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April Newsletter 2019

West New Bern Presbyterian Church1701 Lucerne Way, New Bern, NC 28560 http://www.westnewbernpc.com Office: (252) 638-1005

FROM THE PASTORWe’ve talked an awful lot about tidying up these last couple of months. At our session retreat we learned about Marie Kondo’s popular method of ritualistically managing all the material stuff we often let pile up in our homes. Her method isn’t simply throwing everything out to create an empty space, but to methodically examine your possessions and consider whether or not it sparks joy in your life. Our new clean sweep crew is taking a similar approach as we attempt to tidy up our shared church space. Also, our Presbyterian Women’s Circle is inviting the entire congregation to participate in a tidying up Lenten devotional for this year. You can find it in this Newsletter! The practice of tidying up goes well with the season of Lent- after all the basic spiritual practice of examining yourself and contemplating what you need and don’t need in your life is what the season is all about. Instead of just asking the question, “does this spark joy in my life?”, we’re also asking, “does this bring me closer to God?”Lent is not as easy as giving up chocolate! It’s about self observation and discovery— observing who we are as children of God and discovering ways to grow closer to God and each other. What we give up should be the things that drive a wedge between those relationships. My hope is that we find ways to not only tidy up our living space, but also our hearts, minds, and souls as well.

Lent in the Words of a Biblical Scholar

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March BirthdaysApril 4 – Connie Murphy

April 22 – Jeff Chittick

Special Days April Fools’ Day – April 1 World Health Day – April 7 Good Friday – April 19 Earth Day – April 22 Arbor Day – April26

AnniversariesApril 4 – Bee Bee & Htee KuApril 13 – Sally & Fred ConfordApril 29- Richard & Sarah Evans

Lent is a time of self-reflection and penitence, a time to acknowledge our sinfulness and need for God’s mercy. From the church’s earliest days, Lent was a time of preparation

for baptism of new converts and penitence leading to the reconciliation of those estranged from the community. Mirroring the forty days of Jesus’ temptation in the

wilderness (which itself mirrored forty-day periods of trial experienced by Noah, Moses, and Elijah), the season of Lent begins forty-six days before Easter Sunday. Because every Sunday was to be a celebration of the resurrection and therefore not a day of

fasting, the Sundays of Lent are not included in the forty penitential days of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, Christians are invited to enter a period of self- examination,

repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial. We are called to use these forty days as a time of reflection on our sins, the ways that we separate ourselves from God and from one another. Thus it is easy to characterize Lent as the somber, solemn period of the

church year, but there is also joy to be found in the journey. The juxtapositions of mortality and eternity, sin and grace, death and life, make the path to Jesus’ cross and tomb a rugged, rewarding terrain. Lent can be a dangerous time. People come to the

church looking for discipline and a new way to live; they come to be challenged—prepared for the heartache and joy of the cross to come. The fallacy of Lent can occur

when we contain the season to six weeks of intentionality and introspection rather than building a Lent that becomes a life. It is dangerous to meet Jesus in the dark places, to

ask the same questions of ourselves that Jesus asks of his disciples, to accept Jesus’ radical touch. In these moments of utter truth and honesty, we find ourselves

vulnerable enough to connect with the risen Christ as never before.

Bartlett, David L.. Feasting on the Word Lenten Companion: A Thematic Resource for Preaching and Worship (Kindle Locations 78-92). Westminster John Knox Press.

Kindle Edition.

ROOTED

Join us in beginning our Lenten season with our Ash Wednesday Service on Wednesday, March 6th at 6 p.m. in the sanctuary.

Music in the Church

This month will begin a series of information on hymns and their writers.  

The hymn for April is:  Blessed Assurance by Fanny J. Crosby 

Fanny Crosby was born on March 24, 1820 in South East, New York. When she was six years old, she became blind and attended the New York City School for the Blind at the age of twelve.  She taught at the school from 1847-1858. There she met the future President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, who was a secretary at the school, and they became good friends.  In 1858 she married a blind musician, Alexander Van Alstyne.  She showed a talent for poetry early in her life, her first poem appearing in print when she was eight years old.  She became the best known

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gospel song writer of the day, writing many hymns including Rescue the Perishing, Safe in the Arms of Jesus, and All the Way My Savior Leads Me.  She died on February 12, 1915, almost 95 years old.

Janet and Richard Stewart

REACHING

Noah’s Ark Preschool

Spring is here! This is always an exciting time at the preschool for children to learn about the change in seasons and, hopefully, experience some warmer weather. We spent the month of March talking about these changes, learning about the world around us, and making traps for green little men!

In April, we will have our annual Egg Hunt and Picnic on the lawn. This is a wonderful time for families to come and spend time with their students and meet church members. Our festivities will be on Wednesday, April 17th. We always need volunteers to help hide eggs, cook hot dogs, and serve our families. If you are interested in attending, or volunteering, please see Ms. Kelly or drop a note in the preschool mailbox.

Registration is under way for the 2019-2020 schoolyear. Please keep Noah’s Ark in your thoughts and prayers. If anyone is interested, or would like to refer a family, please see Ms. Kelly.

Thank-you, as always, for the many donations and contributions that we receive each month. These provide our students with quality materials that are new and useful, as well as give students the chance to receive an education.

Your Sister in Christ,

Kelly SquiresPreschool Director

Health Points

April 2019

This article comes from the Harvard Women’s Health Watch, but much of it is also useful for men. At least men should read it, so their “significant others” will be aware of the issues, since caring for others belongs to all of us.

The first item has to do with the proton pump inhibitors, called “PPI’S”- Prilosec, Previcid, and Nexium are the most popular. These drugs were never meant to be

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lifetime solutions, but rather help for a serious and persistent case of heartburn, also called “GERD” (gastric esophageal reflux disease). The PPI’s have some unwelcome side effects; they have been linked to kidney problems and an increased risk of heart attacks.

In a recent study, women were three times as likely to get symptom relief from half the previous dose as men. You can consult your Doc about tapering off (don’t stop cold turkey), but don’t be surprised if your concerns are dismissed. Medical folk don’t change their opinions easily, which can be a good thing, but I have seen a number of studies that support this data.

If you want to try alternatives, lifestyle change such as losing weight, chewing food well, eating smaller portions and reducing alcohol intake are the way to go. Zantac, Previcid and several other solutions are lighter versions of acid control without known side effects. If your symptoms are only occasional, you might try Tums or any of the liquid antacids available. If you have known triggers – spicy foods, acid foods – avoid or reduce intake.

The second article has to do with reducing the risk of falls by 31%. A recent study showed you can reduce your fall risk by improving the strength of your quadriceps, those large muscles on the front of your thighs. To do this exercise, follow the pattern below:

1. Stand in front of the 1st step at the bottom of a staircase.

2. Holding the banister for support, place your right foot on the step.

3. Lift yourself up onto the step.

4. Lower yourself onto your left foot as you step back to the floor.

5. Repeat 8-12 times, then switch sides.

6. As your strength improves, when you are comfortably strong enough, try the step-up without

support.

Do these exercises daily.

Condensed from “17 Health Advances Every Woman Deserves to Know” Harvard Women’s Health Watch

Submitted by Mary B. Slaughter, RN, Parish Nurse

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Presbyterian Women’s Circle

The Presbyterian Women's Spring Gathering will be Saturday, April 13 at Springhill Presbyterian Church in Lucama. Carole Koi from First Presbyterian Church in New Bern will be installed as Moderator.

Rev. Maren Sonstegard-Spray from First Presbyterian will be the keynote speaker. There will be a bus going from First Presbyterian leaving about 7:30am.   Please let Trudy Nelson know by April 7 if you would like to go.

April 2--Presbyterian Women's Council Meeting....1:00 pm in the multipurpose room.

April 3--Presbyterian Women's Circle Meeting....10:00 am in the fellowship hall. 

Wednesday, March 6 is the first day of Lent.  We have a challenge for you.  On each day of Lent, remove one item from your closet that you no longer wear or need and put it into a trash bag.  At the end of the 40 days, donate these items to a place that can share them with someone who can really use them. This is a great project we can all do at home while reaching out at the end of Lent. Good luck and have fun

Thursday Night Youth Program

We have a booming youth program! Each week we host about 30 youth from 4 years old to high school. This is a great opportunity to engage in God’s action in the world with all ages and we invite you to come join us. We need folks to help with meals, meal prep and clean-up, welcoming at the beginning, tutors and devotion leaders. If you haven’t worked with youth before we’ll help train you. The Thursday program is weekly from 5 p.m.- 7 p.m.

RESPONDING

Garden Meeting

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It’s that time again to start planning for our Spring garden. Thank you to everyone that helped on the first Saturday in March. Check the bulletins for the next workday. We’ll be planting sweet potatoes and other early spring crops. We’re also adding a fence and irrigation system this year. We thank Ric Evans for taking on the leadership this year.

RCS Outreach

We have an evening dinner outreach opportunity at RCS.  RCS has beds for 20 people, and there are sometimes only 2 or 12 people there. We are called to provide dinner one Saturday evening a month to whoever is staying there.  By calling 252-633-1837 after you sign up - on the Friday before you provide dinner, they will tell you how many people are staying there and how many dinners you need.

On Saturday, please arrive at 6:00 PM and enter the building by the steps on the left side of the building and go through the gray door to Mike Wilson’s office.  

Bring cooked food, wrapped in foil, for warmth and serving.  Mike will show you the serving equipment, ice machine, etc. Please stay and enjoy the meal with new friends and share a short prayer with them before you eat.  At the end, throw away any paper products and RCS will wash the trays. Thank you so much for your community responding service!  

Contact Jennifer Miller, 876-5457 or Whit Morgan (cell) 252-671-4002 for more information.

Lunch Group

The Lunch Group will meet on Wednesday, April 17 at 11:30. Restaurant location to be announced. We lunch on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Come join us! If you have questions, contact: Gerry Teple (637-7337).

Book Club

The April Book Club book will be announced in the church bulletin. All are welcome read and discuss our monthly selections.

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