rsmat
Quick Notes Update for October 12, 2018

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Have you checked the synod calendar to see what's happening? For more information on the events below, click on the calendar link.  Don't see your church's event listed - be sure to include the synod on your email and mailing lists by sending information to rsmat@rca.org.


Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Most of you already know that at the 2018 General Synod, it was voted on by the delegates to transfer the City Classis from the Synod of the Far West to the Synod of the Mid-Atlantics by September 30, 2018. I am writing to inform all of you that the transfer is complete and as of October 1, 2018, the Synod of the Mid-Atlantics has welcomed the City Classis with open arms and an excited spirit!

City Classis is well-known for their mission to cultivate & nurture an environment where spiritual renewal, innovative ministry and leadership development has resulted in healthy and reproducing urban churches. As a Synod, we are excited to learn from their successes and failures as well as to support them in the continued ministry that are doing.

Please join us in welcoming the City Classis to the Synod of the Mid-Atlantics!

Sola Deo Gloria

Rev. Stephen Eckert, Stated Clerk



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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.


REGISTRATION EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 28 

click on the images below for flyer and registration



 Middlebush Reformed Church is pleased to present Invisible Wounds: There Is More to Your Story! This concert with an emphasis on Suicide Awareness and Prevention will be held at the auditorium of Franklin High School (FHS) in Somerset, New Jersey on Sunday, October 21, at 6:00 pm. The concert itself has free admission, and free-will donations will be received to support Church-Based Mental Health Services, an arm of New Brunswick Classis' CDC, Church Improving Communities. The concert will feature 150Central, a Christian band from Franklin Township (who also played for MRC's production of Godspell a few years back) and students of the FHS Vocal Music Department, including cast of the upcoming FHS production of RENT. This inspiring evening will provide a safe haven of encouragement, care and companionship for those affected by suicide and for those who may be contemplating it. Youth groups are especially encouraged to attend and listen to their peers speak of the hope and help that is available when times seem tough and overwhelming.

MRC extends special thanks to 150Central and to the Franklin Township Board of Education for the help they are giving in support of this event. Come, share in the power of this concert, and please, come ready to help support this worthwhile ministry of the Church-Based Mental Health Services! If you have questions or need more information, please contact Middlebush Reformed (732-873-2776, mrcoffice@middlebushreformedchurch.com ) or the church's pastor, George Montanari ( mrcpastor@middlebushreformedchurch.com ).


 
 
REFORMED CHURCH CENTER AT NEW BRUNSWICK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

TWO EVENTS


Schism: A Bad Idea by Any Name
A Lecture and Panel Discussion on the issue of Schism.
Monday, November 5, 2018, 4:00-6:30 pm
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Dirk Smit, Rimmer and Ruth deVries Professor of Reformed Theology and Public Life at Princeton Theological Seminary and principal author of the Belhar Confession



Struggles over maintaining a Christian witness in a society where our understandings of inclusion and personhood keep changing have driven many denominations, including the Reformed Church in America, to consider the idea of splitting apart. For Reformed Christians, however, there are fundamental ideas about the unity of the Church that are at the core of our ecclesiology and out theology.

On Monday, November 5, 2018, 4:00-6:30 pm, the Reformed Church Center will host a discussion on the New Brunswick Campus. Dirk Smit, Rimmer and Ruth DeVries Professor of Reformed Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and former Professor of Systematic Theology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, will be the principal presenter. He is a pastor from the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, and was primary author of the Belhar Confession, adopted by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in 1982 and the Reformed Church in America in 2009.

Dr. Smit's presentation will be responded to by Jaeseung Cha, Associate Professor of Foundational and Constructive Theology at NBTS and a General Synod Professor of the Reformed Church in America; Janice McLean-Farrell, Dirk Romeyn Assistant Professor of Metro-Urban Ministry at NBTS and author of West-Indian Pentecostals: Living Their Faith in New York and London (New York: Bloomsbury, 2016); and Jonathan Vanderbeck, pastor of Trinity Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York, a licensed psychotherapist at Samaritan Counseling Center in Scotia, New York, and a dedicated advocate for those on the margins, particularly at the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality.

After the formal presentation and responses, everyone will be invited into a discussion with the leaders over dinner.

Everyone is welcome to attend this program. The suggested donation for dinner will be $15.00, but everyone is welcome regardless of ability to pay. There will be no charge for students of any theological seminary. RSVP to jbrumm@nbts.edu by Wednesday, October 31.



HOW CAN WE RESPOND TO THE REFUGEE CRISIS?
Thursday, November 15, 5:00 pm at St. John's University

As the number of displaced people worldwide grows every day, and as more and more governments shrink from responsibility, Christian-followers of a refugee-are left wondering how to take up the challenge. The Reformed Church Center invites you to join JJ TenClay, Refugee Ministries Coordinator for RCA Global Mission, for Dinner & Discussion on Thursday, November 15, 5:00 pm at St. John's University, as she shares stories of trauma, resilience and hope related to her work with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Italy, and why Christians should do more to care for those seeking refuge.



JJ TenClay spent four years in Italy as a missionary for the Reformed Church in America, providing for the social, emotional and spiritual needs of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. She returned to the United States in July 2018 and is now the Refugee Ministries Coordinator for RCA Global Missions.

Everyone is welcome to come and be part of this event. The suggested donation for dinner is $15.00 (it is free for seminary students and RCA staff and faculty), but everyone may share in the meal regardless of ability to pay. RSVP to jbrumm@nbts.edu by Monday, 12 November.


James Hart Brumm, Director
The Reformed Church Center
The Seminary Archives
The Theological Writing Center
New Brunswick Theological Seminary

REGIONAL SYNOD MINISTER PUBLISHES BOOK


EXAMPLES OF CHURCH PDF NEWSLETTERS


 
 
click on the image below for the full job description



FREEHOLD REFORMED SUGGESTS

THRIVENT ENDOWMENT WEBINAR 

Thrivent Director of Church Engagement, Jan Engkasser, and leader of InFaith foundation, Chris Anderson, are hosting a free webinar on endowments on Friday, October 19 from 12-1 CDT. It will specifically feature strategies around endowments and how to use planned giving to grow endowments.

CONGREGATIONS IN OUR REGION SEEKING PASTORS



CHURCH WORLD SERVICE CROP HUNGER WALKS THIS FALL

click on the image for a map of walks


VISIT OUR REGIONAL SYNOD ONLINE CALENDAR!



Remember that the Synod Foundation has opportunities for loans and even some grants
...visit their  webpage on our website

Wise men and women in 1987 created an independent, not-for-profit corporation named the Synod Foundation:

To receive, hold, manage, invest, and re-invest the real estate and investment assets of PSMA [aka RSMAt], and to process and act upon loan requests and upon requests for grants from the churches and classes within the jurisdiction of PSMA from its commissions and subsidiary corporations, and from others within the scope of its concern and mission.

The Synod Foundation is governed by eight trustees appointed on an annual basis at RSMAt's annual meeting. The Trustees approve the loans and grants and manages the other investments. The Foundation currently has 20 active church and social responsibility loans totaling over $1.1 million. The balance of the funds, $1.8 million, are invested in a wide variety of short and long term securities.

Churches secure loans for new roofs, parsonage or church furnaces replacement or upgrades, repointing brick or stone, interior church and parsonage renovations, removing accessibility issues, purchasing a building, and hurricane cleanup and repairs. Recently, four churches have secured loans for solar systems as a witness to green stewardship and expecting to lower their future electrical energy costs even as the solar system loan is being paid. With the Federal and New Jersey government assistance, the expectation is for the loan to be paid in around 12 years with the life of the solar system good for another 15 or so years.

See the Foundation flyer for commonly asked questions or contact the Synod Office for more information.



FREE Online Learning Opportunities
Mediated Organizations: 
Technology for your church ministry

We are setting up online seminars for the Fall season. Please let us know which topics are of interest to you. Seminars are usually held online using Zoom or GoToMeeting on Thursday evenings. Other times are available on request.
Consider having a custom training for your own church team or board! On-sites are possible with enough notice.

Let us know what you are interested in or if you have questions!

  1. Using Facebook 
  2. Using Twitter 
  3. Using free and low cost websites
  4. Using higher end paid websites
  5. Using podcasts
  6. Using mind mapping for planning and meetings
  7. Using visual thinking for planning and meetings
  8. Using online collaborative platforms for teams and organizations: basecamp, slack and more
  9. Using projection in your church ministry
  10. Using email newsletters: constant contact and mailchimp
Courses are taught by The Rev. Dr. Philip Bakelaar, , rsmat communications coordinator, pastor at Ocean Community Church in Manahawkin and adjunct professor in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. 

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