Pastor's e-Note
September 21, 2021
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Dear Friends in Christ,
One of the most meaningful aspects of becoming part of a Christian faith community is one’s immediate acceptance into a family. A person can be connected to a biological or adopted family, can be living alone or in a multi-person household, be part of a tightly knit family grouping, or even be estranged from those once called, “family.” Yet none of these facts makes a difference in terms of our acceptance into the family of God.
In Jesus Christ, we are adopted if we are “led by the Spirit of God.” Any previous pedigree or genetic lineage is unimportant. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17)
Claiming Christ as savior opens us to us connectedness to all others who similar live in kinship to the Risen One. We may have felt lonely in the past; now we are included in a great circle of caring that extends worldwide – past national boundaries, language differences, ethnic distinctions, or the variety of barriers humans construct between persons.
The gift we receive in Christ is bountiful: a new spirit that will sustain us no matter what events occur in our earthly pilgrimage, and a community of love and acceptance to undergird us as well.
Let’s give thanks to God for the different manifestations of family in our lives so far.
In God’s peace and love,
Rev. Jennifer
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Sunday Morning Blended Service
September 26 at 10:00 AM
This Sunday we will celebrate the baptism of Aiden Robert Harner. Rev. Jennifer will share her message, "Let Us Pray," and our scripture reading will be Matthew 6:5-15. We will hear the beautiful music of our Wesley Bell Choir and Sanctuary Choir, and invite you to sing along with our Foundation Praise Team.
We have many offerings for children on Sunday mornings.
- Our church nursery will be open from 8:45-11 AM for children ages 4 and under.
- At 9 AM, children ages 3 and up are invited to attend Sunday School.
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During our 10 AM worship service, we invite those attending with children to pick up a "Worship and Wonder Bag," located in the back of the sanctuary. Each bag will have a children's bible, a page for sermon notes or pictures, a coloring page that goes along with the sermon, and other hands-on activities to create something they hear about during worship.
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Please join us in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need of prayers.
We pray that God will provide guidance for A G and Jason.
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Masks are now required by all in attendance, regardless of vaccination status. We thank you for your spirit of cooperation. |
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Welcome to Connections where you will find exciting ways to connect with one another and with God through small groups. Connections groups allow us to share, question, and dig deeper into our faith in ways that are not always possible during Sunday worship. These also provide the perfect opportunity to invite a friend, neighbor, relative or someone who is already part of the BUMC community to join you in a casual, relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Register today so that you don’t miss out on the fun!
Please click here visit for a printable version of this year's offerings, and contact Rev. June Tamburro with questions.
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Thursday Morning Prayer Group
Thursdays at 10:00 AM
This groups meets every Thursday via Zoom. Please bring your prayers request and join this 30-minute virtual prayer meeting.
See below for Zoom information.
Meeting ID: 854 8655 4411
Passcode: prayer
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Blessing of the Pets
Saturday, October 2 at 11 a.m.
(Rain date October 9)
We invite you to bring your pets of all sizes to the church lawn for our “Blessing of the Pets.” Rev. Jennifer will share a message with the pets and their owners. Masks will be optional, but we ask that you please observe physical distancing.
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2021 Charge Conference:
Our 2021 Church Zoom Charge Conference will be Sunday, October 17 at 2:15 p.m. at BUMC. Rev. Sang Won Doh will preside over this conference, and the zoom link will be shared at a later time. All chairs of ministry teams and committees, please submit your annual report by Sept. 20. Thank you.
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Trunk or Treat
October 24, 3-5 PM
Join us for Trunk or Treat 2021 on October 24th from 3-5pm. We are excited to be back for another year of trick or treating, costumes, and decorating fun! Our event will be held outdoors, rain or shine. Masks will be optional outdoors and required indoors for bathrooms.
Families will need to purchase 1 ticket per family. We are collecting a $2 donation for each ticket that will go towards SHIP food pantry in Somerville that was hit hard during Hurricane Ida. Links to purchase your time stamped family ticket will be available at bridgewaterumc.org/trunk-or-treat at 7 PM on Tuesday, October 5.
There will be a bin for candy donations near the Mission Closet, for those who would like to donate to the event. We are also accepting monetary donations by check or online. Once on the giving page, choose "Trunk or Treat" from the drop down menu.
To ensure that this year's Trunk or Treat is a success, we will need volunteers on the day of the event, as well as 30+ families to sign-up and host a trunk. If you sign-up to host a trunk you do not need a time slot ticket for your family. Click the buttons below for more details.
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Food Drive Donations
Thank you for donating food to our neighbors. Please bring your non-perishable/non-expired items to the church, and place them in our “Food Bank” containers.
If you would prefer, you can bring your items to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County located at 7E Easy St, Bound Brook, NJ 08805. Thank you very much.
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Search the online catalog to find wonderful books and media in the church library.
Come browse the collections in person. Please sign out everything you borrow from the collections.
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This Week's Featured Item
(In the Adult Collection)
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"Be Still My Soul," by Randy Petersen
Many hymns were the result of incredible life experiences. They express joy, sorrow and loss. Others share faith and teach of God’s love. This devotional is a collection of 175 of the most popular hymns and the stories behind them.
Given to honor Steven and Roni Sawin – for your service to the Grant Dittman Memorial Library, during the renovations while BUMC was closed for the COVID-19 Pandemic. This title was selected because of your significant contributions to the Music Ministry. Thank you for all you do for BUMC.
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Look next week for a featured item from the Children's Collection. |
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BRIDGEWATER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
651 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD • 908.526.1414
BRIDGEWATERUMC.ORG
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