First Presbyterian Church Hightstown, NJ 08520

Volume 26, Number 2 February 2020

MISSION STATEMENT:

Bringing Faith to Life by Loving God and Serving Others

Adopted by Session, August 2013

MLK Service Project On Friday night, January 17, our youth sponsored the Nighttime Care Packages for Rise project. Families were invited as well as the community. Each assembled package contained pajamas, white socks, a stuffed animal, toothbrush, a book and a loving message.

This year again, the organization Vibha joined us. Hamidah Thanawala, from Vibha, brought many volunteers along to partner in this project with us. Together we were able to package 158 Nighttime Care Packages!

Thanks to everyone for your generous donations! Each of you helped to make a difference in the Hightstown/East Windsor community.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST

February 2, 2020 9 am – 12:30 pm

Tickets $5 (children 3 and under free!) Join us in Fellowship Hall

All proceeds go towards Youth Mission

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From the Pastor The last weekend of January was a busy one at the First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown.

I hope you were able to be here for the ordination and installation of new officers. As we met

before worship to ponder the promises they would make, I was impressed with the depth of

spirit, wisdom and commitment in the room. In worship, there was the laying on of hands: a sign

of commissioning and empowering for service, and of blessing. As we joined to lay hands on new

ruling elders Tom Dilger, Dave Feffer and Karen Klimpl and new deacon Jan Watterworth, and as

they were joined by those returning to service as deacons, Jackie Hart, Joan Newell, Donna

Scheifele and Christine Vincent, I was put in mind of the unbroken chain of blessing as well as

setting aside for special service which has happened here for more than 160 years. I give thanks

to God for such colleagues in ministry in this place at this time.

Following worship, we gathered for our Annual Meeting, enjoying lunch prepared with love by the

Fellowship Committee while viewing a slide show of 2019 highlights. We heard stories of God’s

faithfulness here in 2019 and our joy-filled efforts to love God and love neighbor. If you missed it,

please reach out to any member of the session, as we’d be so pleased to tell the stories again, and

to hear the ones you would add.

As we received the report on our finances from Mark Dahlinger, I thought of another unbroken

chain of blessing: an unbroken chain of blessing in more than 160 years of the faithful, generous

annual giving of the members and friends of this congregation, and the special support provided

by our endowment. The endowment is made up of many individual gifts by those who planned

ahead to be part of the future ministries of this congregation after they were gone. Their

foresight and generosity years ago empowers mission and ministry in this congregation and

community today. As Mark explained, their gift (taking 6% a year from the endowment leaves it

sustainable in perpetuity) is why our gap is only approximately a $70,000 annual shortfall

($100,000 if you count the mortgage for the Raise the Roof campaign).

In light of that shortfall, Session has embarked on the solemn and sober work of discernment. At

our daylong Saturday retreat we continued the work of discovering: What is our Triune God

calling us to do and be in this season of the church’s life? How shall we close the gap between the

vitality of congregational life and service to the community which happen here Sunday to

Saturday, week after week, and the practical truth of what it costs to do those things? How eager

we are to have your prayers and insights as we do this work of discovering where God is leading,

and following in faith and trust.

At the retreat, one group was given the scenario of having to spend down all the resources of the

congregation in three years. They were not to wonder why the church was closing, but only to

decide what to do with all the tangible resources that were left when we did. And they refused it.

They simply could not imagine that it was in God’s plan NOT to have the First Presbyterian Church

of Hightstown present in this community at this time -- present so that we might come together in

worship, learning and fellowship to seek God’s leading, to strengthen our discipleship, to love one

another in real and tangible ways, and then that we might be led to open our hearts and our lives

to serve those in this community in need of the gifts God would have us offer. Amen to that!

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Elder Class of 2023

Tom Dilger grew up in Oceanport but was familiar with the Hightstown area because he graduated from Peddie. He moved here to be closer to his daughter and her family, and joined FPCH in 2018. After attending his first service here on Christmas Eve Tom said he fell in love with the choir, congregation and service. Tom's background is in finance. He is a member of the Sanctuary Choir and the Nominating Committee. He has also served as a Deacon, Class of 2022. Nancy Laudenberger has lived in Hightstown for 42 years and has been a member of FPCH for over 30 years. She previously served two

terms as Deacon and one term as Elder; she was also finance chair and is currently a member of personnel committee. Nancy has volunteered with Kids Club for 10 years and has participated in mission trips to Jamaica, Ghana and North Carolina. Nancy and her husband John have two children and four grandchildren. She served nine years on the Hightstown Borough Council, as member and past president of several local civic organizations and is currently the board president of RISE. Nancy loves the Jersey shore and exercise classes and binge watching shows on Netflix and Amazon.

Deacon Class of 2022

Jackie Hart is a life-long Presbyterian and has been a member of the church for over 20 years, shortly after moving to Hightstown. Jackie has two grown children: Jeremy and Jenna. She is a retired elementary educator from the East Windsor School District. She has served three or four terms as a Deacon and is a member of the choir and bells. Jackie has also attended mission trips to Jamaica, Missouri, Ghana and North Carolina. She volunteers at Grounds for Sculpture and NJ Farmers Against Hunger and sings with the Capital Singers of Trenton. She loves to travel and her favorite thing to do is to go into NYC and see shows.

STAR WORD!

Have you heard about them? Did you miss worship when we celebrated

Epiphany on January 12? That Sunday, we all had a chance to choose a

“Star Word” or to have it choose us. Star words – instead of resolutions we

make for ourselves, we picked a word that, with pausing and pondering, might

become an invitation from the Spirit to a pilgrimage this year, an invitation to a

different perspective on your journey, and on our journey together. Next year,

when we celebrate Epiphany on January 10, 2021, we’ll talk about the journey.

If you missed worship and would like a word, feel free to email Pastor Lisa or Office

Manager Sheri Devlin, pick a number between 1 and 100, and we’ll send you your word.

?

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OFFICER ASSIGNMENTS ELDERS Class of 2021 Carol Duryea — Chair, Nominating; also serves on Worship nomcom@hightstownpres.org Dave Marcus — Chair, Property property@hightstownpres.org Robin Reeves — Co-Chair, Mission/Outreach outreach@hightstownpres.org Abi Rivenburgh — Chair, Christian Education abiandbrent@aol.com

Class of 2022 Mark Dahlinger — Chair, Finance Mark.Dahlinger@solvay.com Emily Gosnell — Serves on Fellowship Dilys Henninger — Session Clerk and Co-Chair, Mission/Outreach mission@hightstownpres.org Dave Teich — Graphics Design/Communication; also serves on Worship and Mission/

Outreach — communications@hightstownpres.org

Class of 2023 Tom Dilger — Chair, Personnel personnel@hightstownpres.org Dave Feffer — Chair, Fellowship; also serves on Nominating fellowship@hightstownpres.org Karen Klimpl — Chair, Worship; also serves on Fellowship worship@hightstownpres.org Nancy Laudenberger* — Will serve on Personnel and Christian Education

*To be installed at a later date.

DEACONS Class of 2021 Mearmon Davis-Walton, Vice Moderator Alan Fisher Dick Van Hise Alex Willman

Class of 2022 Dolores Cleary Jackie Hart Shirley Olsen Kathy Zaiser, Treasurer

Class of 2023 Joan Newell Donna Scheifele Christine Vincent, Moderator Jan Watterworth

To contact the Deacons, email deacons@hightstownpres.org

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Lenten Soup Suppers return, Thursdays in March

March 5, 12, 19 and 26, 6:30-8 pm

Can we talk? Systemic racism in America has affected life both outside and within church walls. In order to live into the call to be a beloved community, people of faith must challenge themselves to face the ways that difference shapes their engagement in the world. Using a four part video series, "Trouble the Waters: Conversations to Disrupt Racism and Dominance," we will begin these challenging conversations in community with one another. We will explore the assumptions, biases, and structures that limit our faithful witness to be a body that celebrates each member.

We are so pleased to have this courageous conversation led by Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia. She has served the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in a variety of ways, including as the Vice Moderator of the 221st General Assembly (2014-2016) and currently as a member of the General Assembly Committee on Representation. She serves as the Transformational Pastor of Hillsborough Presbyterian Church and a consultant with the Vandersall Collective. She is passionate about racial and gender justice with a focus on the ways the Church is called to be the beloved community.

Can we talk?

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You’re Invited

on Ash Wednesday,

February 26th at 6:30 p.m.

A Simple Meal followed by a

Worship service in the

Sanctuary with imposition of

ashes.

THE MAGIC OF COFFEE HOUR—AND YOU

For the past three years, it has been my privilege to be intimately involved in our coffee hour. But is it really a “coffee hour?” Actually, there are so many better ways to describe it: the “Fellowship Made Real,” the “Reconnecting with people after being shut in,” “Going beyond the Sermon,” and the “Leaning in to Your Neighbors” hour all come to mind. And actually — it can be far more than an hour: in our last session, people had a great, meaningful chat until almost 1 pm! Good food - and a little caffeine and good will - tends to do that to people!

Our Fellowship time after church means a great deal to many, and it would not have been possible in 2019 without these awesome volunteers. On behalf of the greater church, its members and visitors, the Fellowship Committee is very grateful.

That said - our small Fellowship Committee generally shoulders the responsibility about 40-50% of the time—which can be a challenge when we need to travel out of town, be with family, or have other commitments. Please consider the satisfaction of creating Fellowship for others. If you have not tried coffee hour, bear in mind that Committee members (1) are happy to help train and orient you; (2) can find you a partner if you don’t have one (two is best); (3) can help purchase supplies if you need it; (4) will help make those two hours fly by!

And if you have ideas for making Coffee Hour even better—we’d love to hear them.

—In Christ, Susan Matson smatson123@comcast.net

Anne Willis Dave Feffer Diaz family Donna Scheifele* Emily and Marsh Gosnell Jane Silverman Jeannette Schneider and family

Joan Newell Joan Gould Johnson family Karen Klimpl Kathy Zaiser Maggie Rider Nancy Laudenberger Reiss Family

Rivenburgh family Shirley and Warren Olsen David Teich Willman family Wilma Rosario* Warren Wilson, master coffee maker

*individually and with Fellowship Committee

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Mason Munzing February 1

Jillian Schneider February 3

Sean Palmer February 4

Adam Zaiser February 8

Sam Hutchison February 12

Barbara Klapsogeorge February 12

Rhyleigh Abazia February 16

Jeremy Hart February 16

Kady Olsen February 16

Debbie Warfield February 18

Katie Kichula February 21

Caleb Hinds February 23

Ian Pollard Torres February 25

Tyrone Davis February 26

Pat Conklin February 28

Dick Van Hise February 28

February Birthdays

Church Family Please remember the following members and friends of our congregation, who may be in need of your extra prayers this month...

Milly Brown, Jessica Devlin, John and Sally Grover, Dale Grubb, Bill and Lynda Harrington, Dave and Adrienne Moore, Dave Petrenka.

Congratulations to parents Steven and Kayla Anzuini, and grandparents Cathy and Rich, on the birth of Abby Grace Anzuini, born January 14, 2020, at 6 lbs. 7 oz., 21 inches long. She joins her older brother Rhett, who will be 2 in February, at home in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A Note from Lottie’s parents… Dear Pastor Lisa, Rob and I have enjoyed the several Services we’ve attended at Hightstown and are also so grateful to you and your generous congregation for the love and support you’ve shown Lottie (and Jack!). We have great admiration for you and the work you are doing at Hightstown. And despite all the demands on your time as a busy pastor, you’ve taken the time to mentor and challenge Lottie and help her grow in her calling as a pastor. As a small token of our gratitude to you Lisa, and to the congregation, we joyfully make this gift to Hightstown, to use at your discretion. Blessings and a Wonderful New Year!! Kim and Rob

*This note was accompanied by a very generous check.

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Scrip/Gift Card Fundraiser Gift cards for over 700 retailers are available for order,

and 22 local and on-line popular retailers are in stock for

immediate delivery. We surely have gift cards for retailers

you use on a regular basis! Going out to eat, planning

home or yard projects, downloading or ordering online,

shopping for groceries, household or drugstore items? We stock many of your favorites: CVS,

ShopRite, Olive Garden, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Dunkin Donuts, Wendy’s, Panera Bread,

Target, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Wawa, Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops and

more (we just started carrying gift cards for Wegmans!). We even offer a Visa gift card with

cash back from certain retailers and no activation fee! Be kind to your budget and raise some

well-needed funds for the Mission Trip Program while you leave your credit cards resting

safely at home.

Contact Carol Duryea at 609-448-5316 or visit the gift card table in Fellowship Hall during

Sunday coffee hour for a list of all available gift cards or to place your order. Thank you for

your continued support.

Did you know that you can order flowers to decorate

our Sanctuary on any Sunday? You can order

flowers in celebration or memory of someone or

something important in your life. When you order

flowers for the Sanctuary for a Sunday morning

worship service, let Karen Klimpl know if you plan to

keep the flowers or if the Deacons may deliver them

to someone who is ill. Also, it is important that

you contact Karen AT LEAST 10 DAYS before the

date you want the flowers for. If you would be

interested in doing this, please contact Karen Klimpl

at kar_b21@hotmail..com or 732-552-9707. Thanks!

Sanctuary Flowers The

Deacons collect non-perishable food items EVERY Sunday! You can place your food donation in the Food Bx at any time. The Food Box is located in the narthex. All donations are given to Rise, our community service center, and are distributed at their food pantry. THANKS! For more information visit http://rise-community-services.org/ or call 609-443-4464.

DEACON FOOD BOX

NEWSLETTER DEADLINE The deadline for the March monthly

newsletter is

Tuesday, February 18.

All materials must be submitted to

Sheri Devlin by that date.

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STAFF EMAILS

Pastor, Lisa M. Day Lisa.day@hightstownpres.org

Director of Christian Education, Mary Maleski mmaleski@hightstownpres.org

Music Director, Debby Tarby music@hightstownpres.org

Children & Youth Music Director, Julia Henry kidsmusic@hightstownpres.org

Bi-Lingual Kids Club Staff

kidsclubstaff@hightstownpres.org

Communications Director, Dave Teich communications@hightstownpres.org

Office Manager, Sheri Devlin sdevlin@hightstownpres.org

The First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown

320 North Main Street Hightstown, NJ 08520

Phone: 609 448-0055 Fax: 609-448-8634

Email: info@hightstownpres.org Website: www.hightstownpres.org

FaceBook: facebook.com/hightstownpres

SOUPER BOWL

SUNDAY Sunday, February 2, 2020

Bring cans of soup

wrapped with

currency and place them

in the soup container

in the lobby.

Soups will be given to the

RISE Food Pantry and the

monetary donations to the

Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.