Please join the Dolphin Mariners next Friday, September 19th in Congdon Hall for our monthly potluck and presentation!  Dr. Wesley Farmer has agreed to present a computer-generated program  on “Day trips at Torrey Pines State Park”. The Pot Luck dinner will start at 6:30pm and the presentation will begin shortly after 7pm. Dr. Farmer has written several books and devoted considerable time to write about and photograph several different areas of San Diego County. He also is an artist. Come join us and enjoy an evening of good food, conversation and a good talk by Dr. Farmer.

Dolphin Mariners meet the third Friday of each month, at 6:30pm in Congdon Hall, unless otherwise announced, for fellowship, fun, service, special projects and loving support.

Northminster’s Women’s Association is a part of the countywide Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery, as well as the larger group that meets tri-annually in Louisville, Kentucky. Several of our Northminster women have gone to Louisville and come back recharged, refreshed, and anxious to share the experience.

Each month from September through June, the Northminster Women’s Association meets to hold CIRCLE meetings for Bible Study on the second Tuesday of the month. This year’s study topic is entitled “Jubilee, Luke’s Gospel for the Poor”.  Circle meetings are held at two separate times for your convenience.  The FAITH Circle meets at 9:30 am and the REBECCA Circle meets at 7 pm, both on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Please contact the church office for location information and newcomers are welcome to join us!

The women in our association also attend the monthly meeting of Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery and meet to carpool to the meeting from our church. These meetings are held at various churches in the county.  The first meeting of the larger Presbyterian Women’s group will be right here at Northminster on Friday September 26 from 9:30 am to 12 noon. Save the date! Please plan on attending.  It would be lovely to have a large group!

Our Mission project for this year continues much the same as last year. Currently we are supplying CCSA with food and children’s clothing to help needy families get their children ready for school.

Other events to look forward to are the Mission Brunch at Northminster on Saturday October 18,  the Women’s Tea at Northminster on Tuesday December 9th, the Mother’s Day Lunch in May and our annual end of the year retreat!  Please mark your calendars and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Northminster Presbyterian Church helps support our San Diego community by collecting ongoing donations in support of several local organizations.

Firstly, Northminster supports the Community Christian Service Agency (CCSA) which has provided transitional services to the needy in San Diego for 34 years and serves over 25,000 people each year!  The Mission of CCSA is to assist people who are unable to obtain for themselves the basic necessities of life.  Currently Northminster is collecting supplies for the “back to school program” for the needy, but other items we collect throughout the year include food, clothing & basic health supplies, depending on the current needs of the center.  Visit CCSA online at www.ccsasandiego.org.

Secondly, Northminster supports the Military Outreach Ministry (MOM) which serves nearly 300,000 military personnel and families level E5 and below.  Doing our part to help, Northminster continuously collects hamburger helper, pasta, canned fruit, canned vegetables, peanut butter and jelly, and diapers of all sizes.  Visit MOM online at www.sandiegomom.org.

Thirdly, Northminster supports the Presbyterian Urban Ministries (PUM) which is a Christ centered ministry supporting the needy in our inner city.  Currently, Northminster is collecting deodorant, razors, toothpaste and shampoo as well as backpacks and food items such as powdered milk, peanut butter, tuna and canned foods.  Visit the PUM on line at www.urbanpsd.org.

Please join us in supporting these vital services.  All donations are welcomely received before church service on Sunday morning and weekdays at the church office between the hours of 8:30 am and 3:30 pm.  Thank you for your contributions!

Welcome back everyone! We are so happy to see our returning students and also all of the new faces. We are all getting used to being back to school. The 2 year olds are getting used to saying good-bye to mom for a few hours, and we are learning how to work together as new friends!

I have a few reminders and a request for help. The first reminder is to please, please always close the gate behind you when you go through one. Safety is our number one priority and we need your help to keep the gates closed and the children safe. The second request is to please drive slowly and carefully in the parking lot. We have 95 children a day transitioning in the parking lot. We need to always be diligent about driving slowly. Also, if you leave the preschool going out onto Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, it is illegal to make a left hand turn onto Clairemont Mesa Boulevard from the church parking lot. It is dangerous and a hefty ticket if you get caught.

My request for help is for early morning drop-off. If you are coming to drop your child off at early morning, before 9:00, please make sure you check-in with the teacher working early morning. Once your child is signed in, he/she must stay on the playground. If you come to the preschool before 9:00 a.m. but are not leaving your child in early morning, please make sure you and your child remain off the playground. It is very hard to keep track of which children are in early morning and which children are with their parents if you are on the playground at the same time. Thank you for your understanding of our desire to keep this transition period safe for all the children.

If you are going to be using our extended care program in the afternoon and your child will be staying after 1:30 p.m., please bring a beach towel with your child’s name on it for our nap mats. Please take the towel home at the end of the week for laundering.

On Thursdays and Fridays you have the option to sign-up for snack. We provide snack but we have found that parents enjoy bringing something different or “special” for a day and since we are limited in what we can provide to 95 students, it also gives a variety to the children. This is a voluntary sign-up only. You do not have to participate. If you do bring snack, please check with your child’s teacher for food allergies in the classroom. They have a list of food allergies and can let you know if there is a specific allergy.

I also have a few calendar reminders for you. On Monday, September 15, 2008 and Tuesday, September 16, 2008, we will be having school pictures. In the past, we have had sibling photos at the end or the beginning of the day of pictures. Shugrue has found, however, that this takes time away from the school pictures and he does not finish photographing before school is over. Shugrue has offered to take sibling pictures in his studio on his picture make up days. Those days are November 7, 2008, and November 10, 2008. If you would like to have sibling pictures please call the studio and make an appointment. His studio phone number is 619-224-5845. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.

On the first week of school you will be getting a packet from Innisbrook. It is our first fundraiser of the year. There will be a container in the office to drop off your orders. You can order through the catalog or on-line. You can also have your family members order on line and the preschool will get credit for those orders. This is a great fundraiser to kick-off our year. We typically bring in $1200.00 or more for this fundraiser. If you would like to make a straight donation instead of buying the products, that is welcome as well!

We also participate in Scholastic Books. We receive points for every book you order and are able to buy things such as a video camera for the school, a camera, and computers. It is also an inexpensive way to get quality books for your children. More information will be coming out later in September.

Our Get Acquainted Potluck is Thursday, September 25, 2008 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We will be having dinner in the Church Hall and your children will be coming to the preschool classrooms. We will have youth from the Northminster Preschool youth program here to watch your children. We will provide pizza to the children and you will bring a dish to share with the other parents. This is a great way to meet the other parents in your classroom and also connect with the parent group. We had a wonderful turn-out last year and are very excited to have the event again this year!

Northminster Preschool is a non-profit preschool. We rely heavily on fundraising to help us fund large projects of improvement for the preschool. While this is an important part of our school, we want you to know that all participation is voluntary. As we stated in our orientation, there are many ways to participate in the preschool besides contributing to our fundraisers. We are very appreciative of your time and/or your donations.

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year with you and your children. I am always available if you have any questions or concerns and if not, please just stop by to say hello. My door is always open and I would love to hear from you!

Thank you,
Shelli Harder
Director, Northminster Preschool

Sermon by Markus Watson on August 31, 2008

This is the tenth and last sermon in the series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Theme - Everyone faces struggles and challenges in life. Paul’s encouraging final words in the book of Ephesians tell us that God has given us everything we need in order to stand in the face of life’s struggles because God has given us the “full armor or God.”

The videos below were shown during the sermon

 

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