Your ideas for this newsletter

We would love to improve this online newsletter. Right now, we are simply republishing the articles that appear in the print version of the Holy Trinity newsletter. But there is so much more we can do online.

What do you think we should do? How should we proceed? Would anyone be interested in a discussion of the coming Sunday's Gospel lesson? Is anyone interested in contributing by sharing stories, pictures, things you have seen? Leave your comments. Thanks.

May Birthdays

Al Weber
Audrey Stevens
Erika Murphy
Don Walch
Jean Esparolini
Ethan Munoz
Gail Ceravolo
Dorothy Greengrove
Debbie Jones
Terry D’Agnolo
Jan Strachan
Gerald Mayr

May Anniversaries

Joseph & Liz Cicci

Pray for these disciples this month

For some time we have been naming families of the month, people and households to keep in our prayers. Now, we’re going to change the emphasis a little. Instead of praying for families, we will pray for individual disciples of Jesus. Here’s a calendar. On it, you will notice that each day of week (except Sunday) has the name of a person in this community. Remember that person in your prayers that day. On Sunday, remember all of the people listed in the coming week. You may even want to get in touch with these people and pray with them personally.

If you don’t know what to pray for, then pray that each member of the Holy Trinity community would grow in their faith and love for God and their love for God’s people and God’s world, and pray that each disciple may be fully equipped to share the Gospel, overcome barriers and connect one to many through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May 1: Leona Candura
May 2: Elise Cooper
May 3: Jean Esparolini
May 5: Chris Esparolini
May 6: Chad Esparolini
May 7: Wendy Esparolini
May 8: Irene Falk
May 9: John Fenton
May 10: Elfrieda Fenton
May 12: Julie Franchino
May 13: Peter Franchino
May 14: John Franchino

Guess What's Swinging Up Ahead?

Are you looking to reach new heights of fun this summer? Then you’ll want to head to Holy Trinity for a canopy of adventures at Rainforest Adventure! This exciting Vacation Bible School is for everyone from infants to adults.

The fun begins Sunday, August 10 and concludes with a Rainforest Adventure Program and Party on Friday evening, August 15. Sessions run from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each day. The cost will be: $10 per child/$20 per family.

At Rainforest Adventure you’ll hear stories about Jesus, make cool crafts, learn catchy rainforest tunes, play super fun games, do some zany skits, and make lots of new friends! Each evening offers a new Bible story to explore through loads of fun activities.

Registration Forms are required - a separate form is required for each participant and must be submitted by July 31. Please notify the office if you would like copies mailed or e-mailed to you.

Please call the church office at (973) 667-0256 with questions.

Mark your calendar

New Worship Time

Please note that as of Sunday,June 1, 2008, our new time for Worship will be 10:00 am. This decision was voted on at the Annual Meeting in January.

90 minutes a week will change your life

Tuesday evenings at 8 p.m. Everyone is invited to grow in their discipleship by taking a closer look at Jesus’ teaching, life and ministry as presented in the Gospel of Matthew.

Thursday afternoons at 2 p.m. (May 1, 15, 22, 30). All are welcome. On Thursday we will read some fabulous stories of faith and prepare to share our own stories of God’s amazing grace.

All Together in One Place

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in on place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting” Acts 2:1-2

I am making it my prayer, that when the day of Pentecost arrives – May 11, 2008 – that we will all be together in one place, gathered at 10:30 a.m. in our house of worship and prayer on the corner of Hillside and Vreeland. I am making this my prayer not just because I like to see our house full on Sunday morning, but because I am also praying God may pour out the Holy Spirit on all of us, filling each and every on of us … and filling the whole house too.


On that first Pentecost, God empowered God’s church for God’s mission, the mission to love, save and bless the world enacted by Jesus. Now, in Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we too are called, gathered, gifted and sent to be part of what God is doing the world.

When the Spirit was poured out on those first disciples, Peter stood up and said that God was doing then and there what God had promised long ago, God was giving the Holy Spirit so that young and old could dream dreams and vision and visions – the dreams and vision God has for the world.

That same Holy Spirit was poured out on each of us at our baptism, and we too were given to see and share God’s dream and vision for the world, and so I am praying that God stir up those gifts in all of us, as we all gather together in one place this Pentecost. I pray not so much for our sake, but for the sake of the people and the world God loves so much and desires to touch through the ministry we all share.
See you May 11 … and wear red!

But wait … there’s more in May!

Empowered by the Holy Spirit and sent out by Jesus

During May, we will hear a lot about God’s vision for the world in Christ Jesus, and about the part we all have in God’s purposes.

On May 18, when we all gather in the park, we will receive anew Jesus’ Great Commission that sends us out into the world to make disciples, to baptize, teach in God’s triune name. We will also hear the most comforting promise: Jesus promises to be with us until God’s plans are accomplished.


Then, on May 25, when we all gather again, we will hear Jesus teaching and challenging us to trust in God, not the almighty dollar. Jesus will tell us that we cannot serve two masters; we cannot serve God and money. (Matt. 6:24). Funny, about that same time, the Federal government will have started sending out those economic stimulus checks. Makes you think … hmmm.

So, in three weeks this May, we will have discovered that God has given us new life in Jesus Christ; that God has given us -- by pouring out God’s Spirit -- all the gifts, all the power, all the courage we need to share the good news of this new life and of God’s love with the whole world. What’s more, God has given us all the resources to carry out God’s mission. And look, the checks are in the mail. Where are you planning on putting your treasure?

A first-fruits gift to ELCA World Hunger or the New Jersey Synod’s new Mission on the Move Campaign (see more about M.O.M. in this newsletter) may be a great place to start. A gift designated to Holy Trinity’s Vacation Bible School program, to the endowment fund or another ministry or outreach may also be a way putting your gifts to use. Good stewardship may also call you to use the money to pay you’re your debt or start on a savings plan, too. Remember 10-10-80 (share 10 percent; save 10 percent; give 80 percent).

Whatever you do, however God leads you to use God’s gifts, hear again the simple promise Jesus makes to never leave us. Jesus is alive, and he is with us to the end of the age. God is our hope, our security, our future … even when prices are up and people seem scared. God is our source of life. So whatever percentage you end up giving, saving or spending, be 100 percent B.O.L.D – Believe Our Lord Delivers! What have we to fear? God raised Jesus from the dead and poured out the Holy Spirit on us all! Thanks be to God!

See you in church and out in the mission field,
Pastor Jim

Mission on the Move

The mission campaign of the New Jersey Synod

VISION: GOD’S DREAM FOR OUR FUTURE

Mission on the Move is a venture that belongs to us—the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. God’s dream for our future is to accept the challenge of being church in a new way in a new day. We take up a life of discipleship and stewardship that strengthens the missionary impulse at the heart of our church.

God’s ultimate interest is not in tending the institutional parameters of the church but in transforming the world. This reorientation means reconnecting the church with what God is up to in the world. Mission on the Move is our call to share that vision. … It calls for a partnership with God that is bold and adventuresome.


The success of this mission initiative will require an essential clarity about the purpose of the ministry of God’s church in your specific context, and an openness to change in order to be more faithful. Mission on the Move is our call to prayer, Bible study, dialogue, and engagement. When we are most effective, we are prepared to be missionaries to the world and ambassadors for Jesus. MOM’s purpose is to call forth a community of persons who understand themselves to be followers of Jesus with gifts to share and a vision of God’s dream for engagement with the world.

Mission on the Move calls for a transformation to a missionary culture in the New Jersey Synod, its congregations, and people. In addition, MOM seeks to gather resources necessary to enable the bold and nimble response to the challenges that God places before us. Strategic allocation of resources will strengthen the mission outreach ministry of each congregation in the Synod. Transitional ministries and mission-critical congregations will find sustainable support from the expansion of the New Jersey Synod Fund for Mission and ELCA partnerships. Financial resources will be available in a timely manner to initiate new ministry starts on the territory of the Synod.

We believe that by living a missionary lifestyle, equipping people for mission work and sharing resources for mission we make our unique contribution to God’s mission. We will not be defined by limitation but by God’s dreams for our future.


Rev. Scott Schantzenbach,
MOM Campaign Coordinator

Transforming the Mission Culture

Missionary culture in our Synod and congregations is in need of transfor¬mation because the society in which we are missionaries has changed. All of the laments about recreational sporting events scheduled in conflict with church activities, loss of youth, confusion about both the purpose and the message of the church of Jesus Christ are reflective of changing times. Christianity in our society has been moved away from a position of domi¬nance and has experienced a loss of numbers, power, and influence within our society.

Mission on the Move calls us to redis¬cover our passion for God and for God’s mission in new ways in the 21st century. Changing our behavior, in¬vesting in new mission models are first steps in transforming the mis¬sional culture of the church. We un¬derstand that mission in not merely an activity of the church. Rather mission is the result of God’s initiative, rooted in God’s purposes to restore and heal creation. Mission is on the Move. Mission means sending and it is the central biblical theme describing the purpose of God’s action in history.

God is a missionary God and therefore we desire to claim the church as a “sent people.” “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). MOM seeks to support God’s work to be missionaries in our own neighborhoods, in the culture in which we find ourselves. The com¬munities in which we are called to witness are no longer the neighbor¬hoods of the past century and have taken on new forms of language, ethnicity, and are may no longer be predominantly Christian.

The challenge of Mission on the move is to change from church with mission to missional church. Evalu¬ate the ministry of our congregation against these marks of a missional church:

A missional church is biblical. Testimony to God’s mission and the formation of mission¬ary people is rooted in the witness of Scripture.

A missional church is histori¬cal. We are guided by the Christian church in all of its cultural and historic expres¬sions, those that precede us and those that are contemporary.

A missional church is contextual. Every ef¬fective congregational witness is developed in a particular cultural context, rooted in time and place. The only way to be the church is incarnationally. The integrity and signifi¬cance of our witness is related both to the gospel we proclaim and the context in which it is shared.

A missional church is eschatological. The mission of this church is on the move. It can never be static. New insights and chal¬lenges will raise questions never before con¬sidered and demand a witness that redefines how we function and how we hope.

A missional church is engaged. Missionally oriented churches translate their passion for God and God’s mission into practice. The work of missional congregations equips the saints for faithful witness in particular places. This engagement serves the church’s wit¬ness as it, “makes disciples of all nations,... teaching them to obey everything that I (Jesus) have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20).

Now Is The Time To Share

Mission on the Move has the potential to transform every expression of the New Jersey Synod by strengthen¬ing the missionary orienta¬tion of this church. Now you can play a leadership role in shaping the church. Your support of MOM will make a difference and:

• Transform the missionary culture of this church.
• Invest over $310,000 in strengthening and trans¬forming 188 congrega¬tions into centers for mission outreach and faith invitation.
• Share $700,000 to sup¬port vibrant congrega¬tions through times of transition, redevelop¬ment, and critical need.
• Provide $1,600,000 to aid in the development of two new ministry starts in New Jersey.

The congregational phase of Mission on the Move (MOM) is now underway. In the coming weeks, you will be invited to pledge your financial support of Mission on the Move. Sharing a gift with MOM will reflect your commitment to missionally reorienting this church. You will also provide resources for use in your con¬gregation to engage the com¬munity with the Gospel of Je¬sus Christ. In addition, your gifts support sister congrega¬tions in times of transition and critical need and will help to plant two new ministries in New Jersey.

AIDS WALK NEW YORK

Sunday, May 18, 2008
Aids Walk New York (AWNY) is the world’s largest AIDS fundraising event. In 2007, more than 45,000 people participated and raised a record breaking sum of more than $6.8 million. Funds raised from the walkathon go to numerous programs and educational services to support people living with HIV/AIDS, and to over 60 other tri-state area AIDS organizations. The 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) walkathon begins and ends in Central Park.

Nancy and Tony Maguire are again raising funds and on Sunday, May 18, 2008 they will participate in Aids Walk New York. If you would like to walk with them, or sponsor them by donating money, please let them know. Checks should be payable to AWNY and can be given to Nancy or Tony anytime. You can also mail your check to 26 Parsons Ct., Mahwah, NJ 07430. If you would like to raise money at your school or place of business they can provide you with sponsor forms.

If you would like more information please call them at(201) 934-9366. You can also visit www.aidswalk.net

May 1 Ascension Day/National Day of Prayer

Join people from all over town at the flag pole at Town Hall on Thursday, May 1 at noon to pray for this country and its leaders.

May 1 is Ascension Day, the day the church celebrates Jesus’ ascending to the right hand of the Father. Join us as we join the people of Grace Church in worship and prayer at 6:30 p.m. on this holy day. Call the office for complete details.

Gifts in action

We have a couple of newly organizing ministry opportunities that need some creative and technical support. Are you in?

Computer people, sound and recording people, audio-editing people, friendly visitors, creative writers, video directors, photographers and more … to plan, write produce, record and edit a variety of podcasts and, while we’re at it … to re-imagine the potential of our Web site. Talk to Pastor Jim.

Storytellers, actors and those who love to read out loud … to get deeply involved in God’s story (the Bible) and to explore creative ways of telling that story. Again, talk to Pastor Jim.

Let’s Get it Started

What gift do you have to share? What new ministry do you want to get started? If you have a new and exciting way to share the Gospel, overcome barriers and connect one to many, then by all means … do it. We’re here to help … all of us.