Local Church

By SCOTT BUTKI / Staff Writer photo: KEVIN G. GILBERT / staff photographer TILGHMANTON - Parishioners at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church near Tilghmanton and Fairplay were surprised and upset Sunday morning to find that the exterior of their church had been defaced with graffiti. The church, which was built in 1854, was covered with spray-painted messages on three walls. Only the front of the church was free of the graffiti, which was mostly sexual and satanic in nature.

Highland View Church, at 21600 Academy Terrace in Hagerstown, is sponsoring a Lifeline Screening program Monday, June 2, for anyone interested in early detection for the possibility of stroke, vascular disease and irregular heart rhythms. The cost for all four screenings is $139. These tests are not reimbursable by Medicare. Call 1-800-324-1851 to preregister, which is required. For more information, go to www.lifelinescreening.com .

What: Donations are being collected for Iraqi citizens Where: Grace United Methodist Church, 712 Church St. in Hagerstown Contact: For more details, call 301-739-1925 or send e-mail to graceumc-hagerstown@verizon.net. HAGERSTOWN About five months after their pastor left to serve in Iraq as a member of the Maryland Army National Guard, parishioners at Hagerstown's Grace United Methodist Church are looking to serve in a different way. They are collecting needed items, like shoes and medicine, for Iraqi citizens.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Police Department was looking for a homeless woman they said went missing "under suspicious circumstances" two days after Thanksgiving. Shirley Crum, 59, who also uses the last name Zeigler, recently had arrived in the Chambersburg area from Gettysburg, Pa., with her husband and son, police said in a press release. She had told family that she was going to seek assistance at a local church Saturday, Nov. 24, around 7 p.m. and has not been seen since, police said.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A local church will host an Armed Forces Appreciation Service on Sunday starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Jerome L. King Playground bandshell. The service, sponsored by Conococheague Grace Brethren Church of Greencastle, is aimed at giving the public the chance to "show support for our military men and women and their families," said Kim Combs, a spokeswoman for the event. The Rev. Alan Clingan will officiate and the public is welcome, Combs said. The service will feature speakers from the Greencastle Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts.

Antietam Bible College is accepting registration for summer classes, which are scheduled for Tuesdays in June and July. The summer classes include the Christian Life, Methods of Teaching, Cults and Isms, Introduction to Apologetics and Women's Ministries in the Church and Community. Although all classes are designed to be part of a degree program, women are especially encouraged to attend the class in church and community ministries with the goal of developing or extending the women's program that is appropriate for their local church.

When an earthquake struck Haiti in January of 2010, the repercussions were felt in Hagerstown - not on a seismograph, but in the hearts of parishioners from St. Ann Catholic Church. For weeks, they followed news reports of a leveled Port-au-Prince. They listened to estimated death tolls, stories about the growing number of refugee camps and outbreaks of cholera. They wondered about destruction in outlying areas. And they worried about their friends. For about 15 years, there has been a special relationship between St. Ann and St. Claire Catholic Church in the diocese of Dessalines, Haiti.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Five members of a Sudanese family who have been living in a Syrian refugee camp for five years were supposed to arrive in Waynesboro today to start a new life, but, for reasons unknown to their local sponsors, were unable to leave Syria. "We don't know what is happening," said Sharon Van Dam, associate pastor at Evangelical Lutheran Church at 43 S. Church St., the sponsor for the Sudanese family. The Evangelical Lutheran Church established its national refugee resettlement program in 1972.

Cooler weather After a rainy spring followed by several days of ferocious heat and humidity, the weather in our part of the world has turned unusually cool. At this writing, daytime temperatures are only in the 70s and forecast to stay that way right up to this weekend. Nights are cool -- in the 50s and without need of air conditioning -- reminding me of the years of vacation nights I spent as a child at my grandparents' summer place near Lake Michigan. Our weather here is a far cry from the flooding and misery being endured by our fellow citizens in Iowa, Wisconsin and adjacent Midwestern states.

Saturday, Dec. 4 Christmas in Bethlehem NEWVILLE, Pa. - Christkindlmart is a family holiday event modeled after the open-air markets in Germany during the holiday season. Dinner is included at Minsi-Trail Inn. The trip also includes a candlelight concert at a local church and will conclude with a 45-minute riding tour of the historic Bethlehem District, led by a guide in colonial Moravian costume. Leave Newville at 10 a.m., and Carlisle, Pa., at 10:20 a.m. The cost is $90. To reserve seats, call 1-717-776-4393.

When an earthquake struck Haiti in January of 2010, the repercussions were felt in Hagerstown - not on a seismograph, but in the hearts of parishioners from St. Ann Catholic Church. For weeks, they followed news reports of a leveled Port-au-Prince. They listened to estimated death tolls, stories about the growing number of refugee camps and outbreaks of cholera. They wondered about destruction in outlying areas. And they worried about their friends. For about 15 years, there has been a special relationship between St. Ann and St. Claire Catholic Church in the diocese of Dessalines, Haiti.

For many people, seeing a miniature donkey at their Sunday church service would probably be startling, or at least an unusual occurrence. At Washington Square United Methodist Church in Hagerstown's West End, seeing Caroline the donkey in the church's foyer on Palm Sunday didn't seem surprising to many of the parishioners entering the church. Caroline started coming to the church for special occasions about five years ago, starting with the Christmas season, when the church has a live nativity, said Caroline's owner, Fairplay resident Harry Benton, and Dottie Crawford, who coordinated Caroline's appearance on Sunday.

The Rev. Kathryn Hames Letto has been named the new pastor of Salem United Methodist Church in Keedysville and Mount Lena United Methodist Church in Boonsboro. Letto is a summa cum laude graduate of Bowie State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. She also is a graduate of Howard University School of Divinity. Letto has served under appointment in the Baltimore-Washington Conference for 20 years — six years part time as a student and 14 years as an ordained deacon and elder.

The newest, local Christian radio station to hit the airwaves is finally up and running after tackling a few glitches. "We went on the air in August, but we had a few hiccups," said Larry Aikens, general manager of WHGT 1590 AM and pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Temple on National Pike. "All the equipment we bought was brand new, and it's like getting a new car. Sometimes you have to take it in for service. But, we worked all that out, and we're at full steam. " Janice Cook of Chambersburg, Pa., was changing her radio station when she stumbled upon WHGT.

Williamsport United Methodist Church, 25 E. Church St., hosts a cancer support group on the first Wednesday of each month from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The meetings are open to anyone whose life has been touched by cancer. Transition night is set All eighth-grade students planning to attend Williamsport High School next school year and their parents are encouraged to attend ninth grade transition night at the WHS auditorium on Wednesday, Feb. 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Learn about graduation requirements, completer programs, Washington County Public School academies, Technical High School offerings, Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

HAGERSTOWN --Steve Gatz showed a crowd a chameleon, a bull frog, a lizard and other animals during a block party at the Hagerstown Seventh-day Adventist Church on Robinwood Drive Sunday afternoon. Then he needed some help. He looked around for youths who could help him lift a snake out of a plastic box. But this was no small specimen. It was a 14-foot, 130-pound Burmese python, and Gatz and several other people worked to stretch the snake out for spectators to see. "And he's half-grown.

o Read more Anne Weatherholt columns at washingtoncountyliving.com Canal-Apple Days School has started and summer is winding down, which means its time to wind up for Canal-Apple Days. Hancock's 34th annual fall festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 18 and 19, and includes a parade through town plus lots of vendors, displays of local interest and entertainment, all in Widmeyer Park. Parade participants and vendors are urged to contact the Hancock Lions Club to participate.

Like to learn about doing something here to help people who are scratching out an existence in another part of the world? The Growing Project, locally an annual harvest of crops on farmland near Myersville, Md., is urging area residents to attend the annual meeting of Foods Resource Bank in Gaithersburg, Md., this week. The July 13 to 15 meeting kicks off at 7 tonight with an ice cream social at the Marriott Courtyard Gaithersburg Washingtonian Center. On Wednesday, the keynote address will be given by David Beckmann, 2010 World Food Price Laureate and director of Bread for the World.

WILLIAMSPORT -- After other organizations started charging $6 to $7 per person for community holiday meals, Gateway Ministries decided it would provide one for free. About three months ago, members of the local church along Kemps Mill Road started planning for the community dinner, said Shon Duty, evangelism and outreach director at the church. The church, which has a food bank, paid for the food, and also received cash and food from other donors, Duty said. It all came together Sunday when the church offered its "Setting the Table" meal in its large family life center.