Good Tidings The Newsletter of Brick Presbyterian Church March 2019

Transcription

1 Good Tidings The Newsletter of Brick Presbyterian Church March 2019 Pastoral Reflections on the Season of Lent Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 On March 6 th, we begin the season of Lent, a season of penitence and prayer. Lent is often a time when we give up something we enjoy to acknowledge and be reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus gave for us. We acknowledge the ways that we have turned away from God and we focus on turning our hearts and our lives back toward God. Giving up something is a form of fasting. We often choose to fast from something (usually edible) that gives us pleasure, or we think of as an indulgence. There are many other forms of giving up something that distracts us from God, such as watching television or ceasing our time on the internet, in ways that distract us from God. I have found another way to fast, and at the same time, feast. Perhaps you would want to try some of these ways, or even try all of them. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others. Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them. Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life. Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God. Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify. Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude. Fast from anger; feast on patience. Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism. Fast from worry; feast on divine order. Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation. Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives. Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness. Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others. Fast from discouragement; feast on hope. Fast from suspicion; feast on truth. Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire. Anonymous May the love of Christ surround you each day as you approach the throne of God with humble and contrite hearts and gratitude for the sacrifice made on our behalf by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Pastor Barbara

2 INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY In times of inclement weather, especially during this upcoming winter season, or for other adverse conditions, the congregation is reminded to tune in to the following radio stations to hear if the church is closed: WOBM, 92.7 FM (wobm.com) The Hawk, FM (1057TheHawk.com) The Point, 94.3 FM (943ThePoint.com) Beach Radio WOBM 1160 & 1310 AM (mybeachradio.com) New Jersey FM (NJ1015.com) For Sunday worship services, the earliest time for such closure announcements would normally be after 7:30 AM. You may also check the Church Website for weather related closings and cancellations by going to THE FLORENCE M. MALLINSON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND To be eligible for this scholarship you must be a confirmed, actively participating member of our congregation. You must also be graduating from high school in June of 2019 and planning to attend some form of continuing education beginning in the fall of This scholarship will be heavily based on church involvement; financial need is not a factor. Applications will be available as of February 3rd in the church and Christian education offices or by contacting Donna Schlatter at donnaschlatter16@gmail.com or EVANGELISM/OUTREACH/PRAYER TEAM COMMITTEE We look forward to your participation at the Prayer Workshop on Sunday, March 3, 2019, in the Family Life Center at 2pm. Our workshop leader will be Rev. John Monroe, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Rumson, NJ. His discussion will address the following topics: Contemplative Prayer, Living Affirming Petitionary Prayer, while acknowledging the contemplative practice with different aims. We hope to have a good showing from the congregation. Bring a Friend! Light Refreshments will be served. Evangelism is looking ahead and planning on a Going Green campaign. In conjunction with PB&G, an Earth Day event in late April is being discussed. We plan to celebrate the completion of the solar panel installation and hope to invite Bricktown s Mayor. This would be a great time to declare we are a going green church. We will keep you posted! If you have any ideas that the committee can implement, please come and share. We meet on the first Tuesday of the Month at 7pm in Classroom 1. Hope to see you there!

3 THE SEARCH FOR A NEW PASTOR This process is not a quick one. Searching to find the right person to be the new Installed Pastor takes time and effort of discerning, and very importantly, learning what the congregation desires in the new pastor as far as type of experience, spiritual gifts, and specific focuses that are compatible with the congregation s mission. And most importantly, finding who it is that God has planned to best serve as the leader of the congregation of BPC. The first step has begun. The Session members identified people who are the spiritual leaders in the congregation; people who pray and who have a strong ability and desire to listen to God. The Spiritual Transition Team (STT) will pray every day at 6pm, wherever they are, for the process of finding the pastor. The STT will be praying for the pastor who God has already chosen and members of BPC will find, and for the ministry in which that pastor is currently serving. They will also pray for other aspects of the search as God directs them. If you feel called to pray everyday at 6pm for this process, please feel free to do so. The next part of the process is the Mission Study. The Session, in the next month or two, will chose approximately seven members who will find creative ways to learn what the members of BPC envision as qualities of the pastor who will lead them into the future of the church. They will explore the history of the church, and find all the good and the not so good things that have made BPC such a wonderful place. All members are encouraged to participate in whatever way they can to help the Mission Study Team. Participation is essential if you want your opinions heard and counted. This process is meant to be one of joy, to bring the congregation members closer and more appreciative of each other and the Brick Presbyterian Church. This process will take several months, approximately. They will collect the data, analyze it, and keep the congregation informed. When that is completed, the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) will be selected, most likely based on who would best be able to connect the desires of the congregation with the skills and traits of the Candidates. For example, if you wanted a pastor who was a good fundraiser for a new building, perhaps a member of the Pastor Nominating Committee would also have that experience. If the congregation would desire a Pastor who was a good teacher of the Bible, the PNC would have a member who knows what makes for a good Bible teacher. The selection of the PNC will not be for many months. To try to choose people now would be jumping too far ahead of the process and could possibly result in disappointment in that the match God intended did not happen because we were too hasty in determining what would make a good match. Be patient and know that God is with you. Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

4 MEN S FELLOWSHIP NEWS Because of scheduling conflicts, the Monthly Men's Fellowship Meeting has been rescheduled to the third Saturday of each month, beginning at 8:00 a.m. in the FLC. You bring your coffee and the group will supply the bagels. These meetings are a time of Christian fellowship where we can share our faith, encourage one another, and discern what we men can collectively do to add to the life of the Church. Quoting from Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another." The dates of the next four meetings are: March 16 th April 20 th May 18 th June 15 th If you plan to join us and/or have any questions, please Ed Carlson at edward_carlson@hotmail.com (it s an underscore between edward and carlson.) Hope to see you there! Please mark your calendars for our Ash Wednesday Service on March 6, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Hope to see you there. EASTER FLOWER DONATIONS Easter flower donation envelopes will be in the pews starting March 24 th and will remain there until April 14 th. If you would like to make a donation of Easter flowers in memory of, or in honor of, loved ones, and you wish to have your name in the bulletin, please use the envelopes by April 14 th so that Pat has time to include your name in the bulletin. Thank you.

5 PROPERTY, BUILDINGS, & GROUNDS NEWS Yes the Solar Panels have been installed, but a few more steps need to be taken before we re generating our own electricity. The electronic communications systems need to be finalized; an electric meter charge-out needs to take place; and a final inspection by the Township is required. Anticipating no problems, PB&G expects the project to be completed by the time you are reading this article God is Good! PB&G has also set Saturday, April 27 th, as our next Volunteer Work Date. The hours are from 7:30 a.m. to noon. More information to follow. Hope you can lend a hand. DEACON S CORNER We want to thank our departing members Joan Horan, Diane Lehnes, Jill Moberg, Ray Nalewicki, and Erica Saullo for their hard work and contributions to the Deacon s ministry. We welcome our newest members, Dorothy Aldrich, JoAnne Habenicht, Rose Saputo and Sharon Thomas to our group. We are looking forward to working with them and growing our ministry at BPC. The Annual Blood Drive -- As some of you might be aware, Central Jersey (Monmouth/Ocean) blood bank has closed their doors. We are in talks with a new vendor (Red Cross or Hackensack Meridian) to come in. We will keep you posted. We d like to thank you for your continuous donations to our food pantry and for small personal toiletry items for the Active Military. Please visit our website at for a list of needed items, or check out our display in the Narthex. Thank you, and God bless you. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

6 YOUTH GROUP NEWS MARK YOUR CALENDARS, FRIENDS! Bowling - March 3rd - time to be announced Movie Night - March 17th - 5:30 in the Family Life Center Stop Hunger - March 24th at St. Dominic's from 2pm - 4pm - we will be meeting there. BIG NEWS! The Junior High Leaders would like to take their group to the Camp Johnsonburg Middle School Retreat. This year the 9th grade students are invited. The date is March 29th - 30th and the cost per person is $ Last year we had an amazing time and the kids loved it. Please make sure to register by March 13th. Please see Kathy Kraynick with any questions or issues with registering. Camp Johnsonburg is an amazing place and every youth group member should experience this at least once in their middle school years. We will be with Presbyterian Youth Groups from all over New Jersey; lasting friendships have come out of other retreats. Please visit their website for more information. Thank you to everyone who made the Souper Bowl of Caring a success, we were able to raise $ to help stop hunger in Ocean County. $ was raised for the Patriots and $ was raised for Rams; unfortunately we did not pick the winner this year. We would like to congratulate our very own Senior High Youth Group member Jake Wynkoop on his acceptance into Cornell University. We wish him much success with his future plans. I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 Well Done, Good and Faithful Servants of the Lord!! We as a congregation say thank you to those Ruling Elders and Deacons who have completed terms of office in faithfully serving our congregation, community, and our Lord. At the Annual Meeting of the Congregation and Corporation on January 27, 2019, we recognized and honored those completing two three-year terms of service as Ruling Elders on Session as well as those who completed one three-year term of office on the Session. Each of these Ruling Elders has in numerous ways given of themselves to lead this congregation forward in following Jesus Christ. We also recognized a number of Deacons completing service to our congregation, community and Lord, completing two three-year terms in office as well as those who completed one three-year term in office. Each of these Deacons has given of themselves in sharing God s love and compassion for others on behalf of our congregation and were recognized for their service and faithfulness. To all our faithful Ruling Elders and Deacons, we say thank you for all you have done and for all you continue to do as partners in Christ s ministry at Brick Presbyterian Church.

7 FUNDRAISING UPDATE Thank you to everyone who supported our very successful Italian Dinner on February 2 in support of the Scholarship Fund. We would also like to extend our thanks to those who made monetary and food donations (which included gift cards from Brick Walmart and Brick Stop and Shop). The Fundraising Committee survey is still available for you to complete. We appreciate the response we have received and the suggestions for future fundraisers. If you haven t already done so, please take a few minutes to fill out a survey. The Fundraising Committee is working on an event for May 4, 2019 from 9:00-4:00 which will include a community yard sale. Prices will be $20.00 for an outdoor spot and $30.00 for an indoor spot (bring your own 6 ft. table for an indoor spot). We will have other things going on during the day so please watch for additional announcements. We will also need volunteer help for the day so if you have some time to help please let us know. Please remember our ongoing fundraisers with AmazonSmile (shop throughout the year) and Stream Energy (save on your energy bill). Both make donations back to Brick Presbyterian Church. WORSHIP COMMITTEE INFO HELP! The Chancel Flower Donation Calendar is FULL of HOLES! With the Lenten Season approaching especially, it seems like there will be several Sundays without flowers. Please sign up BPC S WORSHIP COMMITTEE NEEDS YOU! The flowers after service are distributed to those congregants who are homebound, in nursing homes, or in the hospital. We attempt to bring them to those of our congregation who are sick and need of some cheering up. Won t you PLEASE consider signing up for a Sunday? We want to thank those who have already signed up. Your donation is appreciated. At our next meeting we will be discussing the formation of a subcommittee for funerals and weddings. If you would like to join our committee or just offer your services occasionally, we would appreciate your prayerful consideration. We meet on the last Monday of the month in the Parlor at 5:45. Thank you.

8 ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING Beyond our own church doors are people whose homes and even loved ones have been washed away by hurricanes and floods, people trapped in systems of injustice and oppression, and people who will go to bed tonight hungry or without a roof over their heads. One Great Hour of Sharing helps us open our doors as well as our hearts to share the love of Christ through our ministries of justice, compassion, and joy. One Great Hour of Sharing is the single, largest way that Presbyterians come together every year to work for a better world sharing God s love with our neighbors in need around the world by providing relief from natural and human-made disasters, support for refugees, food for the hungry, and help for the poor and oppressed. Gifts made to One Great Hour of Sharing support those in challenging situations through three life-saving programs: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance receives 32% of funds raised to work alongside communities as they recover and find hope after the devastation of natural or human-caused disasters, and support for refugees. Presbyterian Hunger Program receives 36% of funds raised to take action to alleviate hunger, care for creation, and the systemic causes of poverty so all may be fed. Self-Development of People receives 32% of funds raised to invest in communities responding to their experiences of oppression, poverty and injustice and educates Presbyterians about the impact of these issues. Wednesday, March 6 th, marks the first day of Lent, the 40-day period of fasting and reflection before the celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday. Coin boxes will be distributed throughout our Sunday School to encourage donations during Lent for this special offering which will be taken on Palm Sunday, April 14 th. Each day at or after a meal time, you can also engage in a map activity that identifies areas and projects supported by OGHS in recent years. Look for the map on the Stewardship and Mission bulletin board in the hallway outside the Family Life Center. As you study the map, consider the reflection and questions, give a coin or a bill (a gift ) in a fish tank or a jar, and end by saying the prayer at the bottom of the map activity sheet. IF WE ALL DO A LITTLE, IT ADDS UP TO A LOT!

9 YOU ARE INVITED BPC has been a faithful and loving witness to the community for nearly 120 years. For sixty of those years we were blessed by the devoted service of two Pastors; the Rev. Walter Evans and the Rev. Douglas G. Chase. Now, as we venture forward seeking the person of God s choosing to partner in ministry with us, we invite you to join us in prayer. In the coming months there will be many important meetings and discussions, and the formation of committees and procedures, but foundational to all of this work is PRAYER. We know that it is God who calls and sustains this congregation, it is God who will make clear His intention for our ministry, and it is God who will lead us to our next Pastor. So; we invite you to join the Discernment Prayer Team in a daily prayer time - 6pm is our appointed time, but any time is fine. Pray as you are comfortable; with words, with scripture, in color, through journaling, in silence. As we grow together in this prayer mission, we know that God will reveal the plans He has for His BPC family. Gracious and Loving Father We are grateful that you have called our community of faith at BPC. Please help us to know your will for our lives both as individuals and as members of this congregation. Holy Spirit, Please open our hearts and minds to recognize Your voice as you direct us in ministry and toward the person whom you have already chosen as our next Pastor. We ask you to bless them, lift and guide them as they discern your call, and bless all whom they currently serve in ministry, Help us to keep fear of the unknown at bay and to trust always in your perfect timing in all things. All we ask in the name of Jesus, our Risen Lord and Savior Amen