The Church in Brielle

Happy Advent!

The Season Of The Church Year When We Look Up!

Is Jesus returning to bring his Kingdom fully upon earth as it is in heaven?

Advent says to us, “Be Ready!”, so that when Jesus returns, he will find us serving him in the least and the lost, the poor and the poured out, the down-trodden!

To help us in our, “getting ready” in Advent, The Church In Brielle is offering the following:

Daily Devotions taken from the Presbyterian Church USA featuring quotes from the community leader, Howard Thurman
Weekly Sunday Worship Services at 10 AM, always live-streamed and then posted virtually on Facebook Live.
Blue Christmas Grief Service, virtually posted on Face Book Live on Sunday, December 6th
A Wonderful Outdoor Children’s Event on Saturday, December 12th from 10 AM to 12 noon featuring live “manger scene” animals, and several stations for Christmas arts–n–crafts, activities, and cookies & milk! Rain date Sunday, December 13th!
2 Christmas Eve Candlelight Services at 5:30 and 7 PM with Bible passages and Christmas Carols to welcome in the Christ of Christmas!
Alternative Gift Fair: Instead of Christmas shopping why not give the gifts that keeps on giving? We are featuring 7 different benevolences this year for you to support as you honor a loved one. We have Christmas cards for you to fill out and give to the people in your life telling them that you gave money in honor of them that will go toward local missions.

For more information, all this can be found on our church website or our Facebook page.

God bless you and yours this Advent!
Pastor Lou

Blue for the Holidays?:

It has been a tough year… COVID-19, political factions, race issues.
And on top of all this many of you have lost loved ones.
Our God has faithfully taken them into God’s own nearer presence and there awaits a great reunion one grand and glorious day.
But till then we hold our loved ones in our hearts.

We will “record” this year’s Blue Christmas Service – a service of remembrance and hope, on Sunday, December 6th and make it available immediately after on our church website and Facebook page.

We are making available red ribbons to display on our blue lighted Christmas tree outside of the sanctuary. Feel free to write the names of your loved ones on the ribbons and we will attach the bows to the tree. Bows and sharpies are available in the sanctuary or feel free to attach your own ribbon at your convenience.

We are together in our grief and loss and because of this year’s ups and downs many will be joining in solidarity by coming alongside us in prayer.

If you find that you are in need of special care or grief counseling please contact Pastor Lou at pastorlou@chuchinbrielle.org or 845-591-2016.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors COVID-19 Relief Fund

Our congregation has supported Interfaith Neighbors on multiple occasions over the years as a Mission of the Month. IN is a nonprofit located in Monmouth County dedicated to addressing the needs of poor through a variety of programs: Meals on Wheels for seniors, rental assistance to keep families in their homes. job training to prepare young adults for employment, to name a few.

Interfaith Neighbors has been invited to participate in the Gannett Foundation’s A Community Thrives fundraising challenge, and we need your help! If they are able to raise $6,000 within the next 25 days, they will be eligible to receive an additional grant of up to $100,000!

The Interfaith Neighbors Neighbors Helping Neighbors COVID-19 Fund campaign is raising funds to support our COVID-19 Emergency Financial Assistance Fund. Many of our neighbors have lost income or employment as a result of the health pandemic. The fund has been providing support to individuals and families experiencing financial distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeded initially with funds from several local foundations, we immediately began helping families with urgent needs like food cards, utility payments, needed car repairs and rent or mortgage payments.

Since March, they have distributed over $250,000 in financial assistance supporting the financial needs of 160 families.

They project that it will take many families well over a year to fully recover financially from the health crisis. While we have initially helped with immediate urgent needs, many families we are working with have several months of back rent owed that will eventually need to be paid or they will face eviction.

The Church in Brielle has pledged $1000 to Interfaith Neighbors toward their $6,000 goal which must be acquired within the next 25 days, so that they will be eligible to receive the $100.000 grant. Please help us meet our pledge goal to help our neighbors affected by COVID in need.

Mark Cook was in Concert: !
Watch the replay!! Let us know you are watching with us and share with your family and friends! Music is such a great way to connect with God! CLICK ON THE PIANO TO ACCESS THE SAVED VIDEO

Covid19 Resources
General Information

Center for Disease Control (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

World Health Organization  https://www.who.int/

New Jersey Government

COVID 19  https://covid19.nj.gov/

• Hotline
• Symptom Checker and Testing Information
• Jobs Available Now and Unemployment Benefits
• Frequently Asked Questions and additional information

Local Information

Local grocery stores and pharmacies continue to receive goods to sell.  Some stores have set special hours for shoppers over 60 or 65 – call ahead.

Local restaurants and bakeries remain open for pick-up and delivery – consider supporting our local businesses while staying safe – call ahead.

Patch.com provides local information.  www.patch.com – select your town.

NextDoor.com provides local information and a place to post needs – recommendation for a florist, looking for a lost dog, etc.  https://nextdoor.com/ – select your neighborhood.

How Can You Help?

Manasquan Food Bank at First Presbyterian Church of Manasquan
https://manasquanfoodpantry.org/

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Face Mask Instructions – donations to local nursing homes (JoAnn Fabrics – Brick donates to three nursing homes as of Monday, March 30 – additional outlets will be added upon request to JoAnn Fabric – Brick. JoAnn Fabrics – Brick is open for curbside pickup and drop off only – order online for pickup)

https://www.joann.com/make-to-give-response/

American Red Cross Blood Donations – many blood drives have been cancelled, there is an ongoing need for blood and plasma.

https://www.redcross.org/

Bible Study

Upper Room https://www.upperroom.org/devotionals

Bible.com https://www.bible.com/reading-plans

RCA Bible https://www.rca.org/resources/devotionals

Activities at Home

Jenkinson’s Aquarium – Penguin Cam  https://jenkinsons.com/aquarium/explore/

Outdoor Adventure and Animal Cams  https://www.explore.org/livecams/

Explore museums and sites around the world.  www.ArtsandCulture.Google.com

Ride on roller coasters https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoasterViews

Library Online Resources

Most public libraries are closed but have many resources available on the website. 

Did you miss the Service on Sunday or do you want to review the sermon again? By going to the Facebook Posts link in our main menu, you can scroll though to the week your looking for and play the entire service or just pick out the parts you’re interested in that particular day.

You will now be able to donate to The Church in Brielle using our new Online Giving feature. Click on the DONATE option on our menu and follow the simple instructions. It’s easy, fast and secure.