Important Dates to Remember

Transcription

1 Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church 1039 Lawrence Road Lawrenceville, NJ (609) (609) (fax) Worship Schedule 10:00am Worship 11:00am Fellowship Childcare for children up to 3 years old is available during the service. If you have any questions, please call the church office at Important Dates to Remember January 27th, 8:30am Session/Deacon Breakfast February 4th, 9:00am Sunday Cool Resumes February 7th Wednesday Lawrence Road Resumes February 14th, 7:00pm Ash Wednesday Service February 21st March 21st Lenten Soup & Study DINNER: 5:30PM TO 6:30PM STUDY: 6:45PM 8:00PM

2 Dear Lawrence Road friends and families: It s apportionment time again in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The following article is a letter from the General Assembly of the PCUSA, the highest level of our church hierarchy. I think it s helpful in understanding apportionment and why it is so crucial that you, as a member of the PCUSA through your membership in the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, participate by contributing you re apportionment share ($35 per confirmed member for 2018). One of the new things you have received as the New Year begins is your new set of offering envelopes. You may have noticed an envelope near the front of the box labeled apportionment. Like many Presbyterians, you may have wondered, Exactly what does apportionment do? Apportionment is an amount of money per member (this year, $35.00) that our congregation pays to our larger Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This money is part of the glue that holds Presbyterians together. It is the money that enables us to work with other Presbyterian churches in our presbytery and across the country. It is also money that allows us to work with other churches to further the mission of Jesus Christ around the world. How important is apportionment? Here are some examples: Does our congregation want to benefit from relationships and cooperation with other Presbyterian churches across the country? Your apportionment pays for the General Assembly meeting every two years where Presbyterians gather together to worship and discern the mind of Christ for the church. Does our congregation want to be involved in mission work throughout the world, sharing the gospel in all parts of the earth? In many places in our world, it is difficult to do mission except by working ecumenically with other churches. Your apportionment helps to pay for meetings of Presbyterians with people of other Christian churches, allowing us to maintain those ties for mission. Do we want to benefit from helpful Presbyterian resources such as the Book of Order and The Book of Confessions? Your apportionment pays for producing these basic resources, including in Spanish, Korean, and Braille. Do we want future generations to learn about our congregation s present work (e.g., anniversary celebrations, membership rolls, session actions)? Your apportionment helps to fund the Presbyterian Historical Society preserving and sharing the Presbyterian experience. Do we want pastors who are well prepared to lead our congregations? Your apportionment funds the preparation, administration, and grading of standard ordination examinations for seminary students. Do we want well-trained leaders for our presbyteries and more? Your apportionment pays for annual training events for presbytery executives, stated clerks, and others who help lead our work and mission. In addition, your apportionment pays for the travel expenses of the Moderator and Vice Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as they make their way across the church to share with and listen to folks like you about the exciting things God is doing in our midst. We do not believe in being lone rangers in the PC(USA). We need each other as we work together to share the good news of Jesus Christ. As we benefit from the gifts, skills, vision, and ministry of each other in this place, so, too, do we benefit from an even wider array of gifts and ministry of our Presbyterian brothers and sisters across the church. Your apportionment pays for the programs, training, and resources that help us work together and discern the mind of Christ for the PC(USA). You will find your envelope in the front of the box of offering envelopes with your name on it. The envelope is blue and is labeled Apportionment. Every dollar you contribute strengthens the PC(USA) and broadens and deepens our witness to Jesus Christ in the world. Thanks for your help --- Pastor Nina

3 2018 Offering Envelopes Envelopes are located in the Narthex. Please stop by and pick up your box. Apportionment What s it for? The first envelope in each family s packet of pledge envelopes is marked apportionment. What is apportionment? The envelopes are for a once-each-year donation that helps fund Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church s obligations to the mission of the regional and national Presbyterian church. The money goes to the New Brunswick Presbytery, the Synod and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, like many churches, asks its members to cover their family s share of this obligation through a special donation. That s where those oddly named envelopes in your family s box come in. This year s apportionment amount is $35.00 per member of the church. Please place your donation in the apportionment envelope and either mail it to the church office or drop it in the collection plate this Sunday. Session/Deacon BREAKFAST Saturday, January 27, :30am (Session and Deacons meetings to follow) please rspv

4 Spread the Love PB&J Food Drive February 1 February 28 Spread the Love during the month of February. Each Sunday, fill the table in Fellowship Hall with peanut butter and jelly, crackers, rice cakes, and flat breads. At the end of February, our yummy sandwich offerings will be picked up by Arm in Arm to stock their food pantry. Look for the Spread the Love table set up in Fellowship Hall and thank you for your generosity. The LRPC Outreach Committee Flower donors are needed for February 4, 11 and 18. Please contact the church office at or office@tlrchurch.org if interested. MUSIC NOTES Our chancel choir had a wonderful time preparing for the special Lessons and Carols service, followed by the Christmas Eve services. Special thanks to our guest singers Carl Erickson, Tim Hansell, and Nina Reeder. Now is the perfect time to think about joining the choir for our Lenten and Easter worship. Non-music readers welcome! Technology makes it possible to learn music through rehearsal tracks and recordings made during rehearsal. See Amy Watt for details. Or just join us any Sunday morning at 9:00! Sunday Cool Sundays 10am beginning Sunday, February 4 Calling all kids, preschool through 12 th grade! Enter into the exciting and mysterious world of the miracles of Jesus. Explore through art, music, story, and the magic of puppetry the many ways that God is at work in our lives. Children will begin in worship and be excused to their Sunday Cool groups. Classes are available for all ages: Preschool (ages 3-5) Elementary (K- 5th grade) Youth (grades 6-12) Mark your calendars Sunday Cool fun begins February 4, 10am!

5 LENTEN SOUP AND STUDY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21 DINNER: 5:30PM TO 6:30PM STUDY: 6:45PM 8:00PM JOIN US FOR SOUP, SALAD, AND A SPECIAL STUDY FEBRUARY 14 ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP 7:00PM FEBRUARY 21 MARCH 21 by J. Brent Bill Books are available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com Join us every Wednesday evening beginning February 21 and ending March 21 as we engage the spirituality and wonder of silence as a discipline through the book Holy Silence: the Gift of Quaker Spirituality. We ll work through a chapter each week with handouts and exercises to try out at home during the week. Our conversation will begin at 6:45pm and end at 8pm sharp. All are welcome.

6 \ February 14, 2018 Dinner 5:30pm - 6:30pm (Fellowship Hall) Worship 7:00pm (Sanctuary) Worship The Body of Christ gathers to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion The Imposition of Ashes Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the forty days of preparation for the celebrations of Easter. This day is a particular time for new beginnings in the faith, a time for returning to the Lord. On Ash Wednesday, we put aside the sins and failures of the past, remembering who has made us and knowing who we are yet to become by the grace of God. Nursery School News We are certainly feeling the depths of winter as snow, ice and cold temperatures keep us indoors. We managed to bundle up and take a walk outside a few times, just to get some fresh air. We are still having fun in our classrooms exploring our seasonal themes which include ice, penguins, polar bears and snow. Our Pre-K class is up to the letter L in the alphabet and continues to expand their vocabulary and word recognition. They are making great strides preparing for kindergarten. Registration for the school year will be starting soon. Several families have taken tours and are expressing interest in registering for next year. If there are church members wanting to join our program, please contact me as soon as possible. Priority registration is set to begin January 29. General registration begins February 5. We are at capacity this year and hopeful that this is a trend. This is a bustling place and we are enjoying our many wonderful families and children. Teacher mid - year conferences are getting underway. The January conference is meant to guide parents regarding adjustment to school, socialization skills and ability to follow classroom routines. More formal conferences are held in April. Conferences are informative as they are indicators of the child s progress relative to state guidelines for typical learners at this age. Our Parent Association is in the process of scheduling assemblies for the children. We are looking forward to a program on farm animals some time in February. They are also busy with Spring Fling planning. Spring Fling is scheduled for April 21. We have a night off from cooking scheduled for Monday, January 29 at Salerno s III in Ewing. If a LRPCNS flyer is presented between 5:00pm 9:00pm, the school receives 10% of the proceeds. If you want to have a great dinner and support our school as well, please look at the flyer included in the newsletter. Have a great month!

7 and support the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church Nursery School by dining at Monday, January 29, :00pm 9:00pm EAT IN, TAKE OUT, OR DELIVERY! Present this flyer when ordering! 10% of the proceeds will be donated to the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church Nursery School

8 Wow! The winter 2018 semester has already begun. However, we would first like to say THANK YOU to all who made our fall 207 semester a success. We had a great Fall Session full of learning English and fun social activities. We ended our semester as we always do, by celebrating with a potluck dinner. There was just so much love, joy and giving that evening. It really felt like a big Thanksgiving g dinner with an enormous family. There were so many people present, including past volunteers, teachers and students. I want to give a very special thanks to Pamela Esbrant for cooking the delicious Turkeys! We are pleased to welcome the 100 new and returning students to The English School 2018 winter semester. Registration took place on a cold, wintery-mix evening, yet students still came and enrolled because they want to join our learning community. Our first class took place on Monday, January 15, Citizenship class took place on Thursday, January 18. Thanks to a generous grant from the Lawrence Township Community Foundation, we are able to offer the class free this year, and we hope more students will enroll. We are grateful for our volunteers: teacher assistants, conversation leaders, tutors, and Bonner students who come in from the cold to warm up the school. The first Wednesday Night Conversation Night, directed by Heather Patel, took place on Wednesday, January 17 with 35 students eager to work with our conversation leaders. Our first Thursday Night Tutoring sessions, managed by Katy Ells, took place on January 18. As the managing director, one of my goals is to increase the number of volunteers with the TES. More and more students are attending conversation night, and seeking one-on-one tutoring. As a result, we are looking for more volunteers who would like to spend time helping our ESL students. Lastly, this semester we are excited to welcome Caroline Hazelton, who will be teaching Level 4 this semester. Caroline is a graduate from, Florida State University where she earned a Master s of Science, Second Language Teaching. We are looking forward to several fun social events, including another afternoon of bowling. The students and volunteers enjoyed it so much that they asked to do this again. In addition, our International Potluck Dinner will be on Thursday, March 22 at 7 pm. All are welcome! If you think you might like to volunteer in any way, there is still a place for you! We can always use help. Contact Paula Rainey at info@theenglishschoollrpc.com or call Yours in Christ, Paula Rainey

9 LOG High School Youth Fellowship We had a busy and very blessed December. First, on December 20 th, 5 car loads of youth, young adults, adult leaders, and other members of LRPC visited and sang Christmas carols to 6 shut-in members. It was a powerfully meaningful time for all as the joy of the Christmas season was shared, including many holy hugs. Then it was back to the church for hot chocolate and cookies. Such a great time was had by all that we think a new annual tradition has been born! Second, we decided after our Team Weekend in early December that we wanted to do some more team building before holding the next LOG Retreat (#11). So, instead of a full, two-night retreat weekend, we held a second Team Weekend with one overnight stay on Saturday January 6 th that concluded Sunday afternoon. Despite the bitter cold outside 16 youth and 8 adult leaders had a fun time together continuing to build the team as we shared delicious meals prepared by our own fabulous chef, Pam Esbrandt, sang songs led by Danielle Allison, each wrote affirmations to each other, prayed and had serious conversations, competed in a cupcake decorating contest for prizes (!), watched the movie Remember the Titans-complete with a snack salad, and played the ever popular zombie tag before trying to get some sleep. On Sunday morning we worshipped together with the congregation and helped take down all the Christmas decorations. Regular LOG Youth Group meetings start again on February 7 th to coincide with the resumption of Wednesday Night Suppers. In the meantime, we are staying in touch with each other via our Facebook page, L.O.G., sharing our hi s and low s, prayer requests, special memories that make us smile, affirmations (see picture below), etc. Our Facebook page is a Closed Group, however, if you want to join us and see what we re doing, please let one of the adult leaders know. In anticipation of starting up again, the Adult Leaders have a planning meeting on Wednesday, January 24 th to get ready. Youth are always encouraged to bring their friends to join them on Wednesday evenings and to participant in a LOG Retreat weekend which costs $ LOG #11 was postponed to sometime this spring after Easter, and we will keep you posted when a date has been set. Please enjoy the pictures of us Loggers singing and bonding, Debbie Nixon, Danielle Allison, JoAnn Trevor, Pam Esbrandt, John Emmons, and Sue Anderson

10 LET S RECYCLE PROGRAM STARTING Starting this month LRPC will be making a greater effort to recycle. Please, help by: Noticing the yellow recycling barrels at various strategic locations around the buildings (right next to the trash cans!) Noticing the signs indicating what goes where. THINKING BEFORE TOSSING! Following the information on the signs. Following the same Mercer County rules as we hope you do at home. Thank you, Your Session Dear Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, Thank you so much for letting us use your field for our carnival. You are a bear necessity. Yours in Scouting, Bear Den 1, Pack 28 Dear Deacons, I want to thank the Deacons who visited me last year. We have shared visiting and sharing of the extended communion table at home. It means a great deal to me to be remembered by my church family and pastor. Faithfully, May Martin Feb. 3 Melissa Clark Eliot Nagele Feb. 5 Karin Cermele Austin Phillips Feb. 7 Brian Bochantin Feb. 14 David Seaman Feb. 15 Shirley Seaman Feb. 17 Mary Ann Katona Feb. 18 Margaret Baffuto Feb. 23 Kelly Townsend John Vercruysse Feb. 24 Ashley Callahan

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