Celebrate 300

After listening to Pastor’s sermon this Sunday, his words of “Invitation, Participation, Celebration” resounded with what I have been doing for the past several years---getting ready for Zion’s 300th anniversary. While many things have already been done, and many more are underway, there are still a few areas that need help. So, I am sending out this list of our needs and issuing the invitation for your participation which will help in our celebration!
1. On May 30-31, Zion will attend the annual New Jersey Synod Assembly, and with our anniversary, we have the chance to host a table display. We need a volunteer to lead this project: decide what will be displayed, come to the Assembly, and host the table.
2. On October 26, we will have our grand celebration with the ELCA Bishop visiting. We also have a banquet scheduled at the Grand Colonial in Union Township. We have Gerry Dehkes taking care of the Bishop and her needs, Joann Donnelly and Joanne Rupp planning the banquet, and John Rustwick working on part of the program, but we really could use a volunteer who would be the ‘overall celebration leader’ for this event.
3. We are working on a fun project called “Remembrances of Zion.” Frank and Angela Sztuk are leading this undertaking with our elder members who will be videotaped as they relate stories of Oldwick and Zion from their memories. We have already asked a few people to participate, but if you would like to also share your stories, we would love to include you.
4. For our Anniversary Sunday, August 3, we would like to create a commemorative booklet, which might detail some of our history, include some pictures, have a list of pastors, etc. While the church office will help put this together, we need someone to volunteer to create the content for the booklet.
5. As you may know, there is a lot of work being done at the Parsonage including a new roof, new siding, new windows, insulation, and new trees to replace the ones destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Although it has been ‘home’ for Pastor and Bonnie all these years, for many of Zion’s members, the Parsonage is unknown. To help share the history and beauty of our refurbished property, we would like to host a Parsonage Day when we will dedicate the new trees being planted and open the parsonage for tours. We need a volunteer to coordinate this with Pastor and Bonnie, plan publicity and refreshments.
6. Last, but not least, we would really like to have a new 2014 church pictorial directory that would showcase the members who were here for our 300th Anniversary. We need a volunteer to work with the church to contract with a photography company, schedule appointments for members to get their pictures taken, and oversee the picture-taking process.
We hope you will give some prayerful consideration regarding these opportunities to serve Zion. If you have any questions about any of these projects or would like to volunteer, call Judy Formalarie at 730-8375.