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

Thu 4/13Maundy Thursday Service 7PM

Sun 4/16 Easter Sunday Service 10AM

Mon-4/17-24 Pastor Lou-Vacation

Fri 4/21 Mission Meeting 10:30AM

Thu 4/27 Session 7PM Personnel 10AM

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 the 29th.  If you need to make

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

or bfernstrom@optonline.net

Easter Sunday April 16

We invite our members and friends and anyone who wants to be a part of a church family to join here this Sunday, April 16 at 10AM, for the Worship celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Everyone is welcome!

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 in our journey to help.

Please Note This Week

Pastor Lou will be conducting the Tuesday evening 7PM Bible Study and the Wednesday 10AM Bible Study as usual this week.

Please remember there will be no bible study on either day next week because Pastor Lou will be away.

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.

Thank You Note

Dear Pastor Lou & HMPC Congregants,

For the past 19 years our community has enjoyed sitting in the Covenant Room meditating, and have always felt welcome as members of the church family.

We celebrated the improvements to the grounds and were pleased to purchase a tree in our name and we look forward to watching it grow and thrive along with the other trees.

In gratitude for your graciousness, we offer a special contribution of $150 with the hope that you, too, continue to grow and thrive as a congregation.

Sincerely,

Angela Cays, Treasurer

Jan Rubin, Convener

New Church Office Email

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

Ḟaithworks

As we read in the Gospel of John 20:1–18, Mary Magdalene goes alone to the tomb. Peter and the disciple “whom Jesus loved” go to the tomb after hearing Mary’s witness. Unlike Mary, they do not remain outside the tomb; they return home. But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. He said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Her encounter with Jesus in the garden qualifies her as the first witness to Jesus’ resurrection. Beyond that, Jesus sends Mary to the other disciples to announce that she has seen the risen Christ. Belief in resurrection does not come from an empty tomb. Belief in resurrection comes in a restored relationship, and in Mary’s witness: “I have seen the Lord!” Why do we keep telling this story over and over, year after year? We do it to remember not old details but new insights and fresh perspectives to nurture our faith and to grow our relationship with Jesus the risen and living God. Given the commercialization of this day in the secular world, most participants in our group will be aware that this is Easter, but some may not realize that the Easter story is also the story about the Resurrection, the foundational story of our faith. While some of the youngest members of our group may have not heard the resurrection story before, older children, youth, and adults probably know a combined version from the other gospel accounts and may have questions about what really happened. John’s account of the story offers an opportunity to highlight Mary’s courage and witness. At our time, together we will provide space for the exploration of this story on different levels. We hope that all in our group will experience both the wonder and mystery of this sacred story.

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.

Palm Sunday was a blast! From the singing and palm parade into the church to the festivities on the great lawn. It was so much fun! We had many visitors and families that stopped by to enjoy the Petting Zoo. Around 30 children from toddlers to eighth graders enjoyed the Egg Hunt. All Easter eggs, even our reserves! went fast. But there were enough for everyone to share. Many thanks to our youth assistants and childcare workers who helped in the stuffing and hiding of the eggs and in providing care and support to our guest and newcomers.

Upcoming Faithworks Events

• May 14 –  Is Mother’s Day and Women of the Church Sunday. 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.

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

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

                                    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!