The Stewartsville Press
The Newsletter of the
Stewartsville Presbyterian Church
550 North Main Street
Stewartsville, NJ 08886
908-859-1399
e-mail us at: spchurch@bellatlantic.net
http://home.att.net/~sp_churchApril 2003
D
ear Friends, What’s so holy about Holy Week? It’s one of those anomalies like calling Good Friday “Good”. It seems to me that there is a whole lot of unholiness in Holy Week. There are deceptions, lies, betrayals, questionable political alliances, cowardice, a suicide, innocent death, and death of innocence. But we still call it holy.It’s like the little boy who read the story of David and Bathsheba and the Song of Solomon and said to one of his young friends, “And can you believe all of that is in the Holy Bible?”
Holy Week can only be called holy because of the Holy One who makes it holy. It is the death of the righteous for the unrighteous ones who put him to death.
It is the sudden burst of forgiveness from the voice of the perceived “Helpless victim” on the cross. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!”
It is the voice of the Lamb of God. It is our beloved Lord admonishing His disciples
not to pick on the woman who had anointed him with expensive oil, because, as he said,
“She has done a beautiful thing for me.”
It is Jesus encouraging the disciples to allow the entrance of little children into the
inner circle of His busyness, because we are all to become as little children in faith.
It is our crucified and risen Lord saying to you and to me, even in times of war, “Love your enemies!”… Or “pray for those who despitefully use you!” or “Do good to all, especially to those in the household of faith.” You see a week becomes holy, only when the Holy One of God enters into the midst of that week to hallow it… and us.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Roan
CONFIRMATION CLASS
This year’s Confirmation/Commissioning Class will be confirmed on Sunday June 8th during worship and a brief reception will follow in Fellowship Hall.
This year’s class is meeting on Sunday morning and is being taught by Rev. Roan and the old youth teachers, Lori DeHaas, and Frank Umbrello.
LAY READERS FOR April
April 13 Marty and Nicolle Parkes - Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16, Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16; Phil. 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39
April 20 Fred Gary - Acts 10: 34-43; or Isa. 25:6-9; Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or Acts 10:34-43; John 10:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8
April 27 Matthew Gary - Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; l John 1:1-22:2, John 20:19-31
LAY READERS FOR May
May 4 Debbie Riley –
Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4, l John 3:1-7, Luke 24:36b-48May 11 Bob McFarlane – Acts 4:5-23; Psalm 23; l John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18
May 18 Colleen Roan – Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:25-31, l John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8
May 25 Linda Roan – Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; l John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17
GREETERS FOR APRIL
NURSERY DUTY FOR APRIL
WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
The Women’s Association would like to invite all the women of the church for fellowship and refreshments. Meetings are held every third Monday 7:00 p.m. Please come join us. PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE.LENTEN SERVICES
April 17 – Maundy Thursday
6:30 p.m. Soup Supper –
7:30 Worship Service/Communion at
Stewartsville Presbyterian Church
April
18 – 12:00 Noon Good Friday services at
Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church –
joint worship area churches
April
20 – 7:00 a.m. Sunrise Service
9:30 Sunday School & Adult Bible Study
10:45
Worship Service – Easter Sunday
CHURCH WEB SITE
The church’s web site is up and running. The location is: http://home.att.net/~sp_church There are several items you can look at to get quick information.Upcoming Events – this item is updated weekly and contains things that are happening at the church. This is typically updated every Sunday or Monday evening.
Monthly Calendar – This item lists typical scheduled events that occur at the church on a continuos schedule.
Other areas of interest are:
Newsletter – this item contains on-line versions of the church’s newsletter.
Our History – this contains the complete text of the “100th Anniversary Yearbook”
and the “125th Anniversary Yearbook”.
Missionary – this item contains information on the Missionaries that we support. Please feel free to e-mail us if you want additional items placed on the Church’s web site.
Many thanks to John Ben Urban for his hard and faithful work on this site.
Vacation Bible School
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL WILL BE HELD AROUND THE END OF JUNE OR JULY. DATES ARE NOT AVAILABLE AS YET. HELPER ARE NEEDED. TEACHERS, ASSISTANTS, KITCHEN HELP, ETC. IF YOU CAN BE OF HELP PLEASE CALL CAROL HAM AT 908-454-2445.
CHURCH STORIES
A little boy was in the wedding of a relative. As he came down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd. While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar. So it went, step, step, ROAR, step,step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, “I was being the “RING BEAR.”One Sunday in a Midwest City, a young child was “acting up” during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle. Finally the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation “Pray for me! Pray for me!”
A Sunday school teacher asked her little children as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replies, “Because people are sleeping.”
I had been teaching my three-year-old daughter the Lord’s prayer. For several evenings at bedtime she would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: “Lead us not into temptation,” she prayed, “but deliver us some E-mail. Amen.”
In Hospital or Shut-Ins
As of this writing the following members of our congregation are either in the hospital or shut-ins:
Eleanor Earling
505 Palmer Street
Stewartsville, NJ 08886
John Frey
Crestwood Nursingand Rehabilitation Center
101 Whippany Road
Whippany, NJ 07981
Willard Gary
575 North Main St.
Stewartsville, NJ08886
Leah Hoffman
Warren HavenNursing Home
County Rt. 625
Oxford, NJ 07863
Margaret Martin
Westminster Village
803 North Wahneta St.
Allentown, Pa. 18103
Ed Merritt
671 South Main St.
Stewartsville, NJ 08886
Sylvia Miers
251 Belview Road
Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
Virginia Smith
651 South Main St.
Stewartsville, NJ 08886
Elizabeth Wise
2500 Route 57
Washington, NJ 07882
Dorothy Dennis
753 Highway 57
Stewartsville, NJ 08886
Mayme Unangst
10 Oak Ridge Road
Washington, NJ 07882
CALENDAR FOR APRIL 2003
April 13/Sunday PALM SUNDAY
9:30 Sunday School Confirmation
class
9:30 Adult
Bible Study
10:45
Worship Service
April 14/Monday 7:30 Session Meeting
April 16/Wed. 7:00 Senior Choir
8:00 AA
Meeting
April 17/Thursday MAUNDY THURSDAY
6:30 Soup
Supper
7;30
WorshipService
Communion
April 18/Friday GOOD FRIDAY
12:00 Joint Services at Old Greenwich Church
April 20/Sunday EASTER SUNDAY
9:30 Sunday School
9:30 Adult
Bible Study
10:45 Worship Service
April 21/Monday 7:30 Women’s Assoc. Mtg.
April 23/Wed. 7:00 Senior Choir
8:00 AA
Meeting
April 27/Sunday 9:30 Sunday School
9:30 Adult
Bible Study
10:45
Worship Service
3:00
Chapel Svc. At Lopatcong
Care Cnt.
Girl Scout
Meeting
April 29/Tuesday 1:00-2:00 Troop 270 Mtg.
April 30/Wed. 1:30-2:30 Troop 332 Mtg.
CALENDAR FOR MAY 2003
May 4/Sunday 9:30 Sunday School
9:30 Adult
Bible Study
10:45
Worship Service
Communion
May 5/Monday 7:30
Deacons Meeting
May 7/Wed. 7:00 Senior Choir
8:00 AA Meeting
May 10/Saturday 6:00 Mother/Daughter Banquet
May 11/Sunday 9:30 Sunday School
9:30 Adult
Bible Study
10:45 Worship
Service
May 12/Monday 7:30 Session Meeting
May 13/Tuesday 1:00 – 2:00 Troop 270 Mtg.
May 14/Wed, 1:30-2:30 Troop
332 Mtg.
7:00 Senior Choir
8:00 AA
Meeting
May 18/Sunday 9:30 Sunday School
9:30 Adult
Bible Study
10:45
Worship
May 19/Monday 7:30 Women’s Assoc. Mtg. May 21/Wed 7:00
Senior Choir
8:00 AA
Meeting
May 25/Sunday 9:30 Sunday School
9:30 Adult
Bible Study
10:45 Worship
3:00 Chapel
Services at
Lopatcong Care Cnt.
May 26/Monday MEMORIAL
DAY OBSERVED
May 27/Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Pre-School
Graduation
8:00 AA
Meeting
