Sunday, November 5th – All Saints’ Sunday / Sacrament of Holy Communion
Dear Centenary Church Family:
We will gather in the Sanctuary for our annual observance of All Saints’ Sunday at 10:15 AM on November 5th. I will offer a word to the children before they are dismissed for Sunday School classes (Pre-K through Senior High youth). My morning Message, The Grace to Forget, will be based on the readings from Revelation 21:1-6a and John 11:32-44. We will lift up for honor and remembrance the names of those members and friends of Centenary who have entered eternal life since All Saints’ Sunday last year. During the Offertory, the Chancel Choir will sing My Faith, It Is an Oaken Staff by T. Lynch, and arranged by Hans Vigeland, and will offer Blessed by the Bread, Graced by the Wine by Mary Kay Beall as we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Our Celebration of Found Coins for November is designated for the Casa Paula Children’s Soup Ministry in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
The 9:00 AM Adult Study in the Sunshine Room will continue with the series In the Dust of the Rabbi, featuring Ray Vander Laan.
Reminder: TGIF Supper and Intergenerational Lectionary Bible Study and Fellowship will be held this evening, Friday, November 3rd, at 6:30 PM. All are welcome.
Ozanam Shelter Dinner: Centenary will next be serving dinner at the Ozanam Shelter on Monday, November 6th. Please check the information on the bulletin board in the Narthex and sign up to assist with food preparation or serving. Food items should be brought to the Church kitchen by 5:00 PM, please. For further information, please contact Glenna Gundell (732-463-1431) or Mary Ellen Heim (732-548-2587). Thanks.
Election Day–Tuesday, November 7: Please be sure to exercise your freedom to vote and go to the polls on Tuesday to cast your ballot in these important mid-term elections.
UNO FUNDRAISER—TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2006: Once again we will have a fundraiser for the Church Budget at UNO Pizzeria, Route #1 in Edison. The Date is Election Day – so vote early and come to lunch – or – vote after work and come for dinner. The Deal is: We and our friends go to eat at UNO Pizzeria – any time during the day and evening, present the coupon printed in the Worship bulletin of November Lamplighter and Centenary will receive 15 to 20 percent of the total cost of the food that we have eaten. (Alcoholic beverages are not included in the total for the percentage reward.) There’s no catch – just come and bring your friends and eat heartily!! This year we have received almost $300 from our two previous visits to UNO. Additional coupons are available through the Church Office.
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
Calling All Cooks! Please put Saturday, November 18, 2006, at 6:59 PM on your calendars for a Pampered Chef fundraiser show to benefit the Centenary United Methodist Church budget. Watch for the flyer in the November Lamplighter and Sunday Worship bulletins for additional information, or speak with hostess Tina Painter (732-549-1786).
2006 Church Conference – Sunday, November 19th at 6:30 PM: The Rev. Veronica P. Palmer, Raritan Valley District Superintendent, has announced that the 2006 Church Conference of Centenary United Methodist Church will be held on Sunday, November 19th at 6:30 PM at Centenary. You are encouraged to enter this date and time in your calendars and plan to attend this annual conference of our church.
As required by The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, and by the laws of the State of New Jersey, official notice is hereby given that at the Church Conference of Centenary United Methodist Church at 6:30 PM on Sunday, November 19, 2006, nominations will be received and an election held for three members of the Class of 2009 of the Board of Trustees. All members of Centenary United Methodist Church are eligible to vote on all matters before the Conference, and to vote in the election of leaders for the new year (except those under the age of 18 are not able to vote on the election of members of the Board of Trustees).
Further information about our 2006 Church Conference is included in the November Lamplighter.
Thanksgiving Altar Decorations on November 19th: On Sunday, November 19th, Thanksgiving Sunday, we will again decorate our altar with fruits and vegetables as part of our harvest celebration and thanksgiving to God for the abundant blessings we have received. We ask that you donate some of your favorite fruits and/or vegetables, bringing them to the Narthex on Saturday, November 18th, from 10:00 AM—12:00 Noon. (You may also leave them in the Church Office during the weekdays prior.) If you would like to help us arrange these gifts on the altar on that Saturday morning, please let the Church Office or Worship Chairperson Chris Rose know.
In addition, we will be accepting donations of canned goods and non-perishable foods (Thanksgiving Meal trimmings; cereals, peanut butter, etc.) Saturday morning, November 18th (or you may bring them with you to the Worship service on November 19th). We plan to have the children bring these additional gifts forward at the beginning of the service.
After our worship service on Sunday the 19th your gifts will be removed from the altar, packaged, and distributed to families for whom provisions for a Thanksgiving meal will be particularly challenging this year.
Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
Tuesday, November 21st @ 7:30 PM — Temple Beth El in Edison
The annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service sponsored by the Metuchen-Edison Interfaith Clergy Association will be held on Tuesday, November 21st at 7:30 PM. This year the service will be held Temple Beth El @ 91 Jefferson Boulevard in Edison. The Rev. Dr. Ronald Owens, Senior Pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Metuchen, will be the keynote speaker for the evening. The Rev. Kathleen Cardy Tice, Senior Pastor of the Stelton Baptist Church in Edison is the Chair of the event.
Numerous clergy of all faiths will participate in the service, together with choirs, liturgical dance groups and congregational singing. Refreshments will be served following the service. Congregation Beth El is located off US Route 1 south, near the Wick Shopping Center; Jefferson Avenue runs south from Plainfield Avenue at the light for the Wick Plaza Center. We trust many from Centenary Church will want to join with worshipers from the churches, synagogues and mosques of the Metuchen and Edison area to participate in this service of celebration and thanks to God.
Thanksgiving Day Dinner—November 23 @ 12:30 PM: All are welcome! Please sign up on the reservation sheets in the Narthex so we can have an accurate count for the meal. Thanks, Cathy & Michael Savoia (732-732-826-1921).
Refreshments: 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 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.
In place of “Some Thoughts for This Week” I wanted to share a little humor with you in the form of “Christian Bulletin Bloopers” received this week in an e-mailing. These are the gaffs from which Mary Kay and I weekly pray, “Good Lord, deliver us!”
Ushers will eat latecomers.
She sang “I Will Not Pass This Way Again,” giving much pleasure to the congregation.
Sermon this morning: Jesus Walks on the Water. Sermon tonight: Searching for Jesus.
The patient is having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack’s sermons.
Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say “hell ” to someone who doesn’t care much about you.
A letter to the men’s fellowship reads: “All members are requested to bring their wives and one other covered dish to the annual banquet.”
Prayer for the Week of November 5: We give you our thanks for your forgetfulness, O God. How else could you welcome us into your presence? How else could you offer us a fresh start? We thank you for all the saints who remind us of the great hopes for humankind, for opportunities for justice and truth, and for the living of lives that reflect your grace. We thank you that we may believe that we are gathered into all the saints’ company as the people of God in our day, for whom all things are possible in your power. Amen.
Next Sunday, November 12:
9:00 AM – Adult Class – In the Dust of the Rabbi
10:15 AM – Worship & Sunday School (Pre-K thru Senior High)
The Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost / Sacrament of Christian Baptism
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: The Gift of Passion
Lectionary Readings: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 Hebrews 9:24-28
Psalm 127 (or Psalm 42) Mark 12:38-44
11:30 AM – Fellowship Time (Room 20)
5:30 PM – Junior Choir Rehearsal (Music Room)
6:30 PM – United Methodist Youth Fellowship (Youth Rm./Rm. 20)
Shalom, John