Dear Centenary Church Family:

The women of Centenary, working together via phone and e-mail with Assistant Pastor Terrilisa Bauknight, have planned a very special Women’s Sunday service of Worship for us at 10:15 AM on this Fifth Sunday of Easter. Giselle Esquivel Cordero will lead us into the Call to Worship and Prayer of Confession. Cathy Jean Savoia will invite us to share in our weekly barrel offering, and than bring a special word to the children, after which Pre-K children through 12th grade youth will be invited to participate in Sunday School classes. Christine Rose will lead us in the Prayer for Illumination and offer the reading from Psalm 131. Rhondi Sabo will read the Gospel lesson from John 8:1-15, after which she will begin a Message entitled “Voices” during which Ruth Valentine, Hazel Srebi and Valerie Agtarap will also participate. Through them, we will hear some of the special voices of women from the Scriptures. Mary Ellen Heim will guide us through a Litany of Thanksgiving which celebrates the women of our faith heritage, and then she will offer the Prayer of Dedication for our morning offering. As we receive our gifts, a women’s chorus under the direction of Shirley Mosteller will sing the traditional melody We Will Be Merry, as arranged by Ralph E. Marryott. At the end of our service, Rhondi Sabo will send us forth with the Benediction. Our Celebration of Found Coins will be designated for the Red Bird Mission.

As we prepare for our Women’s Sunday Worship service this Sunday, you may want to read and reflect on the following:
The role of women in the church is as old as the Christian movement itself, yet the voices and gifts of women have been lost among the years of social change and historical rhetoric. Today we celebrate the women whose voices represent what God set forth in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant. How their experiences through various encounters with God and the Son, Jesus Christ, have left us wondering, awestruck, believing and wanting more. Women have experiences that lead them to understand God as community and to share an ethic that measures strength in terms of relationships. Just as the love of human lovers sometimes invades our lives with its passion, so God’s community will not let us rest. So come, let us worship, being that community of God that cannot rest until the love of God overflows from this place forward.

Food Collection—This Sunday, April 20: 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

Centenary United Methodist Women Communion Breakfast–Saturday, April 19 at 9:30 AM. Special Guest Speaker: The Rev. Linda Ross of St. Mark’s UM Church in Trenton. Come enjoy a morning of good food, reflection and fellowship to enrich your faith. If you’d like, bring a quiche, muffins or fresh fruit to share. Child Care will be available. Questions? Sylvia Woodfield (732-549-9042); Giselle Esquivel Cordero (732-549-6525); Centenary Church Office (732-548-7622)

Children’s Ministry Talent Show—Saturday, April 19 at 6:00 PM. Dinner will be served. Dust off your voices, instruments, and jokes for a family fun night. Sign up on the sheets on the Narthex bulletin board or on the Children’s Ministries bulletin board. Or contact Cathy Jean Savoia at 732-826-1921. A barrel offering will be received.

Sunday Morning Adult Class—Serious Answers to Hard Questions: The Adult Class is engaged in a study called Serious Answers to Hard Questions. In this video study, hosted by Methodist Bishop Kenneth Carder, well-known theologians discuss important issues that sometimes prove to be obstacles to faith. The remaining issues we will be focusing on are: The Sins of the Church, and The Gnostic Gospels. Join us in the Sunshine Room on Sunday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00 AM for this provocative series.

It’s a Boy! Congratulations to George & Lin Chan on the birth of their son, Colin Michael Chan, on April 1, 2008, at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Colin and mother are doing fine, and have joined big sister, Kristin Chan, and Dad at their home.

We extend our Christian Love and Sympathy to Lewis & Nina Hause in the death of Lew’s sister, Shirley Mathews, on Saturday, April 12, 2008, in Pittsburgh, PA. Please hold Lew & Nina Hause and their family in your prayers during this time of their loss. Expressions of caring and condolence may be sent to Lewis & Nina Hause at 6 Rachel Terrace, Piscataway, NJ 08854.

COME JOIN THE FUN
WITH THE
CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
AS THEY BREAK THEIR FAST WITH
DINNER AND A MOVIE — Night at the Museum
SATURDAY, 26 APRIL 2008
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Donation: Adults $10/Children 10 and Under $4
Evening includes: Dinner, Dessert, and Snacks for the Movie
Monies raised for Fast benefit World Vision
Monies raised from Dinner and a Movie benefit CUMYF’s
Special Fund for Summer and other Mission Projects
Sign up on dinner roster in Narthex or call 732-548-7622 and leave number of persons for dinner
SEE YOU THERE!

Red Bird Mission
April 2008 Celebration of Found Coins
Red Bird Mission is a non-profit agency affiliated with The United Methodist Church located in the Appalachian mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. Guided by Jesus Christ, the Red Bird Mission empowers individuals and advocates for justice by providing educational, health, and community outreach ministries to area low-income residents.

Areas of Ministry:
Education
K-12 Christian School, Residential Dormitories, Early Childhood Development
Health & Wellness
Medical Clinic, Dental Clinic, Pharmacy, Lab, X-Ray, Public Health
Community Outreach
Community Aid Ministries, Elderly Ministries, Family Ministries
Economic Opportunities
Community Store, Craft Marketing
Community Housing Improvement
Work Camp, Home Repair, Mission Facilities
You may learn more about Red Bird Mission at http://www.rbmission.org/index.htm

2008 Summer Camp Programs at Aldersgate Center and Pinelands Retreat Center: Information about the 2008 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. Register by May 1st to receive a $15 discount on each event paid in full.

AldersgateCenter’s Open House will take place on Sunday, April 27th, from 2-4 PM. Come learn more about our camping program, meet some of the staff, and have an afternoon of fun. Contact Katie Garrett at 973-383-5979 or AldersgateCenter@gmail.com for further information.
PinelandsCenterat Mt.MiseryRally Day is Sunday, May 4th, from 2-5. This is an opportunity to learn about the camp, meet some of the staff, take a tour, and have some fun. For more information, contact Pinelands Center at 609-893-3354 or PinelandsCenter@yahoo.com.

You are invited to sponsor the time of coffee and refreshments following our Sunday Worship service. Please consider sponsoring a refreshment time and signing up for one of the many available weeks on the 2008 Refreshment Chart in the Narthex. Information on what you need to provide is available on the information sheet attached to the Refreshment Chart. Thank you for providing hospitality on a Sunday morning.

You are invited to sponsor flower arrangements for our Worship services. The 2008 Flower Chart is posted in the Narthex. Floral arrangements cost $25.00 each week to sponsor. (Please make your check payable to Centenary UM Church and write “Altar Flowers” in the Memo line.) Information is available from our Flower Chairperson, Linda Serentino (732-940-2135) or by calling the Church Office. Thank you for providing these beautiful tributes for our Sunday services.

The 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church will convene on Wednesday, April 23 in Fort Worth, TX, under the theme A Future with Hope. The 1,000 lay and clergy delegates from around the United States and much of the world, will engage in worship, legislative forums, caucuses, prayer vigils, and plenary sessions seeking to address the ministry and mission of The United Methodist Church for the next quadrennium (2009-2013). Four major themes will be brought to focus as the delegates approach their responsibilities: (1) Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world; (2) Creating new places for new people by starting new congregations and renewing existing ones; (3) Engaging in ministry with the poor; and, (4) Stamping out killer diseases by improving health globally. The General Conference will also seek to address the need for a “global structure” for a world church. And delegates will also be asked to consider forming a task force to bring a recommendation for a new United Methodist Hymnal to the 2012 General Conference to be held in Tampa, FL. The 2008 General Conference will adjourn on Friday, May 3. Please hold the delegates and leaders of our church in prayer during this time of “Holy Conferencing.” You may follow the progress of the General Conference on the Internet at www.GC2008.umc.org, or by going to www.umc.organd clicking on the link to “General Conference 2008”.

Annual Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Service
Thursday, May 1, 2008 @ 7:30 PM
Sponsored by Metuchen–Edison Interfaith Association & JCC of Middlesex County
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

Music Ministry Date to Remember: Saturday, May 3rd at 7:30 PMBrahms Recital featuring piano, English horn, clarinet and voice.

Some Thoughts for This Week:

Old age, to the unlearned, is winter; to the learned, it’s harvest time. – Yiddish saying

Having children makes one no more a parent than having a piano makes you a pianist. – Michael Levine

Ask God’s blessing on your work, but don’t ask him to do it for you. – Dame Flora Robson

If God can bring blessing from the broken body of Jesus and glory from something that’s as obscene as the cross, He can bring blessing from my problems and my pain and my unanswered prayer. I just have to trust Him. – Anne Graham Lotz

I live with the understanding that truth is bigger than any religion and the world is God’s and everything in it… – Rob Bell

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. – Winston Churchill

Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart. – Martin Luther

One forgives to the degree that one loves. – La Rochefoucauld

Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom. – Hannah Arendt

I’ve learned that you can’t give what you’ve never received. There’s no aquifer of love, there’s no distillery of faith within me, so I have to receive it. – Max Lucado

The safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. – C.S. Lewis

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. – Mother Teresa

Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory. – Norman Vincent Peale

True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost. – Charles Caleb Colton

If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It isn’t our position that makes us happy or unhappy; it’s our disposition.

Next Sunday — April 27, 2008:
9:00 AM– Adult Study—Serious Answers to Hard Questions (Sunshine Room)
10:15 AM– Worship and Sunday School (PreK Children through 12th Grade Youth)
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: “I Will Not Leave You Orphaned”
Lectionary Readings: Acts 17:22-31 1 Peter 3:13-22
Psalm 66:8-20 John 14:14-21
11:30 AM– Fellowship Time (Room 20)
2:00-4:00 PM– AldersgateCenterOpen House (Swartswood, NJ)
5:45 PM– Junior Choir Rehearsal (Music Room)

Prayer for the Week of April 20: We give you thanks, O God, for the beauty of creation. We rejoice in the new life of this season with bright colors and beauty all around. We thank you for the buds and blossoms bearing witness to growth and emerging life. This Easter season points us to the Risen Christ and his victory over the power of death and darkness. We rejoice in the gift of our life in Christ and his life within us. We thank you today for the witness of those who have gone before us. You have strengthened your church through the faith of so many who have encouraged us. But mostly we give you thanks that you, O God, came to this world in Jesus and revealed yourself through his life. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

I look forward to sharing with many of you in study, Worship and Christian fellowship on this Fifth Sunday of Easter…Women’s Sunday at Centenary.

Shalom, John