ROSES ARE
RED,

VIOLETS ARE
BLUE

I’LL WRITE A
POEM

THINKING OF
YOU

Here at Messiah Village we have a Poetry Society where most of the members write a poem at
least once a month. At the evening
meeting the third Tuesday of each month they all share a poem or sometimes two.
And then poems are sent to 50 Plus Senior News and a poem is selected for
publication each month. This year in November five poems related to Veterans
Day were published. In addition to that
honor the Poetry Society received an honor
plaque at the annual 50 Plus Expo in
Carlisle. WOW!

At the society meeting in November some of the poems read
were “The Year of 2012”, “Christmas of 1929”, “Thanksgiving”, “Cold Days are
Winter Fun”, “Church Steeple”, and “A
Time to Cheer“. One of these poems will
be selected for publication by Megan Joyce. editor of 50 Plus

Leigh Hoffman helped organize the Poetry Society in April, 2007, after he became a resident at Messiah
Village. Ten to twelve residents meet with the society each month in the
Fountain Room at the Village Center.

Most have written a poem but some enjoy coming
just to hear poetry read. Perhaps you would like to visit the third Tuesday of
a coming month to hear poetry read or to read a poem of your own. You are welcome to join them.

Have you ever gone to Wildwood Park near Harrisburg? It is an interesting place to visit. For active walkers there is Wildwood Way trail of about three miles that goes around the pond and you can start it from several places. It is a great place to walk yourself and also walk your dog, ride your bike, push your young child in a walker and in winter go cross-country skiing. Sometimes you will see a deer, fox, or groundhog.

Or you can stroll two wooden board walks. There are always birds, squirrels, rabbits and pretty scenery along the board walks.  There are about 150 bird species, many of whom are tourists who arrive at various seasons. You can stroll the Delta Boardwalk and end near the Nature Center. Inside the Nature Center there are exhibits and children’s entertainment. From the high view window you can watch birds and squirrels at the bird feeders and there are books and computer displays so you can identify birds that you see. It is very interesting at all times of the year. The North Boardwalk takes you out to the pond where there are ducks, geese and other water fowl. Spring is a good time to walk there because before the grass and leaves fill in around the pond you can view some water birds nesting or swimming with their babies. There are two Blind Bird shelters for viewing water fowl.

There are some folks in our country who have lived their entire life in the house where they were born decades ago but most of us moved several times to different places.   How we move can be fun and interesting. Sometimes the move is a short distance and we like to do our own work so with the help of family or friends the project can be handled with a rental truck. When the distance is fairly short we can use a small truck and load it more than once at the house or apartment where we have lived a long or short time.

Of course if we are moving a distance, or if we are older folks, or if we prefer to see movers do the work for us then we hire a company.  Sometimes we want to sort our goods and decide what to pack and what to sell or donate and other times we want the mover to sort and pack and sometimes give us suggestions about what to keep and what to sell.

And sometimes the move is a long distance and we want to hire an interstate mover who can pack and then transport our furnishings over a long distance to a different state. When that is our moving choice then we see a larger truck and crew ready to help us.

So here we are at Messiah Village where moving residents are free to make their own choices about how they will pack and move. Our apartments and cottages are very attractive and comfortable. And if we discover something after we move that needs to be done, we just phone the Residential Living staff to discuss help and advice.

Messiah Village is a Wonderful Home

Here at Messiah Village residents grow lots of flowers and vegetables.

When you come to the Fall Festival or the Chili Cook Off in September…

you can also see some of the flowers.

Lots of honey bees visit our flowers. You are also welcome to visit.

A few weeks ago we took a bus trip from Messiah Village to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park. It included a traffic tie-up, an animal visit, lunch, and an ice cream stop. It was a fun day.

Our bus driver with two dozen aboard headed for the Capital Beltway to take us across the Susquehanna River and up Route 147 to Halifax area but we joined a traffic tie-up. Hundreds of cars and trucks crept from four lanes to one lane and so we had lots of time to chat with our seat friends until we passed a tractor trailer accident. Then we were up to speed so our leader phoned ahead to Lake Tobias to reschedule our arrival time.

At Lake Tobias we got aboard an open-air bus to drive around 100+ acres of pasture land and wooded areas where we could see exotic animals and flightless birds. Our driver-guide gave us information and she had some ears of corn and some of us had some animal crackers to toss to birds and animals. Once in awhile you even got to quickly pet an animal and sometimes an animal climbed the couple of front bus steps to beg an ear of corn.  It was fun. From the bridge we could see a few American alligators in the lake.

Next we went several miles to The Carsonville Hotel for lunch. The Carsonville Hotel steps you back in time with a lot of antique items on display and it is an older building that was probably a farm house before it became a restaurant in 1976. It is very good food and the visit can be a lot of fun. French fry servings are big so that only one out of four eaters needs to order.

Another adventure of the day came after our Carsonville Hotel visit because there was a bridge repair closing a road. So the trip went around some country roads back to Halifax and then took Route 225 down Peters Mountain so we could stop at 3-B Ice Cream for after lunch dessert. Our trip to Lake Tobias was fun and we may go back sometime.

Historic Peace Church

During summer on some Sundays we join other folks at Historic Peace Church near Camp Hill. We have been doing this for many, many years and often see folks that we know. So we enjoy the music and also visit with friends. There are a variety of events. Some are appearing for the first time and others come each year. This coming Sunday at 3 p.m. the Craig Sunday Orchestra will play on the lawn and folks are asked to bring folding chairs to listen to “Music of the Swing Era.” The Keystone Concert Band usually plays outdoors the first Sunday of June and The Singer Band of Mechanicsburg will play on the lawn September 11. Other times events are inside, such as, Christyan Seay, tenor soloist on August 14; Union Station, a barbershop quartet on September 18.  Coming up on July 3, Sheldon Munn will speak about the Confederate Invasion of Cumberland County and then historian Bill Goetz will conduct a historic tour of the St. John’s Cemetery. You can look up June through September events at Historic Peace Church website www.historicpeacechurch.org. The church is located at the intersection of Trindle Road and St. John’s Church Road.

You can also read history and view pictures at the website and I’ll share some of that information here. The church had its beginnings in 1793 when the German farmers in the area formed a congregation. By 1799 the building was dedicated. In 1806 an agreement was made with the German Lutheran Church, formerly at Poplar Grove, to share ownership and worship on alternate Sundays, and they did so until the 1860’s.

1807 Organ

In 1807, members of both congregations joined to purchase an organ built for them by Conrad Doll. It is said to be the first instrument of its kind to be used in a church in Cumberland County.

The church is a beautiful, simple house of worship in the Georgian style of architecture.

Pulpit

Inside, a pulpit rises nine feet high. The rough pews on the main floor and in the balcony all face the pulpit. The church was used until 1865 at which time a new church was built across the road.  Peace Church is administered as an historic site by The Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission.  The church has been operated for the benefit of the public by The Friends of Peace Church since 1973. The information given here is on the website and in a pamphlet you can pick up at a Sunday event at the church.

A few weeks ago I went over to talk with Graybill Brubaker about Malawi in Africa. I thought that was where Graybill and Ethel had served for years as missionaries. But what I learned was that Malawi was just a part of their mission service. Scripture says: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:7 NIV)  They served the Lord and people.

In 1997 they went to Malawi with Brethren in Christ instructions to establish a church center, to organize the church and to teach in the Bible College. Graybill was needed right away to teach at the Evangelical Bible College and he also set out for a location and construction of a church center.

Malawi Church Center

Over time construction was completed on the Malawi Brethren in Christ Church Center, and a BIC house was built on college campus. At that time there were two BIC men training at the college and currently close to fifty BIC men & women have studied there.

BIC House on campus

After eighteen months in Malawi, the Brubakers came to Messiah Village and then returned to teach a year at the college.  They have returned to Malawi several times in nine years for Graybill to teach at the college filling in for a missionary on leave.

As a teenager in a youth conference at Messiah Bible College people were learning about service in foreign missions and Graybill said God spoke to me in a voice which I alone heard: “That’s where I want you.” After college he served a church in Alto Loma and acquired a teaching credential.   Graybill and Ethel served 20 years in Zambia from 1957 to 1977, and then served a Chambersburg church for 15 years. Then he served in an executive director position for the Board of World Mission prior to the service in Malawi.

Campus Gate

If you want to know more about the work that Graybill and Ethel were part of get a copy of Brethren in Christ History & Life, April 2009. Often as I read I saw names of other people who live here at Messiah Village. So as you read you too will see familiar names.

On a very warm, sunny day in early April I walked a labyrinth. Have you ever walked a labyrinth? As I walked I thought our lives have turns, our thoughts have turns, our faith and our love have turns, our acts and confessions have turns.

If you look at the picture you can see that the labyrinth has many turns and as you walk quietly and slowly your mind can turn to many things. As you walk inward you may be letting go of cares and concerns and seek a peaceful state of mind. In the center you may pray, meditate, or let tears flow. And as you begin the path outward you may gain direction and comfort to your mind and spirit.

This labyrinth is at Monaghan Presbyterian Church on Gettysburg Pike near Dillsburg.  As you look down from the parking lot you can see the symbol of flames that represent the fire of the Holy Spirit and a Celtic cross that surrounds the center of the labyrinth. Pastor Charles Best will be retiring this summer after 35 years of service at Monaghan and the labyrinth commemorates his service there. As you walk you can look up and see the church and also an acre planted with mixed hardwood trees – maple, black cherry, red and white oak, American chestnut and walnut. In about 50 – 60 years, when the trees reach their maturity, they will be available for harvest, providing valuable lumber to sell for the Lord’s work.

The Monaghan Labyrinth is available any time of day, and at night when the parking lot lights are on. You may also walk a labyrinth in Camp Hill at the Mt. Calvary Episcopal Church on 25^th Street-north.

When we moved to Messiah Village about six years ago a friend invited me to the Mechanicsburg Senior Center. So I volunteered there for a couple of years. Often another village person and sometimes a Messiah College student would help with computer class at the senior center. Now that Mechanicsburg Senior Center is a Messiah Village sponsored center I stopped recently to visit. Several folks were enjoying lunch and others were playing pool. A couple of guys in the computer room searching something on the Internet and we looked at the Messiah Village Blog.

After lunch was over and the tables cleared some folks gathered to play Bingo and others to play Cribbage. Here at Messiah Village we have many wonderful activities, such as, devotions, veterans, poetry, cooking, birthday, movies and trips, just to mention a few.  At Mechanicsburg Senior Center there is exercise, line dance, Tai chi, games, computer class, and many others. At the village Messiah College gives income tax assistance and at the senior center AARP gives tax assistance. Both have music, theater shows, birthday parties and

opportunity to volunteer. Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning offers events to Messiah Village, Mechanicsburg Senior Center and to community folks who are 55+. Some websites that you might want to visit are http://messiahvillageblog.com/ , http://thepathwaysinstitute.org/ or http://mechsrctr.home.comcast.net/ .

Here at Messiah Village many very interesting events happen each week. This past Tuesday was the Quarterly Carry-In Dinner in the Community Room. We chatted, we ate, we chatted and we enjoyed the music by the Messiah College Tuba Euphonium Ensemble.  The Ensemble promised a program which would surprise, delight and bring a tear to the eye. Folks were told they would want to march, dance and sing.

Everyone brings along a hot dish, salad or dessert which is shared at the buffet tables. Special guest tables go first and then a chairperson calls other tables by number.  Delicious meat, vegetable, pasta and dessert servings are available and are enjoyed by all, but the biggest part of dinner is the chance to visit with friends and to get acquainted with new residents.

After dinner the Messiah College Tuba Euphonium Ensemble entertained with wonderful music. They played jazz, classical, show biz, and sing along. The five guys, Joe, Jacob, Ted, Eric and George, are an interesting variety. Among them one plays with New Holland Band, one leads a German Band, some teach, enjoy retirement, or help with their grandchildren. There are also college students who are part of the ensemble but last evening they were rehearsing for a college event or out for a job interview. Yes, tuba ensemble surprised, delighted and encouraged us to sing.

What a fun evening it was. Our thanks to the committee for the wonderful event they planned. The dinners are held in January, April, July and October. Eight people are on the committee and each quarter two go off and two come on. The new pair will serve for a year and chair the dinner the last quarter they are committee members. If you are a Messiah Village resident join the committee. It feels good to serve the Carry-In Dinner.