continued on page 2

A Message from the Pastor

My Friends,

The whole scene was rather comical. Over the weekend Lisa and I

were out and about, and we decided to stop at a Mexican restaurant in

Reading for lunch. We were early, so there was plenty of seating. The

hostess took us to the back to a booth in the corner. Just before we got

there, I noticed something hanging in the air directly in front of me. It

was a spider, clinging precariously to a strand of webbing.

I’m not one to be too put off by most spiders, so I nonchalantly

walked aside, pointing it out to the hostess as a polite gesture. After be-

ing seated, I saw three employees approaching the spot where the little

critter was hanging out. Her fate was in their hands. They brought with

them a trash can and a large broom! Three people, a broom, and a large

can…all for one spider about the size of a BB.

After a lot of giggling and squealing, the offending creature was con-

tained, and the threat was ended. Life went back to normal. As I said, it

was all rather amusing to watch.

We equate spiders with bad things, don’t we? It might be poisonous,

and we could get sick or even die! Even if it does nothing more than

bite, we might be left with a welt or sore spot. So we as a general rule

go out of our way to avoid contact with them. Why don’t we treat true

evil with the same wariness?

Sin surrounds us, yet we often treat it as a friend and not the enemy that

it is. We ought to fear sin and its consequences far more than we do spi-

ders, snakes, and even each other. Sin is the one thing that, left unre-

solved and unforgiven, can and will condemn us forever. Spider bites you

can get over (most of the time!), but sin ravages the soul for eternity.

Just like you can walk around a hanging spider, there is a way to avoid

sin (when you see it approaching). Paul gave the prescription in 1 Corin-

thians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to

man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your

ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape,

that you may be able to endure it.” God shows you the way to get out of

the trap! You do not have to fear sin, as long as Christ is your Lord. Yes,

Mark Your Calendar

Missions’ Fair

June 14 after Worship

In This Issue Pastor’s Message ....................... 1

Birthdays/Anniversaries ............ 2

Admin. Directory ....................... 2

Happenings ................................ 3

Music Director’s Note ............... 4

Congregational Stats .................. 5

Directory Update ....................... 6

Calendar of Events..................... 7

Pastor’s Helper

June 2015 | Monthly Newsletter of Salem E. R. Church, Hellers

2

you need to have a healthy respect for its effects and the dam-

age sin can do. But it is not going to be your undoing!

Do you have unconfessed sin lurking in your heart? Is it poi-

soning your relationship with others, and with the Lord? Take

it up with him. Tell him about it. Ask God to forgive you, and

promise to run away from sin as fast as you can! When you

confess your sin, God is faithful and just to forgive it (1 John

1:9, paraphrased). So, as frightening as the prospect of sin may

be, it need not overwhelm you. This is something Jesus has

done for you, as he hung on the Cross. He took the load of your

sin upon himself that you may be found righteous.

Don’t fear spiders. Nothing in all creation has the power to

kill the soul. Sin is the only thing that can accomplish that, and

it does it quite well! But greater is He who is in you than he

who is in the world, and sin has no place in the presence of

Christ. Go to him now and make things right. You will live

with much more assurance and courage.

Blessings

continued from page 1

SALEM EVANGELICAL REFORMED CHURCH, HELLERS

2555 Horseshoe Rd. Lancaster, PA 17601

656-9249 | www.salemhellers.com www.facebook.com/salemhellers

Bruce E. Tully, Pastor Office: 656-8064 Cell: 413-8417

Email: pastor@salemhellers.com

Catherine Walters, Office Administrator Office: 656-9249

Email: info@salemhellers.com Office Hours: Mon.–Fri., 9am–2pm

Skip Reynolds, Consistory President 656-9781

CONSISTORY Skip Reynolds, President; Chuck Hanna,

Vice President; George Cooper, Secretary; Merv Bare; Sandi Moffett, Ron Nickel; Marie Peazzoni; Linda

Ranck; Betty Snyder; and Bruce Tully

PASTOR’S HELPER DEADLINE The deadline for the July/August Pastor’s Helper will be Monday,

June 15. Please have all articles, committee dates, and

special events in by this deadline. Thanks for your help in getting the

PH published on time!

Glorify Grow Go

June Anniversaries

6/2: Ivan & Joann Brian (58th)

6/9: Gene & Eunice Boyer (53rd)

6/18: Ragen & Deb Burns (32nd)

6/19: Bob & Sandy Geist (5th)

6/28: Ron & Elisa Nickel (7th)

6/29: Dick & Dorothy Ruoss (68th)

6/30: Merv & Shirley Bare (59th)

(Notify the church office if your birthday or

anniversary has not been included.)

June Birthdays

6/1: Ruth Good

6/2: Merv Bare

6/4: Carrie Kraft

6/5: Marlene Reynolds

6/8: Chuck Hanna

6/11: Ruth Blevins

6/16: Katie Burns

6/22: Elma Barr

Levi King

6/24: Betty Jane Gochnauer

Bruce Ranck

6/28: Tyler Buckwalter

6/30: Bruce Kofroth

3

It’s a Fair... A Missions’ Fair

Do you know who ORI is? Or

who COM is? What about who

the Ebys are, or the Davises? We,

as a church, support many differ-

ent ministries financially and

many different ones prayerfully.

That means that you are a part of

that mission work. But do you

know what they are and what they

do? It is our hope that at the Mis-

sions’ Fair you will take the time

to speak to these people and un-

derstand how they feel called to

do the work they do. So mark

your calendar for June 14! For a

special hour after church come

and see what each one is about.

You can only be touched by their

great work if you reach out to un-

derstand how it is that you have a

part in it—whether it is financial

or prayerful. Both are a vital part

of the work they do! We’ll see

you at the fair.

Meeting Cancellation The May Consistory meeting was

cancelled so there are no minutes

to publish in this newsletter. They

will reconvene on June 9th.

Attention Art Lovers The Off the Wall Online Art Auc-

tion will be held June 5-19. Pro-

ceeds benefit Friendship Heart

Gallery, an extension of Friend-

ship Community, which provides

value through artistic expression

to artists with developmental and

intellectual disabilities.

The auction will feature artwork

by Heart Artists and professional

artists including Liz Hess and

Andrew Wyeth. Auction pieces

will be on display at the FH

Gallery (118 N. Water St., Suite

101, Lancaster) and can also be

viewed at www.friendshipart.net.

Visit their website to place your

bid!

Mission Update Barb Freed reports that the or-

phanage’s cook, driver, and a

teacher have all quit. She asks for

prayers to help them find new

staff members who love God and

are willing to work hard and do

a good job. She also asks for

prayers for their safety after a

local woman escaped from an

attempted kidnapping.

Risa finished her classes and

will be returning to the states

soon. Abby keeps her mornings

free to help at the church and then

drive kids in the afternoon. Omar

goes to school, plays soccer, and

spends time with his friends.

Got Wheels? Got wheels and feel the generous

tug to help Hospice & Communi-

ty Care make a difference in end-

of-life care? Do-

nate your car,

truck, SUV,

motorcycle, RV,

boat, or ATV to the Labor Day

Auction and watch it make money

that will be used to directly im-

pact the patients and families re-

ceiving hospice.

Vehicles will be auctioned of on

Sept. 7. for information on dating

a vehicle contact Natalie Scolnick

at 295-3900.

Our Graduate We would like to

congratulate our

2015 high school

graduate, Laura

Gribble, daughter

of Scott & Janet Gribble. She’s

graduating from CV High School

on June 4, 2015. Her activities

included tennis (of which she was

the team captain), band, National

Honors Society, Tri-M Music

Honors Society, and Interact. She

plans to attend Elizabethtown

College in the fall to study Music

Therapy.

May God be with her and bless

her as she ventures into new

paths.

CVCCS NEEDS:

Picnic supplies: mustard, relish, mayo, baked

beans, and s’mores.

School shoes of all sizes

Shorts, pants, and shirts for boys in sizes 6-10

New underwear and socks of all sizes

4

A Note From Our Music Director

Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.

Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:19)

Let’s focus on the word “sing.” In the Book of Psalms I found 108 references to the word sing or a derivative such

as singing or song.

According to composer Leonard Bernstein, the best translation of Genesis 1:3 is not, “And God said.” The best

translation from Hebrew is, “And God sang.” God sang the universe into existence! Ken Carey says, “In the begin-

ning was the creative sound that contained within it every symphony, harmony, and melody.”

Revelation 5:13 says, “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and

all that is in them, singing.” God is musical. He created everything with the capacity to make music. He surrounds

himself with non-stop singing. So let me go out on a limb and say that singing is important to God! When we sing,

we offer ourselves in worship. No one else can sing for you, and no one else can sing like you. Your song is your

unique vocal gift to God as a form of worship. Henry Van Dyke is quoted as saying, “Use the talents you possess,

for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best.”

Worship is not a spectator event. Worship is where spiritual breakthroughs happen! It was midnight in a middle-

eastern prison cell when Paul and Silas started praising God. Their bodies were chained, but their spirits soared. As

they sang, there was a violent earthquake. Acts 16:26 says, “Prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came

loose.” That’s what happens when we worship.

At a recent Worship Team meeting the question was asked, “How can we improve our congregational singing?”

Naturally, as Music Director, all eyes turned toward me. The answer that I gave was surprisingly simple; it would

cost nothing, take no extra time to accomplish, and would immediately improve our congregational singing by at

least 50%. If that is the case, let’s do it, right?

Easier said than done! Why? Because change is difficult, and the longer we don’t change the more difficult it be-

comes. I have gone to the same family doctor since 1977. Although there are capable professional doctors within a

10 minute drive from my home, I would rather drive 30 minutes because I am comfortable with my doctor.

The operative word here is comfortable. It is easier to drive the 30 minutes than make the changes that would

seem logical. But if my doctor retired I would be forced to make a change, and I think you would agree that it

would be for my own good to make that change.

So, we resist change because we are comfortable, but we make changes when they need to be made for our bene-

fit. Sounds reasonable, right?

OK…what does this have to do with improving our worship time singing? And what is this simple solution? The

answer is to move, relocate. How do you like that? I know…you don’t like that idea at all. I am staying right here

at Salem Hellers!!!! And you should. I didn’t say move to another church. I mean to relocate where you sit at Sa-

lem Hellers. You want to know why, right? Well here is the answer. If you look around the sanctuary on a Sunday

morning, we are scattered all about, and there is a clear division in the floor plan between the front and back half of

the sanctuary. When we have had the sanctuary full during our Cantatas the singing has been strong because of the

proximity of the people around you. When people on all sides are singing you are encouraged and more comforta-

ble to join in.

Our normal Sunday morning worship attendance is less than 100 people, and when scattered all around the front

and back of the Sanctuary, there is no sense of ensemble (a musical term for close-knit community). The solution is

to move to the front part of the sanctuary. At some point during the summer we need to try this one Sunday with a

goal of finding new seats by Labor Day. Remember that change takes time. We resist change until we need to for

our benefit.

I know that as a congregation we love good music. We want to please God, and we want to do whatever we can

to help Salem Hellers. Over the years, though, the size of our congregation has changed. So, please move up front.

We need to do this for our benefit as a worshipping congregation. It costs nothing, takes no extra time to accom-

plish, and will immediately improve our congregational singing by at least 50%.

Blessings,

Ron

5

Congregational Statistics

APRIL CONTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION:

Current ....................... $11,533.24

Missions ........................ 1,451.00

Improvements ................... 538.00

Lenten ................................. 31.00

Initial .................................. 10.00

Easter ................................ 693.00

Mission Trip ..................... 576.00

In-kind Contr. .................... 22.96

Cemetery Fund .............. 1,200.00

Stained Glass Reno ........... 880.00

Open Door Yth. Ctr. .......... 44.00

Lay Life ............................ 591.35

Sunday School .................. 156.00

TOTAL: .................... $17,726.55

FUND BALANCES AS OF 4/30/15

Current Fund ............. $32,942.35

Missions ........................ 1,779.46

Missions Trip ............... 11,705.75

Improvements ................... 310.22

Memorial ....................... 2,022.67

Cemetery ....................... 4,772.61

Perpetual Care ........... 154,670.08

Investment ................... 95,856.01

TOTAL: .................. $304,059.15

APRIL ATTENDANCE:

Worship Sun. S.

Apr. 5 113 18

Apr. 12 76 16

Apr. 19 84 20

Apr. 26 80 17

Average worship attendance for

Apr. 2015: 88; Apr. 2014: 105.

Average Sunday school attendance

for Apr. 2015: 18; Apr. 2014: 20.

Worship Assistants GREETERS

June 7: Skip Reynolds and

Jo Ann Gribble

June 14: Judy Wenger and

Betty Jane Gochnauer

June 21: Russ & Lorraine Latschar

June 28: Bill & Cindy Portner

FLOWER DISTRIBUTORS

June 7: Mary Lichty and

Betsy Lichty

June 14: Judy Wenger and

Betty Jane Gochnauer

June 21: Marie Peazzoni

June 28: June Steller

OFFERING BAGGERS

Merv Bare and George Cooper

HEAD USHER AND USHERS

Bruce Ranck, Head Usher

Skip Reynolds, Merv Bare, and

Bob & Sandy Geist

LAY LEADERS

June 7: Mark Steller

June 14: Lisa Tully

June 21: Linda Ranck

June 28: George Cooper

SOUND & VIDEO TECH TEAM

Ragen Burns, Erin Hanna,

Doug Rineer, and Laura Gribble

Visit us at

www.salemhellers.com

A Fond Farewell How many of you remember the TV show M*A*S*H in which a lowly corporal named Walter O’Reilly completely ran

the entire medical unit. He was always ahead of his superiors and his special gift was being able to detect incoming

medical helicopters before anyone else could. It was as though he had built-in RADAR.

Now we must bid farewell to our very own RADAR—Office Administrator, Catherine Walters. Her title alone sounds

very cold and impersonal. But for those of us who have had the privilege to work closely with her, we know that she

performed her job better than any job description could ever spell out. Rather than being just an office administrator, she

seemed to have a gift for being an office anticipator. She often did things before they were due and, at times, before

anyone even asked that they be done.

She made my time as an office holder much easier, and, more than once, I was reminded that a certain something was

due. She always seemed willing to allow a little extra time to complete a task, even if it meant cutting her time allotment

down. And through it all, she never seemed to be overwhelmed or upset and tended to treat difficult tasks as a challenge.

She could always be relied on and one could always be assured that if she promised something, it would be done on

time, accurately, and efficiently.

We have tried our best to keep her here (by all that is legal and allowed in the Bible)—flooding her with compliments,

giving her nearly everything she requests, even refusing her resignation. But we fully understand that with her children

growing up, she can now take on a full-time job that offers benefits that we cannot possibly provide. It can hardly be

argued that she did not greatly further God’s kingdom here on earth through Salem Hellers with her efforts. And so,

faithful and obedient servant, we will miss you, but we want to wish you God’s richest blessings for you in the future

and say “Job well done and thank you again, ‘~Catherine.’ ”

6

Directory Update Since the printing of the church directory in 2012, we’ve had new members join us and others have moved.

Below is an addendum to that directory.

NEW MEMBERS

Gene & Eunice Boyer

216 Winding Hill Dr.

Lancaster, PA 17601

892-1313

eboyer7@verizon.net

Pat Cornette

52 Loggin Rd.

Leola, PA 17540

656-6860

nanapat@comcast.net

Ann Dell

3 Blaine Ave.

Leola, PA 17540

656-7738

akstauffer@juno.com

Theon Duffy

459 Greenland Dr.

Lancaster, PA 17602

293-7199

tduffy345@aol.com

Kathy Hinerdeer

24 Mayfield Dr.

Leola, PA 17540

Ronald & Jennifer Kling

18 Dogwood Dr.

Leola, PA 17540

940-5178 (Ron’s cell)

Elisa Nickel

1189 Seglock Rd.

Lititz, PA 17543

733-0069 (h)

875-1365 (c)

morrison#dejazzd.com

Bob Steffy

1849 Speedwell Rd.

Lancaster, PA 17601

672-0752

MOVED

Al & Phyllis Bartholomew

3174 Connemara Dr.

Ormond Beach, FL 32174

(717) 575-4423 (Al’s cell)

(717) 627-4476 (Phyllis’ cell)

phylnal@gmail.com

Ruth Good

PO Box 169

Loysville, PA 17047

BJ Groff

1001 E. Oregon Rd.

Lititz, PA 17543

509-5859

bjgroff61@gmail.com

Dave Hill

Moravian Manor

300 W. Lemon St., Rm. 3R

Lititz, PA 17543

625-6787

Shirley Kinckiner

251 Patterson Rd.

Box 640

Haines City, FL 33844

(717) 682-1282

northgirl@comcast.net

Marty Kuhn

132 N. Lynwood Ln.

Exton, PA 19341

(610) 524-7501

Janet Mellinger

Arden Courts

5151 Hamilton Blvd.

Allentown, PA 18106

Sandi Moffett

~ Alison

2508 Golden Dr.

East Petersburg, PA 17520

875-5078 (c)

moffett.sandra@yahoo.com

Dorothy Paules

600 E. Roseville Rd., Apt. 1116

Lancaster, PA 17601

358-9661

Marian Rettew

Oak Leaf Manor

2101 Wabank Rd., Rm. A3

Millersville, PA 17551

940-4889 (c)

Arlene Rineer

Ephrata Manor

99 Bethany Rd., N106

Ephrata, PA 17522

738-7429

Doll Schaich

433 S. Kinzer Ave., Apt. 254GS

New Holland, PA 17557

201-9695 (c)

Kitty Sollenberger

433 S. Kinzer Ave.

Mountain View Rm. B115

New Holland, PA 17557

355-6393

Betty & John Snyder

1001 E. Oregon Rd.

1541 Wisteria Dr.

Lititz, PA 17543

381-2744 (h)

475-7395 (Betty’s cell)

bettybirder@gmail.com

7

June 2015

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 10am Agape

7pm Property

3 6:45pm Evening Prayer

7:30pm Gathering

4 5 6

7 9am Sunday school

10:15am Worship & Communion

8 6:30pm Missions

9 7pm Consistory

10 6:45pm Evening Prayer

7:30pm Gathering

11 12 13

14

15 16 17 6:45pm Evening Prayer

7:30pm Gathering

18 19 20

21 9am Sunday school

10:15am Worship

22 7pm Worship Team

23 7pm Spiritual Council

24 6:45pm Evening Prayer

25 26 27

28 9am Sunday school

10:15am Worship

29 7pm Worship Team

30

9am Sunday school

10:15am Worship

11:30am Missions’ Fair