A publication of The First Baptist Church of Westfield

It was exactly at this time, after a suc-cessful summer of growth, that the dedi-cated group of American Baptists from New York City, Brooklyn, Plainfield, and Scotch Plains had gathered a large enough following and sufficient funds to purchase their own land in Westfield, New Jersey. To accommodate its new members, the group moved their meet-ings to the lecture hall of the Presbyteri-an Church. Sunday gatherings would remain there for a while, as the first cornerstone for a new chapel would not be placed on the purchased property until December 20th. That was in Sep-tember, 1866—150 years ago! In September 2016, what does this mean for us? Unlike our founding mem-bers, we don’t have to purchase land, build a chapel, or receive accreditation from the ABCUSA—we are blessed with that now. But we, too, are coming out of a summer of growth and development. We have welcomed newcomers to guide our new traditions. We remember the hands that built this chapel, and look forward to the new ones that will help build the church. This month, we will celebrate and meditate on these things—what it means to honor our first members the same way we honor our new ones. Pastor Mayra and I have worked together closely to select music and readings that reflect this message together. We are looking forward to a month of welcoming our neighbors, lending a hand for them, remembrance and recognition, and our mission as a journey—not a destination. September 4th: For our Communion this month, Pastor Mayra will preach on taking action and cultivating energy after an idle summer schedule. We are again humbled by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us on the Cross—and our monthly song will reflect this. “By Faith” reminds us that “we walk by faith, and not by sight” and that we are “children of The Promise.” Our offering song is a beautiful song that praises

Jesus, the sacrificial “Lamb of God”—we are washed in His precious blood. September 11th: This is an important day for our church and, of course, our nation. As part of our 150 year celebration, we are holding an Open House all Sunday afternoon. The public is welcome to tour the church, and each Ministry will display a unique banner that represents their part in our community (in the Narthex or on the front lawn, weather permitting). Pas-tor Mayra and I have planned a service of Remembrance and Hope, with extra readings and special music. The com-bined Adult and Youth Choirs will sing a poignant and very beautiful anthem called “I Believe.” This simple, but pow-erful message is set very eloquently by the local composer and church musician Mark Miller. The poem was written by a Holocaust victim…

“I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.

I believe in love, even when I don’t feel it.

I believe in God, even when he is silent.”

This wistfully fits well as we remember the attacks 15 years

ago. This is a service you do not want to miss.

September 18th: As we work through the book of Luke, we see the miracle of Christ’s healing hands. Even on the Sabbath, Jesus em-phasizes the importance of helping and healing—no village is too poor, no per-son too lowly. Pastor Mayra will medi-tate on this message while the choir sings about it. The anthem reflects this sentiment and our month’s message, then and now—“Come Build a Church."

September 25th: The final Sunday in September will ask for Christ’s Blessing as we continue our Mission. To build a church, we must recognize how to be a neighbor to all who need our help. It is in selfless acts that we show what it means to be Chris-tian—Love for Love’s sake is our calling.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ As you go through this month, practicing these principles, remember the mission as a journey—not a destination. It is fascinating to see how often the image of a street is presented in sacred songs and scriptures, rather than a field or campus. For example, both rock songs from last week’s “Music Sunday” ser-vice, written by two different bands (U2 and Creed), ask about/invite us to a heaven-like “place” that has “golden streets” or “streets with no name.” This Utopian vision helps us to conceptualize the Christian’s work as a constant—not looking for it to finish, but continue on the path forever and ever. Perhaps that is why the Gloria Patri proclaims the most powerful part of it’s message on the high notes—“World without end! Amen, Amen." Amen indeed. Thank you everyone. Let’s embrace this new season togeth-er—it’s going be a historical one! UPDATE: You can follow the Church on Facebook and Twitter, as you proba-bly know— BUT we also just created an Instagram and YouTube account! Follow us there for beautiful pictures of the church’s work, and subscribe to the new YouTube channel for weekly vide-os of the musical offerings. If you share any pictures of the church on any social media platform, be sure to add the hashtag #fbcwestfield -and if there is music, also add #fbcmusic -Thanks! Instagram: fbc_westfield YouTube: FBC Westfield Music

Musical Blessings, Michael Rosin

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Jubilee Fundraiser Update

Have you made your contribution yet? To date we’ve received $19,100 towards our Jubilee Fundraising Projects goal of $30,000. The two pro-jects voted on at the June congregational meeting in order of priority are:

A new sign on the front lawn New pew covers

Please thoughtfully consider making a contribution. Let us continue to celebrate and thank God for the 150 years of blessings he has bestowed up-on FBC by meeting our goal.

CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF MINISTRY!

1866-2016

I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of

the LORD. PSALM 122:1

Get to Know First Baptist Church Open House Sunday, September 11

After a Commemorative Worship Service at 10:30 a.m.

150th Jubilee Concert and

Reception Sunday, November 6 6:00 p.m., Sanctuary

Worship Service and Jubilee

Lunch with Special Program December 4 10:30 a.m.

Opening of Cornerstone! !

Be part of the celebration and save

the dates!! Jason getting ready to head to the beach with Youth Group, August 14

SUNDAY SCHOOL for all AGES!!!

Come one, come all...Sunday School resumes September 11th! Nursery staffed- 10am-noon (during church service) Toddler Class - mini Bible lesson, play, and have fun in the Nursery with Miss Linda and staff Sunday School for Children after Children's Moments 10:45-11:30 Adult Bible Study, 915am, with Pastor Mayra.

Happy New Year! No, the heat hasn't gotten to me. But after what seems to be a break over the summer for many of us, September is often viewed as the start to a

new church year. And while the start to that "new year" on Labor Day weekend may resemble the first Sunday of the real New Years Day week-end, one should expect things to get busy quickly. Besides Thursday night choir practices starting up, and the full choir sing-ing and eventually ringing during services, Agape Suppers will begin again on the third Wednesday of each month. Come join us on September 21st for what Baptists do best: eat! Make a "new year's" resolution to renew your commitment to First Baptist. Your presence on Sunday mornings is important, not only to your spiritual well being, but to the spiritual well being of the church family as a whole. And on September 11th, make a point to come in to the building using the front (Elm Street) entrance. Be invigorated by the banners to be unfurled that day. And again, Happy New Year!

Steve Lind, Chair

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On a recent Sunday I helped out in the Nurse-ry with Mrs. Wooster. As I prepared for church I thought of the 150th Anniversary of First Baptist and all the babies and children that have entered the doors of the nursery. I recall

when I first came to First Baptist with a small baby in my arms and how welcomed and “at home” I felt with the people that greeted me at the door to the people who cared for my young daughter. I remember watching with excitement when the Cherub Choir would sing and couldn’t wait for my daughter to have that opportunity to praise God through music. The teens (aka Youth Group) of the church were the helpers in the nursery and when you worked in the nursery it was great getting to know them on a one-to-one basis. Today we still have those great opportunities for our youth to help out or for any congregation member to assist in our nursery or Sunday School class. We all have our precious memories about the church that are dear to our hearts. I invite you to share those memories with us as we prepare for our special December 4th luncheon to honor First Baptist’s 150th year. Sunday School starts on September 11th, and as we kick off our year with a Rally Day please pray for our teachers, students, and little ones that are part of the First Baptist family. We need volunteers in all areas so if you enjoy working with teens you can help out with Youth Group. You can help also by preparing a meal for the Sunday Youth Group meet-ing each week; and if you enjoy the little ones consider volunteering with Miss Linda or fill in as a Sunday School teacher for the children or adults. May God bless you and your families and all your help you have given to the ministry to Christian Education in the past and may we have renewed enthusiasm this year and in the future as we spread the Good News of the Bible and teach our children about the love of Jesus.

Katie Virzi, CE Chairperson

Singles Fellowship—The following topics were discussed at the Sunday Morning Singles Discussion over the Summer. What do you do to take care of yourself?; Do long distance relations succeed?; What does your name mean? What does your handwriting say about you?; Attain better health through diet and supplements.

Come downstairs for a second cup of coffee and interesting conversation. We meet from 9 am to 10"15 in Fellowship Hall All are welcome!

Submitted by Maryann Friscia

S U N M O N T U E W E D T H U F R I S A T

1 2 3

4 5 Labor Day 6 7 8 9 10

11 FBC Open House, 12-5pm

12 Deacons meet, 7:30pm; Finance meets, 7:30pm

13 Fac i l i t ies meet, 6:45pm

14 15 16 17

18 19 Council meets, 7:30pm

20 ESL, 6:30pm 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 ESL, 6:30pm 28 29 30

September 2016

Marks at Milestone at First Baptist Church ! ! !

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Reminder of our ongoing Supermarket Gift Card Program & AmazonSmile Program

How It Works: Cards can be ordered in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $25, $50 and $100. FBC collects the money (checks made payable to First Baptist Church) and the denominations wanted and places the order

with the store. For FBC to receive a donation equal to 5% of the total order placed, there is a minimum order requirement for each

store: Shop Rite $1,000; Kings $1,000; Stop & Shop $500

FBC will place an order once a month. All requests for cards need to be received by the 3rd Sunday of each month. Cards will be delivered to the purchaser the following Sunday.

Why Are We Doing It?: It is a way to make a contribution to the church. It is simple and costs no more than what is already spent on food – and we all have to eat.

What Do You Need To Do?: Decide how much you want to spend on gift cards. Decide what denominations you would like. It is a great gift idea for friends and family. If you are going to use the card

yourself you can get the largest denomination and use it until the balance on the card reaches zero. Complete an order form which can be found in the manila envelope on the bulletin board outside the church office. Checks and order forms can be dropped off at the church office.

Thank you to all who have participated in the program since January. We have purchased cards valued at $13,260 bringing donations of $663 to the church. We have had seventeen participants; five on a consistent monthly basis. The more who par-ticipate in the program the more opportunity we have to bring additional funds to the church.

- Finance Committee

And What is AmazonSmile??

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the pur-chase price to your favorite charitable organization. You can choose from nearly one million organizations to support.

issions Corner Welcome Mary Ann Friscia and Rintu Mathew to the Missions & Outreach Commi� ee! Also a big THANK YOU to Nova Spin-

ner for her many years of service on the Missions Commi� ee! _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Missions & Outreach to hold Blood Drive at First Bap�st Church

The Missions & Outreach Commi� ee will hold its first blood drive on Tuesday, October 25th from 2:00 - 7:00 pm. We are ask-ing those willing to donate to please sign-up ahead of �me to ensure we are able to meet the minimum number of donors re-quired to hold the drive.

Please go to www.redcrossblood.org and type in 07090 to search for blood sites. There you will find First Bap�st Church of Wes� ield listed on October 25th. You may need to scroll to go through the August and September dates. Once you find the FBCW dona�on drive please select and there you can fill out your informa�on and preferred �me to donate blood.

If you do not have access to a computer, please contact Cheryl Rosario at 908-278-9593 and she can enter your informa�on into the system.

Also, please stay tuned for volunteer sign-ups. We will need a few people to help during the blood drive as greeters, the regis-tra�on desk and canteen area. Also, if anyone is interested in baking or purchasing cookies or juice for the canteen area, the American Red Cross welcomes the extra help.

We are looking forward to providing this service to the Red Cross who con�nues to be in need of blood dona�ons.

Thank you in advance for your par�cipa�on and please spread the word! Blessings, Cheryl Rosario, Missions Chair

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Sept 2 Sarah Housel Sept 5 Ann Hinman Sept 8 Terry Wooster Sept 8 Terry Housel Sept 10 Tom Ball, Jr. Sept 12 Bette Savage Sept 16 Dee Dee Turlington Sept 20 Olivia Rosario Sept 21 Mary Foster Sept 21 Marcelo Roman Sept 27 Norma Jean McGuire Sept 28 Ricardo Ribeiro Sept 29 Suleima Rosario-Diaz ANNIVERSARIES Sept 8 Christopher & Nova Spinner Sept 11 Dwight & Wendy Engel Sept 17 Dave & Terry Housel Sept 20 Tyronne & Chitra Singh Sept 25 Larry & Cheryl Rosario

ore From Missions… The Family Promise Annual Report indicated another successful year for the organization. There are now a total of 199 affiliates in 42 states. Each affiliate is made up of a net-work of churches, temples, and mosques that house and fee the homeless families. The organization also provides support services that help the adults find jobs and perma-nent housing. Last year they served 57,000 meals. The volunteers from First Baptist contributed to that by making a total of 120 meals. Thanks to Linda John-son, Terry Wooster, Maryann Fris-cia, Nancy martin, Natasha Klochko-va, Janet Winey, Trish Scott, Beth Frantz, and Missy and Bob Gotham.

- -Janet Winey ___________________________

...Natasha Klochkova, Glen Brown and Youth Group for weeding and cleaning up around the church grounds in August; ...Cherie Parker and Jean Kellogg for facilitating noon prayer time on Wednesdays while Pastor Mayra was away in August; ...Rev. Suleima Rosario-Diaz and Elaine Pratt for bringing God’s mes-sage to our church the Sundays Pastor Mayra was away in August; ...Mike and Jessica Doyle for lend-ing their talents and beautiful music on August 14th; ...Justin Rosin for lending his musical gifts throughout the summer, and con-tinuing into the regular season; ...Glen Brown for his continued ded-ication to the Music Ministry at FBC; ...Paul Koslowski for his continued dedication to the Music Ministry at FBC.

We’ve moved!

Nancy Lambros 53 Cedar Road Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889 Matt & Jaime Barton 225 Fifth Ave. Roebling, NJ 08554

Women’s Book Club resumes Saturday, September 17 @10am. We will be reviewing summer reads. Contact Kathleen Borchers for addition-al info at kcbor1210@gmail.com

begins its next round of classes on

Tuesday, September 20th at 6:30pm (for 8 weeks)

We invite volunteers with a heart to teach English; need not have any teach-ing experience

•Volunteers will be given training prior to commencement of classes

•Speak with Pastor Mayra and Rintu Mathew or e-mail the church office if

you are interested in tutoring or know someone who would benefit from the classes. Fliers available outside the office or at www.fbcwestfield.org

170 Elm Street Westfield, NJ 07090

ph: 908.233.2278/fax: 908.233.0555

e-mail Pastor Mayra Castañeda pastormayra@verizon.net Michael Rosin fbcmusic2@verizon.net Glen Brown glen@wholestep.org Nancy Lambros firstbaptist.westfield@verizon.net

ONGOING CALENDAR Weekly, unless otherwise noted. Sundays: 9:00 a.m. Singles 9:15 *Adult Bible Study 9:30 Chancel Choir/Song Leaders rehearsal (9:15 begin-

ning Sept 11) 10:30 a.m. Worship Service Children’s Sunday School (pre-school-5th grades) (children join us for worship and leave for Sunday

school after a children’s message) 11:30 a.m. Children’s Choir & Youth Song Leaders rehearsals 5 p.m. Youth Group (6th-12th grades) Wednesdays: 12Noon Prayer time in sanctuary Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. The Hearing Society (a non-profit org): Speech Read-

ing Class: (begins Sept 15) 7/8:15pm Chancel Ringers/Choir rehearsals( begins Sept 8) Saturdays: 10 :00 a.m. Women’s Book Club (monthly, Sept 17)

C HURCH STAFF

Rev. Mayra Castañeda, Senior Pastor

Michael Rosin, Director of Music Minis-tries Glen Brown, Youth Ministry

Coordinator

Linda Johnson, Childcare Coordinator Nancy Lambros, Church Administrator

Monica Cano, Custodian

OUR PURPOSE Coming together in joyful worship, we’re here…

• To share the reality of God’s love, • To connect our lifestyles to Christian

truth, • And to put our faith into action through

responding to needs in our community, nation, and world.

*ADULT BIBLE STUDY RESUMES SEPTEMBER 4 Take time to study God’s Word with others and deepen your faith. Class is taught by Pastor Mayra, church lounge.