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December 7, 2018

BBPC Weekly BUZZ September 06, 2019

This Week in Worship WORSHIP will be online ONLY

All gatherings at the church have been suspended

Click HERE to join us via video streaming or dial in

at: (872) 240-3311 & enter Access

Code: 417-955-909

Sunday, April 26, 10:00 a.m.

Streaming Online @ BBPC.org/LIVE

Rev. Linda E Owens Preaching

“The Good Life“

Scriptures:

Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter2:19-25, John 10:1-10

Anthems

Amazing Grace – Emily & Scott DeMouth

Simple Gifts – Maria Hladczuk

NEXT WEEK: Communion

Church Chat

After worship this Sunday, Rev. Linda will

address questions of the congregation sent

by Facebook , text messages, or emailed in

advance prior to Sunday at 9:30a.m. SO stay

tuned after the service concludes for a

church chat!

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THURSDAY MORNING

BIBLE STUDY

Begins Thursday, May 1 @ 10:30 Join Pastor Linda for a conversation about Rachel Held Evans’ book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood. This is book is written by the same author who wrote, Inspired. We will be gathering via Zoom on Thursday mornings from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Books can be ordered through Amazon in paperback or Kindle.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92046726437?pwd=YnZLOUlQU2dZTzhIL0hyUVNVbHpsUT09

Meeting ID: 920 4672 6437

Password: 597383

One tap mobile: +19292056099,,92046726437# US (New York)

Prayer Shawl Ministry Zoom

Meeting To all knitters and crocheters,

Please join us for our April Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting on Wednesday, April 29 at 6:00 p.m. via ZOOM. P lease let Kathy Hobbs (kathyahobbs6@gmail.com) know if you are plan-ning on attending. You will then receive the ZOOM Meeting ID. We hope to see you on ZOOM!

Happy knitting and crocheting,

Kathy Hobbs

Kathyahobbs6@gmail.com

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The “Thank You” Project: During this pandemic, heroes have risen up to help

us meet basic needs as we stay home to flatten the

curve, and others have put themselves in harm’s

way to care for us when we become ill. All of these

essential workers have risked contracting COVID

19 on our behalf and we would like to say,

“thank you!” Please consider contributing a video

or photo “thank you” message to an individual or

a group of workers who have gone above and be-

yond during this pandemic. We will be gathering

these messages and creating our own “BBPC Says

Thank You” video to share with our local communi-

ty.

Videos and photos should be captured in

LANDSCAPE and sent to BBPCTech@gmail.com

SILENCE SEEKERS Invitation The group which has been getting together for sev-

eral years in the Freeman Chapel for quiet medita-

tion for 1/2 hour each week is still at it, but from

home, individually.

We invite everyone to join us at 9:30 on Thursday

morning as we each find a quiet place in our homes

and wait for the Spirit’s presence.

A reminder is sent each week. You are invited to

send an email to mdoliver@optonline.net so you

can receive a reminder on Thursday morning.

It is comforting and empowering to know that a

community of friends is waiting together while

apart for the Spirit’s presence.

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Loving Local - Food For Local Families

As the pandemic continues, increasing numbers of our neighbors in local communities have basic food needs. The Mission and Outreach Commission and the Deacons have been planning and implementing a number of actions to serve the communities of Bound Brook, South Bound Brook, Middlesex, and our own church family. The following actions are and will be ongoing.

The Deacons have organized volunteers to deliver school lunches to families in Bound Brook who would normally receive this food at school.

The Mission and Outreach Commission has begun to supply ShopRite gift cards to the Bound Brook School District to supplement food deliveries to families with the greatest needs.

We are also in contact with the school nurse in Middlesex to determine the needs there and we plan to assist that community, most likely using ShopRite gift cards.

Local businesses have been contacted to provide assistance as well. The Somerset County Food Bank Pantry in the PFC, facilitated by our Mission and Outreach

Commission, has continued to serve the community every Saturday morning from 9-12. We have been in contact with Casa Esperanza and Casa Del Banquete about needs for their

populations and are helping with some of those needs. How we can help

Contributions of any amount are welcome. These can be mailed to the church and will be dispersed through a dedicated account, principally to purchase ShopRite gift cards. Please put “ShopRite Card” or “Love Local” on the comment line of your check.

ShopRite gift cards of $50 or less can be sent to the church. These cards will be used for walk-ins to the church, the Somerset County Food Bank, local schools for identified fami-lies, community organizations, and church members. The Mission Commission, Deacon chairpersons, and Rev. Linda Owens will meet regularly to identify needs and disperse the cards accordingly.

Please continue to pray for our church and local communities and the individuals and fami-lies that are in need.

Resources

Somerset County Food Bank*- 9 Easy Street, Somerville. Open 9:00-2:30, Monday-Friday. Open to all Somerset County residents.

Bound Brook Food Pantry* through the Somerset County Food Bank located here at BBPC in our PFC- Open Saturday 9-12.

South Bound Brook Food Pantry- 113 Clinton Street, South Bound Brook. Open Thurs-day 3-6 for residents of Bound Brook and South Bound Brook.

*The application process included Proof of residency (Somerset County), Government/state is-sued ID, number of members in household, and income. Undocumented families are welcome. The Somerset County Food Bank is NOT a governmental agency. For more information visit: http://www.somersetfoodbank.org

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One Great Hour of Sharing Friends, please remember to contribute to the One

Great Hour of Sharing as we do every year. This year,

it is more important than ever. From the PCUSA web

site and brochure: Through One Great Hour of Shar-

ing, a special offering of the Presbyterian Church

(U.S.A.), we extend shelter to those who have no

place to stay, offer compassion to those who have

pain—be it physical, emotional, or spiritual—and we

set a feast, with God, for those who lack access to

enough food to eat. During these uncertain times, we

depend on our Church, faith, family and God’s grace to

see us through. Please give generously to One Great

Hour of Sharing. We are the Church, together. Each

gift to One Great Hour of Sharing supports ef-

forts to relieve hunger through the Presbyterian

Hunger Program, promote development through

the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-

Development of People, and assist in areas of

disaster through Presbyterian Disaster Assis-

tance. This year, faced w ith the global crisis of

the COVID-19 pandemic, the Church’s response will

begin with the most at-risk communities across the

country and around the world, as well as those facing

spikes of racism in response to this disease. Please

designate “One Great Hour” or “OGHS” on your gift,

for it to be included in BBPC’s contribution to this of-

fering.

Mission and Outreach Commission

Deadline is April 30th

PEB Pakistan The Mission Commission recently received another

full scholarship donation, bringing the total number

of girls we are educating to 22! Due to critical needs

in Pakistan and PEB schools we will keep donations

open through April.

If you would like to contribute to the PEB to help

families in desperate need of food, please send a

check to BBPC with PEB/Food in the memo. To view

Veda’s message, shared in worship last week, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=bZNn_5fW5VY&t=31s

Opportunities to Give:

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Giving - UPDATED During this time, we hope you will continue to

give generously to the work of the church. Our

expenses will not decrease in this extraordinary

time. In fact, there will be added expenses in-

volved in bringing worship into your homes and

connecting to one another via video conferencing.

At the same time, we will be losing much needed

income from donations made by outside groups

who use the church facilities. So please continue

to give. Our preference is that you mail in your

contributions, rather than use online giving

through our website. Online giving is available,

but it comes with a fee that reduces what the

church actually receives. A third option has been

added, text giving. You can text a dollar amount

to (732) 641-8448 and it will be processed

through our online giving service, Easytithe. The

first time you text you will be asked to fill in your

credit card information, subsequently when you

text a donation you will just text a dollar amount

and the charge will go straight through. Which-

ever way you choose to give, we are so very

grateful for the generosity of our congregation in

all the many ways you give of your time, talent

and treasure.

If your circumstances have changed because of COVID-

19 and you need to amend your pledge for 2020,

please email Jeff Willard at jswill55@icloud.com

*For the 2020 tax year, all tax payers can

deduct up to $300 of charitable contribu-

tions whether they itemized or not.

Please be generous in this painful time.

Do you have an old tablet or laptop computer no longer being used?

With the shift to on-line worship services, we are finding new ways to include as many people as possible

in our weekly services. Hopefully you have enjoyed the live video feed each Sunday morning, as well as

our contributing lay readers and musical performers. Those without readily available internet access,

however, are limited to listening to the service over a telephone line. The Outreach Commission is asking

anyone with an old laptop or tablet to consider donating it to one of our members who are home bound or

in assisted living. If it is capable of playing a YouTube video, it can stream our worship services!

Got a device that you no longer want or need? Please bear the following in mind:

Only devices in working order, please!

Please also include the charger so we don't need to invest in any new ones.

This is a donation, not a loan. Your device will not be returned.

Please remove any personal information ahead of time. The Commission will ensure that each device is factory re-set and configured properly to allow someone to watch the worship service.

If you are interested, please email Bill Dettelback (billd@bbpc.org) or Jason Dudley (Jmjdudley@gmail.com). We will be glad to come by your house during the week and pick it up from the porch or mailbox.

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Youth and Families We are working hard to give a virtual presence in our children and youth programs. Here are all of the current offerings for our families with children.

Sunday school- weekly bedtime stories are be-ing read LIVE on our BBPC SPARK FAMILY Facebook page. We have UPDATED the time to 8pm to better accommodate our families. You can also rewatch any of our bible stories on the Facebook page. Please join the Facebook group and tune in each night.

Youth group - students in grades 6-12 are invited to our virtual youth group meetings. We are now meeting TWICE a week. We meet on Sunday eve-nings at 6pm for a 30 minute meeting and again on Wednesday evenings at 7PM for a special game night. If you are not receiving an email invite, please email courtney@bbpc.org so you can be added to the list.

Confirmation- our confirmands should have re-ceived an email from Bill Dettleback confirming a new meeting time for Sundays. If you are in confir-mation, please make every attempt to be at these virtual meetings. Statements of Faith are due soon!

Looking forward - We are looking for any parents who are interested in joining for a zoom meeting to discuss "QUARANTINED WITH KIDS" . I f there is enough interest, we can host a weekly check in for parents of preschool/elementary aged students and a separate "QUARANTINED WITH TEENS" for par-ents of middle and high school aged children. Please indicate your interest to courtney@bbpc.org or call/text the Director of Christian Education at 732-52-6737.

Peace, Miss Courtney

Cheryl & Jody are

RELOCATING! Hello BBPC friends! It is with mixed emotions that

I tell you Jody and I are relocating to Minnesota.

We have been considering the move for a number

of years and after prayerful deliberation, have

decided to take a leap of faith. We’ll be living in

Jody’s hometown of Stillwater, a beautiful river

town on the St. Croix. As much as we’re excited

to begin our new adventure, we’re sad to be leav-

ing family, friends and this wonderful church. We

feel so fortunate to have made many dear, life-

long friends here. Easter was difficult for me as it

was to be my last time playing, singing and ring-

ing at BBPC. Perhaps when church “reopens” Pas-

tor Linda will have a big celebration and I can join

you and make music! Stay well my friends and

for now we’ll “see” you on Sundays from L’Etoile

du Nord. You’ll have to ask LaVerne what that

means! With much love,

Cheryl and Jody

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Midrash Challenge

Those of you who participated during this last year in a small group reading of Rachel Held Evans book, Inspired, already know what “midrash” is. Evans began each of her eight chapters with a midrash. For those of you not familiar with the term, midrash is “a Jewish mode of interpretation that not only engages the words of the text, behind the text, and beyond the text, but also focuses on each letter, and the words left unsaid by each line.” The goal of midrash is to cause one to ponder over and, in the process, better understand the meaning of a Biblical passage by expanding the story and by putting the Biblical passage into words and events more relevant to the lives of the readers.

I’m thinking at a time like this, with so much time on our hands, it might be fun for some of us to write midrash stories about the various parables in the Gospel stories for the edification and entertainment of the rest of us. I’ve made a fool of myself many times before and lived to tell the tale. Therefore, let me be the first to attempt a mid-rash story. It is a mostly true story.

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Midrash #1

Parable (Luke 8, vs. 5-8) “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.”

Midrash story I am a nurse. Being a nurse is such an interesting and emboldening experience. Being with people in desper-ate time of need (pain, fear, loneliness) is unique and without much by way of equivalent. On my very first day as a gradu-ate nurse, the very first patient I cared for was the leader of a motorcycle gang who had been in a terrible accident on Route 80 and was bed-ridden in skeletal traction for months in an attempt to heal a fracture in his lower leg. Without the fracture healing, the patient would be unable to jumpstart his motorcycle. I placed the thermometer in his mouth and he threw if against the wall crying out “Don’t ever do that again!” (likely with a few curse words intermingled).

Scenario #1: Oh boy, was I ever ready to take him on! I was the nurse and he was the patient. He was bedridden. I was young and able. I had the power. He had none. I gave him a piece of my mind, and we were at war! It was my way or the highway! I spoke to him calmly and let him know I was in charge. It was pretty hard to sound real authoritative on my very first day of work with my very first patient, but I was determined. Not surprisingly, things deteriorated pretty quickly. The head nurse that I was determined to impress became pretty quickly unimpressed by me. My patient complained bitterly, and I was assigned to a different group of patients in no time. I still think I was right.

Scenario #2: I knew exactly how to handle a patient of this type! OK, I was a brand new nurse, but I wasn ’t stupid. I would give him the cold shoulder. That would surely bring him around. He continued to be my patient, and I carefully wiped the thermometer off before putting it in his mouth. (I forgot to mention that the initial time I placed the thermometer into his mouth, it had been soaking in alcohol. Whoops!) I was very cool to him which, frankly, I thought was quite appropriate un-der the circumstances. After all, he did break the thermometer when it hit the wall. Clearly, he didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him. I began to dread coming into work. He obviously dreaded having me for his nurse and would mention how nice the other nurses were that worked the day shift when I was off. I finally asked to have my assignment changed. I found out that he had, around the same time, requested that I be removed as his nurse. I think it was that early that I started thinking about another profession. Being a lawyer would be so much better for a person like me. I need to think more about that.

Scenario #3: Smother him with kindness – that was the solution. I would drown him in my goodness and thoughtfulness as his nurse. I brought him little goodies from home – a couple of homemade cookies might be nice. I spent extra time fuss-ing over him, rather than taking care of my other equally-needy, but far less obstreperous, patients. Yes, they began to com-plain. And, yes, I failed to consider the man who was my difficult patient. He did not grow up being smothered or drowned in love and attention. He was hard-core motor cycle gang. One night, the rest of his gang came into the hospital, removed him from the skeletal traction that was maintaining his fractured leg in proper alignment so that he could be taken to beat up the guy who was apparently making time with his “woman.” It wasn’t my fault and I knew nothing about the plan, but, the next day I was taken to task. Good grief!

Scenario #4: Hmm! This is going to be a really difficult patient. I have really gotten off to a very bad star t with him. He refers to his orthopedic surgeon as “The mutt.” I can’t even imagine how he will refer to me if I don’t right this ship. So, time to give serious thought to why I became a nurse in the first place. I wanted to help people. Helping people isn’t always obvious, and it often means trying to see things from their perspective rather than from one’s own. I could do that. I don’t know much about the life of a motorcycle gang member, but I could learn about it. And so I did. Much of it was pretty hor-rifying including intimations of criminal conduct that I was forced to ignore. It meant I had to accept his foul language and his unpleasant fellow gang members who visited him from time to time. But in the midst of this learning experience, we crafted a friendship. He began to allow things to be done that had been altogether rejected previously. My greatest accom-plishment was the day he allowed me to wash his hair. We had a bedside device that permitted hair washing in bed. His hair had not been washed in many, many weeks, perhaps even months. It was long and curly and exceedingly greasy. The wash-ing went fine, but when his hair dried, it stood on end forming the most gigantic Afro I had ever seen. He was not African-American and, if I say he was horrified by how he looked, I would be under-exaggerating to the max! Once the initial shock wore off, we both began to laugh our heads off. It was one of my most fun ever days as a nurse!

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I’m not sure that this story resulted in the hundredfold production Jesus predicted in the parable but it sure made the two of us feel good. It kept me in nursing for another five years before I started law school. It has remained one of my favorite memories all these years later. I suppose there are many ways to interpret the words “seed” and “good soil” as Jesus used in the parable. Being in kind, caring and loving relationships with our fellow travelers on this journey, I suspect, might be one.

If you’d like to write a midrash story, feel free to submit your ideas/stories to me at larjaw@gmail.com. They need to reach Karen by noon on Thursdays for inclusion in The Buzz on Fridays. Come on, it’s fun to do!! Judy Wahrenberger

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Who would ever guess that Carol Wilson is in her seventies (barely) and a wid-

ow of 35 years? Her svelte figure and her sharp dressing makes her look like a

young 50-year-old! Her secret is a wonderful family, staying busy with activi-

ties and friends, an optimistic outlook and a church she loves. We should all

take a lesson!

Carol’s earliest years were spent in Weehawken where both her parents’ fami-

lies had settled from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Her parents

met in the youth group of the local Baptist church called the bund. Carol’s

dad’s family migrated west to the Dakotas and Michigan, but her mother’s en-

tire family remained in Hudson County. Every Sunday was church and then

family fun with cousins, aunts and uncles all day long. At Carol’s side was her

sister, Sue, 4 years younger, to whom she remains very close despite Sue mov-

ing to Colorado Springs after college. Carol’s family moved to Ridgefield Park

where Carol did her high school education and, more importantly, met Jim, her

high school sweetheart (Jr. and Sr. prom partners!) and eventually her husband

when they finished college. Jim was an athlete, playing football and baseball.

Carol was not. Carol was interested in English and history and became an edi-

tor of the school newspaper. But they were in love!

Carol went to Eastern Baptist College (now Eastern University) on the mainline outside of Philadelphia where she

majored in English and prepared to become a teacher. Carol was one of 4 seniors at Eastern Baptist elected to

Who’s Who in College. Jim went to Rutgers where he majored in finance. Carol and Jim were married in August

of 1969, neither with a job but “livin’ on love.” Teaching jobs at that time (Vietnam war) were a way to dodge the

draft and, therefore, scarce.

In 1970, Carol landed her first teaching job in Palisades Park teaching English and drama and responsible for the

plays performed in junior and senior high school. After 2 years there, Carol was hired by Somerville High School

where she taught English and was in charge of the yearbook, which back then, pre-computer, was a big job! Carol

LOVED her job! She worked with the freshman and juniors and loved getting to know the students. Carol worked

there until 1977 when Megan was born on Carol and Jim’s 8th wedding anniversary. Thereafter, their anniversary

always played second fiddle to Megan’s birthday! Meanwhile, Carol was obtaining her master’s degree at Kean

University in student counseling and personnel services, gratis the Somerville Board of Ed. At around the same

time, Carol and Jim bought their first home in Somerset where they lived from 1977 to 1980. In 1980, they moved

to their new home in Somerville around the time Brienne was born. Brienne was named after a movie star whose

name was accidentally misspelled!

In 1982, after a couple of years as a stay-at-home mom (the hardest, but most rewarding, job ever! [author’s note]),

Carol filled in part time for the maternity leave of an elementary school counselor in Branchburg that led eventual-

ly to a full time position in that school system. Though Carol had intended to be a high school guidance counselor,

she worked in Branchburg happily until her retirement in 2007. The girls grew up in Somerville, and the family

belonged to the Somerville United Reformed Church. Not unlike BBPC, the church was a big part of the life of the

Wilson family. Carol and Jim were very involved in the youth group with their girls and participated in mission

activities. Carol spent three weeks in 1982, right after starting her new job, in the Soviet Union as part of a 200-

person nuclear freeze project involving churches of all denominations from the U.S. and Canada. The trip included

time in Moscow, Leningrad (now again St. Petersburg) and the Ukraine. Carol describes the experience as “life

changing.” In fact, it led to the pact between Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev. It wasn’t just life changing, it was

world changing! When she returned, Carol reported to all of the area reformed churches about the trip.

, CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE.

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Continued

Meg had just headed off to college at the University of Maryland and Brie was a sophomore at Gill St. Bernard

playing soccer, when Carol and the girls learned that Jim, beloved husband and father, had died suddenly of coro-

nary artery disease. No one was aware of the underlying illness, Jim was in training for the triathlon and he was

only 48 years old when, sadly, his life ended. Now that could test one’s faith! But somehow Carol held the family

together, kept on teaching and remained in the family home until 2006 when she moved to a townhouse in Branch-

burg where she now lives.

The girls are now both married with children that are the pride and joy of Carol. Meg graduated from the Univer-

sity of Maryland where she met her husband, Lance, now a financial planner. Carol says that Lance is an

“especially good financial planner” which Carol jokingly attributes to his desire to keep Carol “independent and

not living under their roof!” They live in Basking Ridge with their daughters, Jillian, almost 13 and preparing for

her bat mitzvah (if communal gatherings like bat mitzvahs are permitted to happen in the fall), and Remi, who is

10 and will enter fifth grade next year. Meg and Lance also have a vacation home in Cape May Point which has

been a intermittent refuge to Carol during the COVID stay-in-place order. Brie, a graduate of Moravian College

and an ELL (early language learner) teacher in Branchburg and her husband, Cory, a state trooper detective, and

their boys, John, 6, and Sam, 4, live in White House.

So how did Carol make her way from Somerville United Reformed Church to BBPC? Well, as happens some-

times, a particular church may no longer meet the needs of an individual. That happened, and Carol started look-

ing for a new church home. Around the same time, at her hairdresser, Carol heard about zip lining in Costa Rica

and thought that sounded like fun. Soon thereafter, Carol visited BBPC in her quest to find a new church. Coinci-

dentally, a trip to Arborfilia, an environmental study center in the Costa Rican rain forest was being planned at

BBPC. She was in! Carol took the trip (no zip lining), met other BBPC members, shared a room with Marion Oli-

ver and joined the church a year later. In her years at BBPC, Carol has served as an elder, worked on the worship

commission and the mission commission. PEB (education scholarships for Pakistani girls) is what most of us to-

day probably associate with Carol. Her efforts in that regard has turned BBPC into one of the top scholarship

providing churches in the country. And, of course, Carol is a caring minister. She is also a regular attendee and

prolific contributor, sometimes discussion leader, at the pre-church adult education class, a member of the book

group and a frequent participant in Bible study offerings. Carol is, too, a fan of Louise Penny, the author of the

Chief Inspector Gamache mystery novels, and the “passion” of quite a few BBPC women.

Carol retired from the Branchburg school system in 2007. Since then, Carol has enjoyed extensive travel with

friends and with her sister, Sue. A highlight was a trip to Africa with a group of fellow teachers. The trip lasted

three weeks and included South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Carol says that Cape Town is the “most

amazing city. It is beautiful, has a heartbreaking history, wonderful food and wine, every imaginable economic

area, mountains and beach and exotic animals like penguins and baboons.” She has also visited Europe – Italy,

Paris, London and many cities in the U.S. and Canada. A trip with her sister to Spain in the fall is now canceled

thanks to COVID-19.

Carol is currently a facilitator for a bereavement group 2 evenings a month at Cancer Support Community Central

(CSC). CSC is open to anyone affected by cancer at no cost. Carol works out regularly at the Hunterdon Health

and Wellness Center and is a regular Mahjong player with fellow retired teachers. At least she used to always do

those things! Carol also loves to read, thankfully, at this stay-at-home time. But, like the rest of us, Carol will be

happy to once again attend church in person with her church family. Let’s all hope and pray that will be sooner

than later!

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Session has met several times via Zoom during the months of March and April.

Most recently Session gathered on April 21 for a regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

The highlights are as follows:

Session approved the continuation of steaming worship services beyond the COVID 19 stay-at-home orders for a period of

one year. To be clear this is not to say that we will not be gathering in the sanctuary for worship for a whole year, but in-

stead to say that even when we are able to gather, we will continue to make our worship services available online for those

unable to attend in person. This has been made possible by the gracious donation for streaming equipment (hardware and

software) and a year-long subscription to BoxCast the streaming host that sends our service to a variety of platforms. As the

end of the year’s subscription comes due, we will evaluate this offering and decide whether to continue and renew the ser-

vice. Thank you again to Wildfire Technology Integration and Jason Dudley for making this possible

Session also has called on the Response Team to reconvene to begin discussing how and when the church will be able to

welcome members back to worship and open the campus to other activities. We don’t know when the State will allow for

reopening, but we do know that we have a responsibility to make sure we have created safety guidelines for whatever our

new normal will be.

Session approved the repair of the church sewer line to alleviate frequent problems with back up and over flow in the cave

bathrooms. Session understands this repair to be essential and has therefore added it to the second tier Capital Campaign

priorities at an estimated cost not to exceed $20,000. The work involves the sewer line that runs exterior to the building

from the church building to the street.

At the request of both Finance and Mission Outreach Commissions, Session approved a motion which alleviates Casa del

Banquete and Plenitude de Dios churches from the obligation to pay rent/donation to the church during the months when

the church has been closed to them. We realized that will increase the financial burden on us, but believe we must extend

this grace to these congregation how are also struggling.

Session Highlights

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How to Stream Worship Live Sunday Mornings @ 10 a.m.

There are several ways to join us on Sunday mornings for worship. We are currently streaming on our

BBPC.ORG/Live, Facebook, Roku, Apple TV (4th generation) and by phone for sound only. We hope soon

to be up and running on YouTube. We are able to do these things through a streaming service called BoxCast.

BoxCast works with churches to get their worship services online. As you can imagine in these past couple of

weeks they have been overrun with churches trying to do exactly what we are doing. That made for a snag

this past week for some of you who had trouble accessing the service on our church’s website. This was a

glitch on BoxCast’s end and there was nothing we could do about it. The result was that it took a long time to

get sound and video up when you pressed play on the church website, causing some to give up. In addition,

we had trouble with our phone hookup. This was an error on our end which we hope to have remedied by this

Sunday. We did have success this week with our Facebook, Roku & Apple TV (4th generation). Our hope is

that if one option goes down you will have other options for accessing worship.

This FRIDAY at 7 p.m. we will be going live with a test run to see if all our streaming options are up and running and ready

for Sunday morning. Please consider joining us to make sure you are able to access our broadcast.

Options for Viewing or Listening:

BBPC.ORG/LIVE – The worship service will be broadcast live on our webpage and will remain there for

several weeks for viewing.

Facebook - If you have a Facebook account you can find us at B.B.Presbyterian.Church. One of the benefits

of watching through Facebook is that you can interact with other viewers in real-time, passing the peace and

saying “hello” and agreeing in prayer with a hearty “Amen!” If you “like” us on our Facebook page and your

settings on your smartphone allow for notifications from Facebook, you will receive a notification when we

go live!

Apple TV (4th generation 4K & HD) – Watch live on Apple TV or view past services. To access you must

download BoxCast from the App Store to your Apple TV. Once in the BoxCast App, search for Bound Brook

Presbyterian Church. Worship Services can be viewed for up to 90 days.

Roku – Watch us live on Roku or view past services. To access you must download the BoxCast app to your

Roku device. Once in the BoxCast App, search for Bound Brook Presbyterian Church. Worship Services can

be viewed for up to 90 days.

YouTube We are now streaming live and previously recorded worship services on YouTube. Click here-

https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UChCirphSKjJyjBFaZAHewlA or search for BBPC Worship. Subscribe

and you will receive notifications from YouTube about content.

Phone In – Dial 1-(872) 240-3311 and when prompted for the Access Code, please dial 417-955-909; long distance charges may apply.

15

Coronavirus/COVID-19 Safety Tips

Staying healthy is the name of the game. Here’s how to do it:

1. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use a

hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol;

2. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;

3. Avoid close contact with people that are sick;

4. Distance yourself from other people particularly if you are at higher risk of getting very sick (over 60 and/or with

conditions such as lung disease, heart disease, diabetes or other disease that makes you susceptible to illness);

5. Avoid touching things in public places;

6. Avoid crowded places;

7. Avoid unnecessary air travel and especially avoid cruise ships.

If you start to show symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, confusion

or difficulty arousing, bluish face or lips, loss of the sensation of smell or taste*), here’s what you should do:

1. Stay home and call your doctor. Let him or her know that you may have symptoms of COVID-19;

2. Avoid public places and public transportation;

3. Get immediate medical assistance if you show any of the emergency warning signs above (breathing difficulty,

change of mental status or bluish coloration);

4. If you are not so sick that hospitalization is required, remember to limit contact with other family members by

sleeping alone and using a separate bathroom, if at all possible;

5. If you become sick, wear a face mask around others;

6. Continue to do all of the avoidance safety measures above including frequent hand washing;

7. Cough/sneeze into a tissue that is immediately disposed of and wash your hands right away;

8. Avoid contact with pets since it is not yet clear if transmission of the virus can occur through them;

9. Stay at home until instructed by your doctor that you may leave.

Keep in mind, this illness is usually mild and many may or will have it with minimal signs and symptoms. Following

the guidelines above will reduce the likelihood that you or your loved one will develop the illness.

*Recent studies have revealed that loss of smell and/or taste may be early signs of COVID-19. Remember that a

stuffy nose can also cause similar losses.

16

Follow us: Facebook @ B.B.Presbyterian Church & Instagram @ bbpresby

The Bound Brook Presbyterian Church

409 Mountain Avenue, Bound Brook, NJ 08805

To contact us email office@bbpc.org or phone (732) 356-3575

Caring Minister On Call: April 26 - May 2: Lou Ruprecht

Joys & Concerns: In an effort to respect privacy, please email prayer re-quests to Karen at office@bbpc.org.

Help is on the Way!: The Deacons have been gathering offers to help those who can’t get out to shop or run errands. If you have a need, we have a volun-teer to help. Please reach out to Deacon Christian Luna at christina.luna.SLPD@gmail.com or call (908) 256-3575.

Tim Smith’s Email address: music@bbpc.org

Please send Buzz articles to office@bbpc.org. Articles are due on Thursday 1:00pm.

In Other News…

Visit our website(bbpc.org) for instructions or

Click HERE

to join us in worship via video streaming.

To dial in: (872) 240-3311 & enter

Access Code: 417-955-909

Check-Ins and Chats Pastor Linda is hosting two opportunities to check-in with one another during the week via ZOOM, a video conferencing app. Follow the link and enter the passcode to join us.

TUESDAY MORNINGS @ 10 AM

https://zoom.us/j/514746587?pwd=aStYVnhqbVNoUVEybG4veVRjMjhOUT09

Meeting ID: 514 746 587

Password: 12340345

THURSDAYS @ Noon

https://zoom.us/j/273105277?pwd=dHVZaEdrcnZoSjFHN1RnVjFKTWtOdz09

Meeting ID: 273 105 277

Password: 1150947