Susquehanna LINK: Summer Edition 2023

 

The Summer edition of Susquehanna LINK can also be viewed and downloaded at https://susumc.org/link/

Discovery Place: Spiritual Growth Resources for the Summer Months

I enjoyed meeting many of you at the Discovery Place table at Annual Conference. Several folks ordered resources that were on display, and those have been sent. On Friday we had two tables FULL of items to give away, some of which were donated to Discovery Place. I was glad to go home with much less than I brought!

Summer is often the time when folks are away on vacation quite often. It is important, therefore, to offer lessons that are self-contained in one session and not part of a weeks-long series. There are many options that fit this description.

Nooma – This series is comprised of 24 different DVDs, each with one-word titles and lasting 15 minutes or less. Each includes a study guide with thought-provoking questions and Scripture verses. Visit our online catalog at www.discovery-place.org and search by title Nooma for individual titles and a brief description of each.

36 Parables – Labeled by color, each DVD contains three parables. 

Lime: “Charlie” - Parable of the Mustard Seed; “Wise/Foolish” – Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders; “Together” – Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds.

Cyan: “Spilt Milk” – Parable of the New Wine in Old Wineskins; “A Few Weeks Later” – Parable of the Rich Fool; “Beyond Beautiful” – Parable of the Two Sons.

Yellow: “Found” – Parable of the Lost Coin; “Buried Talent” – Parable of the Talents; “Buen Vecino” – Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Purple: “Out of Reach” – Parable of the Friend at Midnight; “The Car Lot” – Parable of the Shrewd Manager; “Sean” – Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.

Amber: “After Life” – Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus; “Tractor Safety Tips” – Parable of the Leafing Fig Tree; “The Good Shepherd” – Parable of the Good Shepherd.

Blue: “The Music Box” – Parable of the Hidden Treasure; “Like Father Like Son” – Parable of the Two Debtors; “Gnobody’s Gnome” – Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.

More complete descriptions with Scripture references are in our online catalog. 

Both Nooma and 36 Parables are relatively short DVDs and are suitable for both youth and adult groups. Nooma study guides are in a separate booklet; 36 Parables study guides have been downloaded from their website, and printed copies are in the box with each DVD. 

Deeper Connections Series – These visually stunning DVDs are written and taught by biblical experts – six professors with specialized areas of knowledge. Don’t let the word “deeper” scare you. These engaging and accessible studies are for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of God’s Word and apply it more faithfully and effectively. 

There are six books in this series, each containing six lessons: The Prayers of Jesus, The Parables of Jesus, The Miracles of Jesus, The Forgiveness of Jesus, The Life of Jesus, and The Last Days of Jesus. The video portion of each lesson is 25-30 minutes, with breaks for discussion. Included is a leader’s guide and a participant’s guide. For further details on each study, search our online catalog by title Deeper Connections.

You may place an order through our online catalog at www.discovery-place.org, email discovery@susumc.org, or call 717-766-7968. (Your voicemail will send an email.) 

After being involved with Discovery Place for over 20 years and being Director since the spring of 2016, I am retiring in June. Discovery Place will remain open, so please visit our website for hours and more information. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve you all! 

Joni Robison

Discovery Place: Stand Alone Bible Study Lessons for Summer Flexibility

As you read this, Annual Conference is fast approaching. If you are attending Annual Conference, be sure to stop by the Discovery Place table on Wednesday or early in the day on Thursday to see samples of our newer resources. Later in the day on Thursday we will convert the display to a “give-away” table, so be sure to stop by again and pick up resources to take back to your church. Hope to see you there!

Summer is often the time when folks are away on vacation quite often. It is important, therefore, to offer lessons that are self-contained in one session. There are many options that fit this description.

Nooma  – This series is comprised of 24 different DVDs, each with one-word titles and lasting 15 minutes or less. Each includes a study guide with thought-provoking questions and Scripture verses. Visit our online catalog at www.discovery-place.org and search by title “Nooma.” 

 

36 Parables – Labeled by color, each DVD contains three parables.  

   Lime: “Charlie” - Parable of the Mustard Seed; “Wise/Foolish” – Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders; “Together” – Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds.

   Cyan: “Spilt Milk” – Parable of the New Wine in Old Wineskins; “A Few Weeks Later” – Parable of the Rich Fool; “Beyond Beautiful” – Parable of the Two Sons.

   Yellow: “Found” – Parable of the Lost Coin; “Buried Talent” – Parable of the Talents; “Buen Vecino” – Parable of the Good Samaritan.

 

   Purple: “Out of Reach” – Parable of the Friend at Midnight; “The Car Lot” – Parable of the Shrewd Manager; “Sean” – Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.

   Amber: “After Life” – Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus; “Tractor Safety Tips” – Parable of the Leafing Fig Tree; “The Good Shepherd” – Parable of the Good Shepherd.

   Blue: “The Music Box” – Parable of the Hidden Treasure; “Like Father Like Son” – Parable of the Two Debtors; “Gnobody’s Gnome” – Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.

More complete descriptions with Scripture references are in our online catalog. 

Both Nooma and 36 Parables are relatively short DVDs and are suitable for both youth and adult groups. Nooma study guides are in a separate booklet; 36 Parables study guides have been downloaded from their website, and printed copies are in the box with each DVD. 

 

Deeper Connections Series – These visually stunning DVDs are written and taught by biblical experts – six professors with specialized areas of knowledge. Don’t let the word “deeper” scare you. These engaging and accessible studies are for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of God’s Word and apply it more faithfully and effectively.  

There are six books in this series, each containing six lessons: The Prayers of Jesus, The Parables of Jesus, The Miracles of Jesus, The Forgiveness of Jesus, The Life of Jesus, and The Last Days of Jesus. The video portion of each lesson is 25-30 minutes, with breaks for discussion. Included is a leader’s guide and a participant’s guide. For further details on each study, search our online catalog by title Deeper Connections.

 

You may place an order through our online catalog at www.discovery-place.org, email discovery@susumc.org, or call 717-766-7968. (Your voicemail will send me an email.) 

Discovery Place will be closed for much of the month of June (OPEN ONLY June 13-16), so please place orders as soon as possible for anything needed in June or early July. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you!

Serving Christ with you,

Joni Robison

Susquehanna Conference
303 Mulberry Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
717-766-7968
email  discovery@susumc.org
web  www.discovery-place.org

God’s Army is Coming to the Susquehanna Conference

United Methodist Action Reach-out Mission by Youth (U.M. ARMY) is a national youth mission organization offering summer mission opportunities for youth, young adults and adults across the United States. U.M. ARMY works with VIM at both the national and local conference level to ensure quality, faith-based, mission weeks.

Last summer, U.M. ARMY had to re-imagine our mission models so we could still answer the call to serve while working within the COVID guidelines. We did this, through God’s blessing, by creating LOCAL and VIRTUAL models. These models provide a balance of gathering across church groups for social interaction, showing God’s love in a hurting world, creating opportunities for spiritual development and encircling safety around everything we do.

We held one of these LOCAL mission weeks in the Susquehanna Conference last summer with great success and many blessings. Due to the ongoing concerns with the pandemic, we have decided to move forward on this LOCAL model again this summer. EXCITING NEWS! We are offering two LOCAL models in the Susquehanna Conference this year. We already have some youth groups lined up to participate in both weeks; however, we have plenty of room for your group to join us in this “day camp” model.

The theme this year is: GOD @ WORK:CREATING. Each day begins with morning worship to get us focused for the day, followed by service work out in the local community. All projects will either be outside or at a local community service organization with strict COVID guidelines. Each team shares lunch together with guided devotion discussion related to the weekly and daily themes. After a day of service, we gather again for group building activities and closing worship. During the week, we will experience a prayer journey that provides a time of personal reflection and time with God.

Each person is asked to eat breakfast at home, bring their own lunch each day, and eat dinner at home. Water supplies will be provided, along with pre-packaged snacks. We are hoping to offer a closing picnic at the end of the week, if we feel we can serve and eat food safely.

We will be at the following locations/dates this summer:

FISHING CREEK SALEM UMC (Goldsboro, PA) – July 18-23 

CHRIST UMC (Mt. Top, PA) – July 11-16 

NO WORRIES if you live too far away or if these weeks won’t work for your group. U.M. ARMY is also offering VIRTUAL opportunities this summer. These weeks still provide an opportunity to serve in your local communities in a day camp model; however, worship and interactive activities will be held virtually with other youth groups participating during your same week.

Won’t you join us to help share God’s love and experience God’s creation? God is already at work creating our mission work within the Susquehanna Conference. We just need to be His hands, feet and heart by answering the call to serve.

For more information on U.M. ARMY, please feel free to access our website: umarmy.org

To explore opportunities for your group, please contact Darlene Thomas, Regional Director @ darlenethomas@umarmy.org or 877-771-9484 ext. 1108