The February 2012 issue of the St. Barnabas Encourager has been published. The calendar is on our web site at http://www.stbarnabas-sbnj.org/calendar/. This calendar gets updated frequently as events are added or changed.

The South Brunswick Health Department will present Basic Food Handlers Courses at the South Brunswick Municipal Complex for food handlers (all who help out with food in the StB kitchen) who have not previously attended or who have not attended within the past 5 years. The courses will be held from 2:30 – 5pm on the following dates: 1/3/12, 4/30/12 and 10/29/12. Please speak with Kitty to sign up.

If you or someone you know wants to be confirmed (i.e. take on personal responsibility for their baptismal covenant), that individual needs to write a letter to Rev. Valerie explaining why she or he wants to be confirmed. This letter should include a personal understanding of who Jesus is in his or her life, why she or he feels called to be confirmed at this point in her or his life, and what he or she would like to learn during the preparation classes. The letter should be received by Rev. Valerie by Sunday, February 12th. After she receives the letter, Rev. Valerie will review it and decide if the person is ready to participate in the Confirmation program.

Confirmation classes will begin during Lent and meet through May. Once the class is formed, the participants will work with Rev. Valerie to find convenient times to meet. There will be 10 sessions, with a retreat component on Good Friday into Holy Saturday (April 6 & 7, 2012). Participants may have 1 excused absence.

The Confirmation ceremony will be in June, either at Rahway or at the Cathedral in Trenton. Details for the specific time and place will be given as soon as they are established.

If you have any questions about this process, please talk with Rev. Valerie.

You are invited! Come celebrate with us as we formally welcome our 4th Rector, The Rev. Valerie L. Balling, on Saturday, December 17th at 11 AM. The Rt. Rev. George E. Councell, XI Bishop of New Jersey, will be presiding. The Rev. Dr. Patrick Close, Rector of Grace Church, Haddonfield, will be preaching. The reception after the Celebration of Ministry service will be hosted by the parish of St. Barnabas.

Please look for the sign-up sheet in Hubbard Hall – a menu will be planned for the event, please sign up for one of the items on the list and/or help with the Celebration reception.

If you would like to make a donation towards the reception, please contact Maria Flick. Donations will help cover the expense for items not provided by the parish members.

We are also in need of 9 card tables for the reception; if you have a card table that can be borrowed from December 16-17, please call or email Maria Flick.

Celebrate St. Nicholas Day on Sunday, December 4! Breakfast will be served from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM (donation basket will help defray the cost of the breakfast). Want to Help? Sign Up sheet in Hubbard Hall. The worship service at 10:30 will be a Children’s Service and Sermon for the Young and “Young at Heart.” Afterwards, visit with St. Nicholas in the Bolmer Room. Photos will be taken and available for pick-up on Sunday, December 11

Bring your favorite Christmas Cookies or Goodies for the Coffee Hour.

This Saturday, 12/3, from 8 AM to noon, please come to help spruce up the church for Advent and Christmas. The rain/snow date is December 10th.

Have books you no longer want? Bring them in to our Book Sale! Looking for a good deal on a recent best-seller? Shop the book tables in Hubbard Hall! Prices are 50 cents for paperbacks, and $1.00 for hard-covers. Please place any unwanted books you have on the tables. If you are purchasing, please put the money in the plastic jar. Be sure to check out the selection frequently, as people will bring in new books each week. The book sale will continue through December 11th.

The International Benefit Dinner is THIS Saturday, October 15th, 5:30-8pm at Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton (located at 33 Mercer Street, near the intersection of Route 27 and Route 206).  If you haven’t gotten your tickets, you can still purchase at the door:

• Adults (ages 16 and up) – $20
• Youth (ages 9-15) $15
• Children (ages8 and under) – FREE (with child care and separate children’s activities provided). 

Be sure to bring the whole family to this fun-filled and delicious experience!

Parking: There is free parking available at the municipal lot adjacent to the church.  These spaces are usually metered, but will not be on this evening.  We will be reserving spaces here for seniors.  Street parking that is metered until 7pm is available on Mercer Street and Alexander Road.  There is also free parking at the Senior Citizens center (across Route 206).

We have LOTS of wonderful items in our Tricky Tray baskets so be sure to stock up on tickets so that you can increase your chance of winning (a sheet of 25 tickets is $20) We also have some unique experiences, like dinners of various cuisines, a tour of the New York Stock Exchange Trading Floor, NJ Devils tickets and more in our live auction!  Get in on the bidding action with our always entertaining auctioneer, William Straughn! And come hungry because the Ministry of Racial Diversity has organized and prepared and amazing array of international delights for dinner and dessert.  You’ll even have the opportunity to purchase take-out containers of food ($2 small container, $5 large container)!

Don’t miss a moment of fun and fellowship at this truly original St. Barnabas event!

The Wardens, Vestry and Congregation of St. Stephen’s Church, Millburn cordially invite you to join with us in The Celebration of a New Ministry on Saturday, the twenty-second day of October, 2011 at three o’clock in the  afternoon. The Right Reverend Mark M. Beckwith, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark will institute The Reverend Sheelagh A. Clarke as Twentieth Rector of St. Stephen’s Church, Millburn

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Reception following the service

119 Main Street
Millburn, New Jersey 07041
973–376–0688

Friday Book Club meets at 7:30 in the Bolmer Room each month.  They usually gather at a local restaurant for dinner and fellowship beforehand.  All are most welcome to join us.  Please contact Monica Devanas with any questions.  The next meeting will be on the SECOND Friday, 10/14, where Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo will be discussed.