April From Our Pastor. Sponsor. Treasurer and Stewardship Report, through February 28, Holy Communion Dates

Transcription

1 Presbyterian Church 55 Smith Street E. Stroudsburg, PA From Our Pastor Dear Friends, As I write this newsletter article, it is Monday of Holy Week and we all awoke to yet another dusting of snow upon the ground. Somehow it seems appropriate weather for Holy Week. Remembering Christ crucified certainly gives us spiritual pause and a kind of spiritual gray-ness that this wintry weather suggests. There was utter hopelessness on that Good Friday when Christ was crucified. It was a horror. Yes, it is Holy Monday. And yet I know, we know, Easter Sunday is coming. Easter Sunday is coming when we celebrate Christ s Resurrection. Like many in the garden, we will be startled back into hope as we experience the unexpected and unimaginable. The Lord is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! And Hope wins! Life wins! Jesus removes all obstacles standing between God and us. We will be confident in Christ s victory and Christ s love. Yes, love wins, because Christ, with all his love for us, arose. Our hearts are jumpstarted into fervent faith. Our hearts are full of joy. We may not be able to adorn our outside cross with flowers this year due to the weather, the mud and the mess, but Christ s Resurrection Victory, once realized, will certainly adorn our hearts! Alleluia! Pastor Ed Sponsor April 2015 This issue of the Nexus is being sponsored by William Cramer. We thank you for your support. If you are interested in sponsoring an issue of the Nexus for $35.00, please call Jen in the church office at Treasurer and Stewardship Report, through February 28, 2015 Income $36, (YTD) Expenses $39, (YTD) Net -$ Year-to-Date Giving: Pledge giving: $22, Non-Pledge: $ Holy Communion Dates Maundy Thursday April 2 Easter Sunday April 5 Pentecost May 24 Summer Communion T.B.A. World Communion Sunday October 4 First Sunday in Advent November 29 Christmas Eve December 24

2 Maundy Thursday, April 2nd Our special Maundy Thursday worship service with Holy Communion will be offered on Thursday, April 2 nd at 7:00 p.m. Please plan to attend. Happy Easter Day! Please plan to come and celebrate the Resurrection of our Glorious Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, April 5 th at 10:00 a.m. May your hearts be filled with joy! Thank you Choir Thank you Choir and Director, Linda Schaller, for you beautiful, inspiring music throughout the season of Lent and into Easter. We are richly blessed by your ministry! One Great Hour of Sharing Our Annual commitment to Mission through the One Great Hour of Sharing was once again a success. Through the generosity of the congregation, $ was received to share the Lord of Christ to the world. Also, notably, our children and the children of the pre-school contributed $ with their nickels, dimes and quarters collected in their Fish Boxes. Well done children! Together, we are making a difference in Christ s World! Men s Group Luncheon The Men s group will meet Wednesday, April 8th at 12:00 noon in the lounge. We will have prayer, fellowship, soup and a sandwich. The featured topic will be High finance on a low budget. All men are invited. Yard Sale! Please mark your calendars! Our annual indoor church yard sale is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9. We can use help with pricing and moving and set up in advance, working the days of the sale, and clean up afterward. To volunteer, please contact Ellie Buff at And of course we will be looking for wonderful donations from you, your family and friends. Items donated should be clean and ready for sale. We will be collecting items after the Holy Week. Here are some ideas for donations: house wares, furniture, antiques, jewelry, home and holiday decor, sporting goods, tools, books, baby and children's items. Clothing will be accepted the week of the sale. Please note that we do NOT want TV's, computers, monitors, ski equipment, textbooks, encyclopedias, old National Geographics, and things that don't work. Even if you don't have time to volunteer, come join the fun, have lunch, and shop. You never know what treasure you may find. If you have never been to one of our yard sales, you will be amazed at the amount of interesting stuff we manage to come up with each year. Crafter s Club There is a new group getting together each month at our church that you may want to be a part of. It is for crafters ~ those that can teach and those that want to learn. Bring any craft you are working on and get help or give advice. All the projects will then be sold at our annual yard sale. This year the sale will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 8 th and 9 th. The proceeds from the sale of the projects will go toward Pre-School. Our April dates are Thursday, April 9 th at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, April 23 rd at noon.

3 Adult Education The Adult Education Class led by Tim Swanson will resume on April 12 and conclude this session on April 19 th. The topic has been If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat. Thank you, Tim, for your leadership! DEADLINE FOR THE MAY NEXUS IS MONDAY, APRIL 27 TH. Birthdays Celebrating birthdays during the month of April: Lisa Swanson, Sandy Kelley, Greg Menio Sr., Mike Silvoy, Elda McCoy Erbe, Carole Emery, Debbie Prince, Walter Emery and Elaine Burlingame. Wedding Anniversaries Celebrating a wedding anniversary during the month of April: John and Mary Dressel, Ronald and Brenda Bruce, Booter and Bonnie Miller. Good News Amanda Bongiovanni has been selected as the director for the Camp Brainerd Day Care this summer. Congratulations Amanda! News and Notes from Preschool April showers bring May flowers...at least that is what we are hoping! This month we will be exploring the world around us as everything wakes up from winter. We'll be talking about new life - from flowers to baby chicks to buds on trees and celebrating the Easter promise that Jesus brings to us. Registration packets for the school year are available in the narthex. Tell a friend about and send them in for a visit! We will be hosting an OPEN HOUSE for the preschool on Tuesday, April 28 and Thursday, April 30 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Drop in any time during those hours for learning games, art projects and play time with Miss Amy. Church members are welcome to stop in to see what we do here at. We'd love to see you! Happy Spring! Bible Verse of the Month: "This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!" ~ Psalm 118:24 Condolences Our condolences to Robert Touw and his family of the passing of his wife, Romayne. Saying for the day: God will give us what we need, but not until we need it. One day at a time. -Kathy Keller

4 Women s Spring Fling The Fellowship and Mission committees are joining forces to try something new for the Women s Spring Fling. We will still have a covered dish luncheon, but it will be followed by a jewelry show. This will be an opportunity to order jewelry for yourself, family or friends and, at the same time, raise money for the Mission Committee to give to to help defray their costs. The entire church will also be invited as they will also have the chance to purchase jewelry. This is like the home parties that many women go to, but instead of incurring credits towards purchasing jewelry, the church will get a percentage of the sales. So the more we sell, the more we make. We will have catalogs and order sheets available so that the whole congregation can participate in this joint effort. Women are also encourages to bring family and friends to the luncheon. We will be holding it on Sunday, April 19 th after the 11:00 worship service. If you have any questions, please contact Bonnie Miller at We hope to make this a great event for. Adam Demetros approved By Session as Inquirer Adam Demetros recently presented his application for approval as an Inquirer (for Ordination) in the Presbyterian Church USA. The first step in this process required the approval and support of Session, which was enthusiastic and unanimous. The next step for Adam is to appear before the Committee for Preparation of Lehigh Presbytery for recommendation to the Presbytery. Adam is presently finishing his first year of M. Div. Study at Princeton Theological Seminary. Seminarians Corner Greetings from Princeton Theological Seminary. It is my hope to write you a short synopsis each month detailing my life and studies while attending seminary in an attempt to keep an open dialog (if only one way) so that we don't lose a connection. East Stroudsburg Presbyterian Church retains a special place in my heart, not only as my home church but also as my supporting community that helped shape my decision to attend seminary in the first place. I hope you enjoy reading my monthly updates as much as I enjoy telling everyone about my amazing little church up in the Poconos. As I am writing this I am preparing for my New Testament midterm, oh the joys of seminary. Pop quiz: Can you name all the books in the New Testament? I always seem to leave out Titus and Philemon. Now that I am in my second semester I feel as if I am just beginning to understand God's plan for my life. I might not be the next featured theologian speaker at any seminary, but I have a burning desire to attend to the needs of God's children and offer guidance in times of struggle. This is certainly not the direction I thought my life would be heading when I moved to the Poconos for my first Masters in Public Administration from ESU. Perhaps that is the best sign that God is moving in my life. Moving forward I am excited (and honestly a bit scared) to see how God directs me both here at seminary and in life, but most of all, I am grateful for the opportunity to partake in a loving Christ-centered community both here at PTS and back home with you all. God be with you 'till we meet again, Adam Demetros Family Promise ESPC continues its commitment to Family Promise, caring for the homeless. We are supporting this program by assisting East Stroudsburg United Methodist as they host March 29 th April 5 th, Holy Week. Thank you for all who do so much for others!

5 From the Mission Committee Thank you to everyone for another successful candy sale. Sale amounts to be announced later. We had a wide variety this year - not just in eggs, but also cookie/candy chicks, marshmallows and truffles. Thanks also to all the dedicated, hard workers spending their day in making the delicious candy. Soup makers and bakers are needed for the yard sale in May. Please let Sue Ellis, Judy Schreck, Elda McCoy or Norene Rosso know if you are able to make soup or baked goods for the sale. Thank you in advance. Church 4U Update Church 4U has been meeting throughout Lent on Sunday evenings at 5:00, with the exception of ESU s Spring Break. Approximately students attend on any given Sunday. On Palm Sunday we concluded our study of The Seven Deadly Sins : Pride, Envy, Anger, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust. We identify these deadly sins for their potential to hurt our spiritual life and walk with God in Jesus Christ. During the next few weeks we will be considering Questions Jesus Asked. Our final Church 4U gathering is Sunday, May 3 rd with the Semester finishing on May 8 th. Some of our Seniors will be finishing their ESU careers and they will be missed, especially ESPC member and Christian Education Intern, Larry Desko. We celebrate his contribution to Church 4U ad ESPC! Thank You Deacons Thanks you Deacons for your leadership with our Lenten Soup Suppers. Delicious soups and warm Christian fellowship characterized our Wednesday evening gatherings during Lent. Our devotional timed turned our attention to the Core Stories of the Gospel. These Core Stories appear in each of the 4 Gospels: John, Jesus and Baptism, The Call of Disciples, Closing the Temple, Healing the Paralytic and Feeding the Receipts from a weekly free will offering support our many missions. Thank you, Deacons, once again. ESU Acapella Choir! We will once again enjoy the musical presentations of the East Stroudsburg University Acapella Choir when they present a program for us on Sunday, April 26 th. As the Music Department at E.S.U. is going through some changes, we are all uncertain as to what the future holds for this choir. It has been a genuine gift to our community and we are most grateful to enjoy this opportunity once again. Lehigh Presbytery Meets Lehigh Presbytery will be meeting in April on the 28 th at First Presbyterian Church in Reading. A special presentation will precede the meeting regarding change in Presbyterian law requiring background checks for all who work with children in any capacity, paid or volunteer. We will be addressing this issue at the Session once more information is received. Congrats to Two of Our Members! Congratulations to Bob Huffman who was recognized as Elks Officer of the Year at the Annual East Stroudsburg Elks Meeting and also to Superintendant of East Stroudsburg Area School District, Sharon Laverdure, who was recognized with the Elks Citizenship Award for her numerous contributions to our community. Nexus Staff Pastor: Editor: Rev. Edmund T. Freeborn Jen Carmella Contributing Editors: Ellie Buff, Adam Demetros, Allan Erbe, Amy Geiser-Getz, Theresa Lawrence, Bonnie Miller, Norene Rosso

6 April 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Choir Rehearsal, 9: Maundy Thursday Service, 7:00 p.m. Good Friday Worship every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Session Meeting, 7:15 p.m. No Easter Communion Adult Ed., 11:15 Coffee Hour Deacon s Mtg. Finance Mtg. Church 4U, 5:00 p.m. Adult Ed., 11:15 Women s Spring Fling 11:15 a.m. Church 4U, 5:00 p.m. ESU a cappella Choir Easter Monday Church Closed No Men s Lunch, noon Women s Circle, noon Hand in Hand, 10:00-11: Nexus Deadline Presbytery Meeting in Reading Deacon s Coffee Hour Church 4U, 6:00 p.m. Open House, 10:00-2:00 Open House, 10:00-2:00