Hello Gateway North Friends,
 
      Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ.
 
Congratulations to Rev. and Mrs. Sardinas of Union City - as of May 8th they are proud grandparents for the first time...a boy over 9 pounds...what a great way to be about church growth in our district! 
 
Thank you!  I want to extend my appreciation to the Morrow Memorial UMC in Maplewood.  Tonight (with Chef Gil on the job) they hosted the conference Board of Ordained Ministry annual dinner, at which the retirees and ordinands were honored.  A special thanks goes out to the Morrow choir for a surprise appearance.  The Gateway North District is full of talent.  Thanks for the many ways in which you use it.
 
Nothing But Nets is gaining momentum.  My own family doctor (Roman Catholic) was very impressed with the coalition that is working to eliminate malaria.  He was very complimentary of our United Methodist Church.  The whole effort needs two things (1) prayer and (2) money.  God has given us the money to answer our own prayers.
     I am pleading with you tohelp save lives.  At least do the following things:
          1.  Take a special offering in your church in the next couple of weeks (I know that May 18th is a special offering Sunday, but we are the people God has entrusted with the resources that enable us to reach out) - plus.
          2.  Ask special groups in your church (UMW, UMM, UMYF, Sunday School classes, Trustees, missions Committee, Outreach Committee, NOW Committee, etc.) to make a special contribution.
          3.  Every clergy and lay member of annual conference should try to donate $10 and ask 10 friends to do the same - plus.
          4.  Do some special project to raise some money (for example in Caldwell UMC they are asking people to tithe their tax rebates) - plus   
          6.  Send the funds to the district office by May 26th, so that they can be counted in the conference project - plus
.         Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, and pray some more than the in-gathering of funds will be translated into lives saved.
 
Audits:  2007 audits are due on June 1st.  If you are going to be late, pastors please write a letter of explanation and either bring it on Sunday or mail it to the district office prior to June 1st.
 
Holy Land Pilgrimage:  Bishop Devadhar will lead a Holy Land Pilgrimage January 4, 2009 to Jan. 13, 2009 to Jordan and Israel.  There will be an extension trip to Egypt (returning 1/18/09).  You can walk in the footsteps of Jesus and discover the roots of our Bible.  Why not plan to have a group from your church?  Learn more about it by contacting Marjie Costello.  Information will be available through the district office, or at AlphaACTS(at)aol.com you can simply request a flyer and Marjie will send it to you.
 
Thank you for making a difference through your ministry in Jesus' name,
 
Bob Costello
Rev. Dr. Robert E. Costello
Gateway North District Superintendent
26 Montrose Avenue
Verona, NJ 07044
937-571-0313
gatewaynorth(at)gnjumc.org
http://www.gatewaynorthdistrict.org/