Dear Centenary Church Family:

I pray that you enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving Day, and that the blessings of the day and season will sustain you in the days ahead. Our special thanks to Cathy & Michael Savoia and all who assisted them in preparing and serving our annual Thanksgiving Day feast to those who gathered together at Centenary yesterday.

This Sunday, November 26th, we will gather at 10:15 AM in our Sanctuary at Centenary for Worship and Sunday School (pre-K through 12th Grade) as we observe The Last Sunday After Pentecost / Reign of Christ Sunday. With this Sunday, we bring the long season of Pentecost to a close…it began back on June 4th…and prepare to enter into a new Church Year with the celebration of The First Sunday of Advent on December 3rd. This Sunday after Thanksgiving is also designated as United Methodist Student Day, and we will receive our annual special offering for higher educational ministries of The United Methodist Church. I will share a special word with the children before they and the youth are dismissed for their Sunday School session. Assistant Pastor Terrilisa Durham Bauknight will offer her morning Message, A King and Kingdom to Come, based primarily on the Gospel reading for this day: John 18:33-37. We will also share in the reading from Revelation 1:4b-8. Following Pastor Terrilisa’s Message, we will receive several persons into the membership of Centenary UMC. During the Offertory, our Chancel Choir will sing Alleluia, Sing to Jesus by Michael Larkin. Our Celebration of Found Coins for November is the Casa Paula Children’s Street Ministry in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Salt of the Earth:
Palestinian Christians in the Northern West Bank
Adult Class Advent Study
The Adult Class Advent Study is “Salt of the Earth: Palestinian Christians in the Northern West Bank.”. The DVD we are using consists of ten short documentary films made by two Presbyterian missionaries who served in the northern West Bank for more than three years. Through their films we are exploring the challenges facing the Christian Church in the land of its birth 2,000 years ago. We are also seeing and hearing the inspiring stories of individual Christians struggling to live their faith in a land where they are members of a minority religion surrounded by Arab Muslims and Jews. Join us for this exciting and timely study, Sundays at 9:00 AM in the Sunshine Room.

Centenary United Methodist Women still has a number of items for sale. They are on the table outside the church office. These items were made for the Metuchen Fair and will make wonderful gifts for your Christmas giving. There is also one last box of the chocolate pecan caramel candies for $5 each. There is a blue box in which you can place your money. Thanks.

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

Thank You! Our Mission Committee is very grateful for the outpouring of love in the form of turkeys, produce and staple food items last week. The Centenary congregation and donations from Cub Scout Pack #66 filled a truck and a bus this week with 33 turkeys and overflowing bags, baskets and boxes of food to share with 172 persons in Perth Amboy for Thanksgiving. We are deeply grateful for your generosity at this special time of the year.

TGIF Intergenerational Dinner and Lectionary Discussion and a lot of fun together will meet on Friday, December 1st at 6:30 PM. A barrel offering is taken to defray the costs for the meal and materials. Persons of all ages are invited and encouraged to attend.
Upcoming Children’s Ministries Dates to Remember:
· Sunday, December 3 – Advent Pot-Luck Brunch & Workshop (Following Worship) Please sign up for the Pot-Luck Lunch in the Narthex. All are welcome to attend!
· Friday, December 8 – 6:30 PM – TGIF Christmas Celebration at The Barge
· Sunday, December 10 – 10:15 AM – Annual Sunday School Christmas Pageant
(Rehearsal on Saturday, December 9th)
Centenary Book Club will meet on Saturday, December 2nd, at 9:30 AM in the Sunshine Room, instead of on Friday, December 8th (due to the TGIF Dinner at The Barge). The book for discussion this month is Ten Thousand Sorrows: The Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan by Elizabeth Kim. The Book Club is open to all men and women.

Spiritual Angels: As noted in The Lamplighter, we are looking to begin our Spiritual Angels program. Spiritual Angel forms are available at the church for those who wish to have their children participate and those who wish to be angels. We are looking now to concentrate on the upcoming holidays of Christmas, Easter and the closing of Sunday School in June. All forms should be completed and returned to Rev. Bauknight no later than December 15, 2006. Parents interested in having your children participate in this activity should forward the child’s name to Rev. Bauknight at RevTDB@aol.com, by placing a note in her mailbox at the Church Office, or by mailing it to P.O. Box 1561, Cranford, NJ 07016-5561. Thank you!

MUSIC DATES TO REMEMBER:
Sunday, December 17th: Carols & Cookies at 6:30 PM. Bring your family, friends and neighbors and get in the Christmas mood with your favorite carols and cookies!
Tuesday, February 20th: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner/Jazz Concert. Come for our own version of Mardi Gras with dinner and entertainment for the whole family.

Refreshments: Persons are invited to sponsor the time of coffee and refreshments following our Sunday Worship services in December. Please consider sponsoring a refreshment time and signing up for one of the available weeks on the 2006 Refreshment Chart in the Narthex. Information on what you need to provide is available from Pastor Painter or by speaking with Millie Pleuler (732-750-4434). Thank you for providing hospitality on a Sunday morning.

Flower Arrangements for December 10: Persons are invited to sponsor flower arrangements for our Worship service on Sunday, December 10th. Please sign up on the 2006 Flower Chart in the Narthex. A new 2007 Flower Chart will also be posted in December. 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.

Global AIDS Fund:
To Bring Hope Where for Some There Is No Hope
Celebration of Found Coins on December 3rd
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference sets a goal of raising one dollar per church member of the Annual Conference and that 75% of the dollars raised be remitted by the conference treasurer to the treasurer of the General Council of Finance and Administration for the UMC Global AIDS Fund and that the remaining 25% be retained for programs combating HIV/AIDS in the annual conference and in other global connectional projects.
The preceding resolution was passed at the June 2006 Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. World AIDS Day is set for December 1st. The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church have established a goal of raising $1.00 per member over the next two years to create a fund that can be designated to help those persons impacted by AIDS. We will receive an offering for the Global AIDS Fund as our Celebration of Found Coins on Sunday December 3rd.
The Global AIDS Fund represents the commitment of every United Methodist to put a stop to HIV/AIDS in our world. The $8 million represents a $1 commitment of every United Methodist in the United States. It supports education, prevention, care, and treatment programs for people living with HIV/AIDS. The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund does not overlook the crisis in the US. About one million people are infected in the US and more are added to that number each day. The plan specifies that 25 percent of what each annual conference raises should be used in that conference for AIDS work, either locally or in global projects.
Some Numbers Have Faces
· Around 40 million people have HIV/AIDS worldwide
· 70% of them live in sub-Saharan Africa
· Five people die of AIDS every minute
· In the same amount of time, nine more people are infected with HIV
In a recent visit to the Greater NJ Annual Conference, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, Pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas, shared the manner of this challenge with his congregation. He told his congregation that for $10 a pregnant woman with AIDS could be given an inoculation that would reduce the likelihood that the child would be born with AIDS from 48% to 2%. He asked for a contribution equal to the cost of such an inoculation for each member of the family. The image that for $10 the life of a child could be saved had a much higher impact than asking for $1.00 for the “fund.”
We encourage you to respond generously and with compassion as we receive our gifts for the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund on December 3rd. Further information about the Global AIDS Fund of The United Methodist Church is available on line at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/health/hivaids/aids-fund/.

Ozanam Shelter Dinner on December 4th
Centenary will next be serving dinner at the Ozanam Shelter on Monday, December 4th. 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.

Next Sunday: December 3, 2006 – The First Sunday of Advent/Holy Communion
9:00 AM – Adult Class – Salt of the Earth
10:15 AM – Worship & Sunday School (Pre-K thru Senior High)
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Here I Come…Ready or Not!
Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Psalm 25:1-10 Luke 21:25-36
11:30 AM – Advent Brunch & Workshop (Sanctuary & Room 20)
Please sign up for the Pot-Luck Lunch in the Narthex.
All are welcome to attend!
5:30 PM – Junior Choir Rehearsal (Music Room)
6:30 PM – United Methodist Youth Fellowship (Youth Rm./Rm. 20)
Carpet Cleaning at Centenary–Monday, December 4th. Help Needed After Worship/Advent Brunch on December 3rd: The carpets in the Sanctuary and hallways at Centenary will be cleaned on Monday, December 4th. We need assistance with moving chairs out of the Sanctuary and moving other items after Worship and the Advent Brunch next Sunday, December 3rd. Your help will be deeply appreciated. We will also need assistance returning the chairs to the Sanctuary later in the following week…possibly on the evening of Tuesday, December 5th or Wednesday, December 6th. We will confirm the date and time as soon as we are able. Thanks for your help!
Advent & Christmas Eve at Centenary
December 10, 2006 – The Second Sunday of Advent
Annual Sunday School Pageant — The Very Important Christmas Pageant: The Story of the Birth of Christ Told with Humor, Majesty & Awe! by Dennis Hartin
December 17, 2006 – The Third Sunday of Advent
An Advent Service of Lessons and Carols
with Chancel & Junior Choirs, Soloists and Festival Brass
December 24, 2006 – The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Tree Christmas O
Christmas Eve — Sunday, December 24, 2006
7:00 PM — Christmas Eve Service for the Young of Heart and Spirit
Special Children’s Message, Carols and Candle lighting
11:00 PM — Christmas Eve Service of Carols, Candlelight & Holy Communion
Preacher: John D Painter Theme: Unto Us…A Child

Prayer for the Week of November 26: We thank you, O God, that Jesus did not tread our earthly roads of life as though they were easy and clear. We thank you that there lies in your heart a feeling for what we face each day and a knowledge that truth is sometimes hard to see. We thank you that you laugh and weep with us as we stumble along and celebrate those brave moments when we pay a price for holding to the truth. Thanks be to you, O God. Amen.

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

Shalom, John