OUR EMAILS ARE FULL OF USEFUL INFORMATION, PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO CHURCH FRIENDS SO THAT THEY CAN SUBSCRIBE USING THE FORM TO THE RIGHT HERE, JUST CLICK ON IT AND SEND THEM THE LINK. | |
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IN GENERAL NEWS ITEMS ARE ABBREVIATED AND CAN USUALLY BE CLICKED ON TO FIND MORE INFORMATION. THIS IS OUR QUICK NOTES PHILOSOPHY THAT ALLOWS YOU TO SCAN WHAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO YOU. | |
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The Council for Pacific and Asian American Ministries (CPAAM) of RCA will host an evening event during our Annual Consultation Meeting
Conversation on "What does it mean to be Asian American?"
(This topic is based on the book Learning Our Names / IVP / 2022)
Monday, October 2, 2023, 6 pm -8 pm (free dinner will be served at 5:00 pm) New Brunswick Theological Seminary
As a church or a pastor, if you live in a community with Asian Americans, and would like to welcome and create space for them in your congregation or to be blessed with their presence among you, this event will be a great opportunity and blessing for you to learn about Asian American Identity from the rich conversation with CPAAM members who came from Korea, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, India, Japan, Thailand, and who are 2nd or 3rd generation of Asian descendants who were born and raised in the US.
This event is free and open to the public.
To reserve your seat and free dinner box at 5 pm, please RSVP by September 25 with this link: https://sforce.co/3sOWW0C
Grace and Peace
En Young
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Billy Norden from the RCA Board of Benefits Services will be hosting an in person meeting at New Brunswick Theological Seminary on Wednesday, October 11 at 10am for clergy and church staff/treasurers to discuss Health Savings Accounts, Self-Employment taxes and in general be available to answer related questions. | |
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JOB POSTINGS
- CLOVER HILL REFORMED CHURCH, SEEKING PART-TIME PASTOR (ABOUT 24 HOURS/WEEK)
Clover Hill Reformed Church, a traditional, homey congregation with an active core of about 30 congregants, is seeking a part-time pastor.
Like many churches who have had a long-time pastorate (ours was almost forty years), our path forward has had many twists and turns. Almost eight years after this pastor’s retirement, we have completed a full self study and are looking forward to our next season. We have active ministry teams that oversee all the work of the church led by a group of committed servant leaders. We are committed to each other, our community and God, and need the support of a pastor who will help translate these commitments into action, growth and ministry.
The part-time position would be about 24 hours and involve leading worship, pastoral care, and working with our teams to develop new strategies for outreach. The pastor will be president of our Consistory. The candidate should be ordained, or eligible for ordination in either the RCA or one of our denominational partners (the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Christian Reformed Church in North America.)
Clover Hill Reformed Church is in Hillsborough New Jersey, which is in central New Jersey, almost equidistant between Philadelphia and New York and about 30 minutes from both the Princeton and New Brunswick Theological Seminaries. The church is located in a rural/suburban area with one of the top school systems in the State. The current parsonage is a vintage farmhouse and is adjacent to the church.
Workload and compensation will be negotiated with the successful candidate.
Our church profile can be found here: https://www.cloverhillchurch.org/job-opportunities
To apply, please email our Search Team Chair, Marilyn Fineman, at m2fineman@gmail.com (posted Sept 22, 2023)
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Lisha's Kill Reformed Church, in the small upstate NY city of Schenectady, seeks a minister of Word and sacrament. They hope their new pastor will be excellent preacher of bible-based messages who is also is a good spiritual leader with a focus on church growth. From their profile: "We believe God has a plan and will lead us to the right person to not only be a wonderful pastor leading church worship services, but also focusing on strengthening our members and overall health and well being of our congregation." Interested candidates should email the search committee chair, Robert Farquharson, to request the church profile. rfarquharson77@me.com (posted September 19, 2023)
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Plainview Reformed Church is seeking a full time Minister (posted Sept 15, 2023)
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RCA Chief Financial Officer (posted Sept 7, 2023)
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Grace Reformed Church, Edison NJ (posted August 25, 2023), Pastor, part-time
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We are hosting a free suicide prevention workshop on September 27 from 7:pm to 8:00 PM. It is sponsored by the American Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide and all are welcome. While no registration is required, it would certainly be helpful if you could call the church office and simply let us know if you are coming. For more information, click on the events page at the NJ chapter of AFPS - https://afsp.org/chapter/new-jersey
Rev. Keith Moody
Pastor
Abundant Life Reformed Church
475 Lafayette Ave, Wyckoff, NJ 07481
201.444.8038
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You’re invited for coffee (or tea)
and a chat about the RCC
Join friends and friends-to-be on Zoom on Wednesday, September 27th,
12:00 noon to 1:00 pm Eastern Time,
for an informal chat about what
the Reformed Church Center is doing in 2023-2024
and share your thoughts
about what the RCC might do.
Everyone who registers by Monday, September 25th,
will receive a $10 Starbucks Gift Card
(to get your tea or coffee).
Just click on this link to register.
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Friends! It's not too early to start your planning for RCA Disability Awareness Sunday - October 15th 2023 a link to the RCA resources is in the comments! Please consider using these resources to address the access to belonging and inclusion in your congregations. Prepare the way to the fullness of the kingdom of God.
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HiTOPS Faith Initiative
SAVE THESE DATES: October 6 and October 13 from 12 noon-1:30pm on Zoom
FOCUS ON FAITH AND GENDER: Sponsored by RCHP Care Committee and HiTops Faith Initiative
ALL ARE WELCOME! Sign up for Zoom Link with church secretary, Lisa Berman, reformedchurchhp@gmail.com.
The HiTOPS Faith Initiative seeks to build affirming spaces within faith communities for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. We invite you to participate in a two-part series on October 6 and 13 that focuses on gender and sexuality and addresses theological concepts and scriptural references often used against members of the LGBTQ+ community. We also provide stories we’ve collected that share people’s lived experiences within faith communities. The Faith Initiative series creates a non-judgmental space with opportunities for questions, concrete examples of welcoming congregations, and enhances your journey of becoming an affirming community.
This training will be facilitated by Deborah Jodrey and Thomas Foley. Deborah Jodrey (she/her) is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and has been consulting with HiTOPS for over a year developing and piloting this training. Deborah also works as a Director of Faith Formation at a congregation in PA and is passionate about creating spaces of belonging within faith
communities. Thomas (he/they) is the Senior Education Manager at HiTOPS and is a former classroom teacher, a certified school counselor, and a licensed therapist. He is working toward his PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision and has a considerable amount of experience researching and working with youth, particularly with queer and trans youth.
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Dismantling racism and becoming a Revelations 7:9 "After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands" church has been lifted up as a priority of the RCA.
For 3 years, the Dismantling Racism Prayer Gathering has been led by the spirit for a deeper understanding of racism. We have prayed over our history, our testimonies, our hurts and vulnerabilities, our ignorance and privilege. We have felt the deep soul filled RUACH of the Holy Spirit as we have witnessed change, connection with each other in a multi racial prayer group.
Tuesday, September 12th, we begin our 4th year of learning, connecting, discussion and most importantly, prayer to move over the oppression of racism in our lives, our communities and our CHURCH, 1:30 to 2:30PM.
Pastor Joanne
#sheiscalled
Rev Dr Joanne Van Sant
Pastor
Friends to Friends Community Church
303 Prospect Street Ridgewood NJ 07450
201.652.3952
Chaplain
Hope Christian Services
Wyckoff NJ
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Save the date… Because it’s going to be a GREAT event, filled with fun for the whole family!
Saturday, September 30
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Drop in any time. Completely FREE event.
Free demonstrations, games, horse and wagon rides, Colonial dancing, church tours, and refreshments. Join us as we celebrate our historic Colonial roots and the church’s 255th year.
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Save the date for President McCreary’s book signing
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
12:00 noon
Program will be in Mast Chapel at New Brunswick Theological Seminary
Book Signinig and Refreshments will be in Hageman Hall and student Lounge.
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Robin Suydam, a member of the Regional Synod, is a board member at Creation Justice Ministries as a representative of the RCA. There are many resources available on their website. | |
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Hello Regional Synod of the Mid-Atlantics!
I’d like to share with you the following resources and info from Creation Justice Ministries. As you know I sit on the board of CJM as a representative of the RCA. Each month they offer resources to be shared with our church networks. I will be attending CJM’s October board meeting in Washington DC and participating in their 40th Anniversary Celebration while there. I’m grateful to the RCA for allowing me to represent us in this important work.
Sincerely,
Robin
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WARWICK PAINTING
"I return to Warwick, New York from Sept 8 to around OCT 20 to do more painting at the Warwick Center. During my career I have led hundreds of volunteer groups through out the Americas to both help struggling and often minority churches fix up their church buildings and following disasters like hurricanes and tornados help people rebuild their lives.
I have need for volunteers to help paint the Warwick Center, a project I've been doing since 1995. The courtyard of the Warwick Center needs to be scraped, sanded and painted pretty badly. It is not high work. At most ten feet off the ground and much of it from the ground. In return the Warwick Center, a significant ecumenical retreat center, though owned by The Reformed Church eastern Synods, will give you free room and board. It is my task, if you haven't painted much, to teach you how to the job. It is a skill you can take home and paint your own home or church. I do all the high work unless a volunteer is a trades person used to working at heights.
The Warwick Center is located on a 460 acre tract of woods, fields with walking trails. It has a swimming pool. The food is very good for a church camp. There are churches of many denominations in Warwick which has a great shopping area downtown that draws folks from all over. It is an old historic village maybe four miles from the Center. The rooms are motel style with AC. Your volunteer expenses are tax deductible for travel and whatever. Please use clothes you don't mind getting paint on. I also need volunteers who can do concrete tasks.
If you would like to volunteer please phone 845-986-1164 and ask for Al or a secretary. Give them the dates you would like to volunteer and they will reserve you a room. Most rooms have queen sized beds for couples and some rooms for singles. Rooms have baths with showers.
Warwick is a beautiful place of dairy farms and apple orchards. It is rolling hills and in Oct becomes beautiful with the leaves changing color. For those from Penna the easiest access if by way of Scranton to Port Jervis. Warwick is 6 miles North of the New Jersey border and South of Middletown some 20 miles using routes 17A and 94 together and split at third Warwick red light staying on 94 South to towards NJ. Days tend to be cool to warm (Occasionally hot) and cool evenings. It has some elevation. On clear nights the stars are amazing.
Let me know if you would like to help or need more information.
Have a great day and hope to see you.
Peace, Paul"
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Rev. Beth Scribenski passes along this information in the Classis Delaware-Raritan Summer Newsletter. Used with permission.
Update on Federal Financial Assistance
ongoing from Pandemic
Thank you Rev. Liz Estes for this information!
During the pandemic, many churches applied for the federal program called Payroll Protection Program or PPP. We applied for two rounds of loans based on a few months of salaries that we paid. Then, we applied for the loans to be forgiven, and we received loan forgiveness, aka free money that tied many churches over through the lean pandemic years. PPP is no longer in effect.
After PPP phased out, people were buzzing about a new program, The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a stimulus program designed to help businesses that were able to retain their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was signed into law on March 27, 2020, as part of the CARES Act.
Established by the CARES Act, ERC is a refundable tax credit – a grant, not a loan – that you can claim for your business. The ERC is available to both small and mid-sized businesses. It is based on qualified wages and healthcare paid to employees. The IMPORTANT thing for churches to know is that when President Biden took office, he changed the rules for ERC.
Initially churches were excluded from this program. Many elders, treasurers, and pastors inquired about the ERC program and their accountants told them definitively, “NO! Churches and non-profits do not qualify.” Sadly, many accounting experts may not know that the rules CHANGED.
At Old Dutch Church in Kingston, our congregant Lisa Dudley has helped our church (Old Dutch received over $100K) and local non-profits (People’s Place, a support center and food pantry in Kingston, received more than $200K). Lisa works for a company called ERC Specialists, one of a large cottage industry that helps groups apply for ERC. Lisa’s company ERC Specialists take only a 15% cut, one of the lowest in the industry. I urge you to call Lisa (she is happy to travel to NJ, only 2 hours away) or find another consulting group and apply for ERC today. Text Lisa at 845-464-9024. She works best by voice calls or Zoom. Lisa is very involved at Old Dutch and I personally stand by her service and integrity.
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ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence platform that generates text based on prompts. So for instance, you might ask it (as I did in December) for ideas for "a protestant sermon on Christmas Eve." Using this platform as a writing partner is very interesting and something you should explore. Let me know if you'd like an introduction!
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We are in need of many food items this month.
Cereals, pancake mixes and syrup, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly, coffee, fruit juice, mac and cheese, pasta and sauce. Mayo,
small bottles of vegetable oil. We quietly feed area families in need each month and are hoping for your support.
"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat"~Matt 25:35
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Greetings!
The Church Multiplication Team has contracted with MissionInsite (see link at top) for one year. Any RCA church can request an analysis of their context. They can receive 3 different responses. Churches may search by zip code or by street boundaries or by another geographic description.
They will get data regarding Beliefs about God, Beliefs about Jesus, Beliefs about Moral and Spiritual Values, Faith and Religious Involvement in their context. They also get an Executive report about demographics. They can contact me aletashepler@gmail.com for assistance.
Peace and Grace,
Aleta Shepler
Church Multiplication Committee RSMAT
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ARE YOU INTERESTED IN IMPROVING YOUR TECHNOLOGY USE!
Would you like to:
Discuss church software for managing member information and online donations?
Learn to use email newsletters to keep members informed?
Rework your website to a more modern look?
Create online forms for people to register for events and provide feedback?
Create online visual databases like the livestream example above?
Take your livestream to the next level?
Develop a social media plan and a team to implement it?
REPLY TO THIS EMAIL AS WE FORM LEARNING GROUPS!
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THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CHURCHES FOR ADDING THEIR LIVESTREAM INFORMATION TO OUR ARCHIVES PAGE
Wyckoff Reformed
Three Bridges Reformed
Ocean Community, Mahahawkin
Parkside Community
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RSMAT churches are livestreaming and maintaining recorded service archives. This presents us with a unique opportunity to learn from each other and celebrate the amazing gifts in our community! Please use this webform to provide us with your church livestream link and a link to your recorded services archive. We will make a single page view available of all of this information so that you can visit around and get inspired!
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Are you using a VR headset and exploring how virtual reality might be used in ministry? Let's have a conversation! | |
MURAL and other online whiteboards provide a way to add more interaction to zoom meetings. Let me know if you want to explore this further. | |
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GATHER TOWN is a fun way to add some social involvment to your online options. | |
DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF ADAPTING AND INNOVATING TO SHARE FOR INSPIRATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT? SEND IT TO US! | | |
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NJ CONGREGATIONAL CENTER FOR CANCER CARE |
We have created an online gathering of all of the newsletters of the program. Find help for those facing cancer.
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CHURCH BASED MENTAL HEALTH NEWSLETTERS ARCHIVE | We've created an online gathering of all of the newsletters the program has sent out during COVID. Very helpful insights to pass along to your congregations! | |
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The information and materials that appear in the email newsletter, facebook page or on the Website of the Regional Synod of the Mid-Atlantics of the Reformed Church in America ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE OPINION OF THE REGIONAL SYNOD OF THE MID-ATLANTICS OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA, NOR ARE SUCH NECESSARILY ENDORSED BY THE REGIONAL SYNOD. THE ACCURACY AND VALIDITY OF THE INFORMATION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PROVIDER OR AUTHOR. | | | | |
