Gipsy Christian Church - A Bit of History

Gipsy Christian Church - A Bit of History

Gipsy Christian Church
A Bit of History Over Time
Summer 2011:

Bible School held at Gipsy Christian Church during week of July 25. As always, we had great support from children and adults. Closing program was a blessing to all in attendance and this was followed by a fellowship time in our church hall.
Air conditioning was installed in loving memory of Emmaline Conner by members of her family.
Improvements continue to be made to the church hall in following ways: (1) Installation of carpet in the dining area. (2) Purchase of addional chairs for dining area. (3) Construction of walk in storage area which is enclosed. (4) Enclosure around the furnace which will also provide storage for cleaning supplies etc.
New shingles have been installed on the church roof -- again, through circumstances we were able to get a very reasonable bid on the job.

Summer & Early Fall 2010:

Bible School held at Gipsy Christian Church in mid-July. Excellant response and involvement on part of children and adults who helped in many different ways.
Organ has been replaced with a Hammond in which we believe God worked out the unusual details, making it possible for us to gain possession of it!
New shingles have been installed on the church roof -- again, through circumstances we were able to get a very reasonable bid on the job.

June 21, 2009 "celebration":

Special service in observance of Pastor Harriger's half century in the ministry -- it was 50 years to the very day (June 21) that he preached his first sermon in two Methodist churches to which he was appointed in New Castle PA.
He referred to that first sermon, which he had all written out in purple ink!
It was the goal of the Harriger's to have all their family present on this occasion. Three of the grandchildren were unable to be present: Andrew Harriger, Rachel Harriger and Lisa Lindrose.
A fellowship meal was served in Gipsy Christian Church Hall following the service to which all were invited to attend. Many thanks to the Loyal Berean Class for arranging and paying the expense of a delicious catered roast beef dinner.

July 13 - 17 Vacation Bible School was held each evening at Gipsy Christian Church in cooperation with Smithport United Methodist Church. Closing program was on Friday, July 17, with picnic style food at Gipsy Christian Church Hall. Average attendance was in the mid 20's. Thanks to the many who helped in different ways in this vital ministry to children and youth.
April 24, 2005 - Day of Dedication and Celebration was held at 10:30 AM with a fellowship dinner which followed at noon. The reason for this special service taking place is given in the paragraph just below. After that there are items listed in the ongoing history of Gipsy Christian Church and the people who make up the congregation.
The major improvements to the sanctuary of Gipsy Christian Church included: new windows, replacement pews with cushions, new ceiling blocks, painting of sanctuary with 3 coats of paint, painting of vestibule, adjorning rooms off the sanctuary, and hallway to basement, new lights in the sanctuary, and new hymnals. The carpet was commercially cleaned after removal of old pews and before the new pews were brought in. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
It was a blessed time of celebration -- many visitors joined with us on that day and the fellowship meal was also a great time -- appreciation is due to many who gave time and work to the celebration experience.
In summer of 2006 an upstairs restroom was installed -- a major cleanup of the basement also was done with removal of some old carpet and disposal of accumulated materials which were no longer needed. A new church steeple has been ordered from Rainesville Church Pew Co. in Woodstock GA and will be installed shortly after delivery which is expected to be in mid-October.
Vacation Bible School was held in association with the Smithport United Methodist Church during the last week of June 2007. Average attendance of children and youth was in the 20's plus a good number of adult staff persons. Theme was on Noah's Ark and lessons to be learned from Noah's experience. Closing program involved participation by all the students and a visit from Noah who had a conversation with a donkey which did not want to get off the ark after it settled! Evening concluded with a picnic and hay ride enjoyed by all ages!
Gipsy Christian Church obtained ownership of the former Montgomery Township Community Center which is located on the west side of the parking lot next to the church. This transaction took a bit of time but was finalized by mid summer 2007 -- work sessions were held for a time each Tuesday evening to do major improvements to the building which is now named Gipsy Christian Church Hall. Many thanks to those who helped as they gave of time and abilities to bring about those improvements.
Sunday, September 23 A service of dedication of the Gipsy Christian Church Hall and the new steeple which was installed on the church took place during the service of worship at 10:30 AM. A fellowship dinner was held at Gipsy Christian Church Hall following the worship service.
Monday & Tuesday, October 9th & 10th Preparing apples -- washing, cutting, and boiling down into sauce -- this is first stage of getting ready to make apple butter the old fashioned way!
Wednesday, October 10 Making the first batch of apple butter which will be available for sale on Saturday, October 13th, at the Gipsy Christian Church Apple Butter Festival. Starting time is about 4:30 AM with apple butter bubbling all day until late afternoon when it will placed in jars.
Gipsy Christian Church Apple Butter Festival was held on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at the Gipsy Christian Church Hall, located at 108 Trojan Road in Gipsy -- the Hall is next to the parking area west of the church. Apple butter was available for sale in pint and quart containers. There were also craft items, special gift baskets for highest bid, cookbooks, soup and food items available. A kettle of apple butter was made on that day so that visitors may see how our apple butter has been produced. The event was well supported by folks in the community and outlying areas as well. Thanks to all who worked and supported the 2007 festival sponsored by Gipsy Christian Church.

November 2007 - Gipsy Christian Church supported Operation Christmas Child which is sponsored by Samaritan's Purse -- packing of shoe boxes with gifts for children which will be distributed world wide. 40 shoe box gifts were collected for 2007! Thanks to all who helped make this possible. Some of those gifts were provided by a Girl Scout group from Ebensburg PA.
Other:

Pastor Harriger now has a BLOG going which has comments plus links on various subjects relating to his web site. To go to the BLOG click on Musings of a Maverick
Congregation of Gipsy Christian Church continues to use Bible Pathway in devotions -- if each daily reading is followed, one will read the entire Bible in one year's time. If anyone would like to obtain a copy of Bible Pathway, please contact us at address information given. Contact Pastor Harriger for a copy of the current issue of Bible Pathway.
We have received an interesting email from Bulgaria inquiring about the possility of Pastor Stoyan Todorov -- he is pastor of Gypsy Christian Church in Bulgaria (sometimes spelled Gipsy) in text on their web site! To see what his ministry involves go to Bulgarian Christian Gypsy Church -- click on the "Enter" link when you get there -- is God opening a door for mission involvement here?
How to Become a Christian! -- NOTE: Use reverse on your web browser to return here.

What in the World Are We Doing, Anyway?
Go to Gipsy Christian Church and Mission Involvement
And be sure to check the Gipsy Christian Church Cookbook - a project of the Loyal Berean Class.

Making Contact with Us

Gipsy Christian Church address:
P.O. Box 52
Gipsy PA 15741

The church's physical address is 112 Trojan Road in the village of Gipsy.
Pastor Harriger's address & phone:
P.O. Box 32
Belsano PA 15922
Phone: 814-749-6960
Email: cdharriger@hotmail.com
Click on Clayton & Jean to meet them and to access links to their backgrounds and his commentaries.

Harry the Hammer, our construction foreman, says,

"Be sure to come back because we'll be posting
more information at this location in days to come!"

Pastor Harriger's main web site is at: Circuit Rider's Range
His BLOG is at: Musings of a Maverick!

Word of Caution: It is recommended that you put on a helmet and a flak jacket before you enter Circuit Rider's Range OR Musings of a Maverick! -- also, be sure to fasten your seat belt, because it gets wild at certain points along the way at both places

NOTE: The Official Board of the Gipsy Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has neither officially endorsed nor approved the content on Circuit Rider's Range or Musings of a Maverick. Members of the Board may or may not be in agreement with stated issues in areas of commentary by Pastor Harriger.

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