Farewell

The congregation of Effort United Methodist bade an emotional farewell to Pastor Dave Felker and his wife Ruth this past Sunday.The new pastor will be in the pulpit Sunday, July 4.Services for the coming weekend will be at 5 p.m., Saturday, June 26, led by Ken Edwards, and Sunday, at 8:30 and at 11 a.m., led by retired pastor Bob Argot.Home Safety"Safety at Home" will be the topic at the Chestnuthill Senior Center at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 23. The center is now located at Zion Lutheran Church in Brodheadsville. Doris Philips, center manager, can be reached at (570) 402-7385.School boardThe Pleasant Valley School District Board of Education will meet at 8 p.m., Thursday, June 24, at the district office in Brodheadsville.ConfirmedEleven young people were recently confirmed at Zion United Lutheran in Brodheadsville. They are: Christian M. Carrier, Michael A. Gasdick, Justin T. Kaminski, Dominique M. Kindt, Vanessa Melendez, Matthew D. Rich; Kimberly A. Rivera, Alexandria C. Schweon, Christopher J. Skutnik, Catherine M. Stephens and Tyler M. Young.Pride in ChestnuthillOn June 17 the PIC committee met at the township building at 7 a.m. to plant flowers in front of the building. Four volunteers spent about an hour planting in the barrels in front of the township building and also placing Black-eyed Susans in front of the fence post.The group will be checking out businesses in the townships to see which ones have done the best to maintain and improve the property to find winners for the 5th annual PIC awards.The group, which normally meets at the Chestnuthill Township building, will not meet in July or August, but spring back into action in September.Volunteers are being sought to help PIC keep Chestnuthill "Clean and Green."Mt. Eaton VBS"Solid Rock" is the theme of this year's vacation Bible school at Mount Eaton Church in Saylorsburg. It will run from 6:30-8 p.m. each evening, July 19- 23. Children ages 3 through sixth grade are invited to enjoy Bible stories, skits, puppets, snacks, and other fun activities. There is no cost.For more information and directions, contact the church office at (570) 992-7050 or

office@mounteatonchurch.org. Directions to the church may also be found at

www.mounteatonchurch.org.Mount Eaton is a non-denominational church serving the west end of Monroe County since 1884. Mount Eaton Church holds worship on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings and offers a variety of programs for family members of all ages.Women's clubThe Western Pocono Women's Club recently installed new officers for the coming year. They are: president, Vicki Connor; vice president, Christine Reeder; secretary, Fern Smith; and treasurer, Judy Smith.Inducted into the club were new members: Carolyn Andrews, Sharon Figiola, Kathy Hargash, Paulette Sebring, Greta Weaver, Bobbi Fisher, Kathy Cimerol and Kathy Christman.The Western Pocono Women's Club was awarded a Letter of Accomplishment from the General Federation of Women's Club in Pennsylvania.Each year two awards for outstanding projects in fundraising are presented. The WPWC was honored to receive one of these awards. The recognized fundraising project is the annual running of a food stand at the West End Fair. The profits earned from this weeklong endeavor are given back to the community.For more information visit

www.westernpoconowomensclub.org, or e-mail

wpwomensclub@gmail.com.Special daysAmong those celebrating their birthday this week are: Loren Ziegenfus, June 23; Matt Held, June 24; Chris Sweeney, June 25; Samantha Rose Fink, Nancy Russo, June 27; Lisa Wolf, June 28.Celebrating their anniversary are: Loren and Barbara Ziegenfus, June 23; Lawrence and Amanda Campbell, June 24; Jeff and Diane Brong, June 24; Eugene and Susan Artz, June 25; Carl and Jeanette DeBoer, June 26; Bill and Barb Shiffer, June 29; Bill and Jean Everett, June 29.