Thank You

Dear Friends, 

I am deeply grateful to those of you who helped plan and prepare for my very thoughtful, lovely, and memorable retirement celebration on Sunday, December 4. I would also like to thank each of you who attended. Your presence meant the world to me. Thank you very much to the WMLT, Session, and so many others for your very generous gifts, notes of affirmation and loving cards. I was touched by God’s love and grace so richly demonstrated through you.

God has richly blessed me while serving in the role of Hebron’s Women’s Ministry Coordinator. Partnering with you has indeed been a great privilege and so much fun. I have loved building friendships and growing in Christ with you. I look forward to serving together as we move into 2017.

In Christ’s Love,  Steff Knabe

I want to personally thank the members of the congregation for the generosity exhibited during our food ingathering. I want also to thank all those who helped with moving the food to the Penn Hills Service Association. Thanks again to all for all the help, and God bless!

E. C. Hoover

Women's Ministry

There Is a Time and a Season for Everything   

                                       

This coming New Year’s Eve will be my last day to serve as Hebron’s Women’s Ministry Coordinator. After praying about it for over 1 year, I believe it is time to step out of this position. For everything there is a season, and I am confident that after eleven years, now it’s time for me to move on.

There are so many things I could say as this chapter of my life comes to a close. After some thought, I have settled on sharing a smattering of the Scriptures that have helped fix my eyes on Jesus while serving in this role.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

“The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”  1 Thess. 5:24

“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  Phil. 3:10a

“Love one another.” John 13:34

“Count it all joy when you meet various trials because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”  James 1:2

“The Lord takes great delight over you, He rejoices over you with singing, He quiets you with His love.”  Zeph. 3:17

“My name is engraved on the palm of God’s hand.”  Is. 49:16

“Pray first.” “Pray continually.” “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” 1Timothy 2:1, 1Thess 5:17, James 5:16

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Eph. 4:29

“In love he adopted us ... Because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sin, it is by grace you have been saved, thru faith, it is a gift from God – not by works so that no one can boast.”  Eph. 1 and  2 (sel.vs.)

“Finally...Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”  Phil. 4:8

“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord ...” Eph. 6:7

Since 2005, God has blessed women at Hebron with a Women’s Ministry Leadership Team. The team has changed over time, but He has faithfully provided highly reliable, passionate women to serve. Thank you to Meg Passalinqua, Beth Iammarino, Karen Kear, Ellen Dillard, Jen Stolarz, Jayne Shorthouse, Amy Hehn, Elaine Miller, Jen Balkey, Laura Ivanov, Kristy Tomashewki, Joann Hughes, and Sarah Shorthouse. God has also blessed us with mightily well-equipped women who have served as Grove leaders, retreat team leaders, and leaders of HUPW. There are countless others who have served at the Heart Breakfasts, Peaches and Cream/Summer Sensation, Beyond Opportunities, Mercy Meals, Taste and See, as well as day by day serving and caring for others. It has been a divine privilege to serve with you!

Lastly, at some point along the way I learned two influential ways to  approach ministry to women. First, trust God to use you in the life of one person at a time. And every time, pray that you both will see Jesus in every interaction. Second, because we never know what’s going on in a woman’s life, unless she chooses to tell us, love her without conditions. We all need to be loved. We love because God first loved us.

Today is another time to grow. Growth requires change. We never  need to be afraid of change for God holds us in the palm of His hand. Therefore, let’s all press on towards the goal: To allow God to use us to show Himself to the world, one woman at time.

I will forever thank Him every time I remember you and the partnership in the Gospel that we have shared from my first day until now. I am confident that He who began a good work in you, and in me, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. My love I leave with you. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Ed. Note: Steff wants you to know that she and Craig are not leaving Hebron. Steff will be stepping away from all Women’s Ministry opportunities for one year to allow for a new coordinator to become well established in her leadership role. She will remain a co-leader of the Tuesday night Amazing Ladies Grove. She is looking forward to traveling more with Craig.

Women's Ministry

While I sat in a concert last night in the Palace Theater in Greenburg and listened to the beautiful music and powerful lyrics sung by Natalie Grant and Danny Gokey, I was reminded of one of my favorite verses in Scripture. This passage is filled with promise.

You keep him in perfect peace

    Whose mind is stayed on you,

     because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

     For the Lord is an everlasting  

     rock.  (Isaiah 26:3-4)

Isaiah tells us where peace is  found. Peace is found when we trust the One who controls all the things, even those that we don’t understand.

How do we experience a peace that does not fade away when people disappoint or circumstances are hard? We experience it by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and our minds set on Him. Peace in times of trouble is not found in figuring out one’s life, but in worship of the One who has already figured everything out. God is Peace.

Invariably when I take time to be still, pray, and meditate on who God is, my eyes rest on Him and His remarkable peace comes over me. These are some of the devotionals God has used in my life over the past 10 years or more. These tools have helped point me to His Word and to focus my mind on Him. God has used these tools to bring me great comfort, encouragement, and peace. My prayer is that if you choose to use any of these tools, you too will have your eyes fixed on Him and be comforted in your troubles, just as I have received comfort from the Lord Jesus.  

We don’t have to understand everything going on in our lives to find peace. Peace is found when we trust the Lord of all wisdom and grace who understands it all. Let’s join together to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and our minds set on Him. After all, He is our Peace.

Morning and Evening  Charles Spurgeon

Come Away My Beloved  Frances J Roberts

Streams in the Desert    Lettie Cowman

God Calling   A.J. Russell

My Utmost for His Highest   Oswald Chambers

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children   Jodie Berndt

Jesus Calling    Sarah Young

New Morning Mercies  Paul David Tripp

I’m more than your dreams

I’m more than you understand

Your days and your times were destined for our dance

I catch all your tears

Burn your name on my heart

Be still and trust my plan

I’m more than you think I am, more than you think I am.

Lyrics from:

 “I’m More than You Think I Am”  by Danny Gokey  

Women's Ministry

Dear Friends,

Our daughter, Hannah, and her husband, Peter, were expecting their first baby on September 15. After 36 weeks and 4 days of a very healthy pregnancy, on August 23, their beautiful daughter, Charlotte Raye Aman, was born into heaven. Life changed.

Charlotte is our first granddaughter and she is teaching Craig and me much about grief and the faithfulness of God. These are just a few of the things we have learned so far.

1. God is always working. We witnessed His faithful provision within minutes of getting the shocking phone call and throughout the week following her birth. Someone once taught me to be on the lookout for God at work in your life. As we looked for Him, He made Himself clearly known to our kids and to us. He was so kind and so good.

2. God’s grace is sufficient. We were rendered utterly clueless. How do we as parents comfort our children in the midst of this heart wrenching pain and loss? We knew we could not fix it, therefore, we wondered what were we to do?  And so we prayed, “Less of me, more of you. You are sufficient. Your love, your grace, your comfort is sufficient.” Freedom came. We rested in His sufficiency. We found joy in serving our kids and other family members. We were grateful for the times God made the needs of our kids clear, and any time anxiety arose in the uncertainty of it all, we prayed, “Less of me, more of you.” And peace came. He was abundantly sufficient.

3. God’s Word is powerful and life-giving. I recall learning many years ago; read, study and meditate on God’s Word when things are going well so that when things fall apart you will have truth to stand on. I witnessed Hannah speaking God’s Word into her baby girl as she cradled her soon after delivery. Hannah knew the Truth and she was passing it on to her precious child. Hannah was standing on God’s Word when her life was falling apart. It was powerful and life-giving for those of us who witnessed those moments.

4. God is the God of all comfort. Our family is thankful for the comfort we have received from the Lord. He has used many of you to comfort us through visits, loving cards, hugs, caring words, meals, phone calls, emails, and text messages. He has comforted us through His Word and daily devotions that have been right on target. God is with us and His Presence is comforting.

5. God is Hope. We are confident that Hannah and Peter will be reunited with their precious baby girl again for all of eternity. That hope has been a secure and firm anchor for our souls. We are excited about that reality. We grieve with hope!

God is in control. We know God could have spared Hannah and Peter this heart-breaking loss. We wrestle because we do not understand His ways. However, we know that God is in control, so we can safely say that He has this too. We believe that Charlotte’s death is a product of our fallen world. We will all die.  So for now, with our limited understanding, it is reassuring to know that our Living God has everything in His control. It is also helpful to look back and see clearly that His Sovereign hand has always held us securely in His grip.

Affectionately, from my mother’s broken heart,  Steff

PS  Hannah and Peter found this letter to be very helpful.  So do I. http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/letter-to-a- parent-grieving- the- loss- of- a –child.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Women's Ministry

See you in September… See you when the summer’s through… September 4, 2016 is the date!!

Like most summers, this one has flown by. This summer included a first for the Knabes as Craig and I spent two weeks of July in Sweden with extended family.

The year I graduated from high school, Bjorn and Anders, cousins on my Mom’s side of the family, came to stay with my family for one month. We had a wonderful time with these 2 very handsome, very fun, Swedish guys, who were my age. Years later their younger sister Jenny, came to stay with my parents several times. We loved our cousins. 44 years have passed since we have seen Bjorn and

Anders, and 20 years since Jenny’s last visit. Now it was time to be reunited in their country.

Because of the planning done by Jenny, her husband Olaf, and her mom, Berit, we experienced the trip of a lifetime. We slept in 10 different places during our 13-day stay. We toured the stunning, very old, capital city of Stockholm. We took a 3-hour boat ride to the quiet, untouched, natural beauty of the Archipelago, where we experienced “Glamping” in tents overlooking the Baltic Sea. We spent two nights on the beautiful  island of Oland, where our family had a quaint summer home and where we swam in the icy Baltic, close to midnight, while it remained light outside. We drove to Kosta, an ancient glass blowing town.  There I watched Craig blow a piece of soft, super hot glass, as it came out of the fiery furnace. It turned out to be a lovely, small, cobalt blue vase for me, a treasure from my husband. All of this and much more was over-the-top wonderful. But one part of the trip changed me.

We visited the town, the farm, and the house where my Mom’s Dad, Jarl Karlson, was born. At 18, he and his best friend boarded a ship headed to America, never to see his parents or his 10 siblings again. I saw a picture of him and his friend at 18, all dressed up, and handsome as can be, before they set sail for America. We were given a family picture of him, his parents, his sisters and brothers. I learned that his youngest sister, Karin, loved him more than her other siblings and had always carried the memory of saying good bye to him on the road as she was walking home from school, never to see him again. I learned that his mother’s name was Johanna and they called her “Hanna”. Finally, I got to hold and page through the Bible that he sent to his parents from the USA, his new home. It was addressed to them and signed; from your loving Son, Jarl Karlson. I got to see his handwriting.  It was a very special and moving moment.

My mom had said that she was a Daddy’s girl and I recall Christmastimes when she would cry because she still missed him. Her dad had passed away at age 53 from a brain tumor before my mom was married. Thus, I never knew him. From the things my mom had shared I knew he was special and I now believe, from things I have just learned, that my mom was much like her dad.

Within minutes of seeing that Bible, I was praising God for my Grandfather, whom I never knew. I thanked God for his faithfulness. He and my Grandma were Christians and they passed it on to the next generation; to my mom and her 2 brothers. My Mom passed the love of Jesus on to me and my 2 sisters. My sisters and I have passed it on to our children. Our nephews are passing it on to their children. My Grandparents were disciple makers.

I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit’s work in and through generations in my family. My life, our family’s lives, without Christ, would be so very different day in and day out. Additionally, our eternal destiny is secure, we are heaven bound. I am thankful for God’s promises and His blessed assurance.

Thus, as we move into fall, Women’s Ministry will continue to focus on Disciplemaking. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20, “Go and make disciples”. This is the central mission of Christ’s church. As we are going about our lives, we ordinary women are to take the Gospel outside the walls of the church to our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, community, and beyond as God leads us.

Today, as we Engage with others, will you and I work on being more Intentional about finding ways and times to tell people about Jesus and what He has done for us? God wants us to obey His commands. When we share our story of Christ’s work on the cross and share our Jesus story with someone, we are not responsible for the outcome. That is Christ’s job. Our job is to obey Him when He prompts us to share and makes the opportunity available.

Joy is found in obedience. Are you and I ready to obey?

Save the dates: 

All Women’s Groves start the week of September 4

Taste and See -  September 26