Special service

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is being celebrated through Friday. It is an interdenominational event.

The Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network is hosting this year’s Prayer for Christians Unity Worship Service at 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady Queen of Peace Roman Catholic church in Gilbert. The Rev. Suzanne Brooks-Cope, pastor at St. Matthew’s UCC in Kunkletown, will preach. All are welcome to come and worship together.

After the worship service, members of Queen of Peace Church will be preparing a free brunch for all who attend.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019 worldwide ecumenical worship service has been written by Christians in Indonesia.

In case of bad weather, the prayer service for Christian Unity will be moved to 10 a.m. Jan. 31 and the brunch will follow.

Mission meal

West End Mission is again serving a mission meal from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

PVI PTO meeting

The Pleasant Valley Intermediate School’s PTO meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Special speaker

The Heritage Center of the Western Pocono Community Library, at the corner of Bond Lane and Route 209, Brodheadsville, proudly presents Ryan Clauser of WASPs, Women Airforce Service Pilots, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Please register ahead of time at 570-402-1906 or 570-992-7934, the library.

CJERP meeting

The Chestnuthill-Jackson-Eldred-Ross-Polk Regional Comprehensive group is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Chestnuthill Township municipal building in Brodheadsville.

School board

Pleasant Valley School District’s Board of Education is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the District Office in Brodheadsville.

Blood drive

The Kunkletown Firehouse is the site for an American Red Cross from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday. There is another blood drive at the Blakeslee Community Center on Route 115 from noon to 5 p.m. Friday.

Trivia night

The American Legion Post Home 927 in Gilbert is hosting a Trivia Night, Test Your Brain, this Friday, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, call Peggy at 610-681-5838.

Sunday supper

Our Lady Queen of Peace Church is hosting a Community Sunday Supper from 3 to 4 p.m. this Sunday.

Church family meal

Pleasant Valley Assembly of God Church, Brodheadsville, is holding its 21-Day Fast, ending dinner at 5 p.m. Sunday. The event will begin with prayer followed by fellowship and eating downstairs. Attendees are reminded to bring a covered dish to share.

Polk supervisors

The Polk Township Board of Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the township municipal building in Kresgeville.

New office hours

Polk Township’s tax collector, Carolyn Meinhart, has announced new office hours beginning March 1. They will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays.

Kids lock-in

The Pleasant Valley Assembly of God Church, Brodheadsville, is hosting a PV Kids lock-in at the church Friday through Saturday. This is for children in first through sixth grades.

For more information, and to sign the children up, head to the following link: https://pvag.breezechms.com/form/incredibleme.

In light of the weather causing the church being closed this past Sunday, Team Night will be postponed to 5 p.m. Feb. 10.

Special program

Effort UMC will be hosting United Health Care from 10 a.m. to noon this Friday, and on Feb. 9, to provide information on a Special Needs Plan, a no charge plan for those on Medicare and Medicaid. People interested in obtaining this information are asked to come to the food pantry area on those days to see the representative.

The food pantry will be open at that time this Saturday.

Chestnuthill seniors

The lunches being offered to the seniors who attend the Chestnuthill Center at Zion Lutheran Church in Brodheadsville include: baked fish Thermidor for Friday and garlic broccoli with pasta for next Wednesday.

Those wanting that hot meal are reminded to call the site manager at 570-242-6770 by 11 a.m. the day before.

Stromboli orders

The REACH Missions team from Effort UMC is once again hosting a fundraiser for its upcoming mission trip to Newfane, New York. Orders for the handmade strombolies are being taken through Sunday. Pickup will be on Feb. 3.

For more information, call the church at 570-629-1850.

Loving hands

Pleasant Valley Assembly of God Church’s Loving Hands is a group that makes quilts for those in need and those who are sick.

The group is meeting from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday.

The Brodheadsville church also has a bread pickup the same day, from noon to 4 p.m., and a dinner from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Art exhibit

Monroe County Conservation District’s Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center is hosting an Art Opening featuring Andrea Henley of Monroe County with “Nature’s Simplicity” on Feb. 2.

The artist combines her love of nature and macrophotography in a captivating exhibit depicting nature in the Pocono Mountains. Opening reception will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb 2. The exhibit runs Feb. 1 through Feb. 28.

For more information, call the Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center at 570-629-3061. For more information on other programs offered, visit the website at www.mcconservation.org.

Souper Bowl

Each year Effort UMC’s Missions Team and Supplemental Food Resource Center (food pantry) sponsor an appropriately named Souper Bowl.

The church will have soup pots in the narthex for donations of canned goods such as canned fruit, canned pasta, canned vegetables, canned sauces, etc. and nonperishables. Back by popular demand, there will also be a little competition involving the teams playing in this year’s Super Bowl. Each soup pot will have a team name so attendees can vote for the favorite by placing their donation in that particular pot. Donations need to be in by Feb. 3.

Kid’s game night

Chestnuthill Park is holding a Kid’s Game Night in two sessions Feb. 8. There will be two sessions: 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. It is for children ages 4 to 14 years old and will include bingo, cup stacking, ball toss and more. Preregistration is required.

Maple sugaring

Each year the Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center conducts tours of its Maple Sugaring site in Marshalls Creek in February and March for schools, Scouts, home-schoolers and other interested groups.

This is a great opportunity to learn about maple sugaring, which has been going on in the area for hundreds of years.

Two-hour tours include stops at stations providing information on the history of maple sugaring, which dates back to the Native Americans; the evaporating process that is used today; and groups will be provided the opportunity to tap a maple tree whose sap will be used in the 2019 maple syrup production.

Also shown are methods of collecting maple sap, and finally, the cooking process that produces the sweet maple syrup. Dates this year for organized groups have been set for Feb. 25 through March 8. There is a cost per participant, and scheduling is done on a first-come, first-served basis.

A special day in the Sugarbush for Scouts will be sponsored on March 9. Programs can be scheduled between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are open to any level of Scouts and their families.

The day will feature a tour of the Sugarbush including stops to learn about Native American and early pioneer methods of making maple syrup, our evaporator process and methods of identifying and tapping a maple tree.

After the tour, everyone will get a chance to taste some of the syrup on freshly made pancakes. There is a cost per person. Preregistration is required for groups to reserve a spot by March 6. Additional information may be obtained by calling 570-629-3061, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or visit www.mcconservation.org for more programs.

Contact Adele Argot at 717-933-4028 or arargot3@verizon.net. Contact the Times News at 800-443-0377 or tneditor@tnonline.com.