Ministries

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Tree of Life supports a graded Sunday School program. Classes are offered for children at the point they can walk and talk through Fifth Grade. A three year Confirmation Ministry is offered for middle school youth, grades 6-8, during the Sunday School hour. Confirmation students are offered an intensive time of study which covers the Old and New Testaments along with Church History and Theology. The Eighth Grade class is confirmed on Pentecost Sunday. Read More about Christian Education

MUSIC

Tree of Life is a congregation blessed by the gift of music, with many talented members willing to share their gifts. We support three vocal choirs- An Adult Choir, Women’s Ensemble and Children’s Choir. We also support an Adult Hand Bell Choir and a Praise Band that leads services one Sunday each month. Small ensembles, instrumentalists, and soloists offer gifts of music with some frequency. Our pipe organ has a story unto itself, and our congregation enjoys a considerable range of music because of it.

YOUTH

Our staff includes two part time staff members responsible for leading our ministry to and with our youth. Programming is offered for children in grades 3-5, middle school and senior high. Sometimes the groups come together for events. Other times they have their own activities. Our youth participate actively in the Harrisburg Area Confirmation Camp, summer camp at Nawakwa or Kirchenwald, the synod’s outdoor ministries, synod retreats and the ELCA National Youth Gathering.

SOCIAL MINISTRY

Our congregation supports an extensive mission ministry. Globally we support ministry in Guatemala through Tree4Hope and across the world by our support for ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission. Locally, our Thursday morning ministry called Feeding the 5000 prepares hundreds of meals each week for Bethesda Mission and Downtown Daily Bread and at other times, for the Hanna Foundation Food Pantry Read More about Social Ministry

We provide volunteers for the Ecumenical Food Pantry and many other local ministries. We gather monthly contributions of material good and contribute financially to the community groups that serve our neighbors. We support an extensive Christmas Angel Tree ministry and collections each month in the Extraordinary Date Crate. This year we will collect items for the following organizations.

Month	2023
Feb	Undies and Sundays
March	Feeding the 5,000
April	Christ Lutheran Medical Outreach
May	Lutheran Camping Corporation of Central Pennsylvania
June	Silence of Mary
July	Christian Churches United (Street min)
Aug	LWR school kits/ personal care kits
Sept	CORE (diapers)
Oct	Manna Food Pantry
Nov/Dec	Angel Tree

Our Pet Ministry Committee rounds up support for many of the pet rescue organizations in our area.

CHURCH CAMP

Two local Lutheran camps in Gettysburg (Nawakwa) and Colebrook (Kirchenwald) are the context of our local ELCA outdoor ministries and year round retreat ministry. Tree of Life is among the synod leaders in active support for our camps. We provide generous financial support for the children, youth, families and older adults who choose to be part of our camping ministry.

FELLOWSHIP

The congregation that eats together, stays together. We take our time with each other seriously, hosting many opportunities for our members to enjoy time with each other- from pork and sauerkraut to potlucks, soup suppers to spaghetti suppers. A church picnic in August, an Easter breakfast on Easter Sunday, soup meals during Lent and an occasional Lobsterfest thrown in. We host occasional concerts, bingo nights, and a large Holiday Crafts Bazaar as well.

OTHER MINISTRIES

A dynamic Boy Scout Troop and Cub Pack are both are sponsored by our congregation. Retired men play volleyball in our Fellowship Hall on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; retired women on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We sponsor a team that plays in the Church Dartball league, as well as basketball for adult men on Thursday evenings. A Men’s Breakfast is held on the fourth Saturday of each month at a local restaurant. We have a large group of crafters who come together to sew, making blankets, prayer shawls, bags for school kits and other fabric crafts. They meet at varied times.