Announcements
Presbytery Justice Concert
The Presbytery of New Brunswick invites you to watch a concert on YouTube put together by many different individuals and congregations connected to our presbytery. Click here on or after 2pm, Sunday January 17 to view.
World Communion Sunday
As we celebrate World Communion with Nuru Yake (ministry partners in Kenya), they will be breaking “chapati.” What form of bread will you prepare to use to celebrate communion this week?
History
World Communion Sunday is a practice shared by many churches and many denominations that started in the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1933, Dr. Hugh Thomspon Kerr, the pastor of Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, established this celebration as a way to bring the churches in his community together in a service of unity, celebrating the “interconnectedness” of the body of Christ.
In a conversation with Presbyterian Outlook, Kerr described the growing celebration saying, “It was during the Second World War that the spirit caught hold, because we were trying to hold the world together. World Communion symbolized the effort to hold things together in a spiritual sense. It emphasized that we are one in the Spirit and the gospel of Jesus Christ.” In 1936 World Communion Sunday was adopted as a denominational practice of the PCUSA, and by 1940 it spread to many denominations and around the world.
Relevance
Today it also feels like “we are trying to hold the world together.” While we are not in the midst of a world war, a similar sort of hatred, greed, anger, and despair characterizes many of our local, national, and international relationships. If you are tired of “trying to hold the world together,” I hope you will join us on Sunday to taste and see what God has done for us through Jesus Christ – and the community (that is, the body of Christ) all over the world.
Our Celebration
To celebrate World Communion Sunday, this year we have a few fun things:
1. This Sunday we will be joined by ministry partners at Nuru Yake. Nuru Yake is an organization in Ongata Rongai, Kenya led by Linda & Geoff Simpson that trains local leaders to share the light of God’s love in their community. Much like Student Pastor Katie, Geoff, Linda, John and Joyce (two local leaders) will be leading parts of worship over ZOOM. If you choose to gather with us over ZOOM, they will be on your screen, and if you gather outside at Charlie’s their voices will come to us through the speakers!
2. We will be celebrating communion. In honor of World Communion, everyone is invited to prepare elements (bread & water/juice) that in some way reflects your community of origin or ethnic identity. If you are gathering with us on the grass, please don’t forget to take your elements to Charlie’s with you!
3. The celebration extends into our Wisdom and Wonder hour, which is now at 7pm on Sunday nights. This week we will be learning more about the ways that food helps us understand the relationship between our ethnic identities and faith. This class will be taught by Holley Barreto (who uses HPCs kitchen to run her baking business Sugarstreet Bakehouse) and Dr. Eric Barreto (Holley’s husband and New Testament Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary). BONUS: To learn more about the sweet treats that Holley cooks up in the kitchen, click here.
Outdoor Worship is back!
We are adding outdoor worship back into our Sunday morning routine.
Outdoor worship is back! As circumstances allow, Session is excited to offer hybrid worship inviting all to join us in worship either over ZOOM and in-person outside. Here’s what this entails:
ZOOM Gathering: We are committed to providing a quality virtual space to gather for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. You are always welcome to join us over ZOOM from your home. Student Pastor Katie will regularly be serving as virtual liturgist and guide in this gathering. Pastor Melissa and Charlie will still be leading the service; they will just be doing it from outside.
Gathering on the Grass: As weather and circumstances allow, we are so glad to gather with one another outside. The following describes what you should expect as well as our “Covenant for Conduct.” By attending you are making a covenant with the community to love and care for each other in the ways listed.
Where: To more comfortably accommodate people (and to provide for live music!), Charlie Ashton, our Minister of Music, has offered to host this in his side yard. Charlie & Demi write, “We are excited to have HPC worship in our side lawn this Sunday! Thank you in advance for following the guidelines listed below that have been developed by our Staff and Session.”
Ashton Side Yard
123 W. Broad Street
Hopewell, NJ 08525
When: As weather and circumstances allow, Sunday mornings at 10:30AM. The rain plan will be to gather virtually as we have in previous weeks. Should this be the case, you will be notified at 8:30 AM, Sunday morning in the worship email. (So, please stay in the habit of checking that email!)
How: The team which has been planning for these services has developed the following Covenant for Conduct & Communication at Outdoor Services. This provides a list of what we hope are clear and reasonable expectations and practices. They are designed to maintain the safest possible environment while providing the opportunity for an in-person gathering as a part of our worship.
All those attending outdoor worship undertake:
To bring and wear a face mask at all times. For those who have forgotten, masks will be available.
To bring your own chairs or blankets (and umbrellas, bug spray, water, jackets, hand warmers and sunscreen if desired).
To complete a morning self check (see below) and only attend outdoor worship if you are feeling well, have not been sick in the last 14 days, do not have underlying medical conditions that put you at greater risk from potential exposure to the virus, or are not in quarantine as a result of returning from a state on the New Jersey Travel Advisory list. Older adults remain at increased risk.
Self Check Questions:
Q. Am I (or anyone in my household) feeling sick? A little unwell? Or even a little uneasy?
A. If you respond to any of these with “yes” or “maybe,” we invite you to gather using ZOOM.
Q. In the past two weeks (14 days) have I had: a fever? any respiratory or flu-like illness? any GI symptoms (nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea)? any loss of tase or smell? tested positive or had contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?
A. If you respond to any of these with “yes” or “maybe,” we invite you to gather using ZOOM.
To park along W. Broad Street, to respect any parking spaces set aside for those with mobility issues, and to arrive early enough to park, walk up, and be ushered to your “spot” on the lawn before 10:30AM.
To use the single clearly indicated entry and exit point and to provide name and contact information to the greeter upon entry. This will be used to assist in contact tracing, should the need arise.
To observe six-foot physical distancing at all times.
To follow the directions of greeters/ushers and worship leaders and to stay on the driveway or side lawn (not crossing over to the part of the property by the house).
To sit at the locations marked with flags.
To seek assistance and follow the guidance from greeters/ushers when needed (e.g. if wishing to change location, leave the service etc.)
To use the bathrooms at the church (five minutes’ walk).
When the service is concluded, to follow the directions of the ushers and maintain physical distancing.
To take out everything brought in.
To be patient with us as we try something new!
Fall Focus
Learn more about what the first portion of the fall holds as far as sermon series and education!
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which the Lord has called you, what are the riches of God’s glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward us who believe, according to the working of God’s great might. - Ephesians 1:16-19
At the beginning of his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin writes, “Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.”
This fall we are going to work to nurture our spirit of wisdom. As Calvin suggests, we do this by growing in our knowledge of God and of ourselves. This work starts in our shared worship life, as we embark on a journey through scripture once again following the Narrative Lectionary. In the story of Scripture we learn who God is and who God has called us to be. The title for the sermon series is “Our Place in God’s Story.” As we work our way through the Bible, we will look for ways that we share characteristics with the characters of the Bible. Some of these characters will include: Joseph, the Israelites, Hannah, and David. As we identify the ways we overlap, we will then see how what God said to them might parallel what God is saying to us.
At the same time, the Nurture and Growth Ministry has put together a series to help us with our own “character development” as we find our place in God’s story. With the assistance of our Student Pastor, Katie Rosenson, the Nurture and Growth Committee compiled classes and curriculum that will help us explore the intricate way that God has created each of us as individuals in community. By digging into some of the aspects of our identities, we look forward to growing in the way that we love God, our neighbors, and ourselves. For example, one class we will be offering is called “Hopewellian Faith: The History and Future of Faith in Hopewell” and it will be led by Ian Burrow & Elaine Buck.
For the fall, these educational opportunities will be happening on Sunday nights at 7pm over ZOOM. When appropriate we will meet as an intergenerational group, but we will also have the opportunities to break into smaller groups. Student Pastor Katie will be leading the virtual group for our youth. Keep an eye on the announcement page and your email for a full list of class topics soon!
- Pastor Melissa
End-of-Summer Series
As we reflect on God’s faithfulness, the next three weeks of worship will help us ponder the question “How did my faith grow this summer?”
How did your faith grow this summer?
This summer has not looked the way that many of imagined. Camps were canceled. Pay checks cut. Weddings have been postponed or reimagined. Vacation plans changed. But in the midst of it, we have heard the Holy Spirit speaking to us: sometimes in a still small voice, sometimes through the story of Scripture, sometimes in the experiences of others. One way I have heard the Holy Spirit speak in this community is through the “Favorites of the Faith” daily emails. As many in this congregation shared their favorite Bible verses and songs, it was amazing to see who shared the same favorite passage and how those favorites are connected to the story of God’s love in each individual life. By hearing the stories of your faith, I grew in mine.
And this is one of the ways that faith works; it grows when it is shared. In celebration of this, the Worship and Stewardship committee and I have put together our final summer preaching series, which centers on the question: “How did your faith grow this summer?”
To help us reflect on this, we have invited three individuals from the congregation to share sermons based on this question:
Scott Megaffin
Doug McCleery
Megan Yingling
In addition to their reflection, Worship & Stewardship has compiled a liturgy. This liturgy weaves together the theme of reflection (using the reflections of Israel in exile in Isaiah 55) and growth.
Join over ZOOM for the next three weeks to grow, to share, and to give thanks for the work that the God has and is doing in our midst.
“I give thanks to God for you, siblings, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” - 2 Thessalonians 1:3 (adapted)
Gratefully yours,
Pastor Melissa
Adding Outdoor Worship
In addition to our ZOOM gathering this week, we are adding an outdoor gathering!
It’s been several months since we’ve worshipped in-person at Hopewell Presbyterian Church, and we can’t wait to be all together physically again for Sunday services. As we think about what it is that God is calling us to do, the leadership of the church (staff & Session) continue to explore new opportunities as we remain on this challenging journey together.
At every step of the way, the Session has worked hard to make decisions that will allow us to follow Jesus’ commands as we find them in Mark 12:30-31, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ and... ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’“ This means continuing to care for the health of our community, the health of one another, and the health of our individual selves.
Virtual Gathering: With this in mind, we are working hard to provide a quality virtual space for all worshipers. And we are committed to doing so for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Each week, we will continue to share a link to this gathering through our website at hopewellpres.org/worship and in the emails of those who have signed up to receive our worship emails. (Additionally, the sermon will be posted after the gathering.)
Outdoor Gathering: On top of that, for the next two Sundays (August 9 & 16) we are going to test out launching hybrid worship—which means having BOTH our regular virtual gathering and an outdoor in-person gathering. (At the same time that we have been preparing the sanctuary, we have also been acquiring equipment that will help us in any space—indoor or outdoor.) The following is a little bit more information about these outdoor gatherings, including a covenant of conduct for those who choose to attend.
Where: To more comfortably accommodate people (and to provide for live music!), Charlie Ashton, our Minister of Music, has offered to host this in his side yard. Charlie & Demi write, “We are excited to have HPC worship in our side lawn this Sunday! Thank you in advance for following the guidelines listed below that have been developed by our Staff and Session.”
Ashton Side Yard
123 W. Broad Street
Hopewell, NJ 08525
When: August 8 & 16, 2020 (depending on the weather) at 10:30AM. The rain plan will be to gather virtually as we have in previous weeks. Should this be the case, you will be notified at 8:30 AM, Sunday morning in the worship email. (So, please stay in the habit of checking that email!)
How: The team which has been planning for these services has developed the following Covenant for Conduct & Communication at Outdoor Services. This provides a list of what we hope are clear and reasonable expectations and practices. They are designed to maintain the safest possible environment while providing the opportunity for an in-person gathering as a part of our worship.
All those attending outdoor worship undertake:
To bring and wear a face mask at all times. For those who have forgotten, masks will be available.
To bring your own chairs or blankets (and umbrellas, bug spray, water, and sunscreen if desired).
To complete a morning self check (see below) and only attend outdoor worship if you are feeling well, have not been sick in the last 14 days, do not have underlying medical conditions that put you at greater risk from potential exposure to the virus, or are not in quarantine as a result of returning from a state on the New Jersey Travel Advisory list. Older adults remain at increased risk.
Self Check Questions:
Q. Am I (or anyone in my household) feeling sick? A little unwell? Or even a little uneasy?
A. If you respond to any of these with “yes” or “maybe,” we invite you to gather using ZOOM.
Q. In the past two weeks (14 days) have I had: a fever? any respiratory or flu-like illness? any GI symptoms (nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea)? any loss of tase or smell? tested positive or had contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?
A. If you respond to any of these with “yes” or “maybe,” we invite you to gather using ZOOM.
To park along W. Broad Street, to respect any parking spaces set aside for those with mobility issues, and to arrive early enough to park, walk up, and be ushered to your “spot” on the lawn before 10:30AM.
To use the single clearly indicated entry and exit point and to provide name and contact information to the greeter upon entry.
To observe six-foot physical distancing at all times.
To follow the directions of greeters/ushers and worship leaders and to stay on the driveway or side lawn (not crossing over to the part of the property by the house.
To sit at the locations marked with flags. The greeter will direct the worshiper to meet an usher who will then escort the worshiper to their location, which will be denoted by a flag for appropriate physical distancing.
To seek assistance and follow the guidance from greeters/ushers when needed (e.g. if wishing to change location, leave the service etc.)
To use the bathrooms at the church (five minutes’ walk). (You will see a Porta-Potty on the property, but it is reserved for the current quarantine of members of the Ashton family.)
When the service is concluded, to follow the directions of the ushers and maintain physical distancing.
To take out everything brought in.
To be patient with us as we try something new!
What: In an effort to accommodate the physical needs of as many people as possible, the outdoor portion worship services for the next two weeks will last between 30-40 minutes and will include musical performances, Bible reading, preaching, and prayers. (The virtual gathering will happen at the same time and include some additional opportunities for reflection.)
ZOOM this week
This week in worship, we will be celebrating God's amazing faithfulness to this congregation. Pastor Melissa and the Session encourage all those who are able to join us for the ZOOM Gathering this week where we will share a recent example of God's faithfulness.
This week in worship, we will be celebrating God's amazing faithfulness to this congregation. Pastor Melissa and the Session encourage all those who are able to join us for the ZOOM Gathering this week where we will share a recent example of God's faithfulness. Trying something a little bit new for us this week, Pastor Melissa will be preaching her sermon live in the ZOOM gathering. Later in the day it will be posted to Youtube. (Details about how to access it will be in the Sunday morning email. The sermon is titled "What is Gratitude?" based on Ephesians 5:15-21 and Philipians 4:4-7.