New Castle Presbyterian Church July 2023 Newsletter |
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND JOIN US IN-PERSON FOR: Hybrid Worship Every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 9 - Special Called Congregational Meeting & New Members Gathering Wednesday, July 12 - Camaraderie in Battery Park Sunday, July 16 - Compassion Camp: Vacation Bible School |
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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMITTEE |
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2023 VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: COMPASSION CAMP! Join us for our one night VBS on Sunday, July 16 from 4-7 p.m. Activities will be for children ages 4-10, and will include stories, crafts, games, music, and more! Cost is $5 per child, or $10 per family. Dinner included. Register by July 9! | | |
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NCPC SUMMER BOOK STUDY Help us wrap up this past year's theme of storytelling and dive into deeper discussion of what evangelism (sharing of the good news!) looks like today! Check out Yaconelli's Between the Listening and the Telling* this summer, and join Pastor Miriam for discussion and lunch at noon on Thursday, August 24, at Connie Reese's house. All are welcome! Please RSVP to Pastor Miriam by August 20. *Ebook, audiobook, and physical copies are available through the library! |
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WORSHIP & RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES |
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SUNDAY MORNING LEADERSHIP
We are in need of ushers and worship leaders throughout July and August. Take a moment to sign up today! |
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SPECIAL CALLED CONGREGATIONAL MEETING – SUN., JULY 9 Join us following worship on Sunday, July 9, for a Special Called Congregational Meeting to complete our officer slate. The Nomination Committee will nominate Peter McCurdy to serve as Elder Class of 2026 and Pat Taylor to serve as Nominating Committee Member-at-Large. | | |
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June: A Month of Cakes On June 4, we celebrated Pastor Alison Halsey and Bill Hathaway's ministry with NCPC during Pastor Miriam's maternity leave. On June 7, we celebrated Minerva Lermond's 90th birthday. On June 11, we celebrated Pastor Miriam's return to the pulpit. |
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CONGREGATIONAL LIFE COMMITTEE |
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NEW AND NEWISH MEMBER GATHERING – SUN., JULY 9 Anyone considering joining NCPC - or- liking what they observe and wanting to learn more - or - who has joined in 2023 is encouraged to meet other newbies at Greg and Susan Fogarty's home located 2 blocks from the church at 152 E 2nd Street. Join us there following worship for refreshments and an INCREDIBLE charcuterie tray. Please RSVP by texting Greg at (302) 437-4731 or Susan at (302) 530-7158. |
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CONGREGATIONAL CONCERT CAMARADERIE – WED., JULY 12 Bring a folding chair to Battery Park where we will informally gather at 6 pm and watch the Seven Rings perform at 6:30pm as part of Battery Park's Summer Concert Series. Lip singers, Hummers and Karaoke Chanteuses are all welcome! |
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FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH - FALL RETREAT 2023 |
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Come enjoy and worship in God's beautiful creation with NCPC at Pecometh Camp from Friday, September 22 through Sunday, September 24. (Join us for part of the time or the whole weekend; read the brochure below for more details!) Congregational Life has reserved space for tent camping, a pavilion for group meals, and worship space for Sunday morning. Cabins and nearby hotels are available for personal reservation too! RSVP now by filling out this form. |
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Blue Rocks Game Thanks to everyone who came out for the Blue Rocks game on June 16! A great time was had by all, and the home team won 8-5 |
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While June is formally the month of Pride, our call to love all of God's children is year-long! Members of New Castle Presbytery are organizing a "Covenant Conversation" event to support the people and congregations of New Castle Presbytery as they seek to become more authentic and creative in their welcome, affirmation and support of LGBTQIA+ people. It's a collaboration between the Covenant Network of Presbyterians (a national organization advocating and educating for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church) and New Castle Presbytery. We hope folks all different stages of their own journeys toward inclusion will come together, learn from each other, find inspiration and support, and strengthen relationships for improved ministry going forward. |
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The date has been set for Saturday, November 11, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Presbyterian Church of Dover! If you are interested in being a part of planning for the event or wish to learn more about participating, please contact the office. |
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MISSION AND OUTREACH COMMITTEE |
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A CHILD NEEDS YOU! Our mentoring program with local schools was put on hold during the pandemic, but we're gearing up to get started again this fall. Creative Mentoring provides the needed training for you to make a difference in a child's life. |
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Mentoring involves only half an hour to an hour once a week with a child who may be in need of only a caring adult to listen, play games, talk to or help with school work or organizational skills. This is not tutoring, it's more of an opportunity for a child to connect with a caring adult. |
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If you are interested in becoming a mentor, email Candy Dunson. If we have 3 or more new mentors, we can arrange for the training to be done as a group at our church. |
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Think Christmas in July!!! For those of us who love a good off-season bargain, it's never too early to be shopping for the Seamen's Center Christmas at Sea! Hats, glove, scarves and socks are always needed and personal items for the ditty boxes like combs, toothbrushes, deodorant, lotion, shaving cream, etc. can be dropped off in the box in the CE entryway any time! |
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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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A GREAT TURNOUT FOR THE MOES! The Mission and Outreach Committee recently had the pleasure of hosting Betsey and Eric Moe, our PC(USA) Mission Co-Workers for an afternoon in Old New Castle. The Moes are serving in Guatemala where they live with their children. Betsey is working at CEDEPCA and helps facilitate groups visiting Guatemala, where she recently joined us on our Presbytery trip there. Betsey and Eric are spending two months in the US, visiting supporting churches and sharing about how this impressive organization is transforming lives in Central America. The Moes are lots of fun and are doing amazing work, helping further CEDEPCA's work in education, societal change, climate disaster preparedness, justice and gender equity. |
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HIGHMARK WALK FOR A HEALTHY COMMUNITY Members of New Castle Presbyterian Church once again took part in the annual Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community on Saturday, June 10 at Tubman-Garrett Park and the Wilmington Riverfront. Amy and Scott Selheimer, Julie and Rob Barry, and Phee Price and Ken Boos took part in the 5K walk on the Riverfront, Pastor Miriam and Steven Foltz and Parker and Micah enjoyed their own "virtual" walk through Battery Park, and Gail and C.J. Seitz also contributed to the team total. The event raised over $90,000 for our friends at Friendship House in Wilmington. Over 600 people took part in the walk. Thank you to all who participated. Look forward to seeing you at the event in 2024! |
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DEACONS NEWS & MEMBER UPDATES |
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GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING REMINDER Springtime is upon us. And besides all the lovely flowers and budding trees, the insect population is also coming out of hibernation. If you are scheduled to do a coffee hour or other special event during the upcoming months, please remember to take home any leftover food and make sure trash is thrown out and counters are clean before you leave. Thank you in advance for your understanding. |
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BROWNIES Open call for brownie bakers for Emmanuel Dining Room! Ten batches of brownies needed in the church’s freezer by Tuesday, June 6. Boxes of mix are available in the church kitchen. Thank you! - Liz Toto |
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GIFTS OF LOVE What a way to start the year!! Thanks to the good hearts here at NCPC, we donated $3080 to St. Peter’s St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVdP) to benefit our neighbors who are facing a financial crisis. Since the moratoriums have been removed, landlords and utility providers are taking action against delinquent parties. With your benevolence, St. Peter’s SVdP will be able to help more people with more assistance. |
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Last year, the Deacons decided to turn over our program of assistance to St Peter’s SVdP. Our system did not allow for any inquiry regarding the callers’ circumstances. We simply granted $50.00 to each of the first 6-10 callers who reached us on the first business day of the month with the provision that they live in the 19720 zip code and would only be helped by our program once in 12 months, The St. Peter’s SVdP system allows for a more comprehensive intake process and for assistance with rent/mortgage, utility bills, purchase of oil and, if the circumstances justify, other emergency expenses. Knowing more about the caller’s situation allows the SVdP volunteers to suggest additional resources that may be helpful. We had hoped to make an annual contribution of $3,600 to St. Peter’s and exceeded that goal last year. Our first quarterly 2023 donation of $3080 gives us quite a good start toward overachieving our goal this year also. Other donors have also been generous and the extra money has allowed SVdP to increase the normal grant for utility assistance from $200 to $300 and to handle the price increase for oil. Look for the white Gifts of Love envelopes in the pews and give whatever you can. “There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up. |
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BEAR MINISTRY Do you know someone who couldn't bear without one of these comforting friends? | | |
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MEMBER UPDATES Congrats to Phee Price and Ken Boos who were married on June 14. Welcome to our newest members - Megan Graham and Maisy and Monroe Turnbull. |
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SYMPATHY OF THE CONGREGATION The sympathy of the congregation surrounds the loved ones of Beverly Denison, who died to this life at the age of 80, early on Tuesday morning at Christiana Care following a stroke. Bev married her husband, Rod, at NCPC in 2011, and she joined our congregation in 2012. Over the past decade, Bev served faithfully as a Deacon and regularly worshiped in the pew under the palladium window. We give thanks that for Bev, suffering has passed and that she now rests in Christ's peace. May the Holy Spirit comfort the Denison family, including Rod who is hospitalized at Kent General Hospital at this time, and Bev's two children, Carolyn and Jeffrey. A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held on August 5 at 11 a.m. in the Meeting House; more details to follow. |
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EVENTS HAPPENING IN THE AREA |
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4th OF JULY 2023 BELL-RINGING CEREMONY IN HISTORIC NEW CASTLE Join as we celebrate the 4th of July and the 18th century Delawareans who gathered in New Castle to support the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Children and families of all ages, regardless of age, faith, race or ethnicity, are cordially invited to attend historic New Castle's bell-ringing ceremony, which will be held at Immanuel Church on the Green from 1:30-2:30pm on the 4th of July. This free annual event is part of an ongoing national ceremony. When the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is tapped, bells in Philadelphia and across the nation will ring simultaneously, to officially commemorate the birth of American Independence. |
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