News

TUESDAY, DEC 24 IN THE SANCTUARY • LIVE STREAMING AT 5 PM & 7:30 PM

2:30 pm: Worship includes Lessons and Carols and communion, with holiday music presented by the Derry Brass.

5:00 pm: A candlelight service of Lessons and Carols featuring participation by children and music for the entire family to enjoy.

7:30 pm: A traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service of Lessons and Carols, with music provided by the Derry Ringers and the Sanctuary Choir.

All Christmas Eve services include singing “Silent Night” and sharing candlelight, symbolizing that the Light of the World has come.

Child care available at 2:30 and 5 pm. The lounge adjacent to the Sanctuary offers a candle-free worship zone and a space where young families can move about freely.

Christmas Day at Derry Church
10:30 AM WEDNESDAY, DEC 25 IN THE CHAPEL LED BY PASTOR STEPHEN

Come as you are for a worship service that includes carol singing and a Christmas story, followed by refreshments, fellowship, and a birthday cake for Jesus.

The 2024 Arts Alive Cultural Series presents “A Derry Christmas,” a holiday concert featuring the Sanctuary Choir, Derry Ringers, soloists, harp, percussion, and orchestra.

Under the direction of Dan Dorty, musicians will present a program looking to the Nativity with works such as The Angel Gabriel, Paul Manz’s E’en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come, and Mack Wilberg’s beloved Gloria in Excelsis Deo featuring choir, orchestra, organ, percussion, and liturgical dance. 

The audience will be invited to sing along on selections including O Come, All Ye Faithful, Angels We Have Heard on High, and Mack Wilberg’s setting of Joy to the World. Featured soloists include Charley Miller, Bass; Janice Click Holl, Soprano; Julie Miller, Soprano; and Loren Geeting, Tenor. A handbell quartet will ring What Child is This, an exciting arrangement set by Kevin McChesney. Join us and prepare your heart for the love that has come down at Christmas!

No tickets needed. Doors open at 2:30 pm. Free will offering. 

The concert will be live streamed on derrypres.org and on YouTube.

Cash Flow – Operating Fund as of 10/31/24:

	ACTUAL	BUDGET
Income YTD:	$1,148,237	$1,104,333
Expenses YTD:	$1,022,995	$1,144,549
Surplus/Deficit:	$125,242	($40,216)

Presbyterian Women observes Orange Day every month. Orange Day is a day to raise awareness and take action to end violence against women and girls. As a bright and optimistic color, orange represents a future free from such violence. In Turkey this year, the Strengthening the Current Mechanisms of Healthcare Services for Survivors of Violence project aims to create a more effective intervention mechanism within the health system for women subjected to violence.

Wear orange or an orange ribbon to show support for this program and others worldwide to end exploitation of females.

You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. Corinthians 9:11-12

Each year Presbyterian Women and Friends heed the call of Paul to “supply the need of the saints” through giving to the Thank Offering. This grant program allocates 40% of the funds to health related ministries. Of the eight grants this year, six serve people in the United States and two are international.

From the Synod of South Atlantic, Forward Paths Foundation works to positively influence at-risk youth in Lake County, Florida, with the support needed to complete high school, maintain a consistent work history and learn financial management skill. The grant will help expand their services to more homeless, unaccompanied youth and those who at 18 have aged out of the foster care system. By providing housing and a personalized plan for each youth, this program makes possible a future for them to have meaningful work and relationships, and to live independently by the time they are 25.

From the Office of Immigration Issues under the General assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), this office helps churches by providing advice and resources towards a more just immigration system.  Advocacy work within the denomination is decentralized so that local needs are met.  As a result, the church’s voice is often not organized to speak out effectively and powerfully.  The grant will facilitate the purchase of software that tracks legislation and gives users a deep understanding of the issues and the ability to contact their lawmakers directly. With the advocacy software, Presbyterians can follow concerns unique to their location and also organize to offer a group voice working for justice and fairness.

The scriptural passage tells us that we must give in a way that honors God, plain and simple. Everything belongs to God first. As we receive more blessings in life, we are more able to give generously. We are blessed to be a blessing to others. 

Your gifts will bless many others. You may use the offering envelopes in the pew racks, give online or mail donations to the church office. Make checks payable to “PW Thank Offering.”  Thank you for your generosity.

On Sunday, Nov 10 we dedicated gifts received in support of Derry’s ministry in 2025. Your estimates of giving help the Session set a ministry and mission budget for the coming year.

Here is where we stand:

• 148 giving units completed 2025 Estimate of Giving Cards, compared to 185 at this time last year.
• 53 giving units increased their anticipated giving, compared to 65 last year.
• We received 9 new financial commitments totaling $27,480, compared to 19 totaling $67,175 last year.
• As of Nov 10, total estimated giving for 2025 is $719,612, compared to $853,651 last year.
• 96 giving units who made estimates of giving in 2024 have not yet submitted an estimate for 2025.
• Derry’s anticipated 2025 budget is a little over $1,423,000. To meet this proposed budget, we hope to receive estimates of giving totaling at least $1,200,000.

2024 has been an amazing year as we’ve celebrated our 300th anniversary. Let’s end this year strong as we look to continue growing our ministries and missions next year. To do this, we need your help in meeting our stewardship campaign goals. You can submit your 2025 Estimate of Giving online, call the church office (717-533-9667), or mail your estimate of giving card to the church (248 East Derry Road, Hershey PA 17033). Thanks, Derry!

6 PM TUESDAY, NOV 19 IN THE CHAPEL

Derry Church offers another opportunity to listen and learn from each other: this time we’re gathering as a worshiping community.

During the first conversation on Nov 11, a lot of time was spent talking about the media and truth. Participants wondered how different sides come to their ideas about what truth is, whether the truth of a situation can be known, and how the media sometimes twists the truth in order to scare, outrage, or get more clicks.

On Nov 19, the conversation will focus on how we discern truth in the age of mass media, 24/7 news, social media, and the internet. We will listen to one another, ask curious questions, and then share communion together as one beloved community.

8 AM – 12 PM SUNDAY, DEC 8 IN FELLOWSHIP HALL

Derry’s annual Jim Cooper Memorial Blood Drive is just a few weeks away. Everyone who comes in to donate will receive a buy one/get one free certificate for a Papa John’s large pizza, two admission vouchers to the Pennsylvania Auto Show and a blood donor T-shirt.

Choose from two options to schedule your appointment:

• Click here to schedule online
• Call 800-771-0059

Walk-ins also welcome, but those with appointments will be taken first. A form of ID is required to donate.

6 PM TUESDAY, DEC 17 IN THE CHAPEL

Christmas can be a painful time for some. It may be the first Christmas without a loved family member who has recently died; it may be a time that has always been difficult.

The constant refrain on radio and television, in shopping malls and churches, about the happiness of the season, about getting together with family and friends, reminds many people of what they have lost or have never had. The anguish of broken relationships, the insecurity of unemployment, the weariness of ill health, the pain of isolation – all these can make us feel very alone in the midst of the celebrating and spending. We need the space and time to acknowledge our sadness and concern. We need to know that we are not alone.

Our spirits sink as the days grow shorter. We feel the darkness growing deeper around us. We need encouragement to live the days ahead of us. For these reasons, Derry offers Longest Night worship.

Join Pastor Stephen and Derry friends in sharing and hearing prayers, scripture, communion and music that acknowledge that God’s presence is for those who mourn, for those who struggle  – and that God’s Word comes to shine light into our darkness. Everyone is welcome.

Therapy dogs will be present outside the Chapel as participants arrive and depart the service.

It’s time to order poinsettia plants that will brighten the church during the Advent season. After Christmas, you’re invited to take your poinsettias home to enjoy for weeks to come. A small plant is $13, large plants are $35. Order forms are available at the insert rack by the kitchen. Deadline: Sunday, Dec 8.  

International Friendsgiving is more than just a fundraiser: it’s a celebration of the diversity, resilience, and rich cultures of the refugee women in the CWS Marketplace, Church World Service (Harrisburg) women’s economic empowerment program.

Your Friendsgiving meal includes delicious family recipes from Nicaragua, Sudan, Belarus, Syria, and Myanmar. Purchases support the CWS Housing and Utilities Fund, which assists the most vulnerable clients as they work to rebuild their lives. In 2024 CWS welcomed 618 refugees, and the demand for support beyond basic needs makes events like Friendsgiving essential.

• Multi-course meal (feeds one person): $25
• 10-Pack: $230
• Donations: Welcome in addition to or instead of meal purchases
• Meal pickup: 2-5 pm Saturday, Nov 23 at Hadee Mosque, 245 Division Street, Harrisburg
• Click here for more info & to place your order

Join Derry friends June 14-22, 2025 on a Bridges to Community (BTC) trip to the Dominican Republic to build a home for a needy family. Cost is $1,600 per person, due by March 3, 2025. Applications for Oak Fund grants to help defray up to half of the trip cost are available online or from the church office. 

Sign up for the trip on the Mission and Peace bulletin board in the Narthex For more information, contact Pete Feil.