From the October 12, 2008 Sunday bulletin notes

Scroll to the bottom of the notes for This Week's Schedule and the cartoon which is taken from www.agnusday.org   

Please note:  Painting Party (Part 2) will be held on Sat., Oct. 25th at 9:00 a.m. This time, we will be tackling the Education Building. The paining of the church was accomplished with the help of so many volunteers. Let’s accomplish this task just as easily. Please sign up in the narthex.

Large print copies of this bulletin are available from the ushers.

As We Gather: Scripture reminds us that every Sunday is a 'little' Easter, a celebration of resurrection and new life in Christ Jesus. God alone lifts the veil of death and forever sets before us-former prodigals, rebels, and sinners-a heavenly feast of eternal nourishment where the Lamb of God is the heavenly host, guest, and feast!  It is a wedding banquet beyond compare!

Happy Birthday 10/13 Richard Paynter; 10/15 Anthony Bracco, Jeanne Ernst, Dennis Schwartz; 10/16 Anne Cullen, Connor Kalafsky, Alexander Weiss; 10/17 Martha Haste, Shalitza Quiles, Ross Rogers; 10/18 Nicole DeFrancesco, Theresa Tanney.

Flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God by the Blacks, in celebration of Billy and Edna’s 28th wedding anniversary.

Help Wanted-Our Sunday school program is in need of substitute teachers for all grades. Teen confirmands are also needed as helpers. Please consider volunteering for our Children’s Ministry.

An Elders Meeting is scheduled for today, Sun. Oct. 12th. Please make every effort to attend.

A Board of Directors Meeting will be held next Sunday, Oct. 19th in the Meeting Room.

We would like to invite the ladies of our church to attend the LWML Fall Rally on Sun., October 19th. Registration begins at 2:30 p.m. There will be a short worship service led by Pastor Phil and Pastor Steinbronn will be our guest speaker, followed by a Buffet Dinner. If you plan on attending the dinner, lease call Anne Cullen at 732-363-4816. LWML members from the Raritan Valley Zone have been invited to be with us for this special day. We hope you can join us for an afternoon of fellowship and inspiration.

Contemporary Band News: Our music director, Dusty Micale is looking for anyone that knows how to play acoustic guitar. Please contact him at dustym@att.net or at 732-431-2905.

Prince of Peace Campfire Cookout  has been temporarily postponed. The new date will be announced.

One of our senior citizen parishioners, living in Freehold, is in need of a ride to church. If you can be of assistance, please let Pastor Phil know.

Baptized today at the 10:15 a.m. service, Mia Lynn Thompson, daughter of Jeffrey Thompson and Danielle Soden. Her sponsors were Joanna Soden and Jeffrey Thompson. We ask for God’s continued blessings on Mia and her family.

Bell Choir: Raise Up Your Hands and Ring Praise to God. Join the Bell Choir and feel the fellowship - ability to read music is not a prerequisite. We would like to welcome our 2 new members, Melissa and Morgan Marsicano.

Painting Party (Part 2) will be held on Sat., Oct. 25th at 9:00 a.m. This time, we will be tackling the Education Building . The paining of the church was accomplished with the help of so many volunteers. Let’s accomplish this task just as easily. Please sign up in the narthex.

The Youth Group will be sponsoring a luncheon and small gift auction on Sunday, Oct. 26th, which is Reformation Sunday. All profits from the luncheon will be donated to Matt Theriault to help with the costs of his Seminary education. The cost of the luncheon will be $15 which includes your entry into the door prize. Tickets for the gift auction will be sold at the door and after services starting Sunday, October 5th. A volunteer sign-up sheet will be posted in the narthex. Please look for additional information in your mailbox. If you have any questions, please contact Denise Abdul-Malak at 732-840-3883.

Mark your calendars for Vision Sunday, Nov.9th! During the sermon, Pastor Phil and several of your church leaders will present a vision for our church, past, present and future. Please plan on attending either the 8:00 a.m. or 10:15 a.m. service. God bless you all!

The Youth Group has started collecting items for Operation Christmas Child. They are in need of small toys, personal grooming items and school supplies, small enough to fit in shoe boxes, for girls and boys. Empty shoeboxes are also needed. If you would like to make a donation for postage, that would be appreciated. Please leave all donations clearly marked in the church narthex and thank you.

Our worship schedule: 8:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. with Confirmation, Adult Bible Study, and Sunday School at 9:00 a.m.

Look for your Caring Christians Form in your mailboxes. We are looking to identify those members/friends who may be able to serve in various capacities and/or who would be interested in participating in various groups. Please call Lucille Tanguay at 732-363-2527 if you have any questions.

We are requesting donations of non-perishable food and/or supermarket gift cards on an ongoing basis for needy families. (This is different from our Joshua House donations.) Please put all donations in the white barrel located in the narthex or give them to Pastor Phil.

Please place any bulletin board submissions in the box located on the office table. Be sure to include your name and phone number.

Please note that both Pastor Phil and the church office have new
e-mail addresses: popchurch@optonline.net (office) and
pastorphil@optonline.net (pastor).

Sunday school is collecting plastic lids from coffee cans in order to make Christmas ornaments. Please place the plastic lids in the Larsen-Haren mailbox. Call Susan Larsen-Haren at 732-833-0399 with any questions.

We are in need of a Chairperson to head up the Decorating Committee. Responsibilities include contacting committee members, prior to the holiday season, and notifying them of the date to decorate or un-decorate the church. Responsibilities also include helping to organize the decorations that are stored in the choir loft. Please call the church office at 732-363-0732 if you can help.

Lay Readers: If anyone would like to do the readings during services, please look for our sign up sheet in the narthex.

Tuesday Midweek Bible Study classes and Wednesday Evening Bible Study classes have resumed. Please join us on Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m. for our discussions on Colossians and on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. for our discussions on the gospel according to Matthew.

Next Sunday’s Readings : Isaiah 45:1-7: God uses the pagan king Cyrus to do His bidding. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10: Paul thanks God for the faith, love, and hope of His people at Thessalonica. Matthew 22:15-22: Jesus responds to a question about paying taxes.

For those parishioners who request it, we offer gluten-free Communion wafers at our worship services.

Stewardship Sentence: Philippians 4:4-13:  St. Paul , by God’s grace, had learned to be content with whatever he faced in life—whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  He was able to live this way because his confidence was in Christ who provides his people with all they need.  What a stewardship lesson for us when it comes to dealing with material things.

We are looking for more volunteers to join the altar guild and usher team. Their quarterly schedules are set up on a rotating basis. The altar guild contact is Lisa Tess at 732-905-0687 and the usher team contact is Tarek Abdul-Malak at 732-840-3883.

Tune in to The Lutheran Hour next Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on WMCA, AM 570, (if you can’t get to church.)

Please verify that your contact information is correct on the phone list and if you need to change or add any information, contact Maria at the office.

Our supervised nursery, organized by Cindy Palladino, is in need of volunteers during the 10:15 a.m. service. Please contact her at 732-905-7862 or at pal1993@optonline.net if you can help out.

There are many different ways to remember your church. The best way for you depends upon your circumstances and your intentions. Please remember Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in your will.

We are expanding our recycling fundraiser! In addition to collecting used cell phones, ink cartridges and laser printer toner cartridges, we are now accepting DVD’s, digital cameras, GPS devices, digital picture frames, laptops (no PC’s), portable DVD players, MP3 players and video game consoles (no video cartridges). Look the poster which lists all allowed items and please put them under the table in the back of the narthex.

Pastor Matarazzo’s office hours are 8:30a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Monday to Thursday. Pastor will make visits in the afternoons and Friday will be Pastor’s day off. Evening or Saturday appointments will be available-please call to schedule an appointment. His home number is 732-929-9095 and his e-mail at church is pastorphil@optonline.net.

Today in Sunday School students studied Deborah, one of the Old Testament judges. Through Deborah, Barak, and Jael, God brought about victory for His people and freed them from cruel oppression; through Christ’s death on the cross, God brought about our victory and freed us from sin, death, and the devil. Parents could ask, “How did God use Deborah to help His people? How does God help His people today?”

The Youth Group needs adults and confirmed youth who would like to run/organize an activity. In the near future we would like to run a scavenger hunt. If interested, please talk to Denise Abdul-Malak or Trish McAllister.

We are one of seven area churches that contributes to Joshua House in Farmingdale. While we have been very generous with our clothing donations, they are in need of non-perishable food for their weekly distribution to families in need. If you would like to make a donation, please drop it off in the “house shaped” receptacle bin in the narthex.

Please write prayer requests on the cards found in the flower book on the narthex stand. Feel free to pass them to an usher. Thank-you.

The Parish Hall is available for rental for birthday or anniversary parties, showers, etc. Please call the church office at 732-363-0732 to check available times and dates.

Help us keep in touch! Go to our web site, www.princeofpeacehowellnj.org, and click on the Yahoo Groups button and follow the instructions to join our group or you can go directly to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/popchurch/. You don’t have to change your email address to Yahoo! The more people in the Group, the fewer times emails have to be sent out to cover the congregation.

Snack Bags are on sale in the Narthex. Please check out the variety of healthy snack items and support our church with your purchases.

The Fair Trade Coffee & Tea is offered in the narthex. Each purchase allows you to enjoy a nice cup of morning coffee or tea while being a good steward for others. All profits go to farmers through Lutheran World Relief. Contact Lucille Tanguay at 732-363-2527 or at lutang@verizon.net with any questions.

Would you find it helpful to have your offerings taken from your bank account as you do other monthly drafts? Thrivent Financial for Lutherans sponsors Simply Giving^®, in which offerings are transferred electronically to the church’s account. For those who travel, this is particularly helpful in keeping up with their intended offerings, and it will keep you from having to make up the difference later. Simply fill one out and turn it in to the office.

“Life Quotes” from Lutherans for Life: “I encourage my children to be proud of their adoption because that is part of God’s plan for their lives. They are no different than anyone else. They are not mistakes that were given away. God knew my children before the world began, they are precious to Him. He ordained every one of their days before one of them came to be. Christ died for them as he died for all people . . . be alert, be sensitive . . . Speak out and make a difference for adoption!” Diane E. Schroeder, president of Lutherans For Life. Visit: www.lutheransforlife.org / 888-364-LIFE

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