Bishop Baxter Writes...

...About the St. Barnabas Center for Ministry

Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,

For 16 years the St. Barnabas Center for Ministry has provided a safe, Christian setting at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Uptown Harrisburg. At-risk children are given opportunities for intellectual growth, spiritual development, mentoring, and teamwork skills through the after-school program and 8-week summer rainbow day camp.
Without a Program Director for St. Barnabas, the Board was still able to hold a very successful summer camp last year, but unfortunately the after-school program had to be temporarily put on hold. The Board of Directors is changing over to a working board, offering their expertise in obtaining grants, program development, marketing & fundraising. This is an opportunity for them to take a step back, leverage the history of the ministry, and to make improvements.

Let me be clear that the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania will continue to support St. Barnabas in any way we can, both financially and with people’s time. In turn, I’d ask your church to consider doing the same. In particular to:

Lead or Participate: Board representation, especially from people who live in Uptown Harrisburg, and Committee members in areas such as Program Development, Fundraising, Partnership & Publicity are needed.

Walk: St. Barnabas is participating in Highmark’s “Walk for a Healthy Community” on Sat., May 22nd, 2010 on City Island. I hope you can plan to attend with a group from your parish.

Share Your Talents: Part of the summer rainbow program’s curriculum is to teach the children “life skills” such as gardening, cooking, fitness, etc. People are needed to share their time & talent.

Financial Support: Either through a monetary donation or a fundraising activity like St. Andrew in the Valley’s quilt raffle drawing, it’s always welcome and appreciated.

For questions or additional information on how your church can get involved, please contact Carol Witzeman (763-9276 or cwitzeman@aol.com). Attached with this letter is a copy of the St. Barnabas Center brochure, which I would encourage you to print to make available to your congregation.

The St. Barnabas Center has always been and will continue to be about “Giving Hope & Building Futures” for children. With the current state of Harrisburg, it’s needed more than ever. This has been a quiet ministry doing wonderful work to positively guide the children, and it’s of utmost importance that together we keep it not only going but growing.

Faithfully,

The Right Reverend Nathan D. Baxter, Bishop
Diocese of Central Pennsylvania