9:00 AM — Adult Study – The Parables of Jesus 10:15 AM – Worship and Sunday School (Pre-K through 12th Grade), Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Moses vs. the Big Mac, Lectionary Readings: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20, Philippians 3:4b-14, Psalm 19 Matthew 21:33-46, Chancel Choir: Vamos Todos al Banquete by Guillermo Cuéllar 11:45 AM — International Pot-Luck Lunch 11:45 AM – Junior Choir Rehearsal 6:30 PM – United Methodist Youth Fellowship, Celebration of Found Coins: 2008 CROP Walk (October 19)

World Communion Sunday
October 5, 2008

This Sunday, October 5—World Communion Sunday—more Christians will gather around the Table of Christ in those 24 hours to receive the gifts of bread and wine than on any other day of the year!
As you have done on World Communion Sundays in recent years at Centenary, you are encouraged to come to Worship wearing clothing that reflects your national or ethnic heritage. It is wonderful to look out over the congregation and to see how we reflect both the multiversity and universality of the people of God. You will also be invited to consider coming forward at the end of the service to share a word of blessing to and for the congregation in a language other than English. As in prior years, that World Benediction will be a simple phrase—The peace of God be with you—but what a gift to receive it in the many different languages represented within our membership!

We are asking each household (individual and/or family) to bring a special loaf of bread to our service this Sunday. It may be a loaf you or another member of your family prepares and bakes at home; it may be a special loaf you select to purchase from a bakery. During the Celebration of Found Coins Pastor Painter will invite you to come forward with your offerings and also place your loaves in two large baskets at the foot of the Altar. We will be using four different loaves of bread for our Communion serving at four different locations in the Sanctuary—representing “the four corners of the world.” We will bless all of the loaves and then distribute them back out to the congregation at the conclusion of the service. In this simple way you may enjoy the gifts of one another symbolized through these many different kinds bread. If there are loaves remaining when the service is concluded, we will arrange for them to be shared with people in our area who may be blessed by the gifts of our bread.

Flags: There will be a colorful display of flags from nations around the world in our Sanctuary that morning, thanks to a special gift in 2007 from our Children’s Ministries program.

Food & Fellowship Following: Everyone is invited to share together in an International Pot-Luck Lunch following Worship. We invite you to bring a dish to share with others that is reflective of your heritage. In a congregation like Centenary, composed of persons from a variety of different cultures, we anticipate a delicious opportunity to sample food from a wide variety of international cuisines. Come at Christ’s invitation to share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion and “International Table Fellowship” at Centenary this Sunday.

TGIF Intergenerational Dinner and Lectionary Discussion and a lot of fun together will meet on Fridays, October 3 & 10 from 6:30-8:30 PM in the Sanctuary. A barrel offering is taken to defray the costs for the meal and materials. Persons of all ages are invited and encouraged to attend.

Metuchen Country Fair — This Saturday, October 4: We can use many hands to work at the fair on Saturday, October 4th at the United Methodist Women’s Craft Table, the Library Book Sale Table and the Men’s Games. We will need help early in the morning (7:00 AM) setting up the booths and games and working at the booths and games later in the morning and afternoon; and then we will need help cleaning up and bringing unsold items back to church (4:00 PM). It is a lot of fun and you get to see all your neighbors on Main Street! See you there!

ADULT CLASS STUDYING “PARABLES OF JESUS”
Jesus communicated deep spiritual truths through simple, vivid, and engaging stories called “parables.” Woven from the stuff of everyday life, the parables of Jesus made the kingdom of God understandable and accessible to his listeners. Centenary’s Adult Class is exploring some of the best-known parables of Jesus using The Deeper Connections DVD Bible study series, “The Parables of Jesus.” This visually stunning series—filmed in Israel and in diverse locations in the United States—is written and taught by Biblical experts and consists of three components: the historical and cultural background of first-century Palestine when Jesus first told these stories; an engaging, close look at the Biblical text and its meaning; and encouraging and challenging applications of the Bible’s message to life today.

The remaining schedule is as follows:
· Oct. 5 — “The Mission of the Kingdom” (The Wedding Banquet: Mt. 22: 1-14)
· Oct. 12 — “The Fulfillment of the Kingdom” (Sheep and Goats: Mt. 25: 31-46)

ADULT CLASS WRESTLES WITH OBSTACLE-TO-FAITH ISSUES
After completing its current study of The Parables of Jesus, Centenary’s Adult Class will begin a new five-week study of obstacle-to-faith issues, starting October 19. This will be part two of a DVD study called Serious Answers to Hard Questions. In part one of the study last year, the class discussed Evangelism and Tolerance, the God of the Old Testament, Religion and Science, the Sins of the Church, and the Gnostic Gospels. The schedule for this study is as follows:

October 19………………….The Problem of Evil in the World
October 26………………….Other Religions
November 2…………………Jesus and Christianity
November 9…………………Forgiveness
November 16……………….Resurrection

You don’t necessarily have to make a year-long commitment to be part of the Adult Class. We usually schedule our courses to run no more than five or six weeks so you can attend as your schedule permits. If you see a course that has special interest for you, please join us on Sunday mornings from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM in the Sunshine Room. If you have suggestions for courses you would like the Adult Class to offer, please contact Bob Carlson at 732-549-6296.

Centenary will next be serving dinner at the Ozanam Shelter on Monday, October 6. Please check the information on the bulletin board in the Narthex and sign up to assist with food preparation or serving. October Menu: Pork Chops w/ Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables, Apple Sauce, Whipped Cream, Pumpkin Pie. For further information, please contact Glenna Gundell (732-463-1431) or Mary Ellen Heim (732-548-2587). Thanks.

2008 CROP Walk ? Sunday, October 19 at 12:30 PM
The Metuchen-Edison Area 2008 CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Walk for World Hunger will begin with sign-in and registration at 12:30 PM on Sunday, October 19, and “Step-Off” on the Walk at 1:00 PM from First Presbyterian Church, 270 Woodbridge Avenue in Metuchen (to which all walkers will return at the end of the walk).

CROP Hunger Walks help children and families worldwide—and right here in the U.S.—to have food for today, while building for a better tomorrow. Each year some two million CROP Walkers, volunteers, and sponsors put their hearts and soles in motion, raising over $16 million per year to help end hunger and poverty around the world—and in their own communities. (25% of the amount raised in the Metuchen-Edison Area Walk is returned annually to the Metuchen-Edison Area Clergy association to be used for emergency assistance for local individuals and households.) And you can part of it! Look for additional information about CROP Walks around the nation, and about the Metuchen-Edison Area CROP Walk at http://www.cropwalk.org.

Envelopes to secure sponsors for the 2008 CROP Walk are presently available through the Church Office. We need persons who are able to walk and those who can sponsor walkers, and others who can offer support as needed… Please speak with Pastor John Painter for additional information or to offer your assistance.

You Can Support UMCOR’s Response to 2008 Hurricanes in U.S. and in Haiti: The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is at work in the U.S. Gulf Coast and is also responding to four catastrophic storms that tore through Haiti in less than a month. You can support UMCOR’s efforts in the Gulf Coast and/or Haiti by making your checks payable to “Centenary UM Church.” Please write either “Hurricanes 2008” or “Haiti Emergency” on the memo line of your check. Then place it in an offering plate at a Sunday morning Worship service, or mail it to our Church Office (200 Hillside Avenue, Metuchen, NJ 08840-1900). Checks made payable to “UMCOR” can also be mailed directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Write “UMCOR Advance #3019695, Hurricanes 2008” or “UMCOR Advance #418325, Haiti Emergency” on the memo line.” Credit-card donations can be made by calling 800-554-8583 or at www.givetomission.org (link to “Hurricanes 2008” under UMCOR Emergencies on the right hand side of the page).

CENTENARY UNITED METHODISTCHURCH INVITES YOU TO A SILENT MOVIE NIGHT
Be prepared to laugh your head off!

An evening of short films accompanied by live piano music created by Jonathan Benjamin.
Saturday, October 25 7:00 p.m.
Free Will Offering

All Saints’ Sunday, November 2, 2008
At our 10:15 AM (EST) Service of Worship on Sunday, November 2, 2008, we will name and remember those members and friends of the Centenary Church Family who have joined the Communion of Saints since last November. If you have loved ones or friends who have died since November 1, 2007, and you would like their names lifted up in memory during our All Saints’ Sunday Service, please provide that information to the Church Office by Wednesday, October 29 so that they may be included. You may leave those names with Mary Kay Dangremond by phone during regular Church Office hours (9:00 AM-1:00 PM weekdays), or provide them to the Church by E-mail (CentaryUMC@aol.com ), Fax (732-548-6256), or regular mail.

Some Thoughts for This Week:

“Stay” is a charming word in a friend’s vocabulary. – Louisa May Alcott

In the eyes of a Christian, happiness is wanting what you get.

No person was ever honored for what they received. Honor has been the reward for what they gave. – Calvin Coolidge

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back. – Maya Angelou

The best and most wonderful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. – Helen Keller

I am only one, but I am still one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. – Edward Everett Hale, Nineteenth-Century writer

Love is not a doctrine. Peace is not an international agreement. Love and Peace are beings who live as possibilities within us. – Mary Caroline Richards, Centering

Laughter is inner jogging. – Norman Cousins

You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; You grow old because you stop laughing. – Michael Pritchard

Memory is a child walking along the seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things. – Pierce Harris

One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is. – Will Rogers

For this you can be thankful: Only you and God have all the facts about yourself.

Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up. – Jesse Jackson

There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught. – J. C. Watts

Next Sunday – October 12, 2008:
9:00 AM – Adult Study: The Parables of Jesus (Sunshine Room)
10:15 AM – Worship and Sunday School (Pre-K Children through 6th Grade)
The 22nd Sunday After Pentecost / Laity Sunday / Youth Sunday
Children’s Message:Michael Savoia
Preacher: Keith A. Swatzel, II Theme: Hospitality of the Heavenly Host:
A Subversive Invitation
Lectionary Readings: Exodus 32:1-14 Philippians 4:1-9
Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 Matthew 22:1-14
Music: Chancel Choir – Este Momento by Pablo Sosa
Celebration of Found Coins: 2008 CROP Walk (October 19)
11:30AM – Fellowship Time (Room 20/Hallways)
11:45 AM – Junior Choir Rehearsal (Music Room)

Prayer for the Week of October 5: Glorious, gracious God, shine upon us with your wisdom. Call us into your kingdom. Help us hear your words, that our hearts might be transformed into your likeness. Help us know your grace, that our lives might be transformed into your love. Speak to us now, that the clutter of our lives might be cleared away. We want to know you. We want to be like you. We want to press on to the prize that is your kingdom on this earth. Make it so, Lord. Make it so. Amen.

I look forward to sharing with many of you in Study, Worship & Holy Communion, and Christian Fellowship around our banquet tables on this World Communion Sunday at Centenary.

Shalom, John