Pick flowers, help

local communities

BELLEFONTE — Blooming Petals Flower Farm is dedicating Wednesday, Aug. 27, as a day to help the Social Action Committee at St. Mark Lutheran Church.

St. Mark’s Social Action Committee works to address the needs of local, state, national and international communities. It has built connections with local schools, shelters, food banks and more to help people in need in the region.

On Aug. 27, Blooming Petals will give 20 percent of total sales to St. Mark’s Social Action Committee. The farm, which is located at 1863 Nittany Valley Drive in Bellefonte, is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The rain date will be Thursday, Aug. 28.

At the farm you can cut your own flowers, visit with friends and enjoy some refreshments — all while also helping efforts to help people in our communities.

Thousands of flowers will be blooming and available to cut. Provided containers are $20, $25 and $30. You can fill your container as full as possible! Flowers at the farm include sunflowers, snapdragons, dahlias, eucalyptus, amaranths, celosia, strawflower, Lisianthus, calendula, gomphrena, zinnia, aster, larkspur, hydrangea, chrysanthemum, petunias and delphinium.

For more information, you can call Blooming Petals at 814-599-2297. For more information about St. Mark, email stmarklutheran@gmail.com or call 814-383-4882. Their location is 850 Snydertown Road, Howard. You also can visit stmarksnydertown.wixsite.com/snydertown and follow St. Mark on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube @StMarkSnydertown.

Yarn Collection

MARSH CREEK — Marsh Creek Brethren in Christ Church is collecting new and used yarn that will be donated to the Prayer Shawl Ministry for their needleworkers to use. Three ladies of the church are actively involved with the Prayer Shawl Ministry and are leading the campaign to collect as much yarn as they can during the months of August and September.

Yarn can come in the form of new skeins purchased from a local venue, partial skeins or even small balls or scraps of yarn that people may have stored. Yarn needs to be clean and free of smoke or other harsh smells.

Marsh Creek BIC Church invites other churches and individuals of the area to collect yarn and bring it to the church for delivery to the Prayer Shawl Ministry in the Mill Hall area.

For more info on this yarn collection, call Rhoda at 814-625-2760.

Summer Concert Series

LAMAR — Lamar Lighthouse Camp will be hosting their Summer Concert series each Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Each of the concerts is free and open to the public. A love offering is taken each week to further the ministry of both the groups performing and Lamar Lighthouse Camp. New Journey will be in concert on Aug. 24 and The Silers will entertain on Aug. 31. September concert performers include the Lore Family, the Fuller Family Singers, 2nd Chance Ministries and GloryWay.

For more info call 570-337-0203 or visit their Facebook page: Lamar Lighthouse Camp.

Blessing of the Backpacks

LOCK HAVEN — Caldwell/Woolrich Charge of United Methodist Church will have a “Blessing of the Backpacks” service on Sunday, Aug. 24, to begin the new school year. Students and their parents, teachers and school support staff of all ages are encouraged to attend.

The service will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Caldwell Church, 11376 Coudersport Pike Road, Lock Haven.

The Woolrich Community Church service will begin at 9:45 a.m. in Woolrich Park, Pavilion #2, Park Avenue, Woolrich. A pot-luck lunch in the park will follow the Woolrich service. Please bring a dish to share. Drinks and paper goods provided.

Walk by Faith

LOCK HAVEN — The Walk by Faith walking program will be meeting, weather permitting, each Wednesday evening and you are invited to join the group, both for the exercise and for fellowship time together. The walks take about one hour where you can walk at your own pace or with a friend to get fresh air and exercise, all while enjoying the beauty of God’s creation.

The next walk will be held on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Bald Eagle Valley Trail, meet at the old Train Station.

On Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. the walk will be at McElhattan’s Old River Road, meet in the parking lot.

More walks are planned through October and will be announced later on. Call Fran at 570-748-4302 for more info.

News from the Pathway pews

MCELHATTAN — Pathway to Christ Church would like to find someone who may be traveling close to the area of Blue Ash, Ohio, who would be willing to drop off a big box or two of pill bottles so that the expense of mailing them isn’t needed. If you are going to be traveling in that area over the next few months please reach out to the church office.

Matthew 25 Ministries accepts the donations of clean, empty, recapped plastic pill bottles for inclusion in shipments of medical supplies. The congregation members will be collecting and cleaning pill bottles in the hopes of sending a box to Ohio later this year.

For more info on the pill bottle collection, visit Matthew 2 Ministries.

Pathway to Christ Church is currently collecting boxes of Cheerios that will be given to the Jersey Shore Care and Share food pantry at St. John Lutheran Church. The food pantry has a goal to get 900 boxes of Cheerios before the end of October.

Blood Drives

Local churches will be hosting blood drives over the next several weeks. Blood donors of all types are invited to participate. To find a blood drive being held near you visit the American Red Cross website.

Blood drives will be held on the following dates:

On Aug. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at St. Luke’s United Church of Christ in Flemington. St. Luke’s famous root beer floats will be served at this blood drive.

Also on Aug. 26, from noon to 5:30 p.m., at Watermarke Church, Zion Road, Bellefonte.

On Sept. 4, from 12:30-6 p.m., at Centre Church in Pleasant Gap.

On Sept. 8, from 1-6 p.m., at Tri County North Central Church in Mill Hall.

On Sept. 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Zion Community Church, Zion Road, Bellefonte.

Summer Picnic

MARSH CREEK — Marsh Creek Brethren in Christ Church is having a Summer Picnic and outdoor service on Sunday, Aug. 31, beginning at 10 a.m. The public is invited. The theme of the service and picnic is “Your Summer in Words.”

Music, food, fellowship and a chance for everyone to share their stories from their summertime experiences will be enjoyed. The goal is to share together the highs and lows of this past summer.

We hope that all of the VBS attendees will join us as there will be several games and prizes for the children. Bring a lawn chair for comfortable seating during the service.

The picnic will follow the morning service in the church pavilion, with the meat and drinks being provided. You may bring a covered dish to share for the meal, but it’s not necessary.

The church is located at 417 Summit Hill Road, (Marsh Creek), Howard. Questions can be directed to Pastor Dan Longmore or his wife, Marty, at 814-625-3544 or visit the website at marshcreekbicchurch.com.

Bible Study

LOCK HAVEN — God’s Eternal Life Church, 30 Woodward Ave., Lock Haven, is holding weekly Bible studies each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The topic will be Thru the Bible Word for Word. Please feel free to join. Church services are held on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. All are welcome. Pastor Dean Williams can be reached at 570-748-3700.

Labor Day Picnic

BASTRESS — Immaculate Conception Parish, 5973 Jacks Hollow Road off Route 654 in Bastress, will hold its annual country style ham and turkey dinner on Monday, Sept. 1, from 12 to 6 p.m. The meal will consist of ham and turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, noodles, coleslaw, bread and dessert. The cost is $13 per meal for adults, $6 per meal for children ages 4-12. Children under 4 are free.

Takeout meals are available after 1 p.m. Takeout meals are $13 per meal.

In addition to the dinner, other foods, snacks and desserts will be available on the grounds as well as a raffle and Bingo table. For info call Cole at 570-932-1886.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

MILL HALL — Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church’s Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 3, beginning at noon. More needleworkers, those who crochet or knit, are invited to join the PSM group.

August and September have been declared as Scrap-afghan months. Our needleworkers will be using scraps and partial skeins of yarn in many different colors to create afghans and lap robes.

Donations of yarn and money are needed and accepted at the church for the needleworkers to continue their talent of creating beautiful pieces that are then donated to those in need.

The needleworkers are also going strong in August and September to make as many prayer shawls, lap robes and small afghans as they can that will all be donated to area hospitals and nursing homes during the annual Knit N’ Run held the first Saturday in October. Cyclists from the Susquehanna Valley Big Twins Motor Cycle Club come to the church for a fellowship and brunch time before mounting their cycles and delivering many items to patients at nursing homes and hospitals in the area.

The church has a ramp, is handicap accessible and is located at 111 Main St., in Mill Hall, with plenty of free parking to the rear of the church. Call Pastor Susan at the church office at 570-726-4112 for more info on the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Food Distribution

BELLEFONTE — Food distribution will be on Thursday, Sept. 4, from 4-6 p.m., at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 216 McAllister St., Bellefonte. There aren’t any income guidelines but a few questions are asked for those attending for the first time. For more info on these food distributions, call Leilani “Loni” at 814-548-7835.

Free hymn sing

DUNNSTOWN — Dunnstorn United Methodist Church will hold a hymn sing and sing-a-long at the church on Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. The Twisted Racquet-Tears will be the featured musicians. The event is free and open to the public. Sing along to those old familiar hymns. Requests for your favorite hymn will also be granted.