Join us in a new adventure in Bible study, via Facebook! We've started a Facebook group for members and friends of PPPC to connect with one another and discuss Jesus' parables. It's called "Stories Told By Jesus Discussion."

It's a closed group - for the sake of avoiding inappropriate posts by advertisers and internet trolls - but we'll very happily add anyone who asks to join. Let's talk about Jesus' parables, especially those passages that form the basis of the sermon series that Carl and Linda are preaching this summer. Send a Facebook message to "Carlos Wilton" if you're interested in checking it out - we'll send you an invite!

Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church is happy to provide a Vacation Bible School in the air-conditioned Education Annex this Summer. Preparations for this fun-filled week are now being made. This program is for all children who have finished grades Pre-K through 5 and is open to kids from the entire community.

We will be exploring Nazareth and hear stories about Jesus' childhood from the best source of all...his mom, Mary! Everyone knows what it's like to hear your mom tell stories from your childhood. Can you imagine the kinds of stories Mary could tell? Take your kids back to Hometown Nazareth, where they'll stand up for their faith among people who doubt that the carpenter's son is really God's son.

Bring your friends as we explore ancient Nazareth from 5:30-8 pm. Our adventure will begin and finish downstairs in the CE Annex classrooms. Registration Forms can be downloaded or picked up in the Narthex and returned to the church office.  We have all the help we need.  Thank you to those who have volunteered.  

Fun Fact:  All VBS kids are invited to join us the following Sunday, August 9 at the Church Picnic to celebrate our week of Vacation Bible School.  We will be singing the songs and talking about all that we learned!  

 

Once again we have the privilege of hosting the IHN families August 23-29.  As a reminder, we need church members and friends to provide meals each night, host(s) to welcome the families upon their arrival and get acquainted with them and 2 members to stay overnight each night.  In the past we have had no trouble getting members to provide meals and to be hosts. 

 

Our biggest struggle has been getting people to stay overnight. Just a reminder of what that entails:  

• Being in the annex by 9 p.m. when the doors are locked for the night. 
• Sleeping on a bed which is set up downstairs in one of the Sunday school rooms.  
• Being available in case of any emergency.  
• Leave shortly after 7 am when the families leave for the day.  

Why not find a BUDDY ( a spouse would be just fine) and spend a night in the church annex.

 

The sign- up sheet is in the church Narthex.

 

It's dry season, and a group of Congolese farmers huddles over a small opening in a tube that's stretched across a field of arid, caked earth. They watch skeptically for water.

 

Their leeriness is understandable. Crops, starved of rain, are scarce this time of year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And there's no waterbed nearby. If this new drip irrigation system doesn't work they're going to have to look for another source of food for the coming months. Then, what seems to be a miracle happens. A bead of water drips from the opening, and then another, and another.

 

"I watched this wide, incredulous smile spread across the face of an agricultural worker after she dug her finger deeply into the soil at the site of one of the small holes in the irrigation hose," says Ruth Brown, a Presbyterian mission coworker in Congo who helped with the project. "The water had only been flowing for 10 minutes, but already water seeping from one tiny hole had sunk several inches deep into the earth."

 

The water followed days of training and installation organized by a partnership of Congolese communities, Presbyterian World Mission, and a farmer from Texas who heard a call from God. From beneath a large brimmed hat that farmer, Charles Johnson, spearheaded a project in June to empower four communities in the remote West Kasai area of the DRC to build a quicker and more efficient way to transport their water. The impact is still unclear. If successful, the new irrigation system will reduce labor and provide a larger crop yield. That, in turn, will reduce hunger and generate increased income.

 

In a country where almost half of the population, on a good day, has no access to portable water, 87.7 percent survive on less than $1.25 per day, and one in four children is underweight and malnourished, water is more than a commodity-it is a matter of life and death. Traditionally, to water crops during the dry season (June-Aug.) farmers walk to the nearest waterbed and transport needed water in buckets.

 

"All water is carried by women balancing large plastic tubs on their heads," says Brown. "Sometimes women must walk miles up and down steep hills to the springs."

 

An irrigation system changes all that. Or could, if it works. "Because of Congo's economic crisis, there are people who don't have room to take risks," says Jeff Boyd, a mission coworker and Presbyterian World Mission's regional liaison for Central Africa. "If something doesn't work and they've invested considerably in it, they've lost everything. They just don't have space to lose."

 

A revolution in agriculture also doesn't happen overnight. To read more on the Congo Mission Network, a group of Presbyterians in the U.S. and in Congo who meet annually to discuss Congo's needs and ministries as well as God's call on the Johnson's life visit the Presbyterian News Service website.

 

This week's PDA volunteer work group is Apollo, Pennsylvania. 

Sunday, July 26 - Pine Run Presbyterian Church, Apollo, PA
Sunday, August 16 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA
Sunday, Sept 20 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA
Sunday, Oct 4 - Helping Hands of Lehigh Presbytery, PA and First Presbyterian Church, Warren, PA
Sunday, Oct 11- Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA
Sunday, Oct 18 - Scioto Valley Presbytery, Columbus, OH

 

Do you remember seeing pictures of the World War I and World War II recruiting posters featuring a picture of "Uncle Sam" pointing and saying "I WANT YOU FOR U.S. ARMY"?  They were very effective recruiting tools.  Now, the Volunteer Village wants YOU.

 

The Volunteer Village is run almost entirely by volunteers - people like you and me.  People who want to see this very important mission of our church continue to serve those in need.  It has been almost three years since Superstorm Sandy came to visit us.  But, sadly, many are still not back in their homes.  Much work is yet to be done. 

 

We are also about to mark the three year anniversary of the opening of the Volunteer Village.  We have some volunteers who have been giving of their time since the beginning and who now feel it is time to step aside and let others feel the joy of serving those in need.  Enough accolades cannot be given to those who are now stepping aside for their unselfish dedication to making sure that our visiting volunteers experienced the best stay possible while at the Jersey shore.

 

So, what positions are we trying to fill?  Currently, there are three, all of which are vital to having the volunteer village remain open. They are (with a brief description):

 

1:  Host Site Coordinator

This person Communicates with PDA for scheduling the groups, serves as a liaison with incoming volunteer teams and makes sure all of the proper paperwork is completed, communicates with the cooking & shopping teams, ensures the annex is ready for the arrival of the groups, and attends monthly Sandy monthly meetings, etc.

 

2:  Construction / Work Coordinator

This person works with various volunteer organizations to schedule the jobs for our visiting volunteers and ensures they have the proper equipment for their work.  There may be times when this person needs to coordinate work directly.   The goal is to minimize how often this would need to be done.

 

3:   Volunteer Village Statistician

This person maintains volunteer records including of the number of volunteers, locations where volunteers worked, and the hours worked. Other duties may include being a back-up orientation leader and being the primary contact person for building emergencies.  These additional duties could be split off and be done by other volunteers.  

            

If you would like to serve your church and help this wonderful and important mission continue or if you would like more information, please contact Nancy Stout @ nlstout@optonline.net.