Dear CCGR Family,
As Pastor Terry shared in his Mother’s Day Sermon — “We were all brought into this world by a Mother; Mothers are blessed with a special inner strength and the capacity to love, unconditionally.” Mothers are our first friend, our first role model.
As Christians, we should always try to look to God as our role model — in good times, and in times of suffering. Peter (whose name means ‘rock’) was asked by Jesus to care for ‘the church’, and his mission became just that — to spread the word of Christianity, despite ridicule, rejection, and suffering.
Cheryl Wardrop’s scripture reading of 1st Peter 3:5-8 states that in order to serve God effectively, we should 1.) live in harmony with one another; 2.) be sympathetic towards others’ needs; 3.) love each other as brothers and sisters; 4.) be compassionate and caring; and 5.) be humble by encouraging and being happy for one another. If we lack in any of these character elements, we are disappointing God, offending Him, and sinning against Him.
Although we are tempted at times to get revenge if we’re hurt, scripture tells us we should do as Jesus did to those who hurt Him — to turn the other cheek, and to pray for our offenders. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are blessed to react with compassion and humility towards others, despite how they act towards us. And with this ‘unconditional’ love of and towards God, comes the center of Christian life — that we are ‘one’ with each other — that we are in ‘unity’ with each other. And for this, we may inherit a blessing as we continue to serve God faithfully.
Click on the below link and listen once again to this very meaningful message of ‘suffering for doing good’. The musical piano accompaniment of Janet Montroy’s “My Faith Looks Up To Thee” (Prelude) and “I Surrender All” (Poslude) , and the joy of hearing Ava Montgomery’s beautiful solo comprised of three familiar favorites — “Praise Him, All Ye Little Children”, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, and “Jesus Loves Me” made for a wonderful Mother’s Day Worship Service. Especially very heartwarming was Pastor Terry’s introductory words in which he shared the bittersweet remembrance of a very special and beautiful visit with his Mother. Thank you for this, Pastor Terry.
And not to go unmentioned, is our sincerest thank you to Boyd Lowry for his amazing Videography gift!
As we continue to remain in our homes during this pandemic, we ask that you continue to keep each other in prayer.
Please continue to keep the Sinkway/Emery family in your prayers, praying for Connie, as she remains in Valley Hospital undergoing testing, after being admitted a little over a week ago due to a vertebrae fracture from a fall. In addition, prayers are requested for Connie’s brother-in-law, Jack Sinkway, who is also in Valley Hospital at this time.
Additionally, please continue to pray for the Allen Family; the Bird-Bennett Family; Jeanne Franklin; the Janssen Family; the Gilligan Family (please note: the family requests that no phone calls be made at the present time to Terry G. at her home; however, sending notes and cards are appreciated); the Zucchino Family; & the Ruth Rankin Leaper Family; as well as for the Chadwick Family (for Tom’s Mother’s recuperation from the COVID virus); for Beryl Ferrari; for Bob & Doris Van Ostenbridge & for Rev. Wright and his family.
At this time, we ask our church family to keep our upcoming high school and college graduates in prayer. Typically, this is a time of mixed emotions, but more than ever this year as we are faced with social isolation restrictions due to COVID-19, we realize the disappointment of not being able to experience the same level of celebration as others have in the past. We hold all our graduates in our hearts in prayer.
Confidential prayer requests that you would like the small group Prayer Chain to pray for may be emailed to Candy Hall at candy.hallccgr@gmail.com
Again, please try to remember Pastor Terry’s “5 at 5” prayer suggestion — to stop what we are doing at 5:00 p.m., step outside on your porch if we are able to, and take 5 minutes to pray. And if you have children, encourage them to pray also, by writing or drawing prayers of their own, or have them use chalk to write a blessing or a special message on your sidewalk or driveway for those walking by to see.
Church School News (Reminder) ~~
Per Candy’s note in the May Currents, please be reminded regarding a couple of outreach projects the children (and their families) can participate in, if they so choose:
1. Continue sending ‘thank you’s’ to anyone who they can think of that have been of essential help (including healthcare workers) to you/them/or someone they know, during this challenging time.
2. Donating shelf-stable foods to Community Meals (which is based at CCGR). Drop-off collection site is 385 Bedford Road, Ridgewood, NJ. Community Meals (Inc.) is collecting shelf stable food items for the elderly, homebound, etc. to have on hand in the event CMI is forced to cancel a meal delivery during this time. CMI staff will use these foods to compile emergency bags of food and deliver to their clients who are homebound and most in need.
3. Update on Mask Donations for Christian Health Care Center —
Some good news response shared by Candy:
We dropped off 20 masks to Madeleine Barry for the Christian Health Care Center last week. Please read Madeleine’s response:
“What a wonderful surprise to receive the bag of cloth masks from you today!
I will bring them up to the Christian Health Care Center on Monday.”….
“Thank you so much for organizing this project, and I am so grateful to receive all the masks for the workers at CHCC.”
And on Monday: The masks were a hit! They were almost all gone in an hour. People said they were really well made and loved some of the designs and colors. Thanks again!
Madeleine Barry, who is working at Christian Health Care Center, has mentioned help could be made with making some cloth masks for the workers there. If you are gifted in this area, perhaps you might consider helping to make these makes as they are always appreciated and go quickly.
Thank You Notes to Essential Workers: Some of our Church families wrote thank you notes to some of our Essential Workers in the area. So far, the following groups received thank you notes from the Community Church families.
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Glen Rock DPW
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Valley Hospital ICU Workers
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Glen Rock Police Department
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GR Fire Department
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Glen Rock Volunteer Ambulance Corp
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GR Library
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Mail and More
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Glenn Rock Teachers
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Rock Ridge Pharmacy
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Glen Rock Custodians
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Glen Rock Post Office
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GR Office of Emergency Management
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Kilroys Wonder Market
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Glen Rock Medical Pharmacy
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Madeleine Barry
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Diane Herlett
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Phyllis Palsma
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Barbara Zucchino
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Valley Hospital Staff
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Pastor Terry
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Community Meals
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There were also notes sent to Essential Workers in Hawthorne as well. More to come on this!
Please reach out to Candy (candy.hallccgr@gmail.com) regarding Church School News.
Please continue to show your support to CCGR —
Though we cannot be together in person, we continue to be together spiritually as we face this health crisis together. We are gifted with our weekly virtual services and continue to pray for each other. If you’re able during this unprecendented time, please remember supporting Community Church in your time of giving.
~God Bless,
Donna