Deacon Update - Arm in Arm

Arm in Arm in Mercer County provides food pantries for those suffering from food insecurity, supportive planning for those facing homelessness, and mentoring for the unemployed in the challenging job search process. Since the start of the pandemic in March, HPC has supported this organization with two generous donations that totaled to $2000. All of your faithful offerings, no matter how big or small, have given the Board of Deacons this amazing opportunity—to show our support for local organizations, such as this one, that are eagerly working to make the community a better place in which everyone’s basic needs are met.

As the article about TASK mentioned last week, Arm in Arm is in need of volunteers for their Trenton food pantries during this difficult time. Responsibilities would include bagging groceries for distribution and replenishing bags as they go out to the public. Currently, Arm in Arm is using SignUp.com so that volunteers can choose a date and pantry location that is most convenient for them. There are two locations: Hanover Street Pantry and Hudson Street Pantry. If you are interested, you can sign up by clicking on one of the two links below that correspond to each location. Be sure to fill out the volunteer agreement and bring it with you on the first day you volunteer. Also, feel free to take a look at the COVID-19 precautions Arm in Arm has implemented in order to keep their volunteers as safe as possible. Volunteering takes place every Monday through Thursday between 9 AM and 1 PM with various time slots offered each day.

Sign up link for Hanover Street Pantry (123 E Hanover St. Trenton, NJ 08608): https://signup.com/go/riUowmp

Sign up link for Hudson Street Pantry (48 Hudson St. Trenton, NJ 08609): https://signup.com/go/MMsyRrE

Sunday of Service

We are excited to have you participate in the 2020 Sunday of Service on November 1, 2020 with the Hopewell Council of Churches. Serving together is a powerful expression of faith and a show of love for our local community!

Worship Links:

• Stay tuned for a kick-off event video for inspiration from participating churches. 

• Check back here and on the Facebook page for a closing Zoom Worship Service link on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 1

Safety Protocols 

Please read this document for COVID-precautions to take while participating in service.

In-Person Outdoor Socially Distant Activities:

• 5K Walk to Benefit the Chubby’s Project. Walk through the fields of St. Michael’s Preserve to benefit the Chubby’s Project. Since March the Chubby’s Project has delivered over 2,500 meals to local families in need. Two different sign-up times: 9:30am & 11:00am.

• Food donations and wagon train to benefit Chubby’s food pantry. The wagon train will pick up non-perishables from community members. Wagon train “conductors” will meet at 9:30 at Aunt Chubby’s to receive collection assignments. If you would like to help sort items received, sign up below to receive instructions!

• Planting native plants at Sourland Conservancy. Volunteers will meet at Hopewell Park Gazebo at 10am. Come with gloves and a mask and ready to do a short walk to the “foraging forest.”

• Grounds/maintenance at the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum. Volunteers will meet at the museum.

Remote Activities that can be Done At Home:

• Card Writing to participants in the Chubby’s Project: make cards to accompany the hot meals and groceries delivered each weekend to over 40 households in celebration of Thanksgiving. Join us on Zoom at 10:30am on Nov. 1 or work on making cards throughout the day.  Click HERE to view more information on how to participate.

• Making Fleece Blankets for Project Linus make no-sew fleece blankets for children in need. The Linus Project has given out over 8 million blankets to children around the world. Join us on Zoom at 10:30am on Nov. 1.  Click HERE to view more information on how to participate.

Please sign-up via this digital form - so that we can contact you with more details and for safety in this time of COVID.

SIGN UP FOR SERVICE ACTIVITIES BY CLICKING HERE!

T.A.S.K. Update

The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen has been in operation for almost 40 years and has never turned away someone who is hungry for a meal. When the pandemic began 7 months ago, that commitment did not change; however, they had to cease their indoor meal service and use of volunteers. With a drastically increased number of packaged meals and minimal volunteers to help, a new challenge arose regarding the efficiency of wrapping these meals. With a grant from the NJ Pandemic Relief Fund, they were able to purchase “Betsy”—a 500 pound food packaging machine.

They have continued to serve many wrapped meals to-go out of their doors at Escher St. and at most of their other locations. In addition, they have been increasing services within the city of Trenton, such as helping serve meals to seniors who are now confined to their homes as well as children unable to receive free school lunches since school closures beginning in March. Since COVID-19 has caused job loss for so many, there has been increased food insecurity even in the suburbs of Trenton. One of TASK’s responses to this occurred on Saturday, October 3rd. They worked with the Rise Food Pantry of Hightstown, NJ to host and recruit 100 volunteers for a “Rise to the TASK” drive-thru distribution of groceries for more than 1,000 families in Mercer County.

September was Hunger Action Month—HPC responded with a $1,000 donation to TASK (in addition to another $1,000 donated in May). Through generous donations and hard-working staff members, they were able to provide:

• 7000 meals for families outside of Trenton

• 2500 youth meals for local children

• 30,000 meals for families in Trenton

• 40 tons of groceries for local food pantries & food banks

While TASK fully respects and supports those who wish to remain safe and physically distanced at this time, there may be some opportunities for food prep work in the dining room of the soup kitchen on Escher St. Monday through Friday from 10am-1pm. Anyone interested can find more information and register on TASK’s new website. They are also partnering with Meals on Wheels and Arm in Arm—both of these organizations could use some volunteers to help provide food for those in need.

In addition to HPC’s monetary donations, Cathe and Ian Burrow generously collected and delivered donated cases of water bottles to TASK in the heat of July. Another way for our church to help at this time would be to donate any of the following listed items so we can make hygiene kits for those in need. Please leave any of these items you would like to donate in the food pantry cabinet at church. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, please email Michelle Yingling (jandminindy@comcast.net) and we can pick up your donations left outside your house in a bag. We will then combine these items in gallon Ziploc bags and deliver them to TASK.

Needed hygiene kit items:

• Full-size and travel size toothpaste

• Bar soap

• Deodorant

• Shampoo

• Hand or body lotion (small one)

• Disposable razor

Halloween-for-Teens Game Day

CALLING ALL YOUTH!

Middle and High Schoolers are invited to join us on the lawn at HPC on October 25th from 4pm-6pm for some Halloween-themed games! We will be doing a mummy-wrap contest, playing Manhunt (by popular demand), and ending with a game of Capture the Flag. All you need is a mask, a water bottle, and yourself! Reach out to Katie with any questions or concerns at 847-778-1493 or kjrosenson@gmail.com.

Examining Bias & Racism Workshop

Tuesday, November 10 and 17, 2020, 7 to 8:30 pm

Recent national events have brought an awareness of the persistence of racial discrimination in private and public settings. To make meaningful change and move toward God’s plan for this world, we must begin with ourselves: understanding the biases we all carry, and how they affect our own lives and our interactions with other people.

Engaging in Justice & Service is partnering with “Not in Our Town” to offer a two-part series on Zoom to help us do that. You must be able to attend both sessions. Click here or email Lucy Ducko lducko@hopewellpres.org to register.

This opportunity came up in a conversation that started with Barb Pauley and a facilitator at this past Gospel Brunch. Feedback from participants in previous iterations of this workshop include:

“The workshop made me more aware of my own implicit biases as well as those that are embedded in social norms. “

“It has helped me be more aware of implicit bias in myself and others. It also helped me think more about how white privilege is so ingrained in our society. Some of the other concepts that were described were also informative, e.g. micro-aggression.”

Hopewell Presbyterian Engaging in Justice & Service

Election Day Pause-for-Prayer

At noon on Tuesday, November 3rd, let’s spend a few minutes together lifting up prayers for this important election. Using a lightly structured format on Zoom, we’ll pray for the election process to be covered by God’s grace and express our hopes for unity. This will be a time for everyone to set aside individual partisan status, pray for respect and integrity, and ask God’s blessing on all American voters. Prayers can be offered silently, spoken aloud, or shared in writing using the onscreen chat bar.

You can join the Zoom at noon. See the church calendar for the link.

If you won’t be available from 12:00 to 12:15, please spend a few minutes of your day in solidarity with us, by adding your own prayers to those that we lift up during the vigil.               

Hopewell Presbyterian Engaging in Justice and Service Ministry

Deacons’ Deeds

Flags for Heroes Program

 For the past 3 years, the Rotary Club of Montgomery/Rocky Hill has run a wonderful program called Flags for Heroes.  The purpose of the program is two-fold. First, this program welcomes community members to sponsor the raising of a full-size American Flag in either honor or memory of a special person in their lives, whom they consider to be a role model or hero in some way. The flag is then displayed among a beautiful sea of flags to grace the front lawn of the Montgomery High School, along the Great Road, Montgomery Township.  Each flag is labelled with a medallion identifying the name of the person being honored, the reasons why, and the name of the sponsor. Through sponsoring a flag in a person’s honor or memory, a monetary contribution is made to support the Rotary Club’s numerous community outreach and service programs. These programs work in areas of addiction rehabilitation, hunger prevention, education and homelessness -- emulating their motto “Service above Self”.  When the display ended on September 13th, the flags were put away for next year and the medallions will be provided to the families of honored and remembered individuals. 

During the past year, the Rotary Club of Montgomery/Rocky Hill was able to distribute over $55,000 back into programs to serve the local community and around the world. Examples include: purchasing N95 masks for the Montgomery EMS; supplied the Montgomery Food Pantry with gift cards for families in need; developed and operated the successful Grab ‘n Go project, which provided over 3,400 sack lunches and drinks to COVID19 hospital workers from local food establishments whose businesses were impacted by the pandemic; and also supported an international project dedicated to minimizing the spread of this virus in Africa.  

This year, the HPC Deacons became aware of this program and decided to sponsor flags for three special individuals during the September 2020 Flag Display. The first two flag sponsorships were done to remember the lives of either a recently deceased HPC member, Margaret (Peg) Paul, or an HPC member’s loved one, Betty Jane Adair, the mother of Shari Adair.  

Peg Paul, born and raised in Skillman, N.J., was a long-time resident of the Hopewell and Pennington communities, and served the Hopewell Valley School System as a dedicated Administrative Assistant for 25 years. In addition, Peg is remembered for having given herself so selflessly to family and friends throughout her lifetime. There aren’t many in our congregation who weren’t directly touched by Peg’s gentle concern and fervent prayers. 

And although we never met Shari’s Mom, Betty Jane Adair, her life story attests to her loving, courageous, and generous spirit. Betty Jane was the first woman firefighter for the Kingston Fire Department and remained a lifelong member. She also worked as a secretary the Reformed Church of Bound Brook. During a devasting flood in that area, she helped organize a food pantry and soup kitchen, where none previously existed, and which still serves the Bound Brook community today. 

Our third flag sponsorship honors lifelong service to country and community by one of our current members, Robert Petersen. After serving in the US Air Force, including the Korean Conflict, Robert took on a second career with the State of New Jersey as Supervisor of Youth at Highfields in Montgomery Township. Through this role, he directed rehabilitation activities for resident troubled youth, often forming meaningful bonds through both work and recreational activities to help instill improved self-confidence and values. Robert is also a longtime member with many community service organizations, including the Hopewell American Legion-Post #339, the Princeton Elks, and Amwell Lodge #12 (formerly Hopewell Masons). In addition, he volunteered with Meals on Wheels and Friends in Service Here (FISH), assisting many residents in our area with transportation needs over the years. 

In addition, our HPC family has another connection with this event! Haley and Paige Yingling, two of our HPC Deacons and students at Montgomery High School, actively participated in this year’s Flags for Heroes event through their volunteer work with Interact, a school club sponsored by the Rotary Club of Montgomery/Rocky Hill, which promotes community service opportunities and values in youth. Haley and Paige helped raise the flags and attached the flag medallions this year. How fitting! 

Given the current COVID19 pandemic, which prevents gatherings to either support each other in times of sorrow or to show support during a challenging stage of life, we felt participating in the Flags for Heroes program was an appropriate way to highlight these individuals to either honor or remember their humble and generous spirits, known-well by their families and friends, and also felt by so many in the communities they served.  

Respectively submitted: 
Anne Hayton, HPC Board of Deacon, Special Needs

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.

Formation of Sharipen Bequest Task Force

  “To whom much is given, much will be required.”
- Luke 12:48

As Session seeks to steward the gift made by Alex and Eunice Sharipen, they are excited to invite a task force to assist them in this work by providing recommendations.  The task force is made up of six individuals from the congregation (only one of whom currently serves on Session).  These individuals have been called by Session because they see the following qualities in them: they are invested in the congregation and community, they have demonstrated an openness to the work of the Spirit, they have strong impulse toward prayer, and they have insight and general appreciation for conversations about policy. 
 

Those who have been asked and accepted, with specific responsibilities noted, are: Co-Chairs, Dick Beatty and Cathy Peterson and members Scott Megaffin (Spiritual Guide), Jamie Sapoch (Secretary), Tim Sutton (Deacon Liaison) and Pat Swartz (Session Liaison). The taskforce is particularly encouraged that Cathy’s experience on staff will bring both insight and perspective to our work. In addition to these individuals, Pastor Melissa and Doug Robbins (Treasurer) are members of the group ex officio. 
 

The task force has already met twice in meetings that have been guided by discernment, prayer and some initial decision-making.  Session has provided them with guiding principles that reflect the spirit of the Sharipen’s gift intention:  

• Growing God’s mission in our community 

• Inspiring Generosity

• Discerning through Prayer

The members will rely deeply on these guidelines to frame the important work ahead.  An expectation is for their work to continue well into 2021. During that time, members of the task force will bring updates to the congregation during our worship time and through other timely communications.  
 

Be assured that the members are approaching this task with an abundant sense of love, respect, encouragement, and discernment.   Please keep them in prayer as they undertake an awesome responsibility for our church and our community.   

“Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Tours of Hopewell’s “Presbyterian Triangle”

Did you know that there are no fewer than five buildings on Broad and Louellen Streets with historical connections to Hopewell Presbyterian Church?  The oldest one dates to before the American Revolution, and one is a school built in 1855! Our church buildings themselves are of various dates: 1914, 1935-40, 1952, 1968, and 2012.  Come and explore all this on an outdoor  tour with Ian Burrow on October 4th 2020.

Socially distanced tours will begin at either 1:30 or 2:30. Each group will be limited to 10 people. Click here to sign up. You will be prompted to note your availability and you will receive an email confirming your time by October 1st.

Community Book Group

The Hopewell Council of Churches, with Bev Mills & Elaine Buck, is hosting a community-wide book group on If These Stones Could Talk. To learn more about this opportunity, join for an informational meeting on September 14 at 7pm over ZOOM.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84788228646

This is one a few different conversations that the Council of Churches plans to have around race, identity, and faith in the fall. To learn more about the Hopewell clergy’s commitment to these conversations, read the letter they wrote in the spring.

Anyone from the wider Hopewell community is welcome to join. Whether or not you are up for joining the weekly ZOOM discussions, you are invited to read along.

* A big thanks to the Council of Churches for sponsoring this, Elaine Buck and Bev Mills for giving of their time and expertise, Pastor Greg for crafting the reflection questions we will be using, Pastor Melissa for organizing, and HCC Intern, Ben Kreider, for preparing to help facilitate!

HPC’s A-MAZE-ING Race: Corn Maze Edition

The Hospitality & Fellowship Ministry is sponsoring an intergenerational and physically distanced outgoing to the Corn Maze at Howell Farm this Saturday, September 26. All are welcome to meet up at the Corn Maze at 2:00pm. For those who enjoy a competition, there will be a Hopewell Pres representative posted at the front of the maze to collect the names of those competing and say, "Ready, Set, Go!" Whether you choose to compete in a team or fly solo, the first one(s) to successfully make their way through the maze wins the Grand Prize! 

Additional Details Below: 

• Masks are required. 

• $10 for ages 10+

• $8 for ages 5-9

• Free for ages 5 & under

• Everyone is strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance online at https://howellfarm.org. 

See you at the starting line! 

Student Pastors for 2020-21

Hopewell Presbyterian Church has a rich history of working with Princeton Theological Seminary to facilitate the growth of future church leaders. We are so excited to have two seminary students joining us. The roles that they will fill are as follows:

Katie Rosenson, Student Pastor for Faith Formation: Building our unique model Christian education, Katie will work with us to explore what it means to weave together education and worship, to do institutional reformation, and particularly to grow in the ways we facilitate the leadership of youth and children in our church.

Katie holds a B.A. in Philosophy of Religion and English from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Currently, Katie is pursuing her Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and is seeking ordination in the PC(USA). She is extremely passionate Intergenerational and Youth ministry, Christian Education, interfaith work, and social justice.

In addition to serving college students in a variety of campus ministry settings during college, Katie has served as a Pastoral Intern at a medium-sized church in Asheville, NC, an Intern for Adult Education at a large Presbyterian church in Nashville, and she spent three consecutive summers serving as Vacation Bible School Director and then Interim Director of Children’s and Youth Ministry at a small church in South Pasadena, CA. Most recently, she spent the summer working at a large PC(USA) church in Scottsdale, AZ doing Children and Family Ministry as well as working for the church’s education and outreach center.

Born and raised in an interfaith family in the Chicago suburbs, Katie loves exploring big questions and learning amongst diverse points of view. One of her favorite parts of ministry is walking alongside people of all ages, but especially young people, as they grapple with the complexities of this beautiful faith and the world at large.

Katie is an avid reader, and as a life-long choir nerd, she loves all things musical. Although Katie will be with us virtually this year, she is so excited to get to work with and learn from our special community and looks forward to getting to know you all!

Ben Kreider, Student Pastor for Hopewell Council of Churches:  We are working with the Hopewell Council of Churches to offer a placement in ecumenical community organizing. While Ben will be "placed with HPC" their responsibility will be to enhance the work of the Council of Churches by growing in areas of: organization leadership, communication, ecumenical worship leadership, and community care.

Ben is a 2nd year M.Div. student at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is originally from central Kansas where he directed prison programs at a restorative justice nonprofit for three years. Ben studied Bible/Religion and Social Work at Bethel College (KS) and has also lived and worked in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and Albuquerque, NM. Ben has worked a variety of jobs - mental health case worker, wilderness trail crew member, student chaplain, camp summer staffer, and in construction. He enjoys gardening, woodworking, cooking/BBQ, soccer, the outdoors, and life in Central Jersey with his wife Alli (a fellow seminary student!). Although Ben comes out of the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition, he is excited to learn from a variety of churches in Hopewell as they seek to follow Jesus in the context of the local community!

Outdoor Worship is back!

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!

Masks for Friends for Health in Haiti

Our second shipment of masks is on it’s way to our Friends for Health in Haiti. This shipment contains 225 masks made by the Hopewell community. Read the article published in FHH’s newsletter about the first shipment of masks. To see their whole newsletter, click here.

The following is excerpted from the newsletter article “MASKING UP”!

“We have made it a requirement of all patients coming to our clinic for consultation to wear masks. We’ve seen a variety of ‘masks’, ranging from little paper masks to bandanas and scarfs wrapped across the face. When Beverly Mills, a deacon in the Hopewell Presbyterian Church in NJ wrote to me and asked if we could use some handmade cloth masks, I was thrilled with the idea and went about figuring out how to get them shipped down here to us. With help from our logistics partners, masks from NJ, Milwaukee and SD were packed in drums and made it down here in July. We immediately began distributing them to patients who need them and they’ve been thrilled!

Two patients who were especially appreciative of the masks were siblings Julienne and Cledenor Laurent. They always come faithfully to the clinic for follow-up of their hypertension and loved the masks they were given recently.”

Wisdom, Wonder & Youth Group

A NOTE FROM STUDENT PASTOR, KATIE ROSENSON . . .

I am so excited to get to know you all over ZOOM this Sunday night at 7pm. We will spend the hour getting acquainted through a fun and intergenerational get-to-know-you game featuring a “Wheel of Questions” made by yours truly. At 8pm, I invite any and all middle and high school students to stay on the call for an additional 30 minutes so I can get to know you all a little better and we can talk about youth group for the year. I want to hear what YOU want! 

I can’t wait to get to know the whole congregation, but I’m especially excited to meet the youth. I absolutely love working with children and youth because there is something really special about spaces in which we can be unapologetically weird and silly while also exploring the mystery of this faith together. So, shoutout to all you middle and high school students!! I can’t wait to hang out with you all on Sunday and the rest of the year! 

Katie Rosensen, Student Pastor

Praise Band & Choir

Labor Day means different things to different people - for me it means
it's time to put the Choir and the Praise Team back to work!  After some
time off in the summer months, we regroup every year on the first
Thursday after Labor Day - September 10th this year.  We will be working
on developing our musical skills, learning new music, and revisiting old
favorites.  We also plan on exploring further the potential of virtual
choir videos, after a successful first try last June with "Seek Ye
First".

And we always have room to welcome more singers and players into our
ranks.  You don't need to be an expert musician, you just need to love
music and come with an open mind and heart!

We are currently meeting by Zoom, with the Praise Team meeting from 6:00
PM to 7:00 PM, followed by the Choir from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  You can
find the Zoom link on the calendar at our church website:
www.hopewellpres.org

And please reach out to me if you have any questions -
Peace,
Charlie Ashton
Minister of Music
cashton@hopewellpres.org

Fall Focus

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

Get involved with hybrid worship!

Commitment

Ideally, there will be four or more volunteers with a commitment of one Sunday a month.

Responsibilities

Before the service

• Spend 5-10 minutes setting up the AV booth;

• Talk-through the service with staff; and

• Double-check that all service components are ready (like the slides or any videos that day).

During the service

• Follow a ZOOM “playbook” during the service (mute people when the service starts, admit people in the waiting room); and

• Follow along with the slides during the service.

After the service

• Spend 5-10 minutes tearing down the AV setup.

FAQ’s

Do I need to be a computer expert? No! If you have been participating in the ZOOM gathering without any issues, you won’t have trouble.

How technical or difficult will this be? It won’t be anything too confusing or complicated. We don’t have all the specifics ready to share, but it won’t be more complicated than plugging something into a computer, using a TV remote, or making a few clicks during the service.

What if something goes wrong? Good question! While there will be resources in your Sunday playbook for simple things, there will also be a staff member or specific individual to help out if something goes wrong.

I’m curious and want to learn more

That’s great! If you’re interested—or thinking about being interested—Michael will be hosting a session on ZOOM to help show you what volunteering will look like.

You’ll get an email update in the weekly newsletter, but we encourage you to submit the form below to help gauge interest.

End-of-Summer Series

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