With sounding festival brass, majestic organ and piano, and soaring choral descants, we will share the joyous Easter message that “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today…Alleluia!” during the Processional Hymn at our 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM Easter Services this Sunday, April 16th. I hope you will be there to join your voices of praise and thanksgiving with many others, as we conclude our 40-day Lenten journey.

For you early risers, Easter morning will begin with a 6:30 AM Sunrise Service in the Courtyard…weather permitting (Orr Chapel if it is raining). We will sing a number of festive hymns and carols of Easter accompanied on guitar by Ed Stern. Assistant Pastor Terrilisa Durham Bauknight will share Easter Reflections, and we will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion as we are bathed in the warmth of the rising Sun/Son.

Immediately following the Sunrise Service, everyone is invited to an Easter Breakfast in Room 20 prepared by Cathy Savoia and our Children’s Ministries program. Breakfast will continue to be available throughout the morning for those arriving and leaving our later services. A $3.00 donation per person is requested. (Just a reminder that there will be no Sunday School classes this Sunday.)

Our 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM Easter Services will feature Festival Brass and Choral singing throughout. We will share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion at our 10:30 AM Easter Service. I will offer a special Easter Message for the children at both services. My morning Message, Shock and Awe!, will be based on Mark’s unusually brief telling of the Easter story in Mark 16:1-8. We will also hear St. Paul’s witness to the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. During the Offertory our Chancel Choir will sing O Come, O Come, Our Voices Raise by Steven Scott, accompanied by the Festival Brass. Our Celebration of Found Coins for April is designated for Centenary’s budget deficit reduction.

But before we arrive at our Easter celebration this Sunday, we must come to the foot of Jesus’ cross on Calvary. I remind you that we will gather at 7:30 PM this evening, Good Friday, for a Service of Tenebrae. Between the readings of portions of the Gospel of John’s Passion narrative in 18:1-19:42, fourteen candles will be extinguished; we will sing hymns; our Chancel Choir will offer Alas, And Did My Savior Bleed, Arranged by Douglas E. Wagner, and Behold the Savior of Mankind, with powerful words by Samuel Wesley (John Wesley’s father), arranged to a tune by F. Williams. Soprano soloist Shirley Mosteller, accompanied by Alison Williams on the oboe, will sing Love My Savior Now Is Dying (From “St. Matthew Passion”) by J. S. Bach. The service will conclude with the Christ Candle being removed in darkness, the tolling of the bell 33 times, and the singing of Were You There before we depart from the Sanctuary.

May I also remind you of the Ecumenical Good Friday Service which will be held today from 12:00 Noon to approximately 1:30 PM at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at the corner of Oak and Middlesex Avenues in Metuchen. (Please Note: The format for this year’s service has been changed. It will be a single, traditional Worship service…not a three-hour series of sermons, as in prior years, at which worshipers could come and go during the afternoon. This year’s service will begin at 12:00 Noon and conclude at about 1:30 PM. Pastor Sam Massengill from 1st Presbyterian Church of Metuchen will be the Preacher, and other clergy will share in leading portions of the service.)

Food Collection—Easter Sunday: Thank you for the cereals, staple food items in plastic jars or cans, and paper products you will bring to share with persons in need in our area. We are deeply grateful for your generous sharing. Next food collection: Sunday, May 21st.
Lenten Coin Folders: You are encouraged to return your filled 2005 Lenten Coin Folders this Sunday. You may place them in an offering plate during Worship or mail/bring them to the Church Office. Our Lenten Coin Folder offering is designated for support of The Fellowship Fund of The United Methodist Homes of New Jersey. These funds are used by our UM Homes to assist elderly residents whose financial resources have been depleted to remain in residence in our homes. (Note: If you choose to return your coin folder with either a check or paper bills [instead of quarters], our counting team will not be averse to your doing so…but we appreciate your gifts in whatever form they may be shared.) We are deeply grateful for your generous and sacrificial offering during these forty days of Lent.

The Art of Muriel Harris: We have been richly blessed during the 2006 Lenten Season to have a number of Muriel Harris’ paintings adorning the walls of our Sanctuary. You will want to take time to pause this evening or on Sunday morning to view these special works based on the indicated biblical passages, reminding us of the themes of creation, liberation and justice. Mrs. Harris has indicated the pictures will be removed from the Sanctuary on Tuesday, April 18th. We are grateful to Muriel Harris for sharing the gift of her art with us once again this year.

The Trustees’ Mulching Party Has Been Rescheduled for this Saturday, April 15th @ 9:00 AM: The Centenary Board of Trustees invite everyone to a “Mulching Party” this Saturday, April 15th at 9:00 AM, as we prepare the front of the church for Easter and Spring. All are welcome to lend a hand as you are able during the morning. There is a need for some additional shrubs to replace a number that have died. Donations of $20.00 per shrub may be made to the church to assist with replacing these. Please make your checks payable to Centenary UM Church and indicate “Shrubs” in the Memo line. Thanks for your assistance.

Aldersgate Center Work Day Volunteers Needed next Saturday, April 22nd – 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM: There is a lot of work to be done in order to get Aldersgate ready for the summer. Even with the loss of Wesley Lodge, Aldersgate is offering an extensive program. Anyone interested in helping out, adults or youth, please contact Doug Woodfield @ (908) 233-2653 evenings or (908) 803-7118 cell phone. Doug will be available to take anyone up who needs a ride. Just as an added attraction, breakfast and lunch are included. We will be leaving the Church Parking lot at 7:00 AM on the 22nd. Please consider helping us out, Aldersgate is a great place!
Next Sunday: April 23, 2006 – The Second Sunday of Easter / Heritage Sunday
Holy Humor Sunday
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Believing Is Seeing
Lectionary Readings: Acts 4:32-35 1 John 1:1-2:2
Psalm 133 John 20:19-31

Interfaith Holocaust Program & Exhibit — Tuesday, April 25, 2006 @ 7:30 PM
Sponsored by Metuchen–Edison Interfaith Association & JCC of Middlesex County.
Keynote Speaker: Rabbi Dr. Bernhard H. Rosenberg
We join together in readings and songs to remember all those who perished, with the promise that we will never forget.
Location: Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County,
1775 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820

Support Stephanie Kline in her MS Walk: A member of Centenary and a senior at Lebanon Valley College in PA, Stephanie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) during her freshman year. Stephanie will be participating in a 3.5-mile-long MS Walk in Hershey, PA (part of it through Hershey Zoo America), next Sunday, April 23rd, and is seeking persons to sponsor her and/or to consider joining her team (she is the team Captain) for the Walk.
Here is the information that Stephanie has shared to secure sponsors:
“What if everyday you woke up not knowing if you’d be able to get out of bed or hold your child? For many people with multiple sclerosis, this is their reality.
“Multiple sclerosis (MS) usually strikes adults in the prime of life – between the ages of 20 and 50. It is a chronic disease of the central nervous system affecting the brain and spinal cord. One new case of MS is diagnosed every hour. It comes and goes unpredictably, leaving people to wonder, ‘Will I become paralyzed, blind or have trouble walking? Will I be able to raise my family and continue my career?’
“I am joining in the fight against this devastating disease. On Sunday, April 23 I will be participating in the MS Walk in Hershey, PA. I have a goal of raising $100 to support the National MS Society. I am asking for your help in making my goal. Every dollar means that we are a step closer to a cure.
Thank you!
Stephanie Kline”
You may visit the Web and use the URL below to visit Stephanie’s Personal Page and follow the link to sponsor her online:

http://www.nationalmssociety.org//PAC/personal/default.asp?pa=54107623&pd=PAC0EWLK20060423HER

[Note that from this URL you can also connect to links that will enable you to visit Stephanie’s team page and to receive additional information about the April 23rd Walk and the National MS Society.]
For those who would prefer to make a direct contribution to Stephanie by check or in cash, she has indicated she will be attending Worship at Centenary today, Easter Sunday. Your support and your prayers for Stephanie and her Team are deeply appreciated.

Some Thoughts for This Week:

Scripture should more than inform us;
It should transform us.
Aim at the sun. You may not reach it, but you will fly higher than if you never aimed at all.

There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life. – Sister Mary Rose McGeady

The strongest faith is often found in a child’s heart.

The wind of anger blows out the lamp of reason.

Live in such a way that you would not be embarrassed to sell your parrot to the town gossip. – Will Rogers

A change in the weather is enough to renew the world and ourselves. – Marcel Proust (1871-1922), Writer

Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill

When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’ – Sydney J. Harris

The Christian is not one who has gone all the way with Christ. None of us has. The Christian is one who has found the right road. – Charles L. Allen

An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. – Elbert Hubbard

Jesus Christ turns life right-side-up, and heaven outside-in. – Carl F.H. Henry

Finally, allow me to share with you some thoughts from the Rev. Dr. William Sloane Coffin, former Senior Pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City, and a nationally known and admired “prophet” for peace, love and justice. Dr. Coffin died on Wednesday, April 12th, following a long illness.

Compassion and justice are companions, not choices. – William Sloane Coffin

Joy is to feel the doors of the self fly open into a wealth that is endless because none of it is ours and yet it all belongs to us. – William Sloane Coffin

I love the recklessness of faith. First you leap, and then you grow wings. – William Sloane Coffin

I look forward to sharing with many of you in Worship as we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection this Sunday morning.

Shalom, John