Sunday, September 24 Music Recognition
Dear Centenary Church Family:
This Sunday, September 24, during our 10:15 AM Worship service, we will share in a time of recognition for those persons who are involved in our music ministry at Centenary. Our Chancel and Junior Choirs will combine early in the service to sing Unless You Learn by Marty Haugen, and then during the Offertory the Chancel Choir will sing For the Music of Creation by Austin C. Lovelace. Michael Savoia will bring a message to the children, after which those in Pre-K through 8th Grade will be dismissed for Sunday School classes. (A reminder that our Adult Class and Senior High Youth Class continue to meet at 9:00 AM, and that child care is available throughout the morning.) My morning Message, Measuring in the Right Direction, is based on the reading from the Gospel of Mark 9:30-37. We will also share in the Epistle reading from James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a. Our Celebration of Found Coins will be designated for the 2006 Spiritual Growth Retreat, to be held October 20-21 at Mt. Misery Retreat Center in Browns Mills, NJ.
India & Pakistan Adult Study Sundays at 9:00 AM – This “mission study” on India and Pakistan presents the richness and diversity of the cultures of these two countries, and explores key issues common to both, including gender issues, poverty, child labor, population, caste, illiteracy, religious extremism, globalization, and the complexities of the border conflict over Kashmir. Since 2006 is the 150th year of Methodist mission, ministry and heritage in India and Pakistan, this study is a fitting reminder of mission that is at once global and local—a mission that is rooted in the local, but whose wings are stretched across the globe. The five-week India & Pakistan study will continue through Sunday, October 8th. Copies of the study text, India & Pakistan by Glory Dharmaraj, are available in the Church Office and at the Adult Class for those who wish to use them during the study. We invite everyone to come and participate in this first Adult Study of the fall at 9:00 AM on Sunday mornings in the Sunshine Room.
Thursday, September 28: UMW Kitchen Clean-up. 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon in the kitchen. We will be emptying out closets, installing new shelf protection and throwing out things that have accumulated over the years and which are not needed anymore.
Kids’ Night Out–Friday, September 29 from 6:30-8:30 PM. Come and share in this fun on this first Kids’ Night Out of 2006-2007.
1756 Mozart Anniversary 2006
Centenary United Methodist Church
Presents
A Concert of Vocal and Instrumental Music by Mozart
Saturday, September 30
7:30 PM
Musicians:
Shirley Mosteller, Soprano
David Iskowitz, Piano
Alison Williams, Oboe & English Horn
Aaron Abramovitz, Clarinet
A Free-Will Offering will be Received
Centenary United Methodist Church
200 Hillside Avenue
Metuchen, NJ
732-548-7622
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, with live piano accompaniment, popcorn and refreshments.
· 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!
World Communion Sunday – October 1st
Special Clothing / World Benediction / Bread /
Flags / International Pot-Luck Lunch
On Sunday, October 1st—World Communion Sunday—more Christians will gather around the table in those 24 hours to receive the gifts of bread and wine than on any other day of the year! As we 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!
Also, for our World Communion Service this year we will repeat a special act we first began in October 2002. We are asking each household (individual and/or family) to bring a special loaf of bread to our service on October 1st. 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 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. And if there are loaves remaining when the service is over, we will arrange for them to be shared with residents at the Ozanam Shelter dinner on Monday, October 2nd so that they may be blessed by the gifts of our bread.
Flags: If you have a flag of your nation of origin, we invite you to bring it to Worship on October 1st (preferably on a pole) so that it may be displayed. There will be a display of flags from around the world in our Sanctuary that morning.
Finally, everyone is invited to share together in an International Pot-Luck Lunch following Worship. We invite you to come and bring a dish to share 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 cuisines. Come, share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion and “International Table Fellowship” at Centenary on October 1st.
Ozanam Shelter Dinner on October 2nd: Centenary will next be serving dinner at the Ozanam Shelter on Monday, October 2nd. 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.
Becoming Jesus’ Prayer Study: Pastor John Painter is facilitating weekly studies of Becoming Jesus’ Prayer: Transforming Your Life Through the Lord’s Prayer by Gregory V. Palmer, Cindy M. McCalmont and Brian K. Milford. on Wednesdays at 7:30 PM and on Thursdays at 9:30 AM. The sessions will be identical each week, and offered on Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings, to provide flexibility for persons to be able to participate. Each weekly session is designed to last for one hour. Pastor John invites you to join with him as we explore Becoming Jesus’ Prayer together. Copies of the book are presently available in the Church Office for those who wish to participate in the study sessions.
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.
Wanted: Children’s Sunday School Teachers for 2006-2007 – Are you looking to help guide a child through their spiritual journey, and become the happiest person around? Working with children can be very exciting and uplifting. Join us, and become a part of the Centenary Sunday School Team. Contact Cathy Savoia for more information: 732-826-1921 or 732-548-7622 x12.
Wanted: Old Ink Cartridges – Please help support our Children’s Ministries by saving your recyclable ink cartridges. A list, with product numbers, is on the children’s bulletin board. We will be able to collect between $.50 and $3.00 for each cartridge. This fundraiser is for Children’s Ministries and Family activities.
Some Thoughts for This Week:
God speaks to those who take time to listen.
When you flee from temptation,
Make sure you don’t leave a forwarding address.
Mature believers should use their strength to undergird, not to undercut.
Integrity simply means a willingness not to violate one’s identity.
-Erich Fromm
If even half our wishes came true, we would likely have twice as many problems.
If my life is surrendered to God, all is well.
Let me not grab it back, as though it were in peril in God’s hand
But would be safer in mine. – Elisabeth Elliot
No one knows the age of the human race,
but it is surely old enough to know how to love better than it does.
Daily Prayer for the Week of September 24:
Our songs of praise soar into the heavens, O God, made real by our gratitude and our faith in a future with you. Our prayers rise like sweet-smelling incense, the trembling sharing of our hopes and fears as fragile as the breath from our mouths. Our lives are full of the rhythms of believing and doubting and yet we know that you are with us, O God. For this we bring you our thanks. Amen.
Next Sunday, October 1, 2006 – World Communion Sunday
9:00 AM – Adult Class & Senior High Youth Class
10:15 AM – Worship & Sunday School (Pre-K thru 8th Grade)
World Communion Sunday
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Lectionary Readings: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 James 5:13-20
Psalm 124 Mark 9:38-50
Special Readings: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Mark 14:22-25
11:45 AM – International Pot-Luck (Room 20/Sanctuary)
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 at Centenary.
Shalom, John