Quick Notes Update for November 18, 2022


Advent Candles In Church - Three Purple And One Pink As A Catholic Symbol
ADVENT IS ARRIVING! Let's share ideas and events with each other for inspiration and encouragement!


VISIT THE RCA CONSISTORY CENTER FOR RESOURCES!
SIGN UP FOR THE CAMP WARWICK EMAIL NEWSLETTER!
THE MINUTES OF THE GENERAL SYNOD COUNCIL are available on the RCA website.
The First Reformed Church of Saddle Brook is seeking a part-time Worship Leader/Music Director to engage the congregation in praising God through music and liturgy, as well as leading a praise team for Sunday morning services and Holy seasons.

You have a personal and professional heart for worshipping God and inspiring others to join you. You have experience playing piano and organ. You are flexible, creative, and thrive in collaborating with the Pastor to foster Spirit-filled, Word-centered worship services using traditional and contemporary songs and hymns, and a variety of voices and instruments.

To apply or to seek more information please email cbrianwolf@gmail.com or call 201 843 6672.

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 
FROM THE LATEST CLASSIS DELAWARE-RARITAN NEWSLETTER
VOLUNTEERS OPPORTUNITY NEAR RUTGERS

Two Fishes ><> <>< Student Brunch Program
 
The College Avenue Community Church will begin a free brunch program for Rutgers students on Monday, October 3 and will serve brunch Monday through Friday through the academic year 2022-23.
We will serve meals from 11 am through 2pm each day. We need volunteers to help with the serving of food during those hours. We also need volunteers to help prepare food one hour before and clean up one hour after the serving hours. Volunteers are welcome to dine and drink as much coffee as they wish, free of charge, of course.
 
We welcome anyone of high school age and older. No heavy lifting is involved. Cleanliness and courtesy are the main prerequisites to being an effective volunteer. Each volunteer will receive a written job description to follow, so you are not working in a void. You will be provided all sanitary PPE equipment upon arrival.
 
Please contact the Director, Cathy Verduci [ verduci42@yahoo.com ] or the Executive Director, Doug Shepler [ douglas.shepler@gmail.com ] if you are available and committed.
 
With one in three RU students being food-needy, we anticipate serving some 200-300 students daily. Any one of them may be Jesus dropping in for the day!
 
Blessings,
College Avenue Community Church Consistory, Board of Deacons
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. - Proverbs 31:14

INSIGHTS FOR CONGREGATIONAL LEADERS:

I've been challenged this year to reach beyond our normal materials and find helpful insights from non-traditional sources. Here's a fourth installation in this series.

The Future of Communications conference was hosted in NYC by Ragan Communications. I attended this in connection with my teaching in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. There were two days of meetings and speakers who took a careful look at what organizations are learning about communication from the post-covid context. One thing that was clear is that covid has catapulted us into a world where virtual communication is increasing and will continue to increase. Zoom meetings, and the growing number of online platforms (miro, mural, trello, basecamp, padlet and more) are becoming "table stakes" for organizations. They are basic and expected ways for people to participate.

Two of the eleven callouts are of interest to us.

  1. Communications isn’t a separate function of the organization. It’s just a pure reflection of how the organization functions.
  2. If you’re doing comms without a business or representational goal, then you’re not doing it correctly.

The first callout recognizes that it is communication that forms the life of an organization. How we talk with each other creates what we are. This reminds us of the warnings of James about careless talk, and Paul's call for us to only speak what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. If all of us, and especially leaders, are not thoughtful about what words we choose and how they are received, we are missing a key element in our leadership.

The second callout reminds us that activity is different from outcomes. Just doing things for their own sake misses the power of our words to shape lives and the world. Organizations are more and more dropping activities that don't serve desired outcomes, and thinking carefully about what their current activities are aimed at. It may be time for us to think about what to let go of, and what to do more of, as we seek to form communities of active disciples.

Interested in talking more about this?
Send me a note and we can discuss it together.

Phil Bakelaar - rsmat communications
INNOVATIVE MINISTRY

Rev. Donald VanAntwerpen is developing a unique virtual ministry. He invites others to follow and provide feedback and he reaches out through youtube.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES!

She is Called Women of the Bible online study, Vol. 2
Thursday Evenings, 7:00–8:30 p.m. Eastern
July 7–September 1, 2022

Christians for Biblical Equality 2022 Conference
August 5–7, 2022
Atlanta, Georgia

She is Called Holy Land Global Experience 2022
November 9–20, 2022
A SHARED RCA/CRC RESOURCE ENCOURAGING VIBRANT CONGREGATIONS
DID YOU MISS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION IN YOUR SEMINARY YEARS? WOULD YOU LIKE TO RENEW YOUR SKILLS? CHECK THE NEW COLLABORATIVE CRC/RCA PROGRAM BELOW (Click on the link for the full brochure)
Full-time Lead Pastor for North Branch Reformed Church, a thriving congregation of 300 active members in beautiful Bridgewater, N.J. Must be an ordained minister/pastor and have prior experience. Compensation: Commensurate with experience, following the Classis of Delaware-Raritan guidelines. 
Visit https://www.nbrc.com/about/job-opportunities for complete job description and church information. Interested candidates are asked to email their resume to pastorsearch@nbrc.com.
Is God calling you to bi-vocational ministry?
The New Jersey Air National Guard is looking for clergy who meet these qualifications:
·       Be a United States citizen, dual citizenship is not accepted.
·       Possess baccalaureate degree with not less than 120 semester hours of undergraduate credit from an accredited college or university.
·       Possess Master's Degree in Theology or related subjects (not less than 72 semester hrs) from an accredited institution.
·       Be qualified spiritually, morally, intellectually and emotionally to serve Air Force personnel.
·       Be less than 40 years of age at the time of appointment. Age waivers are considered for prior military service and critical faith groups.
·       Pass the Air Force physical examination, and meet weight standards.
·       Pass a National Agency Check security background check and qualify for a security clearance.
·       Possess an ecclesiastical endorsement from a recognized denomination or faith. (The Reformed Church in America is a recognized denomination.)
·       Be available for the minimum required paid training.
·       Be available to attend the five-week paid Commissioned Officer Training (COT) and the six-week paid Basic Chaplain Course (BCC) within the first two years in the program.
·       Be sensitive to religious diversity and provide for the free exercise of religion by all military personnel, their dependents, and other authorized personnel the military services serves.
In the New Jersey Air National Guard, a Chaplain provides religious ministries of worship, religious education, pastoral care, counseling and visitation. Military Chaplains are non-combatants; as such, they are not allowed to handle weapons when in uniform. Pay is commensurate with officer rank and years in service.
Curios?
Contact: (908) 336-2869
Rev. Dr. David Kahler - Minister of Word and Sacrament, Delaware-Raritan Classis
Ch, Lt Col, David Kahler – Wing Chaplain, 108th Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard
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!
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR THE COMPLETE UPDATE LETTER

Trustees Needed for the Warwick Conference Center
 
The Warwick Conference Center is a subsidiary corporation of the Regional Synods of the Mid-Atlantics and New York. The Board of Trustees for Warwick is made up of laypersons and clergy from both synods.  We are currently looking for 5 people who are willing to serve on the Board of Trustees from the Synod of the Mid-Atlantics, especially persons with gifts in the following areas:
·      Property (maintenance, sales, leasing)
·      Legal (familiarity with NY law would be helpful)
·      Finance and investments
·      Human Resources
·      Publicity and/or fundraising 
If you are interested in serving, know of someone who might be, or if you have questions about what service on the board entails, please contact Rev. Jill Fenske (President of the Board of Trustees) at jcfenske@optimum.net or the synod office at rsmatoffice@gmail.com


THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CHURCHES FOR ADDING THEIR LIVESTREAM INFORMATION TO OUR ARCHIVES PAGE
Wyckoff Reformed
Three Bridges Reformed
Ocean Community, Mahahawkin
Parkside Community
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.