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Editor’s note: To submit a nonprofit announcement to The Sentinel’s Religion section, contact Erin Thompson at (717) 248-6741 or by email at ethompson@lewistownsentinel.com. Items also may be faxed to (717) 248-3481 or sent to The Sentinel, 352 Sixth Street, Lewistown, PA 17044. Items should arrive to The Sentinel by Wednesday afternoon for publication in the Saturday edition. Submissions will be published as space allows. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions. ¯¯¯ Ministry to support single moms BELLEVILLE — The Mifflin County Single Moms Care and Support ...

‘Go in peace’: Bellefonte church founded in 1800 holds last service

BELLEFONTE (AP) — A Pennsylvania church with a 221-year history held its final service and is scheduled to close at the end of the year because of declining membership and attendance. The First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, which is nearly as old as the borough itself, held the final scheduled service on Christmas Eve after having welcomed generations of families over the course of more than two centuries. “There’s just such a love among this congregation. We’ve all known each other so long and we know each other’s foibles,” church elder Candace Dannaker told the ...

A surge of evangelicals in Spain fueled by Latin Americans

SALAMANCA, Spain (AP) — When Kent Albright, a Baptist pastor from the United States, arrived as a missionary to Spain in 1996, he was unprepared for the insults and threats, or the fines from the police for handing out Protestant leaflets on the streets of Salamanca. “Social animosity was big — they had never seen a Protestant in their life,” said Albright, recalling one woman who whispered, “Be thankful we don’t throw stones at you.” He couldn’t have imagined that 25 years later, he would be pastoring an evangelical congregation of 120 and count about two dozen other ...

Live life ‘day by day’

In my years of ministry I have noticed that the average Christian is being crucified between two thieves, the regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow. People just cannot seem to enjoy life today because they are being robbed by yesterday and tomorrow. So I think it would be good for all of us to learn to live “a day at a time.” Now, when you start living one day at a time — life becomes more exciting. It becomes more enriching, it is no longer dull, it is no longer filled with drudgery, and you will find yourself doing less complaining and griping about life and it’s ...

Lord, help evaluate this past year

It’s almost over, folks...yet it’s only just begun. 2021 is over, and a new day, a new hope, a new faith is upon us. Are you ready? While I’ve never been one to make New Year Resolutions (because I’ve learned they are often made in haste and soon forgotten), I see the need for us to recognize that we are stepping into a new day with so many opportunities before us. We DO need to reflect on decisions we’ve made during this last year and realize just how those decisions may have reaped rewards or devastation. Life or death...every single day of this past year has taken us ...

The only mark that matters

There is a cryptic symbol in John’s vision, that is often abused and exploited, the fabled “666, the mark of the beast.” It’s one of many symbols in the Revelation Code where some the biblical literalists, fear-mongering booksellers and some prophetic preachers have had a heyday of speculation, trying to figure out the meaning of the mark and the naming of the beast. At the time of the Reformation, some believed it was the Pope and others believed it was Martin Luther, depending which side of the debate you were on. During World War I it was thought to be Kaiser Wilhelm and, of ...