Dear Centenary Church Family:

I hope many of you will be present at our 10:15 AM Worship service this Sunday for our first-ever “Open House Sunday” at Centenary. We hope to welcome a number of visitors and share with them in the praise of God. Throughout the Worship service members of our congregation will be sharing brief highlights of some of the areas of our ministry with all of us. Giselle Esquivel Cordero will bring the word to the children before they and youth through the 12th grade are invited to share in Sunday School classes. My morning Message, The Shepherd’s Voice, will be based on the beloved Psalm 23 and on the Gospel reading from John 10:22-30. Our Chancel Choir will sing the text of Psalm 23 to a beautiful melody in Brother James’s Air by Gordon Jacob. Our Celebration of Found Coins will be designated for the Red Bird Mission in Hendersonville, KY.

Centenary
Open House Sunday

Please join us for our first Open House Sunday

April 29th,2007@ 10:15 AM

Join us on this day for fellowship, fun & food

An opportunity to get to know your
Centenary family and its ministries.

Please invite your family and friends
to join us for this exciting event.

Bring an extra special cake, pie or other treat
to share with our new visitors during coffee hour.

WHAT WOULD SARAH DO? 9:00 AM Adult Study This Sunday – One of the most powerful and disturbing stories in the Hebrew Scriptures is Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son, Isaac, as told in the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. In addition to raising the troubling question about what kind of God would make such a demand as a test of faith, the Genesis story leaves the reader wondering where was Sarah—Abraham’s wife and mother of Isaac—while this terrible event was unfolding. Did she know what Abraham was panning to do and silently acquiesce, believing it to be “the will of God”? Or did she respond, as we believe any mother might, by actively resisting her husband’s plan to sacrifice her beloved son—“the miracle of her old age”? Strangely, Sarah is never mentioned in the Genesis account. But in Sarah’s Story, Jewish author Galina Vromen fills in the gap by offering us her version of the pivotal role that Sarah might have played in this timeless story. We invite you to join the Adult Class this Sunday morning, April 29, at 9:00 AM in the Sunshine Room as we discuss this provocative story. Copies of Sarah’s Story are available on the table in the Sunshine Room for you to read in advance of the class.

Church Women United May Friendship Day will be celebrated on Friday, May 4th at the First Presbyterian Church of Metuchen, 270 Woodbridge Ave. at 12:30 PM with a covered dish luncheon. Dessert will be supplied so other guests are to bring a covered dish. The women from New Hope Baptist Church will present the program. The theme is Friends Under God’s Wing based on Matthew 23:37. Come and join in this time of worship with friends from other churches in Metuchen-Edison-Woodbridge.

LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN: We are putting together a Men’s Chorus to sing on May 20th for Men’s Sunday. Rehearsals will be on Sundays, 11:30 -11:45 AM, April 22nd & 29th, and May 6th & 13th, as well as a brief run-through before the service on May 20th. If you can make at least 2 rehearsals, please join us. We had a great turnout last year! See Shirley Mosteller for more information.

Male Worship Leaders & Readers are also being recruited for the Worship Service on Men’s Sunday, May 20th. Men interested in serving are invited to contact Pastor John Painter.
Ozanam Shelter Dinner: Centenary will next be serving dinner at the Ozanam Shelter on Monday, May 7. Please check the information on the bulletin board in the Narthex and sign up to assist with food preparation or serving. For further information, please contact Glenna Gundell (732-463-1431) or Mary Ellen Heim (732-548-2587). Thanks.

Food Collection—Sunday, May 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

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.

TGIF Intergenerational Dinner and Lectionary Discussion and a lot of fun together will meet on Friday, May 4 from 6:30-8:30 PM. And on Friday, May 11 for a special program by Marcia McFee…details to follow. A barrel offering is taken to defray the costs for the meal and materials. Persons of all ages are invited and encouraged to attend.
Centenary Book Club will meet on Saturday, May 19 @ 9:30 AM in the Sunshine Room to discuss In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. All women and men (over 18) are invited to participate.

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 on the 2007 Refreshment Chart posted in the Narthex. Thank you for providing hospitality on a Sunday morning.
Flower Arrangements for Worship: Persons are invited to sponsor flower arrangements for our Worship services on Sunday, mornings. Please sign up on 2007 Flower Chart posted in the Narthex. Floral arrangements cost $25.00 each week to sponsor. 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.

Some Thoughts for This Week:

I discovered that sorrow was not to be feared but rather endured with hope and expectancy that God would use it to bless my life. – Jill Briscoe

Each day we make deposits in the memory banks of our children. – Charles Swindoll

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that “individuality” is the key to success. – Robert Orben

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. – Thomas Fuller

Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning. – Frederick W. Faber

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. – Kurt Vonnegut

If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality. – Norman Cousins
Next Sunday – May 6, 2007:
9:00 AM – Adult Study (Sunshine Room)
10:15 AM – Worship & Sunday School (Pre-K through 12th Grade)
The Fifth Sunday of Easter / Sacrament of Holy Communion
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Breaking Down the Barriers
Lectionary Readings: Acts 11:1-18 Revelation 21:1-6
Psalm 148 John 13:31-35
11:30 AM – Fellowship Time (Room 20)
11:30 AM – Men’s Chorus Rehearsal (Music Room)
5:30 PM – Junior Choir Rehearsal (Music Room)
6:30 PM – United Methodist Youth Fellowship (Youth Rm./Rm. 20)
Prayer for the Week of May 6: As the birds soar in flight, so our lives are lifted high by your compassion, O God. As the flowers break forth from buds of promise, we thank you for the new beginnings that lie within our lives. As the earth itself refreshes the seeds, we thank you for your encouragement to us. As the rain falls on the just and unjust, we receive your water of life with thankfulness, O God. Amen.

I look forward to sharing with you and many others in Study, Worship and Christian Fellowship on this Open House Sunday at Centenary.

Shalom, John