The meeting will begin with brown bag lunch and fellowship promptly at 12:00 noon, at First Presbyterian Church, Hackensack, 64 Passaic Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. Park across the street at the funeral home. The Rev. Allan Shelton will lead us in worship. We conclude at 2:30 PM. Plan and joining us; jot the date, time, and place in your calendar.

The Rev. Leslie Foltz-Morrison has volunteered to lead this discussion about working with people who come to the church door asking for help. She is a member of Elizabeth Presbytery, serves as Administrator of the NJ Interfaith Partnership for Disaster Recovery, and is Parish Associate at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church in Plainfield. You may reach her at lfoltzmorrison@gmail.com or 908-913-0536.

Several different strategies or approaches will be lifted up. Together we will identify some “Best Practices.”

Among the questions we will consider,

What are the most appropriate kinds of aid to offer?

What are the decision making criteria?

Who participates in the decision to help?

What are some good practices for checking out someone’s story?

When does aid tempt people into dependency?

What kind of accounting is best for tracking time, in-kind goods and dollars utilized?

How much statistical record keeping is valuable?

Are church members given priority over people from the community?

How can an emergency need church loan fund be funded and run?

Come prepared to share a learning experience or a case of helping that you feel was faithful, if not successful.

The North Jersey Company of Pastors meets monthly for lunch, fellowship, structured learning, and worship. We welcome pastors and commissioned lay pastors from the Presbyteries of Palisades, Newark, and Elizabeth. This collegial model is planned and led by participating pastors. For more information contact Robert Foltz-Morrison at foltzmorrison@gmail.com or 908-432-0408.

God be with you and your ministry in this season of Christmas. Blessings in the New Year.