A quick look at what's happening

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Brookdale Reformed Church
A quick look at what’s happening …
16 Bellevue Ave, Bloomfield NJ 07003 – PO Box 2306
Volume 2 No.4 October 2015
A Word From Our Pastor - I recently celebrated 1 year at BRC and boy what a year it has been! Since I
began, we have been doing a lot of thinking on what it means to be the hands, feet and heart of Christ in our
community. We are called to be a living voice for our Lord and in doing so; we must be relevant to our neighbors
and good stewards of our resources. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as he loves us and we want to take
that seriously. So our focus has been and we will continue to ask-‘What can we do to help you?’
We’ve
and we
done
projects
andservice
events with our
neighbors Kids
in mindwith
and Hugs
we are-planning
many
With
thatbegun
in mind,
willmany
be doing
more
Wrapping
The need
to go to
more
for
the
future.
One
of
our
recent
themes
has
been
knocking
down
our
walls
(not
literally)
and
using
the
projects and offering various types of events: such
the hospital is scary for anyone, but for young
rubble
to
build
bridges
out
into
our
communityso
look
for
us
with
our
white
t-shirts
and
open
hands
and
hearts
as small group discussions, family events, creativity
children it can be one of the most traumatic and
as
we donurture
things around
neighborhood.
But faith
bridges are also built so that people in the
community
feel
events,
events,the
compassion
events,
stress
filled situations
of
comfortable
in
coming
to
us-(I
promise,
we
don’t
bite
and
are
actually
quite
friendly.)
events, and fun events. In fact, there are many
their young lives. Then
upcoming events and projects, so read the rest of
the Newsletter, and check our website frequently:
www.brookdalereformed.rcachurches.org. But you
don’t have to wait for an event to come - Everyone
is welcome to our Sunday Worship Service at
10:30am.
Mark Your Calendar (see details this issue)
Oct 17, 10:30 AM – Water gift at Brookdale Park
Oct 26, 7:30 PM – Mid-Week Prayer Meeting
Nov 7, 5:30 PM – 5:30 Pasta Dinner - side of Music
Nov 12, 6:30 PM – Civic Showcase at BHS Gym
Nov 29 & following – Room For Jesus?
Nov 30, 7:30pm - Advent Prayer Service
Dec 12, 7:00pm – NNJ Tres Dias Secuela
Dec 14, 7:30 PM - Blue Christmas Service
Dec 24, 7:30 PM - Christmas Eve Service
Outdoor Worship Series a Success - We had
our final 2015 outdoor
worship on August 9; it
was a beautiful time in
the shade of our big
tree. The birds and a
dog were singing a
joyful song to the Lord
with us. We did have
another outdoor service scheduled for September
13 but the grass was wet from a day and night of
much needed rain, so we moved indoors; that was
to be our last outdoor service for 2015. But hey,
every day is special when the Lord is in it, right? So
why not come and join us indoors? Anytime!!!! We
are a friendly bunch with a love for Jesus and our
neighbors.
A Gift of Water … the Living Kind! Fine art and
crafts grace the 16th annual Fall Fine Art and Crafts
Fair at the Essex County's Brookdale Park Show on
October 17-18. At this show over 160 exhibitors from
NJ and throughout the Northeast will exhibit their
jewelry, furniture, glass, fiber, pottery, oils,
watercolors, serigraphs, photography, leather,
sculpture, wood and more. BRC will not participate
in the show per se, but we plan to visit the park on
Saturday the 17th and distribute free water to folks
visiting our neighborhood. We’ll also have a stand in
front of the church where we will continue to
distribute free water and lemonade! Of course we’d
love to share about Jesus’s offer of Living Water with
folks we meet who’d like to chat. Stop by!
add the bright lights,
sounds,
strangers,
needles, tests, and
periods of time away
from a loved one to the
mix and fear goes through the roof. We are making
‘Comfort Blankies’ and providing them to area
hospitals in hope of helping to alleviate some of the
fear and stress that young children feel in the
hospital. The soft blankies are large enough to wrap
around their upper bodies, are trimmed with silky
satin for rubbing, and have a stuffed friend attached
for something to hold onto. To date we have
delivered 20 blankies to Mountainside Hospital and
Clara Maas Hospital has asked for 25 as well.
“In as much as you have done it … unto the
least of these you have done it unto me”; Jesus said
that! Few of us have the opportunity to make
sweeping changes to the world … nor are we
expected to. BUT … we are all called to be the
hands, feet and heart of Jesus wherever we might
be – and collectively THAT does change the world
… one little bit at a time. Several programs at
Brookdale aim to do just that. There’s the blankie
project mentioned to the previous article, and
beyond that we also place stuffed animals (to help
calm traumatized kids) in every police car and
emergency vehicle in town! Another example - one
of our parishioners has for
years been making and
distributing “blessing bags”
containing an assortment
of toiletries, small clothing
items such as socks or
gloves, snack food, Bible
tracts, prayer cards and the like for distribution to the
indigent in and around the area. We have made this
a church-wide project, asking church members to
contribute content, help assemble, and then
distribute bags to the needy. Another example – on
the last Saturday of every month we offer a
community meal, thinking particularly of those
whose finances run out before the calendar does.
Some of these projects are new, some have been
going on for years (the community meal is in its 8th
year!) and we will be adding more. Church member,
or “just a friend” … we welcome your participation.
(Over)
Pasta Dinner with a Side of Music – Who can
NNJ Tres Dias Secuela – Dec 12th at 7:00 PM–
resist a pasta dinner, really? With a variety of sauces
from our world famous chefs (well they should be!)
Plus music to entertain
and inspire – and all for a
$10 donation ($5 for
children under 10). Sure,
it’s a fund-raiser (we’re
saving for a new furnace)
but that doesn’t make it any less of a gastronomical
treat and all around good time. Plus, it’s in line with
our general “building bridges”
theme. The dinner provides a
forum for dialoging with one
another and learning about one
another’s interests and needs.
… and … the only thing we’ll bite
is the meat balls! Join us! You’ll
love it – promise!
Secuela is a Spanish word, best translated as
“sequel”. Brookdale Reformed Church is a strong
supporter of Northern New Jersey’s Tres Dias which
runs three day weekends designed to
help Christians come into a closer
relationship with Jesus Christ. Tres
Dias weekends explain how to apply
teachings from the Bible to our daily
lives, help us see the plans God has
for our lives, and help us to grow into Christian
leaders in our churches, homes and working life. The
organization also has monthly meetings called
secuelas (sequels) providing ongoing opportunities
to fellowship, share, and support one another in
Christian growth. Brookdale frequently hosts the
Christmas Secuela, to be held this year at the church
on Saturday, December 12 beginning with a time of
fellowship and refreshment at 7:00 PM. ALL ARE
WELCOME! To learn more about Tres Dias visit
www.tresdiasnj.org.
Civic Showcase - November 12th - The Bloomfield
Cultural Commission has scheduled its second
hoped to be annual Civic Showcase for Thursday,
November 12 beginning at 6:30 PM in the BHS
gymnasium. The event’s purpose is “to provide an
opportunity for the public to acquaint itself with the
myriad of organizations within the township and the
services or activities they provide … and to give local
organizations the chance to acquaint themselves
with one another”. This is consistent with BRC’s
decision to be intentional in our outreach and to be
more visible in the surrounding community which our
Lord expects us to serve; hence our decision to
participate. The Bloomfield Cultural Commission will
provide a table for our materials, chairs and
identifying signage. According to Michelle Davidson,
the chairwoman of the cultural commission, there
were 37 organizations represented at this “meet &
greet” showcase last year … hopefully more this
year. Our hope is to come away with many new and
mutually beneficial relationships.
The world needs prayer - Our country needs
prayer. Our churches need prayer. Our family and
friends need prayer. Fact
is, all of us need prayer!
Why not join us for our
mid-week prayer meeting;
our October meeting will
be held at 7:30 PM, on the
26th at the Church House;
for subsequent dates visit our website (link below)
Also, a special Advent Prayer Service will be held on
November 30 at the church (see article at right)
Advent Prayer Service – Nov 30th at 7:30-PM
Advent in Latin means “Coming”. The season of
Advent for Christians is a joyful anticipation of the
coming of our Savior, Jesus, but it can also be a
hectic and stressful time of decorating, shopping,
wrapping, cooking, and cleaning. The Advent
Prayer Service is provided to help us put our
priorities around this event in order and bring us
closer to the real meaning of the season – the birth
of our Messiah!
Contact Us - Church Phone: 973-338-7676
Website: www.brookdalereformed.rcachurches.org
E-Mail: brookdalereformedchurch@mail.com
FaceBook: Brookdale Reformed Church
Special Blue Christmas Service
December 14th, 7:30pm -Christmas
can be a painful time of year for
some people. It may be the 1st or
20th Christmas without a loved
family member(s) due to death or
the many reasons for being apart.
The constant refrains on the radio, TV, in shopping
malls, and churches, about the joy of the season,
about people getting together with family and
friends, reminds many people of what they have lost
or are missing. This anguish can make us feel alone
in the midst of the celebrating and joy. Sometimes
we need space and time to acknowledge our
sadness; we need to know that we are not alone.
We also need encouragement to live the days ahead
of us. We are offering a ‘Blue Christmas Service’ to
offer people a time and space to do all of this and
still be able to wait with anticipation the birth of their
Savior.
Neighborhood Walk, November 29 et al – The
doorbell rings – strange – weren’t really expecting
anyone - and lo, there at the door stand Mary and
Joseph. Mary is with child and looking very tired.
Joseph begs: “We’ve travelled a long long way and
no one has room for us ... can you make room for
us? For our son Jesus who is about to be born?”
2000 years later, the question still remains … amidst
all of the holiday hustle and bustle can we, will we,
make room for Jesus. Beginning in late November
and from time to time throughout December, friends
and family of Brookdale Reformed Church will be
surveying the neighborhood seeking an answer to
that timeless question and offering a challenge to
make room for Jesus! And of course we’ll take
advantage of the opportunity to welcome our
neighbors to our Christmas celebrations!
Christmas Eve Service, 7:30 PM - So, get out
your comfortable shoes and join us because this
Advent we’re going to walk in our mind’s eye all the
way to Bethlehem! Our Christmas Eve service will
be our final destination (or maybe not). What will we
find when we get there? Come and see for
yourself. A hope-filled, peace-filled, joy-filled, and
love-filled CHRISTmas to all!
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