Do you remember the first essay of each school year? What did you do on your summer vacation? While some of took vacations, a lot of things were happening at the church. In June we housed a dozen homeless people for a week. It was one of our most successful weeks ever. We said good-bye to our guests with tears in our eyes as they presented us with a thank you note that they had all signed with lots of love.
The other side of the coin is that we all need the church as well. We are creatures who need to live in community.
We need to have communion with others in a setting that is not competitive, not coercive and where we are neither
the employer nor the employee of the other. We need to be in community with others in a place where we are all equal.
The church is one of very few places like that available in the world anymore.
In July we had another great vacation church school experience as many youngsters in town learned about Jesus and
the love of God. While we were busy downstairs, our roof was being repaired upstairs. Hopefully, the leaks in the
prayer room are now past problems and will not bother us again.
July also saw our pipe organ being dismantled and taken to Pennsylvania for a major cleaning and refurbishing.
The process has now been reversed and day by day the pipe organ is coming together again in our sanctuary. By
next week you should be able to hear it in all of its original glory once again. While the organ chamber was empty
we hired an electrician to upgrade the wiring and receptacles in that area so things are safer and more convenient
for the future. The cost of all of this ran close to $78,000. Your generosity over many years and especially over
the past few months has provided all the money we needed for this big project. Thank you to so many who have been
building the Organ Fund for years to make this possible. I am sure it will be a blessing to our congregation for
decades to come.
This summer we said farewell to Jonathan Scanlon as he left us to begin a different ministry in Tucson, Arizona.
There is news from him in this newsletter. We are happy to welcome Diane Ruffle back as our Seminary Assistant.
Diane has worked with us before. Once again she will be working with the Senior High Youth Group, assisting in
worship and taking on various leadership roles throughout the year. Once again her gifts and her love for our
congregation are a welcome addition to our staff. Erika Beer-Gerhard continues as our Parish Associate. Her schedule
is such that we won’t be able to see her as often as we like but she will be with us at various times throughout the year.
What a summer! And that was the slow season! Congregational life is even busier now as all our church programs are back
in full swing. Please join us in all activities but especially in worship as that is the center of all we do. Please
join us in praising God and as we do our best to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
-Christopher Belden
All meetings will take place in the Memorial Lounge unless otherwise noted.
MEETING SCHEDULE
SPECIAL EVENTS
HYMNS - Do you have a favorite hymn that we never seem to sing? Is it in our hymnal? If the answer to both
these questions is yes, please drop a note in the collection plate with the hymn name and number and we will do
our best to include it in an upcoming worship service.
PROGRESSIVE DINNER – October 22nd. You will have the opportunity of hosting either appetizers or an entrée
in your home or a dessert table at the church. In a progressive dinner you eat each course with a different group
of eight people. The food is delicious and it is a wonderful way to meet people and/or get to know them better.
Time is running out. Be sure to let Alice Gillman know if you would like to be included.
A THEATER OUTING! - The Fellowship Committee of the Session has a block of tickets for the wonderful musical,
“The King and I”. We have tickets for the 3pm performance on November 13th at the New Jersey Performing Arts
Center (NJPAC). The tickets are $54. Please send your money to Janet Miller at the church office (232-9490) or to
Bart Barre (233-3290). First come, first served. NJPAC is a beautiful center. It is easy to get to (less than 1/2 hour
from Mountainside) with parking available right across the street from the Center. Once we have the full list of
people attending we will help arrange carpools. Take advantage of our group discount to see a show that will
have you singing for weeks afterwards. Enjoy the opportunity to see a truly lovely performing arts center that
New Jersey can rightfully be proud of.
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This Web site is maintained by Debbie
Steinberg. Comments can be sent to Debbie at: debbiesteinberg@yahoo.com.
You can reach the Church office directly
at: (908) 232-9490. Office hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
ET.
Web server space donated by Darryl
Walker of Westfield,
NJ