Monday in Ministry

March 8, 2010                                                                                    Volume 6 Issue 10

www.presbynewbrunswick.org

 

Please Pray For…

…South Africa (Mission Yearbook for Prayer).

…prayer concerns of Covenant Church: (from an email) Exciting times! Challenging times! for Covenant Presbyterian Church. Gracious God, we give great thanks for what has been, for what will be, and especially for these days, the here and now. We have such a large church building, O God you already know, located on the very edge of Trenton.  You have led us to envision boldly and so we did ― at a faith-filled church retreat in Johnsonburg in February.  Now we continue to dream of a diverse congregation that reflects our neighborhood, O God of change. So our Evangelism Commission is strong and reaches out street by street. So we share with Beloved Community ― and with our Caribbean neighbors for fellowship and dominoes ― and to those who love praise music or dance or a High Irish Tea. Our roots are strong, O Lord.  Help us to bear fruit in season and to discern which way to go in the storms. Our praises go up to you, O Lord.  May your blessings continue to shower down.  Amen.

 

Writing for Revelation

You are invited to attend the 3-week Writing for Revelation workshop that will meet on Sunday afternoons from 2-4 on April 11, 18 and 25 at camp Johnsonburg.  A light meal is included.  The workshop will be conducted by Reverend Sherry Karasik, a pastor, truck stop chaplain, workshop leader, and poet.  The registration deadline is March 20 – space is limited to 25 participants.  The cost is $125 per person ($25 due at time of registration).  Please make checks payable to Sherry Karasick.  For a registration form, please go to our website at www.presbynewbrunswick.org and click on Useful Documents.

NJ Hunger Action Advocacy

 

 Ecumenical Advocacy Days, March 19-22, 2010

 

Three great reasons to consider attending Ecumenical Advocacy Days this year!

 

1.  Sister Helen Prajean is one of the keynote speakers.

2.  There is scholarship help available to attend through the Presbytery of New Brunswick.

3.  We will join with others in solidarity on the issue of immigration reform on Sunday, March 21 on the National Mall in DC.  Come make your voice heard.

 

For more information go to: http://advocacydays.org or contact Marcia at mmackillop@presbynewbrunswick.org.

 

REVIVE! 2010

www.revivejustice.org

 

JUNE 11-13, 2010 at Trinity Cathedral in Trenton.

 

Revive is a gathering and celebration for followers of Jesus, taking place over the course of one weekend this June. The events begin on Friday evening and end with a celebration on Sunday afternoon. The Revive weekend will be a time for people who are tired of fighting the culture war, of letting our differences - theology, class, race, denomination - get in the way of our yearning to be a beloved community marked by unity, not uniformity. It’s a new conversation about being passionate for both Jesus and justice, and what it means to be a follower of Jesus engaged in the world with the prophets’ cry for justice.

 

Become a "friend" of Revive Justice on Facebook! And check out the REVIVE! 2010 page on the Presbytery website.

 

PW of Witherspoon Street Church’s Palm Sunday Tea

The Presbyterian Women’s Association of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church will be sponsoring their Annual Palm Sunday Tea at the Carl A. Fields Center, Princeton University, 58 Prospect Street, Princeton NJ on Sunday, March 26 from 2:00 - 5:00 PM. The program will feature Barbara King, jazz vocalist and Sharon Levy presenting "Taking Tea in Style: Tea Tasting and Tea Talk.” The wearing of "Sunday Hats” is optional, but is encouraged to add a bit of flavor to the experience.

This year we will be honoring Gladys Taylor, beloved member of WSPC, recently deceased; and in her memory we are accepting donations for the Robeson House Fund of WSPC. Please make checks payable to WSPC-PW. It promises to be an exciting – fun – special - afternoon.  Please join us!

"Tea Time” Donations: $15.00      Contact Maria Potts, 609-924-2010 or  wspw112@yahoo.com

Celebrate the Gifts of Women

 

Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Women will celebrate the gifts of women with a guest speaker from Louisville, KY. The Reverend Doctor Rhashell Hunter, Director of Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries of the General Assembly Council PCUSA will speak at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church in Princeton on Sunday, March 14, 2010. The service is 10 AM.  Please join us in fellowship hall after the service for Meet and Greet.

 

A "DON’T MISS” Pre-Presbytery Event

The Bound Brook Church is conducting a great Pre-Presbytery event before our March Presbytery meeting at the Lawrenceville Church.  The event will begin at 4:30PM. 

We will screen the film "Kepulahin” with David Barnhart, the Atlanta based filmmaker who made this film for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The award winning film "Kepulahin” offers the inspiring story of 4 people recovering from the devastation of the 2005 tsunami that killed 250,000 people.     David follows the lives of 4 people over a period of four years as they rebuild themselves and their communities.  Come, be inspired and blessed.  We will learn about faith based filmmaking as well as the challenges of relief and development.  All this will help us confront the crisis of Haiti. The trailer can be viewed at www.thetsunamifilm.com.

Notice:   Overtures to come before the Presbytery Meeting, March 9, 2010

At the Presbytery meeting on March 9, 2010, members of the New Brunswick Presbytery will be asked to vote to concur with two overtures to the General Assembly coming from other Presbyteries.

 

One overture, coming from the Boston Presbytery, directs the Board of Pensions to extend benefits to same-gender spouses and domestic partners of all members of its Benefits Plans and Programs.

 

The other overture, passed by Newark and San Francisco Presbyteries, instructs the Presbyterian Foundation and the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to begin the process of disinvestment from Caterpillar, Inc. and to not reinvest in this corporation unless the Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is fully satisfied that Caterpillar, Inc. no longer engages in the selling of equipment to Israel that is used to build illegal Israeli settlements, construct walls that illegally encroach upon Palestinian lands cutting Palestinians off from their own property and natural resources, destroy Palestinian life and property, and otherwise continue to support the occupation of Palestinian territories.

 

These overtures have been recommended to the presbytery for concurrence by the Social Witness Committee.  They will come before the body on Tuesday, 9 March 2010 for discussion and action.  The texts of the overtures can be found on the presbytery website in the section "Presbytery Meeting Documents.”

 

Maundy Thursday – Thursday, April 1st (no fooling!) @ Ewing Church

5:45 pm Seder Dinner; 7:00 pm Service of Shadows

Every year, since we can’t remember when, one of our congregation’s favorite Holy Week events has been the Seder Dinner at Ewing Church.  We gather for a roast lamb dinner and ask the questions and hear the answers of the traditional Seder meal – remembering our roots in the Jewish tradition – our Exile in Egypt and how God brought us out with a mighty hand.

Following the Seder is the Service of Shadows.  In fact, the 4th drink from the Cup of Blessing is taken together as the Cup of Remembrance, as we celebrate Communion during the Service Shadows.  Plan to stay after the Seder to hear the readings that tell of the final days of the life of Jesus, and of his death and burial.  Candles are extinguished throughout the service, and lights are dimmed until in darkness, the service ends with the burial of Christ candle, the sound of a lone cello in the darkness and then the silence of despair …that will prepare us for Easter joy!

Seder Dinner: 5:45 pm; $10 per adult, $5 children (10 and under), $25 per family. For further information, please call Ewing Church at 609/882-3673.

 

Sex, Society and the Church

The Kristina White Program for Women in Ministry is holding a conference on the topic "Sex, Society and the Church.” It will be held at the Seminary's New Brunswick Campus on Saturday, March 13th from 9:30am to 3pm. The Rev. Dr. Beth Tanner, NBTS Associate Professor of Old Testament, will be the Keynote Speaker. A $10 registration fee will include a continental breakfast and lunch. The workshops are:

*Sexual abuse as a spiritual wound

*Sexual double standards

*Talking sex in the church

 

A limited child program will be provided on a first come first serve basis. Please contact Elizabeth Vaneekhoven, coordinator of the The Kristina White Program for Women in Ministry at evaneekoven@nbts.edu or 743-247-5241 x 154.

 

A Lenten Retreat Day at Johnsonburg

Tuesday, March 9 from 9AM to 4PM

 

What is enough?  How do we seek to lead our lives with intention? Join us as Hunger Action Enablers Phyllis Zoon and Marcia MacKillop lead us in conversation and reflection time for our Lenten journey.  Our day together will begin with a simple snack and fellowship between 9:00 and 9:30.  The time will include worship, lunch, and group reflection and individual retreat times throughout the day

Cost: $25 for lunch and program.

Extend your stay with us by arriving Monday and/or staying over on Tuesday.  The additional cost for the overnight is $28 per night (Bring your own meals). Child care is available ($15 extra) if you call ahead. To register, please call 908-852-2349 or register online at www.campjburg.org.

 

Upcoming

 

Tuesday, March 9 – Stated Meeting of Presbytery – Lawrenceville Church. 4:30PM – Pre-Presbytery by Bound Brook Church; Dinner at 5:45PM, meeting at 6:45PM.

 

Thursday, March 11 – Urban Mission Cabinet meeting – 7-9PM at Westminster Church.

 

Saturday, March 13 - Immigration Task Force meeting at 10AM at the Main Street Café in Kingston.  Anyone interested is welcome to join us.

 

Thursday, March 18 – Social Witness Committee meeting – 6:30PM at Kingston Church.

 

Thursday, April 1 – Evangelism and Church Development Committee meeting – 7:30PM at the Kingston Church.