Community Presbyterian Church -- Grapevine September 2011


SEPTEMBER 2011 VOLUME VII No. 1

FROM THE PASTOR
Dear Members and Friends,

It seems that I cannot be part of a gathering anywhere where economic/job uncertainties do not come up in the conversation. Macro/micro/me economics...nothing seems to sound too good anymore.
And (it appears) everybody is a temp. This is a lonely psychic condition.
I hope (pray) that our church is a place where you do not feel like a temp.
I hope it is a place where you lovely good folk can come and find a “home.”
I know there is a tendency, when a person gets “depressed,” to hide out alone in one's room,
or basement, or whatever. But, ultimately, that cannot be good or healthy.
Again, I hope (pray) that our church is a place where you do not feel like a temp.
Come and join us this fall. Congregate. Sing, pray, hear some words of encouragement, and drink some coffee with your
friends. Or make a friend or two.

One final thing....

I read this little piece of wisdom years ago in Alexander Solzhenitsyn's, “The Prison Chronicle,” and
it has always stuck with me when I thought to engage in a bit of despair....

“It is enough if you don't freeze in the cold and if hunger and thirst don't claw at your sides. If your
back isn't broken, if your feet can walk, if both arms work, if both eyes can see, and if both ears can
hear, then whom should you envy? And why? Rub your eyes and purify your heart and prize above all
else in the world those who love you and wish you well.”

On the third rock from the sun, this is excellent advice. Come home to your Christian fellowship and
be with those whom (if you got to know them) you would prize above all else in this world. There are
a bunch of truly sweet people living here.

Yours for the whole ride home in Christ,


G. Benhardt Fraumann


FLOWERS FOR THE CHURCH
Here is a way to brighten our Sanctuary for worship. If you would like to take a Sunday, just sign the Flower Calendar on the kiosk in Fellowship Hall and Carol Varrecchia will take care of the rest. For $15, you will have two vases of flowers, and for $7.50 you can have a rosebud to celebrate a birth or other very special occasion. Children who are baptized will be honored with a rosebud at no cost. You can take the flowers home after the 10:30 a.m. service.
Please call Margaret in the church office by Tuesday of the week with the dedication for the bulletin insert. Send a separate check to the office marked “Flowers.” Please do not include flower money with your offering. For more information, call Carol at 973-962-7556.

“GRAPEVINE” BACK FOR THE FALL
Remember: Deadline is Tuesday, September 20 for the October issue. Send info to the Editor at ringthegrapevine@yahoo.com or call her with questions. Please ONLY send items in the MS Word 2003 format.
“Grapevine” Editor ~ Frances Knotts (973-962-4315)
Pastor ~ G. Benhardt Fraumann
Intern ~ Harry Roselle, Jr.
Office Manager ~ Margaret Lauder (973-962-7431)
Website ~ www.communitypc.org
E-mail ~ ringwoodcpc@aol.com

PLEASE NOTE: We really need your e-mail address!!
Don’t miss a “Grapevine” issue!! Visit our website NOW to subscribe!!
If you don’t have e-mail, let us know so a copy can be mailed to you. And there will still be several copies in the lobby for visitors to take home.

FALL CLEANING FOR CHIDAMOYO
An account has been opened at Treasure Hunt, formerly Sandi’s Consignment Shoppe, in Bloomingdale to benefit Chidamoyo Christian Hospital. This is a great way for the church to earn money for Chidamoyo, while you clean out those closets. You just donate your unwanted items to the shop under the account “COMMUNITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.” The church will receive 50% of whatever the item sells for. Painless, and helpful too! Checks will be made out to the church at the end of each season, based on what sold. Unsold items will be donated to charity.
For the spring and summer season, the church received a check for $175.75, so we’re off to a great start!

LOCATION: TREASURE HUNT
25 Main Street Donna Schwarz, Owner
Bloomingdale, NJ 07403

CALL FOR A DROP-OFF APPOINTMENT: 973-838-9077

WHAT YOU CAN BRING: Seasonal (FALL & WINTER) clothing, GENTLY used.
NEARLY NEW household items, All games must have all
pieces, collectibles, Etc.

WHAT TO MENTION WHEN YOU CALL FOR AN APPPOINTMENT: You will be dropping
off for the “Community Presbyterian Church.” Ask if there is anything that they are
currently not taking because of surplus.

WHAT THEY ARE ESPECIALLY IN NEED OF NOW: Women’s fall & winter clothing (Larger & Plus Sizes),
Boys’ fall & winter clothing (All sizes), Books on tape or disc

If you have any questions, call Sallie Crowe at 973-839-5472.

INTROSPECTIVE INSIGHTS, by Kerry Gibson

MOVING FORWARD

Well, it has been quite a busy summer for me this year. In order to finish my master’s degree in any kind of timely fashion, I needed to double up my efforts and take both a summer one course as well as a summer two course. Six credits in twelve weeks is quite a feat while trying to balance four kids and their schedules. The first summer session almost got the better of me; I really had a tough time with a particular professor. In the end, I survived the experience, and wouldn’t you know it, I learned a really valuable lesson in the process. This professor, unlike the other professors, does not like when students put part of their own “story” into the conversation. I had a tough time figuring out why until the end of my first summer session. Her comment on my last paper suddenly struck me and it all began to make sense. Her comment was that I was relying too much on my own experience. How true that statement was! The subject was psychopharmacology, and with my newfound friend, fibromyalgia, I was living in real time what I was studying. I had little room to focus on how the subject related to the rest of the world. Effective counselors should be able to disconnect themselves and fully focus on the client.
I believe I have reached a point in my life where I want to put my “story” to bed. I have grown to fully embrace the good, the bad, and the ugly and learn valuable lessons from it all. But, at the end of the day I realize that I am not unique, we all have had stuff, are having stuff, and will continue to have stuff. Those lessons just keep on coming, don’t they? With this in mind, I am going to switch gears a bit this year. I entertained giving up this forum so as to put a final period to things, but something kept telling me that I wasn’t done yet. So, if you will still have me, I will be trying my hand at what I feel are current issues. I touched on a bit of this when I wrote about a sense of entitlement that seems to have our youth, and many adults, heading down the wrong path. I believe this is how so many of us got so far into debt, and why the country itself needed a giant wake-up call.
My conversation with a family friend the other day sparked another current mentality that I think has contributed to the current state of our country. I think that a long with a sense of entitlement, many have developed “designer morals.” I don’t mean Gucci or Armani; I mean creating your own set of morals, kind of a la carte, to fit your lifestyle. In doing so, no one can hold you accountable. This idea really struck home with me when I was taking my ethics course. As a counselor I need to know the difference between ethics and morals. Morals define personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied. In other words, ethics point to standards or codes of behavior expected by the group to which the individual belongs. Unlike the structured sense of ethics, the definition of moral character is quite subjective or up for interpretation.
The Bible does provide a clear and simple definition of moral character: anything that reflects the character of God; but today, too many of us either have forgotten this, or have never had the chance to learn this. I cannot say what will have to happen in order for this to change; I shudder to think about it.

Middle School Youth Group (Grades 6 – 8)
Welcome to a new year of Youth Group!On September 18, we will be going apple picking at Maskers Orchards in Warwick, NY.We will meet in the church parking lot at noon and caravan over.Please bring a bagged lunch and a blanket so we can picnic in the orchard.The cost for the apples is $24.95 for a 20-22 lb bag and $12.50 for a ½ bag. Watch for details in the church bulletin and posted on the kiosk in Fellowship Hall.Bring your family and friends!Parents, we will need drivers. Come spend the afternoon in the orchard with us!In case of bad weather, we will have pizza and a movie for the youth group and friends only, meeting in the youth group room at noon.

Schedule for Sept & Oct:
Sept 4 – Labor Day Oct 2 – Youth Sunday – Stay in Sanctuary
Sept 11 – Meeting – during 10:30 service Oct 9 – Meeting – during 10:30 service
Sept 18 – Apple Picking (movie if raining) Oct 16– No Youth Group – Stay in Sanctuary
Sept 25 – Meeting - during 10:30 Service Oct 23 - Meeting – during 10:30 service AND
- Halloween Costume Party – 6pm-8pm
Oct 30 – No Youth Group – Stay in Sanctuary

The first Sunday of each month, youth will stay in the Sanctuary for the worship service and may help hand out bulletins, help with the offering, or read scripture.The second and fourth Sundays, we will have a meeting during the 10:30 worship service in the Youth Group room across from the gym, leaving the Sanctuary at the same time as Sunday School.Usually, on the third weekend we will have a social event; youth will remain in the Sanctuary for the worship service (please note that October’s activity is on the fourth weekend).If there is a fifth Sunday, there will be no Youth Group and youth should remain in the Sanctuary for the worship service.
Questions? Call me at 973-962-4367 or 973-945-4832 or email me at lavoiejohn@verizon.net
God Bless,
Nancy Lavoie
Middle School Youth Group Director

SENIOR HIGH YOUTH GROUP
We have a great year planned for our high school youth!! We will have at least one meeting and one activity each month. Meetings will generally be on the 2nd Sunday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the youth group room across from the gym. Occasionally, as a change of pace, we will meet for the Saturday worship service with a meeting afterward. Activities will usually be on the 4th weekend of the month. We will vary days and times to try to accommodate busy schedules.
Our first activity will be a Game Night on Sunday, September 25. Bring your favorite video and board games to play. We have PS2, PS3, XBOX and WII. You can also bring your own game system if you’d like to. Gotta have food!! We’ll also have snacks and drinks.
Come to play or just hang out!! As always, friends are welcome!!
Mark your calendar: September 11 — meeting at 7 p.m. in Youth Group Room
September 25 — Game Night at 7 to 9 p.m. in the Church Gym
Questions?? Contact Nancy Lavoie at 973-962-4367 or 973-945-4832 or e-mail
lavoiejohn@verizon.net
Contact Brian Gamarello at 973-943-3296 or e-mail bgamarello@daytopnj.org

RINGWOOD FRIENDS OF MUSIC CONCERT SEPTEMBER 25
The Antara Trio, featuring Harold Jones on flute, Ashley Harris on violin and Erasmia Voukelatos on piano will perform a concert at church on Sunday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m. Back by popular demand, this group will present a varied program of masterpieces by Telemann, Schubert, Chaminade, Dutilleux, as well as spirituals in classical arrangements. These artists have performed in such hallowed venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Boston’s Jordan Hall.
As with all Friends of Music programs, this free concert will be followed by a “Meet the Artists” reception. Everyone is welcome to come out and support quality music so close to home!!