The Open Door - March 2019 The Reformed Church of Bushkill 5969 Milford Road, East Stroudsburg, PA 18302 (570) 588-6773 / bshklch@ptd.net (E-mail) www.bushkillchurch.org (Website) Striving to Do What Christ Tells Us through Scripture Baptisms at Shawnee Pool On Sunday, February 24th, three people were baptized in the indoor pool at Shawnee. Because we have many people in our congregation coming from many different backgrounds, we ve been having full immersion baptisms at area indoor pools. Alejandra De La Cruz, daughter of Aharon and Alexa was baptized as well as Landon and Lena Felicetta, son and daughter of Wayne and Jessica. Left to right: Pastor Jim baptizing Alejandra, Landon, and Lena
2 Choir practice is now every Sunday in the sanctuary following the morning worship service. 1st Sunday of each month - 1:00 PM All other Sundays - 12:30 PM The monthly potluck luncheon will be on Sunday, March 17th. If you are able, please bring a dish to share for about 10 or 12 people. The monthly staff meeting Ash Wednesday Service - March 6 We will be worshipping with our brothers and sisters at Middle Smithfield Evangelical Presbyterian Church for an Ash Wednesday service on March 6th at 7:00 PM. MSEPC is about two miles south of our church on Route 209. Daylight Savings Time is here Turn your clocks AHEAD one hour before going to bed Saturday night, March 9th. Daylight Savings Time is beginning. You will lose one hour of sleep for just one night but the days will be lighter longer. The Congregational Prayer Group will meet on Wednesday, March 13th at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary. They meet the 2nd Wednesday of each month. All are welcome. Open Door due March 15 Everyone is welcome to contribute to The Open Door, the church s monthly newsletter. Articles for the April edition are due by Friday, March 15th and they can be e-mailed directly to the church office, bshklch@ptd.net or you may leave them in the church office mailbox, located near the conference room. is on Tuesday, March 19th at 11:30 AM in the church office. Safety Committee Update Stan Rodland I just wanted to make all of you aware of some things that are currently in the works, as far as the Safety Committee. First, we will be having a Safety and Security walk-through on Sunday, March 24th, immediately after the morning worship service. We will meet in the sanctuary. This is not a drill, but rather a chance to understand what you should do in the event of an emergency. It is also a time to get your questions answered. Our goal is to make our brothers and sisters more aware of exits, escape routes from the building, in case of emergency, and possible difficulties that might be encountered by some of our attendees. Also, we ve been made aware that there are many regular attendees who have never been downstairs in the lower level. We will also have a walk-through downstairs, for those who are concerned, in order to familiarize ourselves with the basic layout and floorplan. Second, there are a couple of issues that I need to raise. One is that the short hallway, in the lower level adjacent to the restrooms, has become something of a storage area. We have signs, games, equipment, and such in an area that is a fire exit route and it must be kept clear.
3 As such, all items in the hallway will be moved to the barn for storage, or, in a few cases, disposed of. If you have anything in this area, please contact the church office. There are also ongoing problems with other areas, such as the marked area in front of the main electric panels in the kitchen closet, and in the walkway behind the chancel. Having items in these areas make it almost inevitable that someone will trip, and possibly injure themselves. Lastly, I would like to say, once again, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING! No one knows everyone in our congregation, but collectively, we recognize most of the folks that come to us on Sundays. If we all would introduce ourselves to those we don t recognize, it would make for a much more friendly congregation, and would make it easier for us to spot something that s out of the norm. As always, I am so grateful to ALL the people who have worked, and contributed to making this committee a reality. I myself didn t realize how many were involved until I started counting, and I would like to thank each and every one of you. As always, if you should feel that you have a calling for this, or any other of our church ministries, please get involved. There is always something vital to be done, and if you don t do, who will? Prayer Retreat Planned for March 30 - Steve Schoonover A prayer retreat is being put together for any interested persons on Saturday, March 30. The retreat will be a full day affair (9:00 AM to 4:00 PM with a lunch break). The retreat will be held at PEEC (Pocono Environmental Education Center), located on Emery Road in Dingmans Ferry. Many who attended the retreat last year at PEEC are looking forward to a return visit. The exact details of the retreat are still being worked out by the discipleship team. Although there will be a cost to participants, any who find the fee to be a burden should inquire about partial or full funding for the event. Our relationship to God is unlikely to be better than our prayer lives. Participating in this event will hopefully improve our efforts to communicate with the One through whom anything is possible. The deadline to sign up is Sunday, March 24th so we can plan for materials and food. New Members Class - March 31 If you have been coming to the church for some time and are interested in becoming a member, we are holding a New Members Class on Sunday, March 31st from 12:30-3:30 PM. At this class we ll be going over the history of the Reformed church and what it means to become a church member. See Pastor Jim to attend this class or e-mail him - jtvrcb@ptd.net. We are collecting CANNED GOODS such as fruits, vegetables, soups, beans, etc. for Bushkill Outreach, our local food pantry, throughout the month of MARCH. There are bins in the narthex for your donations. Thank you! Editions of Our Daily Bread, a devotional, are always available in the narthex. Start the day off right by spending at least ten minutes in your Bible before you go on with your day.
4 Financial Report - MaryAnn Conza 1/1/19 to 1/31/19 Income $ 12,600.66 Expenses 19,065.71 ($ 6,465.05) January s income was less than usual and we had a few extra bills starting the year with a deficit of $6,465.05. We did not have a service on January 20th because of the storm, resulting in only three offerings collected for the month. Even though January s giving was low, God will provide because we are doing His work through all the growing Ministries we have. GOD loved us and through his grace gave us good hope and encouragement that continues forever. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) Blessings to you all, MaryAnn If you have a prayer request and/or a praise report for our Prayer Team anytime during the week, you may e-mail it to schooent@ptd.net or call Jen Schoonover at 570-588-6234. If you are sick, unable to attend worship on occasion or simply want to watch the sermon again. you can catch it on YouTube. Just go to youtube.com and search for our channel The Reformed Church of Bushkill. The sermons will be listed there. Free Smoke Alarms More lives are lost every year to home fires than to all major disasters. You can keep your family safe with two simple steps: Practice your two-minute drill. Plan with your family to safely escape in just two minutes. Test your smoke alarms monthly. If you don t have any smoke alarms or they are older than five years, the Red Cross will come to your home and install 10-year lithium battery- powered smoke alarms at no charge. Call 570-234-2705 for information. Free Financial Workshop Available Pocono Alliance is providing a series of workshops in partnership with the PA Dept. of Banking and Securities. Workshops will be held at the Hughes Library located at 1002 N. Ninth St., Stroudsburg. Workshops run in March, April, May and June and are free. A flyer with the list of workshops, dates and times is hanging on the bulletin board in Rottenberg Hall. Contact Misozi Houston at 570-517-3956 or e-mail: mhouston@monroecountypa.gov for more information and to sign up -- 100 spots are available
5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Across Down 2. Paul s missionary companion (Acts 13:2) 1. Job s home town (Job 1:1) 6. Program founded by Bill Wilson 2. Horse in Revelation 6:5 7. Dorcas of Acts chapter 9 3. Elijah s answer to prayer (James 5:17) 9. Heatwave Killer 4. David s court prophet (2 Samuel 7:2) 10. Neighbor of ME (Abbr.) 5. Eve s nemesis (Genesis 3:1) 11. Keith, Greg and Carl s Band (Abbr.) 7. Opposite of head (Deut. 28:13) 13. Starbucks morning blend 8. Peter s patient (Acts 9:32) 15. Noah s name in French 12. A bird or silly Person 16. Yankee Division 13. Ma s husband 17. A long time 14. Before Nehemiah 18. Emergency destination 18. Same as 17 Across 19. Temper tantrum 19. Pagan Egyptian Sun god 20. Criminal tried with Jesus