Thank you to everyone who served at the Numana Meal Packing Event hosted at James McDivitt Elementary School on June 3. And thank you for signing up to receive email updates from the Haitian Children’s Ministry.

The event was a great success. Our final total was 83,160 meals packaged for the children in Haiti. We could not have done it without you. We are grateful that you chose to serve on a Saturday when you could have been doing many other things.

The meals are currently in Kansas with Numana awaiting shipment to Haiti. It takes 270,000 meals to fill a single shipping container. Once they have enough meals to fill a container, they will be put on a boat to Haiti. We are hoping the meals will arrive this summer. And we will make sure to let you know when they do.

I don’t know how much you know about the story behind this event. I would like to tell you how this event came to be. In March, I traveled to Haiti with three other members of our Haitian Children’s Ministry Board. We have been working in Haiti since our church (Good Shepherd Lutheran) led a mission trip in January 2015 to Haiti.

In the most recent trip, we visited with Mission of Hope Haiti who feeds 90,000 children every day. Unfortunately, 70,000 children are still on their waiting list. But the meals that we packed will be able to take some of these 70,000 children off the waiting list. Know that you helped to bring hope!

While we were in Haiti, we visited the warehouse where all the meals are kept. It was great to see these meals from the other end of the spectrum, at their destination. Years ago, I had participated in an event similar to the Numana event. I knew that most of these meals had been prepared by volunteers at meal packing events across the country. It was my hope that we could bring such an event to Old Bridge.

After talking with Mission of Hope, we learned that one of their providers was an organization called Numana. We could host a meal packing event with Numana for $6000 that would enable us to package 20,000 meals. We were in agreement that we could make that possible. We had about 2 1/2 months to make it happen.

So we began the fundraising, and within two weeks we had raised the $6000. We had two months left at that point in time, so we quadrupled the goal to raise $24,000 to be able to package 80,000 meals. On the day of our fundraising deadline, we surpassed the goal!

Another challenge we faced was finding a place to package the meals. Our church building was too small to host the event. Mrs. Colletti, at James McDivitt school, was kind enough to offer the use of the facilities. And even better, she recruited many of the students and parents at the school to help out at the event.

The final challenge was finding enough volunteers to package all of these meals. We weren't sure where they would all come from. But you showed up. Thank you!

We also want to say a big thank you to our corporate sponsors:

• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
• Adler Development
• Hillcrest Paving and Excavating, Inc.
• Casey & Keller, Inc.
• Green Brook PBA Local #398
• BNE Real Estate
• Brian Conway Design

We are planning this event again for next year. Our hope is to host it on Saturday, June 2, 2018. We did more than 80,000 meals this year, and with more time to plan, it would be great to double that number. Imagine if we packaged 160,000 meals.

By being part of this mailing list, we will keep you updated on the plans and how you can be involved. We also have two other endeavors for the coming year. Late this summer and into the fall we will be raising funds to purchase curriculum for schoolchildren in Haiti to learn. And in March 2018, we will lead a mission trip to Haiti. The exciting thing about this trip is we will get to visit the kids we helped through the meal packing and the purchase of school curriculum.

Thank you for your support of this ministry. If you would like to financially sponsor our efforts, make sure to check out our donation page. All donations are tax-deductible. Also, make sure to check us out on Facebook. We value you as a partner in ministry!

Sincerely,

Pastor Phil Ressler
The Haitian Children’s Ministry

Spring work day will be Saturday, May 6th beginning at 8:30. Rain Date is May 13th. We are called to be good stewards of God’s house. To do this we rely on the generosity of volunteers who willingly give their time to serve. If you would like to participate, Just send us an email at . No experience necessary. There are many projects needed to get done, so many hands are appreciated.

Some of the projects will be picking up litter, cleaning gutters, painting, and repairs. If you are unable to make work day but would like to serve at another time, we have a need for lawn mowers and people who would be willing to perform regular maintenance and repair tasks.

Good Shepherd of Old Bridge, NJ will be hosting Good Friday Worship on Friday, April 14 at 7pm.

On this day remember the great sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross of calvary. On this night we experience a powerful and moving worship experience reflecting upon Jesus last words on the cross. This worship experience is sure to be both visually and audibly stunning. You will not soon forget this.

The worship focuses on the last 7 statements of Jesus upon the cross. These 7 last statements are:

• Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. Luke 23:34
• Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43
• Woman, behold your son. Son Behold your mother. John 19:26–27
• My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34
• I thirst. John 19:28
• It is finished. John 19:29-30
• Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Luke 23:46

The service is filled with a range of emotion, but in the end we are left with a glimmer of hope as we anticipate the resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Maundy Thursday Worship at Good Shepherd of Old Bridge, NJ will be held on Thursday, April 13 at 7pm. Maundy Thursday is part of our Holy Week observance. It is on this night we remember the events with Jesus in the upper room in Jerusalem while celebrating the Passover with his disciples. It was on this night Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. As part of our worship we will partake in this blessed sacrament. It was also on this night that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and then gave them a new command. He said:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34 (ESV)Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)

There is some debate as to where the word “Maundy” came from. One suggestion is that it is tied to the idea of “mandate.” This new mandate is for the followers of Jesus to love one another.

We also turn our attention to the events in Gethsemane. After Jesus and his disciples finished the meal, they departed the upper room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane which was on the Mount of Olives. There Jesus prayed for the Heavenly Father to take away the suffering Jesus was about to endure. But Jesus also prayed that the will of the Father would be accomplished. It was here in the Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested by the religious authorities.

The Maundy Thursday worship concludes remembering these events in Gethsemane. At the end of our worship is a powerful moment where the altar is stripped bare.

We invite you to join us for this powerful worship. Before the crowds of Good Friday and Easter Sunday arrive, Jesus invites his intimate followers to join him at his table. Anyone who seeks a deeper more intimate relationship with Jesus, this worship is for you!

Join us on Sunday, April 2 at 5pm for a very special event called Christ in the Passover. During this event we will recreate a Seder Dinner in the fashion that Jesus would have observed this meal with his disciples on the night he was betrayed. It is our hope that this will be an eye-opening educational experience that will give you new insight into the Church’s celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

Seating will be limited and tickets will be sold on a first come first served basis. Tickets are $12 individual, $20 couple, and $25 family. The number of participants will be capped so that those who attend will be able to enjoy the full experience.

Sign Ups are Now Closed.

Blake Flattley will be live and in concert on Friday, March 10 at 7pm!

Blake Flattley is an American singer-songwriter. Born and raised in northern California he grew up on the music of the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and the Beatles. A love for harmony and the challenge of sonically sharing the human struggle have greatly influenced his musical releases.

Blake has released music under his name as well as with his bands The Orange Effect and Graffiti Cathedral, also contributing to “The Armchair Project”, “Winter Is On My Head” and various other projects.

In addition to his music, Blake is also a regular conference speaker and consultant. He currently serves as a worship leader at Our Savior Lutheran Church that has campuses in Queens and Manhattan. You can check out Blake’s music at blakeflattley.com.

We are also looking for a few volunteers to help with setting up and serving at the Coffee House. If you would be willing to serve, send us an email at .