Peapack Reformed Church Site Map

Online Sermons
Selected weekly sermons by our pastor, Reverend Kathryn Henry

Worship Preparation
Tips, ideas and resources to help you prepare for Worship at Pepack Reformed Church.

The Fellowship Committee invites the congregation for soup luncheon fellowship and a good time together. Please bring your contribution - Cut up fresh vegetables - Broth or Stock - Canned vegetables and canned tomatoes - to the church kitchen before the morning service on February 12th. The soup will cook and simmer and after worship we will feast!

The Food Bank Network of Somerset County
The mission of The Food Bank Network is to distribute food and to provide other basic human needs to those less fortunate in their community in a manner which recognizes and advances self worth and human dignity. Their method of distributing this food is through three food pantries, located in Somerville, Bound Brook, and North Plainfield, and a warehouse in Bridgewater. Their goal is to help create the opportunity for each person to become self-sufficient.

      Share a pancake supper with us on
   February 21st!
Our Youth Group will be serving this
Shrove Tuesday
meal between the hours of 5 - 7pm
as we prepare for the Lenten Season.
Proceeds to benefit Habitat for Humanity
    Donation: $8 adult, $5 children and seniors.

Our Sunday Bulletin

Click on the link above to read the current Sunday bulletin in Adobe format.

Our Church Office is staffed from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Monday through Friday — and at other times by appointment. If your call outside these hours is urgent or involves a pastoral emergency, our voicemail service provides directions for reaching the Pastor.

"Train children in the right way and when they are grown they will not depart from it." — from Proverbs 22:6

About Our Pastor

Reverend Kathryn Henry began her call as pastor of the Peapack Reformed Church in 2003. She graduated in 2002 from Princeton Theological Seminary, having been a second-career student. Prior to seminary, Kathy was a professional librarian and community volunteer in Bernardsville, where she and her husband Peter reside. They are the parents of two grown children, Tim and Beth, and grandparents of three. Read more by clicking on the link above.

The Bound Brook Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry

For more than seven years, the Reformed Church of Bound Brook has been home to a weekly Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry. Every Wednesday, a hearty meal is served to anyone who comes - usually forty to sixty people.

S.H.I.P. Mobile Soup Kitchen

Now it is even easier to support the mobile kitchen of the Samaritan Homeless Interim Program (S.H.I.P.) . This is the program that brings hot meals to hungry men, women and especially children at various locations in Somerset County.

Samaritan Homeless Interim Program (S.H.I.P.)

Samaritan Homeless Interim Program (S.H.I.P.) is a registered, interfaith benevolence organization serving Somerset County clients and families who are homeless, near-homeless, or working poor. SHIP clients are often unable to obtain assistance from government or other private agencies and are therefore denied an opportunity to receive the basic humane assistance they need and deserve.

Attention!
In the drama that is your life – and in those times when there doesn’t seem to be enough drama, when each day seems to just drag on by – may you keep your attention on the under story – what Jesus came to do – the story of God’s love, forgiveness and salvation, the story of meaning and hope and promise, the story of a journey anyone of us can take.

Authorized By
In baptism – celebrating anew, remembering our own, honoring others’ - we recognize and submit ourselves to God’s authority. Indeed, every time we come into this place, this sanctuary, we open ourselves to being astounded and amazed at the transformative power of the presence of Jesus Christ.

In your life situation today, who might it be who is urging you to see a higher and better vision of yourself in God’s plan for the world? A teacher, a good friend? A parent or a loving son or daughter? Who is encouraging you to come up out of some narrow and confining attitude, to overcome some impediment, to discover the joy, peace, hope and wonder that is God’s big screen?

Soon we will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion. There will be many words to say. I invite you to listen to yourself as you speak them. They describe the nature of our faith in Jesus Christ and our confidence in God’s active presence with us in this world from the beginning of time.

On the church calendar, this is officially the First Sunday after Christmas. But it is also the Sunday before Epiphany, January 6, the date which marks the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles with the arrival of the Magi from the East to the stable in Bethlehem. And here, this morning, on this first day of the new year, 2012, it is Epiphany that we celebrate as we think about the meaning of their visit.

There Were Shepherds
What is your favorite part of the Christmas story? If you could play a role in a grown-up Christmas pageant, who might you choose to be? Which figure in the Christmas tableau has the most meaning for you? Or might you choose to stare at the manger scene and let your imagination carry you out beyond the stable?

Sing Because of Love
We have come to the last Sunday in Advent, 2011, and our service this morning is filled with music. Each Sunday of Advent this year, we have taken note of the troubles that beset our times – and there are so many, all kinds of troubles – and we have said: we need to sing and we need to sing now. And so we did. We sang for hope, we sang of peace and we sang with joy. But now we sing the ultimate song. Today we sing because of love, because of God’s eternal love for us

Sing With Joy
The first part of real deep joy is knowing that each one of us is part of God’s great scheme of things. But we are not mere cogs in a machine. For the second part of joy is that Jesus also is part of that great scheme. Through Jesus – that human being born into the world the way each one of us is born – each individual one of us is declared to be meaningful and loved.

Sing of Peace
In the gospel reading for today, we hear the song that John the Baptist sings, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Repent! John echoes the song of the prophet Isaiah: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

Sing of Hope
Hope is nurtured by the understanding that Jesus is present with us now. Each and every day holds out the chance to forgive and be forgiven, to serve the least among us and to be served, to extend the hand of hospitality and to grasp the hand so offered, to pray for those in need and to be prayed for. Hope does spring eternal...

Thanks Be To God
I believe the church, and especially small congregations like ours, can lead the way in revealing God’s power in the world, can show what happens when Christ is king. The fate of the world does not depend upon our human leadership. God is still in charge.

Survey Monkey
Take a look at the strange title for this morning’s sermon. SurveyMonkey is an internet company that enables users to create their own surveys online to be answered online. SurveyMonkey takes advantage of the image of an agile jungle animal, the monkey, swinging quickly and easily from tree to tree, sampling fruit. Student opinion polls, customer surveys, and employee feedback sessions, for example, all can be conducted in the same quick and easy way with SurveyMonkey.

Linked Together
Like those ancient Israelites, each one of us belongs to God’s family. And each of us can choose to know and reflect upon our own history as a child of God and our story of how God has been present in our life.

Vision of the Promised Land
For whether we acknowledge it or not, we do live our lives, day to day, with an underlying vision in our minds of what constitutes a good and satisfying life. And I tell you, it ought to be focused first on God’s vision – and God’s hope and intention for us...

Interfaith Hospitality Network of Somerset County
Interfaith Hospitality Network of Somerset County (IHN-SC) is a homeless shelter and assistance agency for homeless families in the county. IHN-SC provides shelter, meals, and emotional support to homeless families through volunteers at various religious congregational facilities. All volunteers are trained to provide basic services in a supportive and respectful way to stress human dignity and empowerment.

Good News Home for Women

The Good News Home for Women is a long-term residential rehabilitation center for women who want to overcome the life-destroying effects of alcohol and other drug addictions. Founded as a Christian nonprofit organization in 1983 by the late G. Tracy Ginsburg, the Home offers a holistic approach of healing to the mind, body and spirit. The on-going process of recovery and growth is achieved at the Home through a comprehensive non-denominational, but spiritually focused program. Their services are offered to women, 18-years of age and older, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, or the ability to pay.

Inclusive Worship at Peapack Reformed
Several students from the Matheny School have become regular worshippers with us on Sunday mornings. Click the link above to read on.

Directions to Peapack Reformed Church

Sunday Worship Services are held at 10:00 am at 224 Main Street, Gladstone, New Jersey 07934. Peapack Reformed Church is located in Peapack-Gladstone, a quiet borough in the heart of New Jersey's equestrian country and surrounded by the Somerset Hills communities of Far Hills, Bernardsville, and Bedminster, plus Mendham and Chester in Morris County. Click the link above for driving directions from various locations.

Current Issue of the SPIRE Newsletter
Click the link above to view the current issue of our newsletter, the SPIRE.

You must have either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader on your computer in order to view this issue. Please click here for additional information if you need to download this free software: Adobe Reader.

Current Leadership of the Peapack Reformed Church

As a member of the Reformed Church in America, Peapack Reformed Church adheres to the presbyterian model of church governance. Meet the men and women who currently serve as Elders & Deacons — as well as those who serve in leadership roles.

How To Access Adobe Reader PDF Files

In order to provide great looking web pages and for ease of printing sermons and flyers, we regularly present our web pages using Adobe Reader. This is free software easily downloaded onto your computer through Adobe's web site. Chances are, you already have Adobe Reader on your computer. But if you find the need to download it (or want to upgrade to the latest version), please click on the logo and you'll be directed to their web site for additional information:

To reach the church: office@peapackreformed.org.

To reach our pastor, Reverend Kathryn Henry: pastor@peapackreformed.org.

For inquiries about our web site: webeditor@peapackreformed.org. We'd enjoy hearing your impressions of our web ministry!

Our church office maintains a list of email addresses to transmit important church family news flashes to our membership. If you wish to be included, send an email to office@peapackreformed.org requesting to be added to our email database.

Worship Service Podcasts
We are updating our archive of Worship Service Podcasts and they will be temorarily disabled. Look for a notice when they become available.

Faces
Maintaining distance between human beings and God, however, still allows for daring confrontation and challenge. For God to be fully present would be so compelling that the human being would be forced into belief and obedience. But we know that as human beings we are free to choose...

Idle Worship
Jesus, though – like Moses was in some ways- has been sent to repair the broken relationship between God and humanity. For Jesus – as it was for Moses – it is often tough going.

Vineyard Haven
What we want to be is a vineyard haven, a faith community that reflects the kingdom of God in what we do and who we are. And on this worldwide communion Sunday, along with congregations from all over - we are reminded that we are Jesus's people and that Jesus is the true vine in whom we must abide if we are to bear the spiritual fruit which God intended for humanity from the beginning.

Staying in Business
Last week I paid a visit to the Borders bookstore in Bridgewater. As you may know, the Borders chain is going out of business – for several reasons, I guess. They failed to keep up with technology and didn’t have an e-book on the market like the Barnes & Noble Nook or the Kindle. They didn’t plan ahead well; they grew too fast maybe; they didn’t manage their operations well. A number of reasons, probably.

Step by step, there is hope for a better way. Life does go on. Not everyone will be stopping this morning to remember this 10^th anniversary: there are trips to be taken, games to be played, dinners to be shared. And changes in life keep coming, for each and every one of us every day, just like for our dear friend

On Psalm 121
We continue with our summer reading from the book of Psalms: this morning a psalm of trust, number 121, called in the NRSV the “Assurance of God’s Protection.” If you are reading along in the pew Bible, you will notice that Psalm 121 is also called “A Song of Ascents.”

At the outset, we read psalms that were hymns of thanksgiving and praise to God – acknowledgement of God’s benevolent creation and continuing love.

Because we come to God in this attitude of thanksgiving and praise, we also dare ...to be open and honest when we run into trouble. Thus is born the psalm of lament.

Psalm 1 is not just the first psalm by happenstance. It was carefully crafted to introduce the whole Psalter by setting down an attitude toward God, both for the liturgy – that is, the worship practices – of ancient Israel and for life itself.

All of the psalms poetically present ways to meditate and reflect upon God’s will and to communicate the struggles and the joys of trying to follow. This psalm, at the beginning, lays the foundation for what the rest of the psalms will express in particular as a book of instruction for true piety and ethics.

Generally speaking, there are two types of psalms – hymns and laments. In the first two weeks of our summer sermon series, we read and sang hymns – psalms of thanksgiving and praise to God for creation, for the blessings of life, and even for life itself. And in the weeks to come, we will read others expressing confidence and trust in God’s good care for the creation.

Last week we began our summer reading of psalms with ones that are filled with praises to God for creation, for care and protection and for loving kindness – simply for existence: God’s and ours.

Praise is often naturally connected to giving thanks for God’s goodness and blessings – as you may have noticed from our Call to Worship and first hymn today – the familiar Psalm 100.

On Psalm 145
Originally the Psalms were hymns, meant to be sung or chanted – music of the gathered congregation. So too, we will include psalms in many parts of our worship each week. The summer Sundays will be part Bible study – I hope that you will learn something new about these ancient writings.

The Blessings of Water
I have to be honest and open with you. We have read these scripture passages before, three years ago on the third Sunday in Lent. The readings for any given Sunday are selected according to a lectionary, that is, a list drawn up by an ecumenical committee that included various Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church. So your friends in other churches may be hearing today the same Bible stories that you are hearing today.

Thinking With Your Heart
I read somewhere that the African impala can jump to a height of over ten feet and cover a distance of over thirty in one bound. Yet these powerful, magnificent animals can be kept in a zoo, contained in an enclosure with only a three-foot-high wall. What is it that keeps them from leaping over to freedom?

Your Choice
Yesterday I went with some of our consistory members to a day-long seminar at the Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge. The seminar was part of a faith renewal weekend led by the Reverend Dr. N. Graham Standish, pastor of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople, Pennsylvania. Standish is the author of a book entitled Becoming a Blessed Church: Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence and Power. Several years ago, the consistory studied this book and so the seminar was a refresher for some of us and for others, a new exposure to his ideas.

High/Low Jesus
Today we celebrate one of those high Christological moments in the church; that is, we call attention to one of those passages in Scripture that defines Jesus as holy, the Messiah, the Son of God. The passage for today is known as the Transfiguration.

Sustenance
Surely, there is no shortage of matters to be anxious and worried about these days – societal, religious, financial, political, world-changing matters.

You Choose
Last week, the sermon was a meditation on the difference between being religious and being spiritual. Along with the prophet Isaiah, I said that, in order to be good, the practice of religion must be infused with the Holy Spirit. Thus inspired, we go and do what God commands – work for justice and peace, live compassionately, care for the poor among us, feed the hungry.

Spiritual and Religious
Notice the title of today’s sermon: Spiritual and Religious. These days, those terms are not usually put together in that way. More often, you hear people say they are spiritual but not religious. Why the distinction?

Typo
I used to have a theory about the perfection of Scripture. Not a high theological theory about truth or necessity or completeness, although I do subscribe to those ideas. I do believe that Scripture is the Word of God, written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Chosen
Our reading from the gospel of John this morning is the account of how Jesus called his first disciples. Apparently, at the outset, they were followers of John the Baptist, heeding his call to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and going about with him as he continued his work. But when John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to them, they switched their allegiance. This was the man John had been talking about, the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. They needed no more convincing than John the Baptists own testimony: I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.

On Baptism
The Sacrament of Baptism is replete with symbolism with respect to water. The prayers in the liturgy for baptism call up images from the ancient history of the people of God:

Eternal Purpose
The old familiar carol tells the story of the three wise men who - following the slow rhythm of the tune, it seems - plodded across the desert on their camels, guided to the stable in Bethlehem by the brightest star they had ever seen in all their years of astrological observation.

Meditation for the Fourth Sunday in Advent
The Christmas cards are coming now. Greetings from friends, old and new, near and far. Family updates – birth announcements, wedding announcements, and sadly, death notices.

Candle of Joy
John the Baptist asks an impertinent question of Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
When I was beginning my serious study of theology, in the year before I actually started seminary, I met regularly with a Presbyterian pastor. We talked about God, about the Holy Spirit, about prayer, about Scripture; I felt that I was gradually working my way up to talking about Jesus, the one who is central to our Christian faith. He was the piece de resistance. Who was Jesus? Who is Jesus? Pivotal questions.

Candle of Justice
Fiji is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific, about 2000 km northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. Until 1970, it was a British colony. Today the country is led by a military regime and considered to be politically unstable.

Candle of Peace
How many of you are wearing a digital watch this morning? Not so many probably. How many are wearing a regular watch? Does your watch have a little date box to tell you what day it is? How many of you have digital clocks at home? Think of the clocks built into appliances like the TV or radio or the microwave. Digital clocks usually have a lighted red dot to tell you whether it’s AM or PM, they often have a day/date display, and many of them change themselves automatically when daylight savings time begins or ends.

Christ the King
Notice the heading on the first page of this morning’s bulletin. Today is Christ the King Sunday, the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the reception of new members into our congregation. The challenge for me is to tie all these themes together into one meaningful message. Here goes...

Pain Management
Last week, Peter and I received our first 2011 calendar in the mail. You know how a calendar is a common thank-you gift from company youve done business with or from an organization that youve donated to. This one was from USO. USO centers all over the world serve Americas active troops with varied services, from care packages and portable phones to celebrity entertainment tours and airport reception centers for returning troops and their families.

Reality Check
As many of you know by now, I was raised a Methodist. From far back in my family – on both my mother’s and my father’s sides – we were Methodist. I was baptized in the First Methodist Church at Seventh Avenue and Garden Street in Haddon Heights in South Jersey. That is where I went to Sunday school and confirmation class, youth fellowship and youth choir. I was firmly rooted, that’s for sure. So when I went off to Douglass College, one of the first groups I joined was the Wesley Foundation, the Rutgers University club for Methodist students.

The Blessing of Being Called
Please turn back to the first page of this mornings bulletin and read aloud with me the Thought for Worship: God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

The Blessing of Restoration
Weve gathered here this morning in a sanctuary that has undergone several major renovation programs since its initial construction in 1850. The first was under drastic circumstances. In January, 1873, fire destroyed the building that had just been enlarged and reopened the month before. But by January of 1874, just a year later, there was a new church building again, upon the same foundation.

The Blessing of a Prayerful Life
During this month of October, weve been considering the blessings that God has bestowed upon us as a congregation, a congregation called by God and inspired by the Holy Spirit to be the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world today. We have called attention each week to the Thought for Worship printed in the bulletin: God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

The Blessing of Place
Last week we began by reading aloud together the Thought for Worship. It is the same one that you find in the bulletin today and will find for the remainder of October. God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

The Blessing of Wisdom
Read along with me the Thought for Worship that is printed in todays bulletin: God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

A Continuing Community of Faith
First, like last week, a little history. Jerusalem is under siege by Babylon again. They have come upon the city with a vengeance, intent upon total destruction and total removal of Gods people. Jeremiah had prophesied that this would happen, and he even said that Judah should surrender to Babylon. It was Gods judgment, Gods will. For this he is suspected by his own people of being a traitor and he is put into prison.

Have a Little Faith
First, a little history. The prophet Jeremiah was active during the reign of King Josiah, the one who discovered the old scrolls of Moses the book of Deuteronomy - during a restoration of Jerusalem in the 7th century BCE. The people of God had become careless in their worship practices and in their obedience to the commandments (not a new phenomenon) and so Josiah used this discovery to begin a reform that reaffirmed the covenant of Moses and centralized the worship of God in the temple, which Josiah had rebuilt. Jeremiah had entered the scene as a prophet like Moses, to whom the people were supposed to listen. Sounds good.

Thy Kingdom Come
Our scripture readings for this morning, each in their own way, speak about becoming lost, leaving the protective fold, going our own way, apart from God, away from Gods commandments and desires and hopes for us.

A Dangerous Mission
I begin with excerpts from a news article in last Monday’s Star-Ledger that simply brought tears of pain, anger and sorrow to my eyes as I read it.

Remember One Thing
The most recent edition of Time magazine carries a feature article on the new CEO of Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally and how he has restructured the corporation to emerge out of difficult times as a world-class manufacturer.

Rich
My father passed away on St. Patrick’s Day in 1988 just a week shy of his 79th birthday. My mother, who was six years his senior, had cared for him for many years as he suffered from Parkinson’s disease; all the while she managed the household as well.

Thoughts on Prayer
At the middle of every month, we print and mail out a prayer list from the church office. Under Prayers for Healing, we list the names of individuals who are suffering, names that have been handed in to us from you, names that have come in on the blue cards, prayers for members of the congregation, for families, for people from the community. In addition, there are prayers for protection for those in dangerous places, particularly in the military; prayers for our missionaries in Niger and Zimbabwe; prayers of thanksgiving and joy; prayers for shut-ins; prayers for mission projects and church programs.

Mary and Martha
The cooks were in the church kitchen again last Wednesday. It was a beautiful sight to behold: meat loaves lovingly prepared ahead of time; chicken breasts baked in a fruity onion sauce; luscious green beans almandine; perfect rice; platters of artfully arranged cut-up raw vegetables. They cooked enough dinner for a hundred people, then packed it all up, along with donated apple pies for dessert, and headed for the soup kitchen at the South Bound Brook Reformed Church, where they served it with joyful hospitality. I’m told there wasn’t a drop of sauce or a grain of rice or a sliver of almond left. The mundane task of cooking dinner never felt so good.

Measuring Faith
We live by the numbers... Last week we experienced a prolonged heat wave. Daytime temperatures averaged over a hundred and only cooled down into the 80s at night. Most days, the humidity was high also, so the air was thick, oppressive and unhealthy. The talk was all about the numbers, the heat index – 107 degrees on the car thermometer, 104 in New York, 103 in Philadelphia.

Independence Day
Happy Fourth of July! This is the premier red, white and blue holiday, when we celebrate the founding of this country and the freedoms we all enjoy.

Passing the Mantle
Since we are marking this last Sunday as Music Appreciation Sunday, I thought I'd start by singing...

Simply Silence
No doubt you have noticed, as I have, this year’s crop of signs advertising summer camps. Most of them are those inexpensive, corrugated plastic rectangles on spindly wire legs. New ones appear overnight, it seems, especially at major intersections, like Route 206 and Pottersville Road, and down by the train station.

In Dire Straits
First off, I want to thank the wonderful world of the Internet (and my cousin in Florida) for these three tidbits.
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is six feet by eight feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten to twelve feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The Trinity Trap
Our community has been reeling this past week from the occurrence of three deaths that touched this church congregation especially closely. And as we came together at three different times in three different churches to mourn our losses and to grieve together, we also have seen how closely our lives are intertwined.

Merry Christmas
Happy Birthday to you all! Or as the title of the sermon oddly declares, Merry Christmas!
This day – Pentecost – marks what has come to be called the birthday of the church, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples just as Jesus had promised in the Gospel of John. ...I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth...the Holy Spirit.

The Peace of Christ
Today is Mother’s Day again, but this is not exactly a Mother’s Day sermon. However, I do want to start with an appropriate little story that I came across in one of my journals.

Love One Another
Two and a half weeks ago, on April 14, a volcano in Iceland, thought to be dormant, erupted, creating air travel havoc. The red hot lava melted glacial ice causing immense flooding. Smoke and steam shot seven miles up into the air, and a cloud of volcanic ash began to drift slowly eastward. Twenty-four hours later, volcanic activity was still intensifying. The cloud blew across the Norwegian Sea toward Scandinavia and then southeast across the Shetland Isles as far as the north coast of Scotland. The plume of gritty ash doubled again and again until it eventually stretched across most of Western Europe. A national shut down of British airspace began at noon on April 15. Millions of travelers on both sides of the Atlantic were left stranded on the ground.

The Way
Here is the question for the day: How did you first meet Jesus? Keep this question in mind as we go along in the meditation.

Some people are born into the faith, like being born into a family. For instance, I was “born” a Methodist. Both of my parents’ families belonged to Methodist churches in central Pennsylvania and as an infant, I was baptized in a Methodist church in South Jersey, where they had moved to and settled. We went to church just about every Sunday, I to Sunday school and my parents to their classes and then to worship. I heard Bible stories and memorized verses, sang in the youth choir, was active in MYF, and confirmed in the eighth grade.

Ages Ago and Just Yesterday
It was about a year ago the week after Easter, that Oz Kavanaugh died. For many years, Oz served this congregation with love and devotion - as an elder, the clerk of consistory, a wise leader in various prayer ministries, an avid participant in Bible study and - her favorite, I know - teaching children about Jesus.

Way Out
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling...
Why did we read those first two verses of Luke’s Chapter 15? Why didn’t we skip them and get on with the story we call the Parable of the Prodigal Son? We know that story well and we love to hear it again; it has such a happy ending.

The scripture reading for today focuses on Paul’s faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and Paul’s request for the Philippians to follow him in that faith. He writes, “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” His command is simple, do not go your own way but imitate him.

Packing for the Spiritual Journey
You’ll note on the calendar page of this morning’s bulletin that I will be away for four days this coming week. I’m leaving for Tampa, Florida later this afternoon to meet up with three of my cousins for a little family reunion.

Sanctuary Light
People often ask about the round stained glass windows in this church – the one on the far wall in Fellowship Hall and the one just like it at the back of the sanctuary up in the balcony. They appear to be the Star of David, and so, they wonder, what is a Jewish symbol doing in a Christian church? Well, I say, Christianity does have its roots in Judaism...but actually, I think these windows are of two equilateral triangles, and since at least the 4th century, the triangle has represented the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Don't Miss the Boat
I’m in the middle of reading the latest little book by Mitch Albom. He’s the man who wrote Tuesdays With Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. The title of this one is Have a Little Faith.

There's No Excuse
Do you remember the Old Testament story in Exodus of Moses and the burning bush? Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro...he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed...and God called to Moses out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” (Ex. 3: 1-4) Then ensued the story of how God told Moses that he would be the one to lead the people of Israel out of the miserable slavery they were enduring in Egypt.

Jail Chaplaincy of Somerset County
The Jail Chaplaincy is an ecumenical organization to develop, promote, and administer programs designed to meet the varied emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of the incarcerated men and women at the Somerset County Jail.

New Mission Systems International - The Edwards Family

Peapack Reformed Church supports the work of Lance and Elizabeth through the NMSI at the Ebenezer training centre in rural Zimbabwe. NMSI is an agency that fosters the emergence of Jesus-following communities globally. Their vision is to support and place people in fields of service to minister God's love so that people of all nations may be saved. You can learn the latest about the Edwards Family at http://nmsi.org/Edwards_Lance_Elizabeth.aspx

Upon My Word
“Upon My Word” is the title of today’s sermon. My mother used to use that phrase as a threat. “Upon my word, Kathy” she would say, often shaking her finger; and I knew that I’d better do whatever it was she was telling me to do or else there would be some consequence, and I probably wouldn’t like it. And I was a good girl...

To You, With Love, From the Holy Spirit
My dear friend Trinka Noble, the writer of children’s books, gave me a lovely Christmas present this year. On a delicate silver chain, she had strung a small blue-gray mussel shell and laying softly inside the shell is an opalescent stone, worn rounded and smooth by tumbling in running water, over many years. The stone is known as a Cape May diamond.

Paying for the Holy Spirit
It must be clear to you by this point in the service that it’s mainly about baptism today.

Proceeding in a Spiritual Direction
Today we are celebrating Epiphany, which actually is this coming Wednesday, January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas. Epiphany marks the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem and their coming to the stable birthplace of Jesus with their gifts, as you heard read in the Gospel passage and predicted, if you will, in the verses of Psalm 72.

Miracles Begin as Babies
Our sanctuary is filled this morning with the simple beauty of a traditional, classic Christmas. The greenery, of course, has been up for some weeks, but now poinsettias grace the chancel and the choir area. The candles in the windows are glowing, and we lit the fourth candle on the Advent wreath today. We are indeed blessed to have such a place as this in which to worship.

It Could Be Jesus
Last Wednesday evening, we began a two-session Advent Bible study called The Best Songs Come at Night, put together by J. Ellsworth Kalas, a Methodist pastor and teacher. In this study, Kalas invites us to enter into the wisdom of Advent and the Christmas season by exploring and contemplating some simple ideas that come to the fore at this time of year.

Divine Interruption
According to certain interpretations of the ancient Mayan Long Count, or cyclical, calendar, the world as we know it will come to a cataclysmic end on December 21, 2012. The patterns of life and time will be broken and the earth will be thrust into unprecedented global chaos. We will suffer shattering earthquakes, massive tidal waves and stupendous volcanic eruptions. In fact, signs of the coming catastrophe are already apparent - Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunamis, even the current economic collapse.

Jesus Rules!
Take a look at the heading on the first page of this morning’s bulletin. You’ll notice that today is Christ the King Sunday and also the Sunday of Thanksgiving, which is this coming Thursday, and also the reception of new members into our congregation. The challenge for your preacher is to tie all these individual strands together into one meaningful message. As one of my seminary professors was fond of saying, “Everything is related to everything else”; so...no problem.

Having a husband who is an attorney has provided me with a lot of semi-useful information about law, most of which does me no good except to be able to turn a quaint phrase now and then. For instance, I’ve learned about the illegality of harboring an habitually barking dog or suffering a dog to run at large in the borough of Mendham. Early on in his career I was enlightened on unabandoned pre-existing non-conforming uses. I’m sure there’s more that I can’t recall, and that’s probably a good thing.

Peripheral Vision
Dateline: Hanover, New Hampshire, November 5, 2009, National Public Radio Morning Edition. The Hypotherm factory sits hidden in the woods not far from Dartmouth College. Inside, in a testing room, a jet of superheated ionized gas slices through an inch of plate steel. Jim Miller, vice president of manufacturing, says that when the world is making big heavy things, Hypotherm does quite well...because the firm is one of the top manufacturers of plasma cutting tools. But late last year, production of [big heavy things like] ships and cars pretty much ground to a halt. And sales of cutting systems at Hypotherm dropped 50 per cent.

Tears and Whispers
Perhaps some of you have heard the name Phyllis Parker. She lived during the Revolutionary War in Vealtown, later to become Bernardsville, and her father was the proprietor of the Vealtown Tavern, which was located in what is now the old Bernardsville Library. Phyllis was in love with a man named Dr. Byram, a local doctor who frequented the tavern.

Restored in Spirit
Good morning. My name is Bartimaeus, which simply means son of Timaeus. Some of you may remember me – I was here three years ago, same last Sunday in October actually, the one you Christian people call Reformation Sunday. They tell me that’s because on October 31 in 1517, a priest named Martin Luther nailed his complaints about the Roman Catholic Church to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany and that started a Reformation that ended up in a whole new way of believing in and worshiping God. Well, that was way, way after my time; I lived in the first century.

Tell Us What We Want to Hear
At the end of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says to the twelve disciples: “...whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” Not again! Jesus talking about how tough things will be for the ones who dare to follow him and his way.

The Gift of Suffering
“Life is difficult,” writes psychologist M. Scott Peck, the author of The Road Less Traveled. He echoes Buddha, whose “Four Noble Truths” begin with: “Life is suffering.”

Trusted With God's Gift
Most of you know that my husband Peter is a lawyer, a profession that he has undertaken and practiced with utmost seriousness and diligence for over forty years. He has a love for the law, and for justice with compassion, and he doesn’t have much tolerance for people who are stupid, conniving and selfish.

Hey, Wait a Minute...
Yesterday was our daughter’s wedding anniversary. Beth and Jim were married exactly eleven years ago, on Saturday, September 26, 1998. The card we picked out to send them had this message on the inside: “On the road of life it’s not where you go but who you’re with that makes the difference.” I found this message, or wording close to it, on at least three other cards. Only the pictures on the front were different. So, I suppose, the card makers have found this to be a good seller. Why?

Keeping the Faith
You might think it strange when I tell you that one of the books I read over vacation was The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-believer, selected and with introductions by Christopher Hitchens, author of the bestseller God Is Not Great. I also read and studied The Evolution of God by Robert Wright, whose thesis is that God most likely does not really exist but has been a human construct, as needed, over all these millennia.

Words of Wisdom
We live in a world of words, words, words. More specifically, we live in a world of talk, talk, talk. Constantly, it seems, there is someone talking with us, talking to us, talking at us: television, radio, cell phone, iPod, blogs and websites, not to mention perhaps a real other person. Everybody and his brother seem to have caught onto the idea that there is power in the word – power to convince or command, to defend or demand, to advertise or to claim outright. And power to the individual voice, as never before, to broadcast opinions and assertions that may or may not have any basis in fact or truth.

Many Turned Away
One of the sorriest and most disappointing sentences of scripture, at least in the Gospels, is one that we read this morning - Chapter 6, Verse 66: Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. Because what Jesus had been preaching was hard to comprehend and harder still to follow, they gave up and went away, back to their old ways.

Eat This Bread
Over the past three weeks we have been exploring Chapter Six of the Gospel of John. Our guide has been the Thought for Worship, which is printed at the head of the bulletin: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. We find this thought woven in and around all the verses of this chapter.

Hard to Swallow
They come to the house under cover of darkness, singly or in pairs, but carefully no more than three in a group. They walk quickly and quietly so as not to be noticed. But they are noticed...on the same day every week, they are noticed. Because there are some in the old city who would arrest and torture them, even kill them, for what they do in that house just before daybreak.

The Bread of Life
Beginning last week, the lectionary directs us, on these summer Sundays, to the Gospel of John, specifically to Chapter 6, where Jesus speaks in various ways about being the Bread of Life. How many ways, I ask myself, can one preach on essentially the same text? The answer could be to preach on something else – one of the other lectionary passages: a psalm or the Old Testament reading or the epistle. That would do it.

www.God.com.gov.org.edu.love
You’ll notice that the title of today’s sermon is an internet address for God: www.God.com.gov.org.edu.love. Those of you who are web savvy will know that there is an error in this address; it has to be www.God.one thing, not all those things: .com or .gov or .org or .edu or .net. But the title serves to illustrate my premise this morning that God is present at all these possible addresses, not just at one.

Simple It Isn't
Let’s listen again to part of the lectionary passage for this morning. My guess is it was a little hard to understand the first time around: Paul’s writing is often dense and twisted, his thoughts convoluted and his sentences long. So, let’s hear some of it again:

By the Way
Every time I read this passage from the Gospel of Mark about the healing of Jairus's daughter and the included story of the woman who was healed from her bleeding, I think about the importance of things that seem to happen 'by the way.'

Spirit Power
When you think about it, there's a lot of talk these days about power.

Getting There, Being There
Our alarm clock goes off at 7 o’clock every morning. Actually the clock radio comes on at seven and we wake up to NPR’s Morning Edition news program. But that is the second wake up time. The first alarm is set for 6:30 because that is when I really want to get up. I have to admit, though, that I often shut off that 6:30 alarm because I don’t like the NPR program, called The Takeaway, that comes on then and I would rather go back to sleep.

Alone Together
In your bulletins this morning, you have an insert that has what looks like two mazes on it; on one side is a square maze and on the other is a round one. (So, no, we didn’t make a mistake and give everyone a children’s activity page.)

Carrying On
Last Tuesday I went to a meeting of the Somerset Area Ministerial Association, an ecumenical group of clergy from around Somerville. Our guest was Cynthia Voorhees from the Somerset County Office on Aging. Cynthia described the many services the Office on Aging offers both to senior citizens and to their caregivers: Meals on Wheels, senior grocery shopping, medical transportation, chronic disease care management, respite care, legal assistance, mental health counseling, adult day programs, help with Medicare and Medicaid, housekeeping, caregiver support and education programs... to name a few.

Unconvinced
Over the past couple of weeks, two troubling matters have been stewing together on the back burner of my mind. God has been stirring the pot from time to time and now, I think, the concoction may be ready to serve up to you in a sermon.

It pained me to even hear her say it. “You know, if you cut that lilac bush down about half, you’ll have more growth at the bottom and a nicer plant.”

One Humanity, One Flock
There are two different bulletin covers this morning. Some of you have the burgundy one with the illustration of diverse people – men and women of different cultures, young and old, dark-skinned and light (and a cat, which baffles me) – gathered around a round communion table. The holy meal is prepared; they are ready to partake.

A Path Strewn With Questions
Each of you gets to take part in the sermon this morning, at least at the beginning. In your bulletin you will find a blank white card. I want you to take a few moments to think and then write down a question that you would like to ask God, a major question of faith, a matter important to you. Maybe it will be something about suffering or about the nature of Jesus Christ or the purpose of life or about the church. Maybe it will be a topic you have been afraid to come close to, afraid to ask for some reason, or a question that disturbs, challenges or demands something of you.

The Guiding Light
By now you know. The word is out. The longest running soap opera in broadcasting history, Guiding Light, has been cancelled by CBS. The show has been on radio and television for seventy-two years, beginning on NBC radio in 1937 and moving to CBS television in 1952.

What Are You Afraid Of?
Financial fears grip people these days. Will I have enough? is the underlying question. Will I have enough to send my children to college? Will I have enough to send my children to preschool or to summer camp? Will I have enough to pay the mortgage or make the car payment or pay the minimum on the Visa bill?

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip…and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

I love the plain practicality of this statement. You can picture the scene. And in a slight digression, even before I hardly begin, I wonder if visitors to our church are not like these Greeks, come here to see what this church, and we who worship here, are all about. And I wonder, aren’t they, in their visiting, asking to see Jesus? What do they find here, these 21st century style Greeks? Do they see Jesus – in us, in our worship?

Where Does It Hurt?
There seems to be some trouble in my mouth again. Somewhere in the lower right quadrant, a tooth hurts. It is sensitive to heat and sometimes cold and occasionally hurts when I bite down on it. I’ve spent some time trying to figure out which tooth it is and some more time telling myself that it’s all in my imagination. But, no…something isn’t right.

Spiritual Housecleaning
Winter is not over yet. There was a blizzard in Minnesota and the Dakotas last week, and we know full well that here in New Jersey, we often have snow in March.

Seeing Beyond Self
Let me begin with some excerpts from a transcript of a news story that I heard on NPR’s Morning Edition last Tuesday.

With every disaster comes opportunity: that’s what two young men from Wilmington, Ohio, thought when they saw the economic devastation in their hometown, where thousands have lost their jobs.
Mark Rembert and Taylor Stuckert decided to put aside work in the Peace Corps to see what they could do to help fix their own community – and they hatched a plan to start an environmentally friendly project that they hope will put hundreds back to work.

Losing Weight
Elizabeth Susan Henry, our first child, was born exactly thirty-five years ago today. You know how there are some events in your life, no matter how far back, that you can relive just by closing your eyes and thinking about them? The birth of a child is one of those events. With a glance at one another, Peter and I can recall every hour of that rather long day, especially the slight panic when the doctor said she might be twins. How long can two babies sleep in one crib? Quick, more names...For sure, even the smallest details of some events are etched in your memory forever.

To Each Is Given
By now, I’m sure, most all of you have heard or seen interviews with the crew of Flight 1549, the US Airways jetliner that crash landed in the icy Hudson River just a month ago, on January 15. All 150 passengers, and the crew, were rescued.

Do It Yourself Rx
Have you noticed over the past few years how we have become a do-it-yourself society? I’m not speaking of the old, do-it-yourself handyman projects around the house. I’m talking about out there in the world.

Who's In Charge Here?
They were astounded at his teaching, for [Jesus] taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark does not tell us exactly what Jesus was teaching. A portion of the Torah? Something from Isaiah or another of the prophets. A psalm? We don’t know. But, whatever it is, this Jesus speaks with the voice of authority. They were used to listening to the scribes - professional interpreters of Jewish law - but somehow Jesus is different and the people who have gathered in the synagogue know it right away.

Don't Wait
A woman came to the church last Monday, Martin Luther King Day, with a bag of canned goods for SHIP. I showed her where to put them – in that big basket in the narthex (which, I am glad to say, is overflowing). Now this woman happens to be a friend of mine, but she is not a member of our church and she doesn’t live in this town. But she explained to me that she was so moved by Barack Obama’s call that day – Martin Luther King Day – to take on some responsibility for another that she felt compelled to act immediately.

The Clock Mystery
Some years ago – ten, twelve, maybe fifteen – a good friend of ours gave us an antique clock that had belonged to her grandmother. It was a beautiful old clock with a fine mahogany case and a large round elegant face.

Clear Mystery
The story of the baptism of Jesus by John in the water of the Jordan River is recorded in all four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But Mark, whose version we read today, is, unlike the others, simple, clear and direct.

Try to Remember
It is with some trepidation that I relate the following incident to you. You may begin to have some concerns about this pastor of yours... But not to worry.

Isn't That the Way It Should Be?
On the weekend before Christmas – which was just last weekend actually – our three-year-old granddaughter Katie came to stay with us while her parents took to Vermont for an annual ski weekend with friends. We three – Katie, Peter and I – had a great time together. We made Christmas cookies, lit the candles in each window every evening, and read lots of stories. She loved going from room to room to discover what Christmas decorations were where.

Beams of Joy
You all are going to help me start this morning’s sermon. Please turn to the “Sermon Notes” page at the back of your bulletin and let’s sing together those two verses of “Deck the Halls.”

The Inner Glow of Peace
This week, 20th Century Fox will release a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. You’ve probably seen the ads for it. The story is about a humanoid alien named Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves, who arrives on Earth accompanied by an indestructible, heavily armed robot named Gort.

A Glimmer of Hope
Last Tuesday afternoon, I did some Christmas shopping in earnest. I had a list of people – family mostly - and lots of good ideas. I went first to one of my favorite places – Barnes and Noble at the Somerville Circle – and headed right for the children’s books, where I circled around several times, stopping to look through some and to read others. Finally I made my choices for nieces, nephew and grandchildren. Then, arms full, I headed over to new fiction and non-fiction to get something for my son Tim and my son-in-law Jim and for my daughter Beth.

Shop in Your Own Closet
My thanks go to my husband Peter for the title of this morning’s sermon: “Shop in Your Own Closet.” Actually, I think the phrase was ‘go shopping in your own closet’. He heard it on a radio talk show the other week in a discussion of how to spend less in these difficult economic times. Instead of heading to the mall or ordering online or from a catalog, go shopping in your own closet. See what you already have and wear that.

God Gets Angry
Some of you might remember an old television commercial for Chiffon Margarine. A lovely woman in Victorian dress, identified as Mother Nature, sits eating a slice of bread with what looks like thick butter spread on it. The voice-over asks, “Isn’t it delicious?” and she replies, “Ah, yes, my sweet, creamy butter...” And the voice-over declares, “Fooled you, Mother Nature. It’s not butter, it’s Chiffon.” Angered, she rises and proclaims, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” Then you hear booming thunder and see flashes of lightening – Mother Nature retaliates!

Today, Choose
In the mid to late 1980s, I served as the Director of Voter Service for the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. In this capacity, I traveled around the state moderating candidate debates at all levels of government, from boards of education to the U.S. Senate. I edited a publication that profiled candidates for state and national office and explained the issues involved in state referendum questions. And I was an advisor to local leagues as they organized voter registration drives and had questions on matters of voter registration. I came to know a lot about New Jersey election law.

What Makes a Saint?
During October, the music world celebrated what would have been composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein's 90th birthday. Bernstein was renowned, respected and beloved for his talent, imagination and dedication and for teaching music and the love of music to younger generations.

Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably upon his people and redeemed them.
Our theme for Stewardship Month continues: how is it that we bless God?

Mary
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably upon his people and redeemed them.
This is our theme verse for the month – our Stewardship theme for October 2008. You’re beginning to see it in lots of places around here – on the front page of the Spire, on posters, on the book mark inserted in today’s bulletin, and as our thought for worship for these four Sundays.

Hannah
As is the case in many Protestant churches in this country, the month of October here at Peapack Reformed is Stewardship Month. You know the month, someone from the congregation speaks about giving; around the middle of the month, the letter from the pastor arrives asking you to use the enclosed card to make a financial pledge; and finally, on the last Sunday in October, each one comes forward to place a pledge card in the special offering basket.

Is the Lord Among Us or Not?
Is the Lord among us or not? That is the question of the day. Is God with us or not? I want to approach this question from three very different perspectives.

What Will It Cost You?
The week just past was a scary economic nightmare. We found out that many of the financial houses we had come to rely upon were built on sand. The rains came down and the floods came up, and you know what happened next: collapse.

Shut Down and Reboot
Some of you are very, very good with computers and others of you haven’t a clue how to make one work. Most of us, including me, fall somewhere in between. We can order online, send emails, Google, keep track of our banking or word process with a fair amount of confidence. But…if something goes wrong and the computer fails to perform, well, we’re finished for the day.

Beginnings of Time
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron (his brother) in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.

These words, which Dan just read a few minutes ago from the book of Exodus, lead us into the passage which institutes the Jewish Passover, the seminal event in Jewish history when God delivered the people from slavery in Egypt. These words also establish the beginning of the Jewish liturgical year, literally Rosh Hashanah or “head of the year.”

Learn more about how children at Peapack Reformed Church gather together during Sunday School.

Stepping Out in Faith
Look up at the ceiling of this sanctuary. Notice how it is angled up along a central spine that runs front to back and also how the decorative wooden supports spaced along the ceiling follow the same line. Imagine this sanctuary turned upside down to rest upon the roof. You can see that it would be like a huge boat and the wooden supports would suggest the ribs of the boat’s hull.

The Pastor's Bookshelf

Looking for a good book? You’ve come to the right place! Click the link above to peruse books read and summarized by our pastor, Kathryn Henry.

Hip Replacement
Almost 300,000 Americans suffering from osteoarthritis undergo hip replacement surgery each year. Two members of our own congregation have had both hips replaced this past year. In hip replacement surgery, steel and some plastic substitute for bone in a new ball and socket joint that is intended to move smoothly and easily with no pain.

The Cookie Effect
Maybe some of you have heard of a phenomenon called the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect is a term used in chaos theory, in physics, to describe how tiny variations in large, complex systems can affect the long term and further out behavior of the system. It refers to the idea that the gentle flutter of a butterfly’s wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that could have significant repercussions on wind strength and movements throughout the weather systems of the world. The title of one of the first scientific papers on this idea was “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”

Promises
In a recent sermon he entitled “The Unknown Power of Trust,” Dr. Arthur Caliandro, pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, told how he had invited three actresses who were members of the congregation to talk about spirituality and the power of prayer in their lives and in their careers

Bible 101
Let me start this morning by promoting a program in the planning stages for the fall here at Peapack Reformed. In October we will begin a new Bible study – our version of Bible 101. We’ll begin with a wide angle lens, learning how the Bible was put together – how it came to be – first the Old Testament, then the Apocrypha, and then the New Testament. Next we’ll look at the great themes that run through the Bible from beginning to end. Our view will then narrow to see the various kinds of ways that the Bible can be interpreted – as theological history, as literature, as the literal word of God, as allegory and symbolism. We’ll learn how to read and study a Bible passage.

A Holiday Communion
For the Fourth of July, when I was a girl, my parents and I used to go up to the old town in Pennsylvania where they grew up. Aunts and uncles and cousins were there too. Some still lived in Osceola and others would come to town for the day. The grown-ups would sit on the front porch of 409 Blanchard Street and the kids would sit on the curb, all of us watching the parade go by, lots of fire engines and ambulances and marching bands and kids on bicycles decorated with red, white and blue crepe paper woven in the wheels.

The Binding of Isaac
Last Wednesday I spent the day at the Hunterdon Developmental Center, where I serve as a chaplain. My role as a chaplain is to lead a Protestant worship service twice a month and to minister occasionally, as needed, to staff and to families of persons who live there.

Same Old Song and Dance
From the beginning of time, God has been singing the same old song: love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself. In three of the four Gospels, when asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus recites the ancient Shema from Deuteronomy: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. Then he pulls up Leviticus for the second commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.

Driving the Jesus Car
Do you remember when you learned to drive? First and still, in New Jersey, before you could get a license, you had to take a written test. The questions were taken from a fat but simple little book put out by the state. So, for example, you would have to know how many feet you had to stay behind a fire truck when traveling in a residential zone or how old you have to be to drive a tractor on a public road.

Has God Been Calling You?

Here are some great opportunities for service to PRC:

Read Scripture! The sign-up sheet is on the hall bulletin board.
Sanctuary Flowers! Melanie Smith, and her mother Barbara O'Connell, have volunteered to serve as a "flower guild," supplying and arranging the flowers which grace our Sunday morning worship — and afterward are delivered to someone who is ill or shut-in. Of course, you can still make a donation of Sunday morning flowers in honor or in memory of someone. Just call the church office, or sign up on the hall bulletin board. The cost will now be $20.

Some Words About Church Music

The service of worship begins with the music of the organ. Please use this time to focus your attention on God. Through the power and brilliance of the organ, may you feel the majesty and glory of God and in its quietness, God's peace.

Kept Among the Living
I have a new cell phone. My old one died sometime during our move and Peter got me a new one for Christmas. Until yesterday, however, the new phone remained unopened, nicely nestled in its Verizon box, slipped into a Verizon bag, just the way Peter delivered it to me. I kept moving the bag from place to place saying, “Today I will open my new phone and start using it.”

Blindfolded
Pope Benedict XVI arrived on American soil last Tuesday for a six-day faith building mission to the 67 million Roman Catholics in the United States.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

A busy hands Prayer Shawl Ministry is gaining momentum at Peapack Reformed Church. Such excitement, many mistakes and lots of fun. Click the link above for information on how you can participate!

Christian Education News

Have you ever wondered how Sunday School started? I found the answer in “The Legend of a Sunday School Teacher” by Myrtle E. Felkner.

Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide and to making adequate, affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat is founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, decent, affordable place to live in dignity and safety.

You Can Feed a Hungry Person

Experience the immense satisfaction of knowing that you are doing something that really makes a difference. Bring your delivery of donated and/or prepared foods for the S.H.I.P. Mobile Soup Kitchen to the church by the 4th Monday of each month, no later than 10:00 am. Click the link above for more details.

Summing Up Missions at PRC

This "Moment for Missions" is a summation of the works in mission performed by members of the Peapack Reformed Church.