The United Methodist Church Madison, NJ 07940 The Madison...
Transcript of The United Methodist Church Madison, NJ 07940 The Madison...
January 2015
Volume XXI Issue 1
“In worship, fellowship and service we seek God’s peace as revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.”
The Madison Methodist The Madison Methodist The Madison Methodist
MessageMessageMessage
The United Methodist Church in Madison
24 Madison Avenue Madison, NJ 07940
“at the corner of Drew University”
[email protected] www.umcmadison.org
Tel: 973.377.1231 Fax: 973-377-0093
Plugged In? Sure, But Where?
As I sat down to write this article for January, by the way
Happy New Year, my computer suddenly went dead. It
just shut down. Not for a download or update, it just
stopped working. I did not panic. I had been through this
before. I unplugged the laptop and removed the battery
pack. I then installed it again and…nothing.
After trying several times I decided to phone Costco
support (a good service if you need it).
Additional “diagnostic” tests did not improve the situa-
tion. I was given a case number and distinct instructions
on boxing up the laptop to send it for repair.
Later that day for some reason I plugged in the computer
one more time, just for fun I guess. And suddenly it
turned on! Not a miracle, but close? Not really. Taking a
closer look I realized what I was plugging in earlier that
day was not the laptop but my printer. The laptop had
been unplugged the entire time! The battery just ran out
of juice. Later that day by chance I picked up the right
plug this time and when plugging in the computer …
amazing!. No miracle, no rocket science. I was just un-
plugged all day. I thought I was plugged in, and in a way
I was, just to the wrong thing.
A Message from the Pastor
For me it was a small inconvenience that day. How often
do we look back over months if not years and realize the
problem all along has been we are plugged in to the
wrong “things”? It is a matter of distraction. It is a loss
of focus on what is really important. Strangely enough
often the little things can make all the difference.
As we begin a new year perhaps it is a good question to
ask ourselves as individuals, as family members and as a
community of faith: What am I plugged into? A good
question to begin a new year.
I look forward to seeing you.
Grace and Peace,
Happy
New year !
2
2015 Staff and Elected Officers
Pastor Rev. Robb W. Shoaf, Ph.D
Student Assistant Pastor Chelsea Jackson
Director of Music & Organist Susan McAdoo, D.M.A.
Director of Christian Education Kathleen Keane
Office Administrator & Message Editor Natalie Dines
Sexton Marlice Borecki
David Green Chair, Church Council Jim Balfe Treasurer Mac Cobb Assistant to Treasurer Scot Guempel Financial Secretary Alan Voorhees Finance Chair Gordon Fleming Facility Management Vic Schumacher President, Trustees
Program Facilitators Nurture Ministries
Lisa Moro Outreach Ministries
Jeanne Eisele Witness/Igniting Ministry
Kris Pfeifer Worship Ministries
Lisa Carballo Education/Youth
Kathleen Keane and Chelsea Jackson
Trustees
Vic Schumacher Gordon Fleming
Mike Kroeger Luke McKinnon
Shin-Ok Ha Wade Merrick
Dan Engel Nori Tadano
JoAnn Van Sciver
January 2015
United Methodist Women
The Naomi Circle of United Methodist Women met on
Thursday, December 18, for our annual visit to the Mor-
ristown United Methodist Church for the Music at Noon
series featuring The Christmas Singers with Patricia
Ruggles, in a very enjoyable concert of Christmas music.
This is the 27th consecutive year that The Christmas Sing-
ers have performed in the Music at Noon concert series,
which Morristown UMC presents each year as a means of
outreach and sharing of God’s gifts. After the concert, we
stayed to enjoy a soup and salad lunch. During the month
of January, the series will continue on Thursdays at 12:15,
and the Naomi Circle plans to return on Thursday,
January 22, 2015, when Patricia Ruggles is scheduled to
perform with pianist Paul Zeigler. We will leave the
Church parking lot at 11:30 am, so please call Laurie
Hagerich at 973-377-9407 if you would like to join us.
On December 15, our faithful friend, Margaret Geyer
passed away. Pastor Shoaf led a celebration of Marga-
ret’s life at a Memorial Service at our Church on Decem-
ber 19, family and friends gave thanks for her long life
and shared memories of our times together. We will miss
Margaret’s sweet spirit, good humor and Southern
elegance but find comfort in knowing she is at peace with
the Lord.
Our local UMW unit is pleased to report that in response
to our annual letter of information and appeal for support,
we realized the sum of $745. Our sincere thanks go out to
all who responded, and to everyone who has been a friend
and continued to support UMW over the years with their
prayers, presence and good works. These funds will help
greatly in our being able to continue to make a pledge to
the Gateway North District of United Methodist Women
and to support other worthwhile local programs, such as
the Neighborhood Center and United Methodist Homes.
The Naomi Circle will continue to collect for The
Neighborhood Center of Camden, New Jersey, which is
supported by United Methodist Women and the Board of
Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. The
Neighborhood Center helps with the needs of young
adults, senior citizens, children and teenagers in Camden,
an area of extreme poverty. Our Circle has been collect-
ing funds for about 2 years, resulting in donations of $425
to date. Donations can be made by collection of quarters
in plastic medicine vials (please use your own vial) or by
placing a check payable to “United Methodist Women” in
the offering plate. Please note “Neighborhood Center” in
the memo portion of your check. If there are any ques-
tions, please contact Laurie Hagerich
Laurie Hagerich
3
Other News ... Bits and briefs
January 2015
We are proud and grateful to Susan McAdoo for her
creative parament display during the Advent season.
Susan’s inspiration came from the Road Home theme as
well as her love of sewing.
M any thanks go to Lisa Carbolla,
Susan McAdoo, Vivian Bull and
Marlice Borecki for decorating the
church for the Christmas season. We also thank all who
contributed to the Christmas Flower Fund and delivered
flowers to shut-ins and others to whom we wanted to
show our care.
Christmas Flower Fund
Thank You!
JOIN US...
Monday,
January 19
Outreach
Planning
Meeting
Morris County Interfaith Food Pantry
T hank you for your ongoing support of the Food Pan-
try through your donations of food items.
An updated list of food needed is available at http://
www.mcifp.org/currentneeds.htm.
Confirmation Group 2015
Below is our young confirmation group being lead by our very
own Chelsea Jackson. From left. Mamie Tadano, Chelsea
Jackson, Katie Antmann, Dylan Pfeifer, Jake Antmann, Oliver
Dines and Emma Voorhees. (missing from the picture is
Gabriel Silliman).
4
January 2015
February Newsletter Deadline: January 20
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
3
4 Epiphany
10 am Family Worship 11:15 am Coffee Hour
5 10:00 AM Staff Meeting 8 pm AA
6
Trustees Meeting
8 pm AA
7
6:30 am Men’s Breakfast
8 8 pm Chancel Choir
9
10
11 8:30 am Early Morning Service 10 am Family Worship 11:15 am Coffee Hour
12 8 pm AA
13 8 pm AA
14 6:30 am Men’s Breakfast
15 8 pm Chancel Choir
16
17
18 8:30 am Early Service 10 am Family Worship 11:15 am Church Plan-ning Lunch
19 Martin Luther King Day Office Closed
7:15 pm Out-reach Plan-ning meeting 8 pm AA
20 7:30 pm Church Council 8 pm AA
21 6:30 am Men’s Breakfast
22 8 pm Chancel Choir
23
24
25
8:30 am Early Service 10 am Family Worship 11:15 am Clean-up Buckets Project
26 3:30 pm The Crossing 8 pm AA
27 8 pm AA
28 6:30 am Men’s Breakfast
29 8 pm Chancel Choir
30 31
Newsletter Deadline
5
January 2015
Sunday School
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year filled
with joy, relaxation and quality time with loved ones!
As we begin a new year, it is my hope that we take time to
reflect on 2014 as individuals, families and a church. Both
within and outside of the church it was a year filled with
both success and sadness.
Within the UMC in Madison it was a busy year filled with
new events and projects like Stop Hunger Now, Conversa-
tional English Class, and a new church blog, and old favor-
ites like Moving Food for the Food Pantry, the Angel Tree
and working with Future with Hope.
It is in the spirit of both reflection and anticipation that I
would like to bring attention to some of the upcoming activi-
ties we will be doing as we embark on this new year.
The youth will once again be participating in the Souperbowl
for Caring event, and will be accepting both monetary and
canned food donations on January 25th and February 1st.
These donations will be collected after service both Sundays,
and all proceeds will go to The Interfaith Food Pantry.
Also, the UMC in Madison will once again host Stop Hunger
Now! We will be packaging even more than the 10,000
meals we did last year! We are also looking to open the
event up to others, and are currently in the process of reach-
ing out to potential churches and organizations who would
like to partner with us on this endeavor. The Stop Hunger
Now event will take place in the Spring, so keep an eye out
for details and start inviting others to join us!
I would like to take a second to update you all on Confirma-
tion. First I want to thank all the confirmands, parents and
guest teachers we have had thus far. Everyone has done a
great job, and have helped this year’s Confirmation program
be successful thus far. We have an amazing and energetic
Confirmation class this year. These seven 7th-8th graders
are doing a wonderful job both within our church services
and in our classes. Their willingness to explore and grow in
their faith, and their wonderful attitudes make it a joy to
teach and grow with them. If you see them around church be
sure to tell them good job, and encourage them as they con-
tinue their Confirmation journey.
Lastly, I will be traveling for 2 weeks to El Salvador for
school. I will be back at the end of January and hope to
share my experiences and stores with you.
Thank you all for a great 2014 and I look forward to a won-
derful 2015!
Message from our Student
Assistant Pastor
The Christmas Pageant evening was a huge success!! The
children were wonderful, all of their bright smiling faces
bursting with pride. What a way to celebrate Christmas!
A personal thanks to the children in the pageant, the par-
ents who put up with our extended rehearsal times, and to
everyone who came out to enjoy the evening with a Pot
Luck dinner. Susan McAdoo, Kate Silliman, and Nori-
yuki Tadano… the pageant would never have happened
without you!
Looking to January, Sunday School will resume regular
classes on the 4th. The Apple Seeds and Sunflower Seeds
will continue to learn the stories in the Bible beginning
with the story of the Three Wise Men. The Pumpkin
Seeds and Mustard Seeds will continue to explore the
Bible and begin to study what each part of the service is
about.
Sunday School will also continue to learn new songs to
sing in church each month. This month we will also
begin to learn the doxology.
Warmest Wishes for the New Year,
Kathleen Keane
Some of our Pageant stars in action
6
January 2015
OUTREACH—EPIPHANY—THE DAY OF GIFTS Honoring God’s gift of Jesus by sharing with others
Christmas decorations are coming down but the celebra-
tion of the gifts of the Magi will remind us of the wonder-
ful generosity of our congregation and friends during the
Christmas season. The Church School Baby Shower for
Jesus filled a pack-n-play with
many essentials for families who
are clients at the Interfaith Food
Pantry. These much needed
items included formula, diapers,
wipes, baby snacks and baby
food for all ages and stages. It
was an extra special offering at
the Christmas Pageant to fulfill
the needs for some very young
Food Pantry clients.
The Angel Tree donation project led by our youth
brought in two dozen gift packages that were then
wrapped by our youth and delivered for the joyous holi-
day celebration where current and former Family Promise
guests gathered. Holiday gift giving helps us turn our
hearts to others less fortunate or who are struggling just to
fulfill the basic needs of life
The Advent/Christmas Offering is shared by two or-
ganizations. Abigail House is a local transitional housing
project sponsored by Family Promise and Christ Church
of Rockaway. This home shelters five families in Morris
County where finding affordable family housing is very
difficult to find.
United Methodist Committee on Relief EBOLA Response is an international relief project pro-
viding essential supplies to the effected region in Western
Africa. Watch the bulletin for a report on the total dona-
tions, but we are counting on your generosity
Local Outreach News Benjamin Colao, is a 9-year-old
Madison resident, who was inspired to write a series of
short books to raise funds for Family Promise of Morris
County. . Ben and his friend, George Csaltos, the illustra-
tor for the books’ covers, enjoy using their talents to make
a difference. They learned about Family Promise through
St. Vincent Martyr church which is a host congregation
for the organization’s guests. UMC in Madison is a sup-
port congregation when the guests are staying at St. Vin-
cent’s. So far, the books created by these generous youth
have raised more than $2,000 to help the families in the
program. You can find them at Short Stories in Madison.
Other Outreach News
Human Relations Day is January 18, 2015 and is one of
United Methodism’s six church wide Special Sundays. Hu-
man Relations Day calls us to extend a helping hand to
those in crisis so they can overcome formidable obstacles.
The offering supports Community Developers, United Vol-
untary Services and Youth Offender Rehabilitation pro-
grams.
Displacement of Syrians due to the internal and re-
gional conflict has reached a dramatic high. The UN
calculates that Syrian refugees number about 3 million
refugees abroad and about 7 million inside Syria. The
global total for all refugees is estimated at more than 50
million people which is the most at any time since World
War II. The United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR) continues its work and commitment to support
the displaced in partnership with well-placed local humani-
tarian organizations in Syria and in several of its neighbor-
ing countries—Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.
A Future with Hope—continues its mission
The work continues down at the Jersey Shore to repair and
rebuild homes and churches even as we pass the two year
anniversary of SuperStorm Sandy. Some statistics: 114
homes completed, 51 homes under construction, 8,885
volunteers, 15 host sites, and 383 person hosting capac-
ity. AFWH Disaster Case Managers have worked with
more than 340 families to date; their households include
more than 600 people, with more than 100 seniors and
more than 100 youth
Jeanne Eisele
7
The North Family Pat Warbasse
Charlene Hanson Hiromi Chiba
Our Church Family People we remembered in prayer
January 2015
Known January Birthdays
“And the beat goes on…” The Board of Trustees voted to replace the failing win-
dows in the Sunday School/Education Building, the office
and the lounge. The windows, with the exception of two
rooms on the second floor destroyed by the December 21,
1982 fire, were installed in June of 1952 when that build-
ing was constructed some 62 years ago. The 1986 vintage
windows in the Parsonage, well worn, leaking and tired,
will also be replaced. Drainage alongside the sanctuary’s
west side will be redirected and below ground drainage
pipes will be installed to carry the water from the roof
toward the street. Several minor exterior jobs will also be
completed at #22, right next door.
Vic Schumacher
Trustees News
Benjamin Engel
Jen Engel
Janine White
Erin Bolstad
Jason Grzymala
Lynsey Studer
Salvatore Cantrini
Julie Guempel
Devin Koep
Greg Kroeger
Lauren Kroeger
Lucas Liston
Danielle Lozier
Erik Paul Manz
Alexander Scott Merrick
Elizabeth Miller
Thomas Paddack
Dylan Pfeifer
Maggie Price
Family Promises’s December 2014 newsletter has lots of
encouraging news about the families and program, includ-
ing a guest success story and a need for support for a
guest’s education in her effort to become self-sufficient.
One very uplifting article in the newsletter is about a 9-
year-old boy from Madison, Ben Colao, who has written a
series of biographical books about inspiring individuals
and is donating all book sale proceeds to Family Promise
of Morris County. The books are available for purchase
at Short Stories in Madison for only $5 each. To date,
Ben has raised over $2,000 and he is planning to inter-
view Family Promise guests and write a book about
homeless families. To read the full article about Ben, the
newsletter can be accessed through the Family Promise
website, www.familypromisemorris.org.
Please contact me if you are able to help during our week
in February or would like more information.
Laurie Hagerich
Family Promise News
2015 Church Directory
A new church directory will be
available soon. Please contact
the church office with any changes in
your directory information no later
than Feb. 20.
Call 973–377–1231 or email
[email protected]. Thank you! Amanda Rohrs-Dodge with her twin girls, Auden and Amelia.
The girls had a huge part to play (baby Jesus) at this years
Christmas Pageant.
Posing with Susan McAdoo and Marlice Borecki.
8
Worship Schedule
Early Morning Worship 8:30 a.m.
Family Worship & Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Childcare is available for infants and toddlers.
Coffee and Fellowship 11:15 a.m.
Coming up: January 6 Trustees Meeting
January 11 Two Services resume (8:30 am and 10:00 am)
January 19 Martin Luther King Day
January 19 Outreach Planning Meeting (7:15)
January 20 Church Council Meeting
Christmas 2014
UMC Annual
Christmas Pageant
was held on
December 21, 2014
A special thanks to
Kathleen Keane and
her actors for a won-
derful performance.
9