activities

OLD PARAMUS REFORMED CHURCH
ACTIVITIES

THE EVENTS PAGE
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PICTORIAL REPORTS OF
ACTIVITIES AT OPRC

God, God's World, and Us

The February Women's Guild Program featured Rev. Rob Miller as its guest presenter. The program opened with the installation of officers and executive board members for the 2019 year. Devotions were presented by Carol Mah. Lunch was then served. Rev. Miller's presentation dealt with the relationship of the planet with God as creator and humans having dominion over His creation. What does God's creation tell us about Him and how does it reveal God to us" These were some of the questions that were addressed using a Powerpoint program.

Installation of Officers

Carol Mah

Rev. Rob Miller

Title Slide

The Audience

A "Tea-riffic" Program

The December Women's Guild Program was "Tea-riffic" indeed. The whole luncheon revolved around tea and accompaniments. The women wore fancy hats and the table settings were first class complete with china cups and saucers. Soup was served in glass cups and tea sandwiches were served on fancy plates.

Guest speaker, Nina Androski, presented an illustrated talk on the history of tea along with many interesting facts. She is a real expert on the subject of tea.

The Title

Ticket sales

The fancy placesetting

The tea sandwiches

The busy kitchen preparing for the fancy service

Take note of the fancy hats.

Nina Androski

Did You Know?

The teaspoon got its name because
it was used to measure an amount of tea?
It really was the tea spoon.

Herbal Teas are not teas at all.
They don't contain anything from the Camellia Sinensis which is the fancy name for tea plants.

Our Annual Harvest Fair

Our Annual Harvest Fair is one of the premier fund raising events each year. The Fair takes place on the first Saturday of November. It has now been completed for this year. It takes many hours and many volunteers to make for a successful event. Co-Chairpersons Anne Banta and Kathy Fear led a whole host of volunteers to sort out the donated merchandise and set up the various booths and locations. Once again we had a hugely successful Fair thanks to the efforts of all who participated. Below are pictures of the Harvest Fair.

View of main floor from entrance	View from the stage
Attic Treasures	The Christmas Shop
The Jewelry Counter	The Garage Sale

Saturday crowd at the Fair

Lined up for opening time	Outside bargains
Henry Mah and Bill Beckmann on kitchen duty	The Jewelry Counter

Saturday photos credit: Jeff Parent

October Women's Guild Meeting

The October Women's Guild Program was entitled, "RCA Global Mission: Seeing Christ in Times of Disaster." The audience was inspired by how the Reformed Church denomination is transforming catastrophies into Godly victories, and how our financial support and volunteers have a critical impact on restoring people's lives in the USA and abroad at times of natural disasters. Stephanie Soderstrom was the presenter. Elizabeth Testa, in charge of Women's Transformation for the RCA, was the photographer showcasing women who have had leadership roles and who broke new ground in different areas.

During the presentation, a question was posed asking about women in Old Paramus who were early pioneers in leadership positions in the church. Well the answer turned out to be very interesting. Alice Smyser was present in the audience and was able to share a fascinating story about her family history. Alice's parents, Pierre and Isabel Zabriskie, were 9th generation members of Old Paramus Reformed Church. Alice is the 10th generation. Pierre served on Consistory for many years and after he passed away, the church officially opened the Consistory to women for the first time. Isabel was elected as deacon in December, 1972, becoming the first women to serve on the Consistory. A picture below shows Alice standing in front of her mother's picture which is in the parlor.

Carol Beckmann, Guild President, Stephanie Soderstrom and Sally Brandes

Sally Brandes introducing the program	Elizabeth Testa, photographer
The Audience	Alice Smyzer with her mother's picture

Picnic in the Pines

The weather was perfect. The setting was perfect. And the food preparation was perfect. What more could we ask for when having our Picnic in the Pines. Well for starters, the food was delicious. Head Chef Scott Smith prepared hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken for all to enjoy. Add to that potato salad, macaroni salad, cookies and watermellon and you have the makings of an outstanding eating experience with friends in the Pines. That's just what we did following the worship service on July 8.