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Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
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Weekly News for
Sunday,
Oct. 6, 2013
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 Friends, This week is World Communion Sunday, when we remember the unity of all Christians as together we celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
For our church, it's also a day when we'll recognize and celebrate the ministry of those who have stepped forward to teach or assist in Sunday School, and to serve as mentors and advisors in Youth Connection. These are very special people, for they share the faith with the next generation.
But, who are our best teachers? Which people do more to model what it means to be a Christian than anyone else?
It's not our Sunday School teachers and youth leaders, as important as their roles are. There's a hint of an answer in 2 Timothy 1:5, as we hear of two people who were instrumental in Timothy's Christian education: "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you."Lois. Eunice. Two names of early Christians whose lives are otherwise lost to history. The only thing we do know about them is that they were Timothy's mother and grandmother.
These names highlight the crucial role family members play in passing on the faith. For most of us, parents, grandparents and other parental figures were the ones who first told us about Jesus. It was their example that first showed us what it means to be a Christian, even before we got acquainted with a Sunday School teacher, youth leader or minister.
It continues to be true today. There's a reason we ask parents to publicly affirm those baptismal promises as they bring their son or daughter to the font. It's because the church has always known that they are the most vital link in propagating the faith.
It's a fine, fine thing for parents to make sure their kids get to Sunday School and Youth Connection meetings, where they can learn and be encouraged by Christians who are truly gifted educators. Yet, as good as they are, those people aren't their children's best teachers. It's the parents themselves who fill that role. It's a role that has more to do with who they are, and how they live their lives as disciples, than with any intentional teaching they impart.
Join us this Sunday, as we celebrate the joyous task of Christian education, in all its many dimensions!
Pastor Carl
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This Sunday
Sunday, October 6
World Communion Sunday/ Peacemaking Offering
Dr. Wilton preaching: "Our Best Teachers"9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection Begins, CE Annex Classroom 2
10:00 a.m - Worship/Communion /Chancel
10:00 a.m. - Church School begins in Worship
11:00 a.m - Communion Brunch
11:15 a.m - Inquirers Group
11:15 a.m. - Confirmation Class
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 Please join us in the C.E. Annex for our monthly Communion Brunch, in lieu of coffee hour. A free will offering defrays expenses.
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An Inquirers Group, for those exploring membership in the church, will take place this Sunday.
Will will start in the CE Annex for Communion Brunch and then we will head over to the Fellowship Room beginning around 11:30 a.m. and will continue until 2:00 p.m. Child care is available. New members will be received in worship on October 13.
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Peacemaking Offering to Be Received This Sunday
 What can a congregation in the United States do to change the lives of women and children in South Sudan, one of Africa's poorest and most war-torn nations?
We can give to the PC(USA) Peacemaking Offering, a part of which supports a peace ministry called RECONCILE, that's helping Sudanese move forward after decades of bitter civil war.
RECONCILE operates an International Peace Institute (RPI), that's been instrumental in helping the South Sudanese people's slow recovery.
"Most of us (in South Sudan) are survivors or victims," said Lucy Awte, who attended the Community-Based Trauma Healing course. "It helped me to cope with the pain and also to know how to help others. I realize now that people act a certain way because of the things that have happened in their lives."
Taking on such major obstacles as ethnic conflicts, government corruption, and child abductions, RECONCILE seeks to teach women to become the peace builders within their communities.
Program coordinator Moju John Khamis says many South Sudanese are "living with a culture of war memories that require intervention to make them aware of human dignity as an important aspect of life."
To date, RECONCILE has assisted nearly 6,000 people. Its efforts include establishing the peace institute and organizing exchange visits among warring
communities so they may learn from each other and see the value in living in peace.
Please consider your response and give generously towards the work of Christian peacemaking this Sunday. |
Prayerfully Consider
"Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God's people." - Ephesians 6:18 (CEV)
The Prayer family for the week of October 6 is the Purtell family. Let us be prayerfully aware of Andrea, Brian and Robin, as well as all our members and friends.
Other prayer concerns: Jon Crate; Jean DeMartino; Jake Yersin (nephew of Donna Norton); Marion Fittin; Ralph Smith; Steven Budrick; Eric Erlandsen; all those in the military, as well as those struggling with addictions and mental illness.
Please pray for our Volunteer Village work groups for this week, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, MI and Helping Hands, Allentown, PA.
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 PRAYER CHAIN - Prayer is a way to reach out of ourselves, to put aside our loneliness or pain for the sake of another. A Prayer Chain is a way for people to gain assistance in prayer for any serious and pressing problem. It is also a way for any person to act on God's command to love one another. For many years our church has had a Prayer Chain by Telephone. Last year we added a Prayer Chain by e-mail. We invite you to become a pray-er on our Prayer Chain. To volunteer, you may call the church office at 732-899-0587, Marjorie Watson at 732-899-9723 or Frankie Kunz at 732-892-4223. If you are able, you could also come to our meeting October 2 at 10 o'clock in the Chittick Lounge.
IHN IS IN NEED OF TOWELS - For the next group of families arriving on October 20, we are in need of used and/or gently used bath towels. Towels can be dropped off in the Church office or given to Terri Williams or Dorothy Tolley.
ST. GREGORY'S PANTRY VOLUNTEERS - There will be a meeting for current volunteers as well as anyone wanting to volunteer at St. Gregory's Pantry on October 22 at 10:00 a.m. at the Pantry. St. Gregory's Pantry is located at St. Mary's-By-The-Sea. Please RSVP by e-mail stgregspantry@verizon.net or call 732-892-8105.
LADIES NIGHT OUT - Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean County Invites all women to join us in our second annual "Ladies Night Out". The event will be held on November 1st 2013 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Friendship Hall on the campus of the Presbyterian Church of Toms River located on Hooper Avenue. The tickets are $10.00 which will include your entry in our fabulous door prize drawing as well as admission to our vendor expo where you will find 25 or more vendors with unique, upscale affordable gift ideas. There will be a gift auction at the end of the evening; winners need not be present. While you are shopping and socializing please enjoy the complimentary edibles provided by David Crone, proprietor Carrabba's of Bricktown located at 990 Cedar Bridge Ave. Please come out and support this very worthy cause. For ticket information call IHNOC office 732-736-1550 or June Cornier at 732-270-1669. "Come help us help others"
ORGAN SPECTACULAR VI - Will be held October 13 at 3:00 p.m at the Community Reformed Church, 30 Lacey Road, Whiting, NJ. Admission is free. An informal reception will follow the recital. Come celebrate the organ and its music and support your local Church Musicians!
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Time of Prayer
Come join me for a time of prayer for Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church. Our church, it's leaders, the children, indeed all who make their home in PPPC need prayer. Scripture makes plain that we need to be rooted and grounded in prayer.
We will meet at 9 a.m. on Monday, October 7th in the sanctuary.
Our time together will be 30 to 40 minutes. I hope to see you this Monday.
Peace,
Linda
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Confirmation Class Now Meeting
 The 2014 Confirmation Class is now organized, and is having its first class session this Sunday at 11:15 am. Pastor Carl Wilton will be the teacher most days, assisted by Joanne McGuire. Young people in grade 7 and higher are welcome to participate!
Since we're only just getting started, there's still plenty of time for new class members to join. Please give a call to the Church Office if you'd like to find out more!
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Christmas Dinner Coordinator Needed
We are looking for one person to oversee the entire Christmas Dinner that is served to the community in the Annex on Christmas Day. The dinner is from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. We have shoppers and people soliciting donations from area restaurants, but need an overall coordinator. Please speak with Jacque Miscavage or call the office for more information.
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Come Join Us For a Sunday Morning Bible Study
We will be studying an excellent book by Marcus Borg called The Heart of Christianity." Borg is a top notch Biblical scholar who writes in a manner which everyone can understand.
An new excerpt from the book:
"We live in an exciting time in the life of the church. In the past few decades, an emerging vision of Christianity has begun to take root among both clergy and laity in mainline denominations in North America. It is a vision of Christianity that takes the Bible, God, and Jesus just as seriously as did the earlier vision of Christianity.Christianity is centered in the Bible. Of course, it is ultimately centered in God, but it is the God of whom the Bible speaks and to whom it points. God is also known in other ways and other religions, I am convinced, but to be Christian is to be centered in the God of the Bible. This is a mark not of Christian exclusion, but of Christian identity. The Bible is for us a Christians our sacred scripture, our sacred story.
Yet the Bible has become a stumbling block for many. In the last half century, probably more Christians have left the church because of the Bible than for any other single reason. More precisely, they left because the earlier paradigm's way of seeing the Bible cease to make sense to them. Contemporary biblical literalism-with its emphasis on biblical infallibility, historical factuality, and moral and doctrinal absolutes -is an obstacle for millions of people.
The emerging paradigm provides an alternative to biblical literalism. To use the three adjectives with which I describe it: a historical, metaphorical and sacramental understanding of the Bible. With these words, I attempt to describe a view that is broadly shared by mainline biblical scholars who are involved in the life of the churah and by laity and clergy shaped by modern study of the Bible. And though I here emphasize and illustrate its approach to the Bible, I think it applies to the creeds and other normative Christian teachings as well.
If you want to tackle the thought-provoking insights written in this book, come join me (and hopefully others) on the following Sundays: October 13, 20, 27, November 3 and 17. (I will be away on the 10th). The class will be from 11:30 - 12:30 p.m. We will meet in the CE Annex and on the Sundays when we have food, we will get our food and eat together.
Each participant will need a book and the cost is $15. Monies are available to help with the cost if needed.
Let me know if you want a book ordered for you, or sign up in the narthex.
Pastor Linda
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Jacque Mason Miscavage
and
Leslie Thornton
Invite you to be with them as they begin their new life together
On Sunday, November 10, 2013 at Twelve Noon
Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
A Luncheon Reception will immediately follow in the Annex
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Sunday School News
Last week, we learned about Samuel, a boy called by God to be a prophet, a person who speaks for God. We had a blast starting Sunday School off with a play about Samuel. The children did a great job acting out the story. We also continued to build on our Wall of Children in the Bible Murals. If you have not seen them I invite you to come over and see the great work the Sunday School Children are doing.
This week we are celebrating World Communion Sunday and Recognizing the Teachers in our Youth Education Programs. I am so fortunate to have an awesome team of volunteers who love children and want to help them grow. Thank you to all of you for helping make Sunday School successful!
World Communion Sunday (originally called World Wide Communion Sunday) originated in the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1936, for the first time, the first Sunday in October was celebrated in Presbyterian churches in the United States and overseas. From the beginning, it was planned so other denominations could make use of it and, after a few years, the idea spread beyond the Presbyterian Church.
Please take this Sunday to talk to your child about what communion means to your family and the church. We will have Sunday School at the same time next week and hopefully be able to share a little about our experience.
Things to know ...
* Sunday School is from 10:20-11:20
* Ages 3 - 12
* Pick up your child in the Education Building at 11:20
* Offering will be taken during the Time for Children, feel free to use the ABC envelopes found in the pews for your child's donation.
* October 27th All Children and Youth Volunteers are invited to celebrate and wear their Halloween Costumes to church for a Fall Sunday School Party.
Sarah
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IHN IN OCTOBER
A group of overnight guests from Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean County will be arriving the week of October 20. We are in need of people to prepare meals, help with setup, be evening hospitality hosts, as well as an overnight hosts. This is a great way to reach out and help those in need.
Find out how rewarding it is to volunteer with IHN. This short video will tell you more:
 | | Family Promise: An Introduction To An Interfaith Hospitality Network |
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This Week at Point Beach Prep 
Letter C this week was so cool. Our students helped to bake a CAKE for Ms. Kerry's birthday!
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HURRICANE SANDY RECOVERY NEWS
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Sandy Recovery Volunteer Hosting in the CE Annex
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Westminster Presbyterian,
Ann Arbor, MI
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Volunteer workers will once again be arriving in the Volunteer Village this Sunday night. The following is the latest schedule of groups who will be staying in the CE Annex. This list will be changing as more groups are added. Watch for an up-to-date list, to include cooking teams to posted on the bulletin board in the kitchen upstairs in the Annex.
Oct 6-12 Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, MI and Helping Hands, Allentown, PA Oct 13-18 Lend A Hand
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Helping Hands Group, Lehigh Presbytery
Allentown, Pennsylvania
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Oct 27-Nov 2 Scioto Valley Presbytery, Columbus, OH
Nov 3- 9 First Presbyterian Church, Pittsford NY and Summerville Presbyterian Church, Summerville, SC
Nov 10-15 Lend A Hand
Dec 1-6 Lend A Hand |
A Volunteer's Perspective
Karen Kingsbury, a member of the volunteer work group from Genesee Valley Presbytery (Rochester, NY area) that was with us last week, posted this blog entry relating her experiences:I knew that God had laid out this week's path for me because when I got in the car on Sunday morning to meet the group to start our journey, I flipped on the radio and it was on WARM101.3, a station I don't really listen to a lot, and the song "I Can Only Imagine" which is one of my favorite Christian songs, was playing. I blasted it all the way to my destination with tears in my eyes. "Surrounded by your glory", "Will I dance for you Jesus?" "Or be still". The words were just speaking to me. I was also going to undertake the cooking duties for this week which always excites me but at the same time adds a layer of responsibility. So I decided that I was going to open my heart, be calm, pack my flexibility and wait to see what could happen. Well, so much! The best thing was to be able to interact with a home owner, which did not happen for my work group in New Orleans. Vicki, and her caretaker sister, Phyllis, could not have been nicer and in more of need of home repair after experiencing the flooding of Sandy. Vicki, who has a debilitating disease, loves the company and had lunch with us today ญญ- after buying it for us from their favorite local Italian deli. She wants us to come back in the worst way again this week so our group is going to move her furniture into a Pod, leaving the floor free to be tiled which will most likely be a project for another group. The other rewarding opportunity is the time of community that the volunteer group spends together after dinner beginning with devotions and then sharing their experiences from the day (see today's pictures). I will be taking many memories and new friendships home with me. Thanks be to God!You can read other blog entries by members of this work group on the Presbytery's web site. |
Countywide Sandy Commemorative Worship Service
"One Year after Superstorm Sandy:
Ocean County People Coming Together"
Sunday, October 27, 2013
2:00 pm
Ocean County College Theater
1000 College Drive
Toms River, NJ
 The Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group is hosting the commemorative event acknowledging the cooperative efforts of our communities since Super Storm Sandy. Residents, spiritual and emotional providers, responders and officials on various local, county, state and federal levels will share hope and healing for our Sandy survivors. Speakers and musical presentations, and community agencies will be available to provide information for residents. A special program is planned for children attending as well. Refreshments will also follow. The event is free, however those planning to attend are asked to email the OCLTRG, info@oceancountyltrg.org (subject: Tickets), of their intent and number of attendees by Monday, October 21, 2013.
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(908-675-7287)
is serving as our church's Hurricane Recovery Coordinator. (732) 580-1857 is coordinating the Volunteer Village. (732) 978-0940 is coordinating job assignments for the work teams.
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Calendar For The Week
 The latest edition of the church calendar is available online, on the church's website.
Sunday, October 6
9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection Begins, CE Annex Classroom 2
10:00 a.m - Worship/Communion/Chancel
10:00 a.m. - Church School begins in Worship
11:00 a.m - Communion Brunch
11:15 a.m - Inquires Group
11:15 a.m. - Confirmation Class
Monday, October 7 6:15 p.m. - Choral Bells, Fellowship Room Tuesday, October 8 10:00 a.m. - Eye Openers, Chittick Lounge 1:00 p.m. - Lydia Circle, Home of Jessie Bissey 7:00 p.m. - Lydia Circle, Home of Marilyn Coppolino Wednesday, October 9 9:00 a.m. - Women's Breakfast, Rainbow Diner, all women welcome 10:00 a.m. - Prayer Chain, Chittick Lounge 4::30 p.m. - Dove Choir Rehearsal 7:00 p.m. - Tabitha Dorcas Circle Thursday, October 10 7:30 a.m. - Men's Breakfast, US Subs, all men welcome 7:00 p.m. - Judith Rachel Circle 7:30 p.m. - Chancel Choir Rehearsal Friday, October 11 5:30 p.m. - Youth Connection Pumpkin Carving Event, CE Annex Saturday, October 12 Sunday, October 13 9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection Begins, CE Annex Classroom 2 10:00 a.m - Worship/Bells/New Members/Healing Prayers 10:00 a.m. - Church School begins in Worship 11:15 a.m - Confirmation Class 11:30 a.m. - The Heart of Christianity Bible Study 12:00 p.m. - Nominating Committee |
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 Birthday Blessing
Oct 4 John Liotta, Caden Lucich, Aaron Semanski
Oct 5 Kerry Jones, Brandon Rodgers
Oct 6 James Liotta, Kathleen Schmidt
Oct 7 Cyrus Marden, Donald Quimby
Oct 8 Min Curtis
Oct 9 Bruce Larsen, Keith Reilly Jr
Oct 10 Bob Martin, Steven McDermitt
Oct 11
Oct 12 Ginger Decker, Jane Stryker
Oct 13
Oct 14
Oct 15 Jacquelin Woods
Oct 16
Oct 17 Thomas Bamburak
Oct 18 Jessica Holloway, Zachary Paulus
Oct 19 Jamie Jaekels, Marjorie McGhee
Oct 20 Phyllis King, Carol Reid
Oct 21
Oct 22 William Smykowski
Oct 23
Oct 24 W N Smith
Oct 25 Riley Fiorentino, Adrian Jensen
Oct 26
Oct 27 Joan Reitmeyer
Oct 28 Sydney Hurley, Cynthia Kells, Carl Wilton
Oct 29
Oct 30 Claude Hurley, John Pasola, Lisa Simpson
Oct 31
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Upcoming Events - Mark Your Calendar
Leadership Retreat for Church officers and Staff of our church - To be Rescheduled
October 19 - Youth Connection Oktoberfest
October 20 - CROP Walk, Toms River
Additional information will follow
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Pastors
The Rev. Carl Wilton, Ph.D., Pastor
The Rev. Linda Chase, Associate Pastor
Office Staff
Kim Gaydos, Church Secretary
Donna Ferry, Financial Secretary
Dee D'Amore, Volunteer Village Bookkeeper
Nancy Stout, Treasurer
Music Staff
Sara Hoey, Organist
William Shoppell, Chancel Choir and Choral Bells Director
Rebecca Muraglia, Acting Dove Choir Director
Christian Education Staff
Courtney Norton, Youth Connection Coordinator
Sarah Morrison, Church School Coordinator
Devlin House, Point Beach Prep Preschool Director
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Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
701 Forman Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
(Corner of Bay and Forman Avenues)
Church Office: 732-899-0587 Fax: 732-899-2946
Visit us at http://www.pointpresbyterian.org
Church Office: mail@pointpresbyterian.org |
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