WINTER UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2015 News Bits Winter Update First Presbyterian Church of Blairstown, New Jersey Pa s t o r’s M e s s a g e Many, many years ago I participated in a small group in the church that I was serving at that time. The focus of that small group was threefold: prayer, study and eating. When we gathered, we prayed. We studied. We ate. Small groups offer fascinating outcomes, and many pastors, this one included, have said that a small group is where faith and Christ interface the best. Good things can happen in small groups. In small groups we learned the grace of caring, the art of sharing, and the joy of tending to the care of the soul. In the small group I mentioned above, we learned how to became more Christ-like to and with and for one another. We learned the joy of vulnerability and took advantages of opportunities to take risks, remove masks, and discover in the process the grace of seeking first to understand rather than be understood – to quote St. Frances of Assisi (11811226). In ancient days, secular Rome became Christianized to no small degree by the caring and sharing employed from our ancestors in the faith. Acts 2:42 reveals their behavior well. In small groups, people cared for and shared their lives with one another. They became Christ to and for one another. In small groups, their f aith matur ed, their knowledge of Christ developed, their Christianity identity was formed. I make a fuss of small groups, because Lent will be upon us shortly, beginning with Ash Wednesday February 18th. A community Ash Wednesday service, involving the United Methodist congregations of the community is being planned in our Sanctuary at 7:30 pm. Mark your calendars and plan to attend! Then, beginning Sunday, February 22, at 5:00 pm at the Outreach Center, I will begin a Lenten study, Pastor John Ortberg’s study Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You! Learn to reconnect with God or rather discover and reclaim how God is connected already to you, loves you and cares for you. Each session will include soup and salad with a DVD presentation that explores the following themes: 1) What is the Soul; 2) The Struggle of the Soul; 3) What the Soul Needs; 4) The Practice of Grace; 5) The Practice of Gratitude; and 6) The Practice of Growth. The study guide may be purchased on Amazon for $9.29 or by calling the church office. We can order copies, if need be. The study will be more meaningful if the study guide is purchased. In closing, my prayer for this Lenten Season is that we not grow more dis-eased by ignoring the most important part of ourselves but rather mature as disciples of Jesus, rediscovering and reclaiming that which is within us, the most important part of ourselves. See you in worship Pastor David ound BTOGETHER F by aith Inside this issue: Session News 2 Worship & Music Ministry 2 Christian Ed Ministry 3 Stewardship & Finance 3 Other Bits of Interest 4 Daily Prayer List 5 Birthdays & Anniversaries 5 Calendar of Events 6 Join us Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 PM LENTEN STUDY Begins Sunday, February 22 at 5:00 PM. Discover and become a better steward of your soul! 1 N ew s B i t s Bible Quiz Which Jericho woman hid the two Israelite spies, and where did she hide them? A. Joanna, in her stable B. Bathsheba, at her neighbor’s house C. Milkah, under a pile of blankets D. Rahab, on her roof Session News Excerpts from the Session meeting held on January 15, 2015. Session approved the following motions: 1) For our church to participate in a Christian unity pulpit exchange on Sunday January 18. Pastor David will exchange pulpits with Wen-Ling Lai, pastor of the Walnut Valley United Methodist Church. 2) Vacation time for Pastor David on Tuesday February 3, 2015 and March 16 through April 1, 2015. 3) The Annual Congregational Meeting to be held in Fellowship Hall after the worship service on Sunday, February 1, 2015 and for the Youth Group to hold a fundraising breakfast before the service. 4) The renewal of the Children’s Center Contract for 2015–2016. 5) A request from the Ridge & Valley Conservancy to hold a TEDS Talk at the Outreach Center on Saturday, March 7 from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. 6) A request from Newton Presbytery to hold the annual review of minutes in Fellowship Hall on Saturday, April 18, 2015 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. 7) The purchase and adoption of One Room Sunday School curriculum published by Cokesbury for the Faith Works Sunday School class beginning Spring 2015. CALL OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CONGREGATION The Annual Meeting of the Congregation and the Corporation of the First Presbyterian Church, Blairstown, NJ has been called by Session, for Sunday, February 1, 2015 following the service of worship. Business of the meeting is as follows: to receive ministry and organization reports including Terms of Call for Pastor, review of 2015 Budget and report of Auditors; nominations and election of Officers (Session and Deacons), Auditors, Enduring Gifts Committee member; nomination of four representatives from the congregation to the 2016 Nominating Committee; and other business properly before this meeting. Answer: See page 5. Worship & Music Ministry Speak to Sandy Crisafulli or any other committee member if you would like to be part of the 175th Anniversary celebration team. 2 First Presbyterian Church rang in the New Year and celebrated Epiphany with a special family/communion service on Jan. 4. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our Feast for a King! Pastor Harvey and Wen-Ling Lei from Walnut Valley Methodist church exchanged pulpits on a rather icy Sunday (January 18, to be exact). Despite the chill in the air, Pastor Lei received a warm welcome in our Sanctu- ary. It was a rich experience for everyone involved, as our churches shared in a day dedicated to community solidarity and partnership. The Lent/Easter season will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 18. Mark your calendars with these other important dates:  Palm Sunday: March 29  Maundy Thursday: April 2  Good Friday: April 3  Easter: April 5 2015 marks our church’s 175th Anniversary. Are you interested in helping the Ministry of Music and Worship come up with a plan for marking this milestone in style? Speak to Sandy Crisafulli or any other committee member if you would like to be part of the 175th Anniversary celebration team. Sandy Crisafulli, Chair WINTER UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2015 Christian Education Ministry The Sunday School schedule through June was approved with Family Sundays set as:  February 15  March 29: Palm Sunday All children will participate with the Palms and do a related craft after that  April 5: Easter Sunday  May 17  June 14: Recognition Sunday Youth Group will have a Fund Raising Breakfast on February 1 which is the Annual Meeting. Vacation Bible School: Joan Cameron is willing to co-chair VBS. Anyone interested in helping as the second cochair please notify Joan Cameron at [email protected]. Faith Works: Debra Albrecht presented a new curriculum, called One Room Sunday (Cokesbury) which will be begun in the spring. Adult Education: Pastor Harvey stated that different studies are being explored for the next adult education program. One potential topic is women and the Bible. Another would focus on the tenets of Christianity. Carol McLain, Chair February 1 at 9AM! Early seating for choir! S t ew a rd s h i p & F i n a n ce M i n i s t r y P e r C ap i t a ? When you open your offering boxes one of the first envelopes you find is a Per Capita envelope . What is it for? Per Capita is the per member assessment that help maintain the unique Presbyterian structure of governance and connectedness. The money is divided among the General Assembly, Synod and the Presbytery. How is Per Capita Set? Each governing body of the PC(USA) sets its own per capita. The governing bodies depend on local churches and their members to help develop and monitor responsible budgets. Newton Presbytery has attempted to keep it’s share of the per capita (and its budget) as low as possible in order to offset the increases at the higher levels. Our presbytery pays the Synod and general assembly portion for all members of the presbytery even if local churches do not honor that responsibility. The monies are used for administrative, and salary costs that permit the Presbytery to purse its constitutionally required activities. Per Capita for 2015 is $33. Our church pays this for all 167 members. Join us on Wednesday, February 18 at 7:30 PM for a Community Ash Wednesday Service at First Presbyterian Church 3 N ew s B i t s Other Bits of Interest Every year as a fundraiser, Boy Scout Troop 140 sells and makes fruit baskets around Christmas time. So when Life Scout Timothy Topolski from Troop 140 and a member of our congregation announced that he was selling fruit baskets this year, a former Scoutmaster and member of our congregation, Doyle Frank, suggested that people donate a fruit basket to the food pantries around town. Several local churches, including our church, the United Methodist Church, and the Evangelical Free Church, run these food pantries on different Saturdays. The congregation bought 33 fruit baskets this year, which were assembled on December 13, 2014. The Scouts got up extra early on that date, and Pastor Harvey came and helped deliver the 33 baskets. Thanks to everyone who contributed in any way to this wonderful outreach to our community’s neediest members! Timothy Topolski Assistant Scoutmaster Karen Lance, Timothy Topolski, and Pastor Harvey Assembly of the fruit baskets Book Club The next meeting of the FPCB Book Club will be Wednesday, February 4 at 7:00 PM at the home of Kaye Evans. We will be discussing the novel “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Kline. We welcome new members whether you have read the book or not. Please consider joining us and find out our next reading selection. Contact Ellen Nagy with any questions at 362-7260. 4 WINTER UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2015 Our Daily Prayer List Those Suffering from Natural Disaster: Individuals and drought relief for people in California, the island of Hawaii Peaceful Resolution: Paris, Syria, Ukraine, Nigerian girls, Iraq, Gaza-Middle East, National Unity & Civility Men and Women Serving Our Country in the Armed Forces: Kelly Ashton Holleran, Jeremy Britton, Michael Hudson, Matthew May, and Doug Swift Our Sister Church: Mathare North, Nairobi Kenya Christians Who Live in Fear of Persecution: Africa, Asia, the Americas, Pakistan, Egypt, and Iraq Economic Hardship: The unemployed and those struggling financially Healing for Friends and Families with: Cancer: Sue Bailey, Maria Bartalota, Maren Bell, Pat Belcher, Linda Caprario, Samantha Elwell, Dr. David, Nancy Klock, Laura Mack, Caitlyn McMorrow and her family, Nathan Orsini, Ann Porrovechio, Ernest Schuckert, Andrew Shan, Robert Talmadge, and Barbara VanderHart Illness and Injuries: Mary Artuso, Oscar Ballestero, Isaiah Barlalotta, Rob Blankenhorn, Kyle Canonico, Mary Chalito, Richard DeChiara, Rev. Dick Gibbons, Don Fennell, Marian and Graham Floyd, Alan Galentine and Family, Anna Grace Hawk, Dana Heidelberger, Deb Holsten, Marcia Kost, Erika Ohland, Jay Ohland, Bob Schmidt, Kelsey Shingledecker, Jim Sperduto, Mare Tripp, Peggy Walters, Bryan Wilson, David Wilson, Betty Zenock, Audrey, Kathy Z., Monica, and Tracy “Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31, Prayers of Celebration for the New Year’s day birth of Cory Andrew Philyaw, son to Crista and Chris Philyaw, great grandson of Bobbie Haebler Prayers of Celebration for the birth of Theodore “Teddy” J. Chadwick (6lbs 3oz) on January 17, 2015 to parents, Bill & Holly Chadwick NRSV). O God, please refresh all who need new strength today. Amen. Bible Quiz Answer: D (See Joshua 2:3, 6.) A n n i ve rs a ri e s & B i r t h d a y s February Birthdays 1 Erica Oelschlager 2 Adriana Cowell Trevor Orcutt 3 Scott McLain 6 Maria Bowditch Kylie Orcutt Sophia Scheer 7 Lola Szekula 8 Danny Haebler John Sprague 9 Marilyn Grandin Greg Haebler Doug Riley 11 15 18 19 23 24 26 29 Teri Harvey Cassandra Cheevers Kelly McElroy Judy Trigg Mark Terwilleger Steven Conrad Linda Sprague Emily McLain Katie Smith February Anniversaries 10 Peggy & Mark Williard 12 Anna & Zsolt Nagyhetenyi 14 Judy & Bob Colucci 5 N ew s B i t s PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BLAIRSTOWN, NEW JERSEY Post Office Box 385, 1 Main Street Blairstown, NJ 07825 Church Office: 35 Main Street Phone: (908) 362-5254 Fax: (908) 362-8060 Food Pantry: (908) 362-5769 Children’s Center: (908) 362-7887 E-mail: [email protected] Website: fpbcnj.org BTOGETHER F ound by aith Ca lenda r o f Eve nt s — Feb r ua ry 2 01 5 CE: Christian Ed Suite (35 Main St.) 6 OC: Outreach Center (35 Main St.) FH: Sun 1 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 9:00 AM FH-Pancake Breakfast 9:45 AM OC Faith Works 10:00 AM -Worship/ 5:30 PM OC-Girl Scouts 8:00 PM OC-AA 7:00 OC-W/CE 1:30 PM OC-Knitters 7:00 PM Book Club 8 9 10 11 1:45 AM OC-Faith Works 10:00 AM -Worship 8:00 PM OC-AA 2:30 OC S&F 1:30 PM OC-Knitters 15 16 Presidents’ Day 17 10:00 AM –Family Worship 10:15 AM FH Deacon 5:30 PM OC-Girl Scouts 8:00 PM OC-AA 22 23 9:45 AM OC Faith Works 10:00 AM -Worship 5:00 PM Lenten Study 8:00 PM OC-AA 24 Fellowship Hall (1 Main St.) Thu 5 Fri 6 Sat 7 9:00 AM OC Girl Scouts 12 13 14 18 Ash Wednesday 19 20 21 1:30 PM OC-Knitters 7:30 PM Community Ash Wed. Service 7:00 OC-Session 25 26 1:30 PM OC-Knitters 9:30 AM Food Pantry 27 28 9:00 AM OC Girl Scouts