FPC Matawan to Host COFFEE HOUSE October 9th!

The First Presbyterian Church of Matawan is holding its Fall Coffee House / Fundraiser. Please come to watch and support our missions and the performers. Due to the need to limit the show to a reasonable time, we are asking that entertainers please preregister by emailing Graham or phoning the church at 732-566-2663.

Are you looking for the right preschool for your child? - Fall 2009

Come Join Us!

Celebrating 40 years of success in educating young children, Presbyterian Nursery School in Matawan is a cooperative preschool offering families a strong educational foundation.  We offer a variety of outstanding programs for children ages 2 1/2 through 5, and a curriculum endosed by experts.  Please contact us to arrange for a personal tour! 


School starts September 9th.  Limited spaces are still available, so contact us soon!

Call 732-566-9246 or write presbyns@optonline.net for more information

FPC History: Women on the Boards

While the history of women in Christian service at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan doesn't begin with their being elected to church office, it is well worth noting the names of the following pioneers for their achievement in breaking down the gender barrier to board membership.

The Session was established in 1820. Two women were first named to the board in 1959.

• Mrs Arnold C Massie
• Mrs William H Groft

The Board of Trustees was established in 1816. Miss J Mabel Brown was named as the first woman to the board in 1956 and became its first female President sometime before 1960.

The Board of Deacons was established in 1943. Six women were first named to the board in 1952.

• Mrs Henry Luhrs
• Mrs J Fred Robinson
• Mrs E Story Hallock
• Mrs John C Hessey
• Mrs Vernon F Beyer
• Mrs Walter Stamm

Note that Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, written in 1959, quaintly associates each of the married women with their husbands, so I don't have their first names at my disposal. Maybe someone remembers their names or could look them up in church records? It could be a reply to this posting or written up more formally in an upcoming Lantern.

Info Updates as of September 6, 2009

Six and One-Half Club: Looking for dinner & conversation? No Cooking? Join Us! Tuesday, September 22nd. Serving dinner at 6:30 pm in the Adult Lounge. Salad, Three Entrees, Vegetable, Dessert & Coffee/Tea. Cost: $13 per person. Reservations required. Click here to reserve, or contact Joe Kacirek (732) 566-6549 or Marian Rusnak (732) 441-7305. Sponsored by the Board of Deacons

Make Up Sessions for the Church Pictorial Directory are this week! If you missed the previous photo sittings for the new directory, there are going to be two more opportunities for church members to "Smile" for the cameras. To make reservations, click here, or check the church web-site and click on "Photo Sign Ups". The session times are Friday, September 11 from 2:30 pm - 8:30 pm, and Saturday, September 12 from 10 am - 4 pm.

The Mission Lunch will be held on Sunday September 20, and your Mission Commission invites you to attend this yearly event. It will take place in Fellowship Hall after worship. You will be treated to photos and hear about Joe and Sue Ritacco's, "Journey of Hope" interfaith trip to Turkey. A meal with some Turkish treats will be provided. No sign-up is necessary.

Aberdeen Day will be on Saturday September 26 at the Matawan High School from Noon until 5 pm. We need lots of help! If you have any of the following or can assist with transportation let Peggy Knowles ASAP, or contact the church office.

• A tent canopy
• Transport a Table and Chairs
• Water Cooler, water cups, garbage bags
• Mission Materials: Mission Matawan, Church Coffeehouse Sign Ups, Church Brochures, PNS materials and handouts
• 8 volunteers to monitor the table for an hour or so at a time
• Volunteers to help set up and break down the exhibit

College Student (and military) addresses needed!!! The Board of Deacons would like to keep in touch with our college students by sending "College Care Packages," and also keep them up-to-date on church activities by sending them the Lantern, but in order to do so we need their current addresses. Please contact Allison Schoelkopf or Julie Holowatch or the church office (732) 566-2663 with this information.

The Mid-Year Giving Statements are now in the narthex. If you have any questions regarding your statement, contact Peter Sliwowski, or call the church office.

Meetings this week

Monday, September 7

• Church Office Closed for Labor Day Holiday

Tuesday, September 8

• PNS Orientation: 7:30 pm - Fellowship Hall
• Nurture Commission: 7:30 pm - Room 209
• Worship & Music Commission: 7:30 pm - Adult Lounge

Wednesday, September 9

• Club 60: 10 am - Fellowship Hall
• Presbyterian Nursery School Begins

Thursday, September 10

• Chancel Choir: 8 pm - Choir Room

The Fall Worship Schedule resumes on September 13.

• Church School 9 am
• Chancel Choir 10 am
• Service of Worship 10:30 am
• Fellowship Hour 11:30 am

Coffee House - Friday, October 9 (Columbus Day Weekend) Contact Graham McKinley for details.

FPC History: Rev Robert B Berger (1936 - 1949)

In September 1936, when the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan was on Main Street and celebrating its 250th anniversary, the Reverend Robert B Berger was installed as pastor. Rev Berger came to Matawan from the First Presbyterian Church of Kingston in Kingston, New York.

During Rev Berger's tenure, which ran until 1949, there was such church growth that new hymnals had to be ordered. And the size of the Session had to be doubled, from 6 members to 12. The membership nearly doubled, growing from 271 to 490. The number of Sunday School teachers likewise nearly doubled, from 14 to 26 to teach 189 students, when only 110 students had been registered previously.

The church established its first Board of Deacons in 1943. According to Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, "These young men supervised ushering at services and, during World War II, prepared packages for men in service overseas."

The Presbyterian Church established the rotary system in 1949. According to the new rule, an Elder was allowed to serve a 3-year term with the option to extend one additional term. James S Brown, Jr, the editor of  Presbyterians Pioneer at Matawan, more than suggests that FPC Matawan had mixed emotions about the General Assembly's decision when he writes, "The wounds made by such a change were shared by the Matawan Church with all churches that were keeping pace with the times by making this adjustment."

The church began to enjoy their new status. A church secretary was hired in 1948. Every member was able to receive a personal copy of Presbyterian Life magazine. A silver communion service was given as a memorial gift. Chimes were donated. A brass altar cross donated in 1937 survived the 1955 fire to be used in the new sanctuary. And, by January 1949, the congregation formed a Building Committee to completely renovate the building and add a separate Sunday School building.

Rev Berger accepted a call to be pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Carthage in Carthage, Missouri. (The church's website is under construction but the church has a very active Facebook site, and the minister, Matthew Roberts, has his own blog.)

Upon his departure, FPC Matawan presented Rev Berger with a scroll, which read:

The First Presbyterian Church of Matawan, New Jersey, has had a blessed era of spiritual and material prosperity under Rev Berger's tireless leadership, and the severance of his ministerial relations leaves us with a deep sense of loss.

Children's Vigil

Reported by Joe Ritacco:

On September 15th hundreds of people are expected to come out and express the belief that "We Are One Human Family.

Ten communities throughout the state are holding Children’s Vigils on September 15 for the rights of children who risk being taken from their families because of immigration detentions or deportations.

Please join us on Sept 15th as we call for humane immigration reform that protects children and families.


For more info or to RSVP go to http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106331042554

The nearest vigil location to Matawan will be in Keyport at:
Keyport -- St. Joseph’s Church,
376 Maple Pl;
7:30 PM
Fr. Ronald Cioffi, 732-264-0322.

Presbyterian Nursery School Set to Open

The Presbyterian Nursery is just about ready to open. Hard to believe this will be their 42nd year.

I spoke with Administrator and Teacher Melinda Cavagnaro today, who assures me they are ready to start on Wednesday, September 9th. The classes, for young learners ages 3 and 4, are carefully structured by age and readiness.

Director Corky Farry says, "We are pleased to be offering an expanded Transitional Threes program this year. For the 2 1/2 year old almost potty trained 'young three', the parent can stay in the classroom and help. This program offers a graduated curriculum of learning through nursery rhymes."

The program is almost full. I'm not sure if it is too late yet, but you may call the PNS office to make inquiries at 732-566-9246.

PW Fall Gathering; Tower Hill Concert; Taiwan Mission Speakers

Monmouth Presbytery is announcing the following Upcoming Events on its website. Check the individual notices at the website for additional details, including directions, registration forms, and contacts.

• Presbyterian Women of Monmouth Presbytery will meet at the First Presbyterian Church in Belmar on 17 October 2009 to conduct business and dedicate a special offering. The scheduled speaker is the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Edwards. The church is at 600 Ninth Avenue in Belmar. Registration must be completed by 13 October. 
• First Presbyterian Church of Red Bank launches its Tower Hill Concert Series on Sunday 13 September 2009 with Eduardo Villa, tenor, and Charles Harris, pianist for a mix of opera, Broadway, and popular music. The concert begins at 7 pm. A free will offering will be collected to defray costs.
• Church members within Monmouth Presbytery have the unique opportunity to hear a pair of mission speakers from Taiwan on Tuesday 29 September 2009 at 7:30 pm. Four congregations are hosting a coffee and dessert mission evening at Lincroft Presbyterian Church, where the Reverend Choon Shik and Yen Hee Lim, R.N. will speak of their nearly twenty years of college ministry in the Far East. According to Presbyterians at Work Around the World: Rev. Choon Shik and Yen Hee Lim, R.N., serve with the Aboriginal College Ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), a work Choon initiated for the PCT. Choon works in Hualien with the campus ministries that he founded at two universities and four colleges. Yen Hee, a registered nurse, works at Bethesda, a handicapped children’s center, and travels to remote mountain villages with a mobile clinic of the Mennonite Christian Hospital. See their home page at the Outreach Foundation of the Presbyterian Church USA.
  

September-October 2009 Lantern Available

The latest Lantern is available online. After you read through it, be sure to note a number of calendar items, including:

• church school and adult ed resume on 13 September,
• a mission lunch is scheduled for 20 September, and 
• a stewardship fair and the CROP walk are set for 18 October.

Tim and Gloria Wheeler Experience Turmoil in Honduras

First Presbyterian provides mission support to Tim and Gloria Wheeler in Honduras, where a Presidential coup has made things quite dangerous for this missionary couple and the people they serve. Their July 2009 newsletter reads, in part:

In this situation, the line between truth and falsehood is the width of a razor blade (and both sides have been on both sides of that razor blade). It’s impossible to know the whole truth behind reported facts, actions, and statements; the climate has been one of chaos and division. We know of families that are on different sides of the issue, making even peace at home difficult. We find ourselves challenged to relate in a neutral way to friends, co-workers, and villagers since, as missionaries, we do not take sides in the political struggle. We continue to look for ways to stand in solidarity with the people we serve—the displaced, the landless, the incredibly impoverished, all of whom are so rich in spirit.