Gerry Clemmer

Souderton's Chestnut St Playground to be done by summer

January 21, 2014 by Emily Ralph Servant

Souderton playground — Pastor Gerry Clemmer of Souderton Mennonite Church, right, talks about a walkway that will wind through the revamped playground planned for Chestnut Street and Wile Avenue in Souderton. At left is Jen Ruggiero, who works with Clemmer on the playground plans as part the Chesnut Street Playground Community CARES project she set up with neighbor Tara Cupitt.

by Bob Keeler, The Reporter Online (reposted by permission)

Can you tell they’re excited?

“We have a builder!!! We have a builder!!! Yahooooo,” Chestnut Street Playground Community Cares Facebooked Jan. 7. “Groundbreaking info coming ASAP!!!”

The night before, Souderton Borough Council had approved the winning bid of $267,200.05 from Puhl’s Landscape Co., West Conshohocken, to do the planned renovations at the longtime playground at Wile Avenue and Chestnut Street.

The work will replace and upgrade aging playground equipment, as well as add features for special needs children and interactive pieces to stimulate children’s senses and learning. Community fundraising is helping pay for the project.

In September, the borough rejected all the bids received for the project after the bids came in at much more than had been expected.

Changes were then made to the plans, including dropping, at least for the time being, the installation of public restrooms at the playground. New bids were then sought.

“We attracted far more bidders the second time,” Borough Manager Mike Coll said.

The prices were also better.

“The borough engineer’s estimate was $301,000, so it’s well below the engineer’s estimates,” Coll said of the winning bid.

The cost of the work will be covered by a $195,000 Community Development Block Grant and $80,000 that came from community fundraising, he said.

“We’d like to start the project as soon as possible, with completion by June,” Coll said.

When the initial bids were sought, it was for a specific type of equipment and supplier, which probably hiked prices, officials said when those bids were rejected.

To make the new bids more competitive, bidders were given a few more options of suppliers and equipment that would be acceptable, but that apparently won’t change the end result.

“I believe under Puhl’s proposal, they are actually providing a lot of the equipment we had originally specified,” Coll said.

In another matter at the Jan. 6 council meeting, police Chief James Leary said several people and organizations, including the Souderton-Telford Rotary Club, Souderton police and borough, Generations of Indian Valley and Souderton Mennonite Church, contributed to a holiday giving campaign for local families in need.

Seven families received “an entire Christmas,” he said, with others who needed some assistance but whose needs were less also assisted.

“I don’t know how many families benefitted, but it certainly was a lot,” Leary said.

The Rotary set up a successful Toys for Tots type collection, Godshall and Hatfield Meats each contributed hams and Generations volunteers shopped for gift items, then declined part or all reimbursement for the purchases, he said.

“We ended up with so many lists and we actually had the resources to fill the lists,” Leary said.

The contributions also included home heating oil for two families, he said.

Mystery woman sets tone for ministry at Spruce Lake

May 8, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Spruce Lake 50th Anniversary — A Wilderness Camp counselor sits with a camper by lantern light in 2007. Gerry Clemmer, pastor of Souderton congregation, said he recently went to that same spot behind the pavilion, remembering his own experience. “Forty-five years later, I knelt and thanked God for his faithfulness and love that became real to me for the first time that night,” he said.

by Grace Nolt, Spruce Lake Retreat

Al Detweiler took the call.

A woman said she had something to bring them. “I hope it’s a big check!” he joked with his wife, Kass, as he put down the phone. Al was one of the first pastors in Franconia Mennonite Conference to serve full time. Money was tight. The young couple also oversaw Allentown Mennonite’s children’s camping program.

A middle-aged woman arrived carrying a drawstring bag. Al and Kass had never met her before. What was her name?

But she avoided the question. Instead, she said, “I’m on my way from New York City to Cleveland and had a layover at the bus terminal. Coming here was something I ‘had’ to do. I have something to give you!”

She pulled a stitched plaque out of her bag — dark purple with white letters and three words: Watch God Work. “Now keep this where you can see it every day,” the woman said. “If you continue to serve God, you will see blessings in your life you never dreamed of!”

Then she looked at her watch. “Oh, I need to go now!”

“Do you want a ride to the bus station?” Al asked. (It was about a mile away.) “No,” she said, “I’ll walk.” She went out the door and down the flight of steps, never to be seen again.

Kass turned to Al. “Was she an angel?”

“Yes,” Al said, “I think she was!”

Then they put the purple and white plaque on the kitchen counter where they could see it every day.

The mystery woman’s plaque is no longer on the counter. It disappeared, most likely during Kass’s move to a new home following Al’s death several years ago. The words, however, have become forever stitched into the fabric of Spruce Lake as Al and Kass became the wilderness camp’s first directors in 1963. Those words remain a testimony to God’s faithfulness as the camp celebrates 50 years of God at work in the most amazing ways!

The Spruce Lake story begins with the flood of ‘55. Land was devastated along the entire Brodhead Watershed from northern Monroe County to Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Norm Good and others from Blooming Glen Mennonite Church mobilized a large volunteer effort, catching the attention of Mr. Dalton, a Jewish gentleman with a habit of seeking ways to help others.

Seven years went by. Franconia Mennonite Camping Association had formed (1961), and soon sent out a search team for land to start a children’s camp in the Poconos. A For Sale sign without a phone number caught their eye.

When they stopped at the Canadensis post office to inquire, the postmaster said, “Oh, there is Mr. Dalton now, getting into his car!” Practically grabbing Mr. Dalton by his shirttail as he was about to drive away, the men told him what they wanted.

Mr. Dalton remembered “the Mennonites,” their help during the flood. He said, “You are the kind of people I want to sell my property to!” He made an offer — half the original sales price — and in addition offered 240 acres of woodland (Spruce Lake’s forest and Wilderness Camp area). Settlement took place April 30, 1963.

Later that same day, Mr. Dalton went alone to Wilbur Lapp’s real estate office, holding out a check for $18,000 to pay for half of the additional acres the Camping Association had bought that day.

These stories from the past form our foundation for watching God at work at Spruce Lake! And so we repeat them often. The miraculous timings, spiritual encounters that defy explanation, the uniting of the right people with specific needs, the profound changes in people’s lives over the years — we can’t begin to begin name them all.

We’ve tried to convey snapshots of these holy encounters through the storybook, Watch God Work: Tracing the Movements of God at Spruce Lake, Fifty Years, 1963-2013. It will come off the press just in time for Spruce Lake’s 50th Anniversary Open House Sunday, May 19 — free copies will be available for anyone who wants one.

What else can you anticipate at the 2:00-7:00 p.m. Open House? Executive Director Mark Swartley will lead tours of the new Spruce Lodge (hospitality center), projected to be finished by the end of October. Motorcyclists in the Ride into New Horizons will roll in throughout the afternoon. Their registration fees help fund the New Horizons campaign for the new building. Guests will enjoy a 5:00 chicken barbecue dinner and lots of hearty fellowship. Details and sign-ups for Open House and the motorcycle ride are on Spruce Lake’s new website, www.sprucelake.org, or by calling 800-822-7505. A Wilderness Camp staff reunion June 16, new entrance signs, “birthday parties” throughout the summer, and more will be part of our celebrations in 2013.

Then, on December 13, vocalist Steve Green will present a 7:00 p.m. concert at Franconia Mennonite Church. Music will help us express what words can’t as we honor how God has worked through Spruce Lake over the past 50 years.

The future belongs to our children as they return and return to this place of blessing … Watch God Work!

Reflections on building an intercultural relationship

February 6, 2013 by Emily Ralph Servant

Urban Promise at Souderton — A team of interns from Urban Promise leads singing at Souderton congregation. Photo by Emily Ralph.

As a church seeking to connect with the mission of God in the world, it has been exciting to connect with the ministry of Urban Promise in Camden, NJ. Initially, several of our college students served as summer interns and Bruce Main and some of their interns came to a worship service on a Sunday morning. But this past year, the Senior High youth group did a week of service in Camden and for many of the youth it was life changing. Relationships were established. They connected with what God was doing in the city and the invitation was given to come to Souderton for an exchange visit. Seeing this come together on January 20^th was encouraging and confirmed the truth that mission in the Kingdom of God is more about building relationships than it is about programs.

–Pastor Gerry Clemmer, Souderton congregation

Urban Promise--Carlee Moyer — Carlee Moyer (left), a senior in Souderton congregation’s youth group, participated in a summer school camp. What she saw and experienced led her to consider teaching in the inner city someday.

I didn’t know what to expect walking through the doors into camp that first day—it was a huge eye opener. As Caucasian teens, we went from being the majority back at home in Souderton to being the minority in Camden! This gave me a sense of how other people view the world; I experienced what it feels like to not fit in. Each morning we had devotions and the main topic that they kept coming back to was about judging other people. In Camden, I tried to remember that I have no idea what these kids are going through and they know nothing about me either. If you have an open heart to everyone, you will not only see happiness in others, but happiness in yourself also.

Coming back home and starting my junior year in high school, something had changed. I tried to take a broader look at myself as a person. I have become more aware of how I treat people and think about how God would want me to treat others. Even though the children that were in the camps were young, they still taught me something that will stay with me forever. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about the people that made a huge impact on my life.

–Jillian Moyer, junior

Wow! Where do I even begin to talk about the experience our youth group had at Urban Promise? One of the things that fascinated me most was Urban Promise’s “street leader” program. This program is for the older children (9^th-12^th grade) who have gone to the camps before, but are too old to be a “camper”. They help run the camp and facilitate activities. It was great to see how these kids worked their way up through the program and are now given responsibility. As a teacher, I notice that kids rise to higher levels of maturity when they are given a responsibility, especially when that responsibility is to take care of younger children.

I know many of our youth want to go back and visit our friends from Urban Promise and some have showed interest in working there for a summer. What an amazing and life changing experience it was for our entire group! Urban Promise is truly ushering in God’s Kingdom in a very real way.

–Elyse Hackman, youth leader

Plans move ahead to improve Souderton playground

January 24, 2012 by Emily Ralph Servant

By Emily Morris, emorris@montgomerynews.com
Reprinted from the Souderton Independent

Gerry Clemmer, pastor of Souderton Mennonite Church, Jen Ruggiero, and Tara Cupitt stand inside the gazebo at the playground at Chestnut Street and Wile Avenue in Souderton. They are working to revitalize the park through fundraising events in the Souderton community. Souderton Independent photo - SUSAN KEEN

Plans to improve the public playground at Chestnut Street and Wile Avenue in Souderton are moving along, with a group of volunteers working on the project hoping to tag on to some of the momentum of the borough’s 125th anniversary.

“We’re partnering together and inviting the community to join us in this project,” said Gerry Clemmer, pastor of Souderton Mennonite Church.

Clemmer and fellow volunteers Tara Cupitt and Jennifer Ruggiero, both neighbors of the playground, are working under the name Chestnut Street Playground Community CARES to bring new, safer equipment to replace the aging existing features at the park. In addition, they’ll be refurbishing the gazebo that sits in the park.

The small corner playground, which has been there as long as anyone at the church can remember, Clemmer said, has not been updated in years, housing largely old steel equipment. Clemmer said the church donated one newer piece of equipment in 1999, which still exists and would remain as part of the plan. That was the last time the park was updated.

One of the primary goals is to create a safe and accessible playground for the numerous children who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the playground.

“The neighborhood is filled with school age kids,” Cupitt said.

To meet the safety goal, one of the key elements will be handicapped accessible equipment, including swings. There will also be a music station, which is an interactive piece of playground equipment that is appealing to all children, but also particularly good for children with autism and Asperger’s, Ruggiero said.

“Our goal is to encompass all children that might have some kind of disability,” Ruggiero said.

In addition, the playground will be designed to appeal to a wide age range, rather than just smaller children as the equipment does now. The goal is to get a larger playground structure that will appeal to those aged 7 to 12, and several other pieces to meet the age ranges below that. The playground is also visited regularly by children from the nearby Head Start program and other nearby nursery and preschool programs.

Cupitt, whose sons are 12 and 14, said her sons often go to the park to play football or baseball in the field below, and that field will remain for those purposes.

The group is currently working with the borough’s engineering firm, Boucher & James, to analyze the park property and create a master plan that can then be used to work on fundraising for the new equipment. Plans for the new park may include improvement of grading so that it is more accessible for both children or parents who may be in wheelchairs or handicapped in other ways.

Fundraising will be a key part of the project in the coming months, Ruggiero said. The goal is to raise a minimum of $65,000, though the group has plans that could incorporate more elements if more funding is raised. The group will be reaching out to larger companies in the area, along with smaller businesses, which may be able to support the project in other ways. For example, Ruggiero said, Action Karate recently donated the profits from the sale of gis — the outfits its students wear for karate — to the playground project.

The group is looking for large structure sponsors at $20,000 or more, smaller structure sponsors of $10,000 or more, $5,000 for a handicapped accessible swingset, $1,000 for the merry-go-round and spring rider, $500 for picnic tables and benches and $250 for trees and landscaping. Sponsorships over $500 will have their names placed on a recognition board in the park. Ruggiero said several businesses have already expressed interest in helping, including Moyer Indoor Outdoor, which has said it will help to maintain the trees and landscaping in the playground. Plans for the playground will preserve the existing trees.

For individual fundraising, the group hopes to have a number of events that may include a pancake breakfast and basket Bingo, and it will be hosting a block party in conjunction with the June 23 parade that will be part of the Souderton 125th celebration this summer.

The group hopes to begin fundraising in earnest after receiving a final plan for the park to show potential donors. The borough has said it will pull out some of the older pieces of equipment beginning in the spring, Ruggiero said, and the new equipment could be purchased piece by piece as money is raised. The goal is for the project to be completed by early fall.

“What we’re really wanting to do with this is to build a sense of community,” Ruggiero said.

Donations to the playground can be made Attention: Chestnut Street Playground to Souderton Mennonite Church, 105 W. Chestnut St., Souderton PA 18964 or Souderton Borough, 31 W. Summit, St., Souderton PA 18964. Checks and donations should note that they are to be earmarked for the playground project.

To learn more about the playground project or get involved, contact Pastor Gerry Clemmer, Tara Cupitt, or Jennifer Ruggiero.

Gerry Clemmer

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