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Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
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Weekly News for
Sunday,
August 24, 2014
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Dear Friends,
This Sunday, we journey to a faraway world that - it turns out - is not all that different from our own. The lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures begins, "Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph" (Exodus 1:8). Joseph was, of course, the lad with the coat of many colors who later rose to become the Number Two Man in all of Egypt, making a comfortable home for his people there.
 Eventually, Joseph went on to his reward, and the Egyptians quickly forgot about Israel's most-favored-nation status, enslaving the people. Pharaoh thought up all kinds of new and creative ways to oppress the Hebrews, but he was stymied at every turn by a couple of clever women - the quietly subversive midwives, Shiphrah and Puah - who saved the Hebrew boy-children from massacre. Later, another woman would save her own son by placing him in a basket and floating him out on the Nile. Pharaoh's own daughter would adopt the boy and unknowingly hire the baby's real mother as nursemaid. The boy, Moses, would grow up to save his people. There are unmistakable signs that we live in a country that no longer "knows Joseph" - if we take Joseph to be symbolic of the once-favored status of the Christian church. American culture is pushing real Christianity to the margins of our national life, while paying lip-service to superficial forms of the faith. In my 24 years of parish ministry here at Point Pleasant, I've seen so much evidence of that relentless shift in priorities that I don't think we can fight it. We can only live into a new way of being the church, independent of the acclamation of society (praise which is no longer automatic, as it was in the old days). What we need are some good midwives. Not literal midwives, of course, but people (men and women both) who - as Jesus teaches - are "wise as serpents, innocent as doves." These new midwives live in the midst of secular society, quietly - and sometimes subversively - advancing the mission of Christ's church. What do you think? Are you up to the challenge? Are we up to the challenge, together? See you in church! Pastor Carl
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This Sunday
Sunday, August 24
Exodus 1:8-2:10
Dr. Wilton preaching: "A FEW GOOD MIDWIVES"
10:00 a.m. Worship/Noisy Offering
2:30 p.m. - Claremont Care Center service
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Noisy Offering
 This Sunday we will be having "Noisy Offering." All contributions will go to Cents-Ability, a hunger ministry of the Presbytery of Monmouth.
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"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 August 24 is Bavier/Wacha family. Let us be prayerfully aware of Rich and Arlene, as well as all our members and friends.
Other prayer concerns: Virginia Waldie; Jane Lambie; Jeff Bissey; Audrey Pearce; all those in the military, as well as those struggling with addictions and mental illness
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IHN DAY CENTER - Churches are being asked to contribute some basic items to the day center of Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean County. The day center is located in the House of Hope which is on Hooper Avenue behind the Presbyterian Church of Toms River. The day center is where the families in program are able to do laundry, look for housing, take showers and care for their children who are not yet in school. Listed here are items that are needed: 16 oz. bottles of water, paper towels, toilet paper, juice, butter, HE laundry detergent and hand soap. If you can help with any of these items, please bring them to the church and mark them for IHN.
BAPTISMS - Baptisms will take place on Sunday, September 21 at the 10:00 a.m. worship service. Ordinarily, at least one parent must be a member of PPPC. For more information, please call the Church Office.
PW COORDINATING TEAM TO MEET - This Monday, August 25, the PW Coordinating Teams will have their kickoff meeting at 9:15 a.m. Kathy Schmidt continues as the PW Moderator. With five different active PW circles, there are circles that meet on different days and times of the week. For more information on PW please contact Kathy Schmidt (kbschmidt202@yahoo.com).
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Seeking "Church Treasurer 2.0"
The Session's Finance Team has met and rewritten the job description for PPPC's volunteer Church Treasurer position. "So, what is Church Treasurer 2.0?," you may ask.  With deep gratitude for Nancy Stout's faithful service in the hands-on, detail-oriented approach of the past, the Finance Team has decided a new day is upon us. We have an excellent Financial Secretary in the person of Donna Ferry, and - with church financial records now fully computerized - what we're looking for is a person with financial savvy and basic computer skills who can provide general oversight to the church's financial affairs. Daily or near-daily visits to the church office are now a thing of the past. Insurance, payroll and personnel management have been offloaded to other volunteers, to lighten the Treasurer's load. With Donna managing the details of accounting and donations tracking, we need a person to fulfill the corporate office of Treasurer, sign checks and assist Donna in making decisions about occasional questions, such as which church account a given expense should be charged to. Assistant Treasurer Maria O'Connor is covering this territory on an interim basis, but the requirements of her "day job" make it impossible to consider moving up to the Treasurer position permanently. Do you know a church member with financial-management skills and a heart for mission, who's interested in serving God while living into that tasks of Church Treasurer 2.0? Or are you, perhaps, such a person? If so, please contact Pastor Carl immediately.
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Rally Day
Rally Day provides an opportunity for you to check out the many committees and volunteer projects at PPPC. There will be displays in the CE Annex of the various ministries including Fellowship, Mission, Church School, Music, Presbyterian Women, Worship and more. There are many, many ways you can become more involved in the Church.
Rally Day is September 14 following the 10:00 a.m. service. Come join us in the CE Annex to browse the displays and take advantage of the opportunity to volunteer or join an action team (committee). A special coffee hour will take place in the CE Annex. Join us as we mark the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year!
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Choir Opportunities for All
 Point Pleasant is blessed with a wonderful music ministry. Many opportunities exist for both young and old to participate in our choirs.
The Choral Bells' first rehearsal will be on Monday, September 8, 2014 at 6:15 p.m. in the Fellowship Room. Rehearsals are every Monday evening, 6:15-7:30. The Choral Bells rings approximately every other month, about five times a year. There's great camaraderie among the Choral Bells members. Potential ringers must have the ability to read music. Beginners are VERY WELCOME, even if you've never picked up a handbell before. There are lots of experienced ringers who can teach you. Both men and women are welcome! Bell-ringing is FUN! Chancel Choir Rehearsals begins Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. We extend a warm, ongoing invitation, to anyone who likes to sing, to come and join us. If a full-year commitment does not fit your schedule, please consider joining us in the Fall until Christmas; or, join us in the New Year until Easter. For more information on the choir speak with Bill Shoppell or call the Church Office. Please contact Bill Shoppell at 732-223-6274 for more information on the Choral Bells and Chancel Choir.
Calling all children to join the Dove Choir. Rehearsals begin on Wednesday, September 10 from 5:00-5:45 p.m. during school year. All children ages 3 to 15 years of age are invited to join the Dove Choir at Point Presbyterian Church. Learn to sing, read music and perform in a traditional children's choir. You need not be a member of the church (though you are most welcome to join). If you are interested in being a part of this great musical experience you are welcome to attend rehearsals every Wednesday from 5:00-5:45 at Pt Presbyterian Church on Bay Ave. Entrance is on the side of the church facing Forman Ave. For further information please email muraglia@comcast.net. or call 732-551-7115
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Sunday School Start Up
 Our new Sunday School Coordinator, Tricia Stoffers, is on the job, and is making plans for the upcoming Sunday School year!
Again this year, the kids will come into the Sanctuary an Sunday mornings at 10:00 with their parents, for the first 20 minutes or so of the worship service. Then, they will leave after the children's sermon to walk with their teachers across the street to their classrooms. Following worship, parents are invited to enjoy a cup of coffee for a few minutes, then go over and pick their kids up around 11:20.
We need teachers! We need helpers! We need "crafty" people to help with art projects! We need an office assistant to help manage records! We need help communicating, on the web and through social media! Please email Tricia at tricia@pointpresbyterian.org, or leave a message for her through the church office, if you'd like to find out more - she'll gladly call you back!
And if she should happen to call YOU, to ask if you can help - occasionally, or even every Sunday - please prayerfully consider it. There are few things more rewarding than watching youngsters learn about God's love in Jesus Christ! |
Signups for COVENANT Bible Study begin
THIS SUNDAY
after worship!
Study books are available for sale:
$20 for first term only, or $50 for all 3 terms
(More details below...)
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 Covenant Bible Study materials are in, which means we're now accepting registrations for the two (and possibly more) study groups we'll be offering this fall.
Covenant is an introduction to the whole Bible, with weekly small-group discussions around a brief video. The video segments will bring expert Bible scholars right into the room with us. There are daily Bible readings with introductions for each day, as well as a longer weekly reading in the Covenant study book.
This is a NO EMBARRASSMENT Bible study! There is no expectation of previous Bible knowledge - although those who do feel familiar with the scriptures will get a lot out of it as well.
We're planning on two groups: Mondays at 10:00 am, led by the Rev. Linda Chase
Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, led by the Rev. Dr. Carl Wilton
If neither of those times is good for you, please let us know. We can schedule times for additional groups to meet. For instance, we're discussing the possibility of a Sunday-morning group. If you can't make a given session, you can attend another group's meeting that same week. Covenant Groups will start meeting in mid-September (dates to be announced) and will continue for 8 weeks. There are three 8-week units in the 24-week Covenant study - you can join any of the 3 units as we begin it (it's not necessary to do all 3 in sequence). We're planning to offer units in the Fall, Winter and Spring.
The cost of the first-term Participant Guide, "Creating the Covenant," is $20. You can save by purchasing that book, along with the books for the next two units - "Living the Covenant" and "Trusting the Covenant"- for a combined cost of $50.
The best rate of all is available to iPad users. Search for "Covenant Bible Study" in the iTunes Store, and you'll find a special iPad app. For a cost of $9.99 - half the price of the printed version - you get the first-unit book in electronic form, as well as interactive note-taking features. An Android tablet app will be out soon, as well. (If you plan to use the tablet version of the book, please do be sure to call the Church Office and sign up for one of the two times, so we know you're coming!)
In earlier newsletters we've shared a brief video introduction to the Covenabnt program. Here's another one, in which Covenant co-hosts Christine Chakoian and Shane Stanford talk about the advantages of small-group Bible study, where relationships happen:  | | Hosts Christine Chakoian and Shane Stanford share why relationships around faith matter to our lives |
Each participant will be expected to have access to a good Study Bible, as well as the Participant Guide for the current term.
Each of our Covenant groups will have its own password-protected web page, as an optional way to keep in touch. Those who register for the website will receive daily emails of the Bible readings, as well as reminder emails for group meetings.
You can learn more about the program at the CovenantBibleStudy.com website. |
Thank-Yous from Volunteer Village Guests
 Here are excerpts from thank-you notes we've received from Volunteer Village Guests:
"I just wanted to thank you and the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church for a great week. You have a great place for the mission teams to stay after a long day of working on homes. It is a true mission to host groups and you folks are doing a great job."- Bob
"Thank you for such a convenient and comfortable home!" - Beth
"Thank you so much for your hospitality. It was a pleasure staying here last year and again this year." - Baili
"Thank you so much for your hospitality this week. This trip has been absolutely incredible. We loved the welcoming dinner you prepared for us on Sunday and are very thankful that you put that together for us. Working to help restore the Shore has been an amazing experience, and we wish it could have lasted longer. We would not have been able to come on this trip if it weren't for your church. We really appreciate all that you have done. You truly are an incredible group of people and New Jersey is lucky to have a church like yours. Keep up the good work and hopefully we'll see you again next year! God bless!"
- Appalachian State Alternative Spring Break from North Carolina
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. We have been so blessed this week."
- Kelsey
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Groups Staying in the Volunteer Village
We have a couple weeks off from hosting groups in the Volunteer Village. Here are the groups who are currently scheduled:
Sep 7-13 Pass A Grille Beach Community Church, St. Pete Beach, FL
Sep 14-20 Crossroads Community Presbyterian Church, Leechburg, PA
Sept 28-Oct 4 Presbytery of Detroit
Oct 5-11 Rosedale Presbyterian Church Livonia, MI
Oct 12-17 Lend A Hand (Carlisle Presbytery, Pennsylvania)
Oct 19-25 Scioto Valley Presbytery, Columbus, OH
Feb 6 Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, PA
Apr 5 Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church, MD
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PDA Responds to Violence in Iraq
 (Here at PPPC, we think of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in local terms, but in fact the organization is actively responding to crises around the world - most recently, in violence-torn Iraq.)
More than 1.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Iraq after fleeing the violence and religious persecution that the Islamic State (IS) has inflicted upon large portions of northern and western Iraq. The country is now contending with one of the largest internal displacements in the world.
 Many of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are persecuted religious minorities, including Yazidis and Christians who are trapped in Sinjar, the Ninewa Plains, or Iraqi Kurdistan near the Syrian border, with little access to food or water. Also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), the militant group continues its encroachment in the region, and the number of IDPs is expected to increase.
In a letter from our mission partner The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, we hear: "We cry to all Christian churches around the world to move, raise their voices to the world powers to stop such inhuman acts against humanity . . . We call upon the world to motivate every possibility to prevent annihilation of the Christians and other minorities at the hand of criminal groups such as Daesh in this part of the world . . . we cry to God to give peace and bring this tragic situation to an end. In God we trust and to God we cry."
Response
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has already sent One Great Hour of Sharing funds to our mission partner the National Evangelical Church of Iraq, who is providing families who have fled from Mosul with food, water, clothing, fuel, hygiene items, and bedding.
PDA is also responding as a member of the ACT Alliance in providing humanitarian aid and carrying out protection initiatives, particularly for women and children.
How you can help... Give.
Share your financial blessings by designating gifts to DR000082-Iraq. Individuals may give through your local Presbyterian congregation, online, or by mailing a check to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) P.O. Box 643700 Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.
Act.
Like us on Facebook.
Visit the PC(USA) World Mission page for information on this impact for the Christian community.
Learn more and find resources on the PDA Index of Response for Iraq Violence.
Pray.
God of mercy, God of peace, how long? How long, O Lord?
For your people in Iraq, the knock at the door in the dark of night may be a stranger in need, or the onset of violence...
grant courage and wisdom.
Your children seek to be Christ's generous presence to those in desperate need,
to practice welcome in the midst of terror.
They flee before the threat of violence and death: shelter them with your grace.
In the midst of such complex chaos, help us not to turn away,
but to keep our hearts and eyes open
to be generous in prayer and in practice
To aid our neighbors as they work, even in the midst of fearfulness
to give with generosity, receive with love, and trust in the
refuge of your sheltering wings.
May your Spirit of courage, of mercy and of peace be upon them, and us all, in Christ's name. Amen.
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Calendar For The Week
The latest edition of the church calendar is available online, on the church's website. 
Sunday, August 24
10:00 a.m. Worship/Noisy Offering
2:30 p.m. - Claremont Care Center
Monday, August 25
9:15 a.m. - PW Coordinating Team Meeting, Chittick Lounge
12:00 p.m. - Lunch at the Rainbow Diner - All Welcome!!!
Tuesday, August 26
9:30 a.m. - Busy Hands, Fellowship Room
10:00 a.m. - Eye Openers
Wednesday, August 27
9:00 a.m. - Women's Breakfast at the Rainbow Diner
Thursday, August 28
7:30 a.m. - Men's Breakfast, US Subs
Friday, August 29
Saturday, August 30
Sunday, August 31
10:00 a.m. Worship
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 Birthday Blessings
Aug 24 Zachary Leek-Clayton
Aug 25 Sean McCrossan
Aug 26 Joan Borduin, Vincent Robinson, Linda Quimby
Aug 27 Danielle Allgor
Aug 28 Courtney Bixby
Aug 29
Aug 30 Lynn Hahm
Aug 31 Elaine Flannelly, Lisa Van Winkle
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Start Up Dates in the Fall
August 25 - PW Coordinating Team Meeting
September 8 - First Day of Point Beach Prep
September 8 - Choral Bell Rehearsals Begin
September 8 - Deacon's Meeting
September 10 - Dove Choir Rehearsals Begin
September 11 - Chancel Choir Rehearsals Begin
September 18 - Session Meeting
September 21 - Youth Connection Begins
September 21 - Sunday School Begins
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Upcoming Events - Mark Your Calendar 
September 14 - Rally Day
September 21 - IHN Arrives October 18 - Presbytery "Nuts and Bolts" Officer and Leader Training event
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
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
Tricia Stoffers, Sunday 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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