Dear CCGR Family,
February 14, 2021 Worship Service
Pastor Terry’s sermon title, Get on With Living
Scripture Reading: Matthew 6: 24-34 Nancy Walters
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. This is the Gospel of the Lord.
As we all face challenges of many types, may we reflect on Pastor Terry’s message about “worry”‘. “Worries”‘ can cause consumption of thought, agitation, stress, and may even affect our relationship with God and our trust in Him. Putting God first as our primary focus and trusting in His guidance — reminding ourselves that He knows our every need — should provide us with the comfort and direction to face today’s ‘concerns’, so they will not become ‘worries’.
Here’s a prayer shared by Donna regarding this:
“I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today,
To guide you and protect you as you go along your way.
His love is always with you; His promised are true,
and when we give Him all our cares, you know he’ll see us through.
So when the road you’re traveling seems difficult at best,
just remember I’m here praying that God will do the rest.”
The words of the sermon combined with the beautiful music, “This I Pray” and “Come Follow Me” sung by Beth Valenti accompanied by Janet Montroy created the backdrop for contemplating how we can continue to put our trust and love in God first. One cannot focus on loving God and worrying both at the same time.
Grateful for our devoted Church members and staff: We are so grateful to have not only Pastor Terry but Janet Montroy and Boyd Lowry each week to help keep us all connected! When you have a minute, take the time to let them know how much you appreciate their work on our behalf.
PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER
“The value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us, but that we will finally hear God.” William McGill
We pray for Connie and the whole SInkway/Emery family. As Robin writes, “Connie Sinkway passed away peacefully at home on February 12th. She was so committed to Community Church, serving as high school youth advisor, church secretary, involved member of the Whole Life Academy, deacon and a member of the choir for 50 + years. She was a competitive tennis player and professional instructor, bridge player, golfer, cheerful, hard-working volunteer and was a super fan of all her kids and grandkids activities. Oh yes, we can’t ever forget her love of the football Giants and her Yankees (especially Jeter!). She kept a positive, fighting attitude, laced with a bit of sarcastic humor until the end. Her faith was strong and her friends and church family sustained her. Her family thanks you for your love and support.”
Please continue to pray for all of our church members and families. This has been a difficult time for almost all of us. Some of us because of loss and grief, some for health issues and some for other types of challenges. Most of us are struggling and are comforted to know others are praying for them.
Please continue your special prayers for: The family of Ruth and Richard Strickland, Phil and Elizabeth Gulmy, Kim Briggs, Carolyne Gulmy Monti, Jean Franklin, Bob Freudenrich, Janice Roed, Beryl Ferrari and Donna Nihen.
CCGR PRAYER CHAIN
The prayer chain consists of a small group of people who pray daily for people in our congregation- especially for those who wish to keep their needs and prayers private and confidential. For those more ‘private’ prayer requests, please email requests to:
Candy Hall at candy.hallccgr@gmail.com and Donna Nihen at blackvelvet1299@aol.com, and of course, Pastor Terry at pastor@communitychurchgr.com.
What’s Happening in the next few weeks:
Ageless Grace Continues at 9am on Wednesday mornings.
Come to Fellowship Hall or via Zoom –
Join Sara Lowry for our weekly Ageless Grace class- a brain health fitness program. The zoom link is sent to all members prior to Wednesday. To learn more about this program please go to agelessgrace.com
Save the Date: March 15, 2021
Join the Fight Against Hate! A conversation featuring Attorney General Grubir Grewal and other leaders whose goal is to educate and inspire action against hate. The Religious Communities of Glen Rock (RCGR) along with the Community Relations Advocacy Network (CRAN) and the National Anti-Defamation League (ADL) will be sponsoring this event. Panelists will speak about trends, taking action and joining efforts to conquer hate at all levels with a Q and A to follow. More information to come.
RCGR is continuing their weekly messages of hope, unity and healing each week on facebook.com/glenrockinterfaith.
Vision Planning Update! We want to hear from you!
Members of the Vision Planning Committee thank the choir and the rest of the Music Ministry for sharing their ideas about the church and our community through Zoom.
Over the next few weeks, the team will be inviting the Church School parents and members of the Prayer Chain to share their ideas. After that the team will be setting up Zoom conferences with individuals as well as those involved with some of our other church groups. We hope that when you are contacted, you will be able to find the time to take part. After all, it is the Community Church or, Your Church. Now more than ever, your input will be helpful in shaping the future!
CCGR Book Club
Next CCGR Book Club will be meeting via Zoom on
Friday, March 12th at 7 p.m.
“Born a Crime, Stories from a South African Childhood” by Trevor Noah
Everyone is welcome. Contact Kim Franklin at
kfranklin@mlschools.org is you want to join.
For other news around town:
Don’t forget to check glenrocknj.net and glenrocklibrary.org for additional community news and updates
And finally, please remember to support Community Church – your church:
You can donate on our website: https://communitychurchgr.com , set up auto-pay through your bank or pay by mail.
Thank you!