PRESBYTERIAN MESSENGER (PM)

High Mountain Presbyterian Church (HMPC

March 21, 2017 #12   201-891-0511/FAX201-891-0517 pcfl.org

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

Thu 3/23 Session 7PM

Fri 3/24 HMPC Book Group 1PM

Sun 4/9 Palm Sunday/Petting Zoo 9AM

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 we seek 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 follow.

New Church Office Email

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

Daybreak Concert for Mission at the Eastward (Help for Housing in Appalachia).  

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported this coffee house/concert with the Band DAYBREAK.  There were 80 people in attendance.  The level of fun and enjoyment was reported at 10 out of 10. The ticket sales and the cost of refreshments raised enough money to cover all our expenses with a profit of about $1300 for the summer mission.  The benefits from this evening were amazing.  Those who attended had a great time. Many people got to know each other better.  Money was raised for a good cause.  The most repeated comment about this event was, “let’s do it again!”    Special thanks to Steve Palmieri and to the band for the great music. Thank you also to Laura Peterson who was in charge of the event along with her team of helpers and also everyone who brought food to share.  It was a wonderful night.

Walk In Dinner

Our Church will host our annual Pasta Dinner for the homeless at the IglesiaPresbyteriana Chuch in Paterson on April 29.  We will also 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.

Ḟaithworks

At Ḟaithworks we have been exploring stories from the gospel of John. In this week’s story, (John 9:1-41) Jesus helps a person who has been blind since birth. Accord­ing to the religious Law at that time (Leviticus 21:16–24), people with certain illnesses (for exam­ple, blindness, being lame, skin and eye diseases) were excluded from the worshipping community because they were considered ritually impure. In biblical times, many also believed that conditions such as leprosy and blindness were punishment for sin. In the story, Jesus heals a blind man on the Sabbath and rules honoring the Sabbath were very important at that time because they helped the people maintain their Jewish identity as they lived under Roman domain. So, the Sabbath was a day set aside to worship God. Like coming to worship service on Sundays at the present time. In our group, older children are very aware of the rules of social convention, behaviors, and traditions. How often have they heard or said themselves: “You can’t do that! It’s against the rules!”? Even though they can appreciate the importance of rules and laws that reassure respect and concern for their safety, they are often quick to challenge those that seem unfair or obsolete. They are suspicious of rules at school or home that are in place for the convenience of those in authority. And yet, they often set their own rules for acceptance and what is required to belong to a group. This Sunday’s Bible story about the healing of the man born blind, may raise important questions about the rules that contribute to healthy relationships and rules that limit them. In Jesus’ actions, our young people can find a role model for courageous ways of helping and caring for those in need. Jesus shows that there are no limits to love, especially when rules and social conventions hold people captive, oppressed, or silenced. I pray that as we explore this story together, we will come to new understandings about disci­pleship and the choices we need to make.  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! 

Easter Food Baskets

Easter Food Bags will be in the Narthex this Sunday, March 26 to open our Easter Food Drive for Center For Food Action (CFA). The food drive will end on Palm Sunday, April 9.

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. 

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     

                                      Sunday Server Sign-Up Sheet; First Quarter 2017

                                        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!