June 2016

Christ United Church of Christ, 1414 Ligonier Street

Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650

Worship Services for June

6/5 Sunday Morning Worship, 11:00 AM, Holy Communion

6/12 Sunday Morning Worship, 11:00 AM, Congregational Meeting

6/19 Sunday Morning Worship, Father’s Day, Donuts for Dads

6/26 Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 AM

No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey you are welcome here.

Concerns of the Congregation Please pray for: Connie Baker, Rich Baker, Jr., Rich Baker, Sr., Bella and her family, Edith

Bridge, Ruth Campbell, Jackie Crowe, Dottie Facemyer, Douglas Facemyer, Lois Feather,

August Heining, Keith, Thomas Kellner, Ava Klug, Louisa (Nan) Mattern, Eve-

lyn Neighly, Jean Noel, Walter Obstarczyk, Irene Patty, Louise Quitko, Mildred

Repko, Shirley Robb and Family on the death of Walter Robb, Terri Selembo,

Laken Smith, Kathy Somerville, Russ Upholster, Kit and Eddie Young.

Praying the roll: Everyone on the church roster will have a turn at experiencing

the comfort and peace of intentional prayer. We are family . . . .and families

pray for one another! Please keep these families in your thoughts and prayers

for the entire week.

Week of June 5

Richard and Janet Baumgardner; William Berkey; Ronald Berlin

Week of June 12

Robert and Geraldine Boring; Levi Boring; Seth Boring

Week of June 19

Mathew, Amanda, Alayna and Kylie Boring; Donna and John Bradjic;

Marty and Ivy Brant

Week of June 26

Edith Bridge; Donald Brinker; Lawrence Brinker

Communion Servers for June 5 Elder/Assistant … Sandy Gregory, Ellen Sautter

Deacons/Main Servers . .Ellen Sautter, Dorthy Paulovich, Art Dira, Jim O’Connor

Deacons/Auxillary Servers. . . Mick Mattern, Brian Musick

Ushers for June Greeters for June June 5 Mick Mattern and Judy Holden Mick Mattern and Judy Holden

June 12 Jim and Elena Sillaman Jim and Elena Sillaman

June 19 Rich Baker and Art Dira Art Dira (one needed)

June 26 Bob and Carolyn Stutzman (two needed)

.

WELCOME to our new Church Secretary, Caryn Dettling, who started working on

Monday, May 16. Caryn and her husband, Geary, live in Derry with their youngest

son, Justin. Their oldest son, Geary Levi, lives in Greensburg with his wife Kelsa.

Caryn is the worship leader at her church, Harvest Assembly in Derry. With a very mu-

sical family background, Caryn has been the costumer for Derry Area High School for

the lat seven years. She is excited to join the staff at Christ Church. Stop in the church

office to meet Caryn and say hello.

From Your Pastor

Greetings, Beloved!

As I write this I am preparing for my last summer residency in Chicago in order to com-

plete my Doctor of Ministry in Preaching. It has been an amazing journey so far and I

have met so many incredible colleagues from all over the world!

I thank you, my church family, for your prayers, encouragement and partnership on this

journey-especially those of you who have served on my Parish Project Group- meeting

with me after worship, where you’ve shared your thoughts and ideas about preaching.

One of the books I’ve been assigned to read for Core III this year is: Transforming the

Stone: Preaching through Resistance to Change by Barbara Lundblad. I was fortunate to

hear the Rev. Dr. Lundblad preach when my sister and I were at the Festival of Homilet-

ics in Minneapolis, MN. She is the Joe R. Engle Professor of Preaching at Union Theo-

logical Seminary in New York and a fabulous preacher.

She speaks of transformation not as something that just happens, but as “a gift of God.” I

love that! How often are we afraid to try something new because we are afraid? Afraid

of failure, afraid of judgment, afraid of losing what we hold dear? I can’t tell you how

many things I haven’t tried in the course of my life because I was paralyzed by the fear

of failure. What are YOU afraid of?

Change is necessary in life for growth. We can’t grow without change. The same is true

in the church. Barbara reminds us, “Christian traditions are filled with stories of change-

not change for the sake of change, but for the sake of the gospel.” For the sake of the

gospel. When people in the Bible meet up with Jesus they are transformed-it is impossi-

ble to stay the same once Jesus has touched you, or taught you, or healed you, or even

talked to you.

The same is true for us. When we experience Jesus through the Scriptures, or through

praise, or through prayer, or through the love of another, we too are transformed. We

cannot stay the same. All because we are beloved by GOD!

What is God calling YOU to do? What is God calling US to do as God’s church? For the

sake of the gospel? So that others might experience Christ?

Your partner on the journey,

Pastor Cindy

The 30 hr famine this year was far more fun than I expected. We started off

learning about the whole theme of "The Hunger Games". We got split up into

teams through a reaping ceremony. There were four teams, Mozambique,

Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Tanzania, and all had different colored headbands. I

was in Mozambique. So the first challenge we had to do in our group was

make up a team chant, a team outfit, and a team flag. After that we had our

dirt challenge. We had to balance a board of wood between two different

ropes. After a certain time, new tasks were thrown at us. One partner had to hold both ropes

with one hand. After a while my arm started to hurt!

After every challenge we had "Bible Cornucopia". We had a few minutes to study a paper on

one of our four countries. After we went up to a room blocked off and got asked questions.

The amount of questions was based on how well we did on previous challenges. The next

thing we did was called "Ogga Booga". It's a secret ritual which can only be talked about be-

tween members. Then we had another "Bible Cornucopia" and then off to bed.

The next morning we started off walking to the LES gym and played a version of Hungry

Hungry Hippos - Human Version. It was lots of fun but we were all really hungry so we got a

little bit angry. After the games, we had another "Bible Cornucopia". The next activity in the

agenda was a video scavenger hunt. We walked around Latrobe and took videos of everyone

completing random tasks like: running your fingers through a strangers beard, walking a

strangers dog, and sitting with a strangers family at lunch. When we got back we watched the

adventures the other team had. We played capture the flag and we had to run and hide. If our

flag got stolen we were out. Finally it was dinner time. They had lots of food and we were all

so hungry we all ate so much! The overall experience was really fun! I can't wait to partici-

pate next year! Thank you for your support!

Miranda DeAngelo

A Musical Note

The Choir year is coming to a close. I would like to thank each and every member of the

choir members for the sharing of their gifts given from God. You truly are an asset to this

church and definitely deserve a vacation.

The Bell Choir will have a musical offering this summer. Please keep an eye on the bulletin

announcements for the date.

I am still looking for special musical talents to offer this summer while the choir is on vaca-

tion. Please see me with any questions.

Musical Blessings,

Elizabeth Visnesky

Meet the New Members of Christ Church

Donna Dinco

Many many years ago I was born Donna Mae Snod-

grass in Darlington, PA where I lived for about 29

years. Then married in 1976 and moved to Latrobe

where I lived with a husband for 12 years, divorced

(best move I ever made) and have been living on my

own ever since.

Worked for 35 years give or take at Latronics

Corp. retired back a few years ago. Love being re-

tired gives me more time with family and to travel,

garden and take care of my dog Demi and two cats

Oscar and Simon. But, I don't like house work but

you know how that goes. We must do.

Rick Kunkle

Richard Kunkle is the recently widowed husband of

Ann W. Kunkle. Rick and Ann began their life to-

gether in Panama where he was a major in the Air

Force and Ann began her teaching and art career.

Rick is retired from active medical practice as the

Director of Emergency Medicine, Associate Medical

Director and Associate Director of Latrobe Area

Hospital.

He is also recently retired from Saint Vincent Col-

lege as an Assistant Professor and the Graduate Di-

rector of Operational Excellence in the McKenna

School. He still maintains a coaching relationship

with several companies in the tri-state area. His avo-

cations include blacksmithing, timber framing, wood

working, wine making and helping his son, Erik with

his Red Angus cow-calf operation.

Rick and Ann’s family consists of their son Erik and

daughter Rebecca. Erik and his wife of 11 years,

Loretta and their two children, Jordan and Camer-

on, live on the farm near New Florence with Rick.

Rebecca and her husband of 15 years, Mike and

their four children, Lily, Michael, Toby and Hank

live in Midland, Texas. Rick is most appreciative of

the kindness and acceptance he has found at Christ

UCC during this difficult time in his life.

Danette Meredith

I am a sister, aunt, niece and friend. I am join-

ing the church with my Aunt Donna. I have a

brother and sister, 5 nephews, 2 nieces and 2

great nephews who all live in the area.

My family and work is very important to me. I

am a RN, however, I now work in ensuring pa-

tients have coverage to receive the medication

dispensed by the specialty pharmacy I work

for. These medication are dispensed for rare

chronic conditions and are expensive. My team

works with each patient to ensure coverage and

assist them with alternative funding for out of

pocket expenses. I have been very blessed in my

life and work to share these blessings with fam-

ily and friends.

I have a German Shepard - Lacey and I are big

fans of the Pittsburg Penguins. I am excited to

get in know my new church family and friends.

Melvin (Mel) Metts-Patty)

is from Merrittstown, PA where he lives with his

husband of five years Bill Patty and their fur ba-

bies, P.J., Tigger and Jasmine. Mel works as a

Property Maintenance Specialist for SingleSource

Property Solutions in Southpointe.

In his free time, Mel likes to listen to music, spend

time with friends and family as well as make spe-

cial videos to share with those that mean the most

to him. Mel also likes to enter contests where he

got to meet celebrities such as Reba, Carrie Under-

wood and Josh Groban. Mel's also loves going to

Disney every two years with his husband Bill and

acting like a kid again.

Mel is excited and thrilled to have found such a warm

and welcoming church to call his home. From day one

Pastor Cindy made him and his husband feel welcomed

and supported. Mel is looking forward to growing and

learning as he walks down this spiritual road with his

fellow church members. Mel wants to share his love of

God and the peace it gives to all those that may be

struggling in their spirituality and has created a blog

titled, gay-christian.freeblog.site.

Chris Nash & Tina Henry

The Henry and Nash family started

almost 7 years ago. Chris Nash is a

department manager at Lowes in

Monroeville. Tina Henry works at

the Sheetz in Latrobe. We have four

children. Bryce, age 13, Payton, 12,

Keegan, 10 and

Mallorie, 15 months. The boys are

involved in soccer, baseball, football,

and cub scouts.

Bonnie Pickle

Bonnie resides in Irwin with her husband,

Joseph. Bonnie has four children and two

dogs.

She was a real estate agent for several

years and then worked as a mail carrier

and recently retired.

Bonnie is happy to have found a new

church family in Christ UCC.

Elizabeth Visnesky

Elizabeth was born and raised in Ford City,

PA and is an only child. She moved to the

Latrobe area six years ago and has been em-

ployed as the Music Director of Christ

Church for the past three years.

Elizabeth is also the Sales Manager at Aa-

ron’s Sales and Lease in Greensburg. She

lives in Latrobe with her cat, Geno.

In her spare time she enjoys bowling, travel-

ing, hiking, wine tasting and hockey.

Bob Zeiders

Bob lives in Greensburg with his wife,

Joan. He and Joan have been married for

52 years. They have two children, Laura

and Ben, and two grandchildren. He is re-

tired from Allegheny Energy with 38 years

of service. Bob enjoys attending Christ

Church and playing dominos. Bob was

born and raised in Yeagertown, PA.

===================================================

Congratulations, Graduates 2016

Marissa DeAngelo

Daughter of Pastor Cindy, graduat-

ed with a BA in Education from

Duquesne University on May 7,

2016. A member of the Alpha Phi

sorority, she held the position of

Director of Continuous Open Bid-

ing and earned a 3.7 GPA. She lives

in Pittsburgh where she currently

works as a waitress at the Steel

Cactus.

Congratulations, Graduates 2016

Kaleb Jewell

Son of Valerie and Steve

Demase; Grandson of Art

Dira will be graduating

from Deer Lakes Senior

High School with a GPA

of 3.98. He will be

attending Penn State

University and majoring

in Civil Engineering.

Hannah Caitlin Woitkowiak

Hannah will be graduating

from Hempfield Area High

School on June 2. She will

continue her education in the

cosmetology and esthetician

programs at the Douglas Edu-

cation Center in Monessen this

fall.

Hannah is the granddaughter

of Linda Repko, great-

granddaughter of Mildred

Repko and great-niece of Ken-

ny Repko.

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING The Annual Congregational Meeting of Christ Church will be

held on Sunday, June 12 following the 11:00 AM worship ser-

vice. Committee reports are due in the church office by

Wednesday June 1 in order to have them assembled and ready

for the congregation on Sunday, June 5.

MANY THANKS TO OUR FAITHFUL

VOLUNTEERS To all who helped cook and serve at the pancake breakfast on the Na-

tional Day of Prayer.

To Brian Musick and Rick Kunkle for helping to decorate the church

for worship at Pentecost.

To Wayne Sautter for picking up the geraniums and bringing them to the church.

To Sally Walker and Carolyn Stutzman for decorating the church with the beautiful flow-

ers.

To Leroy Reynolds, Dewey Silvis and Sally Walker for planting the geraniums around the

church.

CHURCH PICNIC - Sunday August 14

Timken Pavilion in Legion Keener Park.

Worship is at 11 AM followed by a covered dish lunch.

FLEA MARKET AND USED BOOK SALE

An early September date will soon be chosen for the annual flea market and book

sale. Please save your ‘fleas’ and books for this event.

ARTICLES FOR THE JULY/AUGUST

NEWSLETTER ARE DUE ON JUNE 15.

PLEASE SEND TO

COCOAKITTY2001@GMAIL.COM

OR GIVE TO LORETTA STARUK

Bienvenue will meet on Wednesday, June 1 at

12:30 PM at Red Lobster.

All ladies of the church are welcome to attend.

CONTACT US

Cindy Parker, Pastor - revcindyparker@gmail.com 724-787-4230

Elizabeth Visnesky, Organist/Choir Director - 724-672-6674

Loretta Staruk, Newsletter Editor - cocoakitty2001@gmail.com

Church Email: christchurchucc@verizon.net

Church Office Phone: 724-537-4901

Christ UCC Website - www.ucclatrobe.org

SUMMER SALAD BAR Join us as we slide into summer with salads, desserts, rolls and beverages

on Wednesday, June 8 between 11:00 AM and

1:00 PM. The $7 admission helps fund many local and international mis-

sions. Past fundraisers allowed us to contribute $200 to Union Mission,

$200 to Back Bay Mission and $300 to the Rotary “Food for Thought Back Pack Pro-

gram.” Thank you in advance for your support.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!!!!!!!

CALLING ALL MEN OF CHRIST CHURCH

The Lay Life and Mission Committee will be honoring all the men of the church

on Father’s Day, June 19. Donuts and other snacks will be served before the

11:00 AM worship service. (Woman are also invited).

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP will meet on Tuesday,

June 14 at 10:00 AM. The selection is Lila by Mari-

lynn Robinson in which the title character abandons her

homeless existence to become a minister’s wife. Lila re-

flects on her life on the run with a young drifter and her

efforts to reconcile her painful past with her husband’s

gentle Christian world view. New participants are always

welcome.

Baby Bottle Campaign 2016 The Life-Way Pregnancy Center has been chosen as Christ Church’s

Mission for the months of June and July. The center will provide

plastic baby bottles for us to take home and fill with loose change or folding mon-

ey. They will be collected at the end of July (or sooner if they are full). The cen-

ter provides life affirming alternatives, pregnancy and parenting support and so-

cial/community referrals. An “Earn while you Learn” program allows parents to

earn points to buy needed nursery supplies. Supporting this agency is our way of

reaching out to youn families in our own community so watch for the baby bot-

tles in June.

MINISTERIUM FOOD ITEMS FOR JUNE

The Greater Latrobe Ministerium asks churches to donate items for the Food Pan-

try distributions each month. The needed item for June is salad dressing (in plas-

tic bottles only) Thank you so much for your generosity. A box is in the sanctu-

ary to collect these items.

What has your Lay Life and Mission Committee Been up to?

You, Christ Church and friends have donated $504.00 for Heifer International. After some

discussion, the Lay Life and Mission Committee decided clean drinking water is one of the

most important issues. So we added a little extra ($96.00) from one of the salad bars and

bought two water systems.

Also from salad bars, in May, they donated $200 to Union Mission, $200 to Back Bay Mis-

sion and $300 to the “Food for Thought” backpack program through Latrobe Elementary

School.

Salad bars and your donations have supported a $50.00 per month donation to the West-

moreland County Food Bank. This has been an ongoing mission for the last year and a half.

Fifty dollars in cash, with the buying power of the Food Bank, translates into $250.00 worth

of food.

Sunday School and Bible Study Offerings

For several years, with money from Sunday School and Bible study, Christ Church

has been supporting a child in Jerusalem. Our current child is a little girl named

“Aseel Habruman.” Information about Aseel is on the bulletin board in the Chapel

along with cards she sent us at Christmas and Easter.

Save the date..July 18,19 & 20 6:00 -8:00PM It’s time for vacation bible school again so mark this date

on your calendar. Everyone is invited, there are lots of ways to

join in the fun and fellowship…attend (if you are one of God’s lit-

tle ones), volunteer to help, donate supplies or money and most important pray,

pray for the love of God to shine within each one of us. The planning committee

has felt led by God to go outside our church walls and extend this invitation to our

brothers and sisters at St Paul UCC, Trauger as well. We are excited to make this

time of learning and fun grow into an amazing experience where the children can

feel God’s presence, and we need you to be excited too…so plan ahead and start

inviting the little ones to join us. Watch for more details to follow.

Fourth of July Celebration Volunteers are needed to participate in the Fourth of July

hot dog/snack sale. Please inform Pastor Cindy if you are

willing to help with this outreach project.

Date to Remember Fourth of July Interfaith Patriotic Service—June 26, 2016

At Latrobe Elementary School at 7:00 PM.

The Italian Secret to a Long Marriage.

At St. Peter's Catholic Church in Toronto, they have weekly husbands' marriage

seminars.

At the session last week, the priest asked Giuseppe, who said he was approaching

his 50th wedding anniversary, to take a few minutes and share some insight into

how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years.

Giuseppe replied to the assembled husbands, 'Wella, I'va tried to treat her nicea, spenda da

money on her, but besta of all is, I tooka her to Italy for the 25th anniversary!'

The priest responded, 'Giuseppe, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here!

Please tell us what you are planning for your wife for your 50th anniversary?'

Giuseppe proudly replied, " I gonna go pick her up."

News From Penn West Conference

St. Paul's Day

"St. Paul's Day" will be held on June 25th on the campus of St. Paul's Continuing Care

Community in Greenville PA. We are planning on having a bus leave from the Conference

Office in Greensburg, with stops on the way. Activities for youth and adults are being

planned. And, on Sunday, June 26th, we are encouraging our churches to celebrate the work

of St. Paul's in their worship services. For a letter of invitation and registration forms, please

click here. Also, check out these videos, which are so well done and provide a wonderful

window into "Life at St. Paul's": at the Ridgewood ; at the Villas ; at the Heritage. We hope

to see you on June 25 in Greenville!

California, Here We Come!

The Mama’s and the Papa’s once sang, “California dreamin’ is becoming a reality.” That re-

ality is coming true for Penn West Conference! We’re going to California – Pennsylvania,

that is. The 54th Annual Gathering & Meeting of the Penn West Conference is scheduled to

be held at California University of Pennsylvania from June 10-11, 2016. Mark your calen-

dars and bring your surfboards! (Actually, leave your surfboards; the waves aren’t very high

on the Mon.) Advance materials for the Annual Gathering & Meeting are available on this

website here

Ambassadors from the Philippines

We are looking forward to receiving three ambassadors from the United Church of Christ in

the Philippines at our Conference Annual Gathering and Meeting June 10-11. Please see our

recent newsletter articles for more information on this and to learn how you can support this

important effort.

The United Church of Christ

National Youth Event 2016—BELIEVE! We are very much looking forward to the United Church of Christ National

Youth Event, which will be held July 26-30 at Coronado Springs Resort in Or-

lando, Florida. For more information regarding NYE, please contact Valarie

Poole, Associate for Youth Ministry, at 724-331-3460.

June 2016 Prayer Calendar

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Loving God, thank you for your faithfulness, day by day and season by season. Help us to trust you always in all circumstances and to be faithful in prayer each day. Amen.

1 Pray for students as the school year comes to an end.

2 Pray for those whose lives are paralyzed by fear.

3 Praise God for the amazing universe.

4 Thank God for storytellers, playwrights, and poets.

5 Thank God for our worship space.

6 Pray for the Consistory as they make tough decisions.

7 Pray for those who serve as our elected officials.

8 Thank God for music makers, those who compose and those who play.

9 Pray for those who are lonely.

10 Pray for those having marital difficulties.

11 Ask God for forgiveness for bad tempers and angry words.

12 Pray for Pastor Cindy and her family.

13 Thank God for the fellowship of other Christians.

14 Thank God for those who make us laugh.

15 Pray for the health and well-being of all refugees.

16 Lift up all those in our community and throughout the world who are going to bed hungry.

17 Praise God for the beauty of the seasons.

18 Prayers for the Penn West Conference as they hold their Annual Meeting.

19 Happy Father’s Day! Pray for fathers and all men of the church.

20 Lift up women and men who have been impacted by incarceration.

21 First Day of Summer Pray for

farmers and gardeners who grow our food

22 Thank God for writers, journalists, program makers and cameramen who enlarge our understanding.

23 Thank God for wild flowers and the flowers

we grow in our gardens.

24 Thank God for fruits, vegetables and all that we eat.

25 Pray for those who transport our food.

26 Remember former pastors and their families.

27 Pray for children without families.

28 Ask God to help you use your gifts in God’s service.

29 Pray the staff and clients of Life-Way Pregnancy.

30 Pray for families affected by suicide.

June 2016 Church Calendar

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

10:00 AM

Bible Study

6:30 PM Bible

Study

12:30 PM

Bienvenue at

Red Lobster

2

3

4

5

11:00 AM

Worship

Holy

Communion

6

6:00 PM

GLCC

Practice

6:30 PM

Lay Life

and

Mission

7

8

11:00 AM –

1:00 PM Salad

Bar

6:30 PM Bible

Study

9

10

Penn West

Conference

Annual

Meeting

11

7:30 AM

Men’s

Breakfast at

Eat’n Park

Penn West

Annual

Meeting

12

11:00 AM

Worship

Congrega-

tional Meeting

13

6:00 PM

Consistory

at

Sharky’s

Café

6:00 PM

GLCC

Choir

Practice

14

6:00 PM

Youth

Gathering

at Christ

Church

15

10:00 AM

Bible Study

6:30 PM Bible

Study

16

17

18

19

Happy

Father’s Day!

11:00 AM

Worship –

Donuts for

Dads

20

6:00 PM

GLCC

Choir

Practice

21

22

6:30 PM Bible

Study

23

24

25

26

11:00 AM

Worship

7:00 PM

Community

Interfaith

Patriotic

Service at LES

27

28

8:30 AM

Senior Food

Distribution

29

6:30 PM Bible

Study

30