185^th Anniversary Service

Sunday, October 14 – 11am

Our first record (the original will be displayed on our celebration) is dated December 4, 1882 and reads as follows: “We the subscribers being sensible of the Benefits of having the Gospel of Free Salvation Preached among us Do Promise to pay to Demas Harrison & Benjamin Burras the several sums annexed to our names one half in three months and the other half in six months from Date for the purpose of Building a Methodist Meeting House Near the Schoolhouse in South Caldwell or North Livingston December 4^th 1822”

According to the article, The History of the Roseland Methodist Church, written in 1945, John and Charles Wesley appear as the founder of Methodism. Their love of God and love of neighbor touched so many lives in the world and Methodist movement still continues in the world especially in the African continent. ….

D John Wesley at age 48- 4041 Bytes iscipleship… is about loving God. It is more than an acknowledgement of God’s existence or a statement of belief re-garding God. It is total devotion, head-over-heals-in-love-with adoration. It is the deep desire to know God, to be one with God, and to worship God.

Loving God…When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, his response was: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.” (Matt. 22:37-38. See Matt. 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34; and Luke 10:25-28.)

There are a variety of ways that we can develop our knowledge of and love of God. These include:

Prayer Bible study Worship Fasting Conversation with other Christians

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, called these practices means of grace. They are means for developing our relationship with God and for experiencing God’s presence in our lives. These practices help us spend time with God, a significant factor in loving God.

THE USE OF MONEY

by John Wesley

"I say unto you, Make unto yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteous-ness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into the everlasting habitations." Luke 16:9

I. We ought to gain all we can gain but this it is certain we ought not to do; we ought not to gain money at the expense of life, nor at the expense of our health.

II. Do not throw the precious talent into the sea.

III. Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then "give all you can."

Sermon 50 (text from the 1872 edition)

Monarchs Fall Migration

I noticed from the deck up high,

That as the Monarchs fluttered by,

They gathered in profusion there,

Upon the yellow blossoms fair,

But when the eventide begun,

They vanished with the setting sun.

…Nancy Frank, Beach Haven, NJ

A candidate was going door-to-door soliciting votes when she came

across a grouchy-looking fellow who yelled, “Vote for you? I’d rather vote for the devil!” “I understand,”

said the candidate calmly, “but in case your friend isn’t running, may I count on your support?”

“If Jesus Christ had taken a poll, He would never have preached the Gospel.”

—Congressman Henry Hyde

A woman wrote to Columnist Smiley Anders of the Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate: “I am sure that many of the men attend the same church as my husband on Sunday – Our Lady of Perpetual Golf.”

—via Jeff Totten Hammond, LA

A young man applied for a job, bringing glowing references from his pastor and deacon. “These references are excellent,” the prospective employer told the young man. “Now, can you bring one from somebody who sees you on weekdays?”

“When peeling onions, if you keep your mouth closed, you won’t shed tears. This works in most other situations as well.”

—via Norma Sims, Eustis, FL

Out of the mouths of God’s Kids

The Director of Religious Education at a Catholic Church in Galveston, TX, asked a nine-year old girl: “What do we call the special men Jesus called to work with him?”

“I don’t know,” the girl replied.

“Sure you do,” the teacher said. “You know they were his special buddies. We call them the twelve…”

“Oh yeah!” the girl exclaimed, her eyes brightening, “…the twelve old fossils!”

From the Joyful Noisletter

Most American doctors believe that religion and spirituality have a positive effect on patients’ health, according to a survey published in the April 9 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine. Of the 1,144 doctors surveyed by researchers, 54% believed that religion sometimes has a beneficial effect on a patient’s health. And 33% of the doctors said religion and spirituality help prevent specific medical events like heart attacks, infections, and death.

CONFERENCE/DISTRICT ACTIVITIES

Sept. 7-9 – Conference Youth Weekend in Ocean City

Sept. 17 – Bishop Devadhar’s visit to our district.

Sept. 23 – Conference Hymn Sing at Ocean Grove

Sept. 29 – Gateway North District UMW – Communion & Brunch

Rev. Paul Maliel’s installation as Cape-Atlantic Superintendent

Oct. 13 – Discipleship 101 Training Event

Oct. 20 - Conference UMW Meeting in Pitman

Nov. 14 – Resource Day with Phyllis Bowers

Dec. 14 – District Clergy Family Christmas Party

Feb. 20 – District Resource Day with Bishop Schnase

Detailed information is in the Narthex bulletin board

Our Church Conference

Monday, October 22 – 7:30 pm

All reports are due by September 30.

The Trustees

The Trustees have worked hard with the help of Plansoen Grant. The major capital building improvement plan includes: front step repair, side door column replacement, and lighting fixture replacement in the toddler Day Care Room 1.

The Memorial Garden is also under way and the parsonage on Park Street will show up with considerable refurbishment projects.

We thank all those who have been putting in their time, energy, labor, and wisdom.

Movie Review: Catch and

Release
Director: Susannah Grant
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Cast: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Jaeger, Juliette Lewis, Kevin Smith
Rating: PG-13 for some language, sexuality and mild drug use. By: Gregg Tubb

(UMC.org)—Some things are just better the second time around. In the quirky and big-hearted romantic comedy Catch and Release, Jennifer Garner plays a broken-hearted young woman, Grey, who gets a second chance at love and the opportunity to steer her life in a completely new direction.

Her fiancée, Grady's, sudden death has turned her wedding day into a painful and awkward wake. Surrounded by all the trappings of a wedding celebration, Grey bravely greets mourners instead of well-wishers, while internally despairing over her lost love and shattered dreams. This may seem like a grim way to start a romantic comedy, but writer-director Susannah Grant (nominated for an Academy Award^® for her screenplay for Erin Brockovich) manages to keep things from getting too heavy by surrounding Gray with an endearing trio of friends who are determined to buoy her up.

Reminiscent of The Big Chill, this film depicts a circle of friends brought together by the death of the person who was the glue that held the group together. The friends all share Gray's sense of loss and disillusion-ment when unexpected, discouraging details about Grady's life surface. As the four split, clash, and regroup, they console each other and try to find a new “glue” to hold them together. Their group dynamics are alternately comical and touching, but always revealing. Grady was not the only one with secrets; each of them is something more or different than the others expect.

We can learn much from watching these all-too-human characters try to recover from loss. First, we are reminded that none of us are perfect and we all, as Paul put it, “have fallen short of the glory of God.” Once we've accepted that, we understand why Jesus warned, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” We also see the importance of being honest and the need to lower our defenses—with each other, with ourselves, and with our Maker. As always, honesty takes courage, but also has great rewards.

Catch and Release is an endearing amalgam of contradictions: a love story that's more about friendship; a story that begins with tragedy, but is all about starting life anew; an ensemble character comedy where no one is who they think they are, or who others think they are. Yet, somehow, it all comes together like a colorful quilt—rich in emotional and character diversity. Catch and Release, with its message about new beginnings and resilient, forgiving love will make you think of spring.

Henry Albinson: 37 Ridge Rd. Roseland, NJ 07068

Vivian Baker: Green Hill 103 Pleasant Valley Way,

West Orange, NJ 07052

Dorothy Broemel: Green Hill Room 1028 103 Pleasant Valley Way West Orange, NJ 07052

Everett Leonard: Crane's Mill

459 Passaic Ave. West Caldwell, NJ 07007

Earl Walker: 489 Eagle Rock Avenue Roseland, NJ 07068

Bob Pannullo: 51 Park Street, West Caldwell, NJ 07006

Book Review: Water for Elephants

Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher: Algonquin Bks of Chapel Hill, 2006 – 331pages

(UMC.org)—The circus! What an engaging and intense microcosm, full of exotic characters and drama—both staged and real. Sara Gruen’s third novel is as generously infused with love as with the hard realities of Depression-era circus life. The Bernini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth travels through Depression-era Midwestern towns bringing sequins and fantasy pouring out of railroad cars and parading down Main Street. Unemployment and hunger have made such a distraction irresistible for the “rubes” who come to see the show. Actual circus photos of the time enhance the story’s feel of authenticity.

A family catastrophe leaves Jacob Jankowski homeless, penniless, and numb just before taking his final veterinarian exams. In desperation, he literally grabs the first opportunity that comes along—a slow-moving circus train. The narrative swings easily between the past and present—between the naïve 23-year-old Jacob in the circus, and the crotchety old widower he becomes in his nineties in a nursing home, alone with his guilt and memories all locked up. When a little circus sets up nearby, Jacob hobbles out to see it and his memory of his time with the circus comes flooding back. In an idealized ending, he finds re-demption from his self-imposed loneliness.

The 1930s were despairing, often brutal times, and the writer does not spare us these details. Still, through some unusual, caring relationships, the story shines with the redemptive power of love. We see self-lessness and an extraordinary example of pure love demonstrated by Jacob and one of the circus “freaks” for a helpless old drunk who lies dying in the back of a boxcar. We see the stamp of godly good on the souls of these two men, amazingly uncrushed by the evil and despairing circumstances surrounding them, and on the unconditional love of two of the animals. The story makes its point without sentimentalism, but vividly. And it could be said that something of God is reflected in the unlikely forms of a dwarf and even an elephant in this haunting story. By: Lynne Bevan DeMichele, a former communications director for the UMC in Indiana, & a freelance writer living in Gig Harbor, Wash.

September Scriptures: The message in the Sunday worship service is based on the following scripture verses in September. If you would like to read these selections ahead of time it would be helpful.

Sept. 2^nd 14^th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1, 10-16;

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sept. 9^th 15^th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18;

Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33

Sept. 16^th 16^th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 4:11-22, 22-28; Psalm 14;

1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

Sept. 23^rd 17^th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1; Psalm 79:1-9;

1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13

Sept. 30^th 18^th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

Upper Room Now Available

The September copies of Upper Room are

now available and can be found in the

Narthex. Feel free to take a copy.

SEPTEMBER CALENDAR

2 (Sunday) 11:00 a.m.

14^th Sunday after Pentecost

Communion

4:00 p.m. Crane’s Mill Service

9 (Sunday) 11:00 a.m. Trinity Sunday

15^th Sunday after Pentecost

16 (Sunday) 11:00 a.m.

16^th Sunday after Pentecost

Animal Blessings Sunday

17 (Monday) District Meeting with Bishop

Devadhar

18 (Tuesday) Church Council

23 (Sunday) 11:00 a.m.

17^th Sunday after Pentecost

Christian Education Sunday

30 (Sunday) 11:00 a.m.

18^th Sunday after Pentecost

If you do not find your birthday and/or anniversary in the newsletter or the inserts but would like to share your special time please let us know

Happy Birthday!!

03 Janine Saber

10 Ruth Kaup

13 Phyllis Benscsko

24 Ruth P. Shannon

Happy Anniversary

2 Linda & Ted Meyer

Animal Blessings Sunday

September 16, 11 am

All family pets are invited to join their humans for worship on Sunday morning. A special offering will be taken for the Morristown Seeing Eye organization. (see www.seeingeye.org for more information on their programs.)

Roseland United

Methodist Church

144 Eagle Rock Avenue

Roseland, NJ 07068-1320

September 2007

celebrating our 185^th year of faithful service to the community