Week of July 26, 2020
As we seek to continue to keep connected as a church family, below you will find several ways to participate in worship, prayer, and service with others from HBIC. We invite you to join us in any of these various ways this week!

There's also some important information in this week's e-mail, so be sure to scroll the whole way through!

We continue to pray that you will experience the riches of the Lord's presence during this time in which many of us are not able to be present with one another!
-- HBIC Pastoral Staff
ONLINE WORSHIP

 Our pastoral staff are working together each week to record a worship service for our church family. The service will be available on the  HBIC YouTube Channel   on Sunday mornings by 9 am, as well as anytime thereafter.

...The pre-recorded, online service is available in addition to the worship services at Lingle Park.
WORSHIP-AT-HOME RESOURCES

The  Worship-At-Home Resource Page  serves as a companion to the weekly worship video on the HBIC YouTube Channel and includes the song lyrics, the sermon scripture, plus some links for children. ...If you have more than one device and you'd like to see the lyrics to sing along, or have the sermon scripture handy to read along, you can have the video playing on one device while you follow along with the worship resource on the other!

May you experience the blessing of God
as you worship this week!
If you've registered for one of the worship services at Lingle Park tomorrow, 9 am and 11 am, here are a few last minutes details and reminders:
  • the check-in table will be available at least 30 minutes before each service start-time
  • at check-in, someone will be there to give each person a spritz of hand sanitizer
  • each service will be less than an hour in length
  • we'll have pages with the song lyrics available, but you can also open the worship resource page (above in this weekly email) on your phone or tablet
  • we'll have a donation container at the check-in table in case you'd like to give your tithe/offerings in person
  • with the very hot weather, consider bringing some kind of shade for your spot on the grass
  • be sure to have masks or face shields that cover the mouth and nose for anyone over 2 years of age, to be worn the whole time (we'll have some disposable masks available in case you forget one).
  • small bottles of water will be available in case you need any
  • seating under the pavilion will be limited, most of our gathering will need to set up on the grass area the chairs/blankets that you bring
  • we'll be spraying disinfectant and covering half of the picnic tables under the pavilion with disposable table cover - if you end up under the pavilion, please be sure to sit at one of the covered tables (we'll be disinfecting and covering the other half of the tables between services, same guideline for each service)
  • Lingle Park does have a couple porta-potties, but you'll want to take care of bathroom needs at home before you come in order to avoid them if you can

If you have any questions between today and tomorrow morning (before 8:00 am), feel free to contact Pastor Hank or Pastor Lynda .
WORSHIP SERVICE LIVESTREAM

Last week we did a trial run of live-streaming the services at Lingle Park. We're hoping this week to have some of the kinks worked out, and we are planning to livestream both the 9 and 11 am in-person services, giving one more worship service option for those who are not able to join us at the park. If all works well, you'll be able to link to both of the live-stream services on the HBIC YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/HarrisburgBICChurch .
BABY BOTTLE BLAST COLLECTION

July 26 is the final day of Capital Pregnancy Center's annual Baby Bottle Blast.

If you're coming to Lingle Park for either of the morning services, feel free to bring your donation along. Otherwise, either mail in a donation to the church, or contact any of the pastors to make arrangements to drop off your donation.
Since we do not have a weekly worship service bulletin during this time, we are including a Schedule for the Week in this weekly email.

The following will be taking place during the week of July 26 to August 1 :

  • Sunday, 9 am - On-Line Worship Service (HBIC YouTube Channel)
  • Sunday, 9 am and 11 am - Worship Services (Lingle Park)
  • Sunday, 9 am and 11 am - Worship Service Livestream (HBIC YouTube Channel)
  • Sunday, 12:30 pm - Missions Ministry Team Meeting (Lingle Park)
  • Monday, 4 pm - Creation Kids (Zoom)
  • Monday, 7 pm - HBIC Racial Justice Discussion (Zoom)
  • Tuesday, 7 pm - Congregational Care Meeting (Zoom)
  • Tuesday, 8:15 pm - Sr. High Youth Group (Zoom)
  • Wednesday, 10 am - Creation Kids (Zoom)
  • Wednesday, 5:30 pm - Jr High Youth Group (Zoom)
  • Wednesday, 7 pm - Virtual Prayer Meeting (Zoom)
  • Thursday, 8:15 pm - Young Adult Thursday Book Study (Zoom)

If you'd like to participate in any of these and need a link, a meeting ID, or more information, contact:
Pastor Patty for children's gatherings
Pastor Brie for youth and young adult gatherings
Pastor Hank for the Racial Justice Discussion
Any of the pastors or the church office for the other gatherings

We also invite you to join in praying for these various ministry
opportunities throughout the week and for those who may participate!
ALL CHURCH ZOOM DISCUSSION ON RACIAL JUSTICE


As we continue our HBIC Racial Justice Discussion, we'll have one more discussion in July... Monday, July 27 , from 7 to 8 pm via Zoom.

As God calls his children to be advocates for justice, we encourage you to plan to join us to share, learn, plan, and pray together about racial justice. Click on the link below to join the gathering!

If you're joining by phone, the number to call is 929-205-6099, and the Meeting ID is 849 4860 5084.
PRAYING TOGETHER

On Wednesday evenings, we are hosting a Virtual Prayer Meeting each week, an opportunity to connect together for prayer. We'll connect by using Zoom at 7 pm .

( Note: This will be our last Wednesday Evening Prayer Meeting of the summer. )

You're able to use a computer, tablet, or phone to join our Virtual Prayer Meeting with video; or call in by phone, (929) 205-6099 (meeting ID: 433-644-241) to get the audio-feed. ...You'll need Zoom installed on your device ahead of time in order to connect - if you need some guidance for this, contact  office@harrisburgbic.org .
VBS INDIA WELL PROJECT UPDATE

Throughout the five days of our virtual VBS this past week, children and families got to learn more about the need for clean water in Manipur, India, where the Veinos and their ministry, Northeast India Health and Education Fund (NIHEF) have built a medical clinic. Clean water saves lives!

To date, $1053 has been given to this VBS Offering Project, plus $1000 in generous matching funds, for a current total of $2053! Thanks to all who gave!

Giving to the project is still open, and several thousand dollars are still needed for NIHEF to be able to complete the well project, with storage for the pumped water, sinks in the clinic, etc. You're invited to join our children in giving to this India Well Project! You can click on the link below to get to the church's online giving page, then select India Well Project, or mail a check to the church marked Well Project or VBS .

PRAY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY LOST LOVED ONES...

Pray for Fannie Ellenberg and her extended family as they grieve the tragic death of her niece this past week. Pray for her family as they gather on Tuesday evening and Wednesday for services.
AUGUST IS HBIC'S "SABBATH" MONTH

And here's more about what we mean by this...

"August Sabbath" doesn't mean that it's a month off for our staff (though some of the staff will be on vacation for some of the time). Each year we take a break in August from everything except our Sunday worship services, things like meetings, Wednesday evening gatherings, etc. It's an annual break that gives our staff and all of our volunteers some time for rest and refreshment, as well as some time for planning as we gear up for a new school year.

Everything's been different this spring and summer, with most of the church's gathering being done virtually. But one thing that will remain the same is that we will continue with our August Sabbath tradition. We will have Sunday morning worship services only (both in-person and online most of the month), no other regular programming or meetings.

As always, pastoral staff will be available for you throughout the month, except during some vacation time for some of them (the vacation schedule is noted in this Journeying Together email each week). You can reach out to them anytime by phone or by email.
AUGUST 2 WORSHIP SERVICES

The pavilion at Lingle Park has now been reserved for most of the Sundays in August (except the 16th, when it wasn't available).

We are planning to hold two Sunday in-person worship services at Lingle Park next Sunday, August 2nd; the start times will once again be 9 am and 11 am . (The sign-in table will be available at least 30 minutes before each service begins.) We look forward to this special time to gather in person with those who are able to attend.

We will be gathering with the following safety protocols:
  • masks are to be worn for the entirety of the time gathered with the church
  • there will be attendance limits for each service
  • you will need to register in order to attend (to help with the size of each service and to help with contact tracing if that becomes needed at any point)
  • if children attend, they are to remain with their parent/guardian
  • place your seating at least 6 ft. from others
  • hand sanitizer will be available
  • no handshaking and hugging
  • if you know you have been exposed to Covid-19 or if you have any symptoms of illness, please do not attend

Below there are two buttons, one for the 9 am service and another for the 11 am service. Click on the button of the service you would like to attend, which will take you to the brief registration form. Please fill it out completely and hit submit. You should receive an email response letting you know that you are registered. (If you have any problem, feel free to contact Pastor Lynda by phone or  email .)

Please be sure to submit your registration no later than August 1 (Saturday) at noon, and the sooner the better!

(NOTE: The address for Lingle Park is 1130 Pleasant Rd, Harrisburg 17111, not far off Union Deposit Rd.)
AUGUST & SEPTEMBER WORSHIP SCHEDULE

We wanted to give you a heads-up for your planning...

For the months of August and September, our planning is that we will continue to hold Sunday morning in-person worship services at Lingle Park in Harrisburg. We have the park pavilion reserved for the next two months. (The one exception to this schedule will be Sunday, August 16, when the park pavilion was not available to be reserved. We will be holding a virtual Communion Service on Zoom on that date instead.)
PASTORAL STAFF VACATIONS

This week begins some vacation time for  Pastor Patty (7/31 to 8/9).

In addition to refraining from contacting her, pray for this to be a time of refreshment for Patty and her family. ...Please feel free to contact any of the other pastors if you have a need.
CHURCH DIRECTORY NEEDS PHOTOS!

During the last couple of months, we've been working on an update to the church directory, which we'd like to roll out this fall.

Over the years, many people have shared that they'd be helped by having pictures in our church directory. So we are putting out a request... Please send a recent photo of you or your family to the church office, which we'll use in-house in a printed version and a pdf version of our HBIC Church Directory. Thanks for your help! If you have any questions, contact Pastor Lynda.
MISSION OF MERCY
IN NEED OF VOLUNTEERS

Mission of Mercy's Mobile Medical Clinic will be returning to Harrisburg on Thursday, August 20!

Mission of Mercy is looking for additional volunteers to work with them as they resume providing medical care for many in Harrisburg who struggle to afford the services they need.

As they prepare to return to ministry using our building and parking area along Greenwood Street, Mission of Mercy is in need of nurses, people to help with registration, and people to help interpret. If you can give a day to serve on the first and/or third Thursday of the month, contact Pastor Carmen to let her know of your interest.