Hilltop Herald
November 2012
A Newsletter for the Willistown United Methodist Church
Mission Statement: To welcome all people, share Christ's love, and be disciples who make disciples.
Entering into November is like entering the calm before the storm. It’s
the period right before the insanity of the holidays really goes into full
swing. Do you ever get in the middle of the holiday season and get lost
in the storm of it? This chaos that is what the season brings can
overwhelm us and we can get lost in it. We can forget some of the more
important things as we ride along the winds until its Christmas Eve and
we are reminded once again.
However we sit in the calm before the storm. The moments before the
wind and the fury that is the holiday season. We have our chance to
prepare ourselves, to ready our hearts and minds for that which is to come. This is the time in
which we can truly take some time to reflect on all the good things that have come into our lives
throughout the year. It is a cliché, I think, to pause at this time of year to be thankful; however I
think that this time of year is a good time to do that considering the storm that is to come which
may take our minds from what is important for a time.
In the few weeks of “respite” before the storm of the holidays, take the time that you have to truly
praise God. Take some time every day to thank God. Thank God for the blessings you have had
this year. Praise God for the good that has come into your life. Ask God to help you not get too
caught up in the chaos of the holidays so that you can appreciate God’s greatness more than ever.
Worship God for a few minutes every day during this “slow” time so that you can more truly
appreciate the wonder that is our God before you get caught up in the crazy time ahead. Maybe if
you take this time of calm to worship and praise and thank God you will be even more ready to
do those same things during the busy holidays and you will be less likely to forget and get caught
up in the storm!
Peace, Pastor Coryn
The next meeting of the Administrative Council will be on Monday,
November 19th at 7:00 PM. All are welcome to attend. This meeting,
as all our meetings of an administrative nature, is a part of the work
of the church. We hope to finalize the 2013 budget at that meeting.
Barbara Gorham
Twenty Five members and friends of our church attended the
October METHODIST BREAKFAST.
Our speaker was Fred Crotchfelt, mentor and teacher for the
"Volunteer English Program" of Chester County and his student
Gustaf Castro from Columbia. VEP teaches English to those who
have emigrated from other countries and speak some English.
There are 175 volunteer teachers who meet with students
representing 45 countries. Meeting one on one with instructors they are tutored on
reading, writing, and speaking in our culture, thus improving their confidence and
control of our language.
Gustavo, age 47, who has been in Chester County for 8 years, meets with Fred two
nights a week. He is rightfully very proud of his progress. He and his wife have a
son attending West Chester University.
Our outstanding breakfast was prepared by chef Kim Pierce and her mighty crew,
Bill Keating and Barbara and Lance Seidel.
This month's METHODIST BREAKFAST is November 11th. Our speaker is the
Honorable David F. Bortner, Judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Chester
County. He will speak to us on the current issues and trends in our local court.
Gil Fell, Prez
Willistown United Methodist
Church BLOOD DRIVE
Friday, November 30th 2012
2:30pm – 7:30pm
MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY!
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After more than a dozen years in covenant relationship with our missionaries at Red Bird
Mission, I thought folks at WUMC would like to read this letter from a RBM School
graduate addressed to those who have helped the people of Red Bird.
Judy Davis
OK folks this is the whole letter written by Brandon Halcomb!
Dear Red Bird Mission School Supporters:
Hi, my name is Brandon Lee Halcomb, and I am a graduate of Red Bird Mission School, Class of 2011. I
am currently a sophomore at Asbury University, pursuing my dream to become a film director and a
writer. If it had not been for Red Bird Mission School, I would not be where I am today. Every school and
every educator say they set out to make a difference in their students’ lives. However, Red Bird not only
changes lives--but saves them! This is my story, a true story, about how one school and many dedicated
teachers and administrators saved me . . .
Pablo Picasso once said, "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life," and there have been
many times when the reality of my life became so unbearable growing up I found myself looking for ways
to escape it. Sometimes, in order to free myself from the horrible events that plagued me, I would slip into
the pages of my favorite authors and become so entangled with the magic of their fictitious worlds it
would some how make the pain of my own life more endurable. Other times, though, the only semblance
of sanity that kept me balanced was my own imagination that spawned a desire to take ink and create a
portal on paper into other worlds filled with unknown beasts, majestic heroes, and a dimension where
good trumped evil and always prevailed. Then there was the truth--the cold, cruel, ruthlessness of the
truth--that no matter how hard I tried or how much I wished, I could not escape the harsh veracity of my
life no matter how dark it became. It was my life, and often times I wondered why were I here? Was this
all life had to offer me?
The sorrowful reality about my life was each heartrending occurrence that took place had always been
beyond my mother’s ability to control the horrifying event, and it seemed life seized every opportunity to
take advantage of her defenselessness and kept dealing her one ghastly mishap after another. As the
events in my life began to spiral out of control, the only refuge I could find or hope I could cling to be
something I read by President Franklin D. Roosevelt: “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot
and keep on hanging.” Thus, began my escape--knots. I began to tie knots into my lifeline one knot at a
time, hoping and praying each knot would remain intact just long enough for me to breathe before another
calamitous event would strike.
Even though I came from a divorced home, my mother had done everything in her power to make sure my
brother and I did not turn out to become statistics of society, especially one of divorce. In her mind, she
did everything to provide a stable, loving environment based on the “normalcy” of life. What was normal?
To me, normal meant change. I was swept from school to school. I had switched and adjusted to nine
schools since I started preschool over fifteen years ago. I learned not only the ways in which to adapt in
my new environments so I could make new friends, but I also learned how to adjust to the emotions I
would go through as I would leave my pals behind just a short time later. With each new move, I would
tie knots into that rope, and each time I left my friends behind, I would tie bigger knots into the resilient
piece of twine, hoping and believing the next move would be more sufferable and my last.
However, no rope was long enough or strong enough to prepare me for my mother's ear-piercing screams
that filled the air September 6, 2004. My heart had pounded in my chest as I walked toward the
ambulance's rear door. My mom stood next to a metal stretcher that held my younger brother's body.
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Tears streamed from her ashen face as she held his hand and repeatedly said, "You're going to be all right,
Jaden." My brother looked like a ghost; his body appeared so pale and lifeless as he lay upon the white
stretcher. Three white straps held his tiny frame against a thin pad, while a neck brace kept his slender
throat from moving. I became numb as I looked at his unresponsive, fragile body; he was only four years
old.
A black pickup truck had sent my brother soaring through the air, and he landed with his left leg on the
blacktop while the rest of his body lay lifeless in a ditch. As his body hit the ground, the impact from the
truck knocked both his shoes from his feet. After the truck had hit my brother, it did not slow down but
proceeded to run over him. So many thoughts had raced through my mind that day: I could have stopped
him; I could have saved him; it was my entire fault; I should have been the one hit by the truck, not him.
Life surely hit me hard. My rope no longer seemed strong, and the knots no longer seemed tight. Time
stood still while I wrestled with the demons that tormented me. My brother had spent three weeks fighting
for his life in the hospital, and it was then I began to wonder if the rope I had been clinging to all my life
would be sturdy enough to hold me, or if the knots I had tied in it would remain secure long enough so I
could keep hanging onto it. My grasp had begun to loosen as it dawned on me that I had almost lost my
brother.
After my brother made a full recovery, my mother made the decision to make another move; she accepted
a teaching position at Red Bird Mission School. You would think after adjusting to eight previous schools
I would have become a “professional” adjuster--wrong. Here I was about to enter the eighth grade, and
keep in mind that I had just become accustomed to the junior high where I had just completed the seventh
grade--when my mother informed me we were moving.
Therefore, when I first came to Red Bird Mission School in 2006, I was a hefty 210 pound, awkward,
unsocial and withdrawn eighth grader who was beginning to wonder if the rope I had been clinging to all
my life would even be able to support me any longer. I had lost all motivation to even consider tying any
more knots into that worn piece of twine. All I could think about was, “Great, another school and another
year to be lost and invisible.”
However, Red Bird Mission School was different. I had never been in a school like it before. Everyone
began the day with prayer, and for the first time in my life, I began to believe in Angels--they walked the
halls at Red Bird Mission School through the faculty, staff, and administrators. The faculty and staff
encouraged me to become involved in various activities that Red Bird had to offer, and I joined band,
sang in Chapel Band, started to run cross-country and began to play basketball.
No one laughed or made fun of the awkward young man who sometimes sang off key or hit a wrong note
on his instrument. No one laughed at a clumsy, uncoordinated eighth grader as he attempted to play
basketball. And no one laughed at the hefty 210 pound kid who took over an hour to run a couple of
miles. Instead, as that kid, me, would round the finish line--always in last place--I would hear cheers of
encouragement long before I would see the faces of my peers, teachers and coach. For the first time in my
life, I felt I belonged somewhere, and that I, Brandon Lee Halcomb was important.
For the first ever, I began to have hope and not feel invisible. I had lost fifty pounds my eighth grade year,
and I went from wearing a 38/30 men's pant’s size to a 32/30 that year; however, it was not the weight
loss or pant's sizes that I dwelled on. Red Bird Mission School’s faculty, staff, and administrators believed
in me, and the overall change came from within me; I began to become a healthier young man, and my
life began to drastically change. I was no longer an overweight, unsocial or withdrawn eighth grader, but I
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had become a physically fit, self-confident and self-motivated young man. I gained confidence in school
and began to excel in all areas of my life. My schoolwork and my grades became very important to me as
I gained confidence in myself. I was no longer lost but was beginning to find my way in a world that I
thought had held no place for me.
Although I have encountered many trials in my life since I started Red Bird Mission School, I developed a
new confidence in myself that kept me slipping from that knotted, frayed rope. Because of the faith and
my personal relationship with Christ that Red Bird Mission School helped me develop, none of life’s
trials--the car accident that had sent my mother’s car hurdling over the mountain a couple of years later,
nor the fire that had destroyed our home shortly after that--could shake me from that tattered piece of
rope. Even when the doctors informed me I had cancer just a few weeks after I had graduated from Red
Bird Mission School--Hodgkin’s stage III--could not weaken my grip from that blessed, worn thread.
Instead, I kept embracing that old rope even more, and yes, those knots--those beloved ole knots--did
become shabby at times, especially when the doctor told me I would have to postpone college, stop
running cross country, and stop playing basketball with my friends.
Yet, in the midst of life’s brutality and heartlessness, I knew I had never been alone. There had been a
power greater than life that had given me the courage to clench the thin, threadbare rope even tighter; it
was called hope. Hope came into my life in many different ways and through many different faces. For
instance, on July 23, 2011, hundreds of people gathered into a little country church to hold a prayer
service for me. People from all denominations, including some of the faculty from Red Bird Mission
School and staff from Red Bird Mission, came to pray for me--a young man, diagnosed with cancer, who
had just graduated from high school with high hopes of attending college. I, however, went to the prayer
service that evening, hoping a friend might give his or her heart to God. It seemed all prayers were
answered that night: two of my friends dedicated their lives to Christ, I became cancer free, and I fulfilled
my dream of attending college that fall with the rest of the incoming freshmen class.
I have learned that life can be merciless, almost to the point of unforgiving. Nevertheless, it is not the
tough times I dwell on since they have molded me into the young man I am today. Maya Angelou has said
it best: “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to
encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out
of it.” It is not the tragedies in my life I want to focus on, but rather the hope that was brought into my life
through people, hundreds of people, and some of them complete strangers--such as yourself--by the
selfless giving of your time, prayers, and monetary gifts. I want to personally thank you for helping Red
Bird Mission School not only impact students’ lives--but save them!
On those days, when you think about all you do or all you have done for Red Bird Mission School does
not have an effect on anyone, I hope you remember me--because without your generosity of giving, I can
reassure you I would NOT be the young man I am today. And on those days when I feel my grasp begin
to slip from my rope and I feel I can barely cling onto it, I will not remember those times life dealt me
some horrific blows, but I will remember people, such as yourself, who brought hope into my life through
an eastern Kentucky school, sitting in the valley between the Red Bird Mountains, called Red Bird
Mission School. Because of you and all the supporters of Red Bird Mission School, I know that no matter
what happens in my life or how big the disappointments may be--this life, the only life I have--even with
all its callous indifference--God walks life’s highway with Angels living among us, spreading hope and
saving lives. Thank you for everything you do to help the students at Red Bird Mission School!
God Bless, Brandon Lee Halcomb, a Red Bird Mission School Alumnus, Class of 2011
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HILLTOPPERS
ELECTION DAY BAKE SALE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH will be a large day for the voters in our community who make a special effort
to come out and vote. The last November election was not a busy one and we ran out of baked items
early in the evening.....those who came after 6 were disappointed. These people enjoy and look forward
to our goodies and those who are on diets or can't eat some of the foods are very generous with their
donations.
The Bake Sale receipts will be given to the church - at this time they are not specified for any particular
use. However we know the furnace is temperamental and goes out every once in awhile, and that we
need new doors at both side entrances (in addition to the normal day to day costs of keeping our church
doors open). Therefore, the Hilltoppers are reserving the decision to specify a particular use of the
money until after the sale.
The group has decided that the "Donation Jar Money" this year will be given to the Bill Snyder Fund to
help defray his medical bills once he is home, as he has no medical insurance.
We are asking that EVERY MEMBER OF THE CHURCH bring in baked goods and/or monetary donations
for these very worthy causes. It's an easy way to contribute and the Hilltoppers are doing the
organization and working at the polls for this EVENT OF THE YEAR.
There has been a sign-up sheet in the Great Room for the donations. We ask that, if possible. You
double your baked contributions as it is expected there will be a large turnout for the Presidential
Election. If you have not signed up and wish to donate anything, please email Betty Barlow at
[email protected] so she will be aware of your contribution(s).
Suggested items are: Muffins, Cupcakes, Candy, Spiced Nuts,
Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels, Cookies (of all kinds) Pies, etc. SugarFree and Gluten-Free items have been requested. Brownies and
other Bar Cookies SHOULD NOT BE CUT as we attempt to make
them all the same size for easier pricing.
PLEASE INDICATE IF YOUR DONATION CONTAINS NUTS.
We thank everyone for contributing to this project and God Bless
you One and All.
This was Jo Ann and Paul’s last meeting before leaving for
Florida.
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16
20
22
25
26
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Stan Southern
Charles McCardell
James Van Zandt
Dylan Clark and Pat Roelofs
Dot Howard & Karen Oas
Hilary Gray
Doris King
Bob Tramsen
Jeff Clark and Lee Hickman
25 Fred & Mary Bachman
26 Dick & Barbara Olsen
28 Gil & Barbara Fell
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Our Prayer List for Members, their families, Regular Attendees, and Friends of our Congregation.
Betty Byar
Libby Krausser
Joe Benjamin
Jackie Kurtz
Jean Conover
Debbie McGuire
Darryl Biery
Dr. Ken Martin
Craig Dial
Lillian Roelofs
Leonard Frame
Don & Linda Margolis
Kristy DeHart
Bill Snyder
Pete Guinta
Lois Matthews
Fred Eufrasio
Teresa, Larry & Pat Towne’s
Pat Holmbeck
Cindy Mertz
Tim Eufrasio
daughter
Priscilla Kelly
Mary Jo Mostardi
Huffman family
David Trent’s Grandniece,
Jack Krieg
George Zampetti
Doris King’s
“London”
Lillian Laird
daughter Mary
Walt Visnyczke
Also remember in your prayers for Joe Geary, all armed service personnel, victims of violent crimes and
severe storms.
We offer Christian sympathy and resurrection hope for the Lynn Shaw Bigham, Mary Mano, and the Nancy Howell
families.
If you would like a note sent to someone that needs our prayers, please call Carol Rice at 610-793-0325.
Please gather your old cell phones and bring them to church. The phones
can be operational or not and they do not need to have a usable battery.
There will be a basket on a table in the Great Room near the eye glasses
box. They will be collected for use by our overseas Armed Forces
personnel.
Our Spaghetti Dinner was again a huge success. Thank you all so much for your
contribution to this event. From ticket sellers, (Parky sold 20), to those who
purchased the food, to those who prepared the food, to those who set up tables and
place settings, to those who did the dishes, to those who waited on our tables,
(Abbes' and Friars", from WCH University)to those who cleaned up afterwards, to
Coryn for making the rounds of the tables, we thank you. Our "profit" was over
$2,200. This money will help our church and the various missions of the Women
and Men of Willistown United Methodist Church. Again a thank you to all. The
Abbes' and Friars love this event and have already asked me if they could do it again in the spring. They
are checking their calendars and we hope to have the next date set very shortly.
God Bless You All Alan Clark
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I
have
taken
the
Willistown United Methodist Church
Pastor: Coryn Peña
Pastor’s email: [email protected]
Pastor’s Cell Phone: 215 266-7580
Office Phone: 610 644-2227
Office email: [email protected]
Lay Leader: Kimberly Pierce
Lay Leader’s Phone: 610 551-4250
Lay Leader’s email: [email protected]
Newsletter Editors: Paul & Jo Ann Lyman
Phone: 610 738-8989
Email address: [email protected]
WUMC web page: www.Willistownumc.org
December Newsletter deadline: November 18
Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00
A.M. Sunday, November 4, 2011.
Date Greeters
Ushers
Liturgist
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Barbara and Lance Seidel
Don Stapleton and Bill Keating
Bonnie Boyer
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Mitzi Schmidt and Marge McKee
Ruth McNamara and Jim McNamara
Bobbi Summers
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Pat Roelofs and June Di Romualdo
Barbara and Gil Fell
Evlene Eads
25
Carol and Bill Bowers
Jane and Jim Van Zandt
Barbara Gorham
liberty of assigning people for the Ushering and Greeting duties of our Church. If, upon reviewing the
Newsletter and finding your assignment does not suit your schedule, please let me know as soon as
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possible so that a change can be made. Thank you for your willingness to serve, you are appreciated.
Greeters should be in place by 10:00 AM and Ushers by 10:15. Thank you!
Alan Clark
Willistown United Methodist Church
6051 West Chester Pike
Newtown Square, PA 19073
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
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