zion communications


Grace and peace to you! Here is the latest update from Zion Church!





"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ," (Philippians 1:6).




Prayer Requests:


Larue Kreiser (stroke)

Marion Deck (health - Stoneridge skilled care)

Mary Leh (health problems)

Mike Dechert (brain cancer)

Colleen Calhoun (surgery)

Denise - Friend of Conners' family (bone cancer)

Rick (friend of Edith, who has cancer)

Ellen (friend of Cookie, has lung and brain cancer)

Trena (breast cancer for the second time)

Kathy Barthelt (cancer)

Sharon Evans (liver issues)

Tammy Weaver (lung cancer)

Barbara Sholl (pancreatic cancer)

Gracie (Margo Moyer's granddaughter - cancer)

Amelia Dickson (prayers for complete recovery)

Cindy and Brian Beck (health issues)

Andy Yarbrough (stroke)



July 5th - Combined 10:00am service - Piercing Word will be presenting



CHURCH EVENTS AND MINISTRIES


Friday Fun Night - Friday July 9 at 5:00pm

Join us for a fun evening of food, activites, games and fellowship!  All are welcome.


Vacation Bible School - June 21st through 25th

For those interested in serving with VBS this year, please fill out the form included in
today’s bulletin.  Please return your form to the basket at the Welcome Center. 
Volunteers need to have their clearances on file with the church office.  Links are
listed below.  Be sure to click on volunteer, as there is no charge if you do so. 
Volunteers will need to attend an informational meeting in May.  If you have any
questions, please contact Kaloni Doll (VBS Director) at ksdoll921@gmail.com or at
717-269-7295.  
Criminal History Check.   https://epatch.pa.gov/home
Child Abuse History Clearance https://www.compass.dhs.pa.gov/cwis


Safe Santuaries Training - June 7th after the 11:00am service

Anyone involved in the children or youth ministries must take the safe sanctuaries training.  We will be offering this training on June 7th immediately following the 11:00am service.  If you cannot make this training, please contact Pastor Austin to schedule a time for training.



Come See How the Library Has Changed


We are just completing an extensive weeding, relabeling, and reorganizing process to make room for new materials. Find your favorite authors or explore new authors. Non-fiction, Fiction, CDs, and Audiobooks are filed by author's name and publication date; DVDs are filed by title and publication date.

Zion's Library has something for all ages and stages of life with a collection of over 600 items consisting of books, DVDs and CDs, and Audiobooks. From board books for the little ones to a growing collection of non-fiction, fiction, and reference books, we welcome you to come explore the shelves and resources of the library.


Be on the lookout for growing collections for children, junior, and young adult readers. Adult fiction and non-fiction are expanding as well. Find the United Methodist Women collection on the far-right top shelves. Zion Library is located directly to the right of the sanctuary along the hall to the back of the church. 


Checking out materials is easy. Just pull out the card from the pocket, fill in your name and today's date and place the card in the wooden box. Return items to the basket when you are finished.   Questions? Ask Kris Primm


Children's Sunday School

We will be combining our K-2 and 3-5 Sunday School classes for the Summer.  We will use the K-2 classroom.  If anyone is interested in teaching or helping with children's Sunday School, please contact Jennifer Buckbee at jenniferbuckbee@yahoo.com


Alpha - Beginning Monday July 20th at 6:00pm

What is Alpha Bible Study?

Whether you’re curious about faith or just want space to talk about life, Alpha is for you. It runs all over the world in churches, homes, cafés, and online, bringing people together to watch thought-provoking talks and have honest conversations. No pressure, no judgment, just real connection. And everyone’s welcome.  The course is 10 weeks.

Sign up at one of the bulletin boards at the front or back of the church.


Creations of Love: Creations of Love ministry is about providing a way for parents to be able to bond with their premature deceased child(ren). We make homemade clothing designed to be able to fit babies that were either late term miscarriages or early term stillbirths. If parents going through these difficult times are able to dress their child(ren) it gives them an opportunity to bond to them. We have free yarn/supplies available. 


If anyone is interested in participating in the new Creations Of Love outreach please contact Alex Rautzhan at 717-968-0556



Making Shopping Bag Mats for the Homeless ... Contact Edith Thierwechter for more information - e_thierwechter105@comcast.net


LCCM Volunteers Needed    Are you looking for a way to serve our community?  Lebanon County Christian Ministries is looking for volunteers to help in their market on Thursday evenings from 4pm-7pm.  Sign up sheets are on the bulletin boards.  Contact Deb Carles if you have any questions at 717-954-2112


Men's Saturday Bible Study - 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 7:30am.  All men are welcome to join us for a study of the book of James!


Philly Dream Center Mission Trip

We are planning a mission trip to the Philly Dream Center on Friday July 24th and Saturday July 25th.  If you are interested in serving on this trip, you can contact Pastor Keith or sign up on one of the sign up sheets on the church bulletin board.


This Little Light Ministries - Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic - October 24th - 31st

All those interested in going on this mission trip, please contact Beth Mellon at emellon7@comcast.net or sign up at the bulletin board at church.


Ladies of Zion - The Extraordinary Women's Conference September 25-26, 2026

Any women interested in attending this powerful time of prayer and worship can sign up at the bulletin board.  Questions - see Sherri Burkhart, Cookie Haag, Alex Rautzhan or Jackie Gostomski.  More information at https://ewomen.net/hershey-pa-2026/



LIFE LINE SCREENING will be at Zion once again on Monday, June 29, 2026.

Please call if you are interested in an appointment. Cost for pkg is $129.
CALL – 1-800-324-9458, use code: HABC001.


Update on Disaffiliation from UMC

On Sunday May 31st, we held an informational meeting on the status of the disaffiliation process. Here are the key takeaways of the meeting:

1) The judge decided in favor of the conference on April 20th.

2) The Administrative Council voted to appeal the court's decision along with nearly 30 of the churches in the lawsuit. The appeal process will take about 6 months. If we lose the appeal, we can appeal to the state supreme court, but are not guaranteed that they will take the case.

3) Starting in July/August, we will be holding small group meetings for members to give feedback and ask questions about the next steps. We recommend that you sign up for one of those discussion meetings.

4) If we were to lose the appeal, there are several options that we should consider:

    A) Bolt and Run - Declare independence from the UMC and stay in the building as an independent church.  We would then expect the conference to sue our church. The legal process of a bolt and run may take 3-4 years to be decided. If we lose a bolt and run, the congregation must leave the building and assets behind.

    B) Plant a new church - leave the building and all assets and start over at a new location and as a new church.

    C) Stay United Methodist and sign a covenant agreement with the conference to ensure that only conservative, Bible-believing pastors would be appointed at Zion.


If you have any other suggestions, please share with the leadership of the church.  

What the church would decide to do (if we lose the appeal) would be voted on by the members of Zion.


Reminder of Church Office Hours:  Our church office is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm. If you have questions or need to submit information for the bulletin, please call the office at 717-866-6839, or email at Zionumc22@gmail.com


Have a blessed week!


-- 


Pastor Keith Buckbee
Zion Church, Myerstown