturgy, anthems, and message – for that will be a day of resurrection for us all as we return to a more normal life personally and as a community of faith.

Blessings, peace, and health to all,

Pastor Derek

“The Lord is Risen!”

 There is no service of worship more characteristically “Moravian” than those based upon our Easter Morning Liturgy. Indeed, so central is it that Moravians often self-identify as “Easter people,” not because they believe they have any special claim to the promise of resurrection, but rather because the celebration of God’s raising of Jesus from the dead embodies the core of our faith and hope. How stirring it is to be among a congregation when the pastor’s profession: “The Lord is risen!” is answered by massed voices responding “The Lord is risen indeed!” I cherish childhood memories of Easter Dawn services outside of Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, NC where over ten thousand persons voiced those words. 

 Yet as moving as such collective affirmations of faith are, they are no substitute for our individual experience of relationship with God through the risen Christ. An account of an exchange between Moravian Bishop August Spangenberg and a young John Wesley during the height of a violent storm at sea on the voyage to America brings the matter into sharp focus. Spangenberg asked Wesley, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” Wesley replied, “I know he is Savior of the world.” “True,” said Spangenberg, “but do you know that he has saved you?” It is one thing to profess the Lord is risen in a crowd on Easter morning; it is quite another to profess it at home with just as much hope, joy, and faith in the midst of this present storm. Yet that is the challenge – and the gift – of these times. Alone or in small family groups we have the time to ponder what we really believe and to make it our own. 

 It is worth remembering that according to the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene was alone when the miracle of the Resurrection was revealed to her. Though she testified to the other disciples regarding what she had seen, they had to go and see for themselves. Though we traditionally celebrate Easter together, the truth at its heart must be discovered and owned by each of us individually. That truth – that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it; that the power of death, sin, and separation has been broken by God; that hope shall prevail over despair – is not diminished by our inability to gather together. Rather it becomes all the more necessary and compelling. 

 As I write, the flowers spring from the ground, the trees bud and bloom, and life in the natural world goes on. So too, Easter will come. We will celebrate the best we can on the day of Resurrection – remote from one another in body yet close in spirit and heart. Even if there is no one else to hear it, even if unuttered, I invite you to lift your heart to God on Easter morning and know that the Lord is risen indeed!

Easter Blessing to You All,
Pastor Derek

Feeding the Hungry

Editor’s Note: This is a pastoral letter that Pastor Derek sent to the congregation on March 29th regarding the acute needs of those in our community.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Jesus Christ,

These are challenging times both spiritually and materially. Yet as we hunker down to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and others, the work of the church in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ continues even expands to meet new and pressing needs. I am happy to share with you that the freezer ministry, which began at East Hills and spread in the past few years to all Bethlehem Area Moravian congregations, has been asked to provide 400 meals to persons living in Moravian Towers 1 and 2 in downtown Bethlehem. Feeding the hungry is certainly a Biblical way of making Christ known.

Previously the county was able to provide these meals. Yet the weekly influx of non-residents into a senior living community, coupled with high rates of occupancy in the dining area became too risking as the transmission of Covid 19 in the Lehigh Valley accelerated and the meals were canceled.

Fortunately, the BAM Freezer Ministry was there to step in and fill an acute need. Recent cooking events at East Hills Moravian Church had filled two industrial freezers with quarts of soup, rice and sausage dishes, macaroni and cheese, etc. just waiting to be distributed and warmed up. Who would have thought that a kitchen facility mainly used as a staging area for church dinners would become a vital asset to the surrounding community and a source of hope for those facing food insecurity?

Sadly I expect the need to increase as many persons are out of work without unemployment benefits. Early this week I, therefore, sent a grant request to Bethlehem Area Moravians for $8000 to support this ministry. They approved it and we should soon receive the funding. Should any member of the congregation, or a neighbor of a member, or a friend, etc. find themselves running short of food, please reach out to the church.

Thank you to all who have made this ministry possible. Even if we can’t include you in cooking at the present time due to limits on how many persons can be gathered in one space, know that your volunteerism in the past has filled the freezers for moments such as this. The contributions of congregation members to the annual budget has provided funds for the gas, electricity, and facilities to make this outreach possible.

Of course, as followers of Jesus, we don’t live by bread alone. Your congregational lay leaders and I are trying to provide opportunities for us to worship, learn remotely, and continue to connect with one another. We know that spiritual connection becomes more important during times of physical isolation. Please make note of such opportunities in the weekly emails and share them with others who may not have heard of them.

Our Board will be contacting members of the congregation to check on their well being. We ask that all members help us care for each other. If you or someone you are aware of has physical, emotional, or spiritual needs during this time of social distancing and quarantine please contact me or one of our elected lay leaders.

Peace, grace, and good health to you and your loved ones,
Pastor Derek

A Note From Your Stewardship Team

 Dear friends and fellow members, 

In these days of challenging circumstances being faced individually, as families, as a community and beyond, we also face them as a congregation. As you are aware, Pastor Derek and the Joint Board are working with intention and focus to make certain the vital services East Hills provides each and every day will continue. Christ will be preached. Christ will be extended to all in need. In these days of Lent and Easter, Christ will again be proclaimed as our Risen Lord and God. 

In these days of challenging circumstances, the Church needs to be a strong and visible expression of Christ with us. We write to ask for your continuing and faithful financial support of East Hills Moravian Church. 

  • If you place a check in the offering plate, please use the postal service to mail in your regular contribution. 
  • If you use E-giving (Electronic Funds Transfer) from your financial institution to East Hills, please continue that regular way to contribute. 
  • If you are interested in using E-giving, we invite you to visit the East Hills web site (www.easthillsmc.org) to learn how simple it is to contribute weekly or monthly using this tool. 
  • If you are able to contribute additional support realizing some of our fellow members may not be able to at this time, prayerfully consider what you may be able to offer. 
  • If you have not been providing regular financial support of our shared ministries in the past, we urge you to begin making a weekly or monthly gift to your church. 

Most importantly, we ask you to actively use the worship, study and prayer tools that Pastor Derek will make certain are provided to us all. Be mindful that God is far larger than COVID-19. God will provide the wisdom and discernment needed by us all to travel through these challenging circumstances. We will one day be together again in our wonderful place of worship, fellowship, learning, and service. Until that day comes, may we each be faithful disciples and stewards in ways needed and possible. 

Thanks, peace and blessings, 
Your East Hills Moravian Stewardship Team
March 23, 2020

March 29th Worship News

East Hills Moravian has canceled all in-person worship and fellowship gatherings, effective immediately, until April 30th or until we receive further guidance from government sources. Please join us online if you are able. The office is closed.

The following events have been canceled as well:

  • Bunny Breakfast Buffet – April 4th.
  • Northeast Community Center Annual Italian Buffet fundraiser for the Summer Camp Program – April 4th.
  • Spring Preschool Lovefeast – April 15th
  • Senior Girl Scout Troop Easter Candy Sale (month of March and first week of April)

Missed Sunday Worship?

If you missed this week’s worship service, check out the recording on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/o7sq3_NpNHE. We ran into some technical difficulties streaming it live, so do please, bookmark our YouTube channel as we will post the service there if live streaming is unstable like it was this morning.

Have a Prayer Request or Pastoral Concern?

Have a prayer request? Please email the church office at office@easthillsmc.org. We will not be mentioning persons by other than first name during worship or delving too deeply into individual circumstances since the YouTube broadcast is literally available to the world. We soon will have a new prayer list which will contain the information normally present in the Sunday morning bulletin insert.

For pastoral concerns, contact Pastor Derek via email at pastorfrench@easthillsmc.org, via text message or through Facebook messenger. His personal and cell number are available to members in the East Hills Moravian Church directory. If you do not have one, please contact the office and we will send you a .pdf copy.

TREX Plastic Challenge Update

Our joint TREX Plastics Challenge has taken on a whole new dimension in the past few weeks, as we practice social distancing and worship from home. We encourage you to continue to gather your plastic bags and wrap for the TREX Plastics Challenge, so that, when we can return safely to church services, events, and committee meetings, we can bring in the accumulated plastic and continue toward our goal. By the way, when we suspended collection in mid-March, we had a total of 281 lbs. toward our first 500 lb. goal!! Excellent work! Thanks to all BAM church members for your participation!

Women’s Fellowship Goes Online!

Women’s Fellowship will be meeting virtually (via Zoom) on March 31st at 7:00 pm. All women are invited. To join this meeting you need a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone with a speaker, webcam and internet connectivity. To use Zoom, use this link https://zoom.us/j/608780222 prior to the meeting and download the Zoom app if you do not have it. To sign into the meeting, you click on the link https://zoom.us/j/608780222 and you will be connected. If you have used Zoom before you should not have to download the app again. If you have questions or problems signing in, you can contact Lucy Thompson.

In addition, everyone should have their study book Sitting at Table in the Kingdom of God and a Bible. If you don’t have a study book, don’t worry, we will be reading the lesson together. The lesson is Session 6 “The Table in John’s Upper Room” John 13:1-20. So, make yourself a hot beverage and please join us.

Mid-Week Lenten Program: Encounters with Jesus

This coming Wednesday is the last of our mid-week Lenten series: Encounters with Jesus. On April 1st, join us for “On to Jerusalem.” Resources will be mailed out during the day on Wednesday. These will include scripture references, questions for reflection, and links to online videos. If you wish, you are invited to join us for an online discussion through the Zoom application. SPECIAL THANKS: to Peter Diehl for coming up with the idea for the program.

Book Club

All are invited to join the East Hills Moravian Church book club on Monday, April 27th at 7 pm in the parlor where we will discuss The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. Questions? Contact: Amy Frantz Gross at bartlet4pres@yahoo.com for details about how this will be done if we are still operating remotely.

Ongoing Ministry Opportunities

A Can a Week

Please hold those with food shortages in your thoughts and prayers as changes at both the Northeast Community Center Foodbank and Second Harvest take place. We will not be collecting canned foods at this time, but if you’d like to continue to help with this effort, please mail a check in any amount to the church at 1830 Butztown Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18017. Please note “A Can a Week” on the memo line. Cash cards will be purchased to help meet the needs of the hungry at this time of stress and uncertainty.

Victory House

Interested in helping to feed the hungry? Contact Rob Greenawald at 610-438-2626 or rgreenawald@rcn.com for more information or to volunteer. 

Online Giving

Please note that we have online giving established for any donations you wish to make to East Hills Moravian Church. Check out our Online Giving page for more details. Help us to maintain our ministry, our facilities, but most importantly, our mission: “To Know Christ and Make Him Known.”

How are we doing that?

  • Through making meals for Moravian House 1 and 2 in downtown Bethlehem
  • Through feeding those in the Single Sisters House who can’t get out to purchase groceries and have very limited funds.
  • Through our online outreach.
  • Through our Freezer Ministry.
  • Through our sponsorship of “Jesus Saves” ministry.
  • Through our worship and fellowship opportunities.

All Moravian congregations and fellowships in the Northern and Southern Provinces in the United States have online giving enabled through the Giving Portal at https://mmfa.info/givingportal/. The Moravian Ministries Foundation in America is happy to do its part to help Moravians support the ministries of their local churches and worship God with their tithes and offerings from the safety of home. Answers to frequently asked questions are available at: https://files.constantcontact.com/4979844f601/4ee20b1b-d3a0-4f5a-ac32-c1846e2e30f4.pdf

March 22nd Worship Notes

Missed Worship?

If you missed worship this Sunday (or last Sunday for that matter), head over to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/EastHillsMoravian. Derek posted the Sunday worship services there and will do so for the foreseeable future. We realize this is unchartered territory and are doing our best to provide continued continuity despite quarantines, restrictions, and social distancing.

Missed the Mid-Week Lenten Service this Week?

If you missed the Mid-Week Lenten Service this past Wednesday, Derek did his best to bring it to you online over on our East Hills Moravian Group Page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/109455987443/. If you aren’t a member yet, please consider joining us!

Have a Prayer Request?

Please email the church office: office@easthillsmc.org. We will not be mentioning persons by other than their first name during worship or delving in too deeply into individual circumstances since the YouTube broadcast is literally available to the world. We soon will have a new prayer list which will contain the information normally present in the Sunday morning bulletin.

Need Pastoral Care?

Contact Derek via email at pastorfrench@easthillsmc.org, via text message, or via Facebook messenger. His personal and cell numbers are available to members in the East Hills Moravian Church directory. If you need a directory, please email the church office and we will gladly send you a .pdf copy.

Please Consider Online Giving

Please consider using our Online Giving portal for submitting your tithe or other donations. This is safe and secure and helps provide needed resources not only for our congregation but also for the emergency funds we provide to those in our community. All Moravian congregations and fellowships in the Northern and Southern Provinces in the United States have online giving enabled through the Giving Portal at https://mmfa.info/giving-portal/. The Moravian Ministries Foundation in America is happy to do its part to help Moravians support the ministries of their local churches and worship God with their tithes and offerings from the safety of home. Answers to frequently asked questions are available at https://files.constantcontact.com/4979844f601/4ee20b1b-d3a0-4f5a-ac32-c1846e2e30f4.pdf

Mid-Week Lenten Services

Derek is going to try and post this week’s Mid-Week Lenten Service on our YouTube channel. That said, we are using some external content so we need to make sure copyrights are observed. Please bear with us; this might remain in our East Hills Moravian Facebook Group page instead. Many thanks, again, to Peter Diehl for the idea for this program. This week’s focus will be on the disciples.

Ministry Opportunities

A Can a Week

Please hold those with food shortages in your thoughts and prayers as changes at both the Northeast Community Center Foodbank and Second Harvest take place. We will not be collecting canned foods at this time, but if you’d like to continue to help with this effort, please mail a check in any amount to the church at 1830 Butztown Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18017. Please note “A Can a Week” on the memo line. Cash cards will be purchased to help meet the needs of the hungry at this time of stress and uncertainty. Thank you for your faithfulness to this ministry.

Victory House

Interested in helping to feed the hungry. Contact Rob Greenawald at 610 438 2626 or rgreenawald@rcn.com for more information or to volunteer.

EHMC Preschool Fundraiser

Ongoing fundraiser with Primary.com which sells quality children’s clothing at affordable prices. Please visit our school’s special URL at primary.com/school/easthills and use the code EASTHILLS when checking out after shopping. Information to register for Primary.com is available through the Preschool, and you will also receive an extra 25% off your first order.

Book Club

All are invited to join the East Hills Moravian Church book club on Monday, April 27th at 7 pm in the parlor where we will discuss “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Michele Richardson. Questions? Contact: Amy Frantz Gross at bartlet4pres@yahoo.com.

Cancellations

WHY KNOTS, scheduled for March 25, and WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP, scheduled for April 7, are both canceled. Please hold one another in your thoughts and prayers, and maintain connection by phone, email, or text. 

Northeast Community Center 2020 Annual Italian Buffet Fundraiser on Saturday, April 4, that was in the March Newsletter, has been canceled. If anyone would like to send a donation for the 2020 Summer Camp Program, they would be so grateful. Northeast Community Center, P.O. Box 1463, Bethlehem, PA 18016 

Preschool Information

Bunny Breakfast (tentatively)

Saturday, April 4th, 9 AM to 10:15 AM. Open to the community. Pictures with the Bunny from 9:15 to 10:15 for a donation (bring your own camera). Egg Hunt at 10:30. Tickets are $5 for anyone over two, two and under are free but need a ticket. For reservation/tickets please email EHMChurch1830@yahoo.com with your name, how many tickets for two and up and how many tickets for under 2 and the best way to contact you. Questions please email EHMChurch1830@yahoo.com or call 610-737-0012. Includes pancakes, sausage, eggs, tater tots, cheese sauce and other condiments, and a juice and coffee bar. Proceeds will benefit the East Hills Moravian preschool marketing budget. The deadline to get tickets is March 27, 2020.

Spring Preschool Lovefeast Service (tentatively)

The Spring Preschool Lovefeast will be tentatively held on Wednesday, April 15th at 9:30 am. This is in celebration of the Week of the Young Child. 

Preschool Registration

Registration for East Hills Moravian Preschool is open! Tell your family, friends, and neighbors about our wonderful school. We have a beautiful facility, friendly and knowledgeable teachers, and a new curriculum. We offer the following programs:

  • Three-Year-Old, M/W/F; 9:00-11:45 am
  • Four-Year-Old, 4 days M/Tu/Thu/Fri; 9:00-11:45 am or 5 days M-F; 9:00-11:45 am. The first Wednesday of the month is 9:00 am-1:00 pm for 5-day Fours only. 

If you want to extend the fun, children can bring their lunch and stay 11:45 am-1:00 pm or until 3:00 pm. Please call us at 610-868-6242 and let us know your preschool needs.