Grace and Peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ!

Welcome to Tree of Life Lutheran Church, located in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We are a congregation of over 900 baptized members, diverse in our membership and welcoming in our ministry. If you don't know us, please browse around to learn who we are and what we believe. And if you are seeking a family of faith, we hope you'll visit us in person. We are rooted in faith and growing in love. We'd love to have you as a part of our faith family!

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,


Last month, twenty senior high youth and eight adults from Tree of Life attended Winterfest, the annual senior high retreat of the Lower Susquehanna Synod. Cathy has provided leadership for this event since its inception in 1991. And we have served as small group leaders at the event since it moved to the Lancaster Host Inn in 1995.

This year’s event theme was “Live Simply That Others May Simply Live.” It challenged us to think about, talk about, and pray about how we might fine tune our personal lives so that the lives of others might be enriched. You can imagine that our shared conversation generated a few challenges. Using less, consuming less, so that others who have less might have more doesn’t come easy and particularly so, when someone else is telling us what we should give up or have less of.

In a few weeks, the season of Lent will begin. For many of us, Lent is a season about simplifying, giving up, and using less. Over the course of time, the church adopted certain rules or practices that encouraged this notion- favorite foods sacrificed, hymns sung in minor keys, our word of praise, “alleluia,” forsaken for the season. A mood of sadness prevailed. And, frankly, today’s culture, as one liturgical planner suggests, “chafed under the rules.”

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?  (James 2:14)

Lenten Observance begins at Tree of Life with two services on Ash Wednesday, February 17th, at noon and 7:00pm. This will be followed by a regular midweek evening prayer service, including a Bible study opportunity and our traditional Lenten soup supper.

Please click here for all the dates, times, and details.

All are welcome... please join us!

REUTERS/Kena Betancur

While none of us can change what has already happened, we as a caring and compassionate family in Christ can certainly help change what happens next. Many of you have already contributed to one or more of the various national or international relief programs, and we're very grateful for your generosity. For those looking for a more local way to provide support, Tree of Life has begun accepting monetary donations that will be forwarded to either Lutheran Disaster Response or to "Celebrate Children", an international adoption organization that supports orphanages in Haiti. Donations can, of course, be placed in the offering at our normal Saturday or Sunday services, dropped off at the Branch Office (M-Th, 8:30am - 1:00pm), or simply mailed to:

     Tree of Life Lutheran Church
     1492 Linglestown Road
     Harrisburg, PA  17110

Please make all checks payable to Tree of Life Church with a "Haiti Relief" memo, and indicate if you have a preferred designation for the funds. Undesignated gifts will be evenly divided between the two agencies.

Also, in the coming weeks, the youth of Tree of Life Lutheran Church will be organizing school and health kits to be sent for Haiti relief. If you would like to contribute any of the items from the lists below, please drop them off by Sunday, February 21st. Donations can be brought to the Branch Office during normal business hours, or to the church most evenings and during weekend services.

School Kit needs

• 1 box 16-24 crayons
• Notebooks of wide- or college-ruled paper approximately 8" x 10 ½" totaling 150-200 sheets (if using 70-sheet notebooks, please include three); no loose-leaf paper
• blunt scissors
• 30cm or 12" ruler
• pencil sharpener
• 12 sheets colored construction paper
• 6 new unsharpened #2 pencils banded together with a rubber band
• 2 1/2" long eraser
  

Health Kit needs

• 1 hand towel, dark color preferred
• 1 washcloth, dark color preferred
• 1 bar bath-size soap in wrapper
• NO TOOTHPASTE
• 1 sturdy comb out of wrapper
• 1 metal nailclipper w/file attached
• 6 1/2-3/4" band-aids bound together w/rubber band
  

Thank you for providing these urgently needed necessities!

Finally, we are also currently looking into the possibility of a mission trip to Haiti sometime in March. Obviously, there will be a great need for both skilled and unskilled labor for years to come to help clean up, repair, support, and generally restore some sense of "normal" life in Haiti. But, as you can imagine, the logistics of organizing an effective trip will take some time. Please contact the Office if you are interested in participating, and check back here periodically for more details as they develop.