Pike Township church honors music director for 50 years of service [Religion Digest]

Mar. 4----A celebration was held last Sunday at St. John (Hill) United Church of Christ, 620 Hill Church Road, Pike Township, during worship to honor Elmer H. Miller for his 50 years of service as the music director. A surprise luncheon followed. Miller is a 1974 graduate of the former Kutztown State College and retired as the owner of Miller Equipment, Eshbach.

—Kissinger's Church, 715 Berkshire Blvd., Wyomissing, will host an oldies concert by Jeff Krick Jr. on March 12 at 4 p.m. featuring music from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s, gospel, some of today's music and, of course, Elvis! Doors open at 3. Admission is free, but a free will offering will be taken. There will be an Hour of Prayer on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The public is invited to attend to submit prayer requests and to pray for others. Pray for our country and for each other.

—Victory Baptist Church, 1059 Victory Circle, Bern Township, is celebrating its 47th anniversary on March 12. The guest speaker at the 9:30 a.m. worship service will be Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., where he served as president from 1971-2005. Infant nursery and classes for children ages 2-10 are available during this service. Adult and youth Bible studies are at 11 a.m. For more information about Victory, visit vbc.org.

—Reformation Lutheran Church, 3670 Perkiomen Ave., Exeter Township, will worship Sunday at 8:30 a.m., with Holy Communion, and 10:30 a.m. with Holy Communion and music by the Reformation Choir, under the direction of Dr. Heidi Rochlin. The 10:30 worship service will be livestreamed on Reformation's Facebook page and may be viewed live or later at www.Reformationlutheran.org under worship videos. Sunday school for all ages begins at 9:30. .

—Christ Lutheran Church, 222 Niantic Road, Washington Township, will worship Sunday at 9 a.m., with Holy Communion. Coffee & Conversation will be held at 8:30 and 10 in the Welcome Center. The adult Sunday school class will be held at 10 in the parlor. Confirmation class will meet in room I at 10. Mid-week Lenten service with Holden Evening Prayer will be held 7 p.m. on Wednesday. A soup and bread supper precedes the service at 5:45 in the parish hall, and a Lenten Bible study, led by the Rev. Paul Metzloff, pastor, follows the service at 7:30 in the church parlor.

—St. John's Gernant's Church (A Federated Congregation), 13 Gernant's Church Road, Ontelaunee Township, will worship Sunday at 9:30 a.m., with Holy Communion, in the Memorial Hall, 12 Gernant's Church Road, which is handicap accessible. "Born Again" will be performed by Connie Werley. Musician for the service will be Shirley Breininger. The churches of the Schuylkill Valley Pastor's Association will be joining together for a soup and sandwich meal and worship service on Wednesday at noon at Salem Belleman's Church, 3540 Bellemans Church Road, Centre Township.

—Schwarzwald Lutheran Church, 250 Church Lane Road, Exeter Township, will worship in person on Sunday at 10:30 a.m., with Holy Communion.

—St. John's Lutheran Church, 4125 Penn Ave., Sinking Spring, will hold in-person worship Sunday at 9 a.m., with Holy Communion and special music. The service also will be livestreamed on Facebook.

—St. John's Lutheran Church, 45 N. Reading Ave., Boyertown, will worship on Sunday at 9:30 a.m., also livestreamed on YouTube (St. John's ELC Boyertown). Children's Sunday school is at 9:30 a.m. Midweek Lent worship Wednesdays in March is at 7 p.m. Bread Bowl and Bible, a learning and meal event, will be held March 12 and 19 from 3-6 p.m. Free drive-through, take-out meal every Saturday from 4:30-5:30 p.m. No registration necessary.

—Epler's Church, United Church of of Christ, 1151 W. Leesport Road, Bern Township, will worship Sunday at 10:30 a.m., in person, with Holy Communion, and on Facebook. Sunday school for all ages is at 9:30. For more information, visit www.eplerschurch.org. There will be a potpie supper on March 18. You can pre-order take-out quarts on the church website or by calling the church office at 610-926-1006. Cost: potpie, $9 a quart; pepper cabbage, $8 a quart, $4 a pint; pickled beets, $8 a quart, $4 a pint. Pick up orders from 3-4 p.m. A buffet dinner will be held from 4-7 p.m. No pre-orders necessary. Cost is $12 for adults and $6 for children ages 6-12.

—Christ Episcopal Church, 435 Court St., Reading, will hold two services on Sunday, each including Holy Eucharist; at 8 a.m., a spoken-word service, and at 10 a.m., a family service with music. From 9:05 to 9:45 in the first-floor parlor, Fr. Bryce Wandrey will present "Light in the Darkness: The Gospel According to Christian Wiman." Parking is available at the Abe Lincoln Hotel parking garage and the M&T Bank lot, both off of Washington Street. Handicap spaces are available beside the church on Court Street. On Wednesday, the Lenten series continues with book study in the parlor at 10:30 a.m., Stations of the Cross in the sanctuary at 11:30 and worship with Eucharist at noon. No evening Eucharist. On Thursday at 11, a Morning Prayer service from The Book of Common Prayer will be held in the first-floor chapel. To access the Centering Prayer Zoom link or to find out more about us, go to rdgchristchurch.org.

—Oley Valley Mennonite Church, 1571 Memorial Highway, Oley Township, will worship Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The Rev. Jon Landis will begin his tenure as pastor. For more information, visit www.oleyvalleymennonitechurch.com.

—The United Church of Christ of Robesonia, 301 W. Penn Ave., will worship Sunday at 10:15 a.m. by YouTube, in person, by telephone and Facebook. Details can be found at sprucc.org. Sunday school for all ages is at 9. On Wednesday at noon, Lenten worship will be held at Trinity Lutheran, 108 S. Robeson St., Robesonia, with host pastor the Rev. Jennifer Dee and preacher the Rev. Shelley Miller, followed by lunch at 12:30 p.m. On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., Evening Prayer will be held at UCC of Robesonia featuring a dialogue between two Bible characters portrayed by John and Linda Eiceman. Women's Lunch is scheduled for Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Country Fare in Myerstown, Lebanon County. Non-members are welcome. Contact the Rev. Mary Etta Mest for reservations at mestme@aol.com or 610-659-2775.

—Friedens United Church of Christ, 337 Main St., Oley, will be having an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, including bacon, sausage, coffee, tea, orange juice, fruit cups and homemade shoo-fly pie, today from 8-11 a.m. It's a fundraiser for the Mission Team's trip to Peru. Anyone donating shoes to the Mission Team's shoe drive will receive a raffle ticket for each pair donated. The service on Sunday at 10:15 will have a special music program with guest pianist Bonnie Levan accompanying soloist Bertie Witman. The service is also available via Zoom and YouTube. For information and links, visit http://www.friedensuccoley.org.

—St. Paul's United Church of Christ, 5 W. Arch St., Fleetwood, will have two worship services on Sunday, at 9, also online, and 10:30 a.m., both with Holy Communion. The links to FaceBook and YouTube are found at www.stpaulsfleetwood.org. The Rev. Kerry Smart will be the guest pastor. Worship leaders will be Alexis Ames at 9 and Gary Reinert at 10:30. There will be a Lenten meal of soup at 6 p.m. on Wednesday before the service at 7.

—St. Michael's Church, 529 St. Michaels Road, Tilden Township, will worship Sunday at 10:15 a.m., with Holy Communion. There will be a covered dish in the social hall at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by a Nooma video and discussion at 6:45, which is also available on Facebook and DialPad.

—Huff's Union Church, 540 Conrad Road, Hereford Township, will have an oyster pie sale on March 25. Orders are due on March 12. Pickup between 9 a.m. and noon in the chapel. Cost is $8.50 per pie. To order, call the church office at 610-845-2626.

—Maidencreek Church, 261 Main St., Maidencreek Township, will worship on Sunday at 9 a.m., led by the Rev. Rachele Dietz, executive associate to the bishop, Northeastern PA Synod. Music selections will include a violin solo by Sophia Ayrton; piano duet, Megan Esterly and Kimberly Ayrton; and organ and piano selections by Kimberly Ayrton. The service is livestreamed to Facebook and YouTube. Links can be found at www.maidencreekchurch.org.