This Sunday we will gather at the Lord’s Table to celebrate the sacrament of communion.

Louisa Ann Saindon, daughter of Mark and Cynthia and granddaughter of Jerry & Joanie Hoenes, will be baptized during our 9:30 service.

Pastor will be speaking on 1 Peter 2:4-9.

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Our May Agape Luncheon will begin following the 11:00 service on Sunday.  Baked pasta and salad will be served.  Tom Brown will be speaking on summer gardening.  We’ll also be honoring mothers and celebrating May birthdays and anniversaries.  Cost is $5/$3.

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The May Good News was mailed yesterday.  If you’d like to read it now visit our website and follow the links to the Good News and Calendar.

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Envelopes are now available for our special mission offering for Blankets of Hope through Church World Service.  Please give.

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Deadlines are nearing for our anniversary events!  Be sure to see Joanie for tickets for May 16th dessert reception and concert, and get your reservations in for the dinner and program at Renault’s the following day.

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Please remember in prayer ~

Diane Kleiner – facing surgery soon

Jean Delesantro – double bypass surgery tomorrow

Laura May St John – hospitalized

Albert England (Kay McMillan’s uncle) – open heart surgery tomorrow

Summer Sprague – infant born 2½ months premature

Previous ministers planning to be with us for our anniversary

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What Are We Apt to See? ~ Read Acts 20:7-12

Spring flowers were in bloom, lawns were freshly mowed, and the trash waiting for pickup in front of our house was an eyesore. Rather than commenting on the flowers and lawns, I grumbled to my wife about the trash. Several days later, she told me the trash had been picked up. I had not even noticed. The trash I saw every day; the clean yard I never noticed. I am apt to notice what's wrong rather than to appreciate what's right.

In church, we pray a prayer for illumination that asks God to "open our hearts and minds" as scripture is read and God's message is proclaimed so we may "hear with joy" what God says.

I don't always "hear with joy." When I go to church, I'm apt to look for what's wrong: The hymns are unfamiliar. The people are too noisy. The sermon is too long. The church is too cold.

What would happen if I stopped finding fault and waited expectantly to hear what God would say? I might discover that God has been "hauling off the garbage": cleansing hearts, healing souls, and providing fresh, new beginnings that I never even noticed.

J. Philip Woodland from Upper Room, May 8, 1998

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This Week in Our Church . . .

Sunday Communion and Baptism

              8:45 Breakfast

              9:30 Sunday School & Worship

            10:45 Refreshments

            11:00 Worship

            12:15 Agape Luncheon

              4:00 Confirmation Class

              7:00 New Members Class

Monday

              1:15 Bible Study

              6:00 Senior Youth

              6:30 Visioning Team

              7:00 Property Committee

Tuesday      

Wednesday     

              7:00 Sarah Circle        

Thursday          National Day of Prayer

              6:30 Handbell Choir Rehearsal

              7:45 Chancel Choir Rehearsal

Friday

              1:00 Ruth Circle at Betsy Cunius’

              6:00 “Back to Mayberry”

Saturday          

              8:30 Doug Jablonski Men’s Fellowship

              6:00 Prime-Timers

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Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - I Corinthians 13:7

 

The Presbyterian Church at Absecon
208 New Jersey Avenue
Absecon, New Jersey 08201