A Stroke is a Medical Emergency!

• Know the signs of a Stroke and ACT FAST if symptoms occur.
• Call 911 immediately and get to a hospital within 60 minutes to maximize treatment options.

Signs of a Stroke

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg (especially on one side of the body)
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding speech.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

Ways to prevent a Stroke

• Treat - High Blood Pressure**
• Increase - Exercise
• Quit - Cigarette Smoking
• Manage - Heart Disease (Cholesterol, etc)
• Control - Diabetes
• Seek Help - If you experience a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack), a small stroke that last for a short amount of time.

** There will be a Blood Pressure Screening on Sunday, February 5, 2012 in the Upper Room after the 10 a.m. service.

Sally Munson, Parish RN

Valentine's Day Dinner Dance!

Saturday, February 11th at 6:00 pm

Please join us for our first ever Valentine's Day Dinner Dance in support of this year's mission trip to North Carolina and the New Jersey Foodbank. The night will be filled with great food, lots of friends, and as much dancing as you can handle. Tickets are $25 per couple and for an extra $5 we will feed and babysit your children! We encourage you to dress up and have a great time!

Reservations are required. RSVP cards are available at the back of the church and chapel. Please return to Heather Gupton, Kate Alliotta or Ronald Young or to the office. You can also make a reservation by emailing Ronald.

OpShop Hours: 

Thursday and Saturday 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Please join us for a special OpShop Coffee Hour in the shop on Sunday, February 26 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM.

 

Introduction to the Lenten Series:  

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 11:30 am in the Living Room

The Lenten Series will meet on Tuesdays at 12:30 pm beginning February 28th through March 27th. Bring your brown bag lunch.

This year we are going to explore a classic in Christian fiction; Flannery O'Connor's 1952 novel. Amazon describes this book in this way:

"Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor's astonishing and haunting first novel, is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is the story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his innate, desperate faith. He falls under the spell of a "blind" street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Lily Sabbath. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawks, Hazel Motes founds The Church Without Christ, but is still thwarted in his efforts to lose God. He meets Enoch Emery, a young man with "wise blood," who leads him to a mummified holy child, and whose crazy maneuvers are a manifestation of Hazel's existential struggles. This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdom gives us one of the most consuming characters in modern fiction."

There is a signup sheet to order books ($10) at the back of the church/chapel or you can contact Ronald at the parish office.

On Sunday, February 19, 2012, the music ministry is presenting Cantata No. 51 "Jauchzett Gott in allen Landen" (Praise God in All Lands) by Johann Sebastian Bach. This work was originally scheduled for October 30, 2011 but was postponed due to the early snowstorm.  

This cantata is one of four J.S. Bach wrote for a solo voice. Bach's solo cantatas are, in some sense, his only true cantatas, as the term comes from the Italian genre originally devoted to one or two voices. In any case, they offer a more contemplative, informal approach to Bach's religious music. The instrumental accompaniment and voice are in greater dialogue and the vocal part is more operatic in nature. When he wrote these four cantatas he was giving himself a working sabbatical for about six months. The work was composed in 1730 while he was organist/cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. The text has no relevance to the scriptures of the Last Sunday After Epiphany, but a celebratory rejoicing prior to the solemnity of Lent. The four movements will be incorporated into Morning Prayer which will be celebrated this day.

Musicians:   Maria Alu, soprano; Mike Bassett, trumpet; Alexandra Jenkins, violin; Jen Schuchman, violin; Nancy Connell, cello; John Pivarnik, harpsichord              

The musicians today are members of or affiliated with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey under the direction of Maestro Robert Butts.

Hungry, cold & grumpy? 

Try Goulash and Beer!

We had a fun Girls Night Out this past Tuesday, 1/31. Please put these upcoming dates on your calendar so you can join us next time!

• February 29 
• March 18 
• April 25 
• May 30 
• June 27 

All adults who are interested in becoming Confirmed or Received into the Episcopal Church are invited to speak to Stephanie or Ronald.  There will be a Confirmation potluck supper on Saturday, March 3rd at 6pm.

All services are welcome to participate in this ministry, and all sundays are available except Christmas and Easter. The cost of the memorial or thanksgiving is $50.

If you would like to dedicate flowers, please contact Sharon Ellis by email or telephone (973-226-1005). There are also flower sign-up charts will be in the back of the church and chapel and at coffee hour. 

Coffee hour hosts are needed for the month of February. Want to help, but unsure of what to do or how much to bring? Check out this document !  

Sign-up sheets are in the Upper Room, or you may contact Elizabeth Boggier directly by phone at 973-228-5607 or send her an email. 

It's that time of year again, when our church family will usher in the summertime with the annualSt. Peter's Street Fair. This year's fair will be held on Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9. 

Did you know that 2011 marked the 80th anniversary since the first fair took place at St. Peter's?It is a wonderful event that your family and the entire West Essex community enjoy.The Street Fair is also one of our church's biggest and best fundraisers.

Over 100 volunteers are needed to run the Street Fair each year.Make your plans now to get involved and help.You can volunteer to help set-up, run a booth, prepare and serve food or work behind the scenes to make the whole event run smoothly.

Donations of used books  and old china for the China Smash booth would be greatlyappreciated. Please start saving today! (no textbooks, thank you!)

Please contact us by phone or email if you would like to get involved (and we know you do!) or to donate any items: 

Lisa Beland (973-686-0737) 

Pam Au (973-403-929)