Sunday School Easter Skit. Mark your calendars now for some upcoming events sponsored by the Genesis youth group, but open to EVERYONE at WRCC!

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1 LAMPLIGHTER April \ 2016 Sunday School Easter Skit WADING RIVER CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Congregational Annual Meeting and Potluck Luncheon May 15, 2016 Immediately following the 10:30am service. Spring Clean Up and Painting Saturday, March 19 Friday Prayer Service April 15 at 7pm Genesis Mark your calendars now for some upcoming events sponsored by the Genesis youth group, but open to EVERYONE at WRCC! More details can be found on our Facebook page. Questions? Contact Chris or Dina Jones or Kerstin Turner. Friday April 22 - Dinner and a movie! Join us for dinner and a family-oriented movie. Saturday May 14 - Long Island Ducks game Watch for outdoor movie nights over the summer! Come join us!

2 A Word from Pastor TJ witness, someone who knew them first hand. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. - Acts 1:8 If you ve ever been around my daughter, you know she loves penguins. She has penguin clothes, stuffed penguins (lots of them), toy penguins, and a penguin backpack. She watches all the penguin shows and reads all the penguin books. She even wrote her own book about penguins for Kindergarten. You might think she knows everything there is for a kindergartener to know about penguins but you d be wrong. She discovered this on her birthday when we took her to the Long Island Aquarium to meet real penguins for herself. She was amazed to discover there was so much more to learn about penguins. She knew the different kinds of penguins and where they lived, but she didn t know how they felt, what they smelled like or that they like to bite sparkly pants (she wasn t happy about that last one). She only learned those things when she met them for herself with the help of someone who spends time with penguins every day. There was only so much she could learn from books or TV. To really know penguins she needed the help of a Last week was Easter, the day we celebrate the great victory of Jesus over death, the coming of new life into the world! On Easter Jesus established the hope the whole world needs. But he also established something else: the church. In Acts 1, as Jesus is about to return to heaven, he explains part of the reason for this. He tells the disciples that their mission, the mission of the church, is to be his witnesses. Understanding the hope of Jesus is a little like knowing about penguins. It s not enough to learn about it or know it exists. To really know Jesus requires the help of witnesses, people who have encountered him in their real lives. This is the mission Jesus has given us. We re called to be his witnesses, to bring the good news of what we have seen ourselves about the power of God in our lives, to people all around us who have heard there s hope, but need help to find it. Fortunately, this is as simple as sharing with others the ways you ve seen God at work in your own lives, like telling a hurting person how Jesus has given you comfort or peace, or an angry person how God has forgiven and healed you. It s as easy as sharing your own experiences of hope through Jesus with other people who want hope, long for hope, believe there might be hope, but need the help of someone who s seen it themselves. So let s be his witnesses in this corner of the ends of the earth. The Mission of Small Things Thank you all for your donations for our little jars on the tables. Adding that to our weekly donations on Wed. mornings we were able to make our second semi-annual donation to the neediest. This time we sent "Super Baskets" of chicks and rabbits through Heifer International to four families in the Third World. The Wednesday Morning Home Group

3 Deacon s Corner By the time that you read this we will have celebrated the most important event in the history of the world, the resurrection of our Savior! May we be in awe of God s amazing grace towards us and this world! Halleluiah Christ Has Risen, He Has Risen indeed! On April 2 nd the Deacons are sponsoring a Sharing Your Faith seminar. We pray that you feel called to make the time in your schedule to attend this day long training session. As disciples we are called to love Jesus and respond to His call on our life by doing certain things to honor Him. As part of that we are also called to go out and tell the world about Him and His amazing love. Sometimes that is not an easy thing to do even for the most faithful follower. Come join us as we spend the day learning to be more comfortable speaking to others about our faith. The long awaited church survey has arrived. This tool will assist us as a congregation to assess the health of our church. We ask those of you who are interested in the life of the church to sign up on the list to complete the survey. We are limited to 30 surveys for the entire congregation. So please prayerfully consider completing it. They recommend that only one survey be completed per household. The nominating committee has begun the process of reviewing the nominations for church officers. Please keep the Committee and the process in your prayers. May God help us to see who it is that He has in mind for church leadership here at WRCC. Who He calls, He will equip. What an awesome privilege and responsibility! This is a wonderful season to pause and reflect on the incredible sacrifice that was made for each of us on the Cross. May we be moved by that incredible truth and the grace that comes with it. Let us all take some time to reflect on God s goodness. He is a good Father, always present, always forgiving, always loving always constant. May we live our lives in a way that reflects that Love back to Him and to those he puts in our paths. In His Service, The Deacons April Birthdays 3 Kerstin Turner 4 Judy Black 7 Janice Elliott Diane Loffredo 15 Roy Marlow 16 Ed Elliott 17 Diane Barraud 18 Ralph DeLucia 19 Joe Nocerino 20 Lisa Carlen 21 Jim Klein 22 Gregory Efimetz Rachel Sofranek 23 Jack Guthy Juliana Schmidt Janet Carignan Brittany Carlen 25 Doris Allen 30 Kathy Rowehl Long time church members Rosemary and Alan Hurley, now residing in St. Augustine FL, visited Lana and Jim O'Toole while vacationing in Islamorada FL.

4 Trustees We trust you all had a Blessed Easter. Thanks to all who were able to help out with our spring spruce up and indoor painting. We want to especially thank Doug Carlen who used his tractor to spread out the gravel in the parking lot and Joe Nocerino who coordinated the painting volunteers. We also would like to thank Dave Hertling for bringing along his son to help paint, and the local Girl Scout troop who helped rake the grounds. And let us not forget our own Gabby who always cheers us up with her great smile. In April, we hope to have our volunteers complete the painting of the stairwell and have our contractor begin the repainting of the parlor. April also means that the Trustees must prepare a budget to present to the congregation at the annual meeting in May. Working closely with the Finance Committee, we have asked all program leaders to submit budget proposals for the coming fiscal year (May 2016 thru April 2017) to the church office. Also, we encourage the congregation to submit a pledge slip in order to allow us to more accurately project our income. A pledge of any amount is appreciated and slips are available in the parlor. One final bit of good news is that the refrigerator door has finally been replaced under warranty and now closes properly. Remember that you are the eyes and ears of the Trustees, so if in the future you notice any other items that need our attention, do not hesitate to let us know or leave a message in the church office. The Trustees REVELATION 2016 Rec Night Series Do Love Walk Micah 6:8 Now O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. What: Fun, Fellowship and Finding out how to Do Love Walk Who: All middle and high school students welcome. Where: Wading River Congregational Church When: 7:00-10:00 PM on the following dates. April 2, 2016 May 7, 2016 June 4, 2016 Questions, ask a member of Revelation Senior Youth Group or call the church office.

5 Help us stomp out hunger by supporting Revelation and World Vision 30 Hour Famine! 17,000 children under the age of 5 die from hunger EACH DAY! That s a lot of kids How you can help: Join us on the fast from 12:00 noon on Friday April 15 th through 6:00 p.m. on Saturday April 16 th. Join us to break the fast during a covered dish meal on Saturday April 16 th at 6:00 pm sharp. Support the cause by sponsoring the team or one of the participants. Pray for us!

6 The Restaurant By Kerstin Turner One day, a man dreamed up one-of-akind restaurant that was open 24/7 and had every kind of food to enjoy. It was a "local" place where friends and families could meet for a quick snack, or to celebrate life's greatest moments. It took some time for the idea to catch on - but eventually it did. This local place became the center of the community. People got so used to seeing their neighbors there that they'd miss them if they didn't see them. A comradery was built - unintentionally without anybody noticing. This place (imagine a mix of Greek Island Diner and Phil s) soon turned into not just the place to celebrate, but to mourn. It was also the place you could go if you felt down, or you received bad news, or you just didn't want to be alone. Besides, why not - the people who frequented the restaurant knew you and cared about you. It was a safe place. The owner loved his restaurant, and he loved these people more. He loved the community that filled his place and he loved that everyone felt welcome and loved here. But he had not been charging a dime for anything. It was all free. Whatever you wanted was on the house. From the appetizers to desserts, it was on the house! Prime rib and lobster? On the house! Of course, as word got out of this "free" place his business grew...but he was left with a tab that exceeded any debt he'd ever owed anyone. He knew it would be expensive at first, but he didn't expect it to come to this. And it had to be paid, nothing is never truly free, right? Sadly, he had to announce to his loyal patrons (these people were not just customers, they were his dear friends) that the restaurant could not continue - what started as a great idea has become a burden that he could simply not afford. Eye after eye welled up with tears. Everyone loved it here. They didn't want to leave. They loved the owner. They began to whisper among themselves: What can we do? How can we help? We need to keep this wonderful place alive? How can we love the owner after all he's done for us? After a few moments a young man spoke up from the kitchen. "I'll pay it! - I'll settle up the tab!" Audible gasps and whispers of "who is that?" Then it broke into applause. Someone was somehow willing and able to pay a bill that nobody could pay, even if all the customers pooled their money together. After a few moments of high fives and hugs, the people began to gather their belongings and leave. The bill has been paid, the party is over. "Wait, where are you going?" Asked the young man. Several customers responded: "We are so grateful for all you've done for us, you settled our tab. None of us can truly afford to keep coming here, the food is so delicious and the whole experience is so wonderful...it's just too good of a place for us. We really don t belong here." The young man began to explain that not only did he settle up the current bill, he went ahead and paid all future expenses for his Father's restaurant. He, too, loved this place. He loved the people - how they cared for each other, celebrated and mourned together. He wanted them to know and experience a community like no other - that they could come here anytime, without money to feel loved. He wanted this community to continue to thrive and so he sacrificed all he had to make it so. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35

7 TJ Turner, Pastor - pastortj@wadingriverchurch.org Wading River Congregational Church 2057 North Country Road Wading River, NY Phone: Fax: Kathy Rowehl, Children s Ministries Coordinator kathyr@wadingriverchurch.org Donna Rassner, Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper donnar@wadingriverchurch.org Deacons deacons@wadingriverchurch.org Joe Burgess Julie Lutz Finn Mauritzen Joe Nocerino Karen Perricone Rosemarie Schulz Trustees trustees@wadingriverchurch.org David Agnew Peter Akras (co-chair) Pat Burgess Dottie Davis Frank Lehman Jack Guthy Andrew Tumilowicz Walt Vogel (co-chair) Greg Von Brook Asst. Treasurer Lana O Toole Clerk Ann Otten Women s Ministry Ann Otten Kerstin Turner Julie Lutz Nancy Bosseckert Senior Ministry Rosemarie Schulz Asst. Clerk Men s Fellowship Frank Lehman, President Peter Akras, Secretary/Treasurer Kerstin Turner We re on the Web! See us at: Sunday School: Kim Schmidt, Superintendent Kathy Rowehl, Secretary-Treasurer Food Pantry: Carolyn Baier Joe Baier Craig Baier Organists: Diane Hanwick Jean Elliott Choir Director: Doris Allen WADING RIVER CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 2057 N Country Road Wading River, NY April 2016