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December 7, 2018
BBPC Weekly BUZZ September 06, 2019
This Week in Worship
Sunday, April 19, 10:00 a.m.
Streaming Online @ BBPC.org/LIVE
Rev. Linda E Owens Preaching
“Faith is a Team Sport“
Scriptures:
Psalm 16, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31
Anthem:
Holy, Holy, Holy - Tim Walton
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
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 contrib-
uting a video “thank you” message to an individual or a
group of workers who have gone above and beyond dur-
ing this pandemic. We will be gathering these messages
and creating our own “BBPC Says Thank You” video to
share with our local community. Videos should be cap-
tured in LANDSCAPE and sent to [email protected]
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Have you got 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 ([email protected]) or Jason Dudley ([email protected]). We will be glad to come by your house during the week and pick it up from the porch or mailbox.
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 [email protected] 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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An Update from the Food/
Travel Ministry We successfully completed the first week of our ministry providing assistance with food and other errands including school food deliveries in Bound Brook. We delivered meal packages on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this past week to approxi-mately 25 children of 14 families in the Bound Brook School district who need assistance each day. There has been an amazing response to the call for volunteers from members … and non-members! This work will continue until the school district opens again. The other portion of our cur-rent ministry is to connect volunteers with church members who cannot go out due to illness or the need for isolation, for food shopping and other errand assistance. This has also been successful. Thank you so much to Sal Lalama, who set up our collaboration with the Bound Brook School Dis-trict; and of course, a huge thank you the volun-teers for both time and patience as the schedule system evolves! If you would like to volunteer, please contact Christina Luna at [email protected] (908) 256-3575.
Loving Local - Meals for Bound
Brook Students & Families There are many students in the Bound Brook School system that depend on the school lunch program. With the school closures due to the Corona virus some of these students now may be lacking basic nutrition. While the schools continue to provide lunches for students, this is only via pickup. Through our relationship with Middle Earth, we learned, however, that very few families are ven-turing out to the schools to pick up the meals. So our Missions Commission reached out to the assis-tant superintendent of Bound Brook schools to offer support. As a result, we are now arranging a pro-gram where volunteers from our congregation will make themselves available to deliver the meals to the students and their families who request them. Christina Luna is maintaining the list of our volun-teers and will then coordinate with the school to arrange deliveries. We are excited about Loving Lo-cal by bringing meals to the Bound Brook kids!
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FOOD DELIVERIES
Connie Sopkc
Cheryl Dolida
Adits Akuffo
Yvonne Craven
Jill DeMouth & Linda Lee
Jill DeMouth & Diane Gilson
Cheryl Dolida
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More Good News! - 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 do-
nations open through April.
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 Sharing,
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 physi-
cal, 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 efforts to relieve
hunger through the Presbyterian Hunger Pro-
gram, promote development through the Presby-
terian Committee on the Self-Development of
People, and assist in areas of disaster through
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. This year,
faced with 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 con-
tribution to this offering.
Mission and Outreach Commission
Somerset County Foodbank The Foodbank warehouse is accepting grocery gift cards, preferably not over $50 each. The Somerset County Foodbank also operates Saturdays out of our PFC (Presbyterian Fellowship Center). They are doing well at the moment, but foresee the need for assis-tance in the coming weeks. Their contact information is below:
Phone: (732) 560 1813
Address: 9 Easy St., Bound Brook
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 involved in bringing
worship into your homes and connecting to one an-
other via video conferencing. At the same time, we
will be losing much needed income from donations
made by outside groups who use the church facili-
ties. 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 options has
been added, text giving. You can text a dollar
amount to (732) 641-8448 and it will be pro-
cessed 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. Whichever
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 [email protected]
*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.
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HOSPITALS in NEED OF
SUPPLIES All out local hospitals are looking for help from the
public. In addition to social distancing and flattening
the curve, our area hosptals are looking for dona-
tions of N95 masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
There are also encouraging those who can to make
cloth masks. I you follow the links below you will
find more info on donations and how to sew masks.
RWJ Somerset, New Brunswick & St. Barnabus:
https://www.rwjbh.org/patients-visitors/what-you-need-to-know-
about-covid-19/how-you-can-help/
Morristown & Overlook Hospitals: https://www.atlantichealth.org DIY Cloth Face Masks: https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Cloth-Face-Mask/
JOANN Fabrics:
https://www.joann.com/make-to-give-response/?
utm_campaign=2116208&ranMID=43312&ranEAID=TnL5HPStwNw&ra
nSiteID=TnL5HPStwNw-mhx5Ni13JZg1B.5hNuGG8A
Youth and Families Dear children, youth, and parents, We understand that this is a unique time in all of your lives. With schools shut down and social dis-tancing measures in place, it may feel as though we are farther apart then ever. Please know that the staff at BBPC is working hard to come up with creative ideas to keep us together. So far, here is what we have to offer.
Sunday school- weekly bedtime stories are being read LIVE on our BBPC SPARK FAMILY Fa-cebook page at 7pm. Please join the Facebook group and tune in each night.
Youth group - weekly meetings are being set up on Zoom. Weekly themes will be coming out as well. Please keep your calendars marked for 6pm every Sunday night. If you didn’t get an email about last weeks meeting, please email [email protected] to get on the email list.
Confirmation- our confirmands received an email from Bill Dettleback confirming a new meet-ing time for Sundays. If you are in confirmation, please make every attempt to be at these virtual meetings.
I hope to be rolling out more resources soon. Thank you for your time and patience as we work together to BE THE CHURCH!
Peace,
Miss Courtney
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Mark Metz, his wife, Rhonda, and their three children, John, Jasmine and
Alex, are likely well-known to the church membership but, in this crazy
time of change thanks to COVID-19, the Metz family has expanded to
welcome a new member to their family home in Flemington. They have
adopted Penny, a puppy cross between a shiatsu and a Bichon. Mark re-
ports that he had a dog as a child, but it lived outside. The pressure exert-
ed, particularly by Jasmine, home from college thanks to COVID, proved
too compelling for her parents to resist, and Penny is now well-embedded
inside the family home on Copper Penny Rd. in Flemington. How things
have changed!
John Mark Metz, III was born to Lee and John Metz in Ft. Campbell, KY.
His grandpa, John Mark Metz, was known as Big John, his dad, John
Mark Metz, Jr., was known as Little John and John Mark Metz, III was,
quite understandably, called Mark! (Wait until you hear about John Mark
Metz, IV!)
Mark and his three-year-younger brother, Chris, lived in a number of different states as young children. Their dad,
John (also of BBPC fame), was a commissioned officer in the Army following college, and he served in Vietnam
and Korea. The family lived in several states during this time including KY, CO, SC, AL and GA. Later, when his
dad became a salesperson for Eli Lilly, the family moved another couple of times. Finally, in 1976, when his dad
became a regional sales manager, Mark, aged 9, moved to Scotch Plains where he remained until he left for col-
lege.
Mark began school in the Scotch Plains public school system, but by middle school was moved to the Catholic
school in Scotch Plains, St. Bartholomew’s, for seventh and eighth grade. It proved a better place for a kid with a
lot of math talent to learn! Mark then attended high school at Union Catholic, also in Scotch Plains. This was not-
withstanding the fact that the family belonged to St. Mark’s Baptist Church in Cranford. Mark recalls that he had
“a fair bit of disagreement with the priests” but, nevertheless, took the various religious courses; however, not sur-
prisingly, was never confirmed in the Catholic Church as were his classmates. Mark ran track and cross country
but found special pleasure in participating in the service club. It was the organization that hosted events at the
school including plays and other after school events. Mark especially valued getting to know well many of his
teachers as part of the organization.
College for Mark was at Howard University in Washington DC, which Mark recalls was the “first all black univer-
sity in the U.S. founded in 1867.” Mark graduated with a degree in finance in 1989. During college, he made
many close friendships.
Mark went to work in the finance program of AT&T where he worked for about 4 years. After about 6 months,
Mark was introduced by a mutual friend to a woman named Rhonda who had just joined the IT department of
AT&T. Rhonda grew up on Staten Island but had moved to Flemington in her senior year of high school. Mark
and Rhonda were friends for a year before starting to date. Dating led to marriage in 1993 at the Presbyterian
Church in Westfield which Mark’s parents had joined when the Baptist church in Cranford burned down. Mean-
while, Mark discovered his real talent was IT support. He worked at Smith Barney in their IT department and re-
signed from that job to take a job at the NY office of Salomon Brothers (where, by the way, Rhonda was then
working in the NJ office) two days before it was announced that Salomon Brothers had been purchased by Smith
Barney! Talk about timing! Fortunately, Mark’s value to the company was recognized, and he continued to work
at Salomon Smith Barney despite his resignation.
CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE.
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Continued
Meanwhile Rhonda became pregnant with baby number 1. At about the 10-day overdue point, Mark was notified
at his office in NYC that the baby was not moving and that Rhonda was told to report immediately to her doctor.
Mark describes a mile and a half sprint to the train station at the World Trade Center and an arrival at the hospital
in an hour and a half, undoubtedly setting an unrecognized world record! John Mark Metz, IV was born on De-
cember 26, 2000. Though Rhonda understandably believed it might be time to give the male family first and mid-
dle names a rest, Mark bargained away his right to name any future children for yet another permutation of John
Mark Metz! John (not Big or Little or Mark, just John!) is now a junior at the University of ME in Orono studying
math and economics. Twenty months after John’s birth, Jasmine was born. She is now a freshman at Towson Uni-
versity, presently doing her college work at home and tending to the new family puppy along with her younger
brother, Alexander, born in 2006. Alex is in eighth grade and will be attending the STEM High School program in
Hunterdon County Academies next year (that is if our children are ever permitted to return to school!).
Moving forward employment-wise, Mark was lured away from Salomon Smith Barney by a headhunter, who had
a job at Novartis 35 minutes from the home in Flemington to which the family had moved in 1998. Mark remained
there until his department was moved to Cambridge, MA. As so often happens in Corporate America, Mark has
worked at a number of places including J&J, Citigroup (which at some point acquired Salomon Smith Barney)
where again he worked for the same company as Rhonda, and Bristol Meyers Squib. Mark always managed to
keep his family located in this general area as has Rhonda where she has worked for Solomon Smith Barney/
Citibank Group in East Rutherford for the last 24 years, never taking more than the allotted maternity leave after
the birth of their three children. For the last year, Mark has worked in the IT department of the NJ Department of
Human Services in Trenton doing cloud computing and managing the email services.
Mark and Rhonda joined BBPC 3 days before the birth of John. They had recently moved to a new home in Mid-
dlesex and had been looking for a new church home. Mark and Rhonda have both served as deacons, and Mark is
known to be an occasional participant in the prechurch adult education class. His perspective is always valued by
the group! With both parents working full time and with three young children for many years, Mark has been very,
very busy. During her school years, Jasmine was involved in competitive dance and even made the college team
though, in the end, she decided to forego further dance competition to focus on her academics. Mark and Rhonda
enjoy activities with Rhonda’s mom, who also lives in Flemington, including an occasional hike.
Talking about his interaction with people as an African-American man, Mark comments, “The friends you make
have more to do with what your interests are. You like people because you have something in common with
them.” That implies there might be more to see than the color of a person’s skin. Hallelujah! Mark sees in his
children a real indifference to the differences that once mattered more and too often separated us. Examples in-
clude race, gender and sexual orientation. How nice to think Mark is right and that our society is making progress!
Fun fact about Mark: he has a collection of comic books that extends back to age 6 and now includes no less than
10,000 individual “books.” Mark reports that he knows the background on all of the characters in the super hero
movies now produced. He admires the artists who created the characters and, for the record, the collection is on-
going!
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EASTER SUNDAY PHOTOS Thanks to all who posted Easter Photos last Sunday! It was great to see
you in your Easter finest/funnest!
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To all my friends at BBPC
Thank you so much for all your cards, phone calls, and visits during my
recovery from my broken shoulder.
I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the friendship and love that
has poured out of our church community.
During this time when everyone is preoccupied with much more serious
thoughts, you still took the time to reach out to me.
I’m looking forward to the time when we can be together again so I can
thank you personally. I feel so blessed being part of BBPC!
Anne Russo
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O Sons and Daughters
The opening hymn this Sunday is O Sons and Daughters, Let us Sing (255). This hymn is a narra-
tive Carol dating from the late Middle Ages. The original Latin poem is found in an untitled book-
let in the Bibliothèque National, Paris, printed between 1518 and 1536. It is also included in L’Of-
fice de la Semaine Sainte (Paris, 1662) with the heading “Joyous chant for the time of Easter”. It
tells the story of the disciples meeting in the upper room with Jesus after the resurrection. The
most popular English translation of this text is that of John Mason Neale in Mediæval Hymns and
Sequences (London, 1851) and it is this translation we sing.
The tune is assumed to be a French melody or carol whose first-known written course is Aires sur
les hymns sacred, odes, et noëls (Paris, 1623). It has provided inspiration for many seventeenth
and eighteenth century French organ composers for sets of variations. The opening voluntary this
week is a set of variations on O fillii et filliae by Jean-François D’Andrieu
(c. 1682-1739). Listen carefully to the opening voluntary where the tune is prominently heard.
You'll be ready to join in singing of this famous Easter Carol as the service begin
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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 image 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 longtime 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 views for up to 90 days.
Roku – Watch up 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 views for up to 90 days.
YouTube (coming soon) – We hope to be streaming live here soon at https://www.youtube.com/channel/
UChCirphSKjJyjBFaZAHewlA. Subscribe and you will receive notifications once we are up and running.
Phone In – Dail 1-(872) 240-3311 and when prompted for the Access Code, please dial 417-955-909; long distance charges may apply.
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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.
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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 [email protected] or phone (732) 356-3575
Caring Minister On Call: April 19 - April 25: Carol Wilson
Joys & Concerns: In an effort to respect privacy, please email prayer re-quests to Karen at [email protected].
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 [email protected] or call (908) 256-3575.
Tim Smith’s Email address: [email protected]
Please send Buzz articles to [email protected]. 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