Dear Centenary Church Family:

We will gather in our Sanctuary for Worship at 10:15 AM this Sunday, October 8th. I will bring a message to the children, after which those in Pre-K through 8th grade will be dismissed for Sunday School classes. My morning Message, Partners in Ministry and Mission, will be based on the readings from 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 and Mark 10:17-31. The Chancel Choir will sing Thomas A. Dorsey’s moving Precious Lord, Take My Hand, as arranged for choir by Jack Schrader. Our Celebration of Found Coins is designated for the 2006 CROP Walk for World Hunger on October 15th. (Please see the item below.) Our Adult Class will meet at 9:00 AM in the Sunshine Room, as we conclude our study of India & Pakistan. (See the item below about the new Adult Study beginning on October 15th.) The Senior High Youth Class will also meet at 9:00 AM in the Youth Room.

TGIF Intergenerational Dinner and Bible study, fellowship meets tonight at 6:30 PM. All are welcome to come and enjoy the food, fellowship and focused conversation. A barrel offering is received to help cover the cost of the meal.

The Metuchen Country Fair is tomorrow, Saturday, October 7th, on Main Street. Centenary will again participate with a UMW craft table, Library book sale, and Men’s games for children. Assistance is especially needed at the church tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM to help load tables, games and sale items for transportation to Main Street. Help is also welcome at the end of the Fair (4:00 PM) to return items to the church. Thanks…many hands make light work!

2007 Confirmation Class Begins Sunday: Pastor Painter invites youth who are in the seventh grade or above to participate in the 2007 Confirmation Class at Centenary United Methodist Church. The 2007 Confirmation Class experience will continue from October until Sunday, June 3, 2007, Trinity Sunday, on which we will Confirm and receive into membership the 2007 Confirmation Class. There will be a special Confirmation Orientation Session for youth interested in participating in the Class and their parent(s) to share more detailed information about the 2007 Confirmation Class. This session will be at 12:00 PM Sunday, October 8th, in the Youth Room. We will have a light lunch available to begin the session, and we will share together in conversation and reflection until about 1:30 PM. Confirmation Class books and journals will be handed out, along with other materials for the Confirmands. We will also attempt to determine the best schedule for class sessions during the year ahead.

Centenary Book Club will next meet on Friday, October 13th at 7:30 PM in the Sunshine Room…following dinner with TGIF. The book for discussion this month is The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. All women and men (age 18 and over) are welcome to participate in the monthly Book Club.

“Becoming a Disciple” Is the Theme of the Next Adult Class Study: In the Dust of the Rabbi: Becoming a Disciple is the theme of the next Adult Class study, beginning Sunday, October 15. This five-session DVD series, featuring master teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan, explores what it means to be a follower of Jesus, not only in the first century, but now in the 21st Century. The series is beautifully filmed on location in Galilee and Asia Minor, a region where the rabbinic practice of selecting disciples (talmidim) was well known, and where disciples walked the walk Rabbi Jesus taught them. If you’ve never been to the Holy Land, the Vander Laan videos, part of the Faith Lessons of the Bible series, are the next best thing to being there. Join us for this exciting study, starting October 15 from 9:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. in the Sunshine Room.
Food Collection—Sunday, October 15th: 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.

2006 CROP Walk ? Sunday, October 15th at 12:30 PM: The Metuchen-Edison 2005 CROP Walk for World Hunger will begin with sign-in and registration at 12:30 PM on October 15th, and “Step-Off” on the Walk at 1:00 PM from First Presbyterian Church in Metuchen (to which all walkers will return at the end of the walk). Envelopes to secure sponsors for the 2006 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.

Visit with Bishop Devadhar on October 19th at 7:00 PM at Christ UM Church in Piscataway: Greater New Jersey Area Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar will visit with the laity of the Raritan Valley District on Thursday, October 19th at 7:00 PM at Christ United Methodist Church in Piscataway. (The clergy of the District will be meeting with the Bishop during the day, also at Christ UMC.) The evening gathering will begin with laity-led Worship, followed by a brief presentation from Bishop “Suda” and an opportunity for questions and conversation. It has been the Bishop’s intent and desire to visit each of the nine districts of the Conference at least once a year to hear from the people of the churches. Please add this date to your calendar and plan to be present to participate in the dialogue with Bishop Devadhar.

All Saints’ Sunday, November 5th: At our 10:15 AM Service of Worship on November 5th 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 6th, 2005, 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, November 1st, so that they may be included. You may leave those names with Mary Kay Dangremond by phone during regular Church Office hours (9:00AM-1:00 PM weekdays), or provide them to the Church by E-mail (CentaryUMC@aol.com ), Fax (732-548-6256), or regular mail.

MUSIC DATES TO REMEMBER: There will be several events sponsored by the Music Ministry throughout the year. If you are interested in helping with these events or serving on the Music Committee, please contact Alison Williams or Shirley Mosteller, or leave a message at the church office.
· Sunday, October 29th at 6:30 PM: A Spooky Silent Movie, The Phantom of the Opera, with live piano accompaniment by Jonathan Benjamin; popcorn and refreshments served by our Centenary Youth.
· Sunday, December 17th @ 6:30 PM: “Carols and Cookies”— A chance to sing your favorite Christmas carols during Advent! Bring your friends and neighbors and especially cookies to share!
· Tuesday, February 20th: A Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner, followed by a Jazz/Cabaret Evening to usher in Lent.
All are sponsored by the Music Committee and will be fund-raisers for the church. We hope they will be well attended. Let your friends and neighbors know!

Some Thoughts for This Week:

Prayer is faith passing into action. – Richard Cecil

G is for gratitude. When I’m in gratitude, if I even stop and make a list of the things I’m grateful for, that’s a form of prayer. It breaks my trance of misery or self-absorption. – Anne Lamott

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. – Danny Kaye

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. – Winston Churchill

You should not suffer the past. You should be able to wear it like a loose garment, take it off and let it drop. – Eva Jessye

Pray, and let God worry. – William Law

That’s when I want you – you knower of my emptiness, you unspeaking partner to my sorrow. That’s when I need you, God, like food. – Rainer Maria Rilke

Prayer for the Week of October 8:
The earth reaches out toward you, O God, stretching forth in the wonder of all that soars with life, and welcoming the nurture of the universe with gratitude. So, we too come to you, O God, waiting in hope for the gifts of life that you bring to us through your Holy Spirit this day. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Amen.

Next Sunday, October 15, 2006: Laity Sunday
9:00 AM – Adult Class & Senior High Youth Class
10:15 AM – Worship & Sunday School (Pre-K thru 8th Grade)
2006 Laity Day Theme: One in Spirit, All in Ministry: In the Spirit of Worship
Lectionary Readings: Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Hebrews 4:12-16
Psalm 22:1-15 Mark 10:17-31
11:30 AM – Fellowship Time (Room 20)
5:30 PM – Junior Choir Rehearsal (Music Room)
6:30 PM – CUMC Youth Fellowship (Youth Room/Room 20)

I look forward to sharing in study, Worship and fellowship with many of you this Sunday.

Shalom, John