Late April/May Newsletter

Pastor’s Reflection                April 2008 

I was sitting at the light where Elmwood meets Morris and glanced up at the signboard. It was a very odd sight. There was the state of New Jersey, floating in a sea of blue. It was all green, a lush garden and forest. The beaches were pristine and the shoreline – wait a minute! Where are Pennsylvania and New York? They are gone and in their place is the beautiful, empty ocean. Where are the roads and bridges? No byways to linking us together and to make togetherness possible. And where are the towns and cities? No Newark? No Trenton? No Camden? No Atlantic City? No Union?!?

Suddenly I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. What was at first a beautiful sight became a nightmare. What is our home without our vibrant communities, even those that are struggling with issues of crime and pollution? Without humanity and our detris, this vision of New Jersey is insanely compelling and yet appalling. For what would New Jersey have if it lost its neighbors? Who are we with no context? No jokes about us from our sibling states?

I am sure the artist and the ad agency that posted this vision meant for us to relax into the beauty of an empty state floating solo in the sea. But that is not the reality I need. 

I frequently hear, “I don’t need to go to church. I can be spiritual by being alone with nature.” To those who feel this way I say: It is impossible to be a Christian without community. Jesus chose people to walk and talk and pray with him. I can pray in solitude, but then I have only my own thoughts. How much better it is to listen to other voices as well. While alone, I may pray for others, but then who is praying for me? Scripture gives me great insight and confidence, but unless the good news I hear resounds within a community, can we really call it good?  I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. And I want the real picture of New Jersey back. The crowded, noisy, life-filled, complex community I know and love.

Letters! We get letters!

 From Awka Nigeria, we have begun working on a new request:

GOVERNMENT OF ANAMBRA STATE OF NIGERIA

MINISTRY OF WOMEN AFFAIRS & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Office of the honourable commissioner 

acknowledgement of receipt of the packages for our children

I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the receipt of your package sent to us for our children. The package contained educational resources, first aid kits, toys and some items of clothing, through Kanayochukwu Obidigbo the county coordinator.

 We are deeply indebted to your magnanimity considering the sacrifices you make individually and collectively, as a church to put smiles on the faces of some of our very disadvantaged children in Africa. We shall ever remain grateful for this kind gesture. 

Permit me to seize this opportunity to put forward this appeal: we are in dire need of a mini-bus (14 or 18-seated bus) to enable us to convey our children to hospitals when they fall ill; especially in periods of epidemics. The last outbreak of cholera claimed the lives of 4 of our Model Motherless Babies Home before we could get them to the hospital with a vehicle ‘on-loan.’  

This is the kind of situation we face often and we have to contend with that over the years; hence we shall be extremely relieved if your milk of human kindness can be further extended to accommodate this most pressing need for the orphanage.  

Remain blessed.

Kind regards.

Dr. C. Ego Uzoezie

Hon. Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development

 Also about Awka:

You may remember Felix Molokwu, Doug Taylor and Marge Royle traveled to Nigeria at the end of 2006 to install a generator. Until then, the workers at the Model Home were carrying water for great distance. Seeing first hand more needs to be met, we have collected many more items to be sent. so . . .  

Let’s Fill the Container

Bridge of Faith, the project we cosponsor to aid orphanages and other social services in Awka, Nigeria, has a large collection of items to send there. These items include 34 student desks, several boxes of children’s books, five computers and monitors, three hospital examining tables, a hospital bed, three wheelchairs, and some walkers.

In fact, the collection is so large that we are planning on sending a whole container of supplies to Nigeria this spring. Sales of African crafts this fall have raised nearly enough money to pay for the shipment, about $6000. Now we are collecting items to fill all the spaces around the large items in the container.

We need:

·        gently-used children’s summer clothes
 

·        gently-used men’s long-sleeved shirts and pants
 

·        school supplies (pencils, pens, paper, crayons, glue, scissors, rulers, etc.)
 

·        children’s books, cassette tapes, and educational toys
 

·        over-the counter medical supplies (band-aids, topical ointments, children’s aspirin, vitamin pills, etc.)

To donate any of these items, bring them to the church where you will find a box marked “Nigeria.”

If you would like to help raise money for the project by selling African crafts at churches, street fairs, and other venues, or in having a sale of African crafts at another organization of which you are a member, please contact Doug Taylor at 973-628-6945.

 

More letters:

The originals are on the bulletin board in our Welcome Area.

From our Sister in the Philippines:

Dear Friends of Faith UCC,

          Thank you so much for your Valentine greetings. Thank you too for Chioma’s letter. I am so happy and my family too to have received them.

          My family and I are grateful for your love and concern. Thank you for supporting my studies. Greetings too to my friends of your church school class. I am also attending church school here in kalauman and I love to learn more about God with my friends.

          Thank you too to Chelsea, Jessica, Ogechi, Omari, Vicky and all the others.

                                       Your friend,

                                                Rochelyn

From CAIM:

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Thank you for your gift to the United Church of Christ Council for American Indian Ministry. As we live into the hope of Easter, we would like to thank you for supporting the various ministries within CAIM. Our Board will be meeting this month and making plans for the next fiscal year. It is gifts like yours that allow ministry to continue in our congregations and encourage us to be lights within our communities.

            Again, thank you for your generosity.

                        Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo

                        Director, CAIM  

From our Associate Conference Minister,

Rev. Sherry Taylor:

Dear Friends at Faith,

          Many thanks for your generous contribution to Our Church’s Wider Mission in 2007. Your gifts support the work of the Association and the Conference and the denomination here and around the world. It is an honor for me to be your partner in Christ’s service. God bless your ministry in Union and Nigeria and in all the places touched by your generosity.

Peace,

Sherry

Christmas Fund Offering

Best Ever 

The UCC’s Christmas Fund continues to break records, thanks to increasing church-wide support being given to benefit retired clergy and spouses.

At the close of 2007, the Christmas Fund special mission offering took in $1,573,000 during the year, according to the Rev. Doug Borko, director for ministerial assistance at The Pension Boards. “We surpassed our goal in September and kept adding to it,” reported Borko to member of the UCC’s special offering committee at its meeting in January. “The money is still coming in.”

The Christmas Fund – once known as the “Veterans of the Cross” offering – is used annually to supplement pension payments to retired UCC clergy and surviving spouses with low incomes. It also aids those with special emergency needs.

Super News from the Souperbowl
                                                     The National Totals are in: $9,887,952 generated in 2008!
We gave over $110 to the Food Bank of Hillside and over 220 canned or various items to the Connecticut Farms Food Pantry. We would like to thank our young people for their help canvassing the neighborhood to give out bags and collecting the food from our friends near the church. In all, we were on of 15,567 Reporting Groups.

 Don’t forget to continue to pray for and contribute to our many other ministries:

 New Eyes for the Needy (basket on ledge as you enter Founders hall)

 Box Tops for Education (triangular container on table in rear of sanctuary)

 Meet the Need (bank on back window sill in sanctuary)

 Bridge of Faith and projects in Awka Nigeria (special events and offerings)

 Thanks to Doug Taylor for several of this issue’s articles - as well as to Marilyn Russell for her monthly Financial Report.

We give thanks to God and pray for . . .

v Marie Barr  v Sue Chamberlain

v Gertrude Becker  v Harry Greenwald  v

v Heather Taylor v Pat and Patti Watkins

v Maria Weisshap v all struggling with loss or health issues

 v all beloved members of our family of Faith v

 v all churches in need or transition

No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey – you are welcome here!

Send mail to maaemba@bellatlantic.net with questions or comments about this web site. 
Last modified: 05/05/2008 06:21:23 PM