• Congregational Life
• Education
• Environmental Management
• Fundraising
• Health Ministries
• Mission
• Music and Worship
• Parish Leadership
• Stewardship
• Vitality

The ministry teams are comprised of people who answer Christ’s call and have gifts for particular areas of the whole mission of the church. Team members serve Christ through their particular work; each team will invite others to work on specific events/projects that all may have the opportunity to live out their discipleship.

Blessing of the Animals

Congregational Life

     Team members and others will:

• serve as the core group for planning special events, such as church anniversary celebrations;
• schedule and assist with coffee hours following worship, usually held at least monthly;
• share in planning for congregation-wide meals and events such as Family Advent Night;
• assist families with the preparation and serving of funeral luncheons and other requested meals;
• provide opportunities for group attendance at sporting events and other venues;
• assist the church office with the inclusion of weekly flowers/plants sponsored by worshipers and others, including Easter and Christmas plants.

Education

     Team members and others will:

• assist in planning and providing leadership for Christian Education experiences for all ages, including
• Sunday morning experiences
• Vacation Bible School
• Bible Studies
• Summer Studies
• Comma Kids experiences;
• encourage participation in and administer financial assistance for the summer camping program at Hartman Center;
• assist the pastor with the Confirmation program;
• act on behalf of the church in the planning of joint programs with other congregations and the wider church;
• attend and/or receive information from events in the wider church in order to enhance the Christian Education of the church;
• oversee the use of and education about the labyrinth.

Environmental Management

     Team members and others will:

• share in the inspection and repair planning for the church property;
• assist in securing lawn and snow care for the property including mowing, trimming, shoveling and plowing;
• plan and host several church clean-up/work days during the year to provide annual maintenance of the property.

Fundraising

Team members and others will:

• gather fundraising information and review for possible use by the congregation;
• work with existing fundraising efforts (eg., ice cream stand at Hummelstown Arts and Crafts Show in September) to provide assistance;
• work with Consistory and specifically with the Stewardship team on any joint projects.

Health Ministries

     Team members and others will:

• provide information about health and safety issues through the church publications, website, etc.;
• conduct periodic health screenings for worshipers and others (e.g. blood pressure checks, etc.);
• invite speakers and coordinate programs relevant to the health, safety and life issues of the community;
• assist the Mission team in preparing for and responding to local disasters as they affect church, neighborhood and community.

Mission Team

     Team members and others will:

• oversee support of the mission projects of the congregation which currently include
• Derry Township Social Ministries (food bank, family support and transient services)
• Love, INC (community services and Heart and Vascular Family Support through the Parsonage Project)
• Blue Mountain Thrift Store donations
• Hartman Center (Harrisburg Association Cabin care)
• UCC Homes;
• help promote and interpret the yearly special offerings and events of the church, which currently include
• The Christmas Fund
• One Great Hour of Sharing
• Strengthen the Church
• Neighbors in Need
• Church World Service CROP Walk;
• help promote and interpret the benevolent support of the church, especially Our Church’s Wider Mission, in conjunction with the Stewardship Team;
• work with the Health Ministries team to organize support and special appeals/offerings following local disasters;
• assist in securing speakers from mission targets for education and advocacy;
• support other teams involved in special projects of a mission focus (e.g. Education team working on Heifer Project program).

Music and Worship Team

     Team members and others will:

• assist in the planning of weekly worship components in community with the pastor and music staff;
• assist in the planning of special services as needed;
• assist the church office in the scheduling of greeters, ushers and acolytes for weekly worship;
• assist in providing for biweekly lay readers in worship;
• assist in seasonal changes to the worship space as needed;
• work with the Parish Leadership Team in the interview, hiring, creation of contracts and evaluation of music staff.

Parish Leadership

     Team members and others will:

• assist in the interview, hiring, creation of contracts and annual evaluations for office staff as well as music staff (in conjunction with Music and Worship Team); evaluations will be done with input from relevant ministry team(s) and some congregation members, the results of which will provide information to the consistory as they prepare annual budgets;
• assist in periodic reviews of the church bylaws
• assist the Vice President of Consistory and Teams in securing nominees for positions on Consistory annually and for teams as needed;

Stewardship

     Team members and others will:

• assist the Treasurer in sharing information with the congregation on giving and needs;
• assist the Mission Team in invitation and interpretation for special offerings and appeals;
• assist the Treasurer in regular review of church investments;
• discover and provide to the congregation information on planned giving and stock offering as well as other giving options  through church publications, website, etc.

Vitality

     Team members and others will:

• participate in the Penn Central Conference Vitality Initiative for its duration and, after, any programs offered that will be beneficial to congregational vitality;
• keep aware of neighborhood and community opportunities for outreach and invitation;
• review brochures and website as well as other outreach materials created in-house;
• periodically educate the congregation on effective invitation, welcome and relational evangelism tools and practices.