* * * * *

Message from the Pastor

Acts 2:42
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Last fall our church adopted the theme “Get Connected” as a part of our outreach program. The idea is to help people of all ages get better connected with God, with one another and with the community. We also launched the Coffee House Worship experience on Sunday evenings at 5 PM with the same name. We often call it the Get Connected Café. It is a warm, friendly, vibrant place where people can come as they are to talk, share, laugh and worship.

Now, we are ready to take the “Get Connected” theme to the next level. We need to be better connected to each other as a church family. We believe that every person in the life of the church from the very youngest to the very oldest is important. We believe that we are all created in God’s image. We believe that each person has special God given gifts and abilities and talents. We all have important cares and concerns, thoughts and ideas. Yet sometimes, because of our busy schedules and activities, we don’t have the opportunity to truly share our thoughts, ideas or failings with other members of our church family.

In response to this special need, we have created a fun, comfortable way for the members of our church family to get better connected. During the month of April we will be holding small group gatherings which will be hosted by our Elders and Deacons. Every person in the life of the congregation will receive a special invitation to be a part of a small group. It will be a fun, informal gathering where each person will have an opportunity to share and an opportunity to listen to one another.

This exciting new endeavor will only be successful if everyone in the life of the congregation participates. We need everyone to be involved. Please respond to the invitation you receive and plan to participate in your small group gathering. Please call the church office with any questions or concerns.

Blessings & Peace,
Pastor Wanda

* * * * *

Calendar for April 2008

EVERY SUNDAY

• 9:15am ~ Choir Practice
• 10:30am ~ Worship Service (Sunday School & Child Care)
• 11:40am ~ Fellowship Hour
• 12:00pm ~ Lunch with Kevin (Club 413)
• 5:00pm ~ Get Connected Café service

EVERY MONDAY

• 10:00am ~ Recovery Group

EVERY THURSDAY

• 10:00am ~ Thursday Ladies
• 8:00pm ~ Recovery Group

* * * * *

Quick Notes

NEW MEMBERS/INQUIRERS CLASS & LUNCHEON
SUNDAY APRIL 6th
12:00 – 1:30 PM
Anyone interested in learning more about the Presbyterian faith or interested in becoming a member of this church is encouraged to attend the next scheduled meeting. A light lunch will be served. Please meet in the Library.

Brunch Out With Friends
Sunday, April 6th at 12:30 PM. Please call Barbara McVeigh at 358-4617 to make your reservations.

Congratulations Tim!
Tim Belford officially became an Eagle Scout on January 19th, 2008. Tim’s Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony will be held on April 14th, 2008 at 7:30 PM at the VFW Hall, 68 Lincoln Road, Franklin Square. The ceremony takes about an hour and refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited to attend this special ceremony with Tim and his family.

A 'WISH LIST' FOR OUR CHURCH
In recent years, our church has benefited from the faith and generosity of many members who underwrote a much-needed improvement that our operating budget could not afford. These important contributions enhanced the life and ministry of the church. Should you ever feel the desire (and have the resources!) to make a special gift to the church, here are some big and small ideas for consideration:

• Restroom upgrades
• Communion preparation area
• Exterior painting
• Finance office furniture (upstairs)
• Fire door installations
• Folding chairs
• Kitchen renovation
• Sahara Room renovation
• Sanctuary air conditioning
• Technology upgrades

If anyone ever wants a cost estimate for one of these projects, please contact the church office.

Faith in Action
The Garden City Clergy Fellowship sponsors an Interfaith Sandwich Making Event each month. The sandwiches are distributed to the hungry in the L.I. area through the Soup Kitchen run by the Interfaith Nutritional Network in Hempstead. In February the event was held here at the Presbyterian Church in Garden City and was very successful. There will be 2 Sandwich Making Events in April. The first will be held on Sunday, April 6th at the Garden City Jewish Center on the corner of Nassau Blvd. & Newmarket at 12:30 PM. The second event will be held on Saturday, April 12th at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City at 11 AM. Children, youth & adults are encouraged to put your Faith into Action.

* * * * *

Music Notes

We would like to thank our Senior Choir, Handbell Choir, instrumentalists, soloists, and Sunday school students for the wonderful Holy Week and Easter music. It was magnificent! It was great having the additional people participate in our “Lenten Musical Journey”. The extra voices really made a difference! Thank you everyone, so much!

Special Handbell Concert: Saturday, April 19th, at 7PM: The Westminster Choir College Concert Handbell Choir – the most famous handbell choir in the world – and featuring the world’s largest set of handbells (90 handbells plus 73 handchimes), will give a special concert at The First United Methodist Church, 25 Broadway, Amityville. Free will offering. This is a rare opportunity to hear this excellent ensemble perform on Long Island. Watching them perform is almost as much fun as listening!

* * * * *

Bible School 2008
June 29th through July 3rd

Discovering Jesus' Miraculous Power!

Parents: be sure your kids have the greatest summer ever by sending your kids to Power Lab, where they’ll discover Jesus’ miraculous power! Power Lab is great fun for children ages pre-school 3½ yrs - 5th grade 10 yrs.

The fun starts with Orientation on June 29th from 1-3 PM and then continues on June 30th – July 3rd from 9 AM - 12 Noon.

Call the church office at 516-354-1848 to register your children for this awesome power-packed adventure! Registration fee: $45.

* * * * *

Camp Holmes Parent Child Fishing Getaway

Join us Friday & Saturday June 20-21, 2008 for a fun-filled Parent Child Fishing Getaway! What an amazing opportunity to spend a night away from every day life with your child in the beauty at Camp Holmes!

We will begin with registration at 6:30 PM and enjoy dinner at 7 PM followed by a song and story-filled campfire ending the night with S’mores! Saturday morning will begin with fishing instruction before breakfast; breakfast will be at 8 AM, a morning spent with the fishes and a picnic lunch lakeside!

Fishing license required for participants over 16 years of age.

Fees:

$120 per parent and child
Friday and Saturday includes:
3 meals Friday dinner through Saturday picnic lunch and overnight lodging.

$55 per parent and child
Saturday only includes:
2 meals Saturday breakfast and picnic lunch.

Registration forms are in the church office. For more information please see Wendy Boysen.

* * * * *

LUNCH WITH KEVIN

My typical Sunday finds me at church. I get to church in the morning for worship. Then, after worship, I go out and grab lunch, which I bring back to the church and eat at the desk in the C.E. room. While I'm eating my lunch, I'm working on the Get Connected service and, lately, fixing the C.E. laptop. It's a fairly boring time, and usually I don't get much done while I'm eating. Around 3:30, I go downstairs and set everything up for the service: the projector, the music, sometimes the coffee. Then we have the Get Connected service, after which I clean up and either go to Club 413 or go home.

I know. You're jealous.

Well, to make the day more exciting (and since I'm here anyway and have nothing other than busywork to do), I'm inviting the youth of the church (Club 413) to stay after morning worship and have lunch with me! This auspicious occasion shall commence on the 9th of March (you guys are staying anyway to stuff Easter eggs, so we may as well feed you!) After that, bring a couple of bucks or a bag lunch (we'll figure that part out as we go along) and join me for a nice, informal, after-service lunch. Hope to see you there!

* * * * *

It’s Time to C.O.O.K – Clean Out Our Kitchens

The Long Island Council of Churches urges you to do some spring cleaning – and to remember your neighbors in need as you clean out your kitchen and pantry.

The LICC, like many other charities, is struggling to feed a growing number of Long Islanders. “Donations have been strong,” explains the Rev. Tom Goodhue, Executive Director of the Council, “but every month more and more people come to us for emergency food.”

Do you have anything that needs to be cleaned out of your cupboard? Fancy jellies and jams you received for the holidays that you probably will never eat? Flavored coffee that is not your cup of tea? Why not donate them instead to your local emergency food pantry? The LICC and other emergency food pantries will gladly take non-perishable food of any kind.

Monetary donations are always welcome, too, but even if you do not think you can afford to make a financial contribution to feed the hungry, you may have food that you will never eat, food our neighbors need. This is a great time to go through the canned goods and give away anything that you are not going to use that is not dented, many years old, or otherwise inedible.

A food barrel is located in the Narthex for your donations.

* * * * *

Senior Connections

The Garden City Public Library presents a series of Senior Connections Public Forums.

Recognizing the increasing size of the senior population in the community, Senior Connections will hold a series of informative and interesting Public Forums on topics related to life in the senior years. The programs offered this spring will be conducted in the large meeting room on the Library’s lower level and refreshments will be served. An elevator is available.

“Elder Law” Wednesday, April 30th, at 1:30 PM Ellen G. Makifsky, Esq., who specializes in elder law, will talk about the intergenerational concerns of protecting your family and your assets.

“Life in Retirement” Tuesday, May 20th, at 1:30 PM A panel of retirees will share stories about their retirement experiences.

* * * * *

The online newsletter is an abridged version of the printed one, which can be found at the church.

ARCHIVE: Feb 2008