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Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
| Weekly News For
Sunday, May 24, 2015 | |
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 Dear Friends,
This Sunday is Pentecost. It is the day we celebrate the birth of the church called into community by the Holy Spirit. We live in a time when the church is taking a beating and seems to be moving further and further to the fringes of people's lives. Yet, as both the story found in Acts 2 and Ezekiel 37, the Spirit of God is the power that can and does bring about rebirth, change and transformation. That Spirit blows where it will and we have no control over it. We receive it with wonder and thanksgiving. Oh, it also helps to be open to expect the unexpected. This Sunday I would ask that you wear RED which is a symbol of the fire and the power of the Holy Spirit. I also ask that you watch the video that is the basis for the parable you will be hearing this Sunday - The Parable of the Whale. See you in church dressed in red! Pastor Linda
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Sunday, May 24, 2015 - Day of Pentecost
Acts 2: 1-21
The Rev. Linda Chase: "PARABLE OF THE WHALE"
9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in worship
10:00 a.m. - Worship/Chancel Choir/Confirmation/Noisy Offering
2:30 p.m. - Miss Michelle Fishing Trip fundraiser
2:30 p.m. - Claremont Care Center Service
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The following young people
are being confirmed this Sunday:
Riley Fiorentino
Kyle Jones
Matthew McDermitt,
Mark McDermitt
Brielle Shekon
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Noisy Offering this Sunday
 It's time, once again, for our monthly Noisy Offering, benefiting hunger relief. Bring your loose change to church and make a joyful noise unto the Lord! |
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Come Fishing on the Miss Michele This Sunday!
 This is the first weekend of Fluke fishing for the year. You won't want to miss it.
The price for our fishing trip fund-raiser (benefiting the church's music programs) is $75 per person and that includes all of your fishing needs (pole, bait, tip for first mate, and donation to the music program). Only thing you will need to bring is a cooler with ice for your lunch and drinks (no glass please), and hopefully your large catch!!!
We have plenty of spots available so everyone who is able is encouraged to come! We have teenagers to people well into their retirement and also a handful of ladies on board. We have rookies and experienced anglers, so no matter your expertise level, we would love to have you on board.
Please see Jason Parrott after the service on Sunday, or call/text him at 732-814-9914.
"I can't guarantee how many fish you will catch, but judging by the cast of characters on the boat, I can guarantee a very entertaining time!" - Jason Parrott
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The Summer Heat
campaign is under way!
Our goal is $25,000 in special gifts and pledges, for new boilers to heat the Education Annex and the church offices and Nursery. Pledges may be paid over a six-month period. Here is an example of the range of gifts that will help us reach our goal (although gifts of any size are most welcome):
$5,000 - 1 gift needed
$2,500 - 3 gifts needed
$1,000 - 6 gifts needed (2 received)
$500 - 10 gifts needed (5 received)
$100 - 15 gifts needed (1 received)
$4,715 has been given or pledged to date. Thank you to all who have stepped forward!
Maybe you're ready to say with joy, "Here I am, Lord - I can make one of those gifts!" Please pray for the success of this campaign and check out the giving thermometer in the Sanctuary to track further progress. Thank you!
(Our apologies, but the goal we announced previously was in error. It was the estimated cost for the CE Annex boiler replacement only, rather than for both buildings.)
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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 May 24 is the Larsen family. Let us be prayerfully aware of Bruce, Susan and Karen, as well as all our members and friends.
Prayer concerns: Betty Schroeder; Londa Scarpone; Billy Eckert (friend of Bill Williams); Sharon Hock, Julie Budrick.
Long term concerns: Cherisse Petruzzi; Margie McGhee, Joe Auriemma; Vincent DeMartino; George Elliott; Nicholas Hudnut; Jeffrey Mathews; Gerda Mooney; Ralph Smith; Kathryn Feldman (Bill Shoppell's sister); Andre Bucsek; Chris Loeffler (father of Andrea Purtell); Bill Blauvelt (Jacque Thornton's brother in law); those struggling with addictions and mental illness.
Military: Michael Limpantsis; all those in the military.
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CHORAL BELL RECOGNITION, postponed from last Sunday due to the illness of several bell-ringers, has been rescheduled for Sunday, June 7.
CLASS OF 2015 - PPPC would like to recognize all those students who will be graduating from college or high school this year. If you know of someone graduating from high school or college, please let us know. You can drop a note with their name and the school where they are graduating from in the offering plate, or call/email the church office with the information.
ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY - Are you celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary this year? Or have you been a member of the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church for 50 years? If so, please contact the church office at 732-899-0587, so we can include you in the recognition of anniversaries. We will be recognizing those celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary as well as membership milestones on Sunday, June 7, 2015.
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Cookbook by PW
Hear ye, hear yea, all of us by the sea, it's coming! Karen Norby and Nancy Cook are organizing the first cookbook that our church has published in nearly 20 years. Please help us out by sending in one or more of your favorite recipes. All of you men are urged to participate too.
We want this book to have a Jersey Shore theme. No matter what the recipe is, please try to spruce your titles for instance, Jersey Shore burgers, Lavallette Lemonade, or Point Pleasant fruit salad - same cherished recipes slightly unique titles. Recipes may include: entrees, appetizers, drinks, soups, desserts, casseroles, or side dishes.
Our deadline is August 24 and you may deliver your recipes to the PW mailbox in the office or e mail it to ptpresbypwcookbook@gmail.com
Don't wait, flip or flop, get your creative juices crashing on the Shore. The proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will offset the Church Nursery costs.
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 At its meeting on May 19, 2015, the Session took the following actions:
1. Examined newly-elected ruling elders and deacons.
2. Approved baptisms for Anders Paul Forsberg, son of Nils and Stephanie Forsberg; and for Evelyn Sloan Johnson, daughter of Anthony and Ashley Johnson.
3. Heard that over $4,200 has already been raised in gifts and pledges towards the Summer Heat Campaign, to replace boilers in the CE Annex ($20,000) and the Sanctuary building ($5,000).
4. Voted to schedule replacement of the CE Annex boiler for August. (The single boiler we now have will be replaced with two smaller boilers that function in tandem, so as to provide continued coverage should one be shut down for repairs.)
5. Heard a report on plans for the June 29-July 2 youth mission trip to New York City.
6. Appointed Diane Legreide and Carol Bonebrake, along with Deacon Greg Hall, to plan for a new church pictorial directory. We will organize picture-taking sessions after worship on various Sundays this summer and fall. Church members will also be able to email their own photos to the church office, if they prefer. This color directory will be produced in-house, rather than using a professional photography company - no appointments, no formal sittings, but an equally useful result.
7. Noted that the annual "Hail and Farewell" reception for new and retiring church officers will take place just before next month's Session meeting - Tuesday, June 16, 6:30-7:30 pm, in the Chittick Lounge and Fellowship Room.
8. Heard that Troop 6 has a whole flock of recent or soon-to-be Eagle Scouts: perhaps as many as 7 new Eagles by the end of 2015.
9. Learned of an offer from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to host a volunteer recognition event for PPPC members and friends who have been involved in the Volunteer Village, along with one of their acclaimed self-care/stress management workshops. Referred this to the Sandy Team.
10. Approved a renewed lease with Shore Business Solutions for the church office copier.
11. With Patrick Cox and his family soon to be moving to Florida, decided to seek a replacement for the job of locking up the church building on Sundays after worship.
12. Decided to rearrange some of the Sanctuary folding chairs near the North Hall entrance to open up space for a reserved seating area for people using wheelchairs, and for their families.
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 Just a quick recap of what we did last week, and what we will be covering this week.
Last week, we talked about making and keeping peace. We read different scenarios of problems that could arise, and used passages in the Bible to help us make our decisions on how to handle these different scenarios. The kids had some really great insight! Then we got to have some fun and played Bible Bingo for fun prizes.
This week, we will be discussing Pentecost. What exactly IS Pentecost?? We will read Act 2:1-20 and discuss how the Holy Spirit helps bring us closer to God. We will also be discussing the importance of red in celebration of Pentecost.
Don't forget to wear your RED this week!
See you on Sunday! Peace and Blessings,
Tricia Stoffers |
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News From Point Beach Prep
 Our special guest on Monday of this week was Beth Ferry. She is a local author of a new children's book called Stick and Stone. It is a wonderful and funny story about friendship between a stick and a stone. We read it outside under our beautiful tree on the playground so that we could blow bubbles after the story. The author gave us an activity kit that correlated with the story. The children loved it!
This week we learned the numbers 7 and 8. We made a project with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and what he ate on the 7 days of the week. We enjoyed using our felt board and felt pieces to help tell the story. We also read Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. We made the characters at our project table and then used them to act out the play. On Thursday, we had a Mommy come in for Student of the Week and we made an 8 legged octopus with our handprints. Eight is great!
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Volunteer Village
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| Macalester-Plymouth United Church
St. Paul, Minnesota |
This week's PDA volunteer work group comes from afar - all the way from St. Paul, Minnesota. We're grateful to these and other good folks from around the country who come to give of their time and talents to help restore the Shore. Many more groups are on their way, through most of the summer! Here are the bookings so far:
2015 Scheduled Groups
Sunday, June 14 - Macalester Plymouth United Church, St. Paul, MN Sunday, June 21 - Langhorne Presbyterian Church, Langhorne, PA
Sunday, June 28 - Presbytery of West Virginia, South Charleston, WV 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 - Helping Hands, PA and First Presbyterian Church, Warren, PA Sunday, Oct 11- Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA Sunday, Oct 18 - Scioto Valley Presbyterian, Columbus, OH
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Kudos from PDA
 Recently I had a phone call from Rick Turner, Associate for Disaster Response with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. He told of being part of a consultation in the Detroit area between representatives of several General Assembly agencies and local Presbyterians who have been active in mission outreach.
In one breakout group focusing on PDA's disaster-assistance work, participants were asked for their ideas on what it takes to provide a successful volunteer-hosting operation. The people in the room had the chance to individually write down their thoughts.
Two words appeared over and over again in what these Presbyterians - veterans of many a mission trip - wrote. Those words were: "Point Pleasant."
Rick asked me to pass on this story as evidence that our Volunteer Village is becoming nationally known as a model example of PDA volunteer-hosting sites run by local congregations.
To all of you who continue to give of your time and talents to welcome and see to the needs of PDA volunteer workers: THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS for a job well done!
Pastor Carl
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Volunteer Hosting By the Numbers
 Here are our latest numbers for the Volunteer Village, through March 31st:
1,155 volunteers hosted
35,800 volunteer hours worked
200+ homes worked on
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This is the boiler that heats the entire CE Annex.
It's THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT installed in 1960:
55 years old and still running,
but long overdue for replacement.
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From Our Friends at Brick Presbyterian Church
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The latest edition of the church calendar is available online, on the church's website. 
Sunday, May 24 - Pentecost
9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in worship
10:00 a.m. - Worship/Chancel Choir/Confirmation/
Noisy Offering
11:00 a.m. - Congregational Meeting
2:30 p.m. - Miss Michelle Fishing Trip
2:30 p.m. - Claremont Care Center Service
Monday, May 25
Memorial Day Office Closed
Tuesday, May 26
9:30 a.m. - Busy Hands, Fellowship Room
10:00 a.m. - Eye Openers
4:30 p.m. - Daisy Troop 175
5:30 p.m. - Tigers
6:30 p.m. - Wolf and Bear Den
7:00 p.m. - Sarah Hope Circle
Wednesday, May 27
9:00 a.m. - Women's Breakfast at the Rainbow Diner
5:00 p.m. - Dove Choir
7:30 p.m. - Troop 6
Thursday, May 28
7:30 a.m. - Men's Breakfast at US Subs
7:30 p.m. - Chancel Choir
Friday, May 29
6:30 p.m. Webelos
Saturday, May 30
10:00 a.m. - Eagle Court of Honor
Sunday, May 31
9:00 a.m. - Youth Connection
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in worship
10:00 a.m. - Worship/Dove Choir Recognition/New Members
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 Birthday Blessings
May 24 James Hudnut, Andrew Hudson
May 25 Deirdre D'Amore, Diane Legreide, Hannah Ploskonka, Barbara Sobel
May 26 Jane Lambie, Matthew Savage
May 27 Alexander Grebel, Rylan Parrott
May 28 Jo Anne Adamo, Diane Manzo
May 29 Bernard Fiorentino III, Ryan Pasola
May 30 Ryan Grebel, Jeffrey Johnson
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Sunday, May 31, 2015
Interfaith Hospitality Network Week Begins
10:00 a.m. - Install Ruling Elders & Deacons; Receive New Members; Dove Choir Recognition
Sunday, June 7. 2015
10:00 a.m. - Rescheduled Choral Bells Recognition
Sunday, June 14. 2015
10:00 a.m. - Chancel Choir Recognition with sermon of anthems.
Monday, June 29 through Thursday, July 2
Youth Mission Trip to New York City 
Monday, August 3 through Friday, August 7
5:30-8:30 pm - Vacation Bible School
Sunday, August 9, 2015
10:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. - Church Picnic, YMCA Camp Zehnder, Brick (includes Sunday worship)
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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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