What Would You Like to Know?

Current Consistory Members

Elders

Rafael Armstrong, VP of Consistory & Elder of Worship

Diane Sansone, Elder of Congregational Care

Paige Inglese, Elder of Youth & Discipleship

Celeste Kirk, Elder of Christian Education

Deacons

Sherri Caramico, Deacon of Church Life

John Schaffer, Deacon of Buildings & Grounds

Jack Sytsma, Deacon of Finance

Tristian Wyant, Deacon of Missions

Christian Education

Christian Education - April 2024

We continue to hope that there will be an increase in Sunday School numbers soon.

Folders of lessons for the younger grade students are in the library. There has been a notice in the weekly e-blast asking for volunteers to be substitute teachers on an as needed basis.  The upper grade students have not been attending.

The FRC Easter Egg Hunt took place on Saturday, March 23rd at 10 in the morning.  The weather was not conducive to an outdoor hunt, but that didn't stop approximately 25 kids and their grownups from attending.  It was a wonderful event.  Thank you to Wes, Sasha, Rafael, Sherri, Phil and Shirley for all the help. 

Vacation Bible School will be held the week of June17th. Ours will be the first VBS and hopefully our numbers will increase from last year.  Registration began the day of the Easter Egg Hunt.  Food Truck Party will be the theme again. A meeting for anyone wishing to volunteer will be scheduled for April 28th.

Respectfully Submitted by,

Celeste Kirk

Mission Moments

Mission In Action Report- December 2024

1. Martha’s Pantry: Ongoing the first Saturday of each month. Thanks to Sherri and Phil for collecting this past Saturday. If you’re unable to bring non-perishable items, but would still like to contribute, please send Venmo donations to @stclements271 with reference to Martha’s Pantry in the note.

2. Eva’s Village: We have 8 volunteers set for December 27th 10:30-2pm and will be sporting our new FRC t-shirts!

3. Boxes of Love: We were able to deliver 7 Boxes of Love last month to families in our community. Each family received non perishable items, a $25 ShopRite gift card, a turkey, candle, New Testament book, and hand written card from Pastor Wes. Each family was extremely grateful for our generosity and one family even wrote a card back to us sharing their gratitude. Thank you all for your help making this quick mission opportunity such a success!

4. Operation Christmas Child: We were able to put together 22 boxes for children all around the world which we collected November 24th. 15+ years and counting supporting Operation Christmas Child. Special thanks to Paul Castellvi for his pickup and delivery efforts!

5. NJ Food and Clothing Rescue: Renay Stafford has provided us with the names of 5 children and 5 seniors in the community that we’ll be able to buy presents for this year. We’ve also added 7 names from a family in our congregation to the tree this year in order to help offset some of the financial burdens they experienced last year. The tags are located on the tree in fellowship hall and presents are due back December 15th.

6. Christmas Caroling: On December 15th from 2-3:30, we will visit our homebound to go Christmas caroling around Fair Lawn, Hawthorne, etc. We’ll then come back to fellowship hall and share in some hot cocoa and sweet treats! Please sign up on the sheet in fellowship hall! Any and all are welcome!

Submitted by,

Tristian Wyant

Church Life

Please note: Church Life Meetings will take place on the FIRST Sunday of each month in 2024. ALL ARE WELCOME!

2024 EVENTS:

The Spring Scrapbooking Crop Fundraiser and Walk Thru Basket Raffle was A Great Success!! We had 104 baskets in total--there were over 40 people from the community who came out in the rain and purchased raffle tickets for the Walk Thru Basket Raffle.

We raised a total profit--$5535.42

APRIL 27th - 3-6 pm NOAH Movie Matinee- Judy Dudas and Suzanne Aridas have volunteered to chair this event.  I have put posters up around town (Olsson's, Melcon's, Boro Hall, Angelina's, Barbershop, Moe's, Andy's, Carlo's) and created an event on our Facebook Page. The flyer has also been included in the Mayor's letter, along with being advertised on Facebook in various community groups.

*Need to check water stock and probably purchase soda.

May 11th - Saturday 1-5:00 pm -Paint Party with Paint Fusion!  BOOKED  I've asked Emily to update the flyer and hope to have it in time for the April event. Need to start advertising right away!

June 15th - Scrapbook Crop and Raffle 9:30 am-9:00 pm. I have a total of @40 seats either paid for or reserved! Tickets can be found on church website under Calendar of Events.

September 22nd - Formal Installation of Pastor Wes--Need to form a committee of 3 or 4 people who want to organize this event.

Please reach out to Sherri Caramico (201) 321-4535 or shercara@aol.com with any questions.

Buildings & Grounds

Building and Grounds Report – December 2024

Manager Scene and Marquee Update

Thanks to Glen Colyer and Bill Colyer for setting up the manger scene out front. He sends his thanks to the praise team for the assist as well. Church marquee has been updated for Advent.

Emergency Lighting and Fire Extinguisher Checklist Inspection

Monthly emergency lighting checks have been documented. There is a clip board in the office. Scheduling for annual fire extinguisher inspections will need to be done in February of each year to keep all extinguishers in compliance. A clip board in the office lists all FE locations and they have been identified with fire extinguisher signs and numbers.

Downstairs Bathroom Floor Tile and Cove Border Replacement

Spent an evening pulling up the old floor tile and toilet in the downstairs bathroom. A second day to replace the floor tiles damaged by a leaking service line to the toilet. The entire floor was retiled, the toilet seal replaced and the wall edge cove base was also replaced.

Furnace Operations

Knock on wood, the new steam valve is working fine and all rooms appear to be holding temperatures. All other zones appear functional and operational.

Damaged Basement Window and Garbage Issues

Recent use of fellowship hall has brought to mind a need for a number of items:

  • Provide a clean up/close out check list for use of church facilities.

  • We should stop relying upon a hand wave and “a past practice” permission process for church facility use and use of chairs and tables by church members.

  • Update our building use form for what facilities are to be used (bathrooms, kitchen, fellowship hall, basement, stage, etc) for clean ups.

  • We need to develop and apply an updated building use form for what facilities will be used and responsibility for clean up for all non-church related functions regardless of who permits what.

  • All activities need to use a form for permission for facility or equipment use since things like the

    • Stove because you need instruction on operation.

    • Facility use and understanding what is to be used since this carries insurance liabilities;

    • A waiver and damage repair agreement section with deposit to cover damages. While a broken window is minor, supervision is clearly needed and extent of use should be known prior to use.

    • Pre-approval by an authorized church representative - B/G, VP at least to close out use;

    • Consider fee and collection of a deposit for damage and/or additional cleanup – if no problems then we tear up check or return the deposit check;

    • A dedicated check list to be completed for close out of facility to be reviewed/approved by church representative after use.

Replacement of Exterior Flood Lighting

Replaced eight flood bulbs around the exterior of the church for nighttime lighting needs.

Stucco and Leader Damage

The leader on the southside of the church was backed in to by a vehicle. Only minor damage (i.e., chipped stucco and dented leader) but this is a problem and a concern. We may want to put up a barrier there to stop this from occurring again.

Day Care Client Offer for Door Replacement

I think this is no longer an option as no further information has been provided.

General Repairs and Maintenance

Lots of general repairs and maintenance continue as needed and identified.

Respectfully Submitted,

John Schaffer

Youth & Discipleship

Report - February 2024

A quarterly meeting is scheduled for April 2nd at7 pm with Mike Rica, Emily Mintz and me via Zoom.

Networking:

On Sunday, April 7th, we are having middle and high school youth groups.  Mike Rica will be giving the same talk about Identity in Christ since we had one person the last time.  Networking continues, I am in contact with Sarah Christie, Debbie and Jess from Young Lives at Lighthouse.  All are spreading the word.  I continue to post to Facebook  pages, and Instagram, and reach out personally to people.  I have made ticketleap events for the events listed below.

Faith Place:

Finalizing the banner tomorrow with Emily and Mike

Youth Leadership Conference:

The Youth Leader Summit is coming up on  May 22nd-24th.  I have booked and will attend.

https://www.hcbible.org/youthleadersummit

Events:

Sunday, April 7th--Middle and High School Youth Group

Sunday, April14th--Young Adult Group

Future:

July or August for the CPR certification course?  I would like to touch base with Sherri after my semester ends the second week of May when I can commit to organizing it.

Discussions are happening around hosting outdoor events since the weather is getting warmer.

Misc:

Is it possible to arrange for a Sunday where the offering can be donated to Faith and Fellowship?

Submitted by Paige Inglese

Capital Campaign

We want to thank everyone who has given generously toward the Capital Campaign. So far, we’ve collected $5,581. We have several projects that need to be worked on. Click below to learn more about our 5 year Capital Campaign plan.

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