New Castle Presbyterian Church September 2024 Newsletter |
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND JOIN US IN-PERSON FOR:
Hybrid Worship Every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, September 1 - Start of Clothing Drive Wednesday, September 4 - Choir back in session @ 7:30pm Thursday, September 5 - Celebration Ringers back in session @ 7pm Sunday, September 8 - Kick-Off Sunday
Backpack Blessing during worship: bring your school or work bag! Saturday, September 15 - All Ages Sunday School (12-1pm) & Youth Group (12-2pm)
Community Open Mic Night @ 6pm Saturday, September 21 - Presbytery Meeting at First & Central Presbyterian
Sunday, September 22 - Guest Preacher, Shannon Kearns
Saturday, September 28 - Blessing of the Animals @ 4pm
Campfire & Cook Out @ 5pm
Sunday, September 29 - Guatemala Partnership Presentation during Coffee Hour |
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SUNDAY MORNING LEADERSHIP We are in need of ushers and worship leaders throughout September and October!
Take a moment to check your calendars and to sign up today. |
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BIBLE STUDY WITH THE PASTOR Gather on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall with Pastor Miriam for a weekly Bible Study. We'll read and discuss the upcoming Sunday's Scripture passages. No need to RSVP; come and join the conversation! |
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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMITTEE |
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BLESSING OF THE BACKPACKS - SEPT 8 During our Scripture Conversation this Sunday, we will bless our school bags (and work bags!) at the start of a new year of learning. Bring your backpacks, diaper bags, briefcases, tote bags, or whatever bag with you to worship! |
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SUNDAY SCHOOL & NURSERY - SEPT 8 Fall Sunday School and Nursery care returns on Sunday, September 8. All children must fill out new registration forms to participate. Forms were mailed at the end of August; extra copies are available on Sunday morning and on our website.
If you're interested in serving as a Nursery volunteer, please contact: Molly Shaw. If you're interested in serving as a Sunday School volunteer, please contact: Melissa Boris. |
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ALL AGES SUNDAY SCHOOL - SEPT 15 This Fall, every Third Sunday from 12-1, we'll offer Sunday School for all ages in the Fellowship Hall! Over lunch, we'll gather for conversation and activities. September 15 - Bible Discovery October 20 and November 17 - The Gospel According to Bluey December 15 - Advent Programming |
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NCPC YOUTH GROUP KICKS OFF - SEPT 15 We're organizing a Middle and High School Youth Group to meet monthly this fall. If you are a youth or know a youth interested in participating, contact Pastor Miriam or Melissa Boris to learn more. Additionally, if you're interested in volunteering and supporting the youth group, let the CE Committee know. |
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FALL BOOK DISCUSSION Thanks to everyone who attended our discussion on Lamott's Somehow!
We're planning a Fall Book Discussion on Debie Thomas' A Faith of Many Rooms. We'll gather on October 30 at 3 p.m... location TBD! Let Pastor Miriam know if you'd like to participate. |
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CONGREGATIONAL LIFE COMMITTEE |
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BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS - SEPT 28 Good Doggie, Kitty, Fishy, Ground Hoggie! On Saturday, September 28 at 4 p.m., we will have a Blessing of the Animals event outside of the CE Building. Creatures of all shapes and sizes are welcome. If your pet doesn't travel well or play well with others, bring their picture or one of their accessories to be blessed. And feel free to invite one of your pet's friends as everyone would benefit from a blessing! |
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NCPC FALL CAMPFIRE & COOKOUT - SEPT 28 Join us at 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 28 for a campfire and cook-out at Connie Reese's house. Bring a camping chair and join us for an evening of fellowship and fun around the campfire! RSVPs to Connie Reese or Jen Dunham are appreciated, and volunteers are welcome to help with grilling and shopping beforehand! |
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The City of New Castle has talent galore! Plan on coming to the next Open Mic on September 15 @ 6:00pm and hear it for yourself! |
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NCPC MEN'S GROUP - Please contact Steven Foltz to share ideas and get involved. All ages are invited to attend. |
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GUEST PREACHER - SEPTEMBER 22 Join us in worship on September 22 as we welcome Pastor Shannon Kearns to the pulpit!
A former fundamentalist who became the first openly transgender man ordained to the Old Catholic priesthood, Shannon TL Kearns believes in the transformative power of story. As an ordained priest, a playwright, a theologian, and a writer all of his work revolves around making meaning through story. He is the co-founder of QueerTheology.com. His first book In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey With Scripture is published Eerdmaan’s books. He has three books forthcoming: No One Taught Me How To Be A Man: What a trans man's experience reveals about masculinity (Broadleaf), Come and See: A Youth Devotional (Hodder Faith), Reading the Bible Through Queer Eyes (HarperOne, co-written with Brian G. Murphy). |
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Shannon is a Humanitas New Voices Fellow for 2022 and was a recipient of the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship in 20/21 and he was a Lambda Literary Fellow for 2019 (in playwriting) and 2022 (in screenwriting) and a Finnovation Fellow for 2019/2020. He is a sought after speaker on transgender issues and religion as well as a skilled facilitator of a variety of workshops. His work with Brian G. Murphy at QueerTheology.com has reached more than a million people all over the world through videos, articles, and online courses and community. |
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M&O CLOTHING DRIVE IN SEPTEMBER September marks our popular annual clothing drive for Friendship House. Refresh your life (and your closets!) by donating your new or gently used, clean clothing and school uniforms to Friendship House. Donations can be brought to the church and left in the second room on the right on the second floor of the CE building, or if that's difficult, in the entryway. We'll collect them all through the month of September. Let's see those bags pile up! |
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Women plant 15,000 trees in Guatemala By Carol and Bruce Shumway, Trinity Presbyterian Church One morning about two weeks ago, board members of the Association set out from the office at 5:30 am to begin a massive endeavor: deliver 15,000 tree saplings to five groups of women in nearby communities. Each woman was then responsible for planting the 125 trees she received near her home. These women are learning to become true arborists and serve as reminders that we are all called to be environmental stewards within our communities. |
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Guatemala, “The Land of Eternal Spring,” is also know as the “Land of Trees.” Thirty-five percent of the country is covered by forests that foster a very diverse ecosystem. Having visited Guatemala and climbed to 10,000 feet elevation to witness the restoration of forest land first-hand, we have been inspired to encourage our church to continue to fund this environmental stewardship project. Reforestation is essential to Guatemala and all of Central America as forests continue to disappear due to clearing for agriculture, firewood supply, population expansion, and climate change.
Thanks to the support of Trinity Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church this project continues year after year and is literally putting down roots to help reforest the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Both congregations are committed to promoting environmental justice and stewardship around the globe. This partnership is grateful for their ongoing support.
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Do You Know the Bible? Women Flourish Reading the Bible with New Eyes In this year 2024, the Association of Mam Christian Women for Development offered a new course to its members called Knowing the Bible. We started with our first group of 20 women who came from many different villages. This four-part diploma course is taught by our partner CEDEPCA and begins with a class called Introduction to the Bible. |
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MEALS ON WHEELS One week each month, NCPC volunteers deliver meals to our homebound neighbors. The route takes about 60-75 minutes and covers just the New Castle area. We are looking for a few additional volunteers to deliver meals one day a month or on a substitute basis. Please give this volunteer opportunity your prayerful consideration; together, we get to do Christ's work of feeding and visiting our homebound neighbors. If you want more information, please contact me at 302-328-7346 or email me at suzieflook@hotmail.com. Thank you! - Susan Flook, Meals on Wheels Coordinator. | | |
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GIFTS OF LOVE In Romans 12:13, Paul urges us to "Share with God's people who are in need”. So far in 2024, we have received donations of $1,468.00 to be dispersed to the St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Peter’s church in support of our mutual efforts to assist our New Castle neighbors in need. This donation will go a long way to help relieve the staggering need that is expressed almost daily. We get calls from people having to choose whether to pay the rent or medical bills or car repairs or utility bills. If you can pay yours without having to choose, you are very blessed. Your contributions will absolutely bless others. We also donate food items for the St Peter’s food pantry. The pantry is experiencing an abundance of tuna, peanut butter and dry cereals but not so much mayonnaise, jelly, and powdered milk. So, while all items are appreciated, mayonnaise, jelly and powdered milk are really needed at this time. Thank you NCPC for being such good neighbors. To God be the glory! |
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EPIPHANY HOUSE DINNER SIGN-UP Epiphany House (722 N Union St.) is one of Friendship House's transitional homes for women. NCPC provides a dinner on the second Thursday each month. Two volunteers are asked to arrive with food at 5 and plan to stay for the meal. Dinner is over by 6, and residents clean up! For meal inspiration and dates, the sign up sheet is in the Fellowship Hall. Contact Scott Selheimer with any questions. |
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DEACONS NEWS & MEMBER UPDATES |
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BROWNIE BAKERS Every month, NCPC volunteers prepare a meal for Emmanuel Dining Room in Wilmington. You can help feed our neighbors by baking a batch of brownies! Mixes are available for pickup in the CE Building; please return baked brownies in a sealed ziploc bag.
Brownies are due into the kitchen by September 6. |
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SYMPATHY OF THE CONGREGATION Dean MacEwen The sympathy of the congregation surrounds the loved ones of Dean MacEwen who died to this life at the age of 96 on Monday, August 5 at home surrounded by his family. Dr. Dean and his wife, Lynn, joined NCPC in 1994. Over their thirty years of membership, Dean served Christ in many capacities, including on Session, on the Pastor Nominating Committee that called Pastor Nancy Rowland, and as a Communion Server. In his professional life, Dr. Dean was a renowned Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon whose teaching skills inspired many medical professionals. In and beyond the hospital, Dr Dean cared deeply for his patients, including his many New Castle neighbors. We pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the MacEwen family, especially Lynn, their five children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We give thanks to God that Dean now rests in Christ's peace. |
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Lynn MacEwen The sympathy of the congregation surrounds the loved ones of Lynn MacEwen who died to this life at the age of 93 on Sunday, August 18 at home. Lynn and her husband, Dean, joined NCPC in 1994. Over their thirty years of membership, Lynn served Christ in many capacities, including on Trustees, on the 350th Anniversary Committee, and as a Communion Server. Throughout the MacEwen's 70 years of marriage, Lynn was an incredible partner to Dr. Dean, as well as a loving mother to their five children. We pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the MacEwen family, especially their five children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We give thanks to God that Lynn and Dean now rest in Christ's peace. Dean's obituary and service details are now available here and Lynn's obituary is available here. |
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Gisele VonRhein The sympathy of the congregation surrounds the loved ones of Gisele VonRhein who died to this life on August 17th at the age of 97 in California. Gisele and her husband, Wolfgang, joined NCPC in 1981. Over their many years of membership, Gisele served Christ in many capacities, including as a Deacon. In 2010, Gisele and Wolfgang relocated to California to be closer to their children; Wolfgang died in 2011. Gisele is remembered by many for her love of the French language and her warm spirit. We pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the VonRhein family. We will share obituary information for Gisele as they are available. |
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