The Blawenburg Beacon January, 2013 A newsletter for the members and friends of The Blawenburg Reformed Church The Blawenburg Reformed Church is a family of God s people united in Christ through the Holy Spirit. We commit our gifts to worship, hospitality, life-long learning, serving those in need, and proclaiming the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Worship & Music Ministry by Gracie Johnson Many thanks go to Pastor Bob and Katie Connolly who teamed up to help us experience a truly inspirational Christmas Eve service. And thanks also are due the members, both adult and youth, who gave up the time each week to practice choral, bell and piano pieces and those who responded to the calls for help reading and greeting/ushering. To see our sanctuary so full was a heart-warming testament to Jesus bringing light into the darkness! Let us pray that our inspiration might have been felt, even in small part, by our visitors that night. We are excited that Katie has agreed to stay with us as long as she can. The choir will have a break for January, but will resume at the beginning of February to practice for nine weeks to sing or play during Lent through Easter, March 31 st! [Can you believe it?!] She has a real talent for music education and is looking for youth and adults who might or might not have experience or acknowledged talent, but are willing to listen to her suggestions, take chances and learn. Whether you were able to join us for Advent and Christmas or are just now thinking you might like to try choir or bells, please contact Katie during January, so she can try to set up practice times convenient for most. Katie.milly@verizon.net We have been fortunate to have had Katie with us for as long as we have. It is wonderful to hear her play our organ so beautifully. As much as we would like to do so, we are not in a financial position to hire Katie or any other equally qualified organists/choir directors on a permanent basis. If you have a heart for music ministry and agree with the Church Health Team s concurrence that that is when you feel the most spiritual and you would like to explore how you could help us meet that budget goal, please contact Gracie at 609-466-1862. If you have not been asked yet, but would consider helping to lead worship one Sunday, contact Nancy in the office or Gracie at above # or gtuckerbj@msn.com. Thanks for your part in helping us make a joyful noise to the Lord in Worship! 1
Hospitality...care for those in our congregation and the greater church community... Big Thank You A big thank you from the Troop 46 Boy Scouts for your continued support of our Annual Holiday Wreath Sale! We appreciate it and look forward to seeing everyone at the Strawberry Festival!. Outreach Lunch Menus January, 2013 by Nancy Curtis We commit our gifts to... Hospitality Every Tuesday, from 11:30 to 1:00, we serve lunch in Cook Hall. Lunch is served buffet style and a free-will donation is accepted (anonymously). This lunch has become a great outreach to the community. We average 25 people but occasionally have 40. I can always use extra help either during the morning hours setting up the dining room or later for kitchen clean-up. (Perk of helping leftovers!) Lunches will always have salad, bread and beverages. January 8 Tuna casserole, potato soup, lemon bars January 15 Chunky tomato basil bisque, farfalle pasta with ham and peas, jello and fruit January 22 Matzoh ball soup, chicken fingers, cake January 29 Vegetarian gumbo, quiches, trifle 2
Life-Long Learning Team We commit our gifts to... life-long learning... The Mary and Martha Prayer/Study Group will meet on January 12, 2013, at 7:45 a.m., in Cook Hall. Note the change in time. This ensures that they have their light breakfast and start their discussion at 8. They will wrap up the discussion on Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (A Memoir of Going Home) by Rhoda Janzen and decide on the next book----possibly the sequel to... Little Black Dress entitled Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?. The Tuesday Morning Study Group meets in Cook Hall lounge from 10 to 11:30. They are reading and discussing The Gospel for the World (Selected Studies in Romans) by David Bast. Over the next several weeks they will be talking about The Gift of Assurance, How Never to Be Afraid, What You Must Do to Be Saved, and The Way the Gospel Works. Come and share your ideas and questions. Alan Taback and Barbara Pavlicek facilitate the discussion. Merry Christmas! (Andrew Long sends his regards via a Christmas email to the Cochrans.) Hello Dave and Evelyn, So good to hear from you! Things are going very well here in Enid; time is flying by already! We have had a wonderful Advent journey and we are excited to celebrate Christmas together. I will be performing my first baptism on Christmas Eve, of three wonderful boys in the congregation. We are still discussing the split that occurred here a year and a half ago, and we are slowly starting to move forward into many new things. This Sunday we saw the largest attendance in nearly two years, with several families and young people. The people have embraced me as their pastor, and we are truly living this life together a unified body. I could not be more blessed. There are many more difficult days ahead, but we have faith that God is going to lead us. I'm glad to hear of Blawenburg as I think of you all often. Blawenburg was such a blessing to me in my last year at PTS. Give my regards to everyone! In peace, The Rev. Andrew Philip Long Pastor, The First Presbyterian Church 502 W. Maine Street, Enid, OK 73701 410-916-1673 andrew.long1085@gmail.com More Christmas Greetings Check the bulletin board outside Nancy s office for additional Christmas greetings from distant friends and members. 3
Blawenburg Village School P.O. Box 153, Blawenburg, NJ 08504 609-466-6600 blawenburgvillageschool@yahoo.com Karen Hill, Director Enrollment for the 2013-14 school year and summer camp has begun! Classes will be available for children ages 2-5. We will be holding a closed enrollment for current BVS students and BRC members until January 25 th. After January 25 th open enrollment will begin. Please join us on Saturday, January 26 th (10:00am-12:00pm) for an Open House. Stop in for a tour of the school and to obtain information on our programs. Information can also be found on our website, blawenburgvillageschool.com. Mom s Morning Out is available January 3 rd, 10 th, 17 th, 24 th, and 31 st, 9:00-12:00. Children ages 2-6 are welcome to join us for a morning of fun! The cost is $30.00/ session. Please call or email if you d like to reserve a spot, as spaces are limited. An Enrichment Program is also available for children ages 2-6. Sessions are available Monday-Friday 1:00-3:00. This is a great way to have a few hours to yourself while your child is in a fun, safe environment with certified teachers. Cost is $20.00 for an afternoon session. Enrollment is limited, so please call (609-466-6600) to check availability. Please help us spread the word to Moms in the community. 4
Missions We commit our gifts to... serving those in need. Blawenburg Soup Mission in January and February For the past few years, our church has held soup-making sessions for the residents of Crawford House. Initiated by Bill Herbert, the sessions are about more than the final product they prepare. For many of the women, this is a first experience in preparing soup from scratch, so there is a lot of basic cooking and nutrition that is taught during the sessions. Nancy D Alessandro will lead the sessions again, and other members and friends of our church will assist her. Soup making will take place from 2-6 PM on Sunday, January 27 and Sunday, February 24 in Cook Hall. If you are interested in helping Nancy on either of these days, please be sure to contact her (609-466-8167 or mikeandnan@aol.com). If you would like to make a donation to help defray the cost of the food (about $250), please put a check payable to BRC clearly marked Crawford Soup on the memo line and put it in the offering plate or give it to Dave Cochran, the Crawford House liaison. Heifer: This Epiphany we celebrate the three kings or wise men bringing gifts to Jesus, the ultimate Gift of God to all mankind! This day also winds up our Heifer mission, the gift that keeps on giving. To date we have raised $2700. If you would still like to make a donation to buy an animal to provide a family with the means to be self-sustaining, you may do so in the sanctuary or Cook Hall. The new gift cards used to honor a friend or family member are in. They depict how your gift opens doors for people. Buy the animals now and save the gift cards for birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions throughout the year! Please make checks payable to BRC and note Heifer on the memo line. Thank you for your support. Gracie and Sonya 5
Proclaiming We commit our gifts to... proclaiming the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Greetings from the Alpha Committee. We are holding our second Alpha organizational meeting on Tuesday JANUARY 15 th at 7:30 pm in the lounge in Cook Hall. Please use the outside west entrance. We need your spirit and thoughts to aid us. It is an opportunity to become closer to each other and to God. Sending love and blessings, Alan Taback For the Alpha Committee A Sinterklaas Thank You: Mission Accomplished! WOW! How do we thank all of you enough for cooking, sewing, collecting, buying and selling in order to make our Sinterklaas 2012 such a success! Our sales of goods and lunch brought in $3405.05. With a great start to our Christmas Heifer project of $911 and miscellaneous other donations our total take for the day was $4382.55, not counting the Boy Scout wreath sales for themselves and Suzanne Hunt s art and Steve Weingart s honey. In addition to the Heifer kick-off, our total mission money raised, between the donation boxes and 20% of each booth s sales was $950. This actually included 100% of Toys sales going to Ties for Hope, Nancy D Alessandro s mission for Africa. The money was raised and distributed as follows: Mission Booths $$Donated Montgomery Food Pantry Kitchen/Lunch $65. Project Hospitality White Elephant $180. Crawford House* Soups & Baked Goods $315. Samaritan s Purse Crafts $120. Ties for Hope Toys $270. Heifer kick-off Heifer $911. Total to Mission: $1861. *The Crawford House money will support our soup-making and other mission activities with Crawford. We had a good crowd at the start of the day, which unfortunately did not keep up throughout the day. Yet, in spite of that, $1861 was raised for Missions, $2450 for the church s ministries and a wonderful day of fellowship and outreach were enjoyed by all. Please join us for a brief wrap-up during fellowship [11:15-11:30] on Sunday the 13 th. Come with your suggestions and critiques. Nancy D A. and Gracie J. 6
Sinterklaas Revisited C R A F T S S O U P S WHITE ELEPHANT HEIFER INTERNATIONAL Nancy & Emma ready to help. Ready for customers 7
Tear out or print this page. Put it on your frig. Make someone s day! Wish them a happy birthday! 8 Brian Van Liew 19 Doug Wengel 25 Jim Beachell Rev. Steve Miller and his wife Janet attended our church service on Dec. 30th. Steve was introduced by Pastor Bob, shared a few words of welcome with the congregation, and enjoyed an extended fellowship time with us after church. As Classis Minister of our Delaware-Raritan Classis, Steve's fun job is to visit and get to know the various ministers and congregations of the Classis and so to become the 'face of Classis'. If you have questions or concerns that you don't feel can be answered or dealt with by Nancy in the office or by our Consistory, please feel free to contact Steve. He is there for all of us! smillerrca@yahoo.com Summary of Dates (Please see complete information in body of newsletter.) * * * * * * * * * * * * January 12 7:45 AM Mary s and Martha s (See p. 3.) January 15 7:30 PM Alpha Committee (See p. 6.) January 27 2 6 PM Soup making with Crawford House residents (See p. 5.) January 28 Deadline for February Beacon information January 31 7:30 AM Men s Breakfast Club * * * * * * * * * * * * Sundays 10:00 AM Worship with Dr. Sharman unless otherwise posted 11:30 AM Adult Sunday School Cook Hall lounge (resumes January 13th) Tuesdays 10:00 AM Bible Study Cook Hall lounge (See page 3.) 11:30 to 1:00 Outreach Lunch (See page 2 for menus.) February 24 2 6 PM Plan-ahead Dates Soup making with Crawford House residents 8
The Blawenburg Beacon P.O. Box 266 Blawenburg NJ 08504 Dated Material The Blawenburg Beacon is a publication of the Blawenburg Reformed Church 424 Route 518; P.O. Box 266 Blawenburg, NJ 08504 e-mail address: BRC1832@verizon.net Editor: Barbara Pavlicek Publisher: Nancy Curtis Website: www.blawenburgchurch.org Phone: (609) 466-3108 The Blawenburg Reformed Church is a covenant community of God s people united in Christ through the Holy Spirit. We commit our gifts to worship, hospitality, life-long learning, serving those in need, and proclaiming the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. 9