The Bridge
IN THIS ISSUE: Community Connections PAGE 3
Connections: Small Groups PAGE 5
Youth Group Updates PAGE 7
Upcoming Events PAGE 9
A bimonthly publication of Bridgewater United Methodist Church SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2017 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3
Letter from the Pastor Greetings dear Bridgewater UMC friends, I hope and pray that you are feeling refreshed and rejuvenated from a wonderful summer. Over these past summer months my husband, Gerry, and I enjoyed time away in Florida, took many bike rides at Duke Park, attended musical concerts, and even had a brief trip to Maine to retrieve our son from his summer job. We are energized for this fall season and all that God has in store for us in the cooler days ahead. September brings a new program year at church with many new “Connections” small group opportunities. Rooted in our Wesleyan heritage, small groups provide a way to grow in your discipleship in the company of others on your lifelong walk of faith. Fellowship within a small group draws us closer to one another and closer to God. As we grow as individuals through small groups our church naturally grows more vibrant as well. We are better equipped to make disciples for Jesus Christ when we ourselves are committed to growing deeper in our own spiritual journey. Check out the bulletin board in the main hallway for sign up sheets and details of all the new fall groups. I’m very excited to let you know that this fall Connections small groups are expanding and will now include “Community Connections” groups, which have an intentional focus on reaching the needs of the community outside of our church walls. These groups include Mental Health First Aid training and an Alzheimer’s support group. You can read more about these groups in my article on page 3 of this issue. May God richly bless you in this coming season! Hope to see you in a small group soon. Peace,
Rev. June
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Pastoral & Church Staff 651 Country Club Road Bridgewater, NJ 08807 908-526-1414 bridgewaterumc.org office@bridgewaterumc.org Vision Statement: We invite all people into an accepting and loving community of peace and refuge that makes disciples of Jesus Christ to impact lives through mission and service.
We are a Stephen Ministry congregation and all calls/ emails are confidential. To reach a Stephen Minister, please contact stephenmin@bridgewater umc.org or 908.872.0503
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Cho, Senior Pastor Rev. Laura Steele, Associate Pastor of Spiritual Formation Rev. June Tamburro, Associate Pastor of Discipleship Evan Currie, Director of Music/Organist Mary Beth Gruber, Finance Manager/Treasurer Nick Jankucic, Property Manager Janet Ledbetter, Administrative Assistant Diana T. Berenter, Childcare Coordinator Jeanne Alusik, Director of Children’s Corner
Group picture from this summer’s staff retreat Pictured (L to R): Evan Currie, Rev. June Tamburro, Janet Ledbetter, Diana Berenter, Mary Beth Gruber, Rev. Laura Steele, and Jeanne Alusik (not pictured: Rev. Dr. Jennifer Cho and Nick Jankucic)
CHILDREN’S CORNER AT BUMC 651 Country Club Road, Bridgewater, NJ 08807
For questions or comments about this publication, please contact Veronica Sydlowski at thebridgebumc@gmail.com
908-526-9596 www.theccorner.org || childbumc@gmail.com Ages 2-6 || Full and Half Day Programs
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Community Connections By: Rev. June Tamburro Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”… And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-40). We cannot fully love God without also loving our neighbors. Our small group ministry, Connections has been a powerful tool for helping members and friends of Bridgewater UMC grow in their love of God. Last year alone we had over 340 people engage in small groups and as a result our congregation is growing in health, vitality and spiritual maturity. Building upon the success of Connections, this fall we will launch new small groups that have an intentional focus on serving our neighbors and surrounding community called Community Connections. Serving our community has been a focus of our Team Vital Plan over the past year and continues to be an important part of our strategic vision under the new leadership of Rev. Jennifer Cho. After much prayerful discernment, we have
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decided to begin Community Connections by offering “Mental Health First Aid” on a regular basis and to become the home of an Alzheimer’s support group with trained facilitators from among our congregation. Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour certificate program that enables someone to offer help to a person in a mental health or substance abuse crisis. We will now offer this program free of charge at least twice each fall and spring, and provide welcoming hospitality to the instructor and participants with the help and support of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Hunterdon County. Registration is already open for the fall 2017 dates (September 16 & 23; October 29 & November 5) and since the course fills up fast you’ll want to register soon if you’d like to participate by going to the website: www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a challenge that many in our church and community face with family and loved ones. I recently had a member of this congregation come to me in despair because she could not find any support or resources in our area for
Facilitators of the Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Support Group (L to R): Debbie Parvin, John Reimer, Robin Bonner, Rev. June Tamburro, Veronica Sydlowski. Nard Bonner, and Susan Mariano. Not pictured: Elaine Carlsen
caregivers. After doing some research, I sadly discovered she was right. In what I’m calling a “Holy Spirit moment,” as I reached out to see who might be interested in starting a support group here at BUMC, seven people from our congregation stepped forward to be trained as leaders. God is good! One of our new facilitators, Robin Bonner explained why she felt called to this new ministry: “My mother had Alzheimer's and it took an immense toll on our whole family. My siblings and I attended an Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Group meeting, and it was very helpful. It's so important as caregivers to lean on and learn from others who are struggling with many of the same concerns. I'm excited that BUMC is starting a caregiver support group to help our community, and I'm happy to be able to ‘pay it forward’ and help other caregivers.”
Our faithful group of seven has received extensive facilitator training from the Alzheimer’s Association and we will begin our community support group in October. The Alzheimer’s Association will support us with resources, advertising and flyers, and list BUMC as an official support group on their national website: www.alz.org. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. As we endeavor to be faithful to these two most important commandments, I encourage you to prayerfully consider how God might be calling you to engage in or lead a small group. Participation in a small group isn’t just “one more thing to do,” it’s a place to encounter the grace of God with one another and to offer that grace and love in our community and throughout God’s precious world. Please remember our Connections and Community Connections ministries in your prayers. September/October | | 4
Find Your Small Group Community Connections: Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group: 1st Monday and 2nd Wednesday of the month, 7:30-9pm (starts in October) Mental Health First Aid Training: 9/16 and 9/23—8am-12pm 10/29 and 11/5—1-5pm
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Fall Small Group Connections: The 5 Love Languages: Tuesdays, 9/26-10/31—7:30-9pm The Daniel Plan: Wednesdays, 9/27-11/1—7:30-9pm Bible Study: Letter of James: Thursdays, 10/5-11/2—8-9pm (via ZOOM Online) New Creations with Ink: Thursday, 10/19 and/or 11/30—7-9pm $25 per class material cost Bridgewater Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (3Ds): 9/24—12:30pm, Duke Farms Lunch & Walk 10/21—7pm, Movie Night 11/18—5:45pm, Dinner at Dewby’s Grill
Ongoing Group Connections:
9:15am Sunday School 10am Sunday School
Book Group (3rd Tuesday, 6:30-8pm)
Cross & Needle (Tuesdays, 1-3pm) Emmaus Reunion Group (men)
Drop In Bible Study (Tuesdays,
10am) United Methodist Women Circles:
Friendship (2nd Monday, 10am)
(Saturday, 7:30am)
Lydia (2nd Thursday, 7:30pm)
Men’s Group (every other Saturday,
Priscilla (last Monday, 7:30pm)
9am) For questions about any of these connection small groups, please contact Rev. June Tamburro at 908-526-1414 x8 or jtamburro@bridgewaterumc.org September/October | | 6
Middle & High School Youth Groups Update This fall is shaping up to be an exciting time for youth here at Bridgewater UMC! Sunday School begins during the 9am worship service on Sunday, September 17th. We will start our Tuesday Night Youth Group on September 19th at 6:30pm. On Saturday, September 10th, we have our MYF (high school) Fall Planning Leadership Retreat "Answering the Call" at the Lebanon Baptist Camp. Friday, September 29th through October 1st, we will rock out in Wildwood at the Ignite Conference, and then October 13th-15th, our JYF (middle school) will have their Fall Retreat. We will also have monthly events full of fun and fellowship! Stay tuned for details about upcoming events by making sure you are receiving and reading the weekly email updates from bumcyouthministries@gmail.com.
MYF (High School) youth group on their mission trip in Philadelphia
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JYF (Middle School) youth group before their mission trip in Baltimore
You are cordially invited to
The Installation Service of
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Cho, Rev. Laura Steele, & Rev. June Tamburro Sunday, September 17, 2017 • 4pm Childcare will provided during the installation service. There will be a covered dish dinner following the service in Fellowship Hall. A sheet is posted by the church office to sign up to bring an appetizer, salad, meat/vegetable, or cookies, and indicate how many people will attend. September/October | | 8
September Highlights To see more events and details, please visit our online calendar at bridgewaterumc.org. All events take place at church unless otherwise noted.
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SEPTEMBER 2017 MYF (High School) Leadership Retreat Baptist Camp & Conference Center, Lebanon, NJ
10 16 & 23
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Open House Sunday
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Worship at 10:30 Potluck Picnic at 11:30am Burgers, hot dogs, and drinks will be provided; please bring a side dish or dessert to share
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Various youth music and bell choirs
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Mental Health First Aid Pre-registration is required
Terrific Tuesday Begins
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Bridgewater 3Ds Lunch & Walk Duke Farms, Hillsborough, NJ
Sunday School Begins 9:15-10am Installation Service with Dinner Reception 4-7:30pm
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12:30-2:30pm
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IGNITE Retreat for MYF (High School) Wildwood, NJ
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Bridgewater 3Ds Movie Night Bonner Home
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Family Promise Volunteers needed for 3 hour shifts and to make dinners
Children & Families Ministry Meet & Greet Lunch (infant4th grade) 11:30am-1pm United Methodist Women (UMW) Communion Breakfast 9:30-11:30am Trunk or Treat 3-5pm
7-9:30pm
10/29 & 11/5
Mental Health First Aid Pre-registration is required
1-5pm
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October 29 • 3-5pm Snacks and Drinks will be available For more information or to volunteer, please contact jennifer.schaber@gmail.com
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