Our Newsletter for: January 2020

FROM THE FIRST

Gray Matters By Rev. Barry Gray

January 2020

As we turn the corner on a new year, we also turn the corner on a new decade. For some of us it’s hard to

believe that 20 years ago at this time much of the world was fearful of what would happen when the calen-

dar turned to 2000. Personally, I was laughing that people could actually believe a human devised calendar

could possibly disrupt the whole world’s computer systems and thereby bring the world to a screeching

halt.

As it turned out, nothing happened. The date came and went with no catastrophe’s. Over the past 3 years

we’ve been talking a lot about change, which moved us to seek God for what changes to make to enable us

to become the church God is calling us to be. There has obviously been some fear, but we’re still here and

prospering in every way as we continue to listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Many changes have been made and more will come as we seek to keep in step with the Holy Spirit to make

faithful disciples for Jesus Christ and reach out to bring in many who have been estranged from their heav-

enly Father. May God grant us much grace as we continue to move forward in the adventure he has sent

us, and may he keep us from fearing the unknown by trusting him to keep us on the right path. A Happy,

prosperous, and fear-free New Year to you all!

The First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Holly, NJ

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First Presbyterian Church

125 Garden Street

Mount Holly NJ 08060

609-267-0330

Church Office Email:

fpc.mtholly@gmail.com

Church Website:

www.firstpresmtholly.org

FROM THE EDITOR

Articles should be submitted by the 15th of the preceding month to the church office so that staff can review and get the material included in the following month’s edition. I can be reached at:

Robert Van Der Kamp 609-668-3557

bobvdk@yahoo.com

Servants of the Lord:

The Congregation

Servants of the Servants:

Barry Gray Pastor

Rick Hamilton

Assistant Minister

Haley Bunting Director of Next Generation

Ministries

Jackie Bozarth Organist and Director of Choirs

Brian Taylor

Praise Band and Worship Leader

Harry Cunningham

Building Supervisor & Sexton

Jan Delgado Director of Community Lunch

Barbara Biedenbach

Administrative Assistant

Gretchen Bisbort Financial Secretary

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January Birthdays January Anniversaries

01 Amanda Hamilton

01 Shirley Reid

02 Errol Cady

03 David Crespin

05 Deaglan McClenahan

05 Ethan Taylor

06 Allie Biglin

06 Denise Carlani

08 Eleanor Barraclough

08 Donna Van Walsen

10 Joshua Correa

11 Doris Bulaga

12 Nadine Parker

16 Alison Bunting

16 Andrew Cross

17 Mildred Booker

18 Kyle Ketels

21 Letitia Kelley

22 Deborah Pica

22 Larry Varner

24 Angela Jones

24 William Melvin

25 Manuel Delgado

25 Vanessa Paneque

27 Jacob Kosowski

27 Stephen Miller

28 Elizabeth Braun

30 Stacy Hamilton

30 Eric Taylor

None

The Vision of First Presbyterian Church is: A Heart for the Rancocas Valley.

Mission: First Presbyterian Church exists to honor God by making more disciples.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH STATED SESSION MEETING November 11, 2019 125 Garden Street, Mount Holly, NJ Moderator: Rev. B. Gray Clerk of Session K. Badgley Elders Present: J. Amisson, S. Buchanan, D. Burke, C. Grover, Luinie Taylor Elders Excused: W. McFarland Elders Absent: None Staff Present: B. Gray Staff Excused: None The meeting opened at 7:22 PM with devotions based on Matthew 7:1-2 and prayer. SESSION TRAINING: Suggestions of books and topics were received from those present. APPROVED: Docket as sent by email, with the addition of the following items to New Business: 1)

Discussion of the process to select a permanent pastor and 2) a request from Heritage Presby-tery to host a meeting in 2021.

RECEIVED and APPROVED as part of the Consent Docket:

Minutes of the Stated Session Meeting of October 7, 2019.

Report of the Clerk. No action items.

Report of the Pastor with attachment received prior to the meeting. No action items.

Report of the Financial Secretary: Balance as of September 30, 2019 $12,500.55 Total Income 42,831.24 Transfers from Restricted Fund ----

Total Expenses (39,209.89) Balance as of October 31, 2019 $16,121.90 STATISTICS: October 2019 Lord’s Supper: The congregation celebrated the Lord’s Supper on October 6, 2019. In-

home communion was served to 11 covenant partners and their families. Baptisms: 0

Weddings: 0 Funerals: Private burial service was held for covenant partner William Hunt on October 29.

Mr. Hunt died December 6, 2018. ACTION ITEMS considered outside the Consent Docket: None OLD BUSINESS RECEIVED FOR 2ND READING: Session’s Guiding Principles, following discussion and rec-

ommendations. REVIEWED: Implementation of the Borden prescriptions.

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RECEIVED: Update on the status of the church website and logo. RECEIVED: Report on the process used to determine which covenant partners are reclassi-

fied as “correspondents”, following a period of inactivity. At 9 PM, Session approved a motion to extend the meeting until 9:15 PM. NEW BUSINESS

DISCUSSED: The process for forming a Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) and the process for choosing a new pastor. Pastor Gray will contact Rev. Scott Vance, Chair of Heritage Pres-bytery Ministry Partnership Team to set a date for him to meet with Session.

DEFERRED: Consideration of the request from Heritage Presbytery to host a presbytery meeting in 2021.

The meeting adjourned with prayer at 9:15 PM. ADDENDUM: Pastor Gray received a request from Pastor James Duff asking to use the sanctuary on

December 23 for his congregation’s Christmas service. Their church is a non-denominational church plant in Mt. Holly; they currently rent space. Nothing is scheduled on the church calendar for that night.

APPROVED on November 12, 2019: Pastor James Duff and his congregation may use the sanctuary on December 23, 2019.

Attest: Kathryn M. Badgley Clerk of Session

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Session Meeting

American Red Cross Blood Drive

Where: First Presbyterian Church

When: Saturday, Jan 25, 2020

Time: 8 am - 1 pm

Appointments are preferred.

For an appointment please contact: Mary Craig at 609.267.8621

Prayer Ministry Do you ever wonder what prayers are being offered to praise God, guide, protect, comfort and bring hope and healing through First Pres Mt Holly? The Prayer and Healing Ministry of First Presbyterian Church exists to encourage people to pray—to come before God with all our praise, our needs, and our hopes. In this ministry, we seek a deeper rela-tionship with God and a truer communication with Him. We want to learn to pray more deeply, to en-courage and teach others to pray, and to intercede for the needs of all who seek physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational wholeness. Training is provided. Here are 7 different ways you can actively participate in prayer ministry at First Pres: 1. Pre-Worship Prayer Ministry Gathering (new in January 2020) Come at 8:30 to pray for individuals, church leadership, the upcoming worship service, church programs and events, and any other needs that are prompted by the Holy Spirit and come before the group. Come when you’re available.

2. Worship Intercession While seated, pray silently during one worship service every month (reminders will be provided). Allow a nudge from the Holy Spirit to tell you what and for whom to pray. Arrive early to pray before the service for all its components. 3. Post-Worship Service Prayer Prayer ministers work in teams to pray with people seeking prayer following Sunday worship. At least one on each team should be an ordained elder or deacon. This is an opportunity to pray for individuals in the congregation seeking prayer, healing, and the touch of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who seeks prayer for themselves, or another, is welcome to receive prayer.

Prayer ministers interact with the supplicant, seeking what the Holy Spirit is saying and pray into the mo-ment God’s words and caring for the supplicant and God’s will. After asking permission to do so, the sup-plicant may be anointed with oil, before or after the prayer. In addition, a seated intercessor prays silent-ly, while seated in a pew, for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for the supplicant and prayer ministers.

4. Prayer Ministry Team A team consists of two or three people, prayer ministers and intercessors, who will work with an individ-ual who requests in-depth prayer beyond what is prayed in a worship service. At least one on each team should be an ordained elder or deacon. 5. Prayer Chain Ministry Prayer requests sent to the church office or the prayer chain coordinator (at this time, Liz Amisson) are relayed via e-mail, text or telephone call to those who are willing to pray at home. This requires only the willingness to faithfully pray for those who ask. All are encouraged to submit prayer requests. 6. Bless Mt Holly “Adopt” a street in the church neighborhood, or your own choice. Pray for the people who live, work, attend school or travel on this street. Pray for opportunities to meet and develop casual relationships

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with these people, to pray for their felt needs and offer resources/information how their needs might be met, and for opportunities to share the Gospel with them. 7. Prayer for a Missionary or Ministry “Adopt” a local or foreign mission or missionary who is supported by First Presbyterian Church. Receive prayer requests and ministry updates. Pray faithfully for the needs of the individuals offering ministry and their families as well as those receiving ministry. Pray that the Gospel would be shared with love and disci-ples of Christ developed.

How do I participate? All are welcome to participate in the Pre-Worship Prayer Gathering and to request prayer at the Post-Worship Service Prayer time. Just come. If you would like to receive in-depth prayer ministry, or if you would like more information about Bless Mt Holly, Prayer for a Missionary, or to become a Prayer Minister or Intercessor, please contact Sheryl Markley, Prayer Team Coordinator, 609-230-5748 or sherylmarkley@gmail.com. Additional prayer and healing ministry team members include Judy Kipp, Doug Olsen and Barbara Read. If you would like to participate on the Prayer Chain, or to submit prayer requests, please contact Liz Amisson, 973-270-3680 or lizami7@yahoo.com

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Prayer Ministry

Community Luncheon

Dear Church Covenant Partners and Contributors

Thank you for the overwhelming success of the Christmas gifts, clothes, toiletries, etc. The socks, gloves,

hats, thermal underwear, etc. are very needed by those who received them. We cannot express sufficiently that

our prayers were answered by all of the congregation. God Bless You.

Community Luncheon team

Next Generation Ministries

Jingle Jam was a ton of fun and a huge success! We danced, we cheered for our moms as they unwrapped

boxes with boxing gloves on, Drew got mailed from the North pole in a really big box, we convinced our

contestants on stage which box to pick, and lastly, we partied with cookies and hot cocoa. Through out the

program we talked about Joy and we challenged our guests to think about what it may look like to find Joy

all year round, no matter what is happening. It was the perfect message for me at that exact moment, be-

cause despite the microphone not working, and the computer freezing up on us, and things not going exact-

ly to plan I was reminded to choose joy. At the after party, we made ornaments to remind people to choose

joy, and we sent every person home with a tiny nativity scene to remind them that the greatest gift of all is

Jesus. I hope that during this season, you and your families remember to choose joy. A big thank you to all

who volunteered and helped make Jingle Jam possible!

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