Newsletters

Dec 29

2022-01-02 Hybrid Worship

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters, Sermons

Happy new year! We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

Please download or view the Worship Guide that includes our worship and music previews, Scripture readings, prayers, community news… Click the link below!

Get Your Worship Guide (click here) with Scripture readings, music, and prayers. See our worship preview, below!

Whatever your religious affiliation, or none at all, we all hear Jesus say, “Come to me all who are overburdened, and find rest for your soul!” Everyone is welcomed at Cold Spring Church. Yes, everyone!

Enjoy sitting with others from greater Cape May as we worship together. We simplified our service and made it even easier to participate, with our Worship Guide and lyric videos displayed on a large screen.

Worship on YouTube Live! (click here)

No internet? No problem!

If you don’t have internet access, just use our call-in number from your phone: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.

Worship Preview

We gather together At the Lord’s Table this Sunday. Start the new year by seizing your future as God invites us forward! Our in-person worshippers will be provided pre-packaged communion cups, which on-line worshippers may request by contacting the office. Or, the bread can be of your choosing. For the cup, you may use grape juice or wine, or water, remembering that Christ is the Living Water for all.

What will you be focusing on in the new year? This week, we gather around the Lord’s Table and consider how Jesus is not just the Light of THE World, but the Light of OUR FUTURE, illuminating our journey ahead. Let’s focus on Jesus and the light he brings to us!

Music Preview

John Wesley Work, Jr., may not have originated the spiritual “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” but he can take credit for the fact that we still sing it every Christmas. As the son of a church choir director, Work grew up in Nashville loving music. Even though he earned his Master’s in Latin and went on to teach ancient Latin and Greek, his first love continued to be music, and he went on to become the first African-American collector of spirituals rooted in the Black experience. This proved to be a daunting task for Work because they were passed down orally and very few were written down. But Work proved up to the challenge, publishing his first song book six years later. It was in this second volume that “Go, Tell It on the Mountain” first appeared. The original singers of the song fulfilled the same important task the angels gave the shepherds that first Christmas night outside of Bethlehem, proclaiming, “that Jesus Christ is born!” And thanks to John Wesley Work, so can we. We end our service with our communion favorite, “The Blessing.”

“…That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18).

Due to the alarming increase in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready for worship at home, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. If you’re in the sanctuary, feel free to share photos or text friends about what you are learning! Subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Energize your life and discover the amazing love of Jesus! This week is the perfect time to join us in person for worship. Enjoy live music and solo, lyric videos, and a message of hope from God’s word.

We are excited to welcome to worship all who are able and comfortable in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our top priority. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols and designed an approximately forty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.

Dec 26

Love13

2021-12-27 Hybrid Worship

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters, Sermons

Merry Christmas! We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

Please download or view the Worship Guide that includes our worship and music previews, Scripture readings, prayers, community news… Click the link below!

Get Your Worship Guide (click here) with Advent devotional readings, music, and prayers. See our worship preview, below!

Worship on YouTube Live! (click here)

No internet? No problem!

If you don’t have internet access, just use our call-in number from your phone: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.

Worship Preview

This is the first Sunday after Christmas, and the last worship service of 2021. In these still uncertain pandemic times, we join with all of creation to sing praises to God. Why, you might ask? Good question. Maybe we don’t feel like singing! Do we feel a bit lost? Sure. That’s understandable. But God is not lost! We sing praises to God because God is here and will never leave us alone. God with us, Emmanuel. God’s grace is greater than any pandemic, any problem, and God’s abundant forgiveness is greater than all our sin. Sure, we can feel a bit lost from time to time. It’s O.K., though…we’re in good company.

This week’s Gospel tells about frantic parents looking for their child! What could be more terrifying than loosing a child? But in this story, it was Jesus who was feared lost! Jesus, lost! What would Joseph and Mary do? Find out in Pastor Kevin’s message, “Finding What Is Not Lost,” from Luke 2:41-52. Like Joseph and Mary, we will find Jesus in (un)expected places.

Music Preview

We begin worship with O Come, All Ye Faithful. The origins of this 18^th century hymn has spread worldwide and is used by many denominations in every language imaginable in both Latin and other versions. We conclude our worship singing Good Christian Friends, Rejoice. Carols using two languages, like this one dating from at least the 14th century, belong to a special group called “macaronic,” the original languages here being German and Latin. Though the present version is only in English, it is sung to the traditional German folk melody. Let’s rejoice! Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

“…That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18).

Due to the alarming increase in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

Dec 23

Love13

2021-12-24 Hybrid Worship

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters, Sermons

We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

Please download or view the Worship Guide that includes our worship and music previews, Scripture readings, prayers, community news… Click the link below!

Get Your Worship Guide (click here) with Advent devotional readings, music, and prayers. See our worship preview, below!

Worship on YouTube Live! (click here)

No internet? No problem!

If you don’t have internet access, just use our call-in number from your phone: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.

Worship Preview

Create new memories at Cold Spring Church, making this Christmas, and every Christmas to come, vitally different, better. How? Unwrap God’s gift! Can you imagine a thriving Christmas, not merely surviving it?! This year, let’s take all the best of Christmas’ past and open our arms and spirits to new ways to receive God’s gift of Christmas now? And what is that Gift ready to be opened this year? Jesus. Jesus is the Gift. The Gift that keeps on giving. It’s Jesus moving into our neighborhood, now. Today. Sure, he was born in the past to Mary and Joseph among the animals in crowded Bethlehem. But it’s (also) today that God is with us. Today, God can blossom afresh into our lives.

Music Preview

We will enjoy several Christmas carols that will lift your spirit! We begin with, Joy to the World, a forward looking carol, unlike all the others because it is about the second coming of Jesus. The poem was written in 1719 by Isaac Watts and discovered a century later by Boston music teacher Lowell Mason. It has become the most published Christmas Carol in America.

French shepherds had a Christmas Eve tradition of shouting “Gloria in excelsis Deo” to each other as they watched over their sheep flocks on their respective hills in France. That phrase is the chorus of Angels We Have Heard on High, possibly written as early as 129 AD and known as “The Angel’s Hymn” it became the first Christmas hymn of the Christian church.

Away in a Manger is an American written carol that originated among German Lutherans in Pennsylvaniá about 1885.

Composer Sally DeFord says she wrote “When Mary Sang Her Lullaby” because she loved the symbolism in using Mary’s lullaby as a symbol for the coming of Christ as the Babe of Bethlehem, who would indeed “comfort all the world”.

The lyrics to “O Little Town of Bethlehem” were written by Phillips Brooks in 1868 after visiting the town of Bethlehem on his trip to the Holy Land two years earlier. Since that time, this song has become a favorite for many people as they celebrate the Christmas season.

Our candlelighting will include singing of “Silent Night” first performed in German in 1818, with the young priest & lyric writer, Joseph Mohr on guitar and singing with Franz Gruber, the choir director who wrote the melody.

Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

“…That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18).

Due to the alarming increase in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

Dec 16

Love13

2021-12-19 Hybrid Worship

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters, Sermons

We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

Please download or view the Worship Guide. It’s your guide to our fantastic community worship service including readings, prayers, community news, and the last two pages include this week’s Advent devotional for each day next week… Click the link below!

Get Your Worship Guide (click here) with Advent devotional readings, music, and prayers. See our worship preview, below!

Worship on YouTube Live! (click here)

No internet? No problem!

If you don’t have internet access, just use our call-in number from your phone: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.

Worship Preview

This fourth week of Advent is moving us closer to Christmas! We have planned a beautiful 4th Sunday of Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Sunday worship experience ahead! All the signs point to the unwrapping of God’s present to the world! Once you open God’s Christmas gift, nothing remains the same. The message today is titled, ”How God Wraps Your Christmas Present.”

This Christmas, God can empower us to live our very best selves. Or, sure, we can remain stuck in Christmas’ past, repeating fine traditions but not learning and overhearing the Greatest Story Ever Told, but not letting the radical Good News transform our life. God Is With Us, Emanuel (Matthew 1:23), as God’s emerging future unfolds with our every step.

What kind of gifts do you give? Memories of Christmas’ past can help you unpack Christmas’ meaning. In these pandemic times, we must creatively refashion and reset these essential activities. New ways to gather safely with family and friends are a must. Seasonal food favorites. Unique ornaments and events. Christmas movies and holiday music. Christmas Eve candlelight worship. The traditions go on and on. Sometimes the past familiar traditions can overwhelm us as we miss loved ones, reminisce about by-gone days, or feel a bit lonely during Christmas. Now is a great time to remember that from that First Noel, Christmas was always about God’s wrapping Christmas gifts. All things become new…again. Once you open God’s Christmas gift, nothing remains the same. Invite others to join you this Christmas week!

Get ready as we proclaim God’s story that a Jew from Nazareth who lived briefly, died violently, rose unexpectedly, and was God in the flesh, calls us to follow, transformed in mind, body, and spirit!

Music Preview

We will enjoy a beautiful solo by the Rev. Larry Moyer with Jayne McDonough on the grand piano titled, “Will You Come to the Manger?” After the message, the congregation can sing along with the video lyrics on the screen, “O Come All Ye Faithful.” From its Roman Catholic origins, this 18th-century hymn has spread worldwide by many denominations in both Latin and local language versions. Once popular with a wide range of hymn texts, this tune is now firmly associated with this Christmas text from which it is named.

Our sending hymn, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” will be played on the organ. The “it” of the first line of this text by a Unitarian minister does not refer to the birth of Jesus, but to “that glorious song of old,” the angelic tidings of peace on earth. The restored third stanza laments how often the noise of human strife has obscured that message.

Come and worship!

“…That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18).

Due to the spike in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

Dec 01

Love0

Live Here. Grow Here. Give Here. #GivingTuesday 2020

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters, Sermons

We live here. We grow here. Let's give here, too. One #GivingTuesday,

Oct 20

Love1

Reformation Sunday, October 25, 2020 — Lord God, Help in this Trouble

By cscadmin Intersections, Music, Newsletters

Lord God, Help in this Trouble: The Plague Song of Ulrich Zwingli

(From the Presbyterian Historical Society. To discover more about the 16th Century Reformation period that coincided with the bubonic plague that swept through Europe, and for a copy of the Plague Song, please visit www.history.pcusa.org.)

This week commemorates the Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) that transformed Europe as the Good News was proclaimed with renewed spiritual energy: Scripture alone. Grace alone. Faith alone. While the names of reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin are more widely recognized, it was Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) who left an undeniable impact on the Christian Church. In Switzerland, Zwingli was the newly appointed People’s Priest, or Leutpriestertum, at Zurich’s Groosmünster church. With the Reformation underway, while visiting the Swiss town of Bad Pfäfers in September 1519, Zwingli learned of a new wave of plague devastating Zurich and immediately returned home. The bubonic plague was ravaging Europe. Zwingli ministered to the city’s afflicted and himself fell ill. His brother, Andreas, would perish from the disease, along with an estimated quarter to half of all Zurich’s citizens. Zwingli’s song shows him falling sick, battling the disease, and convalescing. The words speak to his acceptance of divine providence (“Do what Thou wilt; me nothing lacks. Thy vessel am I; to make or break altogether”)and promise a future of faithful acts (“my lips must thy praise and teaching bespeak more than ever before, however it may go”). As a Reformation leader Zwingli went on to oppose longstanding church practices that contradicted his understanding of the Bible, including the veneration of saints and statues, priestly celibacy, and the sale of indulgences. Although he didn’t write the Plague Song to be performed during worship services, the text can be found in many sixteenth and seventeenth century Protestant hymnals. Zwingli’s words remind us 500 years later that a commitment to others and even personal tribulation can lead to a renewed state of grace.

Jul 01

Love0

Our Session Leadership Team (2020)

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters

A Session is the leadership team for a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation, a denomination that Cold Spring Presbyterian Church has been a member of since, well, before the denomination was formed! The Session is comprised of nine (9) women and men who are Ruling elders elected by the congregation to terms of service. The Session Meeting gathers monthly with the Transformation Pastor, Dr. Kevin Yoho, who serves as the Session Moderator. The Session is responsible for the spiritual vitality of its members and listening to the Spirit of God and the voice of the congregation to best serve the community of Greater Cape May, New Jersey in the name of Jesus Christ.

2020 Session Team Leadership

Beverly Mate, Fred Ferrari, Kevin Beare, Lenore Bowne, Marjorie Wetherill, Martin Bowne, Norris Clark, and Tom Imperato. As of March 2020, there is one vacancy on the session. Our elders are structured to serve on one of six (6) ministry teams. Speak with them to share your ideas, concerns, joys, learn more, and please, consider joining a team that interests you.

Restructuring Session Teams to Better Achieve Our Mission

The Session has been faithfully meeting via Zoom since March. In May 2020, the session restructured the teams to better achieve our mission together. Below are the team names and the elders who serve on them. Contact information for our session members can be found on our staff and leadership contact page.

- Finance and Personnel Team (Tom Imperato with Beverly Mate). The mission of the Finance and Personnel Team is to facilitate accountability of the Church’s funds and other assets and provide financial information to enable decision-making that will ensure the Church’s financial sustainability and to ensure Church employees have the training and tools to perform their job, are held accountable for achieving the goals of the Church, and are compensated appropriately for their efforts.
- Worship and Music Team (Marty Bowne with Lenore Bowne) The mission of the Worship and Music Team collaborates with the Pastor and the Organist/Music Director to enable meaningful worship in the preaching of the Word of God, the administration of the Sacraments, and celebration with music. Through meditation on the Word of God, and subsequent application to their lives, the members of our congregation will be better equipped to serve God and the community.
- (NEW) Cemetery and Grounds Team (Fred Ferrari with Tom Imperato). The mission of the Cemetery and Grounds Team is to improve the beauty, accessibility, care, usefulness, and maintenance of our entire campus including cemetery-specific structures such as the field office, garage, and mausoleum, roads, parking lots; promote cemetery services, develop cemetery use guidelines, rules, operating procedures, review and recommend cemetery services prices, review monthly and annual reports such as required by the New Jersey Cemetery Board, and other responsibilities assigned by the session from time to time.
- (NEW) Facilities Team (Kevin Beare): The mission of the Facilities Team is to improve the beauty, accessibility, usefulness, efficiency, care and maintenance of our buildings and structures, both interior and exterior, (including Price Hall (rental policies and processes), Red Brick Church, and manse, but excluding cemetery-specific structures).
- (New) Congregational Life Team (Marge Wetherill with Lenore Bowne) The mission of the Congregational Life Team is to provide church fellowship events during the year to celebrate our life together as one church family. The Team serves as a liaison for groups within the church to offer a variety of year-round fellowship events to foster Christian unity and love among the congregation.
- (New) Community Life Team (Norris Clerk). The mission of the Community Life Team is to identify opportunities for positive community engagement and increased involvement and service by promoting and creating welcoming experiences, mission activities, concerts, and programs like Cold Spring Suppers.

The Top Ten Session Responsibilities include:

Mission of the church (working with the congregation, inspiring the congregation, and equipping the congregation to achieve the vision and mission of Cold Spring Presbyterian Church)
Worship (providing regular, spiritually energizing and equipping, experiences)
Transformation (learning and growing in community-directed ministry)
Evangelism (sharing the Good News about Jesus)
Community (serving the community of Cape May)
Education (providing learning experiences for all ages)
Stewardship (promoting the joyful participation of our time, energy, and attention to support God’s work)
Finance (setting the annual budget, financial review and accountability, and investing resources)
Administration (works with the pastor to pro five supervision and training to all staff)
Higher Governing Bodies and Ecumenical Relationships (regularly participating in the regional ministry of West Jersey Presbytery, the national ministry of the Presbyterian Church, (U.S.A.), and local ecumenical partners)

Additional session leadership resources are discussed in the, The Presbyterian Trustee, A Guide, (Geneva Press, 2004).

Mar 12

Love1

Special Message Regarding Coronavirus Pandemic — Preparedness

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters, Sermons

Updated: March 12, 2020

Stay Healthy During Coronavirus Pandemic.

We will follow directives from the State of New Jersey, Cape May County Health Department, or other state or municipal authority should they impose assembly restrictions, quarantines, or other constraints to prevent or contain virus exposure including cancelling or postponing worship services, events, and closing our facilities. (Check back often for updates.)

From our new Healthy Living Team

The session has established a Healthy Living Team to promote healthy living practices, especially during health crises like the coronavirus pandemic. Jonna Myers (R.N.) and Melissa Arnott (EdD.) are leading this team.

We encourage appropriate social distancing during the pandemic: Our sanctuary in the Red Brick Church is spacious enough to allow worshippers who choose to attend to comfortably practice recommended social distancing protocols. (Our average attendance is 70. Our sanctuary seats 300 including our balcony, leaving lots of room to spread out as needed.)

Live streaming of worship: Should services be cancelled due to the pandemic, visit our Facebook page for FaceBook Live video streaming, and/or our website for messages and music content. Stay spiritually nourished and connected!

What about Easter? Its possible that our two Easter services may be postponed, but they will not be cancelled! Should the coronavirus pandemic threat continue into April (Easter is April 12), we may need to postpone our services to a later, safer, date. Easter is one amazing event we don’t want to miss celebrating, so we will just choose a different date to gather if the April 12th events are postponed. (Stay tuned!)

What we are doing: We are re-doubling our efforts to ensure that Price Hall and sanctuary, bathrooms, other surfaces are clean, using disinfectants that are approved by the CDC. Boxes of tissues have been provided in center aisle pews. Hand sanitizer is provided. We installed automatic paper towel dispensers in our bathrooms that are safer to operate.

What you can do: We have our own special areas at home or at work that we need to pay attention to during virus outbreaks. Everyone’s cleaning list should include door knobs, handrails, and handles on your microwave, refrigerator, cabinets, and those toilet and faucet handles, too.

Check with neighbors! If you are able, reach out to your neighbors, especially those who are home bound.

Stock-up! Remember to have at least a three-week’s supply of food essentials and any required respiratory medications. BUT…

Please do not hoard – if you have extra soap and hand sanitizer – bring it to church – we will use it! Hoarding is not neighborly!

Contact the Deacons or call the office for assistance with essential shopping or doctor’s visits. We want to help!

Go Online! Shop for groceries, contribute to the church, listen to worship services, and even pay bills online. Follow us on Facebook, and please Like our page. It helps others discover our page!

You Can Prepare for Any Infectious Disease Outbreak

In light of the pandemic of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), resources are available for our congregation. Now is the time to prepare and be aware of safer community practices. According to a Preparedness for Pandemics guide published by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, simple precautions can help everyone participate in healthy ways.

Everyday Musts During A Pandemic:

More Hand Washing – Less Face Touching. Washing hands thoroughly and frequently is essential. Especially every time you go out in public. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be found in and around bathrooms in the Red Brick Church and Price Hall. Use sanitizer often, but hand washing is a must!
Stay at home if you are sick. Remember you can stay connected to our community when you’re sick at home or away from home by visiting our website. Listen to sermons and music, watch videos, and connect to us on Facebook. Consider giving online. Staying away from others when you’re sick is a must!
Simply smile and use your welcoming words, without handshakes. Welcoming hospitality takes many forms, and your smile is a wonderful gift others enjoy receiving! Social distancing is a must!

As we gather for events and worship, simply smile, and use your welcoming words, without handshakes. Frequently and thoroughly washing our hands is essential. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers (containing at least 60% alcohol) can be found in and around bathrooms in the Red Brick Church and Price Hall. Use sanitizer often. (Again, hand washing is better!)

Thank you for modeling protective health practices and praying for those most severely affected by the pandemic, especially the most vulnerable and isolated members of communities around the world. Should you have any special needs or concerns, please let a Deacon or session member know how we can assist you.

Feb 01

Love0

Next Brickette Issue March 2020

By cscadmin Intersections, Newsletters

Next Brickette issue will be March 2020, expanded edition

Our weekly Connections emailed newsletter (which is also available online) is read by more and more subscribers every week. It provides relevant, timely information and better integration with our website, social media, and worship bulletin. Connections keeps us and our community better connected and engaged.

To complement the weekly Connections, and to reduce redundancy and production costs, we are experimenting with distributing a more comprehensive edition of the Brickette fewer times each year. In 2020, the Brickette will be published in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter; the first of March, June, September, and December. Special editions may also be added.

We look forward to receiving your feedback on our new publication schedule this year. Send your comments to hello@coldspringchurch.com, attention Publications.

Jan 01

Love0

January 2020 Brickette

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Happy new year! We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

No internet? No problem!

Worship Preview

Music Preview

Due to the alarming increase in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

Merry Christmas! We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

No internet? No problem!

Worship Preview

Music Preview

Due to the alarming increase in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

No internet? No problem!

Worship Preview

Music Preview

Due to the alarming increase in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

We are ready for you inside our historic, beautiful Red Brick Church or, join us on YouTube Live!

No internet? No problem!

Worship Preview

Music Preview

Due to the spike in cases of COVID-19 in Cape May County, masks are again required, even for fully vaccinated worshippers.

Lord God, Help in this Trouble: The Plague Song of Ulrich Zwingli

2020 Session Team Leadership

Restructuring Session Teams to Better Achieve Our Mission

The Top Ten Session Responsibilities include:

Stay Healthy During Coronavirus Pandemic.

From our new Healthy Living Team

You Can Prepare for Any Infectious Disease Outbreak

Next Brickette issue will be March 2020, expanded edition

January 2020 Brickette

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