He’s been working on a project for a little while and I asked him if I could snap some photos.

Can you figure it out?

The pendulum is interesting to watch but the story about how it was finally gotten to work efficiently is fascinating. A group of engineers & clock mechanics shared the idea with George Kibler, President of Messiah Village about 1990, but after 7 years it still didn’t work correctly. Recently I asked a few questions of guys who worked on the problems. Now I must admit that I am not very technical so as I share some information I may not be technically correct.

At the bottom of the ball there is a photo cell that is energized by the electromagnet through the hole you see at the center of the ceramic platform. Harold Pyke and Mervin Brubaker from Messiah Village consulted with engineering departments at Messiah College and Penn State-Middletown to work on the problems. Brubaker suggested a circular disk on the bottom of the ball which attracts electromagnet power better.  The 55 foot cable which must be multi-directional was replaced with woven cable designed for aircraft.

After an additional two years there was still a problem and Brubaker came and sat overnight on a couch and watched for about two weeks. One night he saw a custodian steam cleaning the carpet and using a cyclone blower. The draft from the blower and also wind when the outside door was open would affect the pendulum.   So a glass fence was put around the platform as a wind breaker and also to discourage children from climbing on the platform and touching the ball.

On the post near the elevator at the Terrace level is a sign that tells of funding by the John Crain Kunkel Foundation. Sometimes a science teacher will get permission to bring students to Tuscarora atrium to observe the pendulum. If you want to know more you can learn many interesting things by going online to search swinging pendulum. Or just come visit the pendulum at Messiah Village.

Last Thursday I spent the afternoon at Mount Joy Country Homes. We were holding an open house at the Design Center. It was fun to meet new people and tell them about the new cottages that will be ready this fall.

John Fry, Director of Construction Services, drove me over to the construction site to walk through a few of the partially completed cottages. With our hard hats on, we walked through the Marietta and Manheim cottages. It was so amazing to see these homes come to life! After two years of staring at floor plans on paper, our dream of offering new green cottages at a moderate price is coming true!

On September 16 and 18, we will be holding a “Dusty Shoe Tour” where the public can get their first glimpse of these new cottages. If you are in Elizabethtown this week, stop by the Elizabethtown Fair. A few of us will be there in Memorial Hall with a hard hat on inviting everyone we meet to the Dusty Shoe Tour in September.

To see what’s happening each week in Mount Joy, visit our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Messiah-Village/106244876220?v=photos&ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=242370&id=106244876220.

What is your favorite part of Fall Festival?

Pictured from left to right: Donald Mowery, Contractor; Dorothy Gish, Connections Campaign co-chair; Emerson Lesher, President of Messiah Village; Wesley Carr, Chairman of the Messiah Village board; Delphine Albert, Special Care family member

Yesterday, Thursday August 12, Messiah Village held a groundbreaking to commemorate the beginning of a $3.5 million building project that will create a new and more accessible chapel entrance and will expand the living space of the Special Care Nursing Neighborhood that cares for residents with dementia.

I have never been through the process of such a large building project and had no idea how much work goes into a project like this. As the Gift Development Assisted I helped the Development Office raise money for this project. The support and participation of Messiah Village staff, family of residents and friends was amazing. I’ve learned so much from my co-workers, the committee members and our wonderful co-chairs, John Morefield and Dorothy Gish. I admire their hard work and perseverance.

I’m looking forward to the next phase of the project. This has been a fun learning experience  and I can’t wait to see what is next!

On Thursday at 10:00 am is the groundbreaking ceremony for the “SPACE” (Special Care and Chapel Entrance) project. If you can attend the gathering near the Peace Garden, please come! Thank you again to many of you who gave to the Connections campaign. Your support has encouraged others to give. Over the next month, some construction work will begin outside. The main construction inside the building will begin in October. Thanks again!

I invite you this week to ask several people “What is going well?” Let’s remind each other that while there are things we may be frustrated about, there are also things going well at Messiah Village. One of the things that is going well we are again rated by Harrisburg Magazine as “Simply the Best” for 2010! It is great that others in the region recognize the good ways we serve older adults!

Again, I invite you to ask others either one-on-one or in meetings, “What is going well?” or “what is something you are proud of?” Let’s encourage each other this week!

I think that the Grounds Team did an awesome job!  A big shout out to Caleb, Tony, Bob, Ryan, Jason, Zach, Glen, and Cody.

Great job guys!!!

Organization’s Efforts Shine To Alaska And Minnesota

By Krista Hurley July 28th 2010

Each year, LightShine Ministries provides a number of volunteer opportunities to individuals of various ages and skill levels. The organization, which is based in Mount Joy, focuses on meeting a host of different needs in Alaskan towns while also working, at times, with ministries in the contiguous states.

Recently, four teams of volunteers did their parts to make a difference in the areas of Eagle, Seldovia, and Globe Creek Camp in Alaska. Volunteers also offered their services at a retreat center in Minnesota. All who take part in LightShine’s trips are responsible for funding their own trip, and recent trip participants noted that they are thankful for the generous support they received.

Larry Newell helped to lead a five-member team as it worked in Eagle as a follow-up to last year’s disaster relief team. In four days, they helped to construct a church by building the walls and setting the roof trusses. “It was great,” Newell recalled. “We worked our tails off, but we had a great time.”

A six-member team, led by Mel Miller, traveled to Globe Creek Camp to provide their services. “It’s a Christian camp that’s being built for summer and winter camp activity,” Miller explained. Three years ago, the only structure at the camp was a partially finished lodge. Since then, teams from LightShine and other ministries have helped to build two cabins, finish the lodge, and more. The recent team met its goal of constructing a utility building, complete with fresh water tanks, water heaters, a generator, and a furnace.

Mel and Carl in Alaska - Photo by Krista Hurley

The Globe Creek and Eagle teams then united for the final week of their respective trips, during which they helped out at a retreat center in Seldovia. Last year, a team had started to construct a lodge. This year, the group continued this work by finishing the roof, building a loft and a stairway, closing the gable ends, and more.

With the number of trips that LightShine plans to Alaska each year, it is no secret that the teams make a difference in the towns in which they work. While the organization was able to make a difference without a van of its own, director Tom Denlinger knew that a vehicle would be helpful for the transportation of teams and materials.

Recently, Lancaster County resident George Calder donated a van, and a local repair shop performed maintenance on the vehicle. A team from LCBC volunteered to drive the van, a trailer, and a donated sound system from Lancaster County to Alaska. According to team member Bob Bender, the nearly 5,000-mile trip spanned four days filled with spectacular sights. “My favorite part was probably going through British Columbia through the Rockies,” Bender said. “We saw nine black bear in British Columbia. We saw elk, caribou, moose, (and) mountain sheep,” he recalled.

The fourth team stayed a bit closer to home, working at a retreat center in Minnesota. According to team member Jerry Polizzi, the center will eventually be available to host pastoral retreats. Last year, LightShine’s father-son team cleared land on the property, and this year’s four-man team built a chapel at the retreat center.

“There are still a few more trips coming up this year,” Polizzi noted, explaining that anyone who is willing to work, regardless of age or skill level, is welcome to sign up. He explained that participants do more than physical labor, as they also build relationships with residents of Alaska by encouraging them, listening to their stories, and more.

More information about the upcoming trips or about LightShine Ministries may be found at www.lightshineministries.org.

Photo By Krista Hurley

]]> http://messiahvillageblog.com/2010/07/from-here-to-alaska/feed/ 0 http://messiahvillageblog.com/2010/07/sour-cherries-sweet-memories/ http://messiahvillageblog.com/2010/07/sour-cherries-sweet-memories/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:30:23 +0000 WordNerd http://messiahvillageblog.com/?p=1092

WordNerd's cherry pie

Residents of Messiah Village may recognize this picture from our in-house TV channel 78. This is a photo of a sour cherry pie I made earlier this summer. People who know me well know that I come from a long line of uninterested cooks. When my mother passed away, she left, not a recipe book, but an address book full of caterers’ and bakers’ phone numbers. So, when I am occasionally inspired to do something in my kitchen other than walk through it to the backyard, I take photos.

My love of sour cherries goes way back. When I lived in Maryland, a friend and I spent every summer Saturday in a pick-your-own field at Larriland Farms. We would pick buckets and buckets of sour cherries, and my friend would make containers of sour cherry jam.

Longing for that flavor again when I moved to PA, I tried the less labor intensive endeavor of pie making, made even less labor intensive with two invaluable tools: the chef’s grade cherry pitter and Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts. The cherry pitter lay to rest an earlier monstrously tedious process of poking pits out of cherries with a shortened drinking straw. The Pillsbury pie crusts made the whole thing possible because, in the words of fellow blogger, KBiz, “I can’t be bothered” making pie crusts from scratch.

The pie in the photo represents two recent upgrades to my pie making process. This is the first pie made with the new pie plate my husband got me for my birthday. The golden sheen on the crust? You can thank my mother. A few years ago, we were having one of those lazy Sunday morning phone conversations. I told her I was making a pie and needed to remember to separate an egg so I could brush the crust with egg whites. “You should use the whole egg on the crust,” she corrected. “Because that’s how you did your pies?” I snarked to the backseat pie maker on the other end of the phone. “Food Network. Paula Deen. I saw it on TV,” she replied. And she was right. It did look better.

Have you surprised anyone with your culinary prowess lately? Consider showcasing your talents at the Messiah Village Chili Cookoff on Friday, September 10! Or, if you view cooking as a spectator sport, stay tuned for more information on Messiah Village’s Chef Face-Off, happening this fall.