A Message from Pastor Summer

Last month, I talked about discernment.  I said that the Holy Spirit was blowing through the life of Zion and that we needed to be open to that Spirit.  In listening for that voice of God, the council was asked what their hopes were for the future.  Here are their responses:

· People would remain involved for the sake of Christ

· We would remain a welcoming church

· In considering staff, we would complement our ministry

· We would be guided to make the right decisions

· We will celebrate our 300^th anniversary

· There will be joy, involvement, and clear ministry goals

· Zion will stay mission and future oriented

· Zion will grow

The list is a good one and captures much of the conversation within our congregation at large.  Can we hear the voice of God?  On August 4, we will begin our anniversary year.  There is much to celebrate.  We have a rich and treasured history, but our future holds as many riches and more.  We have just begun to explore the possibilities.  We have opened the door to serving at Faith Kitchen, which has been a blessing for everyone involved.  We are continuing down the Road to Discipleship.  We will be addressing our staffing needs.  We will be exploring the use of social media as a platform for proclaiming the gospel.  We have witnessed the launching of Edna’s Haven.  We have a year’s worth of special events and celebrations in connection with our 300^th anniversary, starting with our trip to Germany on September 1.  We are restoring the church and parsonage.  This is just a partial list.  As a congregation, we have been serving Christ for 300 years, but the truth is we have only just begun.  I look forward to the coming year and all the years beyond our 300th.  May we remain open to the blowing of the Holy Spirit and may God continue to direct and bless our ministry together.

Peace,

Pastor Summer

Council Meeting Highlights -June 13

Pastoral Transition:  The Council has heard that generally Zion’s members seem to feel secure that the Council is being proactive and taking action while taking time to discern the best direction for the church.

Committee Updates: 

Finance – The Council directed the Finance Committee add a “transition” line to the budget for tracking purposes, to cover supply pastors, staffing education, etc.

Parish Life – Eighteen people attended the CEB Sing-Along and had a lot of fun.  Summer Coffee Hour begins June 16.

Property – The CEB doors that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy have been fixed.  The parsonage roof work is in progress.  The paint peeling off the front of the church is being addressed. 

The Council directed the committee to further investigate the costs associated with re-siding and insulating the parsonage and it will be funded with Mission 300 Yesterday money. The Council decided that the remaining Yesterday funds will be directed to the much needed parsonage work and that no more funds will be spent at the Church.  The Council did not approve the restoration of the bead board surrounding the altar at this time.

Shepherding – The Pet Blessing will be held on October 13 and led by Pastor Selover.

Social Ministry – The work at Faith Kitchen is going well and has been very rewarding.

Stewardship – Time and Talent starts on June 23.  There will be Cottage Meetings at the CEB on 6/23, 6/30 and 7/7 to encourage members to sign up for opportunities.

Worship & Music – CEB Worship begins on June 23 so the restoration work can be completed at the Church.  The new pew cushions have arrived and the hymnal racks are being ordered.  Memorial funds have been allocated for the processional cross and a new baptismal bowl.  The new chalice was dedicated last week, in memory of Peter Lanka.

Youth –The Pancake Breakfast was a success.  Planning is underway for “Cool and Connecting at Crossroads”  this year’s multi-church work camp for youth.

300^th Anniversary Celebration:  The Palatines will be coming to worship on October 20 of this year.  In the fall of 2014, the Pickell and Van Guinea families are planning reunions at Zion, which will coincide with Zion’s anniversary.

Germany Travelers

We’re getting closer to our departure for Germany!  On Sunday morning, August 4 following our Anniversary Worship Service, we will meet to finalize details.  Please plan to attend.  Copies of your passports are due at that time.  Check your email for further details.

Celebrate 300!

As we begin the final countdown to our 300th birthday, we have renamed this year as Celebrate 300.   Mission 300--or M300-- was our fundraising effort for our 300th anniversary, but we needed to have a new name for the actual anniversary.  We hope you agree that Celebrate 300 captures our spirit. 

Be ready for August 4, when we officially kick off our year of special events as we lead up to our 300th birthday on August 3, 2014.  This year, we will begin with a special service with a liturgy from the 1970’s.  It should be a wonderful worship that many of us will remember, and let our kids find out what church was like when we were growing up.

August 4 also returns our Sunday worship to the church where all sorts of special improvements have been made over the summer months.  Be prepared to "ooh and ah" and enjoy our revitalized and renewed church building.  You won't be able to miss us (that's all the hint I am giving for now)!

As the year goes on, watch for more exciting events to occur. Our Sunday School, which will restart in September, will have lots of special events to help celebrate our year of festivities. Also in September, a group of Zion members will travel to Germany to trace the steps of Martin Luther and visit the birthplace of Zion’s founders and our first pastors.  We can all follow along by reading their blog, which should be a lot of fun!  In October, we will be hosting the Wagner College Choir for a special concert, and we hope to have a unique service with lots of the descendants of the German Palatines who first settled in Hunterdon County.

Things will be happening throughout this coming year.  We hope you will join us as we "Celebrate 300"!

CEB Flooding

On Monday, July 1, there was torrential rain across the area.  Thanks to Sue Swanson  who was in the CEB that evening, we learned there was water in the kitchen and Great Room and were able to address the problem quickly to prevent further damage.  By 8:30 on Tuesday morning, PuroClean, which is located in Flemington, was on the job cleaning up the mess.  It was then discovered there was water in the bathrooms which made its way into the foyer. 

The flooding was caused by a clog in the drainage system outside the building and water backed up through all the floor drains.  Our insurance is covering the clean up and damage repair.

With no reservations, we would recommend PuroClean if you are ever faced with this kind of emergency. 

Lost and Found Items

These items have been left in the church.  Look for them on the coat pegs in the narthex.

Dark blue North Face soft shell jacket.  Boys - L.

Man’s plaid wool cap - “Stetson”.

End of Year Sunday School Activities

Pentecost Sunday - The Sunday School had a wonderful event that was enjoyed by all on Pentecost. Each student decorated two doves that were then attached to balloons, one to release and one to keep. Pastor Summer spoke about the significance of Pentecost and then blessed our doves. Not even rain could dampen the excitement of the children as they released their doves. Later we found out that the majority of them didn’t stray far from Zion and landed in the Melick apple orchard.  A special thank you to Bonnie Stanski for organizing the needlepoint gifts for the young people who were confirmed that day.

Pretzel Prayer Sunday - The following Sunday was during Memorial Day weekend and the children enjoyed learning about prayer by making pretzels, prayer books, and prayer flowerpots. Everyone who attended commented on what a terrific time they had. Thank you to Sandy Matsen for leading and to Betty Lanka and Linda Held for assisting.

Zion Scavenger Hunt - The last time Sunday School was held this year was on June 2. Everyone met at the church, where we all enjoyed learning many interesting facts about Zion through a Zion Scavenger Hunt. At the end of our time together, gifts of appreciation were presented by Pastor Selover to each of our teachers: Sandy Matsen, Judy Formalarie and Mike Jennison (Adult Forum), Debra Kaufman (Confirmation), Brandi and Shelby Berenty (Kindergarten), Anissa Mikitiuk, Lily Mikitiuk and Linda Smith (1^st/2^nd Grade), Dawn, Dylan and Ryan Smith (3^rd/4^th Grade), Cindy Rupprecht (5^th/6^th Grade) and Melanie and Scott Hodges (Pre-K). Our Sunday School students also presented a special gift to Pastor Selover on her last official day at Zion - a flowerpot painted with butterflies that each of our Sunday School students completed with their fingerprint as the body of each butterfly. A special thank you to Linda Held for creating the Zion Scavenger Hunt and to all the teachers, parents and our pastors for helping out.

Time and Talent

The Stewardship Committee made a valiant attempt to gather people into small groups to discuss not only Time and Talent and where people’s energy lies, but also to talk about Zion’s direction and needs.  About 25 people participated in these groups and the discussions were very valuable.  It was clear that the vast majority of people were more interested in heading home after church than sitting in a meeting.

 And so, for the rest of the summer there will be Time and Talent sign up sheets distributed in church.  Please take your time to look at the possibilities and sign up in the areas where you feel the energy.  Remember ZION NEEDS YOU!  Our ministries only succeed when we are involved.

Quilting Group

Quilters are making progress.  We have 12 quilts completed and 4 more ready to be tied for Lutheran World Relief.  Our goal is 20 by the end of the year.  If we had your help we could make it 30.  That is 10% of our 300 years!

We will meet again in the CEB August 10 and 24.  Starting time is 10 am and we usually finish by 2 pm.  There are opportunities to tie, design, cut, or sew. There's always a job for you.

Taking a Break for the Summer

The following activities are on hiatus for the summer and will be resuming in September.  Watch for details in the September newsletter and August bulletins.  You are welcome to participate in any or all of these programs: 

Lunch Bunch -a monthly noontime social time at various area restaurants

Discipleship- a monthly evening discussion with dinner

Book of Faith- a weekly noontime Bible study