Pompton Reformed Church 59 Hamburg Turnpike

Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442 973-835-0541

www.pomptonreformed.org

Dear PRC Family, "Take Five" is a classic piece of music by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Chances are you would recognize the song if you heard it on radio. A slight variation you have heard before, entitled, "Take Three." Immediately following worship, take three minutes greeting and visiting with others, before navigating to wherever you normally head. During Advent and Christmas, we'll have visitors and guests. Your helping them feel welcome makes a big difference! We're working toward having greeters of all ages throughout the building, to welcome, assist, offer directions, answer questions. This is a ministry to be shared by all. Week after week, season after season, deep gratitude to our music leaders--Patti, Scott, Janine--and all who ring and sing. You so enhance the worship we offer to our Lord Nov. 30 First Sunday in Advent Message series: "Our God Comes…" "Our God Comes…Bringing Hope" (Mark 13:24-37; Isaiah 64:1-9) Dec. 7 Second Sunday in Advent "Our God Comes…Bringing Peace" (Mark 1:1-11; Isaiah 40:1-11) Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Annual Congregational Meeting immediately follows Dec. 7 worship: Meet the newly selected deacons and elders, review the 2015 proposed budget, receive updates from all PRC committees and teams. Express your concerns. Catch glimpses of where we are heading. Your presence means a great deal. Hope you'll plan to stay. Then, head home for lunch, returning for the 4:00 pm Vespers concert for which Chancel Choir has been preparing for months. This is always a wonderful gift for a sacred season! 4:00 p.m. Vespers -- "As We Wait" Our annual celebration of seasonal hymns, anthems, lessons and carols. A most special time. Dec. 14 Third Sunday in Advent "Our God Comes…Bringing Joy" Four of our members, speaking on the theme of Joy 4:00 p.m. -- Harmony Singers Christmas concert in our sanctuary Dec. 21 Fourth Sunday in Advent "Our God Comes…Bringing Love" (Luke 1:26-38) "Bethlehem Bound" Christmas Pageant Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Candle Light Worship 7:30 p.m. - with Youth and Adult Bell Choirs 10:30 p.m. - with Chancel Choir and Lord's Supper Dec. 28 First Sunday after Christmas, with Healing Service Serving the Lord with you, Pastor Tom Bartha

This page is reprinted from last month with a correction to the spelling of the author’s name: Kevin Harney.

Why U-Turn?

About a year ago a small group of PRC members started meeting to study PRC and patterns of growth and decline in churches in general. As part of that group, I think I can say we have done a lot of reading – surveys, internet, research, books (and more books). We have experienced worship

at other churches. We have felt the presence of God in awesome ways. We have discussed much. As we have been learning and trying to discern God’s Vision for PRC, the amount of information “out there” has been beyond mind boggling. Albert Einstein said, “The more I learn, the more I realize [how much] I don’t know” and we get that. We really get that. But amidst the vastness and sometimes heaviness of that knowledge, or lack of, is tremendous excitement and something we know for sure. God is alive and well. One book, we seem to often refer back to is The U Turn Church – New Direction for Health and Growth. There’s probably a sense of comfort in that book– it’s one of the first books we read as a group and its two authors, Kevin Harney (check out kevingharney.com/portfolio/the-u-turn-church/) and Bob Bouwer have served (Bob currently) as pastors in the Reformed Church in America. Harney and Bouwer describe their experiences with churches that traveled a Spirit-directed U-Turn Journey. The journeys lead to a season of health, faithfulness, growth and new vision. The U-Turn began, not with the heart of a church leader but with the hearts of its members filled with holy zeal. U-Turn is a good starting read for PRC. It’s a book that Vision has talked about rereading, seeking to discover what a difference a year may or may not have made. There are many copies around. Pick one up. Read it. Talk about it. Then I/we pray you will hunger for more. Our tote bags are overflowing, shelves jammed and bedside tables stacked high with mostly good reads we feel selfish to read alone. We want to share them and the excitement. And we want God to please fill us, with holy zeal. JLaux

Ready or Not Here Comes Christmas By Elaine Peacock

Well are you ready for Christmas? Probably not between the cards, that need to be written, gifts to be bought and wrapped, special once a year treats to be made, a tree to be trimmed, etc. it all becomes so overwhelming that by the time we are ready for Christmas it’s almost over. This year try and take some time to actually think what Christmas means to you, not all the trappings of Christmas but the feeling you used to get as a little child with eyes like saucers taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas. I think GOD meant use to savor Christmas and he likes to surprise us. Remember how surprised the shepherds were that night they weren’t expecting anything special but they received special just the same in the form of blinding light, choirs of angels and a heavenly being telling them that a savior had been born to them. Sometimes I think that what we all need a blinding light to remind us that GOD is trying to get our attention away from the hustle and bustle of the season and listen to his message for us. So as we try to get ready for Christmas remember to listen for GOD’s voice and the special message he has for each one of his precious children. Merry Christmas PRC! Round Table of Thanks (from November Consistory) >Kay Bergin, for decades of faithful involvement in Chancel Choir, and Worship Committee, and continued service to our Lord in so many ways. Happy 90th birthday, Kay! >To all the Autumnfest volunteers, spearheaded by Jo-Ann Sisco, for such a wonderful event. As part of Autumnfest gift to the church, the new chairs in the Gathering Area look great!

The Finance Committee is looking for new members. All that is required is an interest or knowledge of financial matters. Speak to Sue Uhlendorf for more information.

Chancel Flowers dates are available…cost is $36. Special requests, such as roses, are extra. Call the church office to schedule.

THANKSGIVING for wellness of body, mind and spirit

Parish Nurse Ministry (Editor’s note-This arrived after last month’s deadline but has a wonderful message!)

Health Ministry is about wellness of body, mind, and spirit. How does that relate to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday? Given the traditional way of celebrating, it’s easy to understand how the focus on the BODY occurs. The groaning board of the Thanksgiving dinner with its overabundance of food and the potential for added pounds speaks for itself. How are we as Christians called to respond to this abundance? I Corinthians 6:19 says “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?” The words of that verse fall into the category of oft heard intellectual information, not to be confused with emotional response to foods that make us feel good. Remember, your memory of a food peaks after about four bites, so if you only have those bites, a week later you’ll recall it as just as good an experience as if you polished off the whole thing. The MIND is occupied with the frenetic pace and endless lists that fill the days preceding the big celebration. Concerns about the grocery list, the guest list, the seating arrangement list, the need to transport certain guests list and the ever present “what time does the turkey need to go into the oven” reminder list. The details that fill the mind are endless. Careful, thoughtful attention to how all of that gets in the way of true “thanksgiving” can help to slow the mind down and allow room for better understanding of the possibilities the holiday affords. So what about the SPIRIT? How will attention be given to the spirit? A common practice as we gather around the Thanksgiving table, is to bow our heads to give thanks for God’s great abundance. This may be a simple, short offering of thanks or a more elaborate recitation of His bounty. Pausing to reflect on the extraordinary opportunities for giving thanks truly enriches the spirit. Connecting to the presence of God’s bounty in all of life nurtures the spirit. Following are a few examples of prayers of thanksgiving. This example is one of simple expression and brings a sense of joy for God’s presence in every aspect of life. Thank You, thank You, thank You, generous God! You have injected life with joy, thus we know laughter. You have dabbed creation with color, thus we enjoy beauty. You have whistled a divine tune into the rhythm of life, thus we hear music. You have filled our minds with questions, thus we appreciate mystery. You have entered our hearts with compassion, thus we experience faith. Thank You, God, Thank You. Thank You! AMEN The following prayer is of a more formal nature and offers a different feeling than the one above.

O God, we thank You for this universe, our great home: for its vastness and its riches, and for the manifoldness of the life which teems upon it and of which we are a part. We praise You for the arching sky and the blessed winds, for the driving clouds and the constellations on high. We praise You for the salt sea and for running water, for the everlasting hills, for the trees, and for the grass under our feet. We thank You for our senses by which we can see the splendor of the morning, and hear the jubilant songs of love and smell the breath of the springtime.

Grant us, we pray, a heart wide open to all this joy and beauty, and save our souls from being so steeped in care or so darkened by passion that we pass heedless and unseeing when even the thorn bush by the wayside is aflame with the glory of God. AMEN

The opportunities for gratitude are endless, limited only by each of our connection to the blessings all around us. As we strive for wellness of body, mind and spirit, thanksgiving offers a multifaceted awareness of God’s great abundance and its impact on the health of every aspect of our lives.

The Ultimate Gift -- Light

Advent and the LIGHT Advent is a story about darkness giving birth to light. Some of us have experienced more Advents than others, and the story is never the same. The Advent story begins in darkness but offers hope and the opportunity to see the lights in our own sky. John’s Gospel says God gave us the ultimate gift – His only Son – the Light for a dark and sinful world. It remains for us to know this gift, this Light. Following is a Christmas parable that was read at our Christmas table for many years. This modern parable, written by the late United Press International religion editor Louis Cassels, has become a Christmas tradition in newspapers across the United States. A Christmas parable Once upon a time, there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug. He wasn’t a Scrooge. He was a very kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealing with other persons. But he didn’t believe all that stuff about an incarnation which churches proclaim at Christmas. And he was too honest to pretend that he did. “I am truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer. “But I simply cannot understand this claim that God became man. It doesn’t make any sense to me.” On Christmas Eve, his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. “I’d feel like a hypocrite,” he explained. “I’d much rather stay at home. But I’ll wait up for you. Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier. “If we must have Christmas,” he reflected, “it’s nice to have a white one.” He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his newspaper. A few minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another. He thought that someone must be throwing snowballs at his living room window. When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window. “I can’t let these poor creatures lie there and freeze,” he thought. “But how can I help them?” Then he remembered the barn where the children’s pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter. He quickly put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on the light. But the birds didn’t come in.

“Food will bring them in,” he thought. So, he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail to into the barn. To his dismay the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction – except into the warm, lighted barn. “They find me a strange and terrifying creature,” he said to himself, “and I can’t seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me. “If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety.” Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He stood silently for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow. “Now I understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why You had to do it.”

Carol O’Neill is the Ponds Reformed Church Parish Nurse and the mother of Nancy Begin.

Upcoming Opportunities to Serve………………….. Family Promise- the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 7 December 6- Toys for Tots and Holiday Stroll Angel Tree International Mission Trip- July 2015 Our next fundraiser is Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at Macaroni Grill. Please pick up a flyer and present it anytime from 11AM-10PM. Fifteen percent of your check will be donated to our Mission trip. PRC Youth Group News- Youth group is back and has great things planned- open to 6th-12th grade. Dec. 7- 6:30-8PM- Holiday party with cookie decorating- invite your friends to come with you! Jan. 23rd-25th- Lake Champion HS Winter Camp. Contact Mark Warner for permission slip or info.

Baseball Fan???? Joe Apgar is your man….. Sept 19, 2015, bus trip to Citi Field . Bus ride from PRC, ticket, and gratuity for Subway Series, $70/ticket, limited number of tickets are available. Editors Note: This is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing submission- Many thanks to Mr. Edward Fischer for volunteering…Who will be next???

Getting to Know You- Edward Fischer Edward Fischer worked in Defense Industries until his retirement in 1959 at age 54. After retiring, he worked as a realtor until 2004 when he retired for good. Ed moved from Kinnelon to Pompton Lakes in June, 2001 to escape high taxes. Unfortunately, high taxes followed him to PL. Doris, Ed’s wife, attended several churches in town before settling at PRC. She liked the friendliness here and had spirited discussions with Pastor Tom. Ed spends his time doing lots of small projects around the house as well as a few large ones where professional help is required. Ed is working on modifying his Cape Cod home to allow him to improve his level of independent living; big projects include 2 chair lifts, replacing windows and doors, pavers, a new back porch and siding work. In Ed’s spare time, he spends lots of time on the computer. His personal mission is to track down federal benefits available to veterans, such as himself, with the help of Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen. You will know Ed when you run into him at church, he has a visible magnetic name tag he wears every Sunday!

Wishing you Hope, Peace, Joy and LOVE as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Deadline for the January Newsletter is Dec. 22, 2014. Please email submissions to khuysers@msn.com or place in the office mailbox.