(photo credit: Donut_Diva on Flickr)

He is risen, indeed!

As we celebrate the resurrection of our risen Lord this Easter season, let us remember our thoughts and prayers that had lead up to the event. Our lives, our gifts and our talents are a gift from God’s amazing grace and we are called to go out into the world and share that love that was first given to us.

Come join us in prayer at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Pompton Plains, NJ, and sing and rejoice with us. Services are held weekly at 8:15 AM and 10:30 AM, with a Christian education Sunday school hour at 9:00 AM, as well as a Fellowship coffee hour at 11:30 AM.

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

As we enter into the Lenten season, we are reminded that we are simple and delicate creatures. We permit ourselves the opportunity to gaze into the mirror of the past and reflect on our past promises, to accept what we have done. Recognizing our condition, we seek to humble ourselves before God and remember that the gifts of love and life we receive were meant to be shared with one another.

Tonight’s Ash Wednesday service will be held at 7:30 PM, February 6th.

Everyone is invited to commune with us in prayerful reflection with a nourishing meal of soup and bread, every Wednesday evening starting at 6:30 PM before the 7:30 PM mid-week Lenten service during this season, starting February 16th.

We will have three worship services on Christmas Eve this year, Monday, December 24th. The first service will be held at 4:00 PM and is oriented towards children and their families. At 7:00 PM, we offer a worship service of carols. The 11:00 PM service is our traditional candlelight service of carols and worship. Our holiday communion worship services will be held on Sunday, December 23rd at 8:15 AM and 10:30 AM, and Sunday, December 30th, at 10:30 AM.

Sunday, December 23rd

• 8:15 AM
• 10:30 AM

Monday, December 24th

• 4:00 PM
• 7:00 PM
• 11:00 PM

Sunday, December 30th

• 10:30 AM

We welcome everyone to come rejoice with us. Christ is Born! Glory to God in the Highest!

We are reaching out to help the local communities during this Christmas season. During the next several weeks Our Saviour will be a drop off point for Toys for Tots. Toys should be new. They should not be wrapped.

We are also collecting pajamas for children in shelters in the metropolitan area. The pajamas should be gift-wrapped and marked with the size and “girl” or “boy”. PJs can be from infant to teenage sizes.

This year we also want to encourage you to try an alternative giving program. It is the perfect gift for Christmas stockings. All the monies will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to purchase insulation for homes, or to Bridges to purchase socks and hats for the homeless, or to Our Saviour for our children’s ministry. A gift card will specify which organization will receive the gift based on the donor’s request. This gift offers a twofold blessing, one to the recipient of the card and one to those who serve our community.

The children in our Sunday School are making cards to send to critical or terminally ill children around the country to bring a moment of joy to these families. During the year our youngest classes color pictures to distribute every month to nursing homes, veterans homes and others who request them.

Members of the community are welcome to contribute toys, pajamas or gift cards to help bring joy to those in need. The church will receive donations Tuesdays through Thursdays, during the hours of 10AM to 12PM noon, from November 27 through December 12. Gift cards must be ordered in advance. We will have a dedication and blessing of these gifts on December 9 during the 10:30 AM worship service. Everyone is invited to join us as we offer thanks and dedicate these gifts into a service of bringing joy of the season to the members of our community. The toys and pajamas will be delivered during the week of December 16.

As we are blessed, we will be a blessing to others.

Sunday Worship Services
8:15 AM - Service of Holy Communion
9:00 AM - Sunday School
10:30 AM - Traditional Worship Service
11:30 AM - Fellowship / Coffee Hour

As previously mentioned in June, our 3rd-7th grade students are learning stewardship of treasures. They each received a Thrivent piggy bank at the beginning of our Sunday School year. Together with their parents they decided on an amount to place in the “donation” slot in the bank. As a group, the children voted for a project for the year. They decided that their project would be to purchase teddy bears to donate to the local first aid squad. Their enthusiasm and hard work was so successful that they were able to purchase 199 nine to ten inch teddy bears to donate to seven emergency response squads in ten towns located in three different counties in northern New Jersey. Morris County Thrivent Financial contributed matching funds to further support the work of the children. In addition, the manufacturer was very supportive by offering us a highly competitive price to enable our children to assist other children in their time of need. The bears are given to children experiencing trauma that requires ambulance and hospital care.

The bears were dedicated into a service of caring and were distributed to representatives of first aid squads from Pequannock, Bloomingdale, Butler, Kinnelon, Wanaque, West Milford, Lincoln Park, Hardyston, Pompton Lakes and Riverdale on July 29, 2007, during our worship service. The Reverend Mark Rossman, pastor of The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, sets an example of stewardship in the community by serving as the captain of the Hardyston First Aid Squad. The squads opened the ambulances to the children and allowed them to see the equipment that can help save their lives.

On July 29 at 9:30AM, the teddy bears will be dedicated into a service of caring, and presented to seven local Emergency Response Teams serving ten towns in three counties in the communities that serve our congregation. Representatives of these squads, and the local mayors are all invited to join us as we celebrate the stewardship of our children.

We are celebrating God’s Amazing Grace that enables us to reach out in faith, fellowship and service to those in need in our communities. Please join us and celebrate with those who serve our communities! We do make a difference!

The Food Pantry at the First Reformed Church in Pompton Plains helps feed 20 local families each week. There are times that families need help … loss of a job, an accident, illness or fire.

Our Sunday School Mission Project for the end of the year is to help stock the Food Pantry. Here are some of the needs:

• Dish detergent
• Coffee, tea
• Kleenex
• Paper towels
• Cans of fruit, soup, juice
• Tuna

Thanks for your help! Sometimes, “missions” actually begin “at home.” Please bring your donations by Sunday, June 10th.

Questions? See Mrs. Everson.

The confirmation class of The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Saviour in Pompton Plains is partnering with BRIDGES Outreach, a non-profit organization who forms relationships between the housed and homeless. We are collecting camp supplies for 60 children at the Emergency Residence Program (ERP) in Newark who will have the opportunity to go to sleep away camp this summer. If you have sent a child to camp, you know the list of what they need to bring along and although, individual items may not be costly, they do add up. With your help, our confirmation class and BRIDGES would like to ensure that all children from the ERP arrive at camp with the supplies they need to be comfortable and safe.

Supplies

• Backpacks (can be gently used)
• Bathing suits (girls)
• Bathing trunks (boys)
• Blankets
• Body lotion
• Bug Repellent
• Flip Flops (larger sizes)
• Hair brushes
• Hats and visors
• Laundry Bags
• Pillows
• Powder
• Soap
• Sleeping Bags (can be gently used)
• Sunscreen
• Swimming caps
• T-shirts (new or gently worn, kid’s small - adult XL)
• Toothbrushes and Toothpaste
• Twin size sheets
• Washcloths and towels

Please donate new supplies only except for backpacks, sleeping bags and T-shirts.

SUPPLIES NEEDED BY MAY 27, 2007

Consider making a donation on behalf of our confirmands - Jessica and Aaron

For more information, please contact the church at (973) 835-7350.

We now have enough money to award more than one scholarship since this year our Scholarship Fund is $2,215.96. Scholarship applications are available to college Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors for the 2007-2008 academic year. Look for the forms in the colored folder in the Narthex and on the website in the Forms section.  Forms must be returned by June 15^th. The scholarship will be awarded on a Sunday in August during the worship service.

The Scholarship Fund is a “growing” opportunity for our congregation to encourage higher education for our members. Donations are happily accepted in “memory” of loved ones or just for “blessings” received. The scholarship notebook is in the Narthex – check it out!

The Scholarship Fund Team appointed by Council consists of:

• Council VP: Karen Kelly
• Council Representative: Paul Cacioppo
• Youth Ministry: Deb Willse
• Christian Education: Krislyn Sutherland and Ed Shiobara
• Advisory capacity: Pastor Rossman and Matt Hutchinson
• Fund Managers: Dianne Reynics and Irene Drada