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

Tue 6/6 Primary Election 6AM-8PM

Sun 6/11 Church Picnic 11AM

Tue 6/13 Mission Meeting 10AM

Sun 6/18 Father’s Day

Fri 6/23 HMPC Book Group 1-3PM

Sat 7/1-8 Mission Trip to The Eastward

Patricia Pastas, Our Christian Education Director is Leaving High Mountain Church June 15

Since August of 2013, we have been very fortunate to have Patricia Pastas join our team in building High Mountain Presbyterian Church. She came and accepted a challenge to develop and organize a creative church experience for children and youth.  When she started we had very little to offer except our promise to support her and listen to her advice in laying a foundation of learning and fun for the children.   Patricia has served us very well.  She has built a weekly learning experience for children of all ages for Sunday.  She has led confirmation and youth retreats.  She has organized awesome pageants and started a new vacation bible camp.

Patricia designed and decorated the learning center on the second floor of our worship space. She recruited, trained and supervised a team of volunteers and paid helpers who had to be ready for anything on Sunday mornings in terms of attendance.  Some mornings there were two children and on some mornings there were fifteen children who wanted to be challenged.  The age range was wide open.  Every Sunday for four years, we have had something good to offer to whoever attended.

During her time here we have welcomed several new families some of whom have become very engaged in helping to make Sunday mornings a success. Patricia also helped to connect our church to the community at Ridgefield Park Presbyterian Church. We have become friends with many of the youth and Adults from Ridgefield Park and also several of the Spanish speaking church in the Palisades Presbytery.  Patricia attended and recruited several members of the 2015 Mission trip to Maine to work with the elderly and poor in the Northern Appalachian Mountains. Last summer we sent one student to the youth triennium held at Purdue University.

Patricia has been a valuable member of the staff for these years. She is a wonderful team player always ready to do what needs to be done including creating caring events for all members of our community.  She helped to remind us all that children and youth are full members of the caring community. She has been our resident tech person, and helped to create many of the banners and public relation campaigns. Our big seasonal festivals at Palm Sunday and Easter and Christmas always had the support and creativity and organizational skills of this great servant of the mission of the church.

Part of Patricia’s time here on staff was funded by a Presbytery of the Palisades grant to help us grow. We have grown, but not fast enough to continue to fund her position at the level that she needs.  So we have decided that we must regroup and Patricia is looking for new places where her gifts and skills can be used.  We will miss her and be ever grateful for her love and caring, for her teaching and training.  Above all it is her love for the gospel and for Christ’s church that guides her life and the light from that love has shone brightly on us all.  We will miss her greatly.

This coming Sunday is our last chance to express our gratitude to her in person before she leaves. We have dedicated the picnic this week end to honor her and her work here.  Hope to see you here.  We will have Picnic food and also our band, Day Break, will be playing your favorite tunes.

God Bless you, Patricia.

Pastor Lou, on behalf of the Session and this whole community

Summer Reading @ HMPC

The Book Club meets on the 4th Friday

of the month and anyone is invited to

come and discuss the books.

June 23- The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff

Over The Summer- Last Hope Island by Lynne Olson

We look forward to seeing you in the Fall!

Stock Offering For MATE

We’re bullish on selling stock certificates on Sunday, June 11 and 18, to benefit our mission team going to the Mission at the Eastward (MATE) in Maine! We need your help by purchasing some stock because every dollar you give offsets the cost of the trip. Food, transportation costs and housing are real costs involved in getting our team workers out with the needy folks in the Farmington, ME area so every little bit counts!  Please look for our stock sellers in the Narthex on June 11^th and help support this important effort of outreach to the poor!

Church Picnic 

The Session of the HMPC is planning a Church Picnic after service on Sunday, June 11^th in honor of Patricia Pastás for all she has done for our youth program.

The celebration will include a huge salad bar and huge burger bar. We are asking for all to participate by selecting one or more items to fill the salad and burger bar.  This list is posted in the narthex.  This should be a time of great fellowship and fun!

Ḟaithworks

This Sunday we welcome to the Season after Pentecost, the longest season of the church year, which begins on June 11, the week after Pentecost, and will end on the Sunday before Advent. Traditionally this season is a time of learning and growth in the life of the church as we explore what it means to follow God faithfully day by day. This season begins with story about the creation of the world from the first two chapters of Genesis. Also, This Sunday is called Trinity Sunday, a day when we celebrate the different ways we experience God in and around us.

Our focus bible reading is Genesis 1:1—2:4. Youth curiosity about nature and creation is an interest that spans the ages of childhood. Children enjoy visiting zoos and aquariums. Along with this natural interest comes a sincere concern for how people care for creation. Older children often ask the “how” and “why” questions that help them make sense of the world around them and may question the story of a world that was created in seven days. This session provides the opportunity to explain that this story is not meant to be a scientific account of creation. At our time together we will explore why the story was included in the Bible, and examine what helps us to know about God and creation and to acknowledge that all of us are included in God’s creation, a creation that God describes as “very good” in the account in Genesis.

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 for children under 5 years old is provided on the 2^nd floor of the church house as well.

Summer Mission Trip to Maine. 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.

Work With Willie At Habitat Build July 15!!

Last year, Willie Araujo and his family visited the church to talk about Habitat when we launched the Fernie Family Build. Since he and his wife needed to serve 400 volunteer hours to qualify for a Habitat House, he was not eligible for the house chosen for our family to sponsor. The Gonzalez family will be moving into 147 Hamilton Avenue when it is completed, hopefully by the end of the year. Since they already have their 400 hours of sweat equity, Willie is able to earn 40 hours from volunteers that work on the Fernie House. He will be volunteering on July 15 on the Hamilton Avenue House. Please consider joining us to assist that day for this win-win opportunity.  A maximum of ten workers can participate each day.  Volunteers need to arrive at 7:45 am and work will end at 3:30, with a morning coffee break and an hour lunch time (food and drink to be provided by the family). Volunteers must be 16 to participate.

To sign up, please go to the link provided below. You will need to set up a New Account with a username and password and it will walk you through the sign-up, getting some basic information, and ask you to sign a very important liability waiver. Please sign up for the July15 workday.

https:/fernstrom.phfhg.volunteerhub.com

We are so impressed with the support of so many who have shown an interest in the project and want to be part of our plan to help revitalize Paterson. Donations so far total $48,500, due to the recent allocation of the HMPC Mission Committee annual Habitat donation to the Fernie Build.  Additional contributions can be mailed to Paterson Habitat for Humanity, PO Box 2585, Paterson, NJ 07509, memo Fernie Family Build, or https://fundly.com/ferniebuild.The Fernstroms extend their appreciation to all who have expressed their encouragement and support of this endeavor.  The photos of the first workday can be viewed on screen in narthex.

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.

HMPC Sunday Servers: Second Quarter 2017