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

Sun 3/12 Clocks Go Forward

Tue 3/14 Mission Meeting 10:30AM

Thu 3/16 Personnel 10AM Session 7PM

OGHS 2017

The Christian season of Lent is marked with fasting, a traditional practice of giving up food and devoting yourself to prayer.  But this isn’t the only type of fasting the Bible talks about.  Isaiah 58 describes a new kind of fast, not to give up bread, but to SHARE it. Isaiah calls us to SHARE bread with the hungry.  We are called to offer help to those in need. One way to answer that call is through our gifts to the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS).  We will join with congregations all over the country as weseek answers to God’s call.  We can make a difference in the lines of many, many families.  Please join with us and watch for information to follo 

Ḟaithworks

This Sunday’s focus Bible story is in the gospel of John 3:1-17. The word “gospel” means “good news.” There are four books called gospels in the Bible and they all have stories about the things that Jesus said and did, each one telling the story in a different way. This week’s story is about a Pharisee named Nicodemus who went to see Jesus one night. Who is Nicodemus? Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a respected teacher in the Jewish society. Pharisees were religious leaders who knew a lot about religious laws. Some Pharisees thought that Jesus was a good teacher and some did not. Nicodemus came to see Jesus because he had heard about his miracles, teachings, and knowledge about the Scriptures. Nicodemus recognized Jesus as someone with whom he could discuss his questions about God’s way. “We know you are a teacher who has come from God,” Nicodemus states. And yet, the fact of his visiting at night may suggest he is unsure about it.

Questioning is an important part of learning. All of us, regardless of age, are on a continuing journey of learning, for our entire lives. The best teachers are themselves learners and all learning is a collaborative process between learners and teachers. Questioning is also an important part of our faith development. This time of exploring life questions in a safe space, enables our youth to move toward owning their own faith. Some teachers are uncomfortable with questions about faith because they think they must have all the answers.  But what is more important than having all the answers is the ability to listen to young people and encourage their questions. Nicodemus, himself a teacher and a learner, displayed great courage by asking his questions to Jesus, also a teacher. Jesus took Nicodemus seriously and affirmed his deep desire to know and understand. We hope and pray that at our group at Faithworks, will feel free to wonder and explore their questions about faith and encounter God’s love in the affirmation of these questions.  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 Events

April 9 – Palm Sunday. Please save the date! Petting Zoo for everyone to enjoy beginning at 9;45 am. Chickens, ducks, lambs and other farm animals will be outside for everyone to touch. Then, we will join in the Palm procession into the church. Following Worship, we will have our Easter Egg Hunt from 11 am to 12 noon. All are welcome!

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. 

April 21-24 Advocacy Training Weekend

PCUSA is sponsoring a Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day in Washington, DC on April 21. This program will be followed by Ecumenical Advocacy Days April 22-24. Almost one thousand Christian advocates will meet for workshops, lectures and concrete actions  for social justice. For further information, go to www.presbyterianmission.org, Advocacy Training Weekend.

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.

March 24 – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

April 28 – I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

May 26 – When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

New Church Office Email

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

Immokalee Update

Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been instrumental in providing better wages and living conditions to many farmworkers. At a recent meeting I attended at Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church in Naples, Nely Rodriguez, member of CIW, explained the progress which has occurred recently. Currently 90% of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange participate in the Fair Food Pro

gram, although not all the companies buying from them provide the additional penny per pound as part of the program. Workers can earn $5 – 50 more per week when picking for the Fair Food Program. Some of the farmers in the area also have farms in other areas of the east coast, including New Jersey. This enables migrant workers to earn more as they move north.

Recently CIW assisted in the first slavery case under their program. There were 30 workers in Homestead given rides by two persons who required the workers to give them their wages. Those responsible were jailed and the grower had to leave the program, since there is zero tolerance for such practices. The grower now has to go through a retraining program and probation before it can rejoin. Workers are informed by CIW that they are the monitors of their own rights and can contact a 24 hour hotline to the Fair Foods Standards Council to report problems with working conditions. The work force is more stable since the inception of this program. Nely Rodriguez and Rev. Noelle Damico are members of the Board of Directors of FFSC. Rev. Damico spoke to us at HMPC a few years ago, explaining this work. PCUSA presently donates $20,000 annually to CIW. HMPC contributed $500 last year for this project through the denomination. CIW continues to encourage all supporters to boycott Wendy’s, which refuses to join the Fair Food Program and purchases its tomatoes in Mexico. The 2016 James Beard Annual Leadership Award was presented to CIW “for their innovative work in forging a new human rights model in the food industry supply chain”. For additional information, see www.ciw-online.org or www.allianceforfairfood.org. CIW is the worker’s organization and Alliance is the organization in support of the workers.

Barbara Fernstrom        

                                     Sunday Server Sign-Up Sheet; First Quarter 2017

*Assigned families can decide who will be reader. Please inform Chris who is reading one week before you are scheduled. If you cannot be available when assigned, please switch with someone else and inform the office of this change.  Please check PM regularly to see the date of your assignment.  We need a few more volunteers for the listed duties.  If you can help in anyway, please call the office at 201-891-0511 and we can add you to the list. Thank you for your kindness and generosity in assisting with the church service.