Intentional Faith Development at CPC

This Sunday, Sept. 16 we kick-off our intentional faith development small groups for the Fall Festival of Faith.  These 3 small groups will be reading and discussing the book "Forty Days of Fruitful Living".  To help encourage all adult members of the congregation to attend one of these groups, the Children & Family Ministry Team will once again be offering Faith Adventure.

Faith Adventure meets from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm in the Children’s Center for study, fellowship, and lunch.  All 1st through 5th graders are invited.  For the next 6 weeks we will be watching and learning from a video series focused on the Ten Commandments.

The nursery will also expand its care to include children from birth through Kindergarten from 11 am to 12:30 pm.

These additional Children's programs will allow for parents to attend a small group.

Also, Middle School Students are invited to join for choir rehearsal at 11 am.

Parents please take the opportunity to participate in one of the intentional faith development small groups.  The one is room 2-B led is especially designed for you!

School is just around the corner

As our CPC students and families gear up for another school year to begin next week,
we have been gearing up for exciting ministry programs!

Sept. 9th is Rally Day!

We will have worship at 8:30 am and 10 am, followed by a picnic on the Maple St. lawn and in the auditorium with a bounce house, face painter, glitter tattoos, special live music, and fun, fun, fun!

A CHANGE for this school-year is EVERY Sunday ALL students from pre-K through middle school will come to worship at 10 am in the sanctuary and then be dismissed during the service to head to their classrooms guided by their teachers.  This will allow for more worship exposure for our children and youth as well as a chance for them to still engage in meaningful Christian Education and relationship building in Christian fellowship.

FAITH ADVENTURE RETURNS on Sept. 16th.  This is a program geared toward kindergarten through 5th graders whose parents are engaged in small group intentional faith development at the 11 am hour; from 11 to 12:15 students are welcome to the Children’s Center for a bible lesson, games, and lunch.  Pre-K Sunday School students are invited to join the nursery caregivers at 11 am if their parents are staying for small groups.

Our FALL FESTIVAL OF FAITH will focus on the book "40 Days of Fruitful Living".  This study is an opportunity for all church members from the newly confirmed to the life-long members to engage with each other in one of 3 small groups that meet at 11 am for book discussion, study, prayer, and fellowship with their peers.  For parents of young children, the small group led by Pastor John is specifically designed for you!

Middle School Sunday School will kick off the year continuing with our re:form video series that received rave reviews from the students this past school-year!  Also, Middle School mission events will kick into gear in October.

Senior High students will have multiple options from Confirmation class, Senior High gatherings, and mission events.

For the youngest of God's children our Sunday Morning Nursery will be open from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm beginning Sept. 9th for youth ages birth to 3 years old; at 11 am we expand to include students in pre-K in the nursery.  Remember we always have at least 2 and usually 4 caregivers trained and dedicated in the safety and Christian nurture of our youngest children here every Sunday morning.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the church office 908-273-0441, visit the church website www.centralpres.org, or simply show up Sunday morning and engage in the exciting ministries that are alive, thriving, being innovative, and growing at CPC!

Summer Sunday School

After 9 weeks fo Summer Sunday School at CPC it's hard to believe we only have one week left!

Our theme this summer was how God uses water in the Bible.  We talked about the creation of water in Genesis, the use of water to cleanse the earth in the story of Noah's Ark, the water involved in Jonah's encounter with a whale, Jesus' baptism in water,

Jesus calming a storm on the open water,

and we had 2 water fun days as well as a visit from

Mad Science when we did smoke and bubble experiments. 

Next Sunday, Aug. 26 we will culminate our water themed summer by having a free-will bake sale to add more funds to our summer offering towards clean water projects in Malawi.

We kick-off the school-year Sunday School program on

Rally Day, Sunday, Sept. 9 with worship, nursery care,

Sunday School for ages 3 through 8th grade,

and an all-church picnic including music on the front lawn,

food, a face-painter, and a bounce house!

Please join us as we continue our tradition of

fun and excellence in CPC Christian Education programming!

SUMMER NIGHTS AT CPC

Summer Nights at CPC 

Wednesdays from 6 to 8 pm

July 11, 18, & 25

Co-sponsored by the Children & Family Ministry Team and the Alternative Worship Team.

Each night will include worship time, dinner, and separate activities for adults, youth, and children.

• On July 11 and 18, we will have a coffee bar, run by Cupa Cabana, making to-order: lattes, cappuccinos, hot chocolates and fresh fruit smoothies.
• On July 11^th, Mad Science will be leading a hands-on demonstration all about Slime for the kids and youth, while for the adults Emily Campbell will be leading an introduction to Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood, talking about how we, the adult church members of CPC, can help our young people navigate a much more complicated world than we grew up in.
• On July 18,  Steve Prothero, professor in the Department of Religion at Boston University and New York Times best-selling author of Religious Literacy , will lead the adult discussion while the kids enjoy a dj and video making session and the youth are led in a lesson by our summer intern.
• On July 25^th, the Rev. Dr. Robert Morris from Calvary Episcopal and Interweave will present a program on walking a prayer Labyrinth.  The kids and youth will be engaged in a hands-on mission project this evening as well.

We are asking for a donation of $5 per person, $20 per family for dinner each evening.

Confirming our faith

In the Presbyterian Church (USA) when an infant is presented for the sacrament of baptism the parents and congregation agree to nurture the child and raise the child in the faith so that when the child reaches the age of maturity he or she can confirm his faith and claim his or her identity as a follower of Christ for themselves.

This year we have 13 students in our Confirmation Program at CPC.  I have been meeting with them one-on-one to discover how the confirmation program impacted them, what they liked or disliked about it, what they love to do, what inspires them, what they wish the church would do for them, how they think they can be active in membership here, and if there is anything that annoys or confusing them about the way we live out our faith here at CPC.

The conversations have been fruitful, interesting, inspiriting, and a bit heartbreaking.  Each student has different things to share and some of the stories are affirming, others sort of confused, and yet others are still seeking to discover what their faith means.

This is fantastic!  The Holy Spirit is really working on the hearts of these students to challenge them, enliven them, and even knock them a bit off-base and this is all good in the Lord's eyes.

I am blessed and honored to be a small part of this transformative and self-affirming process as these students take ownership of their personal faith identity.

May God richly bless each student and bless our congregation with their gifts for years to come!

EASTER AT CPC

We just kicked off the Community Good Friday Children's Walk at CPC with over 70 people!!!

At noon today is our Good Friday Worship Service in the Chapel followed by the middle school studnets preping the lunches for the Bridges Run.

Tonight the Senior High Studnets will be taking the 300 lunches to the needy and homeless.

On Easter morning we will be praising God for the reality of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in many ways!

6 am Sunrise Worship in the Memory Garden with contemporary praise songs and visual arts
9 am Sanctuary Worship with the children's flowering of the cross
11 am Sanctuary Worship and Children's Program in the Auditorium

Hosanna!
Hallelujah!

PALM SUNDAY AND EGG HUNT

We had a very festive and full Palm Sunday worship at 10 am with a palm procession led by the children & youth of our church.

After worship children from birth through 5th grade hunted for 1,000 eggs hidden all over the church grounds filled with toys and candy.

The air was filled with the sounds of laughter, waving palm branches filled the sanctuary, famillies smiled together, new and old friends worshipped and played together.

Truly the beginning of Holy Week has been triumpant at CPC!