[COG email blast] Pastor's Observations: Monday, October 4, 2010

[admin at bpcog.org]

Pastor's Observations: Monday, October 4, 2010

This past Sunday we celebrated World Communion Sunday with Christians
around the world, and received a special offering for the peacemaking
commitment in which our Presbyterian denomination has been engaged the
past 30 years. Thank you for your contributions. You may call the church
office for more information about its application.

We have had visitors in church each Sunday since returning to worship this
fall and some of you have stopped to speak to them. Thank you. Hospitality
is important. Look for those you do not know and introduce yourself to
them.  Please hand visitors a copy of the SPIRE. You may ask them how they
found us and if they would like any further information, suggesting we
could email or mail them more information if they would write down how we
could do so. And thank them for coming and invited them to return.

Some of these visitors had children. We have a children's space in the back
of the gym where we worship and a nursery, but need some loving persons to
help newcomers with children who know little of our worship life and
practices. Children like to be active; they are curious and explore; and,
unless asleep, they are hardly still or quiet. Reading a book to them or
letting them know where toys are in the nursery can help on a first visit.
You also want to introduce parents to our church school teachers, Ethelyn
Fulton, Glenn Maciag, and Candace Coleman.

A flurry of activity occurred after worship Sunday, October 3rd as Eve
Space directed people in making Church World Service school kits in the
hallway for needy children; people were pledging in the gym to support our
CROP walkers in the annual Montclair walk to raise awareness and money to
feed the hungry in our community; and Lulu Hicks, a newly instituted
"Parish Nurse," made her rounds asking people about their health and found
one of our regular attenders telling her he had not seen the dentist in a
long time because he could not afford it. Lulu is investigating that.

During the previous week, we saw such an increase in people coming by the
Food Pantry the shelves grew bare. We could use some more non-perishable
food items.

We prayed for the Baker and Turnbull families who lost loved ones; and
remembered flood victims in Pakistan, elections to occur in Bosnia, and
Rutgers University as it examines its civility in the wake of an invasion
of privacy that contributed to a student taking his life. Lord, in your
mercy, we prayed, hear our prayers. Call me if you also would like the
church to pray for you or for the Deacons or me to visit you.

May your actions also contribute to our vision: *Trusting God and
ministering to all people as Christ teaches us in the gospel.

Peace be with you.

Interim Pastor Bob Foltz-Morrison



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nine.pairlist.net/pipermail/allchurchemailblast/attachments/20101006/dc087506/attachment.htm>