I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a space nerd. Not like the tinfoil-hat-wearing, UFOs-are-real, was-totally-once-abducted-by-aliens kind of space nerd. But the sheer wonder of the unfathomable deepness of space is intriguing. The planet on which we live often feels very big. However, when you consider that many of the dots of light you see in the night sky aren’t just a single star, but are actually galaxies of billions of stars that are so far away that they only look like a single point of light… Well, our 8,000 mile-wide chunk of rock and water we live on starts to feel rather small.
So how big is the universe? For starters, scientists and astronomers measure the universe in a distance known as a lightyear, or the distance it would take for light to travel in one year. One of the “ground rules” of our universe is that nothing can travel faster than light, so we use it to help us measure. (For reference if you really wanted to know, this is just shy of six trillion miles). Using the most powerful telescopes and space imagery, we can see approximately 46.5 billion lightyears in any given direction, giving us an observable sphere of about 93 billion lightyears across. Being the observer, we are the center of our own universe.
I was watching a video the other day that was helping conceptualize this, and it posed the question “What is at the edge of this “bubble” that we can see?” Is it just… nothing? Well, most of space in our universe is indeed a whole lot of nothing. But what we do know is that in this void beyond what we can see, it’s actually… light. It’s not light that our eyes can perceive, mind you: visible light for our eyes is only in a certain window of wavelengths. As light slows down, it drops below the threshold of what we can see (starting with infrared light, then moving into radio waves, and so on). Like how ripples on a pond get smaller the further out they get, light begins to get more and more faint (even for the most sensitive of equipment). But the fascinating thing is that this light (what the video had called “ancient light”, from the time of the beginning of the universe) is still there and is ever expanding outward.
While this boggles the mind, and I hope I didn’t lose too many of you, I wanted to bring this up for a point. I’m reminded here of the opening of the book of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” There is something poetic, and a tad ironic, when even the ardent atheists acknowledge the second greatest miracle: why there’s something and not just nothing. Further still, all things came into being through the one not only described as the Word, but specifically as the Light. The Light still shines in the darkness – evidenced in a literal background light still emanating from His creation of the universe, but also as the God who took on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).
It’s easy to hold the perception that we’re the center of our universe. Everything we ever have known (or ever will know) is through our particular self-interested lens. Our worldviews are shaped by our life experiences and are literally a reflection of what we perceive the world around us to be like. And at the end of the day, it’s hard to shake the feeling that all I want out of life is what I think is best. But what I hope for all of us, particularly through this Lenten season, is that we’ve taken some time to challenge that perception. Take some time to instead be introspective. Take a moment to read through Psalm 139. David reminds us that we need to ask God to show us our shortcomings, especially in contrast to the unobtainable and incomprehensible vastness and magnificence of God.
Astronomer Robert Jastrow, an agnostic himself, described the frustratingly ironic realization about the universe’s origin in the following quote from his 1978 book God and the Astronomers: “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” How happy are we, the followers of Christ, who can smile knowingly when reading about the Ancient Light, which continues to shine throughout the universe yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Tim Leidy
Dates & Times:
Friday, April 10 | 5:00–7:00PM
Saturday, April 11 | 9:00–11:00AM
Sunday, April 12 | 11:45AM–1:00PM
Come tour as we're nearing the finish line of the Parsonage renovations! See the progress firsthand - guides will be available to walk you through the home. No registration is needed; simply stop by at a time that works for you.
Parking Note (Saturday Morning Only): Please park in the church parking lot and walk to the Parsonage. This helps keep spaces available for Upwards Soccer families using the adjacent fields.
Good Friday Service
Friday, April 3 at 6:00PM
Join us to reflect on the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ through Matthew 27:27–54. Immediately followed by
36 Hours of Prayer
Join us as we pray from the cross to the empty tomb - Good Friday Evening to Early Easter Sunday Morning,
36 hours of non-stop prayer. Sign-up on the online newsletter, or call the office!
Easter Morning - April 5
Youth Fundraiser Breakfast 8:30AM
Where: Fellowship Hall
Cost: Donation
Youth will be serving breakfast. All are welcome! There will be no Sunday School Classes on Easter
Easter Service & Communion 10 AM
Join us as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As some of you may be aware, we have historically spent the month of March highlighting and hearing from various missionaries and ministries Leidy’s Church supports. This year, we’re shaking things up and will be having Missions Month during the month of May.
Did you know that we support ministries and missionaries from as close as 10 miles from our church to as far as 8,800 miles from our church? Ordinary and extraordinary distances have been traveled by the people supported by Leidy’s Church to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people and communities around the world. This May, we invite you to spend time in their shoes as we learn more about who we support and the communities they work in. One of the ways we’ll be doing that this year will be a new experience here at Leidy’s.
On Sunday, April 26th, we’ll be launching a “steps” challenge called In Their Shoes. How many miles can we, collectively as a church, log during the month of May? Can we make it 150 miles to Gettysburg where Kevin & Maria Noyes are serving at Gettysburg College with DiscipleMakers, to lead students at Gettysburg College to deeper and fuller relationships with God? Can we manage 650 miles to the Chicago area where Jared & Abby Alleman work with the Welcome Network to connect with recent immigrants and minister to them? How far can we go?
Each week we’ll be highlighting a specific ministry or missionary. We ask that you take the time you spend walking, running, or biking each day (or week) to pray for these people we support. And log your miles. We’ll have a table in the narthex during the month of May where you can pick up (and turn in) your weekly logs and we’ll have the same information on the Strava app, if you’d rather log your miles digitally. Join our Leidy’s: In Their Shoes club on Strava log your miles for this challenge. And every Sunday, we’ll share a graph before the service to see how far we’ve traveled compared to our missionaries.
Prizes will be awarded to the highest mileage gained by an individual in five different age groups:17 and under; 18-29; 30-44; 45-64; and 65 and over
So we encourage you to lace up your shoes and join us for this challenge. And let’s see how close we can get to the where our missionaries have traveled in their shoes.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Isaiah 52:7
Our sincere Christian sympathy to Dave Walbrandt and family at the death of his mother, Mary, and to Frank Allebach at the death of his sister, Betty. May God be with these families at this time.
Verna Bowman will be our guest speaker this month. Verna will be sharing the news about the Real Moms Conference which will be hosted by Leidy's Church on September 26. A time for Moms to be encouraged in their walk with God. Ladies of Leidy’s meets on the first Tuesday of each month as we seek to serve God’s people through prayer, encouragement, support, and acts of service. Please enter through the West Entrance. Questions? Feel free to contact BJ Kulp
A fellowship ministry for widows to connect and be encouraged. We meet in one another’s homes on the third Tuesday evening of the month at 6:30 pm. If you would like to join us, please contact Donna at weissdonna42@gmail.com or Verna at gvbowman@comcast.net.
Lancaster PA
Thursday April 23
12:00 PM
Join us for an Amish lunch in the home of Lydia Stoltzfus! Experience an authentic Amish home cooked meal and enjoy the day with a ride to Lancaster and a delicious meal with friends. Cost: $20/person due by Sunday, April 12th (pay cash to By or Dottie Rimmer). Feel free to sign up in the Narthex instead of online! Please register no later than Sunday, April 12.
We will be carpooling from the church parking lot, meeting between 10-10:30AM (NO later than 10:30). If you're able to drive and take a few passengers, please contact Byron Rimmer for information and directions.
Absent: Josh Heebner
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Jim Kinney at 7:06PM.
Devotion & Prayer: Brian Radcliff opened with devotion and prayer, focusing on the importance of a faithful and consistent prayer life. Referencing Matthew 6 and Hebrews 6, he emphasized personal, intentional time with God and trusting Him in prayer. He also shared how “First Sips” has strengthened his prayer life.
Approval of Minutes & Finances:
- February Meeting Minutes: Approved (Motion by Brian Radcliff, seconded by Jim Kulp; carried unanimously)
- February Financials: Approved (Motion by Jerry Kulp, seconded by Francis Weiss; carried unanimously)
New Business
- Approved purchase of a new water heater (~$15,000), exceeding initial estimate by $4,000
- Discussion to poll missionaries and others we support, regarding willingness to provide account information to evaluate feasibility of a Treasurer’s management system
- Audit team and counting team are currently being formed
- Agreed on a 90/10 split of parsonage proceeds (90% missions / 10% other use)
- Darren will explore options for outdoor sound systems
Property Discussion:
- A thorough discussion was held regarding proposals for the 276 W. Cherry Lane property
- Follow-up discussion scheduled for April meeting
- Plan to be developed for communicating details to the congregation
Adjournment: The meeting concluded at 10:00PM after prayer requests were gathered and prayed over by Brian Radcliff.
Join us on April 25th for our Church Auction—an evening full of fellowship, energy, and generous community spirit! This year features many new items, with both a silent auction and a live auction offering something for everyone. Come and bid on an exciting lineup including local gift cards, furniture, special dinners and experiences, sports tickets, live trees, vacation home getaways, and even the unique opportunity to select a sermon series!
All proceeds support our parsonage renovation project and our missions fund, helping us strengthen and expand our ministry. Bring your friends and family—and if you’re able, please consider donating an item to help make this our best auction yet. We can’t wait to see you there!
True Faith
Question 59: But how does it help you now that you believe all this?
Answer: That I am righteous in Christ before God, and an heir of eternal life.
Question 60: How are you righteous before God?
Answer: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact that my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have not kept any one of them, and that I am still inclined to all that is evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of my own, out of pure grace, grants me the benefits of the perfect satisfaction of Christ, imputing to me His righteousness and holiness as if I had never committed a single sin or had ever been sinful, having fulfilled myself all the obedience which Christ has carried out for me, if only I accept such favor with a trusting heart.
Question 61: Why do you say that you are righteous by faith alone?
Answer: Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, but because only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God, and I can accept it and make it mine in no other way than by faith alone.
Question 62: But why cannot our good works be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it?
Answer: Because the righteousness which can stand before the judgment of God, must be absolutely perfect, and completely in conformity with the divine Law. But even our best works in this life, are all imperfect and defiled with sin.
Question 63:Will our good works merit nothing, even when it is God’s purpose to reward them in this life, and in the future life as well?
Answer: This reward is not given because of merit, but out of grace.
Question 64: But does not this teaching make people careless and sinful?
Answer: No, for it is impossible for those who are ingrafted into Christ by true faith not to bring forth the fruit of gratitude.
The Red Cross Mobile Blood Unit will be at Leidy’s Church on Thursday, April 16th to receive blood donations from 2 to 7 pm from people who have registered as donors. There are two ways you can register as a donor. First, you can sign up for an appointment by going directly to the Red Cross website, which is www.redcrossblood.org and click on “Find a Blood Drive” and then go to the box type listed as leidyschurch. (no spaces or apostrophe). When you click on that link, you will see the times available to schedule your appointment. The second way to sign up is by calling the church office or signing up in the narthex before or after the worship service on Sunday mornings. Also, there are options of blood donation one can choose, from the normal red plasma to donating blood platelets. The amount of time may vary depending on the procedure, but the average completion time is between one and one-half to two and one-half hours.
1 Bonnie Pross
3 Michael Kehs
4 Allison Hall, Phil Shafer, Maeve Tyson
5 Henry Shafer
6 Doug Elliott
7 Brody Kinney
8 Tirzah Hager
9 Bob Hager
10 Maikil Yagilnicky
11 Greg Nase
13 Brian Radcliff, Joan Radcliff
14 Justine Smith, Kaleb Smith
15 Stan Ott
16 Betty Curry, John Pavie
17 Aleks Yagilnicky
18 Ava Permar
19 Verna Bowman, Sue Landis
20 Jean Frederick
24 Jim Kinney
25 Mariah Foote, Tom Moyer
27 Aaron Vogelzang
28 Mallory Kinney, Peter Smith, Alisha Vogelzang
29 Sandy Derr
4 Dean & Beth Kulp, Tom & Linda Moyer
5 Tom & Judy Leidy
8 Mark & Laurie Pappas
12 Andrew & Reagan Wetzel
27 Drew & Laurie Weiss
30 John & Lorraine Kroesser
