Doing God\u2019s work can be fun. Just ask St. Paul\u2019s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fountain Hill, which hosted its fifth annual Community Day Sept. 5. This year, the church took the event \u2013 which began in 2022 \u2013 to the next level, adding such things as a petting zoo and animal adoption station to the day, all the while keeping the goal of reaching out to the community at the heart of the festivities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a good response from the neighborhood. People are glad to see us do this every year, they enjoy the fellowship of community,\u201d Pastor Marlene Werkheiser, licensed lay minister (LLM), said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to do more things this year to bring to the community. Our church is here to serve the community, you don\u2019t have to be a member,\u201d Pastor Werkheiser said.<\/p>\n
The expanded Community Day for the first time included a petting zoo from Sunset Boarding Stables, which serves Schuylkill County and surrounding areas, and an adoption station with Last Chance Ranch, a Quakertown-based animal rescue service. Magician Bruce Ward stepped things up with his sleight of hand demonstrations and making balloons for the kids.<\/p>\n
Enhanced community involvement was highlighted by a table sponsored by the nearby Cantelmi Funeral Home \u2013 which was also an in-kind sponsor. Vanderburg Family Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Inc. \u2013 also nearby \u2013 was an in-kind sponsor as well. St. Paul\u2019s member Caylyn Felchock created the festive Community Day banner. She is the daughter-in-law of lifetime St. Paul\u2019s member Judy Felchock. Janiri Quinones Garcia made and donated the balloon arch and d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n
Live music was provided by Josh Gulotta as well as members of Iglesia Cristiana Shekinah, which formed a partnership with St. Paul\u2019s in 2024 and rents from the Lutheran congregation.<\/p>\n
In addition six students from Liberty HS and Freedom HS helped with the event as part of their community hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have hampsters to horses, small to big,\u201d Denise, event coordinator of Last Chance Ranch, said of the 27-year-old animal rescue. \u201cWe have lots of dogs from bad homes or situations that need loving homes. They need love and rehab, just as much as anyone else does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunset Stables\u2019 traveling petting zoo brought sheep, a miniature donkey, small goats, ducks, rabbits and a miniature zebu cow to delight those attending.<\/p>\n
Anne Dalvet, who owns Sunset Stables with son Caleb, noted they\u2019ve participated in other local events, including the Blueberry Festival, where they\u2019ve also offered pony rides.<\/p>\n
Community Day was a \u201cGod\u2019s work, Our hands.\u201d (GWOH) event at St. Paul\u2019s. GWOH is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America\u2019s annual day of service, which this year took place Sept. 13. The day is a chance to celebrate ECLA\u2019s identity as a church that serves and loves its neighbors, and many churches do GWOH events throughout the month of September.<\/p>\n
The theme of GWOH dovetails perfectly with the spirit of reaching out to neighbors and community that is so vital to the mission of St. Paul\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re blessed to have such a wonderful congregation \u2013 even though we\u2019re small, we want to let people see God\u2019s work with our hands,\u201d Pastor Werkheiser said.<\/p>\n
During the next year, St. Paul\u2019s plans to work with Shekinah Church to provide various outreach ministries including free spaghetti dinners, food deliveries to the senior homes, food pantry collections, veterans\u2019 breakfast, Christmas gifts to Fountain Hill ES school children and more.<\/p>\n
The day that kicked-off Labor Day weekend was rounded out by returning favorites, such as 15-minute hourly shows by \u201cThe Pulpiteers,\u201d St. Paul\u2019s popular puppet ministry that performs tunes of well-known songs with the words changed to Christian lyrics. Everyone could again dip into a free ice cream at Mon and Mel\u2019s Sweet Scoops Ice Cream Truck, and enjoy the participation of Fountain Hill Fire Department Station 34 and the Borough of Fountain Hill Police Department.<\/p>\n
Children again enjoyed face painting and kids\u2019 games, while a tricky tray with baskets donated by church members and friends and two meat raffles were also part of the fun. Food was also available for purchase.<\/p>\n
Pastor Werkheiser and Cindy Garguilo coordinated the event with the help of organizing committee members.<\/p>\n
St. Paul\u2019s will host a Designer Purse Bingo on Oct. 24. Doors open at noon for an afternoon of food, fun and prizes. Games begin at 1 p.m. Bring a non-perishable food item and receive a ticket for a special drawing. For tickets contact Garguilo at 610-261-0466.<\/p>\n
Press photos by Tami QuigleyOlivia has fun feeding sheep at Sunset Boarding Stables\u2019 traveling petting zoo Sept. 5 during the fifth annual Community Day hosted by St. Paul\u2019s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fountain Hill. For more information visit travelingponyridespettingzooschuylkillcountypa.com\/.<\/p>\n
Reggie, a three-year-old schnauzer doodle, looks doggone cute sporting an \u201cAdopt Me\u201d scarf as he stands at the adoption station with Tom, a volunteer with Last Chance Ranch, a Quakertown-based animal rescue service. Joining them are, from left, Allison, a volunteer; and Denise, event coordinator for Last Chance Ranch. Tom and his wife, also a volunteer, have two rescue dogs as part of their family. For more information visit lastchanceranch.org\/.<\/p>\n
Pastor Marlene Werkheiser, licensed lay minister (LLM), in green shirt at left, shares a smile with Community Day volunteers from the church. Janiri Quinones Garcia made and donated the balloon arch and d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n
Allison keeps her lollipop for herself as she enjoys feeding a small goat from Sunset Boarding Stables\u2019 traveling petting zoo.<\/p>\n
Put your head on my shoulder: Charlie, a miniature zebu cow, cuddles up to Caleb Dalvet, who owns Sunset Boarding Stables with his mother, Anne Dalvet. Sunset Boarding Stables serves Schuylkill County and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
Fountain Hill Police Officer Richmon Penn grabs an ice cream from Mon and Mel\u2019s Sweet Scoops Ice Cream Truck while mingling with community members.<\/p>\n
Pastor Josue and Aurea Ortiz, left, provide music with members of Iglesia Cristiana Shekinah, which formed a partnership with St. Paul\u2019s in 2024 and rents from the Lutheran congregation.<\/p>\n
Michele, a part-time funeral assistant with the nearby Cantelmi Funeral Home, staffs a table filled with information on such topics as social security and veterans death benefits and grief support group \u2013 as well as dog treats for canine friends visiting Community Day. Members of Fountain Hill Fire Department Station 34 can be seen behind her.<\/p>\n
Students from Liberty HS and Freedom HS helping during the event as part of their community hours included, from left, Angela, Liberty; Madasyn, Freedom; Kadence, Liberty; and Jaden, Freedom. The students expressed how much they enjoyed the experience.<\/p>\n
St. Paul\u2019s member Caylyn Felchock stands next to the festive Community Day banner she created. She is joined at left by her mother-in-law, lifetime St Paul\u2019s member Judy Felchock.<\/p>\n
All in the family: St. Paul\u2019s members Cortney Josar-Ortiz and her mother Beverly Josar enjoy volunteering for the day.<\/p>\n
St. Paul\u2019s stands ready to welcome neighbors and community members at 1059 Delaware Avenue, Fountain Hill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doing God\u2019s work can be fun. Just ask St. Paul\u2019s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fountain Hill, which hosted its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-301000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}