News and Events - May, 2010

In December, the Session selected a group of seven people to help define the vision which will take Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green into the future. There is one pastor, one elder, one deacon, one Moderator of Women’s Fellowship, one member/part time employee and two members at large. With that in mind, we used StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath to help us learn more about each other and what strengths each of us had. Our different strengths have helped us as a team to stay focused yet look at BPCOG from different perspectives. We have met every Sunday morning since January 10.

We have been guided by Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation by George Bullard. This book has taken us through the steps of identifying a vision for the future. We started this process by looking at where BPCOG is today. We considered, “What if Church on the Green doesn’t survive?” We each wrote a eulogy focusing on why we felt our church might not survive. We found this very difficult to write. None of us wanted to believe this could really happen. After looking at something we don’t want to have happen, we turned to a resurrection story, What did we think should stay the same and what needed to change, to keep our church alive and help us to grow. We looked at what BPCOG is doing well - Food Pantry, Thrift Shop, Feeding the Hungry, helping our special needs folks, the work of the deacons, to name a few.

Wanting to be sure that we included the thoughts of our entire congregation and wanting to let the church family know that everyone is valued and cared about, we asked the elders and deacons to call all of the members of the congregation. This is a work in progress as we try to reach everyone despite conflicting schedules and in some cases lack of contact numbers. As these responses come in, all anonymously, the Dream Team is looking for trends - areas of common interest and areas of common concern.

Based on these responses and using George Bullock’s book, we have now begun to look at the choices we should consider as we create a vision and write the future story of our congregation and its ministry. Among the choices considered are being a community-focused church, being more multicultural, having additional times during the week and styles in which to worship God, and BPCOG being the site of multiple congregations. We are finding this to be especially challenging as the history of BPCOG has been about having programs for those who choose to come, rather than creating ministries to which to invite and encourage people to take part. A wider discussion about our future will be held through congregational forums in the next two months.

The development of this vision will make the work of the Pastor Nominating Committee easier and more directed. With a more specific understanding of the future into which we believe God is calling us, we believe we can more easily identify that person God is calling to lead this congregation into that future.

As a group of seven people brought together to think about and plan for the future of BPCOG, we have gained a new sense of respect for each person on the Dream Team and in our congregation. We believe that our love of the Lord and this church family can overcome any stumbling blocks along the way. Yes, we are small, but there were only 12 disciples, and look at the world-wide church they built on faith. We can do the same. Yes, there is a budget to deal with and an old building to maintain and repair, but together we can do what generations before us have done, focusing on ministry and showing God’s love to all of the people in Bloomfield and beyond. Pray for us and pray for the future into which God is calling us.

Janice Fulton
On behalf of Dream Team members: Reverend Robert Foltz-Morrison, John Bonnet, Susan Turnbull, Ginny Anderson, Scott Maciag, Eve Space

The director of the Presbyterian Center at Johnsonburg (Camp J’Burg), a year round camping and retreat facility serving all Presbyterians in New Jersey, will speak to us about the center’s mission and personal stories during worship Sunday, June 6th and stay afterwards for conversation. This center is one of our church’s supported mission endeavors for its spiritual outreach to children, youth and adults. We are grateful he can visit on the eve of camp’s 2010 summer programs. Invite others to come to worship with you to hear Mike. Parents of children and youth are encouraged to go to the website or look for brochures at church to register for their summer programs. Please visit their website at campjburg.org

Is your son, or someone you know, getting the start in life you want him to have? If he is seven years old now, he will be on his own in another 12 years. If he is already nine, he is halfway to adulthood. Will he have had the character-building experiences he will need, when he is on his own so soon?

Is Scouting worth your time? Please, join us after services on May 23rd in the gym. We are holding an open house for Cub Scouting. We are looking to sponsor a Cub Scout Pack for boys in 1st through 5th grade, and need your help. Scouting has been a tradition here for nearly 100 years. Let's set the foundation for the next 100 years. Trained, professional Scout leaders will be on hand to answer all of your questions. There is a follow-up community wide round-up on Monday evening, June 14th in the gym of the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green.

Volunteers from the Church on the Green and the Korean United Presbyterian Church will be exploring new ways to expand the services provided by our Thrift Shop and Food Pantry. We are also grateful to the members of the Korean Church who have helped us to prepare and serve our last Feed the Hungry meal. It is our hope that by adding additional resources, we will be able to broaden the scope of these important mission opportunities within our community. We look forward to building stronger relationships between our two congregations as we join to do the Lord's work within Bloomfield and the surrounding communities.

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Feed the World on the Green kitchen volunteers

Feed the World on the Green: Meeting the Hunger Needs of Our Neighbors The Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green provides a full dinner at no cost once a month to those who come to us hungry. We serve with dignity all those who join us. Dinners are served on the third Monday of every month from 5:00 pm to 7 pm in our Parish House, located at 147 Broad Street, Bloomfield (across from Bloomfield High School).

With all of the hardships facing many individuals and families we want to do our part in making others feel welcome and let them know we care. Please feel free to contact us by calling the church office at 973-743-1796 or e-mail endhunger@bpcog.org. This program is sponsored by the Women's Fellowship of the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green.

2010 Schedule

• January 18
• February 15
• March 15
• April 19
• May 17
• June 21

Dinners are served from 5:00 pm to 7 pm in our Parish House, located at 147 Broad Street, Bloomfield.

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