November Hamburg Turnpike Pompton Lakes, NJ

Transcription

1 POMPTON REFORMED CHURCH NEWSLETTER November Hamburg Turnpike Pompton Lakes, NJ Dear PRC Family, After the Storm The church phone began ringing as soon as phone service became available, four days after Hurricane Sandy. Offers and inquiries as to what is needed, where to donate, how to serve, along with requests for food. Even as these words are written--eight days after Hurricane Sandy blew in--many in the area are still without heat and power, including those from our church family. Those with shore residences are awaiting word of what awaits them. On Sunday, November 4, over 100 gathered in our sanctuary (with heat and light restored), for worship. Hymns and prayers and meditations from both pastors centered upon God's presence in the midst of storm. As you have a moment, read Psalm 46 and Psalm 93--the reflections for the day. Many prayer needs were shared. As this issue goes to print we are still receiving word of how our church family can assist. As we are able to get a better handle on all the needs, and where and how we can best lend a hand, this information will be shared via , as well as updates in each week's bulletin, and also on our web page: pomptonreformed.org. Reformed Church in America World Service representatives are already on the scene, and will be making needs known as well. Visit that page at rca.org/sandy, and you will learn ways you can respond. Our denomination requests prayers for: --All who have lost loved ones, or homes and properties. --RCA's Project Hospitality (based in Staten Island) as it works to meet the needs of homeless people who lost everything in the storm (as well as all the helping agencies involved). --Churches and individuals as they begin to repair damage, and volunteers as they travel and help with repairs. --Reformed Church World Service staff as they visit the region to assess needs. PRC's and phone prayer chains will post prayer needs as they are made known. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the Lord. Psalm 93:4 Serving our Savior together, Pastor Tom Bartha

2 The Second Front Page...Good Things to Know (written before Hurricane Sandy) Dear PRC Family, So much of what happens in our church is thanks to the diligent work of our ongoing committees, teams and appointed task forces. Below is a fairly accurate draft of when our standing committees normally meet (but check weekly bulletin for sure). These are open meetings, meaning that anyone is welcome. These are the folks who help keep the energy flowing, and every committee would benefit by new people coming aboard. Is there a location where your gifts could be put to good use? Chairpersons of each committee are listed: Operations First Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm (Jeff Anders) Worship First Wednesday at 7:30 pm (Elena VanSchaack) Finance Second Monday at 7:00 pm (Sue Uhlendorf) Missions Second Wednesday at 7:30 pm (Nancy Begin) Education Third Monday at 7:15 pm (Debbie Rundecker) Youth Second Sunday at 11:30 am (Bruce Davis) Consistory Third Wednesday at 7:00 pm Fellowship Fourth Wednesday at 7:30 pm (Jo-Ann Sisco, Jackie Bush and Gail Freeland) Secondly, by the time you are reading this, not only will the Stewardship message series be underway, but so will our Tuesday evening study of Max Lucado's new book, Grace. 7:00-8:30 pm. All are welcome to join in anytime. Good discussion! As we continue to express gratitude to the Lord during our 200th anniversary year, please know that our December 9 worship will be led by former pastors L'anni Hill, and Peter and Margot Hausmann. It will be a special morning, and we have moved our annual congregational meeting to Dec. 16, so all can enjoy time visiting with these faithful servants following worship. Each week's bulletin holds news of events for upcoming weeks, so if you are unable to be present on Sunday, bulletin and announcements are posted at pomptonreformed.org. Check it out for other informative news as well. Lots of exciting things in store. Find a place to stretch your faith! Serving our Savior with you, Pastor Tom Bartha

3 Eight Ways to Help Hurricane Sandy Victims Beyond Donating to the Red Cross If you watched the Hurricane Sandy relief telethon and texted $10 to the Red Cross when Bruce rocked or Christina crooned, then you are certainly not alone. The telethon raised $23 million dollars for Sandy's victims. But some of you may be wondering how you can do more. And you may want to know that your money is really going to the victims. If you still want to help, here are eight ways you can help beyond donating to the Red Cross. Donate to: AmeriCares. AmeriCares has been delivering flashlights, bottled water, first aid kits, and medical help to those who need it in both states. A day after I delivered 20 flashlights to flooded and stillpowerless Red Hook, Brooklyn, AmeriCares swooped in with thousands of them. Occupy Sandy. An offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, this is one of the first groups I heard about who went directly into hard-hit neighborhoods and began coordinating food, clothing, and supplies drives, going door to door, and checking on elderly people in cold, darkened buildings. They seem to do it all -- a friend of mine who became stranded after a mercy mission when his car battery died even had an Occupier drive him home. Gray Beards. I've heard many reports from locals that Gray Beards is on the ground in some of the worst hit areas of New York, including the leveled Breezy Point, a working class neighborhood of many firemen and policemen, where 100 homes burned to the ground. ASPCA. The ASPCA is helping rescue stranded pets as well as giving pet food to those in need. They were the first group I saw with a dedicated emergency pet rescue hotline and they have been going door to door looking for abandoned animals. Sean Casey Animal Rescue. This group has been taking in a lot of rescued and abandoned pets, especially dogs, from the shore areas of Brooklyn, which were hit particularly hard. But they also have taken in turtles, birds, cats and snakes. Alley Cat Allies. This group has been all over New York and New Jersey feeding the feral cats who were left behind after the storm, including the famous outdoor cats of the Atlantic City boardwalk, most of whom miraculously survived the 'cane. Find out what is really needed. Most groups are too busy right now to update their websites. Check their Facebook pages and follow them on Twitter. You'll be able to find out exactly what they need through those channels. If you'd rather donate supplies than money, check their Facebook walls for an Amazon gift registry. When in doubt, call the group and ask what they need. Some things that are always needed: Bottled water, toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand wipes), WARM clothes like coats and gloves, waterproof boots, flashlights, C and D batteries, and cleaning supplies. Be proactive. Call your local church or school -- most are holding Sandy donation drives. If your church is collecting lots of non-perishable food, you might suggest collecting batteries and Clorox too. And remember, it pays to do a little research on a group before writing out a check. Be wary of donating to sob stories you see on ChipIn and Facebook without verifying that they're true. Have you donated to Sandy relief efforts? Posted by Kiri Blakeley on November 5, 2012 (from The Stir by Café Mom )

4 November Brings Many Things By Elaine Peacock November is a busy month! We just re-elected our president, but more importantly, we need to stop, reflect and give thanks to our Veterans on the 11 th day of the 11 th month at the 11 th hour. Last, but not least, Thanksgiving reminds us of all the things we have to be thankful for all year; family, friends and freedom, just to mention a few. So let us pause, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day and give thinks to GOD for our many blessings. GOD touches our lives every day with little things to be thankful for, we just have to take time from our busy days and look around and give a word of thanks. GOD will be listening. Often on Veteran s Day or Memorial Day we recognize our veterans who have faithfully served our country. In the past, our list has had those currently serving. We are now compiling a complete list of all PRC members, living or deceased, who have served our country. Will you kindly mail or all names and branch of service to the church so a full listing can be compiled? Thank you. PRC prc59@aol.com. ALSO, JOIN US FOR AN APPETIZER SOCIAL HONORING OUR VETERANS ON SUNDAY, NOV. 11 TH, RIGHT AFTER WORSHIP. Cell Phones for Soldiers Got any used cell phones laying around? Beth Burke is still collecting them to donate to Cellphonesforsoldiers.com. Cell Phones for Soldiers is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing cost-free communication services to active duty military members and veterans. Cell Phones for Soldiers hopes to continue its mission to provide troops with FREE calls home through generous monetary contributions and the recycling of used mobile phones. Used mobile phones from all service providers are accepted (please, no chargers or power cords). Each $5 contribution, or donated device valued at $5, will provide troops with 2.5 hours of FREE talk time. See Beth or go to Cellphonesforsoldiers.com for more information. Thank you for your donations.

5 Consistory Roundtable of Thanks! (from October Consistory) To all the folks who made this year's Autumnfest such an enjoyable event. A special word of gratitude to Fellowship Committee co-chairs Jackie Bush, Jo-Ann Sisco, and Gail Freeland, who so diligently worked behind the scenes (with many others). Cambodia s King Father Passes Away at 89 Greetings Friends & Family, As some of you may have heard already, Cambodia's "King Father (the father of the current king) died recently in China of a heart attack. Former king Norodom Sihanouk died just short of his 90th birthday. According to some news accounts, the country will observe seven days of mourning and the king's body will lay in state for several months before his cremation. Please pray for the Cambodian people during this time of their loss, and that the Lord would open hearts and minds to think and talk about matters life, death and faith, and, that Christians will have the opportunity to show compassion for those who mourn and give witness to the hope which is theirs in Christ Jesus. -Mark Wilson P.S. A short but informative article can be found at: **See Mark s Mission update on the following page. In your offering envelope box, you will see the denominational assessment envelope. Our church pays $89.75 per active member to the Reformed Church of America, which covers new church starts,. missionaries, managerial staff and more. Pompton Reformed s assessment this year is $23,335. If you have the means to contribute, please know how much your gift is appreciated. Our goal is to surpass the $9,100 you contributed in 2011, and if we go OVER $12,500, a pizza or a big sub sandwich FOR ALL! (No kidding!)

6 Dear Family & Friends, As expressed by David in his song of thanks above from 1 Chronicles, we would like to share with you the wondrous deeds of the Lord, and ask that you join us in giving thanks to Him. We are especially thankful that after more than five weeks of being sick laid up at home, Mark is back on his feet again! Give thanks for the life of Jeff Evanson- At 3pm September 20th, Jeffrey Evanson said goodbye to his wife Vanny as he headed out the door to do what he loved- share God s love with the Cambodia people. Two hours later Vanny received a call that Jeff had died of a heart attack. Jeff had just celebrated his 58 th birthday three days earlier. Please join us in giving thanks for all that God did in and through the life of Jeff- Jeff was a gifted and humble teacher, linguist, musician and architect. Since 1992 he served ministries such as Mission to Unreached Peoples, the Phnom Penh Bible School (PPBS, designing the current campus), the Theological Education by Extension Association of Cambodia (TEEAC, teacher and translator), Asian Hope (as a dormitory parent), and the list goes on. Please also lift up his wife Vanny, their three adult children, and their 5 teenaged dorm children. Give thanks for Soth Sovicheak and his wife Chheng Meta and their son Daniel). Pastor Vicheak has just agreed to become the interim Pastor of Nimet Kampuchea church, the Cambodian church where our family worships. Born in Phnom Penh in 1983, Pastor Vicheak became a follower of Jesus in 1991 along with his father. After studying three years with the Wesleyan church he began his ministry in the provinces in Recently, he and his family came back to Phnom Penh to minister with his father who is also a pastor and works with the Far Eastasia Broadcast Company. He asks that you pray for him to have strength and wisdom as he begins this new ministry at Nimet, and that God would provide what he lacks. Give thanks for the beginning of a new school year at Logos and PPBS- While Zachary has been back to school at Logos school for many weeks now, the Phnom Penh Bible School just started. Zachary has been doing great in his studies and is enjoying being closer to the school and friends (our new house is only a 5-minute bike ride from school.) We give thanks to God for the 41 students returning to PPBS, and for the 23 new students who join us this year. We are especially amazed that four of the new students come from villages where FH Cambodia worked while we were involved from (they join four current students also from that area). Please pray for all of the new students as they adjust to their new lives in Phnom Penh and at the school. Pray too for God s blessing on Food for the Hungry Cambodia s work in northern Cambodia, that someday we will also see students attending PPBS from that area. Please continue to pray for our family s health. Give thanks that Mark is healthy. Pray for Deb and Zach and the many others around us who are not; Zach was sick earlier this week, then seemed to get better then Deb got sick and is getting better now Zach is sick again lots of new germs for us to develop immunities to smile. Blessings to each of you, -Mark, Deb, & Zach

7 FALL & WINTER HAPPENINGS November 11th - VETERANS DAY APPETIZER SOCIAL We are going to gather after worship on November 11 th to honor some of the very important members of our church family Our Veterans! Bring your favorite appetizer to share (we ll supply the cake and coffee) and show your appreciation for their sacrifice, dedication and love of our country. December 12th SENIOR LUNCHEON The seniors will have a Christmas luncheon at their December meeting. December 16 th - COOKIE SOCIAL If you love cookies.and I know you do, join us after worship on December 16th. Bring a batch of your favorite cookies to share with your PRC family and enjoy the baking talents of others. Seniors! The next meeting is Wed. Nov. 14 th. Bring your lunch and the names of your favorite songs for a Sing-A-Long as Pastor Tom will be playing his guitar! Each week our sanctuary is beautified by flowers behind our altar in loving memory, in honor of a loved one, or to commemorate a special occasion. If you d like to schedule flowers for any Sunday, notify the church office. Cost is $30.

8 From Eleanor Haling From Carolee Leader & Chuck Quant Helen & Chuck Gioia John & Nancy Nelson Helen & Chuck Gioia Jeanette Poulsen Cindi & Valerie Petrides Diane & Rocco Conti Patricia & Robert Schultz Nan & Jeff Webb Lynda & Rob Butler Betsey & Jay Stuiso Donna & Dave Laurila JoAnne & Bill Zerby Sue Raditch Mr. & Mrs. George Stagg Cas & Jean Stark Eleanor Finke Robert & Eloise Amelung Dennis & Pam Winter Ruth Coppola Joan Ferris Lawrence & Amelia Casteline In Honor Of Friends and Family In Memory of Evelyn D Angelo Valerie Germer Designation Designation Endowment Scholarship Holiday Anthem Scholarship Endowment Endowment Endowment Grounds Upkeep Grounds Upkeep Grounds Upkeep Grounds Upkeep Grounds Upkeep Birthday Gifts Ora Ferralasco Joan Warner Allison Ellen Lackawana Wanda Scully In Memory of Kay Peacock Birthday greetings to Rick & Shirley Montanari, combining for over 160 years! They always love hearing from their church family: 275A Convent Rd., Monroe, NJ

9 Feeding your Feelings or A Word about Holiday Eating by Carol O Neill Getting Ready for the Holidays The holidays are coming and the possibility of its effects on the bathroom scale is very real. How are we as Christians to fit together the exposure to all those goodies and the instructions found in God s Word? The Scriptures in I Corinthians 6:19 say Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? The words of that verse fall into the category of often heard intellectual information, not to be confused with emotional response to foods that make us feel good. So can we put it all together? Emotional eating How is emotional eating defined? Jane Jakubczak, registered dietician, University of Maryland, describes emotional eating; happy or sad, as eating for reasons other than hunger. Instead of the physical symptom of hunger initiating the eating, an emotion triggers the eating. Eating when not hungry may cause the extra calories to be stored as fat. According to Jakubczak, Seventy-five percent of overeating is caused by emotions. How to tell the difference According to the University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center, there are several differences between emotional hunger and physical hunger: Emotional hunger comes on suddenly; physical hunger occurs gradually. Eating to fill a void that isn t related to an empty stomach creates cravings for a specific food and only that food will meet the need. Eating to satisfy actual hunger allows you to be open to food options. Emotional hunger feels like it needs to be satisfied instantly; physical hunger has a wait time. Eating to satisfy an emotional need has no limit to amount. Hunger eating usually stops when satiety is reached. Emotional eating can leave behind feelings of guilt; eating to satisfy hunger does not. Comfort foods When emotional hunger rumbles, the focus is often on comfort food, says Brian Wansink, PhD, University of Illinois. Comfort foods are often wrongly associated with negative moods, and indeed, people often consume them when they re down or depressed, but interestingly enough, comfort foods are also consumed to maintain good moods, he said. This accounts for the connection between the holidays and the feasting with which they are associated. It seems imperative that groaning boards, or buffets, of all kinds of food, must accompany holiday celebrations. It is interesting to be aware of the traditions that are a part of the foods included in the Thanksgiving menu. Having the same foods that were served in the family for years seems to recall the good times experienced around those long-ago Thanksgiving dinner tables. It s about comfort and happy memories. Thoughts for the coming season Dr. Wansink offers a helpful bit of information, Your memory of a food peaks after about four bites, so if you only have those bites, a week later you ll recall it as just as good an experience as if you polished off the whole thing. All this information is culminated in the words of I Corinthians 10:31... so, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. The OPRC Health Ministry wishes you and your family a Joyful and Healthy Thanksgiving season. -Carol is Nancy Begin's mother, and serves as Parish Nurse at Old Paramus Reformed Church

10 1st Wed., Nov. 7: 2nd Sun., Nov. 11: 2nd Mon., Nov. 12: 2nd Wed., Nov. 14: 3rd Mon., Nov. 18: 3rd Wed., Nov. 21: 4th Wed., Nov. 28: Every Tuesday: 6:30 pm Operations Committee 7:30 pm Worship Committee 11:30 am Youth Team 7 pm Finance Committee 7:30 pm Missions Team 7:15 pm Christian Education Committee 7:00 pm Consistory 7:30 pm Fellowship Committee 1:30 pm Knitters ~Bell Choir meets on Tues. evenings and/or Sundays. See Janine for details~ Jell-o, pudding, *fruit, *cereal, *tuna, soup, peanut butter, jelly, pasta sauce, rice and beans. Low-fat, sugar-free and low sodium food items are always welcome. We also accept personal items such as shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, liquid clothes detergent and deodorant. Thank you for supporting this important mission needed by so many! * items are very low The Deadline for Newsletter Articles is the last Sunday of the month. Please send submissions to prcletter@gmail.com or feel free to drop it in the mail slot in the church office! The deadline for December s newsletter is Sunday, November 25, 2012.