 You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer to view and print the Newsletter documents listed here.
|
Handbell rehearsals will begin Thursday October 6 at 8:15
Adult Christmas Choir will begin Thursday October 27
Children's Christmas Choir and Chimes will begin Sunday, Nov. 6 at 8:55 am.
All are welcome!
IMPORTANT MUSIC DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR:
Contact Wendy for more information; e-mail giduly@juno.com phone 215-582-5679 |
Choir rehearsals will start on Thursday September 15, 7-8:10 INTRODUCING THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE CHURCH’S FINANCIAL ISSUES CREATED BY SESSION What is our mission? At its April 12, 2011 meeting, Session formed an ad hoc committee to conduct a comprehensive review the church’s financial challenges, both short- and long-term. This initiative is not an evaluation of any of the current operations or persons involved with the church’s financial life; rather the committee is looking at ways to better manage the church’s overall financial portfolio in the context of the recent mission study. Who are the members? John Lauricella; Robert Joe Lee, Convenor; Michael Murray; Don Ryba; Kathie Seaman How can YOU contribute? The committee will be contacting several members for information and input, especially those with either a long history with the church (to collect some background information) or those who are directly involved with managing the church’s finances (e.g., the treasurer and financial secretaries) or coordinating our fundraising endeavors. When we contact you, our only goal is to collect information about history, ideas, and suggestions. However, everyone is invited to submit concerns, suggestions and ideas to any member of the Committee at any time. We want to do the best job we can and that depends in large part on benefiting from the wealth of experience and ideas that members share with us. What is the time frame for this project? We had our organizational meeting on May 24th and will be meeting again in either late June or early July. We hope to complete our report and submit our findings and recommendations to Session by the end of September of this year. |
 |
NEXT DEACONS MEETING: Tuesday, December 6, 2011; 7:00 pm in the Julien House THE SILVER TEA: The Annual Silver Tea was a joyous event once again. Thank you to the Choir for sharing their talents and for engaging us in the spirit of the season! CHRISTMAS GIVING: With your help, the Deacons were able to financially assist a few families this year during these very difficult economic times. Deacon on call.... January - Kerri Pell, 324-3824; February - Barbara Kimball, 424-0861; March - Amy Dallas, 259-5498 Your Deacons, Nancy Grim, Melonie Newton, Karen Chamberlin, Greg Hoch, Amy Dallas, Bobbi Maiuro, Barbara Kimball, Kerri Pell |
And Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” Our next Bread of Life Mission Meals: Sunday, January 29, 2012 (immediately following 10:30am worship) Sunday, February 26, 2012 (immediately following 10:30am worship) - hoste by Elke McAteer's girl scout troop If you would like to donate to this worthwhile mission in our church, write a check to The First Presbyterian Church in Bordentown and write “Mission” or “Bread of Life Meals” in the memo section. We have started sending an email blast to the email list so that we can get more people involved in the Mission Meal. We’ve had a good response for help and have had many people approach asking how they can help for future meals. We truly do have a “need to feed” in our congregation and the motel residents repeatedly send their love and many thanks to all of you! Next Grocery Bag Mission due date: Week of January 16-21, 2011 deliver items to the First Baptist Church in Bordentown. Our church provides 50 microwaveable meals for the homeless each month. Our donation is combined with donations from other churches to provide 20-30 grocery bags to homeless families living in local area motels. Some examples are pop-top soup cans, Chef-Boyardee pasta meals, or cans of stew. Donna Potts has left a pot in the back of the church with soup can labels for your reference. At this time we need more microwaveable donations! If you can donate some items for this monthly collection, please place them in this pot. Ready to distribute Mission Meals: The Mission Team has been making up paper bags containing non-perishable food that can be stored and ready to be distributed. The bags consist of bottles of water, juice, cereal, soups, microwaveable meals, fruit cups, puddings and anything else that stores well and doesn’t need refrigeration. Please help us continue this important mission in our church by making up a bag now and then that can be stored at the church. Give your donated bag to anyone on the Mission Team and we will put it in storage. Thanks Received: Recently a thank you letter was received from the Greater Bordentown Area Good Neighbor Guild thanking our congregation for its support. We have been active and faithful partners with other churches and organizations in Bordentown for years, feeding the hungry and responding to strangers in our midst who are in need of help. Many of our members contribute food and prepare meals and our deacons respond to many requests. Another written thank you came recently from Ruth Farrell, Coordinator for the Presbyterian Hunger Program, which is part of our denomination’s Mission Program. She expressed thanks for faithful gifts to Bread of Life which allow the Presbyterian Hunger Program to provide funds for food aid to partners around the world when it is most needed. The gifts are sent by someone in our congregation, though only the donor knows his/her identity. What a faithful response to Jesus’ words! Thanks to everyone for making sure people close to home and others far away are fed. Grace and Peace to all! The Mission Team Anne Reilly, Karen Chamberlin, Donna Potts, Bobbi Maiuro, Patty Korsak, Nancy Foster, Colleen Swiderski |
Book Club Selections for 2011-12 Good books. Good company. Good talk. The Book Club offers an opportunity to read and discuss interesting books that challenge and entertain readers. The discussions are always fun, even when the books are serious. All adults of the church are welcome to participate on third Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Julien House.
Here’s what we’re reading in 2011-12: December 21 – Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman – Cee Cee is a 12-year-old living with her psychotic mother in Ohio when tragedy strikes and she is taken by a previously unknown great-aunt to Savannah to a new world of prosperity and eccentricities seemingly run by women. It is an engaging and ultimately hope-filled story of female relationships, loss, and recovery. January 18 – Summer of the Bear by Bella Pollen – the bear is the first character we meet and the bear is in the story until the end. This is a story of a grieving and fractured family set in the Outer Hebrides during the Cold War. It is a tale of mystery and tragedy. February 15 – To the End of the Land by David Grossman – due to be released from the Israeli army, Ofer is sent to the front for a major offensive. His mother Ora, joined by a former friend and lover, sets out on an epic hike in the Galilee in an attempt to prevent any bad news from reaching her. This book is her telling of Ofer’s story, a mother’s meditation on war and family. March 21 – Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs: A True Story of Bad Breaks and Small Miracles by Heather Lende – Lende is a reporter in the small town of Haines, Alaska, where she knows everyone and everyone’s story. This is the story of her recovery from injuries sustained in an accident. It is a story filled with vivid characters and strong faith. April 18 – this month we will pay our annual homage to Jane Austen with a title to be announced. May 16 – The Key to My Neighbor’s House by Elizabeth Neuffer – in this study of the devastating impact of genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda, Boston Globe correspondent Neuffer interviews victims and aggressors, war orphans and war criminals, Serbian militiamen and NATO commanders. |
Did you know that our church’s Penny Banks were introduced about 20 years ago by members Jim and Shirley Jackson? The basic concept was that every person would put a penny in a bank at each meal at home. This would help provide a Christian center to meals as well as raise funds for the church. It was a family-oriented activity that children could participate in. From time to time the families would bring in the banks and empty them into the containers at the back of the church. Ken Jensen made the pieces for the original small, wooden banks in his woodshop. Groups of members of all ages were convened, during which the banks would be assembled. A piece of paper was affixed to each church including the church’s name and the following words: “1¢-Per Person-Per Meal-Per Day” and “YOUR PENNIES HELP SUPPORT YOUR CHURCH.” The little banks were distributed to existing members and, over time, to new members, with the suggestion that they make this a part of each family’s devotional life at meal times. Over time the supply of banks produced by Mr. Jensen and other church members ran out. Since that time members have been urged to set aside some kind of plastic container and designate it to be the family’s “penny bank”. Although initially only pennies were collected, over time people began to put in other coins as well. Any denomination of coin may be given. The penny banks were implemented during a time of fiscal distress for the church. The budget had been cut, and money raised through the penny banks was intended to function as an emergency fund to handle emergent needs that could not be covered in the regular budget. According to Mae Hamilton’s recollection, the fund has support the purchase of items such as hymnals and office equipment. And in the past year it made possible new chairs for the choir and the PA system and microphones we use in Fellowship Hall. Thank you, everyone, for your pocket change and dinner table donations! |
This is an exciting time in the life of our church. We have a very new look in Fellowship Hall, Café 420 is in full swing, Mission Meals are being served in the community and meals are packed and ready to give out to those who stop by and need some help. That is only a fraction of the activities going on in the church. There are a number of Spring cleanup jobs to be done - Which task will you volunteer to handle? As the weather warms up and Spring approaches, the exterior grounds of our church need attention. The Buildings and Grounds Committee asks each family to consider volunteering to handle one of the following jobs. All projects except the last two should be completed by Easter, April 24th. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Please contact Robert Joe Lee, Don Ryba, or Pat Terry if you want to volunteer for any of these. OR you can sign the sign-up sheet in the back of the church! Hurry before someone else beats you to the job you’re dying to do!!! 1. Give the church’s lawnmower a tune-up or take it to a shop and have it tuned up there 2. Purchase as a donation to the church a nice-looking wall of some kind to block view of the trash and recycling barrels, preferably something that is sturdy but fairly easy to move around, and then set it up (we can tell you how to get a tax deduction and ask that you run your choice by the Committee before making the purchase). 3. Pick up and discard all the trash on the yards on the sides and rear of the church 4. Pick up and discard all the trash among the bushes along the front of the church 5. Pick up and discard all the trash on the grounds around the Manse and Julien House 6. Remove the branch from the roof of the shed behind the church 7. Pick up and recycle all the twigs/branches and other winter debris from the yards around the church 8. Pick up and recycle all the twigs/branches and other winter debris from the yard around the Manse and Julien House 9. Rake, bag and recycle all the leaves in the yards around the church 10. Rake, bag and recycle all the leaves under and among the hedges along the front of the church 11. Rake, bag and recycle all the leaves in the yard around the Manse and Julien House 12. Replace the broken glass pane in the third window in Fellowship Hall (on the side where the walkway to the rear entrance) 13. Remove the stump near the rear entrance by the bathrooms and plant grass or a flowerbed 14. Introduce new flower beds/pots as appropriate near the bench in the side yard or the sign in front of the church 15. Water as needed the flowers in the planters at the sides of the front steps into the church (perhaps volunteer for a month at a time) 16. Volunteers needed for mowing the grass throughout May-October. Please see the sign-up sheet at the back counter or volunteer for a specific weekend by e-mailing or calling Robert Joe Lee (robertjoelee@aol.com; 609-588-8779). Thank you very much!!! Your Buildings and Grounds Committee Now it is time to improve our financial base so that we can continue with our Outreach and Mission while continuing to take care of those in our immediate community. One way we can do this is to have Fund Raisers that are manageable for our church community and that also introduce us to the community. To kick off this effort here are some of the things that are planned: ¨ Sunday, May 15th 3pm: Concert - proceeds to be split with the Good Neighbor Guild ¨ Saturday and Sunday, May 21st & 22nd : Street Fair - We will have a booth of crafts, bake sale items and a raffle event. ¨ Friday, June 3rd 6pm: Strawberry Festival ¨ Saturday, June 4th, Bordentown City-wide Yard Sale — tables available at church How can you help? There are two ways! ¨ Volunteer to help. ¨ Tell your neighbors, friends, relatives. ¨ But mostly, GET EXCITED ABOUT THESE CHURCH ACTIVITIES You will see more about these events as the time approaches. All we ask is that you support these efforts being made on behalf of everyone. |
Good News for the Local Environment! As stewards of God’s creation near-at-hand, please remember to utilize the various projects of the BC Green Team. The Bordentown City Green Team received official word from Sustainable Jersey: "We are pleased to announce that your municipality has achieved bronze Sustainable Jersey certification. The certification is good for three years. Your town is part of an elite group of 65 municipalities that have achieved the prestigious Sustainable Jersey certification. Municipalities that earn the certification are considered by their peers, by state government, and by the experts and civic organizations in New Jersey, to be among the leading municipalities in the state." In addition, Donna Drewes, co-founder of the program, advised the Bordentown Green Team that Bordentown City is being awarded the 2010 Small Communities Sustainability Champion Award. The announcement that our town topped this list was made at the November City Commission meeting. On behalf of the BC Green Team members among us: Cathy Elliott-Shaw, Jackie Fama, and Pastor Robin |
From Your Worship Committee Do you feel called to participate in our worship services? Have you thought about being a co-leader for our worship service on Sunday morning? We are also looking for those of you who might be interested in planning and leading worship occasionally as pulpit supply, or offering your gift of special music. Other offers to serve would be greeters welcoming our Church Family to worship, acolyte (lighting the candles for worship - 3rd grade plus), or serving as an usher during the offering and let’s not forget ringing the bell to toll the hour. The Worship Committee would like to invite you to consider and respond to this invitation. There is a place for you and an opportunity to participate. Please speak with any of the members of the Worship Committee: Ron Barnard, Wendy Huber, Pastor Robin Lostetter, Donna Potts, or Bill Walling if you are interested in any of these important parts of our worship service. All ages are welcome! An open information session will be scheduled once we gather responses. Looking forward to your participation! |
FAIR TRADE COFFEE, TEA AND CHOCOLATE SALES The Mission Team is taking over the Fair Trade Sales, look for us during fellowship hour to restock or to buy a great gift for someone. Contact Karen Chamberlin if you have a special order or if you have any questions… 609-291-0603 or kcpix@verizon.net |
Do you know what it is? Where it is? How it’s used? The Penny Bank in the back of the sanctuary has been around so long, that “old-timers” have taken it for granted, and newcomers have never had it explained. The original idea was to put pennies in a bank at every meal, and bring the collected change to the church Penny Bank. But some of us just put in the change that’s rattling around in our purses and pockets. In the past, the Penny Bank was used frequently to fund items we needed or wanted that were outside of the church budget, but funds have been scarce for a while now — probably because people simply don’t know about it! This month, however, the accumulated funds from the Penny Bank have been used! –New folding chairs for the choir –PA system for the Fellowship Hall and Sanctuary Mae Hamilton is in charge of the Penny Bank deposits, and she says, “Thank you to all who have contributed coins!!” |
