10 June 2021
Greetings to you Yorkshirians!
There have been a lot of great things happening this week at Yorkshire. I had a great time in fellowship with a group of folks on Tuesday evening to discuss how we can best approach the biblical mandate of Christ in being His “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV). In a recent survey of our leadership team, the number one emphasis identified as a need for our church was outreach to our community and the mission field. This response was nearly double that of the second cause identified (Fellowship). Susan Workinger, our Missions Team Leader, is recruiting a mission’s team. Over the past few weeks, we have invited the church and our leaders to participate in this discussion to develop a strategy to accomplish this task which has been identified as one of our top priorities. In addition to Susan, Jim Valentine (Ad Council Chair), and my wife and I, four others participated in this great discussion and fellowship (Julie Mann, Laura Why, John Remsen, and Mary Beaverson).
As a result of our meeting, we identified three areas that we will be focusing on. The first area will include a focus on prison ministry. Over the next few weeks, a subset of the Missions group will begin to understand what this looks like. This may develop as a direct ministry, or a partner ministry with groups that have a dedicated focus on serving those who are struggling as a result of being incarcerated. Another area identified is in Child Advocacy support. There are many opportunities for us to provide support to agencies that have a focus and a need for resources that work in and around Child Advocacy. The last area that was voted on and agreed to was that we will be supporting 4 areas of missions and/or missionaries with financial support. This includes monthly support for Henry Hauser and his missionary work in Africa, Rebecca Jacobs of Time Ministries and her work in the Dominican Republic, and James Reacher and his work with CRU (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ) at West Chester State University. James will be speaking to the Yorkshire Church fellowship on Sunday, July 4th, to discuss his testimony and passion for Youth and Young Adult ministry. Rebecca will be sharing her witness with us in September. The other area that was agreed on was providing $1,000.00 to the York City Day Camp initiative which is a partner effort with Messiah UMC – and Tanya Brubaker, Pastor of Calvary UMC, both in the city.
Our Casserole Ministry, which supports Our Daily Bread, also known as the Soup Kitchen, was discussed also. Since I have been here at Yorkshire, nearly a year now, I have seen a steady parade of foil covered casserole trays coming through the doors and into the freezer in the kitchen. I have always identified these as simply “casseroles.” When at the church and feeling the pangs of hunger, I have often felt the temptation to explore these silver containers of goodness to determine what I might eat. In my mind I always imagined that one of the vessels may contain something delicious like Tuna Noodle casserole. I envisioned that one just might contain Chicken Galore with stuffing and cream of chicken soup. Sometimes I even thought that I might be lucky enough to find Baked Ziti, or Shepherd’s Pie. But, even with the power of temptation, I never explored the aluminum packages to find what treasures may lie inside. Little did I know then, that all of these containers of delight contained the same recipe– Zippy Beef! Growing up in a generation where “casserole” was a part of most of our family meal titles (SPAM Casserole was a staple), I have never heard of “Zippy Beef.” Honestly, if
I had heard this term in any other setting, I may have assumed it was a sandwich or platter that might be ordered at Chuck E Cheeses, or at a theme park restaurant next to the Zippy Boats or Zippy Cars ride. When I googled “Zippy Beef,” I was amazed to find just how prevalent this dish is… how, have I never
heard of “Zippy Beef?”
Oh well. But the good news is that the team is excited to continue this effort of the Yorkshire Church and recruiting additional chefs to support the effort! So, if you are interested in providing a Zippy Beef casserole, I understand that the recipe is readily available. This is a once per month effort! If you would like more info on this before you see it in the announcements, just give Susan Workinger a call (717-668-2654), and she will get you connected to the right folks to begin your support to this great effort. There is also an effort underway to explore the possibility of once again providing servers at the point of distribution. There will be much more info to come!
I also was blessed to be a part of fellowship with a few folks that responded to our request for volunteers to re- launch our Greeting or Welcome Ministry for Sunday morning worship. One of the most important moments in a first-time visitor’s experience at a new church happens within the first two minutes of getting out of their car in the parking lot and entering the portals of the church. We agreed that visitors to our church are a gift from God. Have you ever thought about it like that? When folks pray that God leads them to a church that will be able to help them grow in whatever areas of life that they are seeking, He will send them to a church that will answer that prayer. A question that we pondered was in a sense, “will God send people to a church that is not ready to receive them?” Our discussions and training revolved around that question. How do we receive new visitors and guests to Yorkshire? Do we have the proper processes and programs in place to meet the needs of those that God may send to us? When folks come through our doors, do they enter a welcoming venue that allows for easy interaction? Do we have the proper information available to them? Is the environment conducive to personal interaction, discussion, and fellowship outside of the sanctuary? I am very thankful for the ideas, input and discussion of Karen and Eric Adamson, Kristin Berman and Jim Valentine who stepped up to help launch this critical ministry. Some exciting things to look for as a result will be an overhaul of our Narthex Lobby to modernize and make it a more welcoming area for not only first-time visitors, but our
existing fellowship as well. Some teasers for you (just ideas, of course )… it may include a coffee station, welcome center, and some new ways to encourage personal interaction and fellowship. If you would like to be a part of our Welcoming/Greeting ministry and these discussions, please let me know, or, let Kristin, Karen, Eric, Jim, or anyone else you see greeting each Sunday know. We absolutely need folks to participate. Last week, Beth Gross introduced us to a great closing hymn “The Church Song,” which she played as the postlude. The first line of the hymn says, “We are the church…” So, to successfully launch an effective Welcoming ministry, we need “we” to be the church!
Tonight (Thursday 10 June), our leadership team and scout leaders will hear a presentation from Austin Strickler, a young man in Troop 25 who is seeking his Eagle Scout Designation. His project is to convert our outdoor garden area into a play area for our Joyful Noise Preschool Children. As our preschool continues to grow, this will be a tremendous enhancement to our offerings. I will cover more about that next week which will also include our financial numbers through the end of May! We are a blessed Church!
Have a Great and Blessed Day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
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