Worship Services

The Traditional Worship service featuring organ music and hymns takes place each Sunday at 8:00 AM. It is not live-streamed.

The Blended Worship service, which combines traditional hymns with praise music, takes place each Sunday at 10:00 AM. It is live-streamed on our YouTube channel, which is linked below. 

Our YouTube channel offers playback of all previous services. It also features Shorts - shareable clips of our ministry staff, limited to one minute or less. 

Jesus found gospel (good news from God) in farming, fishing, and housework. In our time Jesus might ponder the game of baseball for stories and lessons about life from a religious faith perspective. Join us this summer as we ponder gospel in baseball. You can add to the serious fun of this sermon series in one or more ways. (1) Wear a uniform or fan apparel from your favorite baseball, softball, soccer or other sport during the series. (2) Join us at a Harrisburg Senators game on August 7th. The $20 ticket includes a $7 food voucher. (3) Stay after worship on August 17th for our baseball luncheon to conclude the series.

In 2023 the U.S. Surgeon General issued an 82-page warning titled: “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”.  In it’s introduction we read “Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling—it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. ... And the harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations, where performance, productivity, and engagement are diminished.” (p 4). In the past weeks I shared some of those things with you, as they point to the impact and severity of loneliness. 

Then Surgeon General goes on to write: “We are called to build a movement to mend the social fabric of our nation.  It will take all of us—working together to destigmatize loneliness and change our cultural and policy response to it.  It will require reimagining the structures, policies, and programs that shape a community to best support the development of healthy relationships.” (p 5)

Seems to me his call for communal and social change sounds a lot like what Jesus taught and illustrated with his life. That is no one should ever be left to face life on their own, and it is the role of community to come together and support one another. In particular, the community of believers, for which we are gifted. 

This we certainly hear in the Apostle Paul’s writing about the body of Christ in his letter to the Corinthians. 

Now for some of you, the idea of spiritual gifts is something you might be familiar with. For others, possibly not. But the way Paul describes it is, the Spirit of God gives believers in the church abilities to be used in the community of faith, for the good of others. Verse 7, . 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The gifts are not for our own personal benefit, they are given by God, in other words, they are not something we earn, therefore we are to receive them and use them as God intends for the church. 

That means, each of us has our own gifts, given directly by God. 

Paul goes on to write, 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Notice how many times Paul writes Spirit in that passage, Paul is pointing out the active role of the Spirit of God. If you recall when Jesus promised his disciples he would send the Holy Spirit he called it the Advocate, Comforter, Helper. The Spirit is given by God to help us, comfort us, and guide us to help , comfort, and guide others to God.  This is the work of the church, the community of believers, or rather as Paul will go on to say, the body of Christ.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.’ Paul states that the church is the body of Christ first, and then individual members. This is a belief Paul writes in other letters, Romans 12:5 Paul writes, “we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” It’s like the old saying there is no I in team, it’s the same with the church, there is no I in church. Everyone has a purpose, a calling, a gift by way of the Spirit to build the church, to build the body of believers, to build the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. 

So let’s take a moment and consider, how do we collectively serve the divine will in which loneliness doesn’t stand a chance? 

Simply put, the church is the body of Christ gifted to nurture people and relationships in our communities. 

This is something even the Surgeon General advocates for in their report: “Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Our individual relationships are an untapped resource—a source of healing hiding in plain sight. 

They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives. Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful.’ (p 5)

Loneliness and isolation are public health issues, not personal failings. Overcoming loneliness requires a communal effort, creating and fostering support systems. And the good news we hear today is,. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 

So today, as we partake of the great thanksgiving, and as we commune with one another, may we each consider how as the body of Christ in Hershey, PA, we are gifted by God to be the community where no one is alone, because through us, God won’t let them be, and that is the more excellent way.