April 2015 April Events Page 2 4 May Events Page 4 5 Session Notes Page 5 Dinner Church Page 6 Calendar Page 7 Safe Church and Birthdays & Anniversaries Page 8 Plainsboro Presbyterian Church Rev. Anita Milne, Pastor 609-799-0855 www.plainsboropres.org. office@plainsboropres.org 1
APRIL EVENTS March 31 at 12:00 & 7:30 pm Bible Study April 2 at 7:30 pm Maundy Thursday Service April 3 at 7:30 pm Good Friday Vespers Service. EASTER BREAKFAST AND EGG HUNT Sunday, April 5 at 8:30 am Everyone is welcome! Bring a friend! We will have a special egg hunting area for children under 3 years. We need volunteers to: bring egg casserole dishes, muffins, fruit and juice. help clean up and set up the day before at 9:30 am. donate nut-free candies Please contact the church office at office@plainsboropres.org if you can help! 2
CHURCH OUTING PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY TOUR Friday, April 3 at 10:00 am Come see first-hand the exciting world of fusion energy research at PPPL! Visiting the U.S. Department of Energy s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a great opportunity to get a first-hand view of the laboratory where the quest to harness the power of the sun and the stars through fusion energy is taking place. The tour is free, but you have to register. Register by sending an email to tours@pppl.gov, and they will send you a form. Let the church office know that you plan to attend and we will organize a group! CONTINUING STEWARDSHIP OF DEATH & DYING Sunday, April 19 during Sunday School Last year, we started a conversation about living wills, care choices and funeral options. We handed out Five Wishes, a book designed to help make important decisions about end-of -life care. On April 19, we will continue this conversation and finalize our booklets. If you need a booklet, contact the church office. CLEAN UP DAY Saturday, April 25 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Bring your rags and pails and elbow grease and let s make the church and the grounds beautiful! Coffee and donuts for breakfast and pizza for lunch are included in this opportunity for service. 3
PRINCETON OPERA ALLIANCE PRESENTS... MOZART S IDOMENEO April 24 & 26 at 7:30 pm Princeton Meadow Church & Event Center Following the Trojan war, Idomeneo, king of Crete, has struck a deal with Neptune, god of the sea. In exchange for safe passage across the Aegean, he has promised to sacrifice the first person he meets upon his return to the island. He is overwhelmed with grief when he realizes this person is his son, Idamante. Idomeneo tries to avoid the inevitable until a great monster is sent to destroy Crete. The performances of Wolfgang Mozart s opera seria will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Tickets can be purchased online at PrincetonOpera.org or at the door; $10 for adults, $5 for students and children. PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY HANDBELL CONCERT Saturday, April 25, 3:00 pm Miller Chapel Come hear this group, directed by Rachel Barker, perform exciting arrangements of beloved tunes and original compositions! INQUIRER S CLASS Saturday, May 2, 10:00 am-12:00 pm A class for you? The Inquirer s Class is designed for anyone interested in exploring the nature of Christian faith and/or membership in our congregation. If you are interested in learning more about our church or exploring membership, speak to Anita (799-7271) or email the church (office@plainsboropres.org). 4
BOOK GROUP Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Kline Sunday, May 10 at 7:00 pm FOUNDER S DAY Sunday, May 3, 12:00-4:00 pm This is our township s biggest event. Join the fun! This annual celebration includes food, cultural performances, antique automobiles, arts & crafts, Plainsboro history at the museum, and of course, children s activities. This year we will be marching in the parade and hosting one of the games. Christina Baker Kline s latest wonder, Orphan Train, makes for compulsive reading--this is a story of resilience in the face of tremendous odds and oppressive loneliness. Meticulously researched and yet full of the breath of life, Kline s novel takes us on an historical journey where survival depends upon one s own steely backbone, and the miracle of a large and generous heart. - Helen Schulman, NYT bestselling author of This Beautiful Life MARCH SESSION NOTES The session of the First Presbyterian Church of Plainsboro met in the church library at 7:30 pm on March 18, 2015. Here are some highlights from the meeting: Session approved Pastor Anita s request for 2 vacation days (1 day off) April 9-11 (Thursday - Saturday). Session approved a price of $800 to rent our facility to chess camp the week of July 27-31. Session approved moving communion from June 21 to June 14 to coincide with the movement of our outdoor service to June 14. Session approved holding a special congregational meeting on May 31 immediately following worship to approve Session s endorsed amendments to the Bylaws. The next session meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 15, 2015, at 7:30 pm in the church library. Church members are welcome to attend. 5
You Are Invited to Dinner Church! Come to either event or both! Wednesday, April 8 at 6:30 at Plainsboro Presbyterian Wednesday, April 22 at 6:30 at Dutch Neck Presbyterian, 154 South Mill Road, West Windsor PLEASE MAKE A RESERVATION. We need to know how much food to prepare. Email (office@plainsboropres.org) or phone (609-799- 08555) the church office. What is Dinner Church? Dinner Church is a project of our two congregations. On March 25 we had our first dinner church event with a few members who will serve on the board. The next step is to give our congregations a chance to find out what we re talking about. What will this look like: A mid-week communion service in the fellowship hall around tables A meal of simple soup or stew, bread, and water and grape juice to drink Most of the preparation through clean-up is done by participants Who: Dinner Church is being created to serve ~ People who cannot make Sunday morning worship People who do not have family and friends in the area & are seeking community Transient workers who are looking for a place to worship & connect while they are here Families who would like to not have to make dinner and/or have a special evening out together Personnel ~ Pastor - part time Dinner Church Board - 2-3 members of the partner churches, 2 members at large Greeters and worshipers - 4-8 from partner congregations each week Pastors from the partner churches as advisors Donations will be collected to cover the cost of the food. 6
2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 10:00 am PPPL Tour 4 7:30 pm P&F 7:30 pm Maundy Thursday Service 7:30 pm Good Friday Vespers 8:00pm Women s AA 7:00 pm AA 5 8:30 am Easter Breakfast 10:00 Easter Worship 6 7 8:00 am Yoga 8 9 10 11 7:30 pm Yoga 6:30 pm Dinner Church Plainsboro 8:00pm Women s AA 7:00 pm AA 12 10:00 am Worship 11:30 am Sunday School 13 14 8:00 am Yoga 7:30 pm Yoga 15 7:30 pm Session 16 7:30 pm Choir 17 8:00pm Women s AA 18 7:00 pm AA 19 10:00 am Worship 11:30 am Stewardship of Dying Workshop 20 21 8:00 am Yoga 7:30 pm Yoga 22 6:30 pm Dinner Church Dutch Neck 23 7:30 pm Choir 24 8:00pm Women s AA 25 9:00 am Clean-Up Day 7:00 pm AA 26 10:00 am Worship 11:30 am Sunday School 27 7:30 pm Deacons 28 8:00 am Yoga 7:30 pm Yoga 29 30 7:30 pm Choir 7
SAFE CHURCH GIVING OPPORTUNITY Our Session has adopted a Safe Church Policy overseen by a Safe Church Committee. One of the tasks of the committee is to ensure that we have background checks on those persons who are with our children and youth. These checks cost about $15 each. We are asking those who cannot volunteer with our younger members to participate in their care by donating to the Safe Church fund which will be used to pay for these checks. If you can give $15 or $30, please bring it or send it to the church with Safe Church marked in the memo line. 04-04 Dianne Adler 04-04 Brian Luther 04-10 Christopher Okorodudu 04-11 Dave Petrillo 04-14 Kristina Kaye 04-15 Gabriel Bellone 04-19 Fedelis Arrey 04-19 Richard Tarpinian 04-19 Benjamin Kumadu 04-24 Natasha Singer 04-13 John & Ethel Hodges 04-14 Wayne & Jeanette Carson First Presbyterian Church 500 Plainsboro Road Plainsboro NJ 08536-2005 8