Dear Centenary Church Family:

We continue our Easter celebrations this Second Sunday of Easter, April 15, as we gather in our Sanctuary at 10:15 AM for Worship and Sunday School. Assistant Pastor Terrilisa Durham Bauknight will bring a special word to the children, after which those in Pre-K through 12th Grade are invited to participate in Sunday School classes. Pastor Bauknight will also share the morning Message, Seein’ Ain’t Believin’, based on the traditional Gospel reading for this Second Sunday of Easter from John 20:19-31. We’ll also hear the reading from the Acts of the Apostles 5:27-32. Our Chancel Choir will sing Praise Ye the Lord by Julie Knowles during the Offertory. Our Celebration of Found Coins is designated for the Red Bird Mission in Appalachia (Beverly, KY).

Speaking of our Celebration of Found Coins, I am pleased to share with you the following good news about your response to the “Nothing But Nets” Anti-Malaria campaign at Centenary: Our March Celebration of Found Coins (Barrel Offering) received $650.00 in support of the “Anti-Malaria Nothing But Nets” ministry of the people of The United Methodist Church. Thank you for your generous response to this vital ministry. You may continue to contribute through Centenary–or online by using the banner link on our Centenary Web site, or going to www.umc.org/nets. Don’t forget that Wednesday, April 25, is Malaria Awareness Day, and everyone is encouraged to skip lunch that day and contribute $10.00 to buy a bed net through the Nothing But Nets ministry. Skip a lunch. Buy a net. Save a life.

Reminders:
Centenary United Methodist Youth Fellowship “Coffee House” this Friday, April 13 at 7:00 PM at Centenary.
Centenary Book Club—this Saturday, April 14 @ 9:30 AM: The Rapture at Canaan and The Messiah of Morris Avenue in the Sunshine Room.

Sunday Morning Adult Study at 9:00 AM on April 15 will conclude its video/Bible reading series on The First Easter with a viewing and discussion of “The Resurrection” in Luke 24:1-53.
Food Collection—this Sunday, April 15: Please bring cereals, staple food items in plastic jars or cans, and paper products to share with persons in need in our area. We are deeply grateful for your generous sharing. Special Appeal for Diapers and Infant/Toddler Food for Amandla Crossing: Your assistance is needed to provide diapers (sizes #4, #5 & #6…not pull-ups) and infant & toddler food for children at Amandla Crossing. Please bring the items to Centenary and leave them in the boxes provided in the Narthex. Thank you. —Your Mission Committee

Interfaith Holocaust Service sponsored by the Metuchen-Edison Interfaith Clergy Association and the JCC of Middlesex County…Monday, April 16 at 7:30 PM at the Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County, 1775 Oak Tree Road, Edison. Keynote Speaker: Dr. Paul Winkler, Executive Director of the NJ State Holocaust Commission. We join together in readings and songs to remember all those who perished, with the promise that we will never forget.

Refreshment Sponsors Needed!: Persons are invited to sponsor the time of coffee and refreshments following our Sunday Worship services. Please consider sponsoring a refreshment time and signing up for one of the available weeks (especially in May and June) on the 2007 Refreshment Chart posted in the Narthex. Thank you for providing hospitality on a Sunday morning.

Centenary women will be on a special Spiritual Retreat Friday, 20 April – Sunday, 22 April 2007 at The Ocean View Inn at Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Retreat participants can begin arriving at the Inn between 5:00– 9:00 PM. We will return to our homes after breakfast on Sunday. Our theme remains Out of the Whirlwind, with our text reference being Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver. Rev. Bauknight will order the book for any and all who wish a copy (participating or not). Please keep this weekend in prayer for all the participants and the purpose for which they gather. If you have questions, concerns, or want to participate in this Women’s Retreat, please contact Pastor Bauknight at 732-419-4101 or at RevTDB395@aol.com.. A “commuter option” is available for those unable to stay overnight….

Stephanie Kline’s MSWalk: Once again this year (on April 22), Stephanie Kline will be participating in the MS Walk in Hershey, PA, and she is inviting her sisters and brothers in Christ at Centenary to join her team and make a donation on her behalf. You may sponsor Stephanie with a secure donation by going to this website. You may also sponsor Stephanie with a check made payable to “National MS Society” (or “NMSS”), and given to her or mailed to her at 40 Hillcrest Avenue, Iselin, NJ 08830. Your contribution can, and will, make an immediate difference for everyone who must face the unpredictable nature of multiple sclerosis. Because of your help, each stride Stephanie and others make in the MS Walk becomes more powerful and brings us closer to ending the devastating effects of Multiple Sclerosis.

2007 Summer Camp Programs at Aldersgate Center and Pinelands Retreat Center: Information about the 2007 Summer camping programs for children and youth (and some specialized adult and family programs) are posted on the Children’s Ministry bulletin board in the hallway alongside the Sanctuary, near the Narthex. Please check out the dates and programs to see if your elementary-age child or Junior/Senior high youth may want to participate in a summer camp experience at Aldersgate Center (Swartswood, NJ) or Pinelands Retreat Center at Mt. Misery (Browns Mills, NJ). You may also check out the offerings and register online at either www.aldersgatenj.com or www.mtmisery.com. Scholarship assistance is available through the Church. Please speak with Children’s Ministries Director Cathy Jean Savoia or Pastor John Painter to get additional information about these programs and appropriate registration forms.

Some Thoughts for This Week:

At least half of our troubles result from assuming that this is the only life and the only world.
If you take care of your character, your reputation will take care of itself. – Dwight L. Moody [adapted]

All are but parts of one stupendous whole, whose body nature is, and God is the soul. – Alexander Pope [adapted]

When we cease to wonder, we cease to worship.
Praise, like sunlight, helps all things grow. – Joan Walsh Anglund

Great trials often prepare us for great responsibilities.
When we are busy doing what we should, there is no time to do what we should not.

Next Sunday, April 22, 2007 – The Third Sunday of Easter
8:45 AM – Confirmation Class (Youth Room)
9:00 AM – Adult Study (Sunshine Room)
10:15 AM – Worship and Sunday School (Pre-K through 12th Grade)
Native American Ministries Sunday / Junior Choir Sings in Worship
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Christ the Intruder
Lectionary Readings: Acts 9:1-20 Revelation 5:11-14
Psalm 30 John 21:1-19
11:30 AM – Fellowship Time (Room 20)
6:30 PM – United Methodist Youth Fellowship (Youth Rm./Rm. 20)

Prayer for the Week of April 15: We thank you, Jesus Christ, for your determination. We thank you for coming to the doors of our lives and pushing your way past all that we put in your way. We thank you that you understand doubt and fear and love us as we are. There is never a day, O Christ, when we can do without you. Thank you for all that you are to us. Amen.

I look forward to sharing in study, Worship and Christian fellowship with many of you this Sunday at Centenary.

Shalom, John