The newsletter of The Presbyterian Church of Toms River

Transcription

1 Tower Time The newsletter of The Presbyterian Church of Toms River Ready all, Row! The boat is in its starting position. The nose is square to the course and edged as close to the line as possible. The eight crew members have their oars situated for a quick start as they await the word from their coxswain (the one who steers the boat and whose voice commands keep the team most effectively working together). Sit Ready. Ready all, row! And off they go! Summer is here, which means something different for all of us. Excitement, or maybe panic, as you realize the kids will be home for 2 ½ months. Anticipation, as you look forward to the vacation you have been planning. Eagerness to get to the beach and just relax. This is a great time of year to get away, to visit family, to enjoy God s creation, and to make memories with your kids and grandkids. It is also a great time to put our oars in the water and pull together. I can remember one time when I went kayaking with Ella. She was only about 6 at the time. We jumped into the boat, each of us armed with a paddle. After teaching her how to use it, we decided to set out. We put our paddles in the water on opposite sides of the boat and pulled. We began to move forward a bit. Then we paddled again and again. We gained speed but with each subsequent stroke we also started spinning in a circle, as my stronger strokes were overpowering hers, and eventually she just gave up paddling all together. Obviously, I had to compensate by switching sides so that we could keep moving in the intended direction. We ended up having a lot of fun but it wasn t a recipe for speed. Everyone in the boat needs to pull or we will just spin in circles. Though the rhythms of our church ways that you can put your oar in the water to keep us moving forward: Pray for our Community that those who don t know Jesus would meet Him, that those who are hurting or grieving would be comforted, that our youth and young adults would be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and that God would show you how to be His presence every day. Pray for the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee that God will lead them as they continue searching for the person He has already identified to serve along with us. VBS Volunteer make an eternal impact in the life of a child by being a group leader that week (no experience or special skills required) or help with designing, building, decorating, or cleaning up. Youth Leadership perhaps God is calling you to step out of your comfort zone and become a leader for our youth. They don t need perfect Christians or Bible scholars, just willing folks to care for them, point them to Jesus, and be available one-time or on-going through trips, pool parties, Bible studies and conversation. Worship and Invite Join us in person, as you are able, and invite friends, co-workers, or family to join you as we honor God and grow together. Don t forget to join us on Livestream when you are away (go to and click on the link at the top). If you have questions or want to put your oar in the water, feel free contact me, the church office or any staff member and we will be happy to get you connected. Friends, I am so happy to be with PCTR and to be spending my first summer at the shore with you. Ready all, row! Peace- change during the summer, there are still all sorts of Robbie Ytterberg Hooper Avenue Find us on Facebook: PCTRnj

2 Page 2 Save The Date for PCTR'S 3rd ANNUAL WHERE: Church Grounds WHEN: Sunday, July 16th (Following 11:00 am Worship) TICKETS: $5 Per Person (Children 6 yrs. and under FREE!) *Join us in celebrating the VBS Closing Program, Fellowship, Food & Summer Fun **Advanced Sales Preferred-Wristbands For Sale after Saturday 6:30 pm Service and Between Sunday Services beginning Sunday, June 24th ***If anyone has a pop-up tent that can be borrowed for this event, Please contact Randy Fernandez Thank you! Summer Worship Hours through Labor Day Weekend Saturdays 6:30 p.m. Celebrations Worship in Fellowship Hall Sundays 9:00 & 11:00 a.m. Traditions Worship in the Sanctuary 10:00 a.m. Celebrations Worship in Fellowship Hall PCTR Scholarship Applications Deadline June 9th Each year, scholarships are awarded to several members of the church. Scholarship applications are available on our website, org. Please visit: scholarship/ to download the application. Printed applications are also available in the Main Office of the church in a basket marked Deacons Scholarship Applications. Any church member who is planning to attend college full time in the fall may apply. How to submit the application: Please SAVE the form, complete it in its entirety and save it again, then submit it, along with your transcripts, to: deacons@pctr.org before the deadline for submission of applications, which is Friday, June 9, 2017 before 5:00 p.m. (ET). If you cannot complete the application online, please print clearly and place your application, along with your transcripts, in a sealed envelope with your name on it and place it in the designated box in the Main Office before the deadline indicated above. Also, please send an to deacons@ pctr.org to let the committee know that you have submitted an application. If you have any questions, please contact the Scholarship Selection Committee by at deacons@pctr.org. Good luck to all who apply! Piano Players Needed! The Congregational Care Committee needs people to play for our Nursing Home Services, as well as for the Communion Services we do at Harrogate and Crestwood Manor. Each time several classic hymns are chosen for the residents to sing. Anyone who can play the piano at a very basic level (and above) is encouraged to participate. You would not be expected to play every time, rather, we're building a list of people who can play whenever they re available. All ages are welcome so if you know of a student needing to fulfill school service hours, or if you or someone you know has an hour to share 2 or 3 times a year, please consider this great opportunity to serve the Lord and some very special people. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Vivian Burns at or vburns7057@aol.com. Thank you!

3 Children's Ministry Update Church School: As we have look back on another great year of Church School, we have seen God at work in wonderful ways this year. In addition to the blessing of working with many awesome children through the course of the year, we also welcomed several new members to our team of teachers! What was already a great group became even stronger, and our children were led in a wonderful way. We have now launched into our Summer Church School schedule which will be in place through Labor Day weekend. We will still be utilizing our Orange curriculum, but our time together each week will be just a bit less formal. If you are a parent and you d like to sign-up to help facilitate one of these summer sessions, please speak to Jane Kahnt, Linda Fashauer, or Michael Barozzie. We promise you ll LOVE spending this time with the children they are amazing! S.T.A.R. Club Our S.T.A.R Club also recently wrapped up a very fruitful and successful year. In addition to working their way through the parables of Jesus, they offered their gift of singing frequently in our worship services. No group gives of their gifts more freely or passionately than these amazing children! We closed out our year with a program for our S.T.A.R. Club families during their last gathering on Wednesday, May 10th. The group sang some of their favorite songs and were honored for their participation throughout the year. A special thank you goes out to Kate Melson and all of our advisors for making this year so special for the children and parents alike! A.I.M. Club: Another awesome year of A.I.M. Club will come to a close with the performance of our spring musical Oh, Jonah, on Friday, June 7 P.M. The children have been preparing for months, and they are doing a fantastic job! We are also grateful to our director, Timothy Grill, for bringing this program together SO beautifully, and for ALWAYS making sure that everyone has a great time in the process. We are also grateful for our team of advisers who are plain and simple the very best in the business. Nothing that we do through the course of the year is possible without their dedication to this program and the children who learn so much from them. Mustard Seeds Our Mustard Seeds group has really grown over the last several months, and the joy at our recent gatherings has been palpable! These children truly are some of PCTR s most excited, energetic, and loving members, and there is so much that WE can learn from THEM! Thank you so much to Megan Banach and Cheryl Homyak for all their planning and dedication, which helped to make this year so special for all who were involved! Vacation Bible School Plans are well underway for this year s Vacation Bible School Maker Fun Factory which will take place on July As always, it promises to be a highlight of the summer! Throughout this week, the curiosity of our children will be met with the opportunity to become hands-on inventors, as they discover that they are lovingly crafted by our God! Our week will, once again, culminate with our Summer Celebration on Sunday, July 17th, where the children will perform some of their songs before everyone is treated to a delicious cook out and plenty of fun activities! You can find more information and sign-up forms at the church or by visiting the church s website. Mark your calendars and sign up your children early! I am so incredibly grateful for every child and family here at PCTR, and I m humbled by the gift of working with all of them. Thank you for your continued prayers for and support of the children s ministries in this place. God truly continues to lead and guide us each day, in His perfect will and plan, blessing us richly every step of the way may it always be so. Amen! Love & Blessings, Michael Page 3

4 Baccalaureate Service Saturday, June 17th during the 6:30 pm serviced The entire congregation is invited to a special worship service to honor all our graduating High School seniors. Our seniors are moving on to new adventures and we want to gather around them and wish them God s richest blessings. This service will be filled with beautiful music, the word read and preached and moments of recognition. Families of Graduating Seniors We would like to also invite you to a dessert reception following our Baccalaureate Service. For this reception we would ask that you send in pictures of your soon to be graduate from throughout their life including their senior photo. Please send pictures to scotts@pctr.org or drop them off in the church office by June 12th. Youth Summer Program We have four great trips planned for this summer and we want YOU there! New this year our Rising 9th Graders will be a part of our High School Trips and our Rising 6th Graders will be a part of our Jr High Trips! Check out all the details online at JH Fellowship Trip: On The Edge Outdoor Adventure Camp July JH Mission Trip: ServeFest Local Mission Trip August HS Fellowship Trip: A Closer Walk Christian Beach Festival August 3-5 HS Mission Trip: Joni & Friends Special Needs Ministry June 25-July 1 Beach trips, Pool Parties, Work Day and More! Join our Youth Mailing List, sign up for events, and check out details on all of our upcoming programs by visiting us online at youth! Page 4 Warm is the New Cool! As part of our monthly Youth Commission Meeting we have been studying a book together entitled Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Know and Love the Church. This book comes out of the Fuller Youth Institute and is the result of several years of dedicated research into figuring out what has been effective in churches that are excelling in connecting with Youth and College Age young people. This has been an enriching process for our team as we seek God s leading for the Youth Ministry and our Church as a whole. One of the main ideas that that has really stood out is that what young people (and I would argue most people) are primarily looking for in a church is not a place that is on the cutting edge of coolness or even one that focuses on a specific doctrine. What are they looking for? Warmth and Personal Relationships! It is these personal connections that draw people into our community of faith and keep them coming back. I think if most of us think back to how we first got connected at church it would be the result of personal connections that we formed I know it was for me! So how can we demonstrate this warmth to the people who walk through our doors? How can we help people develop personal connections with each other? This is obviously no small task for our Youth Ministry or for our church, but I think we can start with a couple ideas that will get the ball rolling. 1. Come early and stay late It is all too easy to rush in just in time for worship and then rush out after the benediction. Plan to set aside some extra time to visit with people and connect with each other. 2. Learn names With a church our size it is easy to get lost in a crowd. Be intentional about asking, and remembering, the names of people you meet and greet them by name the next time you see them. 3. Connect with someone different than you It might be scary to strike up a conversation with a teenager. You might feel like you have nothing in common with the woman from the nursing home you pass in the hall. But go out of your way to meet and connect with them anyway. You will be surprised at who you might develop a connection with. I would like to invite you to join us in thinking of more ways that we can continue to make PCTR a warm and inviting place for people to come and develop meaningful relationships with each other! Blessings, Scott Slawson

5 Summer LIF June 12th, 19th, 26th 7:00 p.m. in the Haven Coffee & Goodies Everyone is welcome! The Story of Heaven: Exploring the Hope and Promise of Eternity by Max Lucado and Randy Frazee The Story of Heaven small group video Bible study is a three-week exploration into the hope and promise of Heaven, adapted from God s Story, Your Story and The Story Adult Curriculum. Pulled straight from the pages of the Bible, this study provides the opportunity to learn, discuss, and apply biblical teaching about heaven to our everyday lives. This study will open your eyes to the glorious finale of God's masterfully-told story. Discover the heart of God's Story and the joy that comes as you align your story with God's. Max Lucado and Randy Frazee offer a hope-filled perspective of heaven, showing groups: The power of the words "Christ has risen" and the hope that they provide How Jesus promises this same type of resurrection to those who follow Him The promise of new bodies without sickness and without the struggles of the flesh A picture of what the kingdom of God will be like from the book of Revelation How we can participate in God's ultimate story How Jesus will return to earth and live with us in a new earth forever Sessions June 12th Exit Strategy (Lucado) June 19th Heavenly Graduation (Lucado) June 26th The End of Time (Frazee) Wednesday, June 6:30 p.m. in the Mission Room Light Dinner followed by a discussion of the #1 New York Times bestseller: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America s greatest achievements in space. Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as human computers used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley s all-black West Computing group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens. Everyone is welcome! Fellowship Club Friday, June 11:30 am Fellowship Club Pot Luck Luncheon Bring Bring you favorite casserole or salad and meet in the Haven for fun & games! Invite a friend - relatives, neighbors or other church members - Everyone is welcome! Page 5

6 The summer is the perfect time to take part in special music activities at PCTR. This summer we will have three opportunities for you learn more about music and have fun while singing or ringing. Flyers and sign up forms are available in the narthex, or you can call or me to register ( x228, pctr.org). I hope you will plan to take part in one or all of these special events! Summer Choir One Rehearsal: Thursday, July 27-7:00-8:30 p.m. 3 Opportunities to Sing: (or however many you can attend) Sunday, July 30-9:00, Sunday, August 6-11:00, Sunday, August 13-9:00 Whether you sing every week in a choir or only sing in the shower, Summer Choir is for you! This is the perfect opportunity to see what choir membership is like with no long-term commitment. We will hold one rehearsal and have three opportunities to sing. We will warmup thirty minutes before each service begins. Music will be accessible and fun to sing. Summer Sing Tuesday, August 1-7:00 p.m. Join us as we sing two different settings of the Gloria, one by Antonio Vivaldi and the other by John Rutter. This is not a rehearsal or concert, but an informal sing-through of these classic works. We welcome all in the community who enjoy singing to join us. Copies of the music will be provided and dessert will follow. Deacons A special thanks to everyone who contributed to the Easter collection for the Children s Specialized Hospital. Through your generosity, we were able to provide the hospital with a wonderful assortment of books, cd s, crafts, stuffed animals, bubbles, nail polish, crayons, baby toys and more. These gifts enriched the lives of the children and made them feel special and loved. School Supply Collection The Deacons' Outreach Committee will be collecting school supplies during the period from July 8 through August 13. These items will be distributed to the House of Hope and Urban Promise. There will be boxes near all of the main church entrances where you can deposit your donations. Items requested are: Backpacks Folders Pencils Pens Loose Leaf Binders Filler paper File Folders Abigail - June 14th 9:30 am - TBA Adah - June 19th 10:00 am Mission Room Dividers Markers Erasers Book Covers Notebooks Calculators Highlighters Pencil sharpeners Presbyterian Women June Circles Lydia - June 20th 7:00 pm - Church Mary - June 27th 12:00 pm Mission Room Handbells 101 Thursday, August 10-7:00 p.m. Have you ever wanted to ring handbells, but didn t know where to begin? Have you rung bells before, but could use a review of techniques? Join us for Handbells 101 and have fun as you learn more about ringing handbells. While there s no obligation to join a bell choir, we are always looking for new ringers! Esther - June 13th 10:00 am - TBA Eve - June 21st 6:45 pm - Church Joy - June 19th 10:00 am - Haven Rebecca June 13h 9:30 am Mission Room Sarah - June 20th 9:30 am Mission Room Page 6

7 Update from Finance and Stewardship Dear friends, If you are taking the time to read this, I already know that you are grateful for God s grace in your life. I am, too. I am grateful that He prompted me to attend the Women s Retreat for the first time and that I was blessed to experience the Adult Ministry of Pat Grill, surrounded by women who are walking alongside each other in our faith journey. On a Sunday morning, as the sun rose over the bay, a group of us sang Amazing Grace and prayed to God, joyfully thanking Him for our blessings and asking Him to be with us through our concerns. THANK YOU! That thank you may seem out of place at this point in my story but it is not a typo. It is intentional. I want to thank you for your gifts to PCTR. Without your gifts, the Adult Ministry program may not have become what it is today. I truly returned home renewed in my sense of purpose, which I believe will have a positive impact on my family, my work, my volunteer efforts here at PCTR, and most importantly, my relationship with God. Unfortunately, my report on our financial picture is not as beautiful as the one I took of the women praying by the bay we have a lot of work to do, and we need your help to do it. Here s where we are: April 2017: Year-to-Date Financial Report Actual Budget Variance from Budgeted Amount Revenue $469,600 $507,100 -$37,500 Expenses $482,000 $515,800 $33,800 Net Income -$12,400 -$ 8,700 -$3,700 55% of households who pledged for 2017 are behind the anticipated year-to-date giving. The favorable variance in expenses is primarily due to lower "Personnel Expenses" [about $40,000] resulting from the vacancy in the Associate Pastor's position. Once we fill this position, our expenses will go up. 83% of PCTR's anticipated annual expenses do not vary significantly from month-to-month. Whenever possible, please contribute your pledges steadily throughout the year. The budget set for PCTR each year is based on your pledges. Last year, 551 member households contributed to PCTR but this year only 475 have made gifts so far. We are grateful to the 475 who have given so that we can continue the ministries of our faith. If you are one of the 76 households who have not made a gift, would you prayerfully consider it now? An additional gift of $2 a week ($104 a year) times 500 households is $52,000! A gift of $10 a week ($520 a year) times 500 households is $260,000! That is significant! Every dollar truly does make a difference. I am personally committing today to increase my pledge by $7 a week. When I think about the dollars I spend each day, putting an extra $1 aside for God s purpose, His people all of you, all of us it seems much more meaningful than the (fill in the blank) that I might spend it on. Would you consider joining me at whatever number you are moved to give joyfully? What you give is between you and God. If it has been some time since you have prayed about God s blessings in your life and how they are reflected in joyful sharing of those gifts in His honor, please take a few moments to be still and reflect on His blessings now. If you are able to start, continue or increase your gift, know that you are helping your family of faith. We will not ask you to do what you can t, but we are asking you to do what you can. Which reminds me: Bring a Friend to Church Day is any day that you are coming. Page 7

8 Vacation Bible School July 10th - 14th - 9:00-12:00 Join us at Maker Fun Factory for Faith-Building Fun! Can it really be that time again? Yes--it's time for the best week of the year! Mark your calendar: July 10 through July 14 is Vacation Bible School. Registration has begun for children who have completed a Nursery School 3 yr. old class through children who have completed fifth grade. Each day at Maker Fun Factory Kids become hands-on inventors and discover they're lovingly crafted by God. On this interactive adventure, curious kids become hands-on inventors and experience God-the ultimate Maker-in new and wildly creative ways! Registration forms are available at the Christian Ed. office and online. This year's cost is $25 per child, with a $40 limit per family. Register today--and be sure to tell your friends. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF TOMS RIVER 1070 HOOPER AVENUE TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY NON-PROFIT ORG. AUTO U.S. POSTAGE PAID TOMS RIVER, N. J. PERMIT NO.80 Time Sensitive Material, Please Expedite 0 0