Dear Centenary Church Family:

Greetings from beautiful Lake Junaluska, nestled amidst the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. Tina and I have enjoyed our time here for the past week in this major Southeastern Jurisdictional United Methodist Center, and we will begin our trip north to NJ at mid-day on Friday. We anticipate spending the night in western Virginia, along I-81, and arriving back in Metuchen sometime Saturday afternoon/evening.

This Sunday – July 13, 2008 – The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
9:30 AM – Worship and Summer Sunday School
Children’s Message: Cathy Jean Savoia
(Summer Sunday School for children following the Children’s Message)
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: How’s That Working Out for You?
Lectionary Readings: Genesis 25:19-34 Romans 8:1-11
Psalm 119:105-112 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Special Music: Soprano Betty Mingoia His Hand in Mine by Mosie Lister
Celebration of Found Coins: Centenary UM Youth Fund
10:30 AM – Fellowship Time

2008 Vacation Bible School—“Power Lab”—August 4-8 – 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
· Registration is $15.00 per child. Children’s groups will be made up of mixed ages. Children will learn that Jesus gives us the power to be thankful, help others, be brave, live forever, and tell others about God. The program includes science experiments.
· Helpers Wanted to Share in Teaching, Assist with other Tasks. Please contact Cathy Jean Savoia for information or to sign up. 732-548-7622, Ext. 12 or (H) 732-826-1921.
· VBS Donations Wanted: bottled water; small-boxed raisins; seltzer water; apples and oranges; ice pops; yogurt; 6 boxes baking soda; 6 squirt bottles; 6 plastic pails; 6 hula hoops, balloons.

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.

Please faithfully use your offering envelopes during the Summer, and at every possible opportunity to help with the progress our Church is making in underwriting our ministry and mission this year. God is good to us, and one by one we can make a difference in sharing the gospel story, if we work together in the days ahead.
Thank you in the name of Jesus Christ for making ministry possible.

Centenary will next be serving dinner at the Ozanam Shelter on Monday, August 4. Please check the information on the bulletin board in the Narthex and sign up to assist with food preparation or serving. The August Menu: Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Green Beans, Cupcakes, and Ice Cream. For further information, please contact Glenna Gundell (732-463-1431) or Mary Ellen Heim (732-548-2587). Thanks.

Some Thoughts for This Week

The difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t. – Pete Seeger

In anger, the tongue works faster than the mind. – Unknown

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs—jolted by every pebble in the road. – Henry Ward Beecher

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved—loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. – Victor Hugo

God never promised us an easy life. But God did promise us his abiding love and constant presence.

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. – Auguste Rodin

Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain. – John F. Kennedy

A pleasure is not full grown until it is remembered. – C. S. Lewis

Preach always. When necessary, use words. – St. Francis of Assisi

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. – Mother Teresa

Our Lord asks but two things of us; Love for [God] and for our neighbor. We cannot know whether we love God…but there can be no doubt about whether we love our neighbor or no. – Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle

Love more persons more–love them more impersonally, more unselfishly, without thought of return. The return, never fear, will take care of itself. – Henry Drummond

A poor person isn’t he who has little, but he who needs a lot. – German Proverb

No matter what our past has been, with God our future is promising.

Next Sunday – July 20, 2008
9:30 AM – Worship and Summer Sunday School
The Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: If—Then
Lectionary Readings: Genesis 28:10-19a Romans 8:12-25
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
10:30 AM – Fellowship Time

Food Collection—Sunday, July 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

Prayer for the Week of July 13: We give you thanks, O God, for the beauty of the earth, its hills and valleys, lakes and streams, mountains and prairies, its great variety. It reveals to us your grandeur. We give you thanks, O God, for the seasons of life, for beginnings and endings, for each new day. You show us new mercy each day. We give you thanks, O God, for the love that sustains us. Thank you for family and friends who know us and care for us. We see your love coming through them. We give you thanks, O God, for Jesus, for his wise teaching, his works of love and healing, and his great sacrifice that revealed your redemption to the world. In him we see your generous and abundant love and give you our thanks. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

With Heartfelt Thanks: I want to extend my deepest appreciation to the Rev. Terrilisa Durham Bauknight for her presence and leadership during my Renewal Leave in the month of June, and for preaching last Sunday, July 6, and providing pastoral care coverage while Tina and I have been on vacation these past two weeks. We all join in prayer and best wishes for Pastor Terrilisa as she officially begins her year-long Leave of Absence.

I look forward to sharing with many of you in Worship and Christian Fellowship this Sunday morning at Centenary.

Shalom, John