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Bridgeport Presbyterian Church
NEWSLETTER OF BRIDGEPORT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
APRIL 2015 – VOLUME 22 NUMBER 4
WWW.BRIDGEPORTPRESBYTERIAN.COM
Church Events
April
2– Maundy Thursday Service
5– Sunrise Service / Breakfast
Maundy Thursday April 2, 7:00 pm
Will take place in the Sanctuary, with the Sacrament of Holy
Communion, and finishing with the stripping of the church.
6– Christian Ed
7 – Stephen Ministry
8 – Blankets for Ruby
Good Friday April 3, 12 noon
We will gather with our brother and sisters at All Saints Catholic Church
for the community Good Friday Service. Pastor Robin will be
participating in the service.
13 – PW Bible Study
15 – Men’s Breakfast
20 – PW Bible Study
21– Session
Easter Sunday, April 5
7:00 am Sunrise service, outside weather permitting. Breakfast
immediately following the service in Fellowship Hall. Please sign up on
the bulletin board if youwill be attending. The conclusion of
“Encounters Before the Dawn”.
10:00 am Worship in the Sanctuary, led by music from our choir, and
the sacrament of Holy Communion.
27- Congregational Life
Men’s Breakfast
The Men’s’ Breakfast Group will meet at 7:00 AM on
Wednesday, March 15th, at Eat’n Park. Bring a friend
along and join us.
Mark your calendars for May 17th as the
As always, you are encouraged to invite a friend or
neighbor to join with us for a time of Christian
fellowship. Anyone with an idea for a program may
contact Dave Davis, who has graciously stepped up to
the plate to organize the group this year.
youth lead us in Worship and we honor
our senior Ty Wickline. Congratulations
to Ty for being awarded the National
Presbyterian Scholarship-well done!
April Birthdays
2
3
3
8
9
9
9
11
Devin Hamner
Hannah Armentrout
Annie Davis
Kristen Trickett
Margaret Hinerman
Wanda Kile
Linda Williams
Mike Jeffers
11 William Whaley
13 Debbie Smith
19 David Hoyle
24 Naomi Burkhammer
27 Matthew Johnson
29 Danielle Hamner
29 Gabrielle Hamner
29 Jessica Leech
April Anniversaries
2 Pam & Joseph Pinti
3 Emily & Philip Martin
4 Roxanne & Steven Loar
4 Marlene & Bob Graeber
18 Annabel & Joseph Timms
Congregational Life
Thank you to all who have joined us on Thursday nights and prepared food, served and cleaned
up. Congregational Life really appreciates everyone’s help!
A special thank you to Betty Jo Jones and the many hours she puts in with the Children’s Health
Pantry. The children in Harrison County and beyond are blessed by her service.
A special thank you to all the volunteers who helped out with the clean-up at the church and
who helped make our Easter celebration with the children so special!
The annual Women of Faith Luncheon will be held on Saturday, April 25 at the All Saints Catholic
Church Social Hall. If you want to go, please contact Barb Judy and she can give you more details
and turn in your reservation. Cost of the luncheon is $16.00 per person.
How do we nourish our children with spiritual food? Well, the simple answer is that we teach them the basic spiritual
disciplines. These include prayer, reading the Bible, and participating in a community of faith that worships God and
carries out Jesus’ ministry. This month try to focus on prayer and reading the Bible. Both of these activities are
actually simple things that do not have to take much time from our day. The discipline part is making a small amount
of time every day for these things, and
maybe even more than once a day. The point
is to make it a habit, something that
children learn to be part of their routine.
When we wake in the morning, we say a
brief prayer of thanks for the new day, and
maybe a prayer for guidance for our
planned activities. When we have a meal,
whether at the dining table or in the car on
the way to sports activities, we take a few
seconds to give thanks for the blessing of
food. When we settle down in the evening and
prepare for sleep, we give thanks for the blessings of the day, pray for others we know are in need, and ask
forgiveness and grace for our own lives. Including Scripture readings can be just as simple. We do not need to read
whole chapters and try to distill the great mysteries of faith. Rather, we can ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit,
and read one or two verses from the Psalms, or Proverbs, to help us focus on God’s living Word in our lives.
Nourishing our children with spiritual food means we are also feeding ourselves, and what parent couldn’t use a
little more strength and grace from God?! I believe being a parent is the greatest challenge God ever calls us to, and
we can use all the help we can get! This summer you will get a chance to grow with your children as we build on the
success of Burgers and Bibles. Mark your calendars beginning on Wednesday, June 24 for six weeks as we will
gather for a meal followed by a lesson afterwards. The children will have their own program of a bible story, craft,
games, music and a service projects. Look for more information in the coming months!
Dear Friends,
We are entering the most holy time of the year, a week that begins with a scandalous parade, includes betraying
an innocent man for a few pieces of silver, and ends with the light having gone out of the world. Shouts of ‘Hosanna’
are replaced by cries of ‘Crucify him!’ and few people seem to grasp the enormity of what is taking place. The depth
of sin is eclipsed only by the depth of God’s love, which will not allow death to have the final word.
The resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, is the basis of our faith. It testifies to the power of God, a power that is
unrivaled. The more one studies the scriptures and comes to know the grace of God – made most evident and clear
to us in the person of Jesus Christ – the more one is humbled, the more one bows in awe before God. Life is too
beautiful and intricate to be happenstance. Life is too fragile to be taken for granted. Life is too difficult to be lived
without a strength greater than our own to nurture and sustain us, to grant us peace and give us hope. As people
created and loved by God, we gather to worship in joy and thanksgiving and in witness to the resurrection of Jesus
the Christ! Death is no match for God. God’s love has no end, and God’s love is for us all. Thanks be to God!
Grace and peace,
Robin
Meet Our New Members
Our newest members to our congregation are Brittany Glover, Eric and Anna Winans, Fred and Karen Evans, and
Ben and Jacy Woods.
Brittany Glover was born and raised in
Bridgeport, Ohio. (a slight coincidence) Her
parents still reside there. She has two older
brothers, one who lives in Dayton, Ohio with
his wife, son and two pups. And her other
brother who lives in Columbus, Ohio with his
two kids and one pup! She says she has furbabies of her own. They are mutts she rescued
from a shelter back in 2012. Their names are
Addie & Jo. Brittany works for Harrison Rural
Electric full-time, and serves at the
Mountaineer Grille part-time. Like her friend
Jacy, she sells pampered chef as a hobby.
Brittany said “ My dear best friend and church member Jacy Woods brought me to the church, but the congregation
has kept me coming back.” She moved to Clarksburg, WV in September 2013. Moving was one of the best decisions
she could have made for myself. She saidm “I packed up my girls (pups) and moved here to start a new life on my
own! Jacy had asked me to join her at church one Sunday and I resisted at first, but then I gave in and attended one
Sunday. I've been hooked ever since. The people at the church are amazing, I feel like I have an extended family here
now, since none of my immediate family members are nearby. I'm looking forward to being a member of this church
and taking part in the congregation! “
Eric and Anna Winans are rejoining our church
after a brief hiatus while they lived and went to
church in Clarksburg Eric is the youngest in
his family with one brother and two sisters. For
those who may not know, Anna is the daughter
of Lois Withrow and the late Joe Withrow,
both longtime members of this church along
with Anna’s brother Jason. They are the proud
parents of two children: Nigel Connor (8) who
attends Emmanuel Christian School and Eliza
Victoria (2). Eric has worked at the Louis A
Johnson VA Medical Center for 13 years while
Anna has worked as the assistant manager of
the Randolph Terrace Apartments in Salem for about 6 years. Anna is an elder in the Presbyterian church and both
are (and have been) very active with the church and church choir. Eric indicates that he is very glad to be back and
feels like he is home again. They do have a pet cat and turtle who share the house.
Fred and Karen Evans are the proud parents
of Scott Thomas Evans (24) and Katherine
Grace Evans (22). They currently live with a
cat, Artemis and parakeet, Limey in
Bridgeport. Fred is a bio-tech for Fresenius
Medical Care and Karen works for the
Bridgeport Public Library. He is a dedicated
bookworm and she crochets. Fred was raised
in the Christian Church Disciples of Christ
and Karen in the Baptist Church. They were
married in the First Baptist Church of
Winchester and both their children were
raised in that church. Fred and Karen sang in the choir and Fred was a Deacon. They are joining our church for the
feeling warm of welcome here and God's call in their lives.
Ben and Jacy Woods are our next “new
couple”.
Ben was born and raised in Stonewood where
he attended WI Middle School.
He
transferred to Bridgeport for High School and
graduated in 2007. He immediately went into
the job force and is now working for the
Plumber Pipefitter Union, Local 152 since
2009. Ben says, “I married my beautiful wife,
of whom you all know, Jacy on July 30, 2011
after she graduated college. Jacy joined me in
West Virginia and we own a home in Quiet
Dell.” He says that they have two dumb dogs, Dexter and Dixon. He likes to think of them more as "Jacy's dogs".
He attended Clarksburg Temple United Methodist Church and Horizons growing up and is excited to join the family
here at Bridgeport Presbyterian. For fun, he love to golfs and volunteers as a Fire Fighter at the Stonewood Fire
Department. For those who may not know, Jacy Carter Woods is one of our family from a while ago. She and her
sister Alyssa and brother Jack and their parents were active in the church. Jacy’s famiy moved to Ohio at the
beginning of her junior year in high school with tears from Jacy who didn’t want to leave Bridgeport. Jacy attended
Ohio University, graduating with a degree in speech therapy and then joined Ben and moved right back here. While
Ben’s family is local, they enjoy traveling to see Jacy’s family as well as other friends.
Palm Sunday
The parade begins in the balcony!
Everyone loves to make Ruth’s pretzle’s
Craft Time
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Time to hunt for eggs,
Bridgeport Presbyterian Church
The Church Office is open Monday-Friday 9:30am – 12:30pm
Email: Pastor Robin Ray pastorrobin@bridgeportpresbyterian.com
Email: Office office@bridgeportpresbyterian.com
Website: www.bridgeportpresbyterian.com
Pastor
Clerk of Session
Treasurer
Choir Director
Presbyterian Women
Janitorial Support
Bookkeeper
Bridgeport Presbyterian Church
1 John Calvin Drive
Bridgeport WV 26330
Robin Ray
Ruth Allen
Rocky Loar
Beth Armentrout
Penny Ranson
Sharon Salate
Janice Oldaker
842-3332
842-3638
884-6719
745-4881
842-2930
842-2211
842-2211