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Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
| Weekly News For
Sunday, June 12, 2016 | |
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 Dear Friends, All's fair in love and war, they say. To that old saying, a great many people would like to add: "And in business!" It's a jungle out there, you know. Everyone's trying to eat your lunch. If you want to make it in the marketplace, you'd better be ready to take a few hard knocks, then turn around and give it right back! It's just the way the world is. Or is it? True, it may be the way the world is right now, but that's not the way God intends it to be. The Lord expects better of us, who follow Christ. This Sunday, we'll look at a disturbing tale from the book of 1 Kings. Ahab, the King, has been drooling over a fertile vineyard owned by his neighbor, Naboth. The King wants that field in the worst way - truly, the worst way - but Naboth won't sell. Eventually, the conniving Queen Jezebel devises a way to frame Naboth, charging him with treason. The hapless farmer is stoned to death by an angry mob, and King Ahab finally gets his vineyard. But the prophet Elijah doesn't let the scheming royals get away with it. He declares the Lord's judgment on Ahab and Jezebel. Some might say of the Queen's action, "It's only business." But it's about more than that. It's about people. And when we're dealing with people made in God's image, people God loves, we're meant to be concerned with more than just the bottom line.
To God, ethics matters. Everywhere. Even in the business world.
Join us in worship, as we unpack this colorful - and challenging - tale!
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Sunday, June 12, 2016
10:00 a.m. - Worship/Healing Prayers/Special Music
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in Worship
11:30 a.m - New Officer Training
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Healing Prayers
 Following the service on Sunday, there will be a time of healing prayer at the front of the Sanctuary. Please come forward if you would like to offer or receive prayers for healing. |
The final officer training for both deacons and ruling elders takes place this Sunday from 11:30 am till 1:00 pm, in the Fellowship Room. Ordination is scheduled for June 26, 2016 at the 10:00 a.m. service.
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 LAST CALL - Photo Directory Photos to be Taken this Sunday in the Chittick Lounge
We will be taking pictures in the Chittick Lounge following the service. This will be your last opportunity to have your picture taken by Greg Hall. In order for our directory to be a success we are looking for everyone's participation. As a reminder, photos can also be emailed to pppcdirectory@gmail.com. Files must be in jpg format.
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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 June 12 is Evelyn Hazard. Let us be prayerfully aware of Evelyn, as well as all our members and friends.
Prayer Concerns: The family of Andrew Colombo (neighbor of Jacque Thornton); Katie Crain (Point Beach Prep family); Dane (Linda Lee Smith's grandson); Matt Freeman; Sue Hankins, Keith Neverisan (friend of the Steinerts); Londa Scarpone; Carol Tesch (Les Thornton's niece); Bill Williams; Sherri Williams.
Long term concerns: Jacob Basilotto; Cliff Brendler; Elsie Cason; Trey Childers; Gayle Ferry; George Griffiths (Cousin of Heidi Steinert); Maryanne Leach; Ethel Lemke (mother-in-law of Scott Smith); Margie McGhee; Jim Millar; Gerda Mooney; Edith Pula;Craig Recca (family of Heidi Steinert); Bob Ryan (Nancy Cook's brother); Mary Steinert; Les Thornton; Stan Thornton; Karen Winter; 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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COFFEE HOUR - Please join us for coffee and fellowship in the Chittick Lounge between services this Sunday.
"HAIL AND FAREWELL" OFFICERS RECEPTION THIS WEEK - Current members of the Session and the Board of Deacons, along with newly-elected Elders and Deacons, are invited to join us for a coffee and dessert reception on Tuesday evening, June 14 (one week earlier than normal) from 7:00-8:00 p.m, at the Fellowship Room. There will be no Committee Meetings this week. The Session Meeting will begin at 8:00 p.m. We will be thanking those going off the boards for their service and welcoming those who are coming on. Please RSVP to the Church office.
 CLASS OF 2016 - 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.
BLUE CLAWS GAME - We have sold over 25 tickets to the Blue Claws Night Out on Friday June 17, 2016. Tickets will be $10 for adults, $8 for children 10 and under. There will be fireworks after the game. To purchase tickets or more information please speak with Dee D'Amore at 732-552-9861 or call the church office.
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What is the Generosity Team?
The team is a small group that reports to the Session. Our goal is to cultivate the most generous congregation we can be year-round. We started with an informational snapshot of who we are: membership characteristics, giving patterns, attendance, and physical use of our buildings. At our meetings, we look broadly and then focus on specific actions we can take to strengthen the ministry of PPPC as we reach out together to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, enhance the spiritual growth, and strive to do God's work in the world.
We've asked a number of questions:
 Do we all know clearly what the mission of our church is? Could each church member explain that mission in a few simple sentences to a friend or acquaintance? How do we change lives here? Do members of our community at large know who we are and what we stand for? We plan to host an event in the fall, a World Café, where together we will have the opportunity to develop a clear mission for the future.
Is our church changing to keep up with the times? How can we use social media  (e.g. Facebook) and email to communicate our mission effectively and build new avenues for fellowship/outreach? We listen to individuals who are experienced in these areas in preparation to improve our social media presence.
 We all have resources. We know we must glorify God in the way we use everything we have and that a more faithful church is a more giving church. What exactly is our understanding of giving as part of our spiritual life and our discipleship? Do we have a healthy mindset about money and giving? Can we speak about giving at PPPC without embarrassment year-round? Can we inspire one another with our own personal testimonies during worship? Last month we heard Pat Shoppell explain why she gives during a new part of the service we named "A Generous Thought." Such testimony requires a willingness to be vulnerable and courage to be open with fellow members of our congregation. This Sunday Jim McGuire will offer his testimony. More will follow. Do we give generously to support God's work through PPPC? Then, do we  express gratitude to one another for yearly financial pledges, contributions, and efforts? At this halfway point in the year, Session and Generosity Team members wrote thank you notes to members for their financial pledges of support for our church's ministry. Expect more expressions of thanks in the future.
How do we more deeply engage the people we serve? What about our members who do not attend? How can members, at all age levels, become more involved with congregational life?
What are the specific characteristics of our surrounding community? What are the needs of this population? How do we most effectively use our church buildings as a mission base for the community? We know that incredible efforts were made in ministering to our community after Sandy. What's next? 
How do we continuously strive for excellence in all areas of church life?
Generosity Team members (Jim McGuire, Christina Parrott, Jason Paulus, Frank Perkowski, Donna Sellmann, and Pat Shoppell) are excited to begin to address these questions which concern everyone in our congregation. We look forward to helpful, ongoing conversations as we progress. As you can see, it's a process that will take some time. Possibilities seem endless. We have reached out to individuals for help and, no doubt, we will seek the help and advice of many others. We appreciate your prayers for guidance and energy!
With joy,
Frank Perkowski (for the Generosity Team) |
 Cooks Needed
St. Mary's By the Sea Episcopal Church, our across the street neighbor, needs our help. They are in need of cooks to take over some of the Thursday night cooking responsibilities for Mary's Table. Mary's Table is the community dinner served each week which is open to the entire community. It grew out of the feeding of people during Hurricane Sandy.
The need is for people from PPPC to form a team or teams to take over one Thursday night each month. The team would be responsible for planning the meal, shopping and of course, cooking the meal. The meals can be as simple or as fancy as the team wants. Although the number of guests served varies, it runs about 90 people.
People from St. Mary's would be responsible for setting up the tables and keeping the front of the house clean. There would also be someone to help with clean-up in the kitchen. There would be people from St. Mary's who would help to get new volunteers trained as to how things work in their kitchen.
This would be a wonderful opportunity for PPPC to be involved in a joint ministry with St. Mary's. Now that cooking for our Volunteer Village is winding down, perhaps some of our cooks from existing cooking teams would like to be involved in this new-to-us ministry. It would be great If we could get enough volunteers so that we could have teams cook only every few months or so.
Please let Linda Chase know if you would be willing to be involved with cooking for Mary's Table or have questions about this ministry.
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PW Cookbook For Sale
The vision of "Shore Delights of Jersey" has become a reality due to the many women and men of the congregation who submitted their favorite recipes, typed, proofread, offered their creative suggestions and gave of their talents. Merchants and business sponsors thank you for your support. Please support the sale of the book by spreading the word to your friends. The proceeds of "Shore Delights of Jersey" will help with the staffing of our own nursery and missions of the Presbyterian Women.
The cookbooks are $10 each and can be purchased on Sundays in the Narthex. Copies can also be purchased in the office. Look for the cookbook a various merchants around town.
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Sunday School News
I can not believe it!!! This week is the last day of Sunday School before summer break. To say this year has flown by would be an understatement.
 Last week, we finished up The Prince of Egypt. From the movie, we learned about how Moses' mother sent him down the river in hopes of saving his life. Then we learned about how Moses was found by Pharaoh's daughter who decided to keep him and raise him in the palace. Moses later found out his true heritage and went back to his Hebrew people. We learned about when God spoke to Moses through the burning bush. We learned about how Moses tried to reason with his brother the pharaoh, Rameses, and how Moses tried to prove he was telling the truth by turning his staff into a snake. When Rameses' magicians were able to replicate this, Moses unleashed the 9 Plagues on Egypt. Once he freed the Hebrew slaves we witnessed the climactic end where Moses and the Hebrews were fleeing from the Egyptian Army and Moses parted the Red Sea for the Hebrews and then drowned the army after the Hebrews passed through. The very end of the movie shows Moses on Mt Sinai, delivering the Ten Commandments. Fortunately, we already learned about them a few weeks ago, so we knew what was happening even though he wasn't actually reading them to us. This was such a fantastic movie, and such an incredible story of the life of one man!
 This week, what better way to end a great year than with a party? A few parents have asked if they could bring treats for the party. Treats are more than welcome (and greatly appreciated), but please make sure they are nut free as we have some students with nut allergies. Looking forward to ending our year in such a fun way.
Hope to see you all this weekend!
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This Week at Point Beach Prep
It is color week!
Each day we all wore the same color. It was neat to see all the variations of color from light to dark.
We had our last visit of the school year from the Point Pleasant Beach Children's Librarian. She always brings interesting books and we sing fun songs. On Wednesday, we enjoyed a visit from Pastor Linda. She brought in a book that we sang the words to and then she taught us a Christian Nursery song. Thank you to our visitors!
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Groups Scheduled for our Volunteer Village in 2016
Saturday, June 18 Drayton Ave Presbyterian Church, Ferndale MI Sunday, August 21 - Lend A Hand Thursday October 6 - Lend A Hand Sunday, October 23 - Lend A Hand
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The Chancel Choir Rehearsing for the
Chancel Choir Recognition
which will be NEXT Sunday June 19, 2016
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CHURCH CALENDAR - The latest edition of the church calendar is available online, on the church's website. 
Sunday, June 12
10:00 a.m. - Worship/Healing Prayers/Special Music
10:00 a.m. - Sunday School begins in Worship
11:30 a.m - New Officer Training
2:00 p.m. - Keys to Success Piano Recital
Monday, June 13
10:30 a.m. - Pray, Grow, Eat Bible Study, Chittick Lounge
11:30 a.m. - EliSabeth Verdella Circle
Tuesday, June 14
10:00 a.m. - Eye Openers, Chittick Lounge
4:30 p.m. - Daisy Troop 175, Fellowship Room
5:30 p.m. - Lydia Circle Picnic at the home of Carol Eckenfelder (please note the time change)
7:00 p.m. - Hail and Farewell Reception, Fellowship Room
(No Committee Meetings this Week)
8:00 p.m. - Session Meeting
Wednesday, June 15
9:00 a.m. - Women's Breakfast at the Rainbow Diner
10:00 a.m. - Point Beach Prep Graduation
6:00 p.m. - Youth Connection
7:00 p.m. - Bear Den
7:30 p.m. - Troop 6
Thursday, June 16
8:00 a.m. - Men's Breakfast at US Subs
7:30 p.m. - Chancel Choir
7:30 p.m. - Tiger Den
8:00 p.m. - Webelos Den
Friday, June 17
Saturday, June 18
Sunday, June 19 - Father's Day 10:00 a.m. - Worship/Chancel Choir Recognition |
BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS
June 12 Luke Braaten, Danielle Luicci, Brian Purtell, Benjamin Wilton
June 13 William Birdsong
June 14 Cecilia Collins, Jason Parrott
June 15
June 16 Cameron Durante
June 17
June 18
June 19
June 20 Brian Cottrell, Glen Culos, Meggie Jinks, James McKay, Trudy Pedersen, Brooke Pennypacker, Jack Satterlee, Donna Wittmann
June 21 Nicholas Jalowski, Jake Norby, Lacey Rogers
June 22 Julianna Colantuoni, Michael Colantuoni, Vincent Colantuoni, Thurston Cooper, Mary McSweeney, Andrea Purtell, Eva Welch
June 23 Kathleen Bixby, Barbara Disbrow, Kendall Pearce, Alexandra Stierli
June 24 Joan Danziger, Jack Hudnut, Lacie Moran, Christie Rampone
June 25 Loren Donley, Gayle Ferry
June 26 Bryan Smith
June 27 Gage Bongiovi, Caitlyn Cook
June 28 Jaclyn Johnson, Ethan Landry, Aidian McGuire
June 29
June 30
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Sunday, June 19, 2016
10:00 a.m. - Chancel Choir Recognition
Sunday, June 26, 2016
10:00 a.m. - Ordination/Installation of Ruling Elders & Deacons
July 18, 20, 22, 2016 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Crocodile Dock Vacation Bible School
July 24-31, 2016 Interfaith Hospitality Network
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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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