PRESBYTERIAN MESSENGER

UPCOMING EVENTS. . .

Every Sunday 10:00 AM Worship

Communion served 1st Sunday of Month

Choir Practice 8:30-9:30AM

Knitting Group 2nd Sunday of Month in

Sanctuary 12-1:30PM

Every Tuesday – Bible Study 7-8:30PM

Every Wednesday – Bible Study with

Rev. Lou Kilgore 10-11:30AM

Bell Choir Practice 7PM

Mon-4/17-24 Pastor Lou-Vacation

Fri 4/21 Mission Meeting 10:30AM

Thu 4/27 Session 7PM

Fri 4/28 HPMC Book Group 1-3PM

CFA Easter Food Drive

The Mission Committee would like to thank everyone who supported

their Easter Food Drive for the Center For Food Action.  Many families will have  food on their shelves because of your sharing. A special thank you to Tom Noonan for transporting everything

up to Mahwah for us. Blessings……

For those cooking a pasta dinner for the Iglesia Presbyteriana Hispana

Walk In Dinner, please bring it in the aluminum dishes provided

by our church.  It must have a lid and must be HOT. Please deliver to

High Mountain Church by 2:30 pm on April 29th.  If you need to make

other arrangements, please contact Barbara Fernstrom at 973-271-3389

or bfernstrom@optonline.net

Ḟaithworks

The Season of Easter following Easter Sunday is 50 days long. During this time the Faithworks will explore sto­ries from the gospels of John and Luke and the book of Acts about the ways in which Jesus’ followers shared God’s love through words and actions.

Our focus Bible story for this coming Sunday is John 20:19–31.  The gospel of John was written for people who lived several years after these events. They were not around when these events hap­pened, but they had heard stories about them. Last week we learned about Mary’s finding the stone of the tomb rolled away from the entrance and the tomb empty! And her running off to tell the disciples that she had seen Jesus alive! and her conversation with Him. Later that day, in the evening, the disciples were gathered in a house behind locked doors. They were afraid that the religious leaders would come after them, now that Jesus had been killed. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing Jesus with their own eyes, were excited…Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. But Thomas, sometimes called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disci­ples told him, “We saw Jesus!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”

Children rely on their senses to understand what is real. Their reality is what they can see, touch, hear, smell, or taste. Yet they are still open to wonder and imagination, and can be quite passionate about what they believe or don’t believe, what is real and what is impossible. On this first Sunday after Easter, some in our group may be wondering what really happened in the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As they grow up youth can become more skeptical, questioning beliefs accepted earlier. They may connect with Thomas and his desire to see things for himself and to name some of their own questions about this event, and about other issues of faith. All children and youth are welcome to join us for Bible story time and activities on the 2^nd floor after the time of conversation with the pastor. Childcare is available for children 4 and under on the 2^nd floor as well

Upcoming Faithworks Events

• May 14 –  Is Mother’s Day and Women of the Church celebration. Faithworks’ children and youth will mark this day by distributing gifts to the women of our church. 

Prayers & Announcements

Announcements for the Sunday Worship

service should be emailed to the church

office. If you would like the community

to pray with you please call the office at

201-891-0511.

Summer Mission Trip to Maine Saturday July 1^st to Saturday July 8th.  Register now.

July 1^st – July 8^th High Mountain Church is once again sponsoring a mission trip.  The trip is under the leadership of Pastor Lou Kilgore.   Laura Peterson and Chris Buckley will be assisting in leadership and co-ordination as we prepare for another year of ministry in Maine. The purpose of the trip is to assist residents of northern Appalachia who are trying to stay in their homes but cannot afford to address many of the bricks and mortar problems that come with independent living.  The families we work with are facing severe challenges of a variety of sorts and we commit to making their homes safer, warmer, and drier.  We build, repair, dig, whatever is needed.  We will be working with a group there call Mission at the Eastward.  It is a Presbyterian mission agency.

There are two aspects of this trip:

1. There is one group that actually takes 8 days of their summer and uses their hands and feet to do the work and build relationships of support with the families. Last year there were 25 who attended. This group is mostly teenagers and young adults and the other adults who help to provide support and encouragement to the youth. This is an intergenerational experience with a priority of the development of the youth.  Adults who attend have the added challenge of relating and engaging in positive ways with teenagers as well as the work they are given to do and taking direction from program directors. The minimum age is 13 for all participants.    If you want to register send an email now to Pastor Lou, revlouie@aol.com or to Chris Buckley, office administrator, chrisbuckley@highmountainpres.org. A fifty dollar deposit is your reservation and it is nonrefundable.  This trip is open to those who are not from our church but space is limited.  Register now.

Adults (please take special notice) you are welcome at any age with the understanding that the week is challenging physically and emotionally and personally. Not everyone is prepared to travel and spend a week with teenagers in a tightly organized schedule under the direction of the trip leaders.  If you are interested in learning more please send an email to pastor Lou at revlouie@aol.com and let him know that you are interested in going. We have only participants, no chaperones and no tourists.  Background checks will be required for all adults.

The cost for the week is $350.00 and that includes most of the meals and lodging at the University of Farmington for the week and the building materials and tools needed to do the work and transportation to Maine. If you are planning to go please let us know now as there are many steps to being ready.  A fifty dollar donation is your reservation for the trip and this is nonrefundable.  Please spread the word.  Priority will be given to church families and members, but this is an open trip.

2. There is another group that supports the trip in prayers and financially. This work begins now with praying for those who are making decisions and getting their plans in order to go. There are fund raising events like a cake auction on Mother’s day at High Mountain Church. Some will make the cakes and some will buy them and together we raise support for this work.  We will offer stock shares which can be purchased in various amounts to support the effort.  The actual cost of the trip is $700 per person and we try to raise $350 in donations in order to make it so everyone can afford to go. We have already raised $1,500 dollars.

Please watch for more news and information. Time will go by very quickly so let’s begin the conversation now if you are thinking about being part of this year’s trip.

Pastor Lou, Mission trip Director.

Please Note This Week

Please remember there will be no bible study on either day this week because Pastor Lou will be away.  We’ll look forward to seeing you next week!

Walk In Dinner

Our Church will host our annual Pasta Dinner for the homeless at the Iglesia

Presbyteriana Chuch in Paterson on April 29.  We will serve them again on September 30.  There are sign-up

sheets in the Narthex to make a pasta dish (recipe and aluminum pans will be provided.)  Also, would you be willing to help serve?  We fed about 130

homeless people last year and I’m sure we will do the same again this year.  The Mission Team thanks you

for your help and we thank you for those that we will be serving.

New Church Office Email

Please note that all email correspondence to the church office/Chris Buckley should be sent to office.manager@highmountainpres.org. 

Book Club at HMPC

The Book Club meets on the 4th Friday of the month and anyone is invited to come and discuss the books.

April 28 – I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

May 26 – When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

                                       HMPC Sunday Servers: Second Quarter 2017

*Assigned families can decide who will be reader. Please inform Chris (201-891-0511), who is reading one week before you are scheduled. If you will not be available for your assigned date, please try to switch with someone else and inform the office of this change.  Please check PM regularly to see the date of your assignment.        

Thank you for taking time to assist with this church service!