9:30 AM — Worship (There will be No Summer Sunday School on September 6)
Theme: A Summer Hymn Sing, Part 2
Lectionary Readings: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 James 2:1-17 Psalm 125 Mark 7:24-37
Music: Alison Williams, oboe
Celebration of Found Coins: Volunteer-in-Mission Trip to North Carolina
10:45 AM — Fellowship Time

Summer Worship & Sunday School will be held at 9:30 AM. through Sun-day, September 6, 2009. (Note: There will be no Summer Sunday School sessions on the holiday weekend of September 6.) On “Homecoming Sunday,” September 13th, we will re-sume our regular schedule with Worship and Sunday School for Pre-K through 12th Grade Youth at 10:15 AM. The Adult Class will also resume its sessions at 9:00 AM on Sep-tember 13 in the Sunshine Room. Save the afternoon of Sunday, September 13 for our an-nual “Homecoming Picnic” at Merrill Park in Colonia (Rain Date: September 20). Details in the September edition of The Lamplighter, weekly Worship bulletins, and in weekly Centen-ary E-pistles to those for whom we have E-mail addresses.

Dear Centenary Church Family:

This Sunday at Centenary: September 6, 2009
The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost /
Sacrament of Holy Communion

9:30 AM– Worship (There will be No Summer Sunday Schoolon Labor Day Weekend)
Theme: A Summer Hymn Sing, Part 2
Lectionary Readings: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 James 2:1-17
Psalm 125 Mark 7:24-37
Children’s Message: Pastor John Painter
Celebration of Found Coins:Volunteer-in-Mission Trip to North Carolina
Music: Alison Williams, oboe
10:45 AM – Fellowship Time(Room 20)

Volunteers Needed to Teach Sunday School Beginning in September
Please speak with Cathy Jean Savoia (732-826-1921) if you can offer your time and love to our children…Pre-K through 6thGrade…on Sunday mornings at 10:15 AM. You do not have to commit to every Sunday…and “substitute teachers” are always welcome and needed. Thank you.

Persons are invited to sponsor the time of coffee and refreshmentsfollowing our Sunday Worship services.Please consider sponsoring a refreshment time and signing up for one of the many available weeks on the2009Refreshment Chart in the Narthex. If you are concerned about serving alone, you may want to find another person to team up with…speak with Pastor John Painter. Information on what you need to provide is available on the information sheet attached to the Refreshment Chart.Thank you for providing hospitality on a Sunday morning.

A Reminder of Three Upcoming Events as we begin our Fall Schedule:

CUMC BACK-TO-SCHOOL PICNIC

Come One, Come All

To the Back-To-School Picnic following service on Sunday, September 13 (rain date September 20). It’s going to be in Merrill Park, Colonia, (same as last year) where you can play volleyball, badminton, croquet and other assorted activities including softball, so bring your glove. Hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken and beverages will be provided. Please bring your favorite salad or dessert. Also bring a folding chair for relaxing afterward. Hope to see everyone there!

Directions: R on Dellwood. L on Grove Ave. R at light onto Middlesex Ave./Rte 27.
At 6thlight (2.5 miles), R onto Green St. Immediate L just after underpass onto Middlesex Turnpike.
0.5 miles to Merrill Park. Once in park, follow one-way road 0.5 miles to Grove 1B on the left.
Parking lot is just past Grove 1B, to the left.

Centenary United Methodist Church
Invites you and your friends to our
OPEN HOUSE
Sunday, September 20, 2009
10:15 AM service

As we return to our fall schedule of family and church activities, we invite everyone to bring one or more friends, neighbors, or family members to experience the warm welcome of
Centenary. The service will include some special moments designed to help our
visitors learn about us, Centenary, and Methodism.

Please invite your friends and family to join us for worship.

Our hearts, our minds, and our doors are always open.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Centenary United Methodist Church

Invites you and your friends to our

Roast Beef Dinner
With all the trimmings!

Saturday, September 26, 2009
6:30 PM

Served Family Style

$15.00 for anyone 13 years and over
$ 5.00 for anyone between 6 and 12 years
Under 5 years – FREE

Please invite your friends and family to join us.
Our hearts, our minds, and our doors are always open.

Centenary United Methodist Church
200 Hillside AveMetuchen, NJ08840
Phone 732-548-7622

Centenary United Methodist Women
DO YOU KNIT, CROCHET, OR DO ANY OTHER CRAFT??It is not too early to think about doing something for the Women’s booth at the Metuchen Fair. The Metuchen Fair is the first weekend in October and we need many items to sell at the fair. This is our only fund raiser for the year. If you have any ideas or can make some items for the fair, please talk to Sylvia Woodfield (732-549-9042) and give her your suggestions. If you have an idea for a craft, let her know and we can arrange for a workshop so that others may share in the craft.
CAMPBELL SOUP LABELSand other related products: We are still collecting these labels for the Red Bird Mission. There have been BIGchanges to the Labels program. The part of the label that we need is the UPC section along with the Labels for Education symbol.Please check out the UMW bulletin board (in the area near the Men’s Room) for more information on how these labels need to be collected. There is a basket in the Church Library to receive your labels. The Red Bird Mission, in Beverly, Kentucky, is a Mission Project of the United Methodist Church. The latest newsletter from the Red Bird Mission says they expect to be able to acquire a van in 2009 with their 1,600,000 points received from all the Labels that they received for the last two years.
PECANS, TRAIL MIX, CHOCOLATES, ETC.will be available in late October. This will be a fund raiser for the church budget this year.
Donations Still Welcome For Heifer Project “Joy to the World” Fundraiser
Even though we have surpassed our $1,500 goal, the Missions Committee is continuing to accept donations for its Heifer Project “Joy to the World” mission outreach project for 2009.
The money we have raised so far ($1,762.61) through your generous giving, will enable us to donate nine animals—one heifer, two sheep, four goats, and two llamas—to impoverished families around the world to help them become self-reliant. Any additional money we collect between now and the end of the year will allow us to donate additional livestock.
If you would like to contribute to this life-changing program, place a check in the offering plate made out to Centenary United Methodist Church, and write “Joy to the World” on the memo line.

Food Collection—Sunday, September 20
Please bring cereals, staple food items in plastic jars or cans, and paper products to share with senior residents in Perth Amboy. We and they are deeply grateful for your generous sharing.
Special Appeal for Diapers and Infant/Toddler Food for Amandla Crossing:Your assistance is needed to provide diapers (sizes#3, #4, #5 & #6…andpull-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

TheCentenary Book Clubwill meet for its first session of the new club year on Friday, September 18, 2009, at 7:30 PM in the Sunshine Room. The group is hoping to be selected for either a conference call or personal visit from Barbara Delinsky who is the author of our Summer Read 2009, While My Sister Sleeps. The Book Club is open to men and women ages 18 years and older.

Our Financial Stewardship
Thank Youfor your faithful financial stewardship in support of our ministry and mission at Centenary United Methodist Church. We are grateful for your many gifts. During the next few weeks our congregation will be helped greatly in meeting our ministry goals if everyone is able to become current in their financial commitments to our church. Typically, weekly contributions tend to “drop off” during the Summer months, as many persons are away on vacation or engaged in seasonal activities at home. At the same time, “start-up” expenses for the Fall place heavy demands on our cash flow. If you have missed a week or two of regular giving along the way this summer, we deeply appreciate your efforts to bring your contributions up to date in September. If you need clarification on your pledge status, or if you would like to request weekly offering envelopes with which to share your gifts, please contact our Financial Secretary, Sue Brownlow, through our Church Office. We trust you have enjoyed a time of rest and re-creation during the Summer, and we pray God’s blessings upon you and our church in these opening days of our Fall activities. —With Gratitude, Your Committee on Finance
Thank you in the name of Jesus Christ for making ministry possible.

Do You Have Digital Photos of Church Activities?
Please share them with us for our Web Site.

We want to start collecting digital photos of church activities (including off-site photos of church-related activities such as mission trips, youth retreats, etc.) and post them on our Web site. As appropriate, we will request a “use of photo consent” before posting the photos. Please send any digital photos you might have of church events to Lois Hines at loislhines@hotmail.com. For further information or guidance, please speak with Lois (732-549-3910). Thank you.

September 11th Anniversary Observance at “Freedom Plaza”
There will be a Patriot’s Day Candlelight Observance at Freedom Plaza (at the Metuchen NJ Transit Station on the corner of Main Street & Woodbridge Avenue) from 7:00-7:45 PM on Friday, September 11th. The service will include presentations by community leaders, members of the Metuchen Fire & Police Departments, and prayers from members of the Metuchen Clergy.

Some Thoughts for This Week:

You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be. – Dr. Wayne Dyer

Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity. – Joseph Addison

One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love. – Sophocles

Greatness lies not in trying to be somebody, but in trying to help somebody.

It takes courage to show your dreams to someone else. – Erma Bombeck

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time. – Sir Winston Churchill

Silence is the language of God;
It is also the language of the heart. – Dag Hammarskjöld

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. – Abraham Lincoln

There can be no evangelization without incarnation. – Alvaro Barreiro, Brazilian Catholic theologian

To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it. – Churton Collins

Don’t give your advice before you are called upon. – Erasmus

People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be–not what you nag them to be. – S. N. Parker

Make it a rule, and pray to God to help you to keep it, never, if possible, to lie down at night without being able to say: “I have made one human being at least a little wiser, or a little happier, or at least a little better this day.” – Charles Kingsley

It isn’t always enough to be forgiven by God and others. Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

CELEBRITY QUIP: I have a hobby. I have the world’s largest collection of sea shells. I keep it scattered on beaches all over the world. Maybe you’ve seen some of it. – Steven Wright

AIN’T IT SO: There is nothing that upsets a person quite as much as having company drop in and see the house looking as it usually does. – Unknown

Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together. – Vesta M. Kelly

Sometimes when you’re angry, you have a right to be angry. But that never gives you the right to be cruel.

Next Sunday at Centenary: September 13, 2009
The Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Homecoming Sunday

9:00 AM – Adult Study – The Prayers of Jesus(Sunshine Room)
10:15 AM – Worship & Sunday School(Pre-K through Grade 12)
Preacher: John D. Painter Theme: Welcome Home!
Lectionary Readings: Proverbs 1:20-33 James 3:1-12
Psalm 19 Mark 8:-38
12:00 Noon – Back-to-School “Homecoming Picnic” at Merrill Park in Colonia

On “Homecoming Sunday,” September 13th, we will resume our regular schedule with Worship and Sunday School for Pre-K through 12thGrade Youth at 10:15 AM. The Adult Class will also resume its sessions at 9:00 AM on September 13 in the Sunshine Room.Save the afternoon of Sunday, September 13 for our annual “Homecoming Picnic” at Merrill Park in Colonia(Rain Date: September 20).Details in this bulletin, in the September edition of The Lamplighter, and in weekly Centenary E-pistles to those for whom we have E-mail addresses.

Adult Class Resumes September 13 with “The Prayers Of Jesus”
Centenary’s Adult Class will reconvene next Sunday, September 13, at 9:00 AM in the Sunshine Room with a seven-week DVD study on “The Prayers of Jesus.”
From his baptism to his crucifixion, the Gospels portray Jesus as a man of prayer who knew and deeply valued intimate communion with God. This series, led by some of the country’s leading Bible scholars, will give us an in-depth look at the prayers of Jesus and provide new insights into prayer, the character of God, and how we can deepen our relationship with God.
The topics that will be covered and the scripture passages on which they are based include:
· Watch and Pray—Jesus’ Model Prayer Life(Mark 1: 32-39; 9: 9-29; 14: 32-42);
· Our God Listens—The Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8);
· Joining in Jesus’ Prayer—The Lord’s Prayer(Matthew 6: 9-13);
· Praying to a Good God—The Friend at Midnight (Luke 11: 5-13);
· Praying with Purpose—Jesus’ Final Prayer (John 17); and
· A Friend in High Places—Faith, Prayers, and Answers (John 14: 13-14).
We will conclude this series on Sunday, October 25, with a short film from the NOOMA series called “Open,” which focuses on the question, “Does God answer prayer?” and offers a fresh perspective on how we approach the things in life that compel us to pray.
We invite you to join us for a new year of Bible study, starting Sunday, September 13, from 9:00 to 10:00 AM in the Sunshine Room.

Prayer for the Week of September 6:Jesus, you promised never to leave us alone. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your comforting presence. Thank you for your message of love and peace, gracious God. Help me share your powerful word with my friends and neighbors. Help me see your face in others and show them your love. Amen.