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Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
| Weekly News For
Sunday, March 13, 2016 | |
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"A New Heart for Jacob"
Pasta Dinner and Auction
This Saturday, 4:00-8:00 pm
in the Education Annex
to benefit 15-year-old Troop 6 Scout, Jacob Basilotto,
who needs a heart transplant
(ALL are welcome... details below)
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 Dear Friends, "Let it go, let it go!I can't hold back any more.Let it go, let it go!Turn away and slam the door.I don't care what they're going to say.Let the storm rage on...."That monster hit song from Disney's Frozen has been memorized by a whole generation of young girls, inspired by Princess Elsa's pluck and determination. Sometimes, in life, there are things we need to let go of. It's easy to say, but hard to do. Troubles and concerns weigh heavily on our minds. The tug of the past is all too strong. The Apostle Paul writes to the Philippians that he has learned to "regard everything as loss" for the sake of Jesus Christ. The power of his personal relationship with the living Lord has taken priority in his life. Everything else he once valued so highly has become trash to be discarded. Jesus Christ offers us a new beginning - however often we may need to hear that, and take it to heart. Yes, we can forget what lies behind. We strain forward to the prize that awaits us at the end of the race: the end that is also the beginning. This Sunday in the Sacrament of Baptism, we celebrate a new beginning for one of the youngest members of our family in faith: and we claim the good news of God's love that is ours as well!
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Sunday, March 13, 2016
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Dr. Wilton preaching: "LET IT GO!"
10:00 a.m. - Worship/Baptism/ Choral Bells
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in Worship
11:15 a.m. - Nominating Committee
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Lillian Leigh Rzeplinski
daughter of
John and Courtney Rzeplinski
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Dear Congregation,
 This Sunday my daughter Lillian will be baptized. It is such a special event for myself and John to share with you all. I want to take a moment to thank all of you for all of your prayers and concerns and gifts that you have given my family both during my pregnancy and after her birth. She truly is my miracle baby and I feel blessed that I get to share her with you all. Thank you for your never ending kindness. It helped me tremendously throughout my pregnancy.
God bless, Courtney
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"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6
The Prayer Person for the week of March 13 is Joan Reitmeyer. Let us be prayerfully aware of Joan, as well as all our members and friends.
Prayer Concerns: Virginia Adamo; Don Williams; Kathy Blaunt; Ron Claeys; Jackie and Dick Ellicks; Sharon Hock; Mary McSweeney; Diane Sikora.
Long term concerns: Jacob Basilotto; Cliff Brendler; Elsie Cason; Trey Childers; George Griffiths (Cousin of Heidi Steinert); Maryanne Leach; Ethel Lemke (mother-in-law of Scott Smith); Margie McGhee; Jim Millar; Gerda Mooney; Edith Pula; Gemma Roberts; Les Thornton; Stan Thornton; Bill Williams; those struggling with addictions and mental illness.
Military: Morgan Daniels; Michael Fahey III; Matthew Warren; all those in our nation's service.
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NOMINATING COMMITTEE TO MEET THIS MORNING - Following the service on Sunday, the Nominating Committee will be having a meeting in the back of the Sanctuary.
 CONFIRMATION CLASS NEWS - Our organizational meeting for the Confirmation Class will take place next Sunday, March 20, 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 for 6 Sundays, beginning April 3, at 11:15 a.m. Once again Pastor Wilton and Ruling Elder Dale Leasure will be the leaders. Confirmation class participants will be welcomed into membership on the Day of Pentecost, May 15th.
 EASTER DISTRIBUTION AT ST. GREGORY'S PANTRY The pantry is now collecting filled Easter baskets until March 20 for their Easter Distribution on March 22. Baskets may be filled with candy, games, books or any age-appropriate items for children ages 1-15. It is also helpful to attach a label stating the age and gender of the child receiving the basket. Baskets can be received at the pantry during their hours of 10:00 a.m to noon, Monday thru Friday
The pantry is also in need of volunteers on the day of distribution, March 22. Adults are needed for as much time as possible for distribution of food to clients from 8:45 a.m to 2:00 pm. Any amount of time you can give is appreciated.
ATTENTION DOVE CHOIR MEMBERS - As a reminder there is no rehearsal this week. The Doves will be singing with the Chancel Choir on Palm Sunday, March 20.
THESE DAYS - Daily devotional booklet for April, May and June is now available in the Narthex. Cost is $3 each.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES At Camp Johnsonburg - Do you think you could be the next great J-burg counselor? We hire individuals from all walks of life, however we do require all full time counselors to be 18 years of age at the start of the summer, and to have completed one year of university or comparable experience. For more information visit www.campjburg.org/about/employment/
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 A Prayer A Day During Lent
A fifth week of prayers for Lent can be found as a bulletin insert or can be downloaded.
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Mark Your Calendar: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Services
 This year we are doing something different for our Holy Week services. The Maundy Thursday service will be held in the CE annex on March 24. We will begin with a family-style served supper reminding us this was the last night Jesus had with his disciples, when they shared a meal together. The supper will be at 7:00 pm followed by worship at 7:30 p.m. The worship service that evening will include both foot/hand washing (for those who wish to participate) and communion. There is no pressure to participate in the handwashing/footwashing. It will be a meaningful service regardless of what you choose to do.
 On March 25, Good Friday, we will share in a Service of Shadows beginning at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary. This is a choral Tenebrae meditation on the passion and is a service of choral anthems and readings from scripture. Candles will be extinguished and the sanctuary will be increasingly darkened throughout the service, ending in total darkness reminding us of the darkness of the world when Jesus died.
We invite you to join us for both these special services during Holy Week.
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 Flowers for Easter
We are now taking orders for Easter Flowers. Flowers are again $15 each. Please place the order form into the offering plates or send it into the office.
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 Calling All Church Members
Have you ever wondered how to make those beautiful palm crosses you get every year? This year come learn how to tie them with the youth connection kids.
We will be tying them this Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 8:15 p.m.all skill levels and all ages are welcome to join.
We hope to see you there!
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Dr. Wilton's New Book
 Pastor Carl's new book, Principles of Presbyterian Polity, has just been published by Westminster/John Knox Press! Autographed copies may be purchased from the church office for a discounted price of $15.
The word "polity" means government - so, Presbyterian polity is Presbyterian church government.
From the publisher's description:
"Pastors, church leaders, and students of Presbyterian polity will find this a useful guide to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) governance based on foundational principles. Recent changes in the PC(USA) Constitution have meant fewer rules and more flexibility in governance, making it imperative that leaders understand the historical principles that guide the church. Wilton explains the Book of Order's historic principles of church order in accessible language, providing readers with a lively appreciation of the revolutionary principles that guided the Presbyterian experiment in the New World and are still the beating heart of church life today. Principles of Presbyterian Polity is written from the conviction that it is not enough merely to know the "what" of polity; a deep, intuitive understanding of the "why" is just as vital. Church leaders will come away with a greater understanding of the Book of Order and have confidence using it in practical situations."
You can read excerpts from the book on the Amazon.com website.)
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Hello everyone, I hope you have all been enjoying this glorious weather!
Last week in Sunday School, we talked about the ways Jesus was comforted while he was forced to carrying his cross to the site where he would be crucified. We first talked about Mary, whom Jesus saw as he walked. We all agreed our parents are huge sources of comfort in rough times. We also talked about the woman who wiped the blood and sweat from his face. We agreed that even strangers can provide a source of comfort, and that it is a nice thing to know someone that we don't even know is looking out for us. Finally we talked about Simon, who helped Jesus carry his cross. We talked about how our friends can help carry us through tough times in school and else where, and how much better it feels knowing someone will stick by you, even when everyone else is turning against us. We decided to make a Sunday School "Comforter." Each of the students designed panels illustrating things that brought comfort to them. I put them together to look like a quilt, to remind us of all the ways we are blessed by things that bring us comfort and make us feel better. Feel free to stop on over and check it out! This week, we will be talking about Jesus being nailed to the cross, and what that means for us as Christians. Hope to see you all on Sunday! Peace and Blessings
Tricia Stoffers
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Easter Egg Hunt in Just 2 Weeks!
Come join us on Easter Sunday after Sunday School for our annual PPPC Easter Egg Hunt! There will be two egg hunts, one for our Pre-K and Kindergarten friends and then another for 1st-5th graders.
 The fun starts at 10:15!
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This Week at Point Beach Prep
 Two thumbs up for letter T! Our Pre-K class met Mr. T and his tiger and our Nursery class met our puppet "T the Turtle". Our sign language word was "thank you". The Pre-K sight word was "to". Some of our favorites stories this week were The Teeny Tiny Woman and a book on tape called Brontosaurus Came to Tea. A few of our activities included toothbrush painting, tree art, and making turtle arts and crafts. We built towers, played with trucks and trains, dressed up in tutus, and even got to meet Ms. Jess's pet turtle! We watched him swim and learned about his favorite foods to eat.
During Show and Tell we saw a trophy, Tinkerbell, trains, teapots, a T-rex, treasures, and much more! For music we sang trains songs and a class favorite- "The Toody-Ta" Song. For this song you must sing with your thumbs up, bottoms out, eyes closed, tongue out, and turn around! It is quite silly, I assure you!
We also enjoyed another visit from the Point Pleasant Beach Children's Librarian, who came in and read stories and sang songs. This week she had everyone pretending to be seeds and growing into beautiful flowers.
We ended the week with the Point Pleasant Beach High School Child Development Class coming to our school. We are excited for this unique opportunity to coordinate with our local community to enrich the students' school experiences. What a terrific week!
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Attention Business Owners and Professionals
 "Shore Delights of Jersey," Presbyterian Women's new cookbook, will be having a business card directory as part of their book.
Space is now available for $25 per card. This high quality cookbook will be sold throughout the Shore area. You will not want to miss out on this great opportunity to be a part of this up and coming great cookbook.
Business cards and checks made payable to "Presbyterian Women" can be dropped off in the office or given to Karen Norby by March 31.
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 This year PW held a cookie/pie sale in which we donated a total of $600 to The Presbyterian Mission Agency for half a well for clean water for drinking, bathing and irrigation to an entire community.
At this time the Agency is awarding the money to a Ghanaian non-profit organization for well construction. $487.62 was the cookie/pie profit, $100 was given in memory of Vincent DeMartino (given by Jean) and PW gave the rest to equal $600.
For ideas to make next year's sale even better please reach out to Heidi Steinert at pnhsteinert@yahoo.com. Thank you!
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Groups Scheduled for our Volunteer Village in 2016
March 27-April 2 - Summerville Church, Rochester NY
April 10-14 - Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church, Warminster, PA
April 17-April 23 - Webster Presbyterian, Webster, NY
June 19-25 - Trinity United Presbyterian Church, Modesto, CA
August 21-27 - Lend A Hand, Carlisle, PA
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Troop 6 Became Organ Donors
On Wednesday Troop 6 members signed up
to become organ donors.
"A New Heart For Jacob"
pasta dinner and gift auction will take place
this Saturday in the CE Annex
to benefit 15 year old, Jacob Basilotto
who is in need of a heart transplant.
If you are unable to attend and would like to make a donation,
checks can be made out and mailed to
P.O. Box 4344, Brick, NJ 08723.
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One Great Hour of Sharing March 20
Following the tsunami that devastated much of southern Asia in December 2004, Pak Yadi of Indonesia, who lost his entire family in the disaster, received a $400 seed grant from One Great Hour of Sharing partners. Documentary filmmaker David Barnhart followed him as he rebuilt his life and community.
Your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing make a real difference in the lives of their recipients. Please give generously.
The One Great Hour of Sharing special offering will be received next Sunday - Palm Sunday - March 20th.
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IHN Testimony
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| | IHN Day Center in Toms River |
Our church is one of twelve churches who are a participating host congregation for teh Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean County. Many of you help in different ways. This letter was from a guest and was published in the Winter Beacon of Hope Newsletter. You can find the latest IHN news on Facebook, "Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean County, Inc.," or visit their website to learn more.
My name is Nicole, and I stayed in Interfaith with my fiancee Aaron and our three children Tyler, Brandon and Payton from August to December. I would like to start by sharing my experience with this wonderful organization. When I first entered Interfaith, I was scared and could remember crying myself to sleep the first night. However, as time went on, I felt so comforted by he volunteers and churches. Between the magic shows, snow storms, power outages, to Aaron cleaning every church we stayed at, and everything in between, each experience was a blessing. Interfaith was able to help pick my family up while we were at our worst (literally). They helped by turning a horrible situation into a caring step up for our family.
While in the Interfaith program I maintained my education in college for my CADC (Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor) and bachelor's degree. I was able to graduate while in the program and start an internship. I am now working full time, as a case manager at Ocean Mental Health Project Recovery (Dealing with Co-Occurring Disorders) and Project Anchor (which is only Mental Illness). I have been blessed with this job. I am now the person who can help other people the way many of the staff and volunteers through Interfaith have helped me. I am happy once again and doing well in my life. My children have started a new school district and love it. Tyler and Brandon are doing great in school and Payton started Kindergarten this year. And Aaron's mobile mechanic business is doing very well. My family would not have gotten so far without the help from these amazing people at Interfaith. They all have been a blessing in our lives, and helped us through our lowest point. We can never thank you enough!
We were able to make it through this tough struggle and are putting our lives back together. Your organization is a blessing. Thank you so much to everyone involved, you not only helped believe in me while I was lost, but you put faith back into our hearts. You are all amazing people, who have forever changed our lives and I will forever be grateful for the help you have given myself and my family.
With all my love,
Nicole
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CHURCH CALENDAR - The latest edition of the church calendar is available online, on the church's website. 
Sunday, March 13
10:00 a.m. - Worship/Baptism/Choral Bells
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in Worship
11:15 a.m. - Nominating Committee
11:00 a.m. - Bread and Broth Lenten Bible Study, Chittick Lounge
11:30 a.m. - EliSabeth Verdella Circle, Fellowship Room
6:15 p.m Choral Bells
6:30 p.m. - Wolf Den
Tuesday, March 15
7:00 p.m. - Committee Meetings
8:00 p.m. - Session Meeting
Wednesday, March 16
9:00 a.m. - Women's Breakfast at the Rainbow Diner
5:00 p.m. - Dove Choir, Sanctuary
6:30 p.m. - Youth Connection
7:00 p.m. - Bear Den
7:30 p.m. - Troop 6
Thursday, March 17
8:00 a.m. - Men's Breakfast at US Subs
7:30 p.m. - Chancel Choir Rehearsal
7:30 p.m. - Tiger Den
8:00 p.m. - Webelos Den
Friday, March 18
6:00 p.m. - Troop 6 Pack Night
Saturday, March 19
Sunday, March 20 10:00 a.m. - Palm Sunday Worship with One Great Hour of Sharing/Dove and Chancel Choirs 10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in Worship 11:15 a.m. - Parent Confirmation Meeting
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BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS
Mar 13
Mar 14
Mar 15 Patrick Allgor, Brenden Culos
Mar 16 Maggie McGuire, Marilyn Powell
Mar 17 Kerri Hurley, Meghan Murat, Kellen O'Neill, Megan Schwenke
Mar 18 Jean Campbell, Wendy Childers
Mar 19 Jamie Budrick, Anthony Maimone, Stanley Thornton
Mar 20 Dana Freeman, Stephanie Smith, Alexa Wright
Mar 21 Carole Adamo, Christina Hudson, Brian McCrossan, Shane Smith
Mar 22
Mar 23 Kris Bongiovi, Cynthia Popiel
Mar 24 Nancy Smith
Mar 25 Kathryn Ebner, Christopher Hank
Mar26 Carl Lappke, Weston Johnson
Mar 27 Addison Reinwald, Brian Satterlee
Mar 28 Brittany Almazan; Karen Dunham Luicci
Mar 29 Susan Hess
Mar 30 Kenneth King, Jordan Muraglia, Alissa Pazienza
Mar 31 Gail Birdsong, Elizabeth McGuire, Kim Schaefer
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Sunday, March 20 - Palm Sunday
One Great Hour of Sharing Offering Received
Thursday, March 24, 2016 6:30 pm - Maundy Thursday supper
7:30 pm - Maundy Thursday worship
Friday, March 25, 2016 7:30 pm - Good Friday Tenebrae service
Sunday, March 27 - Easter 6:00 a.m. - Sunrise Service
9:00 and 11:00 a.m - Easter Worship
Friday, April 8
4:00 p.m. - PPPC Paint Party Fundraiser, CE Annex
Saturday, April 23
8:00 to 12:00 p.m. - PW Clothing Drive
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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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