Altar Flowers & Bulletins

It is always nice to see fresh flowers on our altar on a Sunday morning.

So, please sign up now for your date for altar flowers or bulletins.

The sign up list is located in the church narthex.

Altar Flowers are $37.50 a week.

Bulletins are $12.00 a week

Questions or dedications, call the office at 717-273-3912 or email ststephcfc@comcast.net

Our flowers are supplied by ‘Crazy for Daisies’

June 2019 Steeple

Don’t forget to join us on Sundays for our worship service at 9:30 a.m.; Normal worship schedule will resume in the Fall!

See you in the pew!

IN THIS ISSUE OF THE STEEPLE:

--A Note from Pastor Ron

--An article by the Church Council

President, Paul Weidman

--Music News & Views from Music

Director Steve Suk

--Monthly Worship Team Schedule

--Church Activity Calendar

FEATURED ANNOUNCEMENTS:

--SUMMER SCHEDULE

--VBS!!!

--Baptism of Oliver Day

--Opportunity to teach children’s Sunday

School Class

--Mt. Gretna Bible Festival!

Any articles or information for

the next monthly Steeple should

be submitted to the church

secretary’s office via email or

mailbox a week in advance of the

last day of the month.

St. Stephen’s Christian Fellowship Church 1100 Hunters Chase Lane

Lebanon, PA 17046

WORDS FOR REFLECTION:

A Note from Pastor Ron

REMEMBER TO CONNECT WITH YOUR CHILDREN THIS SUMMER

I often think of how all my own grandchildren are doing and what choices they are

making, what direction they are headed. I was talking with someone recently and an old

cliché came up I had not heard in years: When school lets out remember that daunting

question..."Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?" Better yet, do you know where they are

Spiritually?

Summer is upon us and may be a good time to rebuild those once much closer

relationships that are difficult to maintain during the school year when you are

competing with so many other commitments. I was reading an article from 1967 where a

young Billy Graham shared a moving account of a businessman who fell on his knees at his

workplace and accepted the Lord as his Savior. In his classic sermon, “The Home,” Graham

pointed out that what had reached that man’s heart was the sight of his tiny son following

him outside their home that morning, attempting to place his small boots in his father’s

snowy footprints. “I’m walking in daddy’s steps!” he exclaimed. Daddy made certain that

from that day forward, his steps led his son in paths of righteousness (Originally published:

June, 1995).

A model parent I dare say, I was not. It is something I tried to be but made many

mistakes. I guess, because of the lure of the "world", along with a few bad influences that

were unknown to me, I saw my children drifting from the way I brought them up. By the

time I got serious with God myself, it seemed to be too late to pull them back. A close friend

from a former Church always assured me they would return, as did the prodigal son. She

would remind me that as parents we must consider Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the

way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The text says, “Train up a child….” Here is the idea: Within certain boundaries it is

possible to determine at will the direction of a river, a tree, or even a man, but you must

guide them when they are young and impressionable. I had a tree in my front yard which

started to grow at the base of my living room window. I should have had it removed at once.

But later, because of its relationship to the house, it became a costly repair.

According to Solomon, a wise man that was granted wisdom from God, we need to note

these two points.

Childhood is the Age of Greatest Impression:

Ecclesiastes 12:1 says: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil

days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, ‘I have no pleasure in them…’”

Earliest impressions remain with us the longest. I can honestly say that I was raised by

parents who mutually considered God's ways were the way we should live; knowing Him

and going to Church was the law of the land. I saw how important God was to them and

eventually I adopted the same set of principles. I also spent a lot of time with my

grandmother who was, at least to me, the closest person to Heaven on this earth. I mean,

when I was with her I acted better, I actually behaved for her because I wanted to. She was

so proper, so polite, so soft spoken that it was like the voice of God Himself! What an

influence in their lives. Especially to be able to stand against all the evil everywhere today. I

believe the most dangerous place for our Christian youth today is the public education

system. In fact, I would be terrified to put my children through the public school system

today where there is little mention or even respect for God.

Childhood is the Age of Greatest Innocence:

Consider the phrase, “Remember now thy Creator...while the evil days come not...”

(Ecclesiastes 12:1a). Childhood is the period of comparative innocence. It stands to reason

that childhood is the age in which to reach the mind before it is poisoned with human

viewpoint and philosophy. Especially when they get to college and some secular professor

pokes holes in what meager Spiritual foundation you may have laid down.

The Aim of Parenting:

This takes us to the details of parenting. Note that the word in Ecclesiastes is “train”

and not “teach” because training involves example, education, and discipline. Consider

Proverbs 4:11: “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in the right paths.”

Parenting takes time and it's an awesome responsibility. God help you if you ignore

this: “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from

it.” Unless our highest aim is the salvation of our children, then we train them in vain, if at

all. How vital it is to recognize that we can never lift our children higher than we are

ourselves. If we do not know the experience of God’s salvation ourselves, then we cannot

ever lead our children into it. Point? Godless parents will likely raise Godless children.

Consider the following when parenting:

1. Make sure of your own Christian experiences--that you have “saving faith.”

Children aren’t going to respond to religion when the issue is “relationship with

God.” If you cannot communicate from a platform of strength (being saved

yourself), they will see right through you.

2. Don’t be defeated. If you have young people not interested in God or even hostile

toward Christianity, pray until God intervenes and don’t doubt the power of the

Holy Spirit (John 16:8-15).

3. Have a great summer reconnecting with your kids....I'm going to!

Pastor Ron

Church Council President’s Comments

Greetings!

Hello Summer! It is hard to believe summer is here again. We ask that you don’t

forget church as you plan, attend, and enjoy all those summer activities. Please

remember that worship starts at 9:30am now through Labor Day.

During the May Church Council Meeting, we had a serious discussion about

security and safety of those attending church. It is hard to believe such a

discussion needs to take place. Unfortunately, with the news reporting more and

more churches that have encountered attacks by people intent on doing evil

things, we felt it necessary to develop protocols to protect people while attending

worship. Thus, council has decided that the church entrance will be locked during

services. Someone will also monitor the entrance during this time. It is extremely

sad that we are faced with this decision and hope everyone will understand this

action.

Don’t forget all the things that will happen at St. Stephen’s over the summer,

such as Worship, Praise Services, Singspiration, and Vacation Bible School.

Enjoy your Summer!

May God Bless You,

Paul

Music News and Views – June 2019 By Steve Suk

Now Trending in Church Music

When you look at the dates on the hymn tunes and text in any hymn book, you quickly see many are

100 to 200 years old. Isaac Watts wrote “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” in 1707, more than 300 years

ago. Entire modern industry has sprung up around Christian music, and well-coifed blonde women and

handsome men with three-day beards grace CD covers to compete for sales on the same shelves as secular

stars. Deb Loftis, retired executive director of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, says she’s

not qualified to talk about the “huge field” of church music in general, but in terms of congregational

singing, she notes several trends.

“Modern hymn writers tend to incorporate entire biblical stories, not just references to places in

scripture,” she says. “If there is a formula, it would be that the Bible story is told in the first part of the

hymn, and the rest of the hymn turns to reflection on what that means today, so it’s a little sermon right there

in the hymn.”

She cites preacher/hymn writers Thomas Troeger and Carl Daw Jr. as two who do that well. In the

first verse of “Silence, Frenzied, Unclean Spirit” by Troeger and Carol Doran, Jesus casts out demons in the

first verse. The second verse addresses God, saying those demons still thrive in the gray cells of our mind

and in the third verse, we plea for healing in our day. “We Have Come at Christ’s Own Bidding” by Daw is

a hymn on the transfiguration, and “The Hands That First Held Mary’s Child” by Troeger tells about Joseph

the carpenter as newborn Jesus’ earthly father. It reminds us that we “hold” the baby at Christmas to

remember that his path leads to the cross.

Modern congregational singing embraces a wide variety of musical genres. It’s no longer “a set of

words in four or five stanzas to a tune in four-part harmony that repeats exactly for every stanza.” Loftis

says there is an increase in hymns dealing with topics of concern for current believers, songs of true lament

that express grief and loss but don’t always move to a hopeful resolution at the end.

Modern hymns address divorce, domestic or community violence, justice and reconciliation,

peacemaking, and the dignity of all persons. Some are interfaith. “Our concept of a congregational song is

much broader now,” she explains. “There are songs that use a different melody structure, with more

harmonic variety than you can incorporate in strict four-part writing. There are jazz idioms and more color

chords apart from a standard harmony.” Instead of a four-stanza hymn, congregations are using shorter

forms: Taizé Community chants and short choruses from the Iona community. “While there are many

repetitions, these songs are not repetitious,” says Loftis. There is variety in the chants with slight word

changes and in the number of instruments used.

Baptists are “a little behind other congregations in psalms singing,” she adds, but more churches are

singing the scripture. There are chanting, guitars, a cantor, and choir: “every variety you can imagine.”

Other congregations utilize folk, jazz, hip-hop, and R&B styles in congregational singing as a “very

important way to relate to their community.” And she notes the continuing contemporary Christian song

genre, which is “becoming more sophisticated and less shallow.” Reflecting a growing awareness of the

universal Church, congregations are incorporating music and song styles from across the globe, even singing

in non-native languages. Glory to God, a newer Presbyterian hymnal, features a number of songs in other

languages, with English included.

Adult Choirs at Risk: The iconic image of congregational singing in Baptist churches is the adult choir. Sometimes the

choir is led by a formally educated or professional musician, but more often by a volunteer or music director

with little training in congregational music. Ken Wilson, who retired in March 2018 after 32 years as

minister of music at Knollwood Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, says a fact of current

church music life is that fewer people are willing and able to commit the time to practice every Wednesday

night and to sing every Sunday.

That was the model for most of his ministry – and for centuries in the Church. Wilson believes at

least some forms of that model “will survive but will be tough to sustain. The experience for choir members

has to be rich, invigorating and fresh.”Another challenge for many churches is that budget hawks will

question the need to buy new sheet music at $2.50 per copy. “You have drawers full of music; why do you

need new music?” Buying 60 copies of anthems and other choral music for each of 52 Sundays would be

prohibitive, but choirs need fresh, new songs to stay vibrant. To save money, Wilson found some churches

with which to exchange music and kept the annual budget for new music to $2,000.

Training Future Church Musicians: Paul Richardson taught church music at Southern Seminary – even while he was director of

admissions – until 1993 when he found a happier home at Samford University after trustees led the seminary

in a different direction as part of the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention. The

founding documents of Samford include the purposes of (1) To train ministers of the gospel, and (2) To train

leaders for the church in music. He’s not encountered similar founding purposes for music in other

educational institutions.

Music schools are costly, Richardson says. “You have to have specialized faculty, facilities, library

resources. It’s an expensive thing to do, no matter what kind of institution it is or how broad its vision.”

Even in 1942 when Ellis Fuller became president of Southern Seminary, coming from the pastorate of First

Baptist Church, Atlanta, faculty protested the potential loss of resources when he started a music education

program, following the models of sister seminaries New Orleans and Southwestern.

Fuller’s successor, Duke McCall, had to deal with the “bickering and infighting” still present, so he

asked trustees to abolish the music program. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he forced the trustees to own the

decision. When they rejected his request, Richardson says, McCall affirmed their decision and made music

education “an integral part of the curriculum.” Southwestern and New Orleans seminaries have also retained

their church music programs. Other schools have tried to start music programs but found them unsustainable

financially, Richardson says. Even at Samford, he never had more than 12 graduate students in church music

at one time. Recognizing that they had lots of students who already were leading worship in local churches

but had no vocational aspirations in church music, Samford developed a minor in worship leadership. We’re

essentially back to 1950,” Richardson explains. “We have musicians in church, most of whom are university

educated. They are good musicians, committed to the church, they love Jesus, but nobody’s getting

specialized training in church music.” He recognizes that “nobody” is hyperbole, but there are tens of

thousands of Baptist churches, and certainly music and congregational singing in the majority of them are

not being led by persons trained in church music.

In his case, Richardson is committed enough to the idea of special training in church music that he

thinks a church musician should have a master of divinity degree, the traditional degree of a pastor. “I think

nearly all groups of Christians have sung their faith,” he says. Like everything else, culture shapes style and

content and “every few years it seems – especially progressives – feel like they are discovering a new thing,

only to find out they were practices of people hundreds of years ago. We ignore the communion of saints at

our peril.” With a chuckle in his voice, Richardson says hymns are ecumenical, and if you asked most

Baptists to sing a good old Baptist hymn, “they would probably pick one by Fanny Crosby, who was a

Methodist.”

Even though this article comes from a Baptist slant, it cannot be refuted that we here at St. Stephen’s

can relate to this article. If you have a heart for music, and love the choir, and love singing, let me

know how this article spoke to you. Some choir members have spoken about some of this things

among themselves and to me as well. Just take 5 minutes and if there’s anything you can relate to,

email me, Steve Suk at musicdir1214@gmail.com and tell me your thoughts!

Thank you!

How to Plant a Garden

*For daily living, plant peas ~

Peace of mind

Peace of heart

Peace of Soul

*Plant rows of squash ~

Squash gossip

Squash indifference

Squash grumbling

*Plant rows of lettuce ~

Lettuce be faithful

Lettuce be kind

Lettuce be patient

*No garden is without turnips ~

Turnip for meetings

Turnip for service

Turnip to help one another

*We must have thyme ~

Thyme for each other

Thyme for family

Thyme for friends

And most importantly

Thyme for God

You reap what you sow!

June 2019

Our Worship Team List

Lectors:

Ushers: Greeters:

June 2

Kim Weidman

June 9

Amy Cannistraci

June 16

Janet Light

June 23

Johan Berger

June 30

Stephanie Bossler

June 2

Brian Weidman & Kim Weidman

June 9

Paul Weidman & Joy Weidman

June 16

Francis Feaser & Linda Focht

June 23

Richard Rights & Johan Berger

June 30

Dan Light & Janet Light

June 2

Stephanie Bossler

June 9

Linda Focht

June 16

Cindy Klingler & Francis Feaser

June 23

Richard Rights & Kaitlyn Day

June 30

Bruce Barry & June Barry

Counting Teams:

May 5 Team #4 Cindy Klingler

May 12 Team #5 Johan Berger

May 19 Team #1 June Barry

May 26 Team #2 Brian Weidman

June 30 Team # 3 Janet Light

Communion Usher Schedule: DATE: USHER 1: USHER 2:

June 9 Ken Shank

August 4 Janet Light Dan Light

September 1 Melody Gipe Stephanie Bossler

October 6 Erin Frantz Tyler Frantz

November 3 Bruce Barry June Barry

December 1 Johan Berger Devin Gill

January 5 Richard Rights Helen Crawford

6/04 Elizabeth Foy

6/05 Grant & Gracie Hoke

6/06 Brayden Gipe &

Hudson Weidman

6/09 Sue Reis

6/11 Heather Leonard

6/16 Conor Leonard

6/20 Jose P. Class

6/21 Judy Cleghorn

6/23 Monica Class

6/25 Brian Weidman

6/30 June Barry

6/05 Dan & Janet Light

CENTRAL PA FOOD BANK

Please consider supporting the food bank’s efforts by providing the most needed items:

Peanut Butter (to go size)

Shelf Stable 100% Fruit Juice

Canned Chicken and Tuna

Single serve Macaroni and Cheese

Shelf Stable Milk 8oz

Almonds

Individual Fruit Cups 4oz (peaches, pears, mixed fruit)

NURSERY SCHEDULE

**NO nursery schedule for summer months;

nursery will still be provided**

Sept. 9th Kristie Hilbert & Lindsey Welch

Sept. 16th Jill Barr & Kim Weidman

Sept. 23rd Kaitlyn Day & Steph Bossler

Sept. 30th Joanne Krall & Erin Frantz

Oct. 7th Janet Light & Amy Cannistraci

Oct. 14th Cindy Klingler & Joy Weidman

Oct. 21st Bruce & June Barry

Oct 28th Brian & Kim Weidman

Nov. 4th Kristie Hilbert & Lindsey Welch

Nov. 11th Jill Barr & Steph Bossler

Nov. 18th Kaitlyn Day & Steph Bossler

Nov. 25th Joanne Krall & Erin Frantz

Dec. 2nd Janet Light & Amy Cannistraci

Dec. 9th Cindy Klingler & Joy Weidman

Dec. 16th Brian & Kim Weidman

Dec. 23rd Bruce & June Barry

Dec. 30th Kristie Hilbert & Lindsey Welch

REMINDER!!!

Summer worship schedule begins on June 2nd

Worship will now begin at 9:30 am;

normal worship time and Christian Education

will resume in the fall.

Don’t Forget!

Our Facebook:

Haven’t liked us on

Facebook yet?

It’s not too late,

check us out at…

St. Stephen’s

Christian Fellowship

Church

Our Website:

Check us out online for

updates on news around

the church and church

information.

Check us out at:

http://saintstephenscfc.org

Also, if you have any

information for the website

or monthly Steeple see that

our secretary receives it as

early as possible!

Looking for Fall Sunday School Teacher(s) for

Pre-K-Kindergarten Class

Please contact Erin Frantz if interested in

volunteering (ecmf001@gmail.com or 717-376-9460)

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL!!!

Get ready for Giddy-Up Junction

June 23rd through June 27th

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

**As always, anyone who wants

to help during the week of VBS

is welcome to. We always have a

fun time sharing the word of

God and engaging in fellowship

with others.**

Mt. Gretna Bible Festival 2019 Worship Services: Fridays at 7:00 pm in June,

Sundays at 10:00 am in July and August

June 16th—Andy Roberts Jazz Quartet

June 23rd—Amy Yovanovich

June 30th—New Holland Band

July 7th—Piercing Word

July 14th—Men in Harmony

July 21st—Ron Susek

July 28th—Massed Choir

July 31st—Brothers in Grace

August 3rd—Handbell Festival

August 7th—The Hymns of Charles Wesley

August 11th—Pastor David Kieffer

August 18th—Susquehanna Chorale

August 25th—QuintEssentially Bass

**All programs begin at 7:00 pm in the Historic Tabernacle (3rd

St. & Glossbrenner Ave., GPS Address: 41 Boulevard St.

Mt. Gretna, PA 17064)

Oliver Myles Day's Baptism

June 2, 2019

9:30 am

Please help us shower Oliver with books

in honor of his Baptism.

Books may be placed in a basket in the Narthex.

June 2019

Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat.

1

2

]

\

3 4

5

6 7 8

Worship

9:30 am

Camera Club

(SH)

6:00 pm

9 10 11

12

13 14 15

Worship

9:30 am

Praise Service

6:30 pm

Church

Council

7:00 pm

16 17 18 19

20 21 22

Worship

9:30 am

23 24 25 26

Choir Practice

7:00 pm

Choir Practice

7:00 pm

27 28 29

Worship

9:30 am

VBS

6:30 – 8:00 pm

VBS

6:30 – 8:00 pm

VBS

6:30 –

8:00 pm

VBS

6:30 –

8:00 pm

VBS

6:30 –

8:00 pm

30

Worship

9:30 am

SH-Social Hall

CR-

Conference

Room

ST. STEPHEN’S CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH

1100 Hunters Chase Lane

Lebanon PA 17046

717-273-3912

Email: ststephcfc@comcast.net

Website:

www.saintstephenscfc.org

June 2019

Special thanks goes out to

everyone who will help

with VBS!

Without the continued

support of our volunteers,

we wouldn’t have such

God-filled fun times during

the week of VBS!!