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Point Pleasant
Presbyterian Church
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Weekly News for
Sunday,
February 22, 2015
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Friday, February 20, 2015
6 p.m. in the C.E. Annex
Please join us for a night of fellowship and family fun!
All ages are welcome. There will be crafts and activities for the kids before the movie, as well as dinner foods available for purchase. Kids are encouraged to wear their pjs or their favorite Frozen outfits! They can also bring sleeping bags or blankets to curl up on to watch the movie!
Please feel free to contact Tricia Stoffers with any questions: [email protected]
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Dear Friends, Well, last Sunday was an adventure. Most church activities were canceled, and morning worship took place right after the blizzard and before lots of folks were shoveled out. So, we were a small but mighty gathering of about 10 souls.
I was planning to preach on the story of Jesus' Transfiguration - which comes up in the lectionary each year on the Sunday before Lent begins - but, under the circumstances, decided to go in another direction. Because the Transfiguration functions as the hinge between the period of Jesus' ministry and his journey towards Jerusalem and the cross, it makes sense for us to get the view from the mountaintop on this first Sunday in Lent, so that's what we'll be doing. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John see J esus as he really is. But what about other people? What does it mean to see others as they really are, as God created them to be? Do you suppose that - from God's viewpoint - they, too, glow like the sun? More important, how would such a vision affect our relationships? If we could truly see those dearest to us as God sees them, would we treat them differently - and they us?
Join us in worship this Sunday as we explore our lives, our loves and our relationships!
Pastor Carl
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This Sunday
Sunday, February 22 - First Sunday in Lent
Mark 9:2-9
The Rev. Dr. Carl Wilton preaching: "SEEING ONE ANOTHER AS WE REALLY ARE"
9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School Begins in Worship
10:00 a.m - Worship/Chancel Choir/Noisy Offering
11:00 a.m. - Confirmation Parents Meeting
2:30 p.m. - Claremont Care Center
4:00 p.m. - Webelos
6:30 p.m. - Ecumenical Handbell Festival, Presbyterian Church of Toms River
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Handbell Festival Sunday Evening
The Choral Bells, along with other handbell choirs from the area, will once again be ringing at the 16th Annual Handbell Festival this Sunday. The festival will take place at the Presbyterian Church of Toms River at 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 5:45 p.m). NO TICKETS are needed for this concert - just come! Free admission, free-will offering. Please come out and support your Choral Bells.
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Noisy Offering
A "Noisy Offering" for Monmouth Presbytery's Cents-Ability program will be received this Sunday to support ministries to relieve hunger locally, regionally, and globally. Make a joyful noise to the Lord!
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"Blue Out" on Blue Shirt Day, February 22
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has declared this Sunday, February 22 - the First Sunday in Lent - as "Blue Shirt Day." All over the country, Presbyterians will be wearing their blue PDA t-shirts to church.
If you have a PDA blue shirt, then please wear it to worship this Sunday, the 22nd. If you don't have a shirt, then please wear something else that's blue.
Let's make the Sanctuary as sea of blue, as we celebrate and renew our commitment to Sandy recovery!
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CONFIRMATION CLASS - Our organizational meeting for the Confirmation Class is this Sunday, February 22, after worship. Parents and youth alike are encouraged to attend this first meeting.
Confirmation is for young people, grade 7 or above. The Class will meet on 8 different Sunday evenings from 5:00-6:00 pm, with Pastor Wilton and Dale Leasure as leaders. Confirmation class participants will be welcomed into membership on the Day of Pentecost, May 24th. More information on the Confirmation program, including the complete schedule, may be found on a special Confirmation page on the church website.
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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 February 22 is the Gilbert family. Let us be prayerfully aware of Howard and Betty, as well as all our members and friends.
Prayer concerns: The family of Judith Leonardis; Alexa Wright (daughter of Jennifer Tarrell and Dale Wright) Ron Kiss; Mary McSweeney.
Long term concerns: Kathryn Feldman (Bill Shoppell's sister); Linda Bissey Small (Bob and Jessie's niece); Jean Collins; Cherisse Petruzzi; Michelle Avary and Chris Loeffler (family of Andrea Purtell); Bill Blauvelt (Jacque Thornton's brother in law); Nicholas Hudnut; Fred Johnson; Karen Larsen; those struggling with addictions and mental illness. Military: Michael Limpantsis; all those in the military
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CHECK FOR SNOW CANCELLATIONS - In case of snow, please check the main page of the church website or the voicemail message about worship service times (732-899-0587) for the latest information about cancellations of church activities.
INQUIRERS GROUP, EXPLORING CHURCH MEMBERSHIP - An Inquirers Group, for those exploring membership in the church, will take place on Sunday, March 1, 2015. The meeting will start at 11:30 a.m. (just after the Communion Brunch) and will continue until 2:30 p.m. Child care can be made available upon prior request. New members will be received in worship on March 8. Please call the Church Office to sign up, or to find out more!
MESSIAH SELECTIONS - On Sundays in Lent when the Chancel Choir is singing, they'll be treating us to selections from Handel's Messiah, one of the best-known and best-loved of sacred choral compositions. This Sunday it's going to be "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29) and "He Was Despised" (Isaiah 53:3-6; alto solo by Sandy Grebel).
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PPPC Women's Retreat - Celebrate the Gifts of Women
Calling all women of the church to join us on ---- March 21st ---- to CELEBRATE THE GIFTS OF WOMEN! Come and lift up the bond between young and old, strangers and friends of all colors and creeds in God's household.
Some of the most beautiful and memorable words in the Bible are spoken by women to women, and passed from generation to generation. When the words and actions of our best selves are passed on, devotion and love bloom! We're grateful to the Brick Presbyterian Church for allowing us to use their new fellowship hall for the retreat, which will take place on March 21st from 8:30 - 3:00. Come for a day of relaxation, exaltation and celebration of the gifts we share!
Registration forms are available online and in the bulletin. A sign up sheet is also available in the Narthex to let us know you are interested.
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Good News for College Students! Applications for the National Presbyterian College Scholarships
are due March 1. The program provides students attending PC(USA)-related colleges with a $1,500 scholarship for up to four years. Read a story about one recipient, and visit the Financial Aid for Service website for complete information and to learn about other programs. |
Sunday School Recap
Last Week: Snow Day
This Week: We will be learning the basics of Lent. It was so wonderful to see so many kids at the Ash Wednesday service, and the Doves sang beautifully! Don't forget about our Frozen Family Fun Night, tonight!
See you on Sunday! Peace and Blessings.
Tricia Stoffers
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This Week at Point Beach Prep
The Nursery and Pre-K classes explored SHAPE, an Element of Art with Mrs. Karen Norby.
A review of human-made lines (straight) and lines in nature (curved) was an introduction to "LINES MAKE SHAPES."
The children explored curved shapes in nature and found human-made shapes in their classroom. They created curved shapes with string and human-made shapes with popsicle sticks.
We observed how artist Joan Miro used curved shapes to show nature in his painting "Figures and Dog in Front of Sun" and how Piet Mondrian used human-made shapes in his most famous painting "Broadway Boogie Woogie." Mrs. Norby is a certified K-12 art educator who taught High School and Elementary School Art in the Manasquan school district for 29 years. Thank you, Mrs. Norby!Point Beach Prep will be having an Open House February 28th from 10am-12pm. The registration fee will be half price ($50) for anyone who registers at the Open House. There is still limited space in our Nursery class for the 2015/2016 school year - if you are interested, please check us out!Point Beach Preschool makes learning fun, while building self-esteem and a positive attitude toward learning! We promote kindergarten readiness and provide the tools to prepare the children for school and life.We are open Monday-Friday 8:30am-12pm, with an optional lunch bunch 12pm-1pm. Call us today 732-701-9900 or visit us on the web: www.pointbeachprep.com
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Youth Connection Italian Dinner
It's getting to be that time of year again! On Saturday, February 28, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, the Youth Connection is offering its traditional Italian Dinner. We'll be serving our traditional spaghetti and meatballs as well as penne with vodka sauce.
Seating is restaurant-style with Youth Connection members taking orders and serving. No reservations required. Take-outs will be available. Call ahead to 732-581-1554 to place your order.
The free-will offering (after costs of the meal are covered) will be used to fund Youth Connection events. Please plan to spend a great evening out and support the Youth Connection.
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Fundraiser for Youth Connection
Attention church business owners! Do you want to find an inexpensive way to advertise your business, while also helping support mission work? On Sunday February 15th, after the church service, the Youth Connection will be collecting business cards to put on placemats for our Italian dinner. For a donation of $25 per business card, the youth connection will put your business card on the placemats that will be used during the Italian dinner and other future fundraisers.
Each card is guaranteed to be on at least 150 placemats. There are only 28 spots available and the cards will be taken on a first come, first served basis. Any questions? Call Courtney Rzeplinski at 732-552-6737.
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BLUE OUT in Worship this Sunday!
As we said above, this Sunday is PDA BLUE SHIRT DAY! Please wear a blue PDA t-shirt if you have one, or something else blue if you don't.
We're less than a month away from welcoming the first of many volunteer work groups who will be staying in our Volunteer Village this spring and summer.
Here are the bookings so far:
2015 Scheduled Groups
Sunday, March 15 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA and Rutgers University Work Team Sunday, March 29 - Webster Presbyterian, Webster, NY Sunday April 12 - Presbytery of Detroit, MI Sunday, April 19 - Lend A Hand & Presbytery of Western NY Sunday, May 17 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA Sunday, June 14 - Macalester Plymouth United Church, St. Paul, MN Sunday, June 21 - Langhorne Presbyterian Church, Langhorne, PA Sunday, July 12 - St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Orange Park, FL Sunday, July 19 - First Presbyterian Church Yorktown, Yorktown, NY
Sunday, July 26 - Pine Run Presbyterian Church, Apollo, PA Sunday, August 2 - Presbyterian Church of Morristown, NJ Sunday, August 16 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA Sunday, Sept 20 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA Sunday, Oct 4 - Presbytery of Detroit, MI Sunday, Oct 11 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA
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Have You Signed the OCLTRG's Petition Yet? We urgently need your help to convey to our elected officials that the Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group is a SOLUTION for NJ families rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy. If you value the DISASTER CASE MANAGEMENT, RREM EDUCATION & WORKSHOPS and the FINANCIAL RESOURCES that OCLTRG and its partners bring to the table to help households recover, our elected officials need to hear your voice. Over the next week, we ask for your help to make sure that our elected officials know that funding for the Ocean County Long Term Recovery and its partners is not discretionary but a NECESSITY for families recovering.
* WE URGE YOU TO FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO HAS BEEN IMPACTED OR HELPING IN RECOVERY EFFORTS.
Please take a moment and sign our online petition. Thank you!
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Is Shopping a Spiritual Gift?
In 1 Corinthians 2:7, Paul says " To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." Then, he proceeds to list all manner of spiritual gifts that are useful in advancing Christ's mission. Shopping is not on that list - but maybe it should be! The Volunteer Village has continued to be successful in its efforts due to the many wonderful volunteers from our congregation. There are many ways to be involved with the Volunteer Village. Opportunities to help include shopping, cooking, welcoming, construction coordination as well as overall hosting responsibilities.
We are especially in need of grocery shoppers for the village. Shopping can be done at a time convenient for you. There is a guideline/list available for the shoppers. The church also has a Costco card for shoppers to use and reimbursements are promptly made. Shopping teams of 2 or 3 people are ideal. We could use two more teams. For more information, please speak with Linda Chase.
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Help Jaime Get to 100%! Church member Jaime Williams, a student at the University of Alabama and the daughter of Bill and Terri Williams, plans to travel to Uganda from March 13-22 on a mission trip. She will be working with
Sozo Children, a Christian mission organization that houses 81 orphans in four different homes. While there, she will be helping to care for the children and will share the love of Jesus Christ with them.
In order to make her trip possible, Jaime must raise at least $2,000 in pledges from friends, family and fellow church members. Pledges so far total $1,385, or 69% of her goal. Check on her further progress on the special web page she's set up to receive donations - and please consider making a pledge yourself. Thank you!
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Coming Next Month...IHN
On March 8 we will once again host families from IHN. Sign up sheets are now in the Narthex.
Help is need with Meals, Set-up, Evening Fellowship and Overnight Hosting. Please indicate where you can help.
Questions? Please contact Dorothy Tolley at 732-892-9306. Thank you!
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Church World Service Kits - Hygiene and School Kits
Members of Presbyterian Women are collecting Hygiene Kits AND School Kits for Church World Service.
Hygiene Kits - In the face of natural disasters, violence, or grinding poverty, Hygiene Kits can mean the difference between sickness and health for struggling families. For Hygiene Kits, please use a gallon-sized Ziploc plastic bag.
School Kits - give children in impoverished schools, refugee camps, or other difficult settings some of the basic tools for learning. For School Kits, please pack all items inside one of the cloth bags the Busy Hands for Mission group has made. Please stop by the church office to pick up your bag.
Detailed instructions on what to put in the bags can be found on the Church World Service website. Please do not add to or exchange listed items.
Kits can be placed in the bin in the North Hall, under the East Window. Please include $2.00 for shipping or put a separate envelope marked "CWS Kits" in the PW mailbox in the church office. Checks for shipping costs should be made out to "Presbyterian Women."
Kits will be due and dedicated in the Sunday worship service on March 22.
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The latest edition of the church calendar is available online, on the church's website.
Sunday, February 22
9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School Begins in Worship
10:00 a.m - Worship/Chancel Choir
11:00 a.m. - Confirmation Parents Meeting
2:30 p.m. - Claremont Care Center
4:00 p.m. - Webelos
6:30 p.m. - Ecumenical Handbell Festivial, Presbyterian Church Toms River
Monday, February 23
Tuesday, February 24
Wednesday, February 25
9:00 a.m. - Women's Breakfast at the Rainbow Diner
Thursday, February 26
7:30 a.m. - Men's Breakfast at US Subs
7:30 p.m. - Chancel Choir Rehearsal
Friday, February 27
7:00 p.m. - Troop 6 Lock In, Fellowship and CE Annex
Saturday, February 28
Sunday, March 1
9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School Begins in Worship
10:00 a.m - Worship/Communion/Chancel Choir
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Birthday Blessings
Feb 22 Muriel Carlson-Simon Feb 23 Joshua Duffield, Terri Satterlee, Bill Williams Feb 24 Jamie McGuire, Heidi Steinert Feb 25 Scott Nelson Feb 26 Gerald Almazan, Tyler Barbieri, Allan Novick Feb 27 Thomas D'Amore, Acacia Evans Feb 28 Emily Birdsong, Ellen Hank, Eva Pula
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Saturday, February 28, 2015
4:30 pm - Youth Connection Italian Dinner
Friday March 6-8, 2015
Confirmation Retreat at Camp Johnsonburg
Sunday, March 29, 2015 10: 00 am - Palm Sunday worship
Thursday, April 2, 2015 7:00 pm - Maundy Thursday Communion with Tenebrae
Friday, April 3, 2015 7:00 pm - Good Friday service
Sunday, April 5, 2015 9:00 am - Easter worship, Communion 11:00 am - Easter worship, Communion
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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 Rzeplinski, Youth Connection Coordinator
Tricia Stoffers, Sunday School Coordinator
Devlin House, Point Beach Prep Preschool Director
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