Vol. 81 No. 5 May 2015 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10b Dear Friends, I love these Great 50 Days of Easter! It seems like we spend a lifetime hungering and waiting for God to show up when we face our hardest times. During the Season of Advent we prepare for the coming of Christ yet again into our midst with expectation & hope. In the season of Lent, we embark on that hard work of self-reflection, self-denial and repentance that brings us face to face with the ugliness and brutality of death on a cross. We become more intentional in our prayer lives, in our generosity, in our acts of worship and acts of mercy for the sole purpose of cleaning our interior houses so that when the reality of death hits us, we are prepared and ready to receive God’s goodness and love toward us in and through Jesus. And, then, halleluiah! Easter finds us! As the church we gather on Easter morning, ready to receive the light of resurrection. And the light does indeed come in the darkness in ways that are powerful and mysterious and wondrous. We learn that death does not have the final say in our lives, but that life does. We learn that in life, in death, in life beyond death that we belong to God. Each Sunday in Easter we grapple with who the risen Jesus is. He appears and we do not recognize him at first. But then he speaks to us and we know. Then he blesses, breaks and gives us bread, and we know. He shows up around a charcoal fire and asks, “Do you love me?”, and we know. We hear these words from John 10:10: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly!” And, we know. Something at the core of our very being knows that God in Christ comes to us and offers us new life out of God’s great love for us. This act of love at God’s initiative is holy and mysterious. We often fail to recognize it at first. Then the risen Christ calls us by name, speaks to our hearts and becomes a part of our very being in simple gifts such as bread and wine, oil and water. We come to know this in these Great 50 days and we give thanks. Praying that you encounter the Risen Christ during these continued days of Easter. Grace and peace, Pastor Walt Please be with us as we look forward to the promises of the Risen Christ as we celebrate Holy Communion at the banquet table on Sunday, May 3rd. Please be with us as we celebrate Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church on Sunday May 24th. Be sure to join us on Sunday, May 3rd for a Resurrection Celebration Heavenly Banqueting Table Holy Communion will be served in the Chapel National Day of Prayer at The Kroc Center Everyone is invited to gather at the Kroc Center in Camden on Tuesday, May 7th in observance of National Day of Prayer. The community event will begin at noon. Anyone in need of a ride please speak with Pastor Walt. Pedal for Promise Saturday, May 9, 2015 - 7:30am Pastor Walt will be participating in the Urban Promise Pedal for Promise. All cyclists are encouraged to raise $200+ through personal fundraising. Funds raised will help provide innovative, hands-on, experiential education to Camden’s teens. Donations can be made online to support Pastor Walt by visiting the link below. http://urbanpromiseusa.donorpages.com/ PedalForPromise2015/WalterMander/ ShopRite Gift Cards Please don’t forget about our ongoing ShopRite gift card fundraiser. Most of us take weekly trips to the grocery store. Next time instead of using your debit card or paying cash please consider pre-purchasing a ShopRite gift card from us and help in this fundraising campaign. Here’s how it works – Gift cards are available to be purchased from the church office during regular office hours or during fellowship time on Sundays. The cards are sold for face value and are available in amounts of $25, $50 or $100 and can be used during one or multiple visits until the entire value of the card is used. Each time a member of the congregation buys a shopping card WST receives 5% of its value as a donation from ShopRite. It is our hope that members of the congregation will get into the habit of purchasing these cards for their own shopping needs to help us to raise funds on a continuing basis. These cards also make great gifts for any occasion! This Month’s Birthdays & Anniversaries MAY BIRTHDAYS 1 st 3rd Beth Vasta Eurdine Moulier Memorial Sunday We would like to send a special invitation to veterans & first responders to come to our Memorial Sunday worship service on May 24th at 10:45 as we honor all those who served country as well as those serving our communities. Jackie Whitehead Brittany Whitehead The Food Pantry is requesting the following items: 7th Curtis Weller Kristen Curcio May Smiley 9th Becca Harris 10th Sandra Day Tony Stagliano Aiyanah Edwards 13th 15th 18th 19th 20th 22nd 25th 26th 27th 29th 31st As always, all donations are appreciated! George Reinas Kyle Perkins Frank Korhammer Merri Gordy SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION! John Perkins Courtney Bird Mike O’Shea Elizabeth Hodosheff Dottie Landolt Mesoma Ezeiruaku Cora Assenheimer 12th Janice Matthews Patricia Johnston Stephen Torok Helen Carrell Barbara Shiley Charles Holliday II Pastor Walt MAY ANNIVERSARIES 3rd Melissa & Bill Gray 7th Jeff & Julia Massey 12th 14th Diane & Robert Deeds Philip & Carol Swanson 19th John & May Smiley 29th Elaine & Charles Coward H A P P Y CHECK IT OUT 11th Canned meat or fish Condensed soup Canned vegetables Canned fruit Cereal 4th Registration is now open for summer camp at Pinelands Center at Mt. Misery. Visit their website www.pinelandscenter.org SUPPORT THE MISSION FUND AND A FUTURE WITH HOPE by joining us at a Trenton Thunder or Lakewood BlueClaws game to support Sandy recovery! All proceeds from our ticket sales will help Sandy recovery in NJ. TRENTON THUNDER 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 9th LAKEWOOD BLUECLAWS 7:05 pm. Wed., June 17th $10 PER TICKET Visit their website to reserve tickets http://www.afuturewithhope.org/baseball VISIT HISTORIC ST. GEORGE’S UMC MUSEUM America’s oldest Methodist Church Building is in Old City Philadelphia, at 235 N. Fourth St., between Vine and Race . Individuals as well as groups are invited to visit their museum which houses artifacts and documents dating from the late 1700s. Museum hours are 10am-4pm weekdays & Saturdays by appointment. Please call ahead to ensure availability. 215-925-7788 For more information visit their website http://www.historicstgeorges.org/museum send his blessings of comfort and healing to those who are hurting. May God bless us everyone! Hello friends! I think that everyone who reads my articles regularly has come to know that open with a comment on the weather. Well, lately the weather has been reminding me of a tale in Celtic folklore about the battle between the Oaken King and the Holly King. Twice a year on the day of the solstice, the kings do battle to see which one will rule the seasons. The Holly King has been putting up quite a fight, but just recently it seems as though the Oaken King is finally taking over. Spring has finally arrived! Debbie Curcio Worship Committee Chairperson May is National Egg Month, so I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you about some many virtues of the egg. Eggs provide high-quality protein, Just in the last couple of weeks we commemorated containing all the Holy Week. Every year, most of us love the tradition essential amino acids of beginning Holy Week singing The Palms by Jean our bodies need in a Baptiste Faure as we celebrate Christ’s procession near-perfect pattern. into Jerusalem. By Thursday of the same week, those same crowds have turned on Him. There was The misunderstood yolk contains an excellent a beautiful service at Pennsauken Methodist portray- source of the important nutrient, choline. Choline ing the events of that night. We continued with intake during pregnancy may be a key factor in the WST’s Good Friday breakfast where Shirley Weller development of infants’ memory functions and, later shared an inspirational message. The ecumenical in life, choline may improve memory capacity. The service returned this year and was hosted by Grace yolk gets its color from the yellow-orange plant Episcopal Church. Each pastor or priest who spoke pigments called lutein and zeaxanthin. Lutein and shared the message of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice be- zeaxanthin have been shown to reduce the risks of cause of His love for you and me. Sunday cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, the morning’s service was the Easter celebration was leading cause of blindness in those 65 and older. beautiful. I hope all were blessed by the love He showed us all. All of the egg’s vitamins A, D, E and K are in the yolk. Eggs are also a good source of vitamin B12 Thank you to everyone who made a donation in and B2 and many other nutrients, including a wide honor and/or in memory of loved ones. Your flowers variety of other vitamins and minerals. The yolk really looked beautiful in the sanctuary. A list of your contains a higher percentage of the eggs’ vitamins dedications was included in the bulletin on Easter than the white. and is also listed in this publication. Thanks to Cindy who also added your dedications to the slide Cholesterol? Chicken eggs are high in cholesterol, show on Easter Sunday. Each dedication brought but the effect on blood cholesterol is minimal when back special memories of those who now celebrate compared with the effect of trans fats and saturated Easter in Paradise. fats. Most healthy people can eat up to seven eggs a week with no increase in their risk of heart disAs we look forward to the next couple of months, ease. Some studies have shown that this level of remember that we will be having a special communegg consumption may actually prevent some types ion service on the first Sunday in May. We will also of strokes. have special services on Mother’s Day, Father’s But the story is different for people who have diabeDay, and Children’s Day. tes. In this ever-growing population, eating seven eggs a week significantly increases the risk of heart As always, a special thank you goes out to those disease. who volunteer to serve with worship each Sunday. As I close, I send out a special prayer for God to Barbara Wilson, RD Easter Dedications Thank you to everyone who made a donation in honor and/or in memory of loved ones. Elaine & Chuck Coward In memory of Nicholas Musulin Jr. and Wm. Mark Coward. Debbie Curcio In memory and honor of family and friends in glory. Thanking God for blessing us all with love both here and celebrating with Him. Sally Games In honor of the Games family & the Crothers family. in honor of Charles Games, Jim Weise, Constance Weise Baez & Jordanis Baez. Brenda & Billy Hamilton In memory of Warren Schalck, Bea Wilson and Charlie & Mary Howison. We love and miss all of you. Bernadette & Skip Harris In memory of Esther McAneney. Karen Hoffman In memory of loved ones. Peter & Pat Johnston In memory of Pennie Johnston and Peter & Vanson Delp. Walt & Kathy Mander In memory of Walt’s mom, Betty Sellars. Elaine McBride In memory of Sarah & Russel McBride. The Migliaccio Family In memory of Mary & Charles Howison. In memory of Susan & Paul Migliaccio. We miss you and love you. David & Pat Nelson In memory of our friends who have passed on. Mae & Harry Pray In memory of loved ones. Barbara Shiley In memory of my parents. Tony & Bobbi Stagliano In memory of our family members and friends now living with our Lord in heaven. Janice E. Stow In memory of my loved ones. Jack Thomas In memory of John & Marty Thomas; I love and miss you Mom & Dad. Cece Torok In memory of my parents, Vincent & Joye Lentini. Eva Vayo In memory of loved ones. In honor of my grandchildren. Joan H. Wells In memory of parents Helen & Dallas Clark. Barb & Dennis Wilson In memory of Betty Smiley and Matthew Wilson. The Tidings A periodic publication of Trinity United Methodist Church Office Hours Tues. - Fri. 9:00 am - 1:00 pm (856) 665-1806 Fax: (856) 665-9556 Email: [email protected] Sunday Worship 10:45 AM Website: www.gotrinity.org Visit us on Facebook 2015 Trinity United Methodist Church 36 W. 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