I
recently
learned
that a church
member, who
had become
isolated over the past few years, was
in the hospital for two weeks. No
one had called the church to let us
know. (It used to be that ministers
could drop by the hospital, look over
the admission list and see if we knew
anyone. HIPAA privacy laws have
changed all of that.) I felt horrible
when I learned this. All it would have
taken was a phone call and we could
have been there.
People withdraw from church for
a variety of reasons. For some,
declining health or mobility issues
or even being widowed makes it
harder to come to church alone.
For others, the graduation of the
youngest from high school permits
greater travel and thus, less regular
weekend attendance. Sometimes
a sermon topic offends a person.
There might be the difficulty of the
competing weekend sports schedules
or recreational hobbies. I understand
these ebbs and flows of life, but being
a member of church is like being
a member of a family – whatever
is happening - we miss those who
aren’t with us and we still care about
them in all of life’s ups and downs.
How do we as pastors and we as a
church family get the word out that
we care about our members who
have drifted away? In a large church
like ours with multiple services, it is
admittedly difficult to do. We don’t
know if someone is traveling, sick,
visiting a relative or are they now
drifting away? Studies show that
a “re-invite” after two months of
absence may be all it takes to re-
engage a member. We all need to be
on the look out for those we haven’t
seen in a while and let them know
that we noticed their absence and
that we care - encourage them to
come back in a friendly and gracious
way. Our upcoming beach services
offer a great opportunity to do this.
We will start worshipping at Weed
Beach on June 15. (We will continue
our tradition of a 10 a.m. service in
the air-conditioned chapel – with no
childcare available in July when we
remodel the CE wing.) The service
begins at 8 a.m. and a beach sticker
isn’t required to attend. On June
22nd we will host a brunch at the
beach. This would be a wonderful
setting for reconnections or even for
inviting new friends.
Our church should always be a
The Spire
June 2014
Noroton Presbyterian Church
n
2011 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820
n
203-655-1451
Reconnecting and
Staying Connected
Worship Schedule
Chapel - 8:00 a.m.
Sanctuary - 9:00 & 10:30 a.m.
Open Doors - 5:00 p.m.
Summer Worship Schedule
June 15 ~ September 7
Weed Beach Service - 8:00 a.m.
Chapel - 10:00 a.m.
Upcoming Preaching Schedule:
6/1/14 -
Pastor Sam Schreiner
5:00 p.m. Last Open Doors
Service
6/8/14 -
8:00 a.m.
Pastor Brandi Drake
9 & 10:30 a.m. -
Youth Celebration Sunday
6/15/14 -
Pastor Sam Schreiner
6/22/14 -
Pastor Sam Schreiner
6/29/14 -
Pastor Sam Schreiner
Upcoming Baptism Dates:
8:00Weed Beach: 6/22, 7/13,
7/20, 8/10, 8/24
10:00 Chapel: 6/15, 7/27, 8/17
To schedule a Baptism please call
Leslie Ezzo at 203-309-5618.
Table of Contents
Foundations for the Future
...................3-4
Adult Spiritual Formation.................5-6
Caring &Women’s Ministry.................7
Children’s &Youth Ministry........... 8-11
Tot Drop................................................ 12
NPNS............................................... 13-14
Membership Ministry.......................... 14
Congregational Life Ministry............. 15
Mission Ministry............................. 16-17
NPC SummerWorship ............... 18-19
NPC Calendar of Events.............. Insert
NPC News & NPC Staff ................... 20
continued on page 2...
