March Madness has begun!  And it’s not just the wonderful college basketball season we’re talking about (Go UCONN!) but a month of featuring some of the projects that the Ministry of Mission and Outreach and our congregation are involved with.  Our annual IHN visit is now history – thanks to Nancy Wright and a large group of volunteers two families enjoyed our hospitality for a week.  Hopefully they found love and peace as well as comfortable sleeping quarters, good food, and good company while they were with us.  We certainly wish them Godspeed on their journeys.

On March 14 we shall have the privilege of meeting Dan and Sandy Owen and hearing of some of their work in Swaziland as missionaries for a number of years.  I’m looking forward to hearing about Sandy’s time with the baby elephants!  This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to hear first hand the benefits of our OCWM offering each year – please do join us following worship for coffee, muffins, and conversation in Robinson Hall.  Our children will have the opportunity to meet them in their Sunday School classes as well.  Thanks to Ward and Mary Ann Miller for hosting our guests during their visit to Glen Ridge.

We are one of many churches in New Jersey involved with the SCEEP tutoring program – on Sunday, March 21, there will be a SCEEP breakfast and an opportunity for us to meet some of the students and thank the dedicated tutors as well. 

And then on March 28 we will have our Mission Workshop.  You will see displays of many agencies you have supported over the years and perhaps learn more about ways for all of us to participate in these various ministries.  We will also assemble the Gifts of the Heart bags which will be sent around the world by Church World Service.  Each Sunday School child has been given a bag and a list of items to be included in it.  This project is, of course, not just for our children – if you would like to participate, please see Marty Lacey or me and we can give you details.  Church World Service is a multi-denominational agency that provides relief efforts all over the globe.

So please do join us for these special events – God has richly blessed us and MOM is pleased to offer opportunities for us to be a blessing to others.

                                    See you in worship, Cindy

X IN OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS X

à         Fred Peterson, Van Dyk Home

à         Lorraine Rieder, home

à         Susan Booth, home

à         Ed Warren, Altera Sterling House, Stuart, FL

à         Ken Wedel, Millville, NJ

à         Heather Norby Brown, home

à         Jonah Nye,  home

à         Karen Augis, home

à         Sam Logan, home

à         Phyllis Bronneck, Green Hill

à         Ruth Swartz, Brighton Gardens, W. Orange

à         Jean Williams, home

à         Jim O’Brien, home

à         Fred Polixa, home, surgery Mar. 9^th

Also family members of our church: Dodie Cusick, Alice Harpster, Jill Reintjes, Dan Glitzer, Sue Potter, Mike Hayes, Mildred & Vernon McKinney, Merrill Roberts, Joan Perrine, Hella Zinzius, Priscilla Pellicotti, Joan and Frank Lytle, Vincent J. Maturano, Arthur G. Martin, Florence Musser, and Gwen Reynolds.  UCC Missionaries serving overseas:  Dan and Sandy Owens, Swaziland; Jon and Dawn Barnes, South Africa; Charles and Diane Wonnenberg, Mozambique.

LUKE BIBLE STUDIES FOR 2004

The Sun. class will study Luke 19:29-21:38 on 3/14.  The Wed. class will discuss Luke 12:2-15:32 on 3/17. 

MISSIONARIES FROM AFRICA

Please stay for an extended coffee hour on Sunday, March 14, to hear a presentation from visiting missionaries Sandy and Dan Owen.  Their brief talk will be about their life and mission work in the Kingdom of Swaziland located in Africa.  Please plan to stay for muffins, coffee and conversation this coming Sunday after the 10:15 AM service. 

WHAT IS OGHS?

OGHS stands for "One Great Hour of Sharing," which is a special offering we give on Sunday, March 21.  There was a flyer in your Sunday, March 7, bulletin and there will be special offering envelopes in your Sunday bulletins on March 14 and 21, please look for them.  The United Church of Christ uses the OGHS offering to reach with love into more than 80 countries!  Your offering of money is transformed into an offering of hope around the world, so please prepare to be as generous as possible.  Thank you so much for your support.  

THE VIRTUES:

PRACTICING WHAT WE BELIEVE

Copies of our ministers’ sermon series for Lent will appear on the table by the Clark St. entrance the week following the sermon. Each week a devotional aid focusing on the sermon theme will be included in the bulletin for your use and remembrance during the week to come.

RUMMAGE SALE:  Time for spring cleaning !

The spring Rummage Sale is Fri., April 16th and Sat., April 17th. Bring your clean, usable items to the Biddulph Room. For this sale we will NOT take furniture or sporting goods. Sorting is done every Monday at 9:30am until the sale, plus, we hope to have one evening for sorting. Watch  for details on this.  Come lend a hand.

14 members of the Council retreated on Sat., March 6^th to the convent in Mendham.  We discussed the church, the strategic plan, and a book called The Fifth Discipline.  Great meeting!

Each video in the series is independent, so please don’t hesitate to join Cindy Reynolds Wednesday evenings at 7:30 for any or all of the remaining sessions.  Cost per session is $5. 

March 17 – Prayer: Why Don’t My Prayers Get Answered?  With Richard Foster. 

March 24 – Doubt: How Can I Question and Still Believe?  With Madeline L’Engle. 

March 31 – Love: Why is Loving So Hard? 

With Keith Miller.

WOMENSPACE

Read through p. 126, Everyday Grace by Marianne Williamson.  We meet Fri., Mar. 12^th, at 9am, in Ms Reynolds’ office.  Snack and devotion by Jennifer Agarwal. 

The Head Usher for the 10:15 service is John Dobbs, assisted by Irene Stevens, Ray Heun, Molly Cody, David Shove, Kevin Filliater, Brad Bodell and Bob Carr.  The Videographer, Zach Tallmadge. The Acolyte, James Dik.  Counters in the Treasurer’s Office, Jim Bronneck and Bob Runge.  The flowers in the chancel have been given in loving memory of John and Leona Fearnow by their family.  The flowers will be delivered by Linda Pendergrass.

Thank you to the 8^th graders: Clay Burroughs, Alex Dawson, Will Delorm, Jackie Hughes, Rebecca Jorgensen, John Ogden and their teachers, Mr. Boyd and Dr. Batastini for leading the chapel service this past Sunday.  Bible Jeopardy was not only fun, but showed how much you have learned!

The kits should be brought to church on March 28^th.  We hope EVERY student will participate.

We remind all the Antique Show volunteers that our post show party will be Sunday, March 21st at 4:00 pm.  It will be at Dorothy & Peter Waldt's house at 90 Douglas Road.  Hope you all can make it to celebrate your hard work and another successful show!

FROM THE LIBRARY CORNER

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel is the focus of the book discussion group on Thursday, March 11^th.  Did you know that there is a copy of the book in our church library, thanks to Susan Krien?  There are lots of other wonderful novels awaiting you, so take time to check them out.

            For those wanting to get multiple copies of books for discussion groups, don’t forget that the Glen Ridge Public Library can borrow them for you through the BCCLS program.  Don’t be left out of the discussions.

The Scholarship Fund grew by $1,384.00 this year due to the many generous contributions made by our congregation to honor the memory of Dr. King.  The coordinators and future recipients thank you.  A special thank you to the anonymous donors that we have been unable to thank personally.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

A second discussion of the movie The Passion of the Christ will be held on Sunday evening, March 21^st, at 7:00pm, in the Blue Room