Deacons
Foster fellowship. Show hospitality. Welcome new people. Care for the lonely. Comfort the sick. Celebrate God’s gift of life. Serve. Pray. Express compassion. That’s what deacons do.
Our board of deacons seeks to show God’s love in action. They serve and lead our church's congregation in sharing fellowship, hospitality, and pastoral care.
The 24 members of our Board of Deacons share the responsibility for the oversight of our church’s pastoral care, fellowship, and hospitality. A Deacon in the Presbyterian Church is a church members who is elected and ordained to a particular function in the church. The Presbyterian Church's Book of Order states, “The office of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of sympathy, witness, and service after the example of Jesus Christ.”
Our board of deacons carries out its ministries as a whole and through various teams.
Pastoral Care Ministries
Hospitality Ministries
Fellowship Ministries
Pastoral Care Ministries
Prayer Team
Each Sunday after worship, members of the Prayer Team gather at the front of the meetinghouse to pray prayer requests worshipers have written during the service on blue Prayer Cards. Prayer requests are also prayed throughout the week by Prayer Team members.
Life Stages Team
Each week the Life Stages Team sends out cards and makes phone calls to church members who have experienced illness or grief. We also celebrate weddings, births, and other joyful occasions with church members.
Friends and Visitors Team
The Friends and Visitors Team ministers to homebound or ill members of our community by building relationships with church members who don't get out of the house very often. We match up church members with those in the church who could use a friendly visit. In 2007 we have greatly expanded the Friends and Visitors ministry through a new program called Hands and Hearts.
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Deacons also seek to offer help with things like:
- rides to church or shopping or medical appointments
- light housework or repairs
- checking in on someone via telephone
- reading to someone or bringing audiobooks
- computer or paperwork assistance
- relieving a caregiver while he or she takes some personal time
If you would like to learn more about Hands and Hearts, please contact the church office at 609-896-1212, or contact Lori Pawar at 609-895-1459 or freakforpepsi@comcast.net. Please download our survey form if you would like to volunteer or would like some assistance.
Home Communion Teams
Home Communion Teams take communion to our homebound members following our regular communion services. Teams are made up of Deacons and Elders. This is a meaningful time in the lives of those who serve and those who are served.
Sunday Worship Flower Delivery
Deacons deliver Sunday Worship Flowers to members who are ill, or not able to get to church, or who are celebrating a special event or transition in their life.
Hospitality Ministries
Malta Circles Team
Team members organize members of the congregation into circles of 5 to 6 members. On Sunday mornings our Malta Circle members circulate through the Fellowship Center, seeking to identify and welcome visitors or newcomers. When the apostle Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta he wrote, “The natives showed us unusual kindness,” (Acts 28:2). We want to welcome new people as warmly as the Malta islanders did.
The Malta Circles Team also staffs and stocks the Welcome Table in the Fellowship Center hallway. Both on Sunday mornings and throughout the week, written information on the life and work of the church is available on the Welcome Table.
Hospitality Team
Members of the Hospitality Team contact visitors who are new to the church. The team delivers welcome packets with information about the church, which is sometimes accompanied by a loaf of bread or cookies. The Teame also provide a welcome brunch for each class of new church members.
Fellowship Ministries
Fellowship Team
Team members help bring the church family together by providing times of sharing food and fellowship following worship. The Team hosts “Bakery Sundays” periodically to coincide with special events. The Team celebrates spring with a “Strawberry Sunday,” and hosts congregational dinners. The Team helps one or two fellowship groups organize an "all church fellowship event" twice a year.
Sunday Coffee Hour is a time for the congregation to meet new friends and reconnect with old friends after worship. Deacons prepare coffee and tea, and juice for children.
Fellowship Groups are made up of 12-20+ church members who meet on a regular basis to share a meal, do a mission project together or to discuss a topic. Members share the joys and sorrows of each other's lives. At present there are around a dozen adult fellowship groups in the church. If you would like to join a fellowship group, please contact Mary Alice Lyman at malyman@pclawrenceville.org.
The Church Pictorial Directory, which the Deacons publish every five years, helps us church members get to know one another better.
How can I join the ministry of the deacons?
If you would like to be part of any of the above Ministry Teams, please contact any deacon or Mary Alice Lyman at malyman@pclawrenceville.org or 609-896-1212.
The Board of Deacons:
| Nancy Allen (09) Session Liaison | John Huchler (10) |
| June Arcamone (10) | Pam Hughes (10) |
| Dick Brown (09) | Tina Koch (11) |
| Lisa Carmalt (09) | Rossy Matos-Miranda (11) |
| Dale Davis (11) | Lori Pawar (09) President |
| Brett Danko (09) | Ellen Price (10) |
| Colleen Exter-Huckel (11) | Mark Smith (11) |
| Jennifer Fowler (10) | Mert Studwell (09) |
| Tracey Gates (10) | Anne-Marie Tustin (11) |
| Lori Goebel (11) | Gootizen van der Wal (09) |
| Claire Hoeffel (09) | Pat Venable (11) |
| Bob Houck (10) | Dick Will (10) |
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