Presbytery of Northeastern New Jersey Updates

The Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey

This Advent week arrives carrying sorrow. As news of the mass shootings at Brown University and in Australia reach us on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, the familiar language of “preparing for Christmas” feels thin. Lives are interrupted and families are shattered. Once again, communities are stunned by violence that seems both shocking and all too familiar. In moments like these, the question is not whether the world needs love, it is whether love can possibly be enough.

Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth begins with disruption. Joseph discovers the life he imagined is unraveling as fear, confusion, and shame press in. His instinct is to protect himself and withdraw quietly. But the angel’s message draws him in a different direction - Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. Love, in this story, does not erase danger or uncertainty. Instead, love chooses presence.

Isaiah names the promise simply,  God is not distant or untouched by human pain. God is with us in vulnerability, in grief, in a world where violence intrudes into classrooms, neighborhoods, and sacred spaces. Advent love does not rush to explanations or platitudes. It stays present to mourn and it refuses to look away.

For the church today, this kind of love matters deeply. When communities are traumatized by violence, by fear, by the constant churn of devastating news, the church is tempted either to retreat into sentimentality or to harden into numbness. Advent calls us to neither. Instead, we are invited into love that bears witness, love that grieves publicly, prays honestly, and stands alongside those who feel unsafe, unheard, or unseen.

Joseph’s obedience reminds us that love is not passive feeling; it is a decision shaped by trust in God’s presence. Love takes responsibility for one another’s safety and dignity. Love asks hard questions about the world we are shaping and the lives we are protecting. Love insists that violence will not have the final word.

This week, as we move closer to the manger, we do so with tenderness. We light candles not because the brokenness is gone, but because God has entered it. Emmanuel means that even here, especially here, God is with us. And that love, born in vulnerability, still has the power to change the world.

Steve Huston

Organizing Co-Leader

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Pictures of Prospect

The church office is looking for a few volunteers of any age to take photos of Prospect people in action. Pictures of worship services (discretely of course), fellowship time, regular events or special occasions. Pictures will be used on social media, in worship, in emails and on our current and new website. If anyone can help with this, please contact Faye in the church office. A lot of fancy equipment is not needed, a phone with a camera and a steady hand would be great.

Volunteers Needed Sundays and Other Times

The beginning of a program year is a great time to volunteer to help around the church! There are both worship related positions- like greeting or clicking, and other chores like gardening, some office related items, and helping to clear out areas for the community to use. If you find yourself with a few hours to spare on a Sunday or other day, contact the church office... we have ideas for all levels of physical ability.

Specific Sunday Worship positions and brief descriptions, most take no more than an hour a week and can be done occasionally or as part of a rotating schedule:

* Greeter - greeting worship participants and helping them find what they need

* Clicker- using a remote computer mouse to advance the slides during worship

* Fellowship Time Host- make coffee or iced tea, set up and clean up

* MultiMedia Ministry Team Member- Set up audio/visual equipment and run sound and cameras for worship, livestream the service. Some basic training is needed for this job.

* Teaching ConnectEd for any age group.

Other times indoor jobs:

* Office scanning projects - historical documents need to be scanned into the computer and renamed to organize the files better.

* Helping clean out and organize supply closets and file rooms

*Bulletin Board Displays- update some of the outdated material on a particular ministry team's assigned bulletin board

* Help clean out rooms from ministries that are no longer using the items and work on a solution to remove the items from the premises (selling, donating, discarding).

Outdoor Jobs

*Maintaining any of the many particular gardens around the church and manse property

* Maintaining the fountain in the memorial garden (keeping it clean, and water filled)

*Trash and recycling cans brought in and out on specific days

Or, Join a ministry team. Volunteers are needed to help with all aspects of the church. Christian Education, Finance/Stewardship, Property, Worship Planning and Prospect Hunger Program! Most of these ministries meet monthly, in the evening, plus may have other projects to join in with- as a member of the team or not!

Contact the Church office for more information.