Last year several men from First Presbyterian Church joined Tony Sundermeier at the Northeast Men's Retreat at Lake Champion, NY - just over the PA border.  The event is an annual occurrence and will take place on October 1-3, 2010.  Tony will be leading a group from First Presbyterian Church to join 200+ men from the Northeast region. There is a ton of things to do including hiking, boating, golf, soccer, basketball, and much more! We will also have four sessions throughout the weekend lasting one and half hours each for worship, a speaker, and a challenge for our faith. 

Early bird registration is coming up! It is only $120.00 per person if we get registrations in by August 15. The cost covers room and board and use of the camp's facilities. The accommodations are very, very nice.  So, if you would like to go...send a check made payable to FPCA for $120.00 with the memo NEMR.  Mark the envelope ATTN: Tony Sundermeier/NEMR. 

There is also a Golf Tournament on Friday morning.  If you are interested in golfing (which would require you go to up Thursday night - Tony is going up to play!) the total cost of the weekend would be $205.00, which includes golf on Friday, breakfast and lunch. After August 15 the cost is $135.00 for non-golfers and $225.00 for golfers. Scholarships are available...please ask Tony about them! Any questions, email tony.sundermeier@fpcallentown.org or call 610-395-3781.

Recently, a 20 year-old refugee girl, Donya, was murdered in Emmaus.  She left behind a family with unimaginable grief.

Donya and her family arrived here from Iraq in December, 2008.   Like so many Iraqi refugees, they had to flee their country because a family member helped the U.S. Army and as a result, their family was targeted by the insurgents.  The father was a dentist in Baghdad and the mother worked for the State Dairy.

Many FPC members in the Arabic community and the Refugee Resettlement Committee helped the family initially settle into their first apartment in Allentown.  Those of us at FPC who knew the family when they first arrived, remember a young girl who was eager to go to school so she could get a good job to help her family.  We remember a father who was anxious about the safety of his family in an unknown place, and afraid to have his children walk to school because he worried about child abductions.  He made many one mile trips across the 8^th Street Bridge from inner city Allentown, walking his children to and from school.

After a few months, the parents got jobs at Lehigh Valley Hospital in General Services and were able to move their family to Emmaus.  Donya received a scholarship to go to college.  Life seemed to be good.

Then the most horrific of events took their daughter away from them.  Hearts were broken and never can be repaired.  Not only is the family suffering emotionally, but also financially.  A Memorial Fund in the name of Donya Abdulrazzak was established at Wachovia Bank in Emmaus.  If you would like to contribute to the fund, please call 610-965-9888.