The Walk to Emmaus was filled with
despair for a couple of Christ’s disciples as they reviewed the horrible
happening in the city they left behind.
The darkness and depression that
enveloped these two men are often reflected in our lives today. Whatever may be the distant goal of our
travels, our Emmaus, there are days marked with despair. We may be economically strapped; there is
little security in the things we have pinned our hopes on. The traditions we have so ardently clung to
are not as relevant as they appear to be.
The institutions we assumed were perpetually secure are shifting precariously
with the winds of our tempestuous times.
We reach back for yesterday because we are uncertain of today and afraid
of tomorrow.
A stranger joined the two men on their
way to Emmaus. It is He who seeks to
transform our darkness and despair into brightness and joy. The ugly and painful things that happen to us
are not the end of life. We may have
lost loved ones, but we do not need to lose our faith. We may have little worldly security, but our
Salvation is still intact. We may be
terribly lonely sometimes, but we are never alone.
The good news is that Jesus is
alive! He has risen! Death did not have the last word. Let us consider the consequences of Easter
and Pentecost in the lives of the first followers. Their faith, which died when Jesus died, was
suddenly revived. They report that Jesus
arose and they saw Him. They tell us
about their visits to the empty tomb, and how He appears to Mary Magdalene, to
the other women, to Peter, to the two travelers on the way to Emmaus, to ten of
them at once, to eleven of them at once, to James and to the five hundred.
After Easter and Pentecost the once
defeated and disillusioned disciples became powerful proclaimers
of God’s love propelled by the Holy Spirit.
The ordinary, fallible, blundering disciples were transformed into
powerful messengers ready to proclaim Jesus as the World’s Savior. Their faith was no longer a consoling
convenience, but a consuming passion.
They were on fire with a new power; they proclaimed a new message; they
sang a new song. Christ is Alive! Christ is for real!
May you experience the promise of new
life and live by the power of the Holy Spirit day by day and moment by moment.
Grace & Peace through the power of the Holy
Spirit,
Pastor
Wanda
May Birthdays
5 Sharon Thompson
7 Doug Carroll
10 Zach Naglieri
12 Bob Burgess
16 Muriel Drewitz
Brooke Harrison
18 Brian Cunningham
21 Mary Finnerty
22 Michael Buchman
23 Ruth Mitchell
25 Justin Rosario
26 Richard Drewitz
May Anniversaries
2 Adele & Bill Kiesel
4 Joan & Ed DiMonda
Kerri & Jeffrey Stoyer
Lectionary for May
2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts
2:14a, 22-32; Ps. 16; Peter 1:3-9
John
20:19-31
3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts
2:14a, 36-41; Ps. 116:1-4, 12-19
1
Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35
4th Sunday of Easter
Acts
7:55-60; Ps. 31:1-5, 15-16
1
Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14
5th Sunday of Easter
Acts
2:42-47; Ps. 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25
John
10:1-10
6th Sunday of Easter
Acts
17:22-31; Ps. 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22
John
14:15-21
Lunch Out With Friends – Sunday, May 1st Please see Barbara McVeigh
for more information and to make your reservation.
May
Dates to Remember
1 Lunch
out with Friends
3 Confirmation
Class
8 Mother’s
Day
16 Session
Meeting
17 Confirmation
Class
24 Confirmands
meet with Session
Confirmation Schedule
May 3rd - Meeting at church 7 PM
May 13-14th - YSOP overnight in New York City
May 17th - Meeting at church 7 PM
Final
preparations
May 24th – Meet with Session
June Birthdays
1 Ruth Campisi
6 Chris Doherty
13 Michael Rosario
14 Natalia Wienslaw
15 Annette Schroeder
16 Anita Cunningham
17 Zack Naglieri
24 Pat Byrnes
David
Hughes
25 Justin Rosario
26 Chris Campisi
Todd
Boysen
29 Larry Keith
June Anniversaries
7 Dan & Eric Doherty
17 Carolyn & Steven Fernandez
23 Mary & Raymond Finnerty
29 Stu & Wendy Boysen
Lectionary for June
7th
Sunday of Easter
Acts 1:6-14; Ps. 68:1-10,
32-35
1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John
17:1-11
Day of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-21 or Num. 11:24-30;
Ps. 104:24-34, 35b
1 Cor. 12:3b-13 or Acts
2:1-21; John 20:19-23 or
John 7:37-39
Trinity Sunday
Gen. 1:1-2:4a; Ps. 8; 2 Cor.
13:11-13; Matt.28:16-20
13th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gen. 22:1-14; Ps. 13; Rom.
6:12-23; Matt. 10:40-42
June Dates to
Remember
June 5 Children’s Day / Ice Cream Social
June 12 Day
of Pentecost & Offering
Confirmands
will take their vows
June 19 Father’s Day
June 20 Session
Meeting
June 27 – July1 Vacation Bible School
June 5th - Children’s Day
Sunday, June 5th is Children’s Day and we will be
celebrating by having the Sunday School Children participate in the Church
Worship Service at 10:30am. Hamburgers,
hot dogs and beverages will be provided outside on the front lawn (or in the
social room if it rains) after the service.
We are asking the Congregation to bring salads, finger foods and
desserts to help with the festive mood of the day. There will be a bounce house for the kids,
plus games and activities. Mark this
date on your calendar and plan to attend.
Pentecost
& Confirmation
On Sunday, June 12 we will celebrate
Pentecost. Pentecost is often called
“The Birthday of the Church.” Pentecost
is the culmination of everything that went before it. It is Pentecost that inaugurated the
perpetual presence of Christ in our world through us and our fellow – disciples
in the Christian faith. Whereas Christians
celebrate the God – become – man
happening, Pentecost initiates the event whereby men and women become the
vehicles, channels and instruments of God’s Holy Spirit here on earth.
This year on Pentecost Sunday we will
have the privilege of participating in the Confirmation of our students. They have been hard at work throughout the
last year studying, participating in mission trips and service projects and
going on trips to visit other religious traditions. They have chosen to accept Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Savior and will publicly profess their faith and take their
confirmation vows. We are very proud of
each of these young people and we congratulate them as they take this very
important step in their lives. We will
celebrate the Lords Supper as a part of our Pentecost and Confirmation
Service.
Confirmation
Students: Maia Fernandez, Clark Boden & Michael Rosario
The
Presbyterian Church in Garden City
Vacation
Bible School 2011
Monday,
June 27 thru Friday, July 1, 2011
9:00
AM – 12:00 PM
Ages: Pre-school (3˝ yrs) – 5th grade 10 yrs)
Registration Fee: $50.00
Make
new friends/Amazing crafts
Wildgames/Lip-smacking
snack /Incredible music
PandaMania
Bible Adventures
Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?
At PandaMania,
kids explore the mighty love of God on a journey that will change them
forever! PandaMania
is filled with Bible learning; team-building games; cool Bible songs, and even
tasty treats are just a few of the activities that help faith flow into real
life. Plus, we’ll help kids discover how
to see evidence of God in everyday life – something we call God Sightings.
Report
of the Financial Secretary
January
1, 2011 - March 31, 2011
Amount
due from pledges excess of amount pledged.
It also indicates the total amount received from non-pledges. These figures have been compiled as of the
close of business March 31, 2011.
Amount due from pledges $ 26,499.50
*Received from pledges $ 23,784.00
Received from non pledges 5,180.00
Pledges for 2011 paid in 2010 5,400.00
$
43,364.00
Proof:
*Received from pledges $ 23,784.00
in arrears + 4,240.50
28,024.50
Paid in excess - 1,525.00
$ 26,499.50
Respectfully Submitted,
Jean W. O’Brien
Financial Secretery
Stewardship Corner
We
Thank Those Who Have Pledged & Met Their Pledge for the First Quarter
Ending on 3/31/11
Boeschen Boysen Carroll
Chencinski Ciminera Cunningham
M. Drewits R. Drewitz Drowne
Finnerty Gorecki Gray
Gyau-Boeteng Herth Hild
Johnson Keith Kessler
Kiesel C.
Lee Mc.Veigh
Miedrich Mitchell O’Brien
Ploth Prekopa Ronan
Schroeder Tressler Vilander
Per
Capita Apportionment
Every church is apportioned a share of
the expenses of the presbytery, the synod and the General Assembly. The apportionment is based on church
membership. The amount varies with the
needs of the presbytery, synod, and General Assembly, and is a regular expense
payable by our churches in the first quarter of the year. The amount to be paid in 2011 for each member
is $29.26. For our church the total
amount is $3,600.00.
In many churches each member who is able
to contribute their share of the churches obligation of per capita
apportionment does so in order to defray the expenses of the church. This year as a result of a deficit budget we
are asking our members to make every effort to fulfill your share of our
obligation if possible. Thank you for
your prayerful consideration of this matter.
Please be sure to make a note in the memo line of your check if you wish
to participate in defraying the per capita apportionment.
Music
Notes
We would like to thank our Senior Choir
and Handells Choir members for their tremendous
efforts to present such magnificent Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter Music. The musical offerings have been so inspiring,
beautiful and meaningful! Thank you
again.
Calling all boys and men: As has been our tradition, we will present
the special music on Mother’s Day, May 8th. We will practice directly after the Service
on May 1st for 10 minutes to prepare.
Please join us!
Calling all girls and ladies: As has been our tradition, we will present
the special music on Father’s Day, June 19th. We will practice directly after the Service
on Sundays June 5th and 12th for 10 minutes to prepare. Please join us!
Upcoming
Handbell Schedule: We hope to ring in church Sundays May 22nd
& June 5th.
Presbyterian
Church (USA)
Update: PC(USA) continues response
to Japan disasters.
A week after the devastating earthquake
and resulting tsunami that struck Japan, killing thousands, the Presbyterian
Church (USA) continues to pray, solicit donations and work with partners to
form a response to the disasters.
As of March 16, more than 11,500 people
had been killed or are missing, with thousands more thought to be unaccounted
for. Also a major concern is the threat
of radiation exposure from multiple nuclear power plants.
The PC(USA) has
nine mission workers living and working across Japan. By March 16, World Mission had confirmed that
all are safe.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has
sent $100,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing funds to partner Church World
Service. PDA also set up a fund for
donations to the Japan earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts. As of March 17, that fund had received about
$70,000.
PDA is working with World Mission to
identify ways to respond to the needs of long-term mission partners engaged in
response.
The initial response is focus on
covering the basic needs of 250,000 in 100 evacuation sites across
northeastern Japan.
This support includes ready-to-eat food, sanitation supplies, water,
blankets, batteries and gas.
Presbyterians are encouraged to pray and
give to the relief efforts.
Financial donations can be made through
the Presbyterian Church in Garden City with a notation on the memo part of your
check to read: Japan Earthquake & Tsunami relief.
Attention!!
Please
keep Diane Cianciotto in your prayers as she continues to try and find a
solution to her debilitating headaches. Diane will be on 3 months leave of
absence beginning May 1 – July 31. She
will return to work on Aug. 1st.
Back Pack Mission Project
All
year long we have continued to sponsor our immigrant families and their
children from Central America. Once
again we would like to present each of these children with a new back pack
filled with all the necessary supplies for 3rd grade Please look
over the list of supplies and bring your donations to church on Sundays
throughout the summer. The last day for
collection will be Sunday, August 21st. There will be collection bins located in the
narthex.
Thank
you so much for your generous response.
When we work together, we can make a big difference.
Back Pack Supply List:
2 24-count box of crayons
5 large glue sticks
3 packs of #2 pencils - yellow only
3 horizontal pocket folders - red / blue /
green
3 marble notebooks
1 8-pack Crayola colored pencils
3 black sharpie markers
1 pair of scissors (Fiskars-type)
1 backpack large enough to hold several books
(please no rolling)
1 large Elmer’s glue liquid bottle
1 12-pack Crayola colored markers
2 highlighters
1 pack ballpoint pens
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
MAY 8TH
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY
JUNE 19TH
CALENDAR FOR MAY 2011
EVERY SUNDAY
9:15 AM - Choir
Practice
10:30 AM -
Worship Service
11:40 AM -
Fellowship Hour
May 1 12:30 PM Lunch
Out with Friends
May 3 7PM Confirmation Class
May 8 Mother’s Day
May 13-14 Confirmation Class at YSOP
May 14 9AM Session
Minutes Read &
Approved here
at PCGC
May 16 7 PM Session
Meeting
May 17 7 PM Confirmation
Class
May 24 7 PM Confirmands
meet with
Session
May 30 Memorial Day
CALENDAR FOR JUNE 2011
EVERY THURSDAY
10:00 AM -
Thursday Ladies
7:30 PM -
Recovery Group
June 5 Children’s Day/Musical
Appreciation
Day &
Ice
Cream Social
June 12 Pentecost/Confirmation
June 19 Father’s Day
June 20 7 PM Session
Meeting
June 27 9 AM First
Day of VBS