The Pipe Organ
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
New Vernon, NJ
VOL. 66 NO. 1
January 2016
.
Robert’s Reflections
Dear Friends,
Christmas shopping is over, and the New Year is
upon us. I would like you to think for a moment
about sales. Not "a sale" as in a bargain, but rather
the act of selling. I've never been in sales (except
the time I sold light bulbs as a teenager), but in a
way I am, because the church is selling something
very important: faith, hope, love, a way of life and
living, as all these are found in the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Many people, in fact, are in sales. People running for
public office are selling themselves; managers and
educators ask for the best from others; coaches
challenge players to give heart, mind and soul to the
game; even medical professionals are selling
something when they suggest the habits of a healthy
lifestyle. And, of course, people in retail, wealth
management and investments are in sales. Almost
everyone who is in sales for the long term will tell
you it's not only about the product, it's about
relationships. It is about trust.
How long does it take to build that trust?
running the sound system all contribute to an
experience of a church. How many handshakes does it take? How many touches? If
a handshake is a touch and a conversation in
coffee hour is a touch and a sermon or an
anthem or a prelude or an offertory is a touch
when it stirs something inside, how many
does it take? Filling a bag with clothes for a
needy family can be a touch.
Continued on page 2
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS
Session Highlights ................................. 3
Sunday Speaker Series: Laura Nash .... 4
January Movie Night ............................... 4
Women’s Afternoon Tea ......................... 5
Men’s Breakfast ..................................... 5
Sunday Speaker Series: Rev. Abazia ... 5
Souper Bowl Sunday .............................. 5
People come to church and commit themselves to a
church when they feel comfortable about the
relationship with that church. They have a
relationship with God and with Jesus Christ, but they
most often choose the church to worship God
because of the relationship with that church.
Images from the Children’s Pageant ..... 6
A relationship is built between a person and a
church through people they meet at that church,
and through an experience of the work and worship
of that church. The usher or greeter, the person
sitting next to or near them in worship, the minister,
the choir, the pianist or organist, even the person
CME Academy Enrollment ..................... 9
December Baptism ................................. 7
Volunteers Sought to take Pictures....... 7
Book Club News ..................................... 8
Stewardship Message ............................ 8
Thank-You Flower Donors ................... 14
January Calendar.................................. 18
January Worship Plans ........................ 19
2-The Pipe Organ
FPCNV Staff
Dr. Robert Gamble,
Interim Pastor
Amanda Tsukamoto,
Minister of Music/Organist
Elena Bird Zolnick,
Minister of Music/Choir Dir.
Debbie Hennessey,
Office Administrator and
Manager of Accounting
Katherine Ann Newburg,
Dir. of Sunday School
Tony Rodriguez,
Custodian
Elders
Jane Coyle, Clerk of Session
Julia Buteux
Todd Claytor
Caroline Ford
Kerra French
Meg Richardson
Katherine Sheeleigh
Jonathan Shelby
Tricia Tiensch
Phil Van Kirk
Carol Conger Vellekamp
Keith Wood
Deacons
Lisa Chapman, Moderator
Robyn Brown
Janet Bruns
Erin Castner
Fenton Chaney
Andrea Di Ruggiero
Sandy Finlayson
Olin Friant
Barbara Gill
Susan Morris
Judith Shelton
Eileen Urban
January 2016
Continued from page 1
Few things come closer to building that relationship than
conversation, especially conversation in which hearts open even in
the slightest. When these moments are experienced in the
context of our faith--faith grows, relationships grow, and one's
connection to the congregation of a church can grow. We are
inspired, motivated, and encouraged.
Churches that grow offer opportunities like this. They are
intentional about it. They design spaces for people to gather
before and after worship. They offer small group experiences. They
call them "K" groups (koinonia, the Greek word for community),
"city groups," or "Bible study groups" or "growth groups." Lately,
there has been a new term coined in church circles: The Ministry
of Hospitality. These experiences build community. All the
literature on adult development will tell you that most people in
their 20's, 30's and 40's are at an age in life where they seek out
meaningful relationships. People in their 50's and up are enriched
by these experiences, but they may not be as intentional about
seeking them. And that is our situation here at FPC New Vernon
where the predominant age of our congregation is 50's and up.
By now, you have figured out that I am trying to sell you on the
idea of our members spending time together, but the solution isn't
to say, "Okay we are all going to get into groups and do what we
are told." I know people better than that.
A culture of people building community has to begin slowly and
authentically. Church is more than Sunday morning four times a
month. Church is all of us, spread across this region of New
Jersey, and sometimes in Florida, or Arizona, or Maine, or
Massachusetts or wherever, living our lives at home, at work, at
play as well as in worship, supporting, encouraging, listening,
challenging and loving each other in faith.
Make it your New Year's resolution to think about strengthening
the relationships between our members. Form, I believe, follows
function. "We are the body of Christ and individually members of
it," said the apostle Paul. Like any healthy body, we can grow.
Happy New Year,
Robert Gamble
3-The Pipe Organ
January 2016
DECEMBER SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
The following highlights are from the December 15, 2015 Session Meeting.
The meeting began with Dr. Gamble leading devotions.
COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTS
ADULT EDUCATION
The next movie to be shown at Movie Night, hosted by the Chaneys’ will be Citizen Kane. Guest
speakers are scheduled for the Sunday Speaker Series.
BUILDINGS & GROUNDS
The water issue is still under investigation. There was also a fire inspection of the CE Building and any
deficiencies are being addressed. There were three handicapped parking spots added to the parking
lot adjacent to the Sanctuary.
CEMETERY
There was one burial in December, Charles Hurd.
CONGREGATIONAL LIFE
The Christmas luncheon was very well attended. There were about 70 church members. Next year
there will surely be Christmas Carols in addition to a wonderful lunch.
FINANCE
The Sanctuary Project is in Phase II: installation of a cedar roof and repairs to the bell tower for a total
cost of $435,000. In addition to funds received from the Morris County Heritage Commission-Historic
Preservation, we have applied to NJ State for an additional grant. The 2016 budget was presented.
MEMBERSHIP
The committee has identified a short list of non-participants. They will receive a letter advising them
that they will be removed from the rolls unless they notify us otherwise.
NOMINATING
New Elders, Deacons, Auditing and Nominating Committee members were elected on Sunday,
December 13. Installation and Ordination will take place on Sunday, January 31.
STEWARDSHIP
Jonathan went on a tour of the Mental Health Association of Morris County- they are grateful for the
donation we make to them through Mission and Outreach.
PASTOR’S REPORT
Dr. Gamble visited several Church members who are experiencing health issues or are homebound
including: Dean Groel (resides at King James), Walter Ness, Jeanne Zenker and Harold and Louise
Thorpe. He also paid a visit to Fellowship Village to visit Jim Swartz and Rose Staneck.
Communion will be served on Sunday, January 10, 2016.
The next meeting of session will be on Tuesday, January 19 at 7pm.
Dr. Gamble adjourned the meeting with prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Jane Coyle – Clerk of Session
4-The Pipe Organ
January 2016
SUNDAY SPEAKER SERIES
January 10, 11:30-12:30
A New Year’s Resolution To Keep:
Find Balance and Peace of Mind in 2016
Laura Nash, trained and certified by Deepak Chopra, will give an introduction to the ancient Vedic
meditation style from India that integrates body and mind. This practice has successfully promoted
spontaneous inner peace and healing for over 5,000 years.
Laura is a consultant and instructor, guiding both individuals and groups to attain their goals using a
surprisingly simple and effective vehicle: PEACE OF MIND. Her clients come from all walks of life—
CEOs and senior executives of major corporations, professional athletes, artists, physicians, anyone
seeking to improve their life. Her philosophy is that people already intuitively know how to solve any
dilemma. They merely get so bogged down by the details of an issue, or the emotion surrounding it,
that they cannot discern their own answers. Laura demonstrates how to cut through all the chaos and
drama of life to arrive at the simple solution.
Laura Nash is a well-established teacher, speaker, and workshop facilitator. With a B.A. from Hobart
and William Smith Colleges, this former institutional bond broker and vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald
Securities, Inc., brings both a philosophical and entrepreneurial perspective to her audience. She is
certified to teach the authentic, ancient form of silent mediation from the Yoga tradition of India, as
well as Wellness in the Workplace, a program designed for companies, based on Dr. Deepak Chopra’s
personal development masterpiece, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. She was recently awarded for
her status as the most active Chopra-certified instructor in the world.
Next Movie Night Selection:
Citizen Kane
1941 PG 164 minutes
Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00 pm
At the Chaneys’
Still considered one of the greatest films ever made, Orson
Welles’s complex and technically stunning film chronicles
newspaper baron Charles Foster Kane’s rise from poverty to
become one of America’s most influential men.
Cast: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore
5-The Pipe Organ
January 2016
Next Women’s
Afternoon Tea
Wednesday, January 13
New Time!
2:00-4:00 pm
Village Bistro
All women of the Church and
their guests are welcome.
Next Men’s Breakfast
Wednesday,
January 13
7:30 am
Nautilus Diner
All men of the Church
and their guests
are welcome
SUNDAY SPEAKER SERIES
Guest Preacher & Speaker
Sunday, January 24
Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia
Rev. Larissa Kwong
Abazia will preach
on Sunday, January
24 and also lead a
program after
Coffee Hour.
Larissa is the Vice
Moderator of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Director
of Church Relations at Princeton Theological
Seminary.
The world around us is ever changing and can
sometimes seem scary. A question for the
Church today is: Do we come to church to escape the world or to respond to its deepest
yearnings? Join us for discussion on gracious
discernment about difficult issues that we
face as a congregation.
Sunday, February 7
Immediately following
worship.
6-The Pipe Organ
January 2016
December Highlights: Children’s Christmas Pageant
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January 2016
December Highlights
Baptism, Sunday, December 20
Brayden Matthew and Brice William Ford
Volunteers
Sought
We are in need of volunteers to take
pictures at church events. You don’t
need to be an expert, just willing to
capture these moments using your
preferred method. Contact Debbie
in the Church Office if you would like
to help.
Use a cell phone or a
camera, whichever you
are comfortable with.
8- The Pipe Organ
January 2016
FPCNV Book Club
January Meeting and Book Selections
January: The First Salute
by Barbara W. Tuchman
Barbara W. Tuchman, the Pulitzer
Prize–winning author of the
classic The Guns of August, turns
her sights homeward with this
brilliant, insightful narrative of the
Revolutionary War.
In The First Salute, one of
America’s consummate historians
crafts a rigorously original view of the American
Revolution. Tuchman places the Revolution in the
context of the centuries-long conflicts between England
and both France and Holland, demonstrating how the
aid to the American colonies of both these nations
made the triumph of independence possible.
The author sheds new light on the key role played by the
contending navies, paints a magnificent portrait of
George Washington, and recounts in riveting detail the
decisive campaign of the war at Yorktown. By turns
Meeting Dates and Book Selections
Where: Library
When: 7:30 pm
JAN 12
The First Salute by Barbara Tuchman
FEB 9
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the
Lusitania by Erik Larson
MAR 8
Spies Among Friends by Kim Philby
APR 12
The Wright Brothers by David
McCullough
MAY 10
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
JUN 14
Bach by Tim Dowlay (?)
New members are welcome.
lyrical and gripping, The First Salute is an exhilarating
account of the birth of a nation.
- Amazon.com
Stewardship Campaign Reminder
The 2016 Now Build Faith Campaign has concluded. For those of you who made a pledge,
we thank you! For those of you who have not, it is not too late to make a pledge for
2016. Please send in your pledge card today, or contact the Church Office, so the Finance
Committee can prepare the final budget for 2016.
In addition, if you have not already done so, please fulfill the balance of your 2015 pledge
prior to the closing of the books on January 15th.
Finally, additional thanks go out to the hardworking Stewardship Committee members:
Aimee Bloom, Nancy Burrows, Tom Ewig, and Tom MacCowatt. They made the calls that
brought in the pledges!
God bless our church and all its members.
Jonathan Shelby
Stewardship Chair
“We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of
another.” - Romans 12:5
9- The Pipe Organ
January 2016
ENROLLING NOW:
CME Academy is currently enrolling students of all ages
and levels. Adults are especially welcome. It is not too late to
learn to play the musical instrument you’ve always dreamed of
playing...
Students will be provided with high-caliber training by gifted
faculty handpicked by CME Academy founder and director, Min
Kwon. You may also purchase a CD featuring selections played by CME gifted young
artists and some of the faculty at CME Academy from Debbie in the Church Office.
Learn more about the Academy at: CMEMusicAcademy.org
Phone: 973-500-8282 or E-mail: info@cmemusic.org
Thank-You to Our
Sunday Flower Donors
July-December
JULY
SEPTEMBER
NOVEMBER
Min Kwon
Elaine Britcher
Caroline Ford
Gwenn & Todd Claytor
The Ewigs
Suzanne & Jonathan Shelby
Elaine Britcher
Bernice & Bill Paton
Nancy Gockley
Isabel Broshek
The Finlaysons
David Dietz & Jane Kendall
AUGUST
OCTOBER
DECEMBER
Ann Talcott
Pam Kerschner
Eileen Urban
Jane Coyle
Caroline & Roger Ford
Elaine Britcher
Patti & KeithWood
The Burrows
Nancy Barrett
David Mitchell
10-The Pipe Organ
January 2016
January 2016
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
Church Office
Closed
AA Meeting
noon
3
10 am Worship
11 am Coffee Hour
4
5
6
Women’s
Bible Study
9:30-11 am
7
Women’s AA
Step Meeting
noon
Choir 7:30 pm
10
Communion
10 am Worship
11 am Coffee Hour
11
Women’s
Bible Study
9:30-11 am
Women’s AA
Step Meeting
noon
11:30 am
Sunday Speaker
Series: Laura Nash
10 am Worship
11 am Coffee Hour
18
Women’s
Bible Study
9:30-11 am
24
31
10 am Worship
Ordination and
Installation of
Elders & Deacons
11 am Coffee Hour
11:30 am Dennis
Corcoran
Women’s
Afternoon Tea
2:00-4 pm
19
14
15
16
AA Meeting
noon
Bible Study
9:00-10:00 am
AA Meeting
noon
Finance Mtg.
7 pm
Choir 7:30 pm
20
21
Women’s AA
Step Meeting
noon
22
23
AA Meeting
noon
Session Mtg.
7 pm
25
Women’s
Bible Study
9:30-11 am
9
No Bible Study
Today
Martin Luther
King Day
11:30 am
Sunday Speaker
Series: Rev. Abazia
13
7:30 am Men’s
Breakfast
Book Club
In Library 7:30 pm
Church Office
Closed
10 am Worship
11 am Coffee Hour
12
Deacons Mtg.
7 pm
17
8
Bible Study
9:00-10-00 am
Choir 7:30 pm
26
Women’s AA
Step Meeting
noon
Movie Night
at the Chaneys’
7 pm
27
28
29
Bible Study
9:00-10:00 am
AA Meeting
noon
Choir 7:30 pm
30
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January 2016
JANUARY WORSHIP PLANS
Sunday, January 3
Sunday, January 10
Second Sunday After Christmas
Baptism of the Lord
Preacher: Dr. Gamble
Liturgist: Matt McDonald
Preacher: Dr. Gamble
Liturgist: Ann Talcott
Sunday, January 17
Sunday, January 24
Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Preacher: Dr. Gamble
Liturgist: Jane Coyle
Preacher: Dr. Gamble
Liturgist: Eileen Urban McDonald
Sunday, January 31
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Preacher: Dr. Gamble
Liturgist: Sophia Kasparik
Ordination & Installation of Elders & Deacons
Sunday, January 31 During Worship
On Sunday, January 31 there will be an installation of Elders and Deacons during the Worship Service.
Session
Tom MacCowatt
Peter Saulnier
Jane O’Keefe
Jonathan Shelby, 2nd term
Keith Wood, 1-year term
Deacons
Sue Mitchell
Dave Mitchell
Susie Morris, 2nd term
Judith Shelton, 2nd term
Nominating Committee:
Nancy Burrows, 3-year term, Jeff French, 2-year term
Auditors
Scott Noyes, 3-year term, John Murray, 1-year term
The Pipe Organ
First Presbyterian Church
2 Lee’s Hill Road, PO Box 218
New Vernon, NJ 07976-0218
JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS
January 10
Sunday Speaker Series
Laura Nash on Meditation
January 24
Sunday Speaker Series
Guest Preacher & Speaker
Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia
January 31
Ordination and Installation
of Elders & Deacons
E-mail Addresses
The Church Office is still collecting and correcting e-mail addresses from our
members. If you would like to be included in various e-mail mailings, please
e-mail Office@pcnv.org or call 973-538-8394.
CHURCH OFFICE
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
NEW VERNON, NEW JERSEY 07976
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
Web:
973-538-8394
973-538-3969
office@pcnv.org
www.pcnv.org