Church Phone No.: (856)456-3364 Church Fax No.: (856)456-3812 District Website: www.cogeast.org National Website: www.chog.

org

Highland Park Church of God

Gods People on Gods Mission!

Pastor Bill e-mail: revwddilksjr@juno.com Pastor Ron e-mail: ronaldfchicken@gmail.com Office e-mail: highlandparkcog@yahoo.com Web Site: www.highlandparkcog.org

October 2012

Sun
1 Harvest In-Gathering October 7 thru November 18.

Mon
(Job 16)

Tue
2 (Job 17) 9:00 AM Men's Bible Study

Wed
3 (Job 18) 6:30 AM Prayer 7:00-8:00 PM FWAI Gym Night 4

Thu
(Job 19)

Fri
5
(Job 20)

Sat
6 (Job 21) 10:00 AM Delaware Valley Pastors Mtg. 2:30 PM Connelly/ Kudrick Wedding 13 (Job 28) 9:00 AM Prayer Walk for Revival

5:45 PM Rotary 7:15 PM AA Meeting

Noon Retirees Luncheon (Aging and Depression Speaker) 12

(Job 27)

(Job 22)

(Job 23)

(Job 24)

11:00 AM Communion Pastor Appreciation Luncheon 7:00 PM Council Mtg.

Columbus Day 15
(Job 30)

10 (Job 25) 11 (Job 26) 6:30 AM Prayer 6:30 PM FWAI 5:45 PM Rotary Kids Club/Youth 7:15 PM AA Meeting Time/Adult Bible St. 17 (Job 32) 6:30 AM Prayer 18 (Job 33) 1:00 PM Ministerium Meeting Here 5:45 PM Rotary 7:15 PM AA Meeting 25
(Job 40)

14

(Job 29)

16 (Job 31) 9:00 AM Men's Bible Study

19

(Job 34)

20

********** 6:30 P M R E V I V A L **********

21
(Job 36)

(Job 35) 9:00 AM District 41 General Assembly Meeting 9:00 AM Mens Fellowship Breakfast Followed by Workday (Job 42)

22

(Job 37)

23

(Job 38)

24 (Job 39) 6:30 AM Prayer 7:00 PM Annual Business Meeting

26

(Job 41)

27

7:15 PM AA Meeting Kids Choir Practice

Possible Youth Fall Retreat

28

(Psalm 123)

29

(Psalm 124)

30

(Psalm 125)

Possible Youth Fall Retreat

31 (Psalm 126) 6:30 AM Prayer No FWAI Halloween

Regular Sunday Schedule: 9:30 AM Sunday School for All Ages 11:00 AM Morning Worship 5:30 PM Choir Practice 6:00-7:00 PM Jr. High Youth Fellowship 7:30-8:30 PM Sr. High Youth Fellowship

Monthly calendars are subject to change. Please feel free to contact the church office to confirm events.

October 2012

Dear Church Family and Friends, It has been said that there are two topics of conversation that persons should avoid, religion and politics. Why is that? Because people tend to have very strong ties to both, and by offering your opinion or commenting on some current political event, you might just be lighting a powder keg that will blow up in your face. In America there is no state church that all citizens must belong to, or that governs our land our founding fathers had at times seen bad results of linking the Church with their national governments. In the first centuries of Christianity, when it grew in a kind of geometric progression, it did so without the support of the Roman government in fact there were periods of time when the Church was intensely persecuted. So we can see it is not necessary or, at times, beneficial for Church growth, for the Church to be linked with the political powers to be. We have another Presidential election coming up this year, and our congregation is full of persons who are registered democrats, republicans, libertarians, and perhaps a few other political parties. I think it is important that we remember that as Christians, our primary identity is grounded in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:28 that in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, democrat or republican (my insertion). We are brothers and sisters in Christ, above all other things. I would like each of us to make a special effort not to campaign, make disparaging remarks, or attack the political views of any candidate or party affiliation during this period where we are focusing on spiritual renewal and revival as a body of believers. It would be counter- productive to do so. The church should be a politically neutral site. Why is it that we have so much difficulty talking with one another about the Lord, our Faith, and what God is doing in our lives? Habits can be changed. Lets work on cultivating edifying habits at church activities. It is an easy pattern to fall into, and one that we can change if we commit to change. Church is about worship, growing in our faith, and building one another up through our conduct and speech. Let us renew our efforts to focus on the primary tie that binds us together as brothers and sisters in Christ, for His sake, and ours. In His Steps,

Pastor Bill

If you are doing special music or anything that requires the use of sound, please contact Vicki Kumpel or the church office to schedule a time to do a sound check. It is really important not to wait until Sunday morning. Thank you.

Personals . . .
Dear Church Family, Thank you for your kindness and sympathy at a time when it was deeply appreciated. Love, Rudy Neisner and Family Dear Church Family, Thank you so much for your love prayers, meals, cards and support during my recent surgery and recovery! You are truly cherished. Love, Sandy (Bill and Melissa, too!) Dear Church Family, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers, calls, cards and visits. They are very much appreciated. You are such a blessing! I am doing better and hope to see you soon. Love, Lynette Dear Highland Park Church of God, Thank you so much for your prayers, cards, and well wishes following my surgery. I am doing well and appreciate you so much. Love, Beth Geller To Our Highland Park Family, We think you are special! Favorite people Favorite places Favorite memories of the past These are the joys of a lifetime These are the things that last.

Retirees Luncheon Friday, October 5~ Noon Special Guest Speaker and Presentation
Do you know of someone suffering from depression? Why not invite them to join you at our Retirees Luncheon on Friday, October 5 at noon as a representative from the Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association gives a presentation on Aging and Depression. This will be an informative discussion on the signs and symptoms of depression as well as ways to help cope with depression as we grow older.

We miss you all and think of you often. Many hugs and kisses, Deb and Darlene Brown Dear Church Family, I would like to thank each of you for your payers, cars, visits and gifts while I was recovering from my fall. Also, you helped so much to make my birthday a wonderful day. My whole family came and we had a great party! Love, Miriam

Pastor Appreciation Sunday and Celebration Luncheon Sunday, October 7

Gems of Wisdom from Our Seniors

As I was thinking and praying about the revival, I thought of a man who drew a circle and stepped inside it. He said, Lord, send a great revival and let it begin with me. I think that all revivals begin with us praying for the revival, for the people who would come to the revival, for the evangelist, and for our hearts as we prepare for it. I was listening to a preacher on television who is an evangelist. He said he never starts a revival meeting without prayer. Recently he was in Hawaii. He went around the streets praying and he prayed for God to send him the biggest, toughest, meanest man in Hawaii and that this man might be saved. Then as he was walking more, he saw prostitutes on different streets. He said, Lord just bring one prostitute to the revival to get saved. Then one night a big Samoan man arrived at the revival. The evangelist said he was the biggest, meanest, toughest man he had ever seen in his life, and he got saved. Another night a lady who got saved asked to speak privately to the evangelist. She told the evangelist that she was a prostitute before coming to the revival. Since being saved, she is a prostitute no more. Maybe we should walk around and ask for the Lord to send just one person and then see what God does. Ask for whatever you have the faith for. You could take a walk with your children around town and also join our church for a prayer walk on October 13th at 9:00 AM. We are meeting at the church. I am excited about the revival! I am praying about it and hope you are, too. In His service, Peggy Phillips

Harvest In-Gathering October 7 through November 18

In John 21:15-17, Jesus instructs Peter to feed His Lambs and care for His sheep. We should always be alert to others needs, both spiritual and physical. In this season, our efforts turn specifically to feeding the hungry and restocking the Helping Hand Club of Gloucester Citys food pantry. This food drive will begin on October 7th and end on Sunday, November 18th. If each person brings 2 items per week, it will yield over 1,100 items! Items particularly needed, but not limited to, include canned pasta, tuna, boxed cereal, peanut butter and jelly. This event is for people in our own backyard, and you will be blessed for participating! Thank you! Tom Kumpel, Sunday School Superintendent

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS IN OCTOBER

Wednesday, October 3, 7:00-8:00 PM ~ Gym Night at Cold Springs School. Dinner will not be served this evening. Wednesday, October 10, 6:30 PM ~ Join together for pizza at 6:30 PM followed by Kids Club, Youth Time, and Adult Bible Study with Andy Griffith. Wednesday, October 17, 6:30 PM ~ Revival! Please see sheet in this newsletter for details. Wednesday, October 24, 7:00 PM ~ Annual Congregational Meeting. Please sign the sheet in the Nathex if you are able to attend. Wednesday, October 31 ~ Halloween. There will be no activity at the church this evening.

KID'S CLUB
I praise God for the wonderful turn out that we had at our first Faith With an Impact evening in September. From our K-6 kids we had about 17 or 18 children, which is truly a blessing. I believe there were about five youth and many adults. Great evening! For the K-3 children, we did have our indoor campfire as the children listened to the story of Jacob and the events that led to his dream, which we fondly call today Jacob's Ladder. With so many children, I was very pleased that they were quiet and listened. I pray that they gained something from the story of God's faithfulness. Next, we did a take-home project and a review where each team answered questions about the story and then they stepped on pretend rungs laid on the floor to serve as a ladder. In October, Kid's Club will be meeting on October 10th. As usual, I will be praying for God to lead me to what He wants me to share. We may also take some time to begin with some of the music for the Christmas Musical. Our meetings begin at 7:00 and a light supper is offered for the family at 6:30 if you would like to come early for that. Just one more thing: During the summer I sent letters to the children challenging them to find answers to some little-known facts that are in the Bible. They were instructed to come and tell me what they discovered, and then they get to choose something from my prize bag. Congratulations to Julie, Nick and Andrew Barton as they were able to answer the questions. I am hoping that more children will be coming to tell me what they discovered during the month of October.

Call to Prayer and Fasting

The Ministries Council calls the Church of God to set aside a day of prayer and fasting for the general director succession process. As you have been informed, the Ministries Council Succession Committee has been seeking the input of the church and preparing the process for the search for the future general director of Church of God Ministries. The search was launched on Tuesday, September 4, 2012, and will continue through November 1, 2012. The Succession Committee requested that the church be in prayer on Tuesday, September 4, and again on Thursday, November 1. Please commit to this time of concentrated prayer for the Church of God. We ask that you faithfully pray for this process, in the following ways:

Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead every element of the search and that each person involved will be open to Gods movement. Pray for the Succession Committee as they research all applicants and recommendations. Pray that they will be open and submissive to Gods Spirit. Pray for the person God is preparing for this role. Pray that God will call with clarity, that God will bring blessing upon the candidate as he or she moves through the process, that God will make it clear to the Succession Committee that this is the person, and that God will prepare the family involved. Pray for the Ministries Council as they guide the church during this critical time. Pray for Dr. Ron Duncan as he prepares to move into his next phase of ministry. Pray for the Church of God during this pivotal time in the life of the reformation movement.

This year once again, Dr. Zank and Mrs. Ritchie will be putting together a Children's Christmas Musical to be presented during the morning worship service on December 16th. The musical is entitled, The Christmas Cupcake; which is a musical about the Sweetest Story Ever Told. There is a place for absolutely every person that would like to take part. So, plan to see Dr. Zank or Mrs. Ritchie and tell them that you want to join in this wonderful opportunity to share the true message of Christmas. Practices will most likely be various Wednesday evenings with short practices sometimes right after church. Schedules will be printed out soon.

We would like to invite each of you to join our church in praying over our city and preparing the community for revival. We will meet at the church at 9:00am. At that time we will prepare our hearts and then go out into the community and pray over our city. We have planned for different groups to pray over our schools, city buildings, churches and parks. Transportation and instructions will be provided. After our 20 minute prayer crusade, we will meet back at the church to pray over the building and prepare our city for life change.
If you cant join us, please be in prayer for this revival and our community. For more information call 456-3364 or e-mail highlandparkcog@yahoo.com.

Featuring: Pastor Dennis Huebner When: *Sunday, October 14th 11am Pay Attention! - Hebrews 2 *6:30pm Get Plugged In!- Hebrews 3 *Monday, October 15th 6:30pm Grow Up! - Hebrews 5 *Tuesday, October 16th 6:30pm Be Confident! - Hebrews 10 *Wednesday, October 17th 6:30pm Keep Going! - Hebrews 12 Where: Highland Park Church of God 111 Baynes Avenue, Gloucester City For More Information Call 456-3364

*Needed*
Our young adults will be collecting clothing and other household items to help those less fortunate than us. A & E Clothing Corp. will sort and ship these items to the immediate needs of the Marian Center Charity Organization with shelters throughout New Jersey and will then send items over seas. They will also donate .13 cents a pound to our organization just for collecting the items! This is a win/win situation, so please donate! Items should be placed in bags and taken to the porch of 107 Baynes by Sunday, October 11. Donations Include: Wearable clothing, shoes, handbags, belts, scarves, ties, hats, bedding, curtains, tablecloths, towels and stuffed animals. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Kumpel or the church office at 456-3364.