Good Tidings The Newsletter of Brick Presbyterian Church June 2018 Dear Friends in Christ; This will be one of my last epistles to you as your pastor. As I write this letter, you are invited to consider the words of the prophet quoted in Acts 2:17 which reads: In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. God has poured out upon each of us the gift of the Spirit in our baptism. As you begin the interim process in September, I pray that you will let the Spirit of God be at work in you as a congregation. My retirement gives you young men and women to see new visions of what the Lord may be calling you to be and do. It is a time where the senior members of the congregation can dream dreams of what the life of this congregation will look like and how it will influence the lives of another generation of Brick Presbyterians. As you go through the interim self-study of who you are as a congregation, you will be looking not at just where you have been and who you are. You will also be envisioning who and what it is the Spirit of the Lord is calling you to be in the days and years ahead. You will be looking at the community in which you have been placed and accessing its needs and how the Spirit is calling you to address those needs. Interim periods in a congregation s life may seem full of uncertainty. But the things that make for uncertainty can in the hands of God breathe new life and vitality into a congregation. When Ezekiel looked at a valley of dry bones, he did not know if those bones could live. But, just as the Spirit of the Lord blew over the valley of dry bones that lie before the prophet Ezekiel (37:1-14), soothe Spirit of the Lord can blow over you. The bones came together. The bones became covered with flesh and revealed new life. What might the Spirit give you as a vision? What dreams might you dream? I can t say at this time. Might they involve new educational ministries with youth and/or adults? Could it be new forms of support group ministries? Might it involve new ways of networking in the community? Perhaps it will involve new ways of worship and networking as a congregation? The possibilities are endless. But just as Rev. Evans led you for 29 years and I for the past 27 years, I know this congregation has done and will do amazing things for the Lord Jesus Christ and the lives of those Jesus calls you to love and serve.
So, embrace this time of visioning and dreaming as a gift from God. As Moses and the people of Israel wandered through the wilderness, (a time of great uncertainty for them) they continued to follow the pillory cloud of the Lord until they reached the Promised Land. Crossing the Jordan River they found that God s holds true to the vision, hopes and dreams given to the people of faith. My prayer for you is that you too will find this to be true for you, even as I pray it will be so in my retirement ministry, for God is good all the time. May your Spirit inspired visions and dreams become your hope and driving force in Christ, Pastor Doug Christian Education Sunday, June 10th will be the last day of Sunday school. Please join us in the FLC following the 9 am service for a pancake breakfast. At that time, we will be recognizing our teachers for their service. We will also recognize the Junior Praise Team, Acolytes, Worship Assistants, and youth with consistent attendance. Summer Worship Schedule We will commence our Summer Worship Hours on July 1, 2018 at 10:00A.M. The services will be held through September 2, 2018. There will be two informal worship services in the Family Life Center on July 8 and August 26, 2018 with refreshments following the services. Child Care will be available for all the services except July 8 and August 26. Summer Child Care A sign-up sheet will be available in June for those who wish to provide child care during the Worship Services for the summer months. We expect that if you wish to avail yourself of this service you will also wish to take you turn. The sign-up sheet will be placed by the Child Care room. You don t need to have young children to enjoy working with them. Senior citizens and Junior/Senior High School students are also welcome. The only requirement is that you enjoy children. Thank You for helping!
Worship Committee Coffee Hour The Worship Committee will be hosting the coffee hour on July 8, 2018 after the 10:00 service. Please come and join us for fellowship and good food. It is a great way to get to know other people and maybe make some new friends. We hope to see everyone come out for this annual event. Evangelism/Outreach Pet Blessings This year our annual Pet Blessings will take place on Saturday, June 2 nd and we will be combining our event with Girl Scout Troop 65 as they sponsor Paws Up for Adoption wherein they will set-up informational booths and invite rescue shelters, groomers, and vets to set up booths and displays. The Girl Scouts will be donating special scarves to Brick s P.D. 4 K-9 dogs, who are being honored by BPC. As in past blessings, dogs must be on leashes, cats, hamsters, rabbits, and turtles in carriers and all are welcome. Pastor Doug, will start the blessing at 10:25a.m. Come early. The two events will take place in the Church parking lot. In case of inclement weather, the events will be moved to the FLC. Check our Website, FACEBOOK page for more details and information. Donations for the Jersey Shore Animal Shelter will be welcomed. Donations can be left outside the FLC. Thank you in advance. Blue Claws Baseball - June 3 rd If you re not already on the list to attend the ball game, but would like to go, contact Ed Carlson to see if there are any tickets available. Prayer in the Garden resumes July through Labor Day. Check our Website or FACEBOOK page for more information. Prayer Rocks We will have more Prayer Rocks available soon. We hope you ll help spread them among your friends and family and help us to spread the love of God. Prayer Squares The Evangelism Committee is partnering with our Faithful Remnant Committee to make up this thoughtful square that shares the Love of God with someone in need. ATTENTION GRADUATES! Are you or someone in your family graduating from high school, college, graduate school or vo-tech this spring? If so, please let us know so we can share the news with your church family. Please include the name, where they're graduating from, and future plans (if known).
P L E A S E H E L P SUPPORT HOMELESS ANIMALS IN NEED ANNUAL DONATION COLLECTION FOR JERSEY SHORE ANIMAL CENTER Sunday, May 26 th through Sunday, June 10 th collecting food, supplies, and gently used blankets, towels, and sheets Please use the animal center s wish list as your guide to donating the most needed items PET FOOD Purina One Cat Chow Purina Kitten Chow Canned KITTEN wet food pate, non fish Purina One Sensitive Systems dry cat food Science Diet Light dry cat food Dog biscuits/treats Canned dog food, Purina or Pedigree Big rawhides, larger than 8 (no knot) PET HEALTH Sentry Calming Collars for cats and dogs Disinfectant Sprays Bleach Hand soap/sanitizer Laundry detergent Latex exam gloves (S,M,L,XL) Dish soap Flea preventative (dogs/cats) Heartgard Monetary Donations for surgical supplies Gift Certificates to local vet hospitals for prescription medication and/or food PET SUPPLIES Gently used or new blankets, towels or sheets NON-CLUMPING clay cat litter Metal choke chains (18-20 ) Martingale dog collars all sizes Gift cards to: Target, Costco,Petsmart, Petco, Stop & Shop NON-CATNIP cat toys Feliway Diffusers and refills for cats Cardboard scratching boards
FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE Thank You! Thank you to everyone who came out to our Cinco de Mayo event on May 4. Everyone enjoyed the delicious Mexican food thanks to the Fellowship Committee. We also had help from the Youth Group who did a great job. We are happy to report that all the proceeds, which included several large donations, from this dinner went to the Youth Group and their Earn Your Wings Project. Also, thank you to the volunteers who signed up to help us with Mother s Day and Father s Day giftwrapping at Boscov s Department Store. We ll be looking for volunteers again in November and December for Christmas giftwrapping. Church Directories If you participated in the photo sessions for the new Church Directory and haven t picked up your copy yet, please see the Fundraising Committee. Don t forget our ongoing fundraisers: Stream Energy and AmazonSmile. Please ask us we ll be happy to help you sign up. Stream Energy This summer why not sign up for Stream Energy, save some money for yourself and have Stream Energy make donations to Brick Presbyterian Church. All donations are used for the Building Expansion Fund to help with the maintenance of the Family Life Center! AmazonSmile When you sign up with AmazonSmile a percentage of your shopping total is donated to Brick Presbyterian Church. It doesn t cost anything to sign up and each donation, no matter how small, benefits BPC! Buildings & Grounds To better serve the Church, the Buildings & Grounds Committee asks that if you see a problem in the Church building in general (water leak, broken part, etc.) or would like some help with a "project" that Buildings & Grounds could give some advice, please contact either Frank at franks409@comcast.net or Walt at wwynkoop@gmail.com.
Deacons Again, the Deacons would like to thank the Congregation for coming out and donating to this year's Blood Drive. As you know, donating blood is a lifesaving gift that is a selfless, noble gesture appreciated by all. We would also like to thank the Brick Postal Service who held a food drive and then donated all the food to local church pantries in our area. Our pantry was one of the benefactors of this drive and we graciously thank them. We would like to offer food donations to families to help them get through the summer months when school is out, and the children do not receive food assistance. Some of the items we would like to include in these boxes are: We also would like to suggest certain items that are most in demand - cereal, peanut butter, granola bars, rice, tuna, mac & cheese, canned meals, spaghetti sauce, canned fruit, baking items, Jell-O, coffee or tea. Thank you for your generosity! A NIGHT OF HOPE NORTHERN OCEAN HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AT THE GRENVILLE Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity is presenting its second annual A Night of Hope Habitat for Humanity at the Grenville on Friday, June 8, 2018, 6:30 p.m. 9 p.m., at the Grenville Hotel & Restaurant, 345 Main Avenue, Bay Head. It will be an evening of dinner, music and fellowship honoring valued partners and sharing information about Northern Ocean Habitat s missions. Tickets are $150 per person and the proceeds from this event will be utilized to carry on programs in our local communities. For more information, please contact volunteer Event Coordinator Maureen Ward via email at social@nohfh.com or call (732) 228-7962, extension 108.