Elders' Responsibilities
Clerk of Session: Sandy Seymour
Christian Education: Karen Leski, Ruud Zijdel
Congregational Life: Kelly Roshto
Memorial; Barbara Grillo
Personnel: Carol Skidmore
Property: Robert Kielblock, Wanda Kielblock
Worship: Litty Hado
Mission: Doris Mertz
Bazaar: Carol Skidmore, Barbara Grillo
Community Relations: Litty Hado
Stewardship and Finance: Carol Skidmore, Wanda Kielblock
Village to Village
Lori Kroll, Director of Village to Village, will be speaking in worship on Sunday, March 3. She will be giving an update on V2V's ministry. In addition, she will be bringing her adopted son, James, who was the catalyst for this ministry and who is the "on the ground" director in the program in Uganda. Worship will be followed by a special coffee hour where we can greet Lori and James and hear more about their excellent work.
We continue to support the mission of the Village 2 Village project, a Vermont-based initiative, that provides aid in the form of food, medicine, clothing, school supplies, etc., for orphaned children in a village in Uganda. Please click on the Village2Village link on the menu page to learn more about the project and how you can help.
We can sponsor a child in the program by contributing $30 per month which pays for food, medical care, school materials and support from a social worker. Another important part of the sponsor program is the communication between the child and the sponsor that takes the form of exchanged letters, e-mails and pictures. Since English is the language spoken in school in Uganda, there is no translation necessary.
Several members of our church have become sponsors, but there are a few children left who need sponsors, as well as a few HIV+ parents who can be sponsored for a little more money per month. Please contact the church office if you think you might like to participate in this aspect of the Village 2 Village Project.
Wake Up, Jerusalem
Sunday, May 4th
Don’t miss it! The youth of our church will be presenting this coming Sunday, May 4th, a one act Easter drama. It is a fun play which has something to say to all of us about the meaning of Easter. Youth in grades 5 through 12 have been working hard in multiple rehearsals over the past month and there has been significant adult help on the mechanics of this presentation. The final rehearsal will be Saturday, May 3rd, 5:30-7:30.
PENTECOST AND CONFIRMATION
Sunday, May 11th
Sunday, May 11th will be a special day in the life of our church. It is both the day we celebrate God’s gift of the promised Advocate, the Holy Spirit, and so, the beginning of the church, and it is also the day we welcome the four young men of our Confirmation Class into church membership. They will be confirming the baptismal vows their parents made at their baptism and promising to be faithful members of our Meyersville Church. The boys have been working hard all year with their teacher, Elder Carol Skidmore, studying the book of Luke, learning about the Presbyterian Church, the sacraments, and writing their own statements of faith with the help of their sponsors. The class participants are Daniel Keller, Alex Sadowski, Evan Smith and Marco Zijdel. Be sure to be part of this special day!
May Mission: Jersey Battered Women’s Service, Inc.
Our mission for May is Jersey Battered Women’s Service, Inc., of Morris County, N.J. Since 1976, Jersey Battered Women’s Service, Inc. (JBWS) has provided valuable life-saving services to victims of domestic violence and their families. Their mission is to prevent domestic violence through the protection and empowerment of the victim, to rehabilitate family members, and to educate the public about domestic violence and its consequences.
JBWS provides a 24-hour helpline, emergency shelter for victims and their children, individual and group counseling, legal advocacy, children’s services, transitional housing, life skills education, vocational counseling, community education and professional training, teenage dating violence services, counseling for abusers, and more.
HELP FUND OUR CHILDREN’S SUMMER BY EATING!
When we purchase grocery store gift certificates from Doris Mertz, we help to fund the summer camp adventures of our church’s children. The way it works is that Doris buys a lot of the gift certificates from Pathmark, Shop Rite, and now A&P. For every $95 that Doris pays, the stores provide $100 worth of certificates. That $5 per $100 adds up after a while and the church can then give partial scholarships to help with the camp fees. The whole system works however, only if we buy the grocery gift certificates from Doris. The certificates are now in the form of gift cards that make them even easier to use at the store. Everyone has to buy food at the grocery. Please see Doris to buy some gift cards before your next grocery shopping trip!
MEYERSVILLE CHURCH BOOK CLUB
Friday, May 9th at 7:30 p.m.
The Meyersville Church Book Club will be meeting on Friday evening, May 9th at 7:30 p.m.. We will be discussing Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen as well as a brief look back at The Freedom Writers’ Diary, our last book.
From a review of the book:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen opens with a day of disaster at the circus and Jacob Jankowski admitting he kept a secret from that day for over 70 years. The novel then moves to the ninety-something year old Jacob in a nursing home. As the older Jacob fights to survive the indignities of old age he recounts the story of his life with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on earth.
An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, it is set in the circus world circa 1932. When the boy, Jacob, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! SUMMER GRAZE AND PRAISE
For the third summer, the Session has decided that due to its popularity with the congregation, we will again shift our Sunday worship services this summer to the evening. We will meet at 6:30 for a picnic supper outside (weather permitting) and begin our worship at 7:30 pm. The summer service is a little shorter, so children (and adults!) can get home to bed. Our new worship time will begin on the first Sunday in July, July 6th.
Our Congregational Life Chairperson, Kelly Roshto, will do the shopping for hamburgers, hotdogs, rolls, chips, etc. and folks are welcome to bring a salad or other side dish from time to time, though this is not necessary every week. A few salads are enough! We do need folks to sign up to host the picnic however. Hosting involves setting up outside, grilling the dogs and organizing the clean-up. Look for the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board.
Session Reorganized
As each new class joins the Session, the Session responsibilities get shuffled and re-dealt. Since the congregation voted to reduce the size of the Session, these responsibilities fall more heavily now on the shoulders of individual elders. Each of the elders will need help from congregation members and will be calling on members at various times through the year to help with particular projects. Please say “yes!” when you are asked.
Clerk of Session Sandy Seymour Worship Litty Hado
Christian Education Karen Leski, Ruud Zijdel Congregational Life Kelly Roshto
Mission Doris Mertz Personnel Carol Skidmore
Memorial Barbara Grillo Property Wanda Kielblock,
Community Relations Litty Hado Robert Kielblock
Bazaar Carol Skidmore, Barbara Grillo
Stewardship & Finance Carol Skidmore, Wanda Kielblock
BAZAAR MEETING
The Session has instituted several changes in the way our Bazaar is structured in order to streamline the event and make it more fun for everyone. Among these changes is an earlier start to planning! There will therefore be a meeting of all those interested in helping with this year’s Bazaar on May 16, 7:00 pm in the Church Parlor. All interested members are invited to attend. Please come help plan!
BIBLES TO BE PRESENTED DURING WORSHIP
The Word of God comes to us in lots of different ways. It comes to us sometimes through the inspired words of others, sometimes through the beauty and splendor of nature, sometimes through answered prayer, but the most direct and reliable way God speaks to us is through the words of the Bible. On Sunday, May 18th, the church will present to our fifth graders their very own Bible so they can read for themselves God’s Word. This presentation will take place during the worship service on May 18th.
VACATION
The date for this summer’s
Camp
The new
