PARSIPPANY — On Saturday, May 4, one of New Jersey’s fastest-growing churches and recently ranked #43 in Outreach Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Fastest-Growing Churches In America, Liquid Church, stepped away from social media and modern comforts to sleep outside for a cause: To raise awareness and life-giving resources for the homeless population in New Jersey.

Homelessness has spiked in New Jersey – and today, more families, teens, and veterans are finding themselves without shelter and security. As of January 2019, nearly 10,000 people in the state experienced homelessness, which is a 9% increase since 2017 reports.

Over 500 participants slept outside at two locations, Parsippany and Sayreville o raise a grand total of $50,000 for New York City Relief

For each person who slept out overnight in Liquid’s “cardboard city,” during their Homeless Church event, Liquid will donate $30.00 to the ministry of New York City Relief in celebration of the organization’s 30th Anniversary. Each $30.00 donation will give New York City Relief the ability to provide an individual on the street with four servings of food and drink, two hygiene kits, and one metro card. They were blessed by an anonymous donor who doubled our donations, so instead of $30.00, $60.00 was given on behalf of every participant.

“Serving the poor and homeless is central to our ministry of compassion at Liquid Church. As Christians, we know it’s not enough to sympathize with the homeless…We must take action!” said Tim Lucas, lead pastor and founder of Liquid Church. “Several years back, I spent one night on the streets around Newark Penn Station in an attempt on my part to understand, in a small way, the challenges of being homeless. This experience expanded my heart for our friends living on the streets, and it’s why today, Liquid Church is committed to serving alongside incredible organizations like New York City Relief.”

The event continued until Sunday, May 5 at 8:00 a.m. with a breakfast and special service at Liquid Church.

“At New York City Relief we believe homelessness is a struggle, not a life sentence! That’s why our goal is to mobilize thousands of volunteers to compassionately serve those struggling with homelessness by providing hope and resources that lead towards life transformation,” said Juan Galloway, President & CEO of New York City Relief. “Since we were founded in 1989, we have served alongside so many churches who go the extra mile to love our brothers and sisters on the streets, and we look forward to continuing to partner with Liquid Church as they seek to catch God’s heart for the homeless on May 4.”

MORRIS COUNTY — The Denville Moms Network launched on Wednesday, May 1.

Their goal is to be your go-to resource for everything in and around Denville, Randolph, Morris Plains, Mountain Lakes, East Hanover and Parsippany.

Their site was founded with the simple goal of saving you time and energy by providing a collection of local events and resources while building a supportive mom community.

The Denville Moms is an ever changing and growing community for moms to come for information, advice, or just a place to feel supported. They have a calendar of events, a resource guide, and general information that is helpful to local families.

The Denville Moms Network is part of The Local Moms Network, a quickly growing digital media company consisting of over 80 hyper-local platforms (like The Denville Moms) in 21 states across the country, all run for and by fellow moms.

They provide crucial resources, an updated activities calendar, introductions to talented local moms, useful guides and fun events, all with the goal of “giving moms the gift of time” as well as a sense of community.

TLMN has over 150k Instagram followers, over 125k monthly page views, and has created over 100 flexible jobs for entrepreneurial moms across the country who share the passion for their suburb.

For more information email by clicking here.

MORRIS COUNTY — Thirty-three million dollars that should be going to firefighters and their families facing tragedy or financial hardship is being diverted for Gov. Phil Murphy’s FY2020 budget needs. The proposal, which is one sentence buried on page 552 of Murphy’s 592-page budget plan, was blasted by Assembly Conference Leader Anthony M. Bucco today.

“Gov. Murphy vowed against raiding the clean energy, unemployment compensation, and affordable housing funds to plug budget holes, but he’s willing to take money away from firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect our citizens,” said Bucco (R-Morris). “He doesn’t have his priorities straight. It’s a disgrace that the governor would fund his agenda on the backs of firefighters.”

The money from the relief fund, known as the New Jersey State Firemen’s Association, goes to paying for expenses like burials for fallen firefighters, the educational needs of their widows and surviving children, and costly medical bills. The NJSFA is funded through a two percent tax levied on fire insurance premiums written by out-of-state insurers for New Jersey properties.

“This money is not a reserve to fix our state’s budget problems. This will be a one-shot revenue of $33 million,” said Bucco. “If Murphy is willing to target needy firemen and their families, who will he hit up next year?”

Bucco requested an opinion from the Office of Legislative Services on Murphy’s ability to divert these funds from a dedicated account and, if necessary, plans to stop it by introducing legislation.

MONTVILLE — Crave City held it’s official ribbon cutting Grand Opening on Saturday, May 4. Crave City is located at 6 Route 46, Pine Brook Plaza, Pine Brook.

Crave City serves Acai bowls and so much more. They combine a health shop, dessert shop and coffee shop all into The Crave City.

The store is equipped with free wifi, charging stations or you can enjoy music, watch TV,  and great eats.

Crave City is open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

For more information call (973) 396-8899 or click here to view their website.