United Pres

August 2014

Jesus Wanted to Get Away, Too.

Our lectionary reading for this Sunday tells about how Jesus just wanted to withdraw from it all after hearing about the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. But when Jesus went to the Sea of Galilee, he was besieged by crowds of people, so he ministered to them.
It is hard to get away sometimes. On the other hand, we can make it a practice to get away every day. That is what prayer is all about. We remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of every day life and we take our burdens to our Lord. There we find peace and renewal.
We call the place we worship a sanctuary. The other definition of sanctuary is an oasis of safety and rest. Get away from it all this Sunday. Come to the sanctuary of United Presbyterian Church and be fed with the Bread of Life.
In Christ,
Pastor Jean

Our Mission Focus for August

The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen was founded in the early 1980's by a small group of individuals from local churches and service organizations. Their goal was to feed the truly needy people of Trenton five days a week.
On a cold day in January of 1982, sixty hungry people gathered for the free meal in the basement of a Trenton church. By the end of that year, more 40,000 meals had been served. No one knew there were so many hungry people in Trenton.
Since then, the activities of TASK have expanded to include outreach programs such as adult education, computer training, health care counseling, screening and referrals, social services, children's activities, and arts and crafts.
Our church supports TASK in many ways: growing vegetables in our box gardens at the church which we take to the soup kitchen, donating food and clothing, sending volunteers monthly to serve. This month all donations earmarked for mission will be given to the important work of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Please give generously.

COFFEE HOUR

There will be a coffee hour on Sunday,
August 3rd at 10:15 am, hosted by the Choir. You are invited to come and enjoy refreshments and fellowship.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, August 10. Special music at the 11 a.m. service that day will be the debut of a new a capella ensemble, including Chris Neuman. This new group will be singing the beloved hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour".

Many thanks to our church friends for all the anniversary cards and to Jean for the beautiful flowers. We are truly blessed.

Howard & Peg Stoeckel

We are Getting Close to the Finish Line!

We've made lots of progress over the summer and by September we anticipate our Narthex and our new entry from the parking lot will be completed. As you can see from the picture, the roof, the gable, the new windows, the siding and the gutters have been done. In the next few weeks, the columns and railings and the trim below the gable will be finished. This winter we all will benefit from the ground water control system that was put in place. You can see stone beds where the water from the roof will gather. Underneath the beds, pipes will carry the water away from the parking lot, so that we will no longer have to contend with a sheet of ice in front of the entrance! The final part of the project will be replacing the ramp. We expect a proposal for the ramp to be brought to Session in August so that we can set a date for the dedication of our renovated facilities this fall.

This year the church picnic will be held following the traditional worship service on Sunday, September 7, 2014 at noon. The Member Care Ministry Team will be providing burgers, hot dogs, and drinks. All you have to do is bring an appetite and either a side dish or a dessert. A sign up sheet is in Fellowship Hall.

Birthday greetings to the members and friends whose birthdays are in August:

1 Nancy Giordano, Mike Tucker

2 Kim Hoff, Barbara Teti

3 Lee Dickson, Betty Reinert

5 Rosemary Bateham, Brian Chhedi, Bonnie Heberling,

6 Kevin Oravsky

7 Aidan Sheehan, Richard Vandegrift

8 Virginia Benck

9 Ryan Cattley, Joyce Vaughn

10 Karen Galvin

11 Doris Lawrence, Keith Scully

12 Wendy Anderson

15 Matthew Luna, Charles Rowand,

Samantha Rose Rudziewicz

16 Katie Cruser

17 David Carle, Lorraine Plant

18 Tommy Guld

21 Jean Pinto

22 Ryan Bernhard, Terry Fouse, Alicia Windfuhr

Click on the link below to view our August calendar of events.

http://upcnj.view.events.com

We pray for:

Healing: Rosemary Bateham (home from rehab); Bob DeAngelo (kidney disease); Pat Howell; Jean Principato (chemo); and Mary Krzywicki (rehab after car accident); Shirley Lewis (bladder surgery); Rose Wales (at Peachy Kolzlowski recuperating from surgery); Louise; Susan (breast cancer); Paul Miller (surgery); Lois (macular degeneration); Grace Ryan (surgery for cancer); Tom; Cindi Sundae (surgery for cancer); Maria; Melissa; John; Dan Pyl (U. Penn hospital); Margaret Archibald's neighbor (depression); Jane Ciccotta's sister (healing and that she seeks and finds the Lord); successful outcome for Ann's breast cancer treatments; successful outcome of Casey Ashe's brain surgery; Debbie Lona (hospitalized); Marilyn Rogalski (stroke); Ardelle Zervos (broken hip); George Zervos (heart surgery); Marilyn Jose (lung transplant); Donna Marchetti (hip replacement); Julia Cleveland;

Concern for: David G. that his job at Target goes well or that a new job close by comes his way this year; that he can find a companion with Easter Seals; and that his volunteer work at St. Vincent DePaul's works out for him; Joseph Messars who is gravely ill, and his family; Marisa Giachetti, working through an eating disorder, and her family as they cope with is; Alexis, for successful alcohol recovery; David Geijer's cousin, Sara Jeron (depression and loneliness); Carolyn Reynolds and her options for heart procedures; and for Lori Galvin hospitalized for stem cell retrieval; Prayers for Jean Shapiro for strength to handle health challenges and changes they bring.

Remembrance of those who took part in the Great War 100 years ago.

Comfort for Tom Kelley and family on the passing of his mother, Helen Sigafoos; for the family of Gordon Johnson; for Joanie Corallo and family upon the passing of husband Vic (Bob Machin's cousin); and for the families of Tom Kleinbard and Vic Corallo.

Thanksgiving and Joy for: Rachel Pasela's graduation from high school;

traveling mercies for Peggy Ayres' great nephew Gerard who traveled to Rome; and the Pinto family who traveled to Ireland; the birth of Caroline Joyce Alanso; a wonderful evening of fellowship at the Trenton Thunder game; the marriage of CJ and Sara; Alexis doing better; Savino Ristiano, 88 year old in beginning states of Alzheimer's who had been missing but was found safe; celebration of Donna and Churk Cruser's 34th wedding anniversary and Peg and Howard Stoeckel's 70TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!

Congratulations to Scholarship Winners!

This year on Sunday, August 10, 2014 in worship we will present the Marion Major Carey Scholarships of $150 each to three deserving students, Christopher McHugh, Matthew Luna, and Alicia Wagner. Chris is studying at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Matt will start at Mercer County Community College in the fall, and Alicia is a sophomore at Montclair State University. We wish continued success to them as they further their education.

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