1 Wear RED for Pentecost! This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Wear RED and send us a picture of you and your fam- ily decked out for Pentecost and we will post the pic- tures next Sunday. We will also be welcoming into membership a new class of confirmands, so please make sure to join us! 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, May 31, 10:00 a.m. Streaming Online @ BBPC.org/LIVE Rev. Linda E Owens Preaching “Rise Up“ Scripture: Acts 2:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13, & John: 7:37-39 Anthems: Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song Ben Dettelback - Trumpet Solo Martyrs and Thieves - Jennifer Knapp We will be celebrating our Confirmands
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December 7, 2018
BBPC Weekly BUZZ September 06, 2019
Wear RED for Pentecost!
This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Wear RED and send us a picture of you and your fam-ily decked out for Pentecost and we will post the pic-tures next Sunday.
We will also be welcoming into membership a new class of confirmands, so please make sure to join us!
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:
Fair Trade Items are available during this stay-at-home time. You can email Ted Settle, [email protected] and I will package your item/s and leave your package with Karen or Linda. I will tell you the cost for your order and you can leave pay-ment with Karen or Linda, exact change or check, made payable to the church with Fair Trade on the memo line). Listed below are the items available.
Youth and Families
Youth Social Distancing Event!
Chalk the parking lot.
This Sunday, may 31st from 12-1pm in the church park-ing lot. Bring your own chalk and help spread some cheer for the community.
Introducing Church to go!
2020 Adventures with Flat Jesus will launch on June 21st. All church members are encouraged to to drive through the church parking lot to pick up their summer materials for Adventures with Flat Jesus. Just drive up and pick up your kit for all of the summer fun! If you cannot get to us, please reach out to the church office and we will gladly mail you a kit!
We are working hard to give a virtual presence in our chil-dren and youth programs. Here are all of the current of-ferings for our families with children.
Sunday school- weekly bedtime stories are being 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 evenings 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 [email protected] so you can be added to the list.
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Celebrating our High School
Graduates Help us in honoring our 2020 graduates. Send us
your high school graduation photos. Along with the
photos, please include:
Graduate Name
High School Name
Future plans upon graduation
Please email all correspondence to Jill DeMouth at
All active members of the church who will be at-tending junior college, college, university, semi-nary, or other post-high school educational institu-tion this fall are encouraged to apply for a grant from The Church Scholarship Fund. This fund was established in 1989 and was made possible in part by a gift from the estate of Ruth H. Born, in memory of her parents, Edwin & Christina Legge. The Mission and Outreach Commission, which cur-rently administers the fund, is accepting applica-tions for scholarships for the 2020-2021 school year.
CLICK HERE for scholarship applications. Or you may email the church office to request a copy.
Completed forms need to be submitted to the church office no later than June 15, 2020. Please email all forms, if possible, to the church office ([email protected]). And please note that starting this year the essay may be submitted as a one-minute video.
If you have any questions regarding the Fund or application, please contact the church office by email or phone (732)356-3575.
Sadie Ziener-Morrish is Baking
for a Cause!
Sadie is a high school student and confirmand who is
doing her part to help families in crisis during this
pandemic. She has set up a non-profit website to
take orders for her delicious, homemade, baked
goods (check out those chocolate chip scones!). The
money raised will be used to buy groceries for fami-
lies who are out of work and struggling to feed their
families. Please check it out at https://
bakedgoodsforacaus.wixsite.com/website-1
Sadie is able to take special orders for those requiring
@ 7 p.m. Lou Ruprecht will leading a study on Wednesday evenings. Plans are being made now. If you are interested in receiving email notifications, please email Lou at [email protected].
@ 8:45 -9:45 a.m Please join us Sunday mornings for the weekly Adult Education class. We will be meeting via Zoom from 8:45 a.m. until 9:45 a.m., ending right before Sunday worship. Currently we are reading and dis-cussing the book "On the Brink of Everything" by Parker J. Palmer. Lou Ruprecht will be leading our discussion. The Zoom information is:
@ 10:30 a.m. 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.
After a seven-year hiatus she returned in 2010 with a renewed passion for music
showcased in her album Letting Go, which debuted at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 200
Chart. Set Me Free followed in 2014 on Righteous Babe Records in conjunction with a
memoir, Facing the Music: My Story, published by Simon & Schuster. Her 2017 album
Love Comes Back Around, produced by Viktor Krauss, pairs her fearless songwriting
and strong, expressive voice with Americana style rootsy arrangements.
As the first major artist in the Christian music world to speak openly about LGBTQ
identity, her unique position created opportunities for a national dialogue, including
appearances on Larry King Live and the TEDx stage. In 2012 Knapp founded the non-
profit organization Inside Out Faith, through which she continues to speak and per-
form nationally as an advocate for LGBTQ & faith issues. A true Renaissance woman,
Knapp recently completed a master’s degree in Theological Studies at Vanderbilt Di-
vinity School.
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Loving Local - Food For Local Families -UPDATE BELOW 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 Dis-trict 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 families, community organizations, and church members. The Mission Commission, Deacon chairpersons, and Rev. Linda Owens will meet regularly to iden-tify needs and disperse the cards accordingly.
Please continue to pray for our church and local communities and the individuals and families that are in need.
Resources Somerset County Food Bank*- 9 Easy Street, Somerville. Open 9:00-2:30, Monday-Friday. Open to all Som-
erset 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 Thursday 3-6 for residents of
Bound Brook and South Bound Brook.
*The application process included Proof of residency (Somerset County), Government/state issued 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
UPDATE: Our “Love Local” Shoprite gift card program continues to make a big difference in our local commu-nities. Here’s an expression of appreciation from our partner in the Middlesex Schools: “I just wanted to say thank you for helping us continue to help so many families in Middlesex. I do not think I can express just how thankful we are. God Bless!” To date, through your generous contributions, The Mission and outreach Commission has been able to provide $4,900 worth of grocery gift card assistance to families in need, through the Bound Brook School District (includes South Bound Brook), the Middlesex School District, the Somerset County Food Pantry located in our PFC, and Casa de Esperanza. We are currently distributing gift cards to these organizations (in aggregate) at a rate of $1000 per week. As these needs will continue for the foreseeable future, these organizations and families are counting on your continuing generous sup-port. Thank you! SPECIAL REQUEST: The Somerset County Food Pantry has identified a need for a micro-wave oven, to be donated to a senior individual who has expressed this need. If you have a micro-wave available, please contact John Almendinger or Chris Potter. The number of students served by our food delivery efforts through the Bound Brook School District has increased to 73 families and 115 students. We have a good team of volunteers at present, but more are always welcome. Deliveries are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:30 a.m. If you are available one or all of these days and are willing to lend a hand, please contact Christina Luna at [email protected]. Deliveries are contactless, meaning that the food is dropped off on porches or driveways.
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Surely the significance of a church should never be measured by the beauty
of the grounds that surround it; but, in the case of BBPC, the evermore love-
ly exterior of our beautiful church hopefully reflect the acts of Christian love
that emanate from its interior. Leading the beautification charge is Gail
Smith, Master Gardener, planter of things lovely and remover of things un-
lovely (a.k.a. weeds). Thank you Gail and her helpers. Our poor, nearly-
deserted building does look lovely! Gail Smith, wife of Brooks (of course we
know Brooks!) and sister of Wayne Fabricius (also of BBPC fame, think
capital campaign), is a gardening force to be reckoned with!
Gail grew up in upstate NY, initially in Troy and then by fourth grade in Lat-
ham, NY. Middle child of three, Gail remembers heading “home” to lunch
with Wayne to the building of Lion of Troy Shirt Manufacturer at which her
dad was general manager and which was a shorter walk. Gail’s mom,
a phenomenal seamstress, spent her early years caring for her family and then held a number of jobs including managing
a dental office, but always finding time to sew. Shaker High School was a busy time for Gail (badminton and basketball
teams, co-editor of the school newspaper, student counsel officer, Latin club, National Honor Society officer) but not so
busy that she failed to notice the shy young man in her physics class who transferred to the school in her junior year and
his sophomore year. Yes, that shy young man was Brooks, known then as Joe. Gail persuaded a fellow basketball play-
er to invite Joe to the sweet sixteen party of the classmate, and those annoying ballroom dance lessons paid off teaching
Brooks to dance! With a few fits and starts, the rest was pretty much history. Brooks was elected student council VP
and Gail treasurer. By then, they were officially going steady, ring on the necklace and all. During her school years,
Gail attended a Methodist church and babysat for the five children of the pastor. She was pretty certain then that she
would never ever be a pastor’s wife!
Gail left for Chatham College in Pittsburg in 1962, staying in touch with Brooks but no longer going steady. Gail’s
sophomore year was marked by a ruptured appendix and peritonitis that left her missing the last month of school and
needing to take final exams and submit papers while recovering from the illness. She returned home for her last two
years of college at Russell Sage. After graduation in 1966, Gail taught English in junior high school for one year before
beginning her masters degree in counseling on a full fellowship at Miami University of Ohio. As part of the two-year
masters degree, Gail directed a women’s residence hall. Meanwhile, Brooks decided to attend seminary in a PhD pro-
gram at the University of Chicago following his graduation from Wesleyan University in CT. Despite her uncertainties
about marrying a pastor, Gail respected and believed in the causes Brooks stood for - rights of African-Americans to
participate fully in our society, the folly of the Vietnam Nam war, and the intense desire to get involved in helping peo-
ple. They were married on May 11, 1968. Brooks assured Gail that he would never become a church pastor but had
other plans within the ministry.
Year one of their marriage was spent with Gail doing the final year of her masters degree in Ohio and Brooks doing his
second year of seminary in Chicago. Year two of their marriage was actually spent together with Brooks having trans-
ferred to Colgate-Rochester and Gail working at Nazareth College of Rochester as Assistant Dean of Students where she
suddenly became Acting Dean of Students at age twenty-five. Here’s how that happened. Gail was representing the col-
lege at a seminar in Albany when she received a call from the president of the college. The Kent State shootings had
just occurred, the Nazareth students were protesting and the Dean of Students could not be found. Gail raced back to
Rochester, was made acting dean and spoke that night to the college community urging it to send busloads to protest in
DC. Brooks and Gail accompanied two buses of students to DC where Gail had the unenviable experience of being tear
-gassed. That second year of marriage was also significant for Brooks doing an internship at a local Presbyterian church
and realizing that he was called to become a church pastor. Sorry, Gail!
CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE.
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Continued
As we all know, Brooks’ decision worked out well for both! Their first church was in Cayuga Falls, OH where Gail
worked as a high school guidance counselor before the birth of Steven in 1973. Drew was born in 1976 by which time
Brooks was the associate pastor of a 3000-member church in Allentown, PA. During those years, Gail did not work out-
side the home but tended to her extended family and raised the little boys. In 1978, Brooks became senior pastor of
Watchung Avenue Presbyterian Church in North Plainfield where they remained for twenty-nine years.
Gail attended school at night to recertify as a teacher and guidance counselor in NJ. Her first NJ job in 1983 was at
Middlesex High School teaching English and providing guidance counseling. There she met and taught with BBPC’s
Jane Settle, a biology teacher. In 1986, Gail became a guidance counselor at Hillsborough High School and in 1993 the
director of the department. This entailed managing ten guidance counselors and three substance abuse counselors, being
a member of the administrative team and being in charge of testing in the school. Eventually, Gail became the chair of
the Somerset County guidance directors. Missing the direct contact with students and the ability to take vacations
caused Gail to move to Watchung Hills High School and, beginning in February 2001, Gail spent her last years before
retirement in 2009, doing what she most loved – counseling and guiding teenagers. Even after her retirement, Gail filled
in for the maternity leave of a guidance counselor in 2011.
Meanwhile, as inevitably happens, the two Smith boys grew up. Steven, an adventurer, has climbed the Himalayas,
served as a EMT on ski mountains and is an avid SCUBA diver and dive master. He has dived in every imaginable ex-
otic location and, recently, with his fiancé, Adrienne (Adi), became the dive managers at the Blue Lagoon Resort in the
Fiji Islands just as COVID-19 struck. By the way, Adi is also a underwater photographer. Check out her website:
soulwaterproductions.com. They were to be married on May 2 in New Zealand but, like the job, COVID has put every-
thing on hold. Steven is the father of Freja, a beautiful seventeen-year-old daughter who lives in Sweden with her moth-
er and stepfamily. Gail and Brooks so look forward to their yearly visits with Steven and Freja, now with Adi as well!
Drew is married to Bielka, a native of Nicaragua, who he met when she came to a bilingual education center that Drew
started in Nicaragua. The Smith family in many combinations have been making mission trips and family visits to Nica-
ragua since 1984. Drew teaches history at St. Andrew Episcopal School in Austin, TX, the school the Bush twins at-
tended. Bielka teaches preschool. Drew and Bielka have two children, Zamea who is ten and Lorenzo who is eight.
The kids will be spending seven weeks with Gail and Brooks beginning June 4 until the end of July. Drew will be in
Nicaragua tending to the farm they own, and Bielka will be teaching in Austin.
BBPC has been in the life of the Smiths since Brooks retired and began serving interim pastorates. He was the interim
pastor at BBPC for 30 months after Lou Kilgore left and before Nancy Birdsong arrived. During that time, Gail began
her church gardening efforts but not nearly to the extent that official membership in 2015 has inspired. No surprise to
learn that Gail is a Master Gardener, an accomplishment achieved in 2010 after a year of course work in the Rutgers
Somerset County program. In 2018, Gail received the Award of Excellence at the volunteer recognition luncheon of the
Master Gardeners. Gail began serving as chairperson of the Rutgers Somerset County Master Gardeners on July 1,
2019. She is also a member of the Bridgewater Garden Club, serving as president from 2016-2018.
Gail and Brooks enjoy international travel and have visited much of Europe, countries in Central and South American,
Morocco, Russia and many of the U.S. states and national parks.
Since joining BBPC, Gail was a deacon for three years, volunteered at Kids Connection and presently serves on the
membership commission. Gail’s commitment to the grounds of BBPC remains steadfast though never an official mem-
ber of the building, grounds and technology commission. On the commission or not, Gail has performed a near miracle
on the outside of our church! Well done indeed!
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April Finance Report
Session gathered on May 19 for a regularly scheduled monthly meeting. The highlights are as follows:
Session received information from the Response Team regarding issues to consider when it comes time to reopen the
sanctuary for worship. While we believe we are still a long way off from gathering in the sanctuary for worship, the Re-
sponse Team has begun discussing what church might look like when we do reopen.
Buildings, Grounds, & Technology reported the completion of the sewer repair project. This project was fully funded by the
Capital Campaign at a cost of $20,000, as a Tier 2 project.
Worship & Music has purchased a licensing subscription for the performance and streaming of music in conjunction with
current copyright law. Permanent camera equipment for streaming will be installed in the sanctuary in June.
Session approved a couple of recommendations from the Personnel Commission. First, they voted to revise the pay struc-
ture for our three soloists. Beginning May 16, they will be paid $75 per recording played for streamed worship services. We
continue to be very grateful for all they contribute to our worship life together. When we return to worship in the sanctu-
ary with weekly choir rehearsals, their pay will return to its previous structure
Also approved was the elimination of the Bookkeeper position as a paid staff position. Phyllis Hazen has offered to assume
this role as a volunteer for an interim period of time, through the pandemic and until we are fully on our feet financially.
This saves the church the salary currently being paid to Linda Bullock. This is a gracious gift on the part of Phyllis. We also
want to recognize, with gratitude, the many years of service Linda Bullock has given us in this role. Linda will finish her
work with us on June 15th.
Session, along with the Mission Commission and the Board of Deacons, celebrated the generosity of the congregation in
their support of the Love Local work we are doing with local school districts, the Somerset County Food Bank, and Casa
Esperanza. The church has received over $7,000 dedicated to grocery gift cards for local families in need. We are currently
giving out between $700 - $1,000 worth of cards per week to families and individuals in need. In addition, the delivery of
subsidized meals to families with children in the Bound Brook School district continues to grow. The Board of Deacons,
through the leadership of Christina Luna and the many church volunteers, are delivering to 70+ families, three times per
week for a total of over 100 children being fed.
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), Amazon Fire Stick, and by phone for sound
only. We are able to do these things through a streaming service called BoxCast. BoxCast works with church-
es to get their worship services online.
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!
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.
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.
NEW Amazon Fire Stick - To access you must download the BoxCast app to your Amazon device. Once in
the BoxCast App, search for Bound Brook Presbyterian Church. Worship Services can be viewed for up to 90
days.
Phone In – Dial 1-(872) 240-3311 and when prompted for the Access Code, please dial 417-955-909; long distance charges may apply.
Caring Minister On Call: May 31 - June 6: Jill DeMouth
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 Susan Schiff at [email protected] or call (732) 208-0611.
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.
