News

• Approved updates to the active membership roll: removed Michelle Califf who has moved to New York and is attending a new church and transferred Bonnie Houtz’s membership to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Lebanon.
• Called a Congregational meeting for Sunday, December 8 to review and approve 2025 Terms of Call for Pastor Stephen.
• Received a financial report from the Stewardship & Finance Committee giving a positive outlook – expenses are below budget and giving continues to be strong.
• Pastor Stephen presented a proposed statement and application for Derry’s new grant program, “Churches Helping Churches.” He has spoken with the Presbytery leaders and received permission to present the grant at the next Presbytery meeting on November 6. Session approved the program. More information can be found at this link.
• This year’s Stewardship campaign, “Share the Love that Shapes Us,” will begin on Sunday September 29 and continue through Sunday, November 10 with a congregational luncheon in Fellowship Hall following worship. There will be no 8 am worship that day so that we can worship and celebrate as one church family. An informational meeting to review the 2025 budget will occur on Sunday, October 6 at 8:45 (Chapel) and 11:45 (Room 7 & Zoom).
• Amanda Bentley was approved to receive two credit cards for purchasing hospitality supplies – a Visa card and Sam’s Club card.
• Thee Personnel committee requested approval to overrun their budget due unforeseen expenses associated with the onboarding and training of new employees.

3 PM SUNDAY, OCT 20: MEET AT CHERRY BLOSSOM CREAMERY, 1241 EAST CHOCOLATE AVENUE, HERSHEY

Everyone is welcome to join a fall bike ride with Derry friends! A short pre-ride orientation gives riders background on the evening’s bike tour routes:

• An 8-mile casual paced residential ride around the rolling hills of the Milton Hershey School campus 
• A 17-mile rolling rural out and back for experienced “road riders”
  

No prior group bicycle ride experience is necessary. No one will be left behind. No special attire is necessary, however bicycle helmets are required. Youth must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Planning to ride? Call or text David Whitenack at 717-881-0757.

9:15-10:15 AM SUNDAYS, NOV 3-24 IN THE JOHN ELDER CLASSROOM

The fall series of New Member Discovery Classes gives you the opportunity to learn more about the mission and ministry of Derry Church, and discover how you’d like to share your talents in the life of the church. You’ll also meet staff and leaders over the course of four weeks and tour the church. Those who decide to join will be received on Sunday, Nov 24.

Registration is appreciated but not required: sign up online or call the church office (717-533-9667).

10 AM – 12 PM SATURDAY, NOV 2 IN THE JOHN ELDER CLASSROOM 

For those grieving the loss of a loved one, this workshop helps with support, encouragement and advice for the upcoming holiday season. Free. RSVP requested: email the church office or call 717-533-9667.

An invitation from Debbie Hough, former Director of Christian Education at Derry Church

I had never ventured very far away except for places in the United States and a few trips to Europe when the invitation came to go to Pakistan. Truthfully, Pakistan was not on my bucket list, but after meeting Veda Javaid Gill and learning that the Presbyterian Church (USA) owned property and schools in the Punjab area (thanks to Presbyterian missionaries), I said yes to the invitation and my life and Derry’s has never been the same.

Pakistan is a Muslim country that was created from part of India back in 1947. That was a very turbulent time and sometimes violence still flares up. Yet the schools once begun by the missionaries started to come to life in 1998 when the Presbyterian Education Board of Pakistan (PEB) was reinstated with Veda as their Executive Director. The public education system of Pakistan is not very good, and attending a private school for Christian children is nearly impossible because of poverty. As it is, only about 40% of children in Pakistan receive an adequate education. The PEB schools are exceptional schools and scholarships and boarding houses are provided for the Christian students. 

I first went in 2015. Dr. Tom Davis went with me when I returned in 2017. Then the Derry Twelve (as we became known) went in 2019. Tom Davis, Drs. Cindy and Bill DeMuth, Doris and Peter Feil, Lois and Greg Harris, Ann Geist, Ann and Jim Kroh, Rev. Nancy Reinert, and I made the journey to Pakistan and returned determined to accept the challenge we were given to provide more scholarships and build a wing on the Sargodha Boys School. Sargodha is also where Derry has focused on giving scholarships. 

Next year we have another opportunity to return to Pakistan, dedicate the new school wing, and meet Derry’s scholarship students and their teachers. I invite you to come along with Pastor Stephen and me from October 17-25, 2025. Costs are very reasonable for a trip of this length: $2,500-$3,000 should cover your expenses. One thing I can guarantee is that you will be changed as you see the sights, smell the smells, eat the wonderful food, and, most importantly, meet the hardest working, most dedicated group of Christians that you have ever met. 

Space is limited, so speak with Pastor Stephen or call me at (717) 265-4733 as soon as possible. Go ahead and add Pakistan to your bucket list – you will be blessed, no doubt!

4 PM SUNDAY, NOV 2 IN THE SANCTUARY • FREE WILL OFFERING

The two-person orchestra known as Silver, Wood and Ivory will perform refreshingly original instrumental arrangements on flute, Celtic harp, and piano when they return to Derry Church next month. 

Tracy Dietrich, the Silver and Wood of the duo, was born with the gift of perfect pitch. She says that playing music came as second nature to her from the time she was a child. Tracy has played other instruments, but it’s the flute that has captured the passion of her musical voice. Tracy has mastered 19 different flutes and recorders ranging from the most primitive to the most sophisticated. These intricate varieties of flutes compliment her unique style

Cindy Wittenberg, the Ivory of the pair, grew up in a musical family with a classically trained mother. She began playing the piano at the age of four and began formal training by the age of eight. Cindy also learned to play the organ and the bassoon which allows her to draw from her symphonic experiences when composing music.

Together, this two-person orchestra of classically trained artists have fashioned a tapestry of music that stirs the soul. Tracy and Cindy both have instrumental performance degrees: Tracy from Indiana University of PA, and Cindy from Elizabethtown College and Peabody Conservatory.

The PW Circle will delve into the issue of land justice at 1 pm Wednesday, Oct 16 in the Lounge. Scriptural accounts of divinely ordered conquest and laws of Jubilee that support the rights of individual landowners stand in tension but are rooted in the perception that all the earth is God’s. Everyone is invited to join the discussion offered one week later than originally scheduled.

10 AM – 2 PM SATURDAY, OCT 12 AT THE HARRISBURG KOREAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CAMP HILL

Performances by students of the Harrisburg Korean Presbyterian Church and the Selahart Group will begin at 11 am, lasting about 30 to 40 minutes. There will also be performances featuring traditional Korean music, traditional Korean instruments, and K-pop dance plus Korean crafts such as tote bags, accessories, and gift bags.

The food menu will include items like beef bulgogi, pork bulgogi, japchae, bibimbap, yukgaejang, and kimbap. All proceeds will be donated to refugees in the Harrisburg area and for North Koreans’ disaster relief.