UPDATE from Westminster Presbyterian Church:
Monthly Co-Hosts at Bethany House of Hospitality Vespers: April 14, 2016
In preparation for the 5th Annual Bethany Garden party, members of Nassau and Westminster along with Bethany House of Hospitality residents dedicated their time and energy to begin cultivating the Bethany Garden, and preparing for its expansion. In 2015, Westminster received a $10,000 from the Trenton Health Team for yoga classes and to expand two gardens. The Bethany Garden expansion will more than double the harvest for residents and The Crisis Ministry of Mercer County’s Food Pantry clients. After working hard, we broke bread, prayed and fellowshipped together.
Communiversity: April 2016
!Muchisimas Gracias to Nassau! Once again Westminster Presbyterian Church and Westminster Community Life Center had the best location at the 2016 Communiversity; right in front of Palmer Square! This year members of Nassau helped us host our information table, and also sold beautiful soap to raise money for our Get SET After School Program. Westminster also helped Nassau coordinate with the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow Trenton/Princeton Chapter an interactive experience within a solitary confinement cell replica. Westminster’s pastor and members enjoyed taking photos with our partners: i.e. Nassau members, Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert, and Mercer County Freeholder Samuel Frisby, and the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow Trenton/Princeton Chapter members.
3rd Annual Trenton Unity Walk: Sunday, May 1, 2016
Despite the rain, Nassau and Westminster leaders and members helped lead over 100 people of all faith traditions to walk in remembrance of the lives of men, women, and youth killed by violence in the City of Trenton during the past year. Pictures and short bios of the victims of violence, and resources to support the grieving families were distributed. Prayers in song and word were shared at the sites of violence. After simultaneously departing from Westminster Presbyterian Church and the Islamic Center of Ewing all the participants gathered at the Ghandi Garden. Kim Ford, who lost her son to violence in March 2015, and Councilman Duncan Harrison Jr. who lost his mother and a best friend to violence, challenged everyone to keep working to end the violence in Trenton. Men of Hope prayed for all the youth present.
Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) Retreat: May 7, 2016
Over 50 pastors, leaders, and members representing Shiloh Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, Nassau Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church participated in an Intergroup Dialogue Retreat on Saturday, May 7, 2016 at Westminster called, A Conversation Among Four Churches. The IGD Retreat was led by the New Jersey Intergroup Dialogue Coalition founded by Rev. Dr. D A Graham, and facilitated by members of Nassau and Westminster that he had trained over three months in 2015. The retreat was an 8-hour workshop that explored the intersection of identities including race, ethnicity, gender, religion, social class, and sexual orientation. The workshop allowed participants to learn about various social identities as well as build knowledge to engage in dialogue with others regarding identity. The feedback was so positive that we are looking forward to planning another Intergroup Dialogue Retreat in the near future at Nassau.
Joint Worship & Ecumenical Advocacy Days: June 5, 2016
Westminster enjoyed welcoming and worshipping with 25 members from Nassau on Sunday, June 5. In order to expose Nassau members to some of our multiple Trenton partners, we acknowledged the presence of representatives from A Better Way, Inc., the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow Trenton/Princeton Chapter, East Trenton Community Center, Yielded Vessels Fellowship Ministries (YVFM), and Men of Hope. Nassau’s Minister of Christian Education, Joyce MacKichan Walker, the Rev. Nadira Keaton and Elder Thomas Keaton of YVFM, and Pastor Karen Hernandez-Granzen officiated the Lord’s Supper in English and Spanish. Trenton Council Woman Marge Caldwell-Wilson, a Scottish Presbyterian, also worshiped with us. Rev. Patti Daley, led us in a prayer for Shalom in the City of Trenton.
Following worship, Nassau’s youth and Westminster’s Elder Jacque Howard did an outstanding job sharing what they had learned at the annual 2016 Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C.
UPDATE from Cetana Educational Foundation:
Chenault Spence, the president of the Cetana board, just returned recently from a visit to Myanmar. While there he visited the Cetana learning center in Kyaing Tong, located in the “Golden Triangle” near the border with Thailand, Laos, and China. Cynthia Paul, who received her degree in English language teaching thanks to a Cetana scholarship, returned to Kyaing Tong a few years ago to found the learning center, which already has over 300 students studying English. Cynthia, always full of energy and new ideas, has now launched a new initiative at the learning center called the “Rice Village Project.” Her goal is to provide an opportunity for young girls in remote villages to continue their education. The Myanmar government provides schooling through grade 5. However, after that, many students, particularly those in poor, remote areas, drop out because there are no opportunities for them to advance. Most go to work in the rice fields of their villages, but some girls become the victims of traffickers as they seek to earn more money for their families. For this reason, Cynthia’s initial focus is on female students.
Currently she has three young girls in residence in Kyaing Tong. They come at the recommendation of their teachers from distant villages and live at the learning center, while their parents provide modest “compensation” in the form of rice. During the day they attend regular school in Kyaing Tong, 6th grade through high school, and in the afternoons, they attend English language classes at the learning center.
Eventually, Cynthia would like to expand this program to include as many as 30 girls. Cetana’s board is submitting proposals for funding of this expanded program to local and international NGOs as well as seeking funding from private individuals. If financing is successful, Chenault Spence says, “It will be possible to acquire proper dormitory space and hire a staff to oversee the girls and provide academic support. These young girls will then have a chance not only to graduate from high school, but also to master English and access possibilities unimaginable in their home villages.”
UPDATE from Villages in Partnership
Thank you for supporting our small team for this year’s water walk we were able to raise $1,500 for our Nassau Presbyterian walking team. 
We walked for Triza who lives with her elderly grandmother and so desperately wants to go to school, hopefully Stephanie Patterson will get to meet her this year while on a Friendship trip to Malawi, Africa with Villages in Partnership July 22-30.
To help Stephanie while on her friendship trip with Villages In Partnership she will need to bring a suitcase filled with all sorts of items, the suitcase will be located in the main office, suggestions are listed below:
- Ibuprofen
- Adult/children’s vitamins
- Nebulizers/inhalers
- Anti-fungals
- Triple antibiotics
- Yarn
- Knitting needles
- Fabric
- Flip flops
- Tooth brushes
- Tooth paste
- Soap
- Children’s percussion instruments
- Cash for needed items on the ground
- Lightweight blanket
Thank you for helping us fill Stephanie’s suitcase
We look forward to hearing about Stephanie’s trip upon her return.