Bethany United Methodist Church

Bethany United Methodist Church is a congregation of about 315 members. The church can be found on the Southeast corner of York City. The church began as an evangelical congregation in 1869 meeting in the home of Michael Shellenberger, Sr. As the congregation grew larger, it met in a schoolhouse and a carpentry shop before the first church building was constructed in 1905. This building is now the site of Victor's Restaurant on Ogontz Street. In 1923 the property on the corner of Mt. Rose and Ogontz was purchased and two years later the existing building was built. Bethany is a family church with many of its older members still remembering the move into the current building in 1925 and working hard to complete the new sanctuary in 1956. It is a church in mission to the community with our Learning Center which hosts 70 children during the school year, our Annual Block Party, our 75 food baskets to families in need during the holidays and a host of other mission projects here in the community and around the world that we support. There is always room for one more at our services, our classes and any of our wonderful food events. Come join us!

BETHANY'S LEISURE GROUP - The Leisure Group bus will leave the parking lot at 11 am tomorrow, October 20th and head for SHADY MAPLE. Don't miss it!!

BASKET BINGO will be held today at the Vigilant Fire Co. beginning at 2 p.m. Doors open however, at noon. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15. All bingo profits will go to benefit the BCLC so come on out and support the BCLC.

S.O.A.R. - We will once again be participating in the S.O.A.R. Christmas Card Project. The cards which we receive will be placed by the SOAR organization into the care packages that are sent to support our military troops during the holiday season. DO NOT include any card envelopes. Just write a few words inside the card noting encouragement and appreciation for the hard work and sacrifices they have made for the American people and the freedom we so often take for granted. There will be a box in the Narthex until Sunday, October 26th. Please contact Beth Alwood-Fisher if you have any questions at 668-8207 after 6 p.m.

WOMEN OF FAITH FUNDRAISER - Women of Faith will be selling Mia Bella candles until October 26th. Price: $18.00. There is a signup sheet available in the Narthex. Money and orders will be due next Sunday!

MEN AND BOYS CAMPOUT - It's not to late to sign up! The men and boys campout will take place next weekend, October 24 thru October 26 at Poe Paddy State Park. The park is on Penn's Creek, which is one of the most famous trout streams in the U.S. The itinerary is limited (we will gather for breakfast, and again in the evening for supper and a campfire). Those who attend are free to spend the day as you wish. In addition to the fishing, there is a rail trail that provides the opportunity to bike or hike the Penn's Creek valley. There are numerous hiking trails in the area and scenic overlooks abound. Make sure you bring a camera. This is a tent camping trip with no electrical hookups, although there is a restroom adjacent to the campsite. If you are interested in attending, please contact Christian White at (717) 495-8993 for details.

HOSS'S FUNDRAISER - Come out and eat your lunch, your dinner or both at Hoss's Steak & Seafood House, 3604 E. Market Street, York between 11 am and 9:30 pm on Wednesday, October 29th. You will need a ticket for every guest check you have and you must present this ticket when ordering. Tickets may be obtained from Joe Alwood or Christian White. The best part is that Bethany Church will receive 20% of your guest check. So come on out and support your church!

GREAT ESCAPE 08: MISSION...POSSIBLE, Nov. 14-16, is the annual youth retreat of the Central PA Conference of The U.M. Church. Sign up by Sunday, October 19th so that we can "priceline" a room at discount. Youth are asked to pay a $25 co-pay (a small portion of the full cost of $95, not including the room). Web info is available at http://www.ccymspot.com/great.html. Anyone interested in sponsoring a youth can contact Pastor JP or the church office.

ALL SAINTS SUNDAY will be celebrated on November 2nd. We will read the roll of the honored dead and typically include members of Bethany. If you want to include in the roll of honored dead a saint in your life who passed away since All Saints 2007, please contact Pastor JP or JoAnn in the church office.

OUR THANKS to the youth and their leaders for preparing and serving a breakfast for which they profited $200. Also thanks to the BCLC staff for overseeing the rummage sale which brought in $475. Thanks to everyone who donated rummage for the sale.

YARD SALE THANK YOU - Praise the Lord! and Thank you to everyone who helped to make our 2nd Yard Sale a huge success! Special thanks to everyone who donated all the wonderful yard sale items, (a few of which, we have withheld for our Attic Treasure Table for our upcoming Christmas Bazaar). Also special thanks to our Bethany Bakers who baked yummy baked goods, to our men and our young men who set up and tore down the tables and were there for us throughout the day and to the Craft Guild Gals, who worked hard pricing the items and selling them on Saturday. We're tired but we're sooo happy! Because of all of you, we made $1,094.85!!! We donated $150 to purchase additional letters for our outside marquee and after paying for our yard sale ad, the balance will go to the Bethany Heating Fund, to help us through the winter.

THE BEST OF BETHANY COOKBOOK UPDATE - After just 2 weeks, we have approximately 70 cookbooks remaining. We urge you to purchase them now, because when they are gone, they are gone. They make wonderful gifts for Christmas for only $10 each! We will NOT be reordering. We sold cookbooks at the Yard Sale and they will also be for sale to the public at our upcoming Fall Fling on November 7 and 8.

OOOPS! - We do have an error in our cookbook. Page 78, Chocolate Mousse Pie by Karen Wagner. Please change the chocolate amount from 2-(1 oz.) squares to 4-(1oz.) squares and you will have a truly decadent pie. Sorry, Karen!!

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN will hold their annual covered dish social on Tuesday, October 21 beginning at 6 pm. Members should bring a covered dish to share. The United Methodist Men's group is invited to join us for dinner. Reminder...Ladies, please remember to bring your item for the Kitchen Basket which we will be donating to the York Cty. Council of Churches for their 2008 Festival of Trees. Suggestion hints: Cookbooks, kitchen gadgets, pot holders, dish towels, timer, etc.

WOMEN OF FAITH would like to have an Isaac's Community Night fundraiser. They are looking for someone who would be willing to be the chairperson for this project. This person would have to have access to a computer. If interested, call Karen Wagner at 843-3190. Karen will be glad to help this person with the fundraiser.

ANNUAL CHURCH CONFERENCE - Mark your calendars and plan to attend the annual church conference to be held on Wednesday evening, October 22nd at 7 p.m. Our district superintendent, Mark Webb, will be presiding over the meeting.

MEMBERS OF THE PPR COMMITTEE will be meeting Wednesday evening, October 22nd at 6:30 p.m. and again on Thursday evening, October 23rd at 6:30 p.m. Members are urged to attend both meetings, but if you cannot, please contact Carolyn Weidemann, Chair.