"The Ten Commandments tell us how to love God and how to love others," said Angie Havice, a member of Jerusalem Church in Manheim. Now you can immerse yourself in that message during the church's ninth community corn maze, which will feature the words, "love God love others" cut into the paths of corn stalks.

The corn maze will be open to the public during the church's Disguise & Prize event on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. The rain date will be Sunday, Oct. 8, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Children are encouraged to come in costume to visit decorated vehicles in the church's parking lot, 1620 Newport Road, Manheim, to receive small prizes and play games.

"We will have decorated cars that will hand out prizes like Trunk or Treat, but a lot of our cars will also have activities," Angie said. "This year, one of the stations will have flying frogs. Other activities in the past have included bean bag tosses, art stations, guessing games, etc."

It takes a team of volunteers to create the corn maze, which was plotted and mapped out by Angie's husband, Kevin Havice.

"This was the most letters we have ever done, so mapping it out took a while, especially connecting the letters for the maze," Angie stated.

She noted that the corn grew very fast during the process of creating the maze, and when the group was ready to tackle the project in July, they faced a summer heatwave. "No one wanted to be stuck in the cornfield measuring, holding flags and cutting corn with machetes in 90-plus degree weather with high humidity," she recalled. They waited for slightly cooler weather, but the corn had grown even higher then, so it took about 15 people several hours to cut and plot the maze. "Everyone was ready for water and showers after the maze was completed," she said with a laugh. Church member Bruce Becker maintains the maze from the time it is cut until the day of the event.

Angie said holding an event like Disguise & Prize helps the church members stay connected to their community. "Our church values families, and we want to provide a no-cost, family fun activity for our community," she remarked. "We also feel blessed to have the opportunity to use the resource of our land in a unique way."

She hopes anyone who is interested will come out for the event, adding, "This event can be enjoyed by all ages. It is a simple corn maze, which is ideal for younger people's attention spans and is also valuable to those that don't have the ability to walk in a corn maze for a long distance. You can stay as long or as short as you like. Some people walk through the corn maze quickly while others visit every vehicle, walk through the corn maze and spend time enjoying the outdoors."

If the event needs to be rescheduled due to weather, information will be posted on the church's Facebook page as well as on a recorded message that can be accessed by calling the church at 717-665-6565.