Adult Education – November 2018

All classes 9:15 a.m. in the Assembly Room unless otherwise noted

Download the November brochure: AE Nov 2018


November 4

The History of Activism and Faith in the U.S.

William Field

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

The world we live in today is one where faith is used mostly to stop progress and to keep the United States from changing. Our history, however, reflects a completely different story. From the first European settlers to the American Revolution, to the expansion of the suffrage, abolition, and Civil Rights, faith groups and faith-led activism have driven this country forward. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King might have said that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice, but it bends only because people pick up the mantle and bend that arc. This session will highlight several major incidents in the American political story where faith-drive activism expanded the circle of moral concern and moved us closer to realizing the Kingdom of God here on earth.

William Field is active in religious and academic circles. He is an Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University where he lectures on the topic of religion and politics, among other things. He is president of a small congregation of the United Church of Christ in Monmouth County, served for a decade on the UCC’s regional governing body, and went to Germany as a delegate of that body to give a talk on Nationalism, Populism and the Church, here he offered insight into how European and American churches are and should be responding to the rising threat of xenophobia and extremism.

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Ongoing through December 16
no class November 18 or 25

In-Depth Bible Study: Colossians

George Hunsinger

9:15 AM
Maclean House

George Hunsinger returns for the 21st year to lead this verse-by-verse examination of Colossians. Bibles are available for use during the class. Find them on the Deacon Desk by the church kitchen. Class meets next door in Maclean House (Garden Entrance).

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November 11

Jesus, Race & Incarceration:
Why Our Faith Prevents Us from Looking the Other Way

Mary Beth Charters, Jonathan Shenk

Does the life and teaching of Jesus offer any insight on the current climate of racial tension and burgeoning rates of incarceration in our country today? Do white people of faith have any responsibility or culpability regarding our nation’s history of slavery and Jim Crow oppression? How does faith intersect with activism? There are more African Americans under correctional control today than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War. Mary Beth Charters and Jonathan Shenk will speak to these issues and to how race and incarceration have shaped their personal faith journeys, life, and activism.

Mary Beth Charters an ordained elder, is a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, and is currently serving as resident chaplain at RWJ University Hospital, New Brunswick. She is a retired educator after 30+ years in school, medical and psychiatric facilities working with diverse ages, populations, and needs.

Jonathan Shenk is a former associate pastor at Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church, Princeton Junction. For the past 12 years he has been the owner of Greenleaf Painters, a house-painting company. In addition to his business involvement, he is a certified spiritual director and an advocate for transforming the U.S. criminal justice system.

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November 18

Nassau Church in the World: Trends and Current Commitments

Dave Davis

A look back at where we have been and where we are now related to the church’s footprint in our community and in the world. Pastor Davis will present some history and track recent changes in our Mission and Outreach spending while discussing the intent and the discernment that impacts our spending beyond the walls of the church. If you want to know how Nassau Church spends its mission dollars, this presentation is for you!

Download the PowerPoint presentation here: Mission and Outreach Nov 18 (pdf)

Dave Davis has been pastor and head-of-staff at Nassau since the fall of 2000. His PhD in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary focused on preaching as a corporate act and the active role of the listener in the preaching event. He has published two sermon collections, A Kingdom You Can Taste and Lord, Teach Us to Pray.

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November 25

A Multiplicity of Injustices

Adriana Abizadeh, Carolyn Biondi, Karen Hernandez-Granzen

According to a report published by the Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey, structural racism and poverty create “a multiplicity of injustices” directly and indirectly affecting the education, housing, employment, legal protections, health and hunger of people of color living in poverty. Panelists from Nassau’s Trenton partners will provide concrete examples of the multiplicity of injustices endured by the people that they serve in Trenton and Princeton and how their programs, activism and advocacy work together to help eradicate these injustices.

Adriana Abizadeh serves as the Executive Director at the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF). LALDEF’s organizational mission is to defend the rights of the Latin American community, facilitate its access to health care and education, and advance cross-cultural understanding within the Mercer County region. After a BA in Political Science from Rutgers University, she completed a master’s degree in Public Policy at Drexel University.

Carolyn Biondi serves as the Executive Director of Arm In Arm. Prior to joining Arm In Arm, Carolyn held positions in development, data management and program evaluation in community health care, child welfare and emergency shelter settings. She is currently working toward a second master’s degree, this one in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Karen Hernández-Granzen serves as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Trenton. She also has leadership roles in the Arts, Music and Culture Committee of the City of Trenton, the Princeton’s Civil Rights Commission, the United Mercer Interfaith Organization, the Bethany House of Hospitality, and the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund. She was the inaugural 2017 Community Partner-in-Residence, of the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, Princeton University. She is a 2018 PCUSA Women of Faith Award recipient.

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Adult Education – October 2018

October Classes
Theologians for These Times (Assembly Room)
Finding Faith in Literature (Music Room)
Inquirer’s Class for Prospective Members (Niles Chapel)
Colossians In-Depth (Maclean House)
Slavery, Presbyterians, and Princeton (special Noon event)

Download the October brochure: October 2018


Theologians for These Times


October 7

Bonhoeffer and the Question of Compromise (1906-1945)

Mark Edwards

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

Theology has ideals of divine perfection. Politics has real world problems. What’s a disciple to do when Christ isn’t on the ballot? Working from both Bonhoeffer’s systematized Ethics and his spontaneous reflections from prison, we’ll address what he might teach us about confronting political and theological compromise.

Mark Edwards joined Nassau as Director of Youth Ministries in September of 2013. He is a lifelong Presbyterian and holds a PhD (Philosophy and Theology, 2013) from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has been an Assistant of Instruction at Princeton University, and is currently an adjunct professor at The College of New Jersey. Mark is married to Janine and they have two children.

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October 14

Contemporary Theologian Russel Botman (1953-2014)

Dirk Smith

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

The South African theologian Russel Botman was internationally known for his many contributions to public life – as student leader during the struggle against apartheid, as influential congregational minister, as ecumenical church leader, as academic theologian, as President of the South African Council of Churches, as Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, and as leading voice in tertiary education in Africa. His family participated in the life of this congregation when Botman was a Fellow at The Center of Theological Inquiry. One of the founding figures in what is today known as “public theology,” he received the Kuyper Prize in 2014 for his contributions to public life. This class will focus on how faith informed and inspired Botman’s own life of public service – in his own words, his “project of hope.”

Dirk Smit is the Rimmer and Ruth De Vries Professor of Reformed Theology and Public Life at Princeton Theological Seminary. Smit came to Princeton from South Africa, where he taught systematic theology at the universities of Western Cape and Stellenbosch, was involved in ecumenical church activities and contributed to public life with both popular and academic writing.

Unfortunately this class was not recorded.

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October 21

Ignacio Ellacuría: Radical Witness to the Kingdom (1930-1989)

Francisco Pelaez-Diaz

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

Why in some instances does witnessing to the Kingdom of God lead to the ultimate sacrifice? How does this sacrifice in some cases become a life-giving inspiration for future generations? The life and work of the Spanish-Salvadoran philosopher and theologian Ignacio Ellacuría represents a clear example of this kind of inspiration for a deep commitment to the work of justice, freedom and the liberation from the social and political conditions that inflict suffering and death. Join Francisco Pelaez-Diaz to learn more about this Latin American theologian, who remains unfamiliar to many in the US, and explore together the answers to these questions.

The Rev. Francisco Pelaez-Diaz is a PhD candidate in Religion and Society at Princeton Theological Seminary. Francisco is originally from Mexico and has worked as an ordained pastor among immigrants in a multiethnic/multiracial PC(USA) congregation in Dayton, Ohio. His dissertation –in progress– Is titled “Migration as a Way of the Cross: Ignacio Ellacuría’s Notion of ‘Crucified Peoples’ for Theological Reframing of Central American Migrant Experience.”

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October 28

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

Peter Paris and Daniel Migliore

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

The subject of a high-profile documentary in 2017, An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story, and dubbed by Religion & Politics as “Washington’s Favorite Theologian, ” Reinhold Niebuhr was respected by the political left and right. A pastor (Evangelical and Reformed Church) before he was a celebrated theologian and foreign policy expert, Niebuhr wrote prolifically about the self, morality, ethics, politics, the public square, justice and so much more. Join us for a conversation about theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s legacy and its relevance for our times.

Peter Paris is Elmer G. Homrighausen Professor of Christian Social Ethics Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary. Paris is a world-renowned scholar, honored most recently by a collection in his honor, Ethics That Matters: African, Caribbean, and African American Sources. While in Princeton he also worked closely with the Princeton University African American Studies Program. He has also been a Visiting Professor in Harvard University Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary (New York), and Trinity Theological College (Legon, Ghana).

Daniel Migliore is Professor Emeritus of Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. An ordained Presbyterian minister, whose broad interests include systematic theology, Karl Barth, the Trinity, and Christology. During his career he taught courses on Christology, the doctrine of God, the theology of Karl Barth, Barth’s Church Dogmatics, and an introductory course on the doctrines and practices of Christian faith. His book Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology has been a standard through three editions. Dan is a “clergy member” of Nassau.

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Ongoing through December 16

In-Depth Bible Study: Colossians

George Hunsinger

9:15 AM
Maclean House

George Hunsinger returns for the 21st year to lead this verse-by-verse examination of Colossians. Bibles are available for use during the class. Find them on the Deacon Desk by the church kitchen. Class meets next door in Maclean House (Garden Entrance).

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Finding Faith in Literature


October 7

Shakespeare and the Bible

Rhodri Lewis

9:15 a.m.
Music Room

Explore Shakespeare’s relationships with, and use of, the text of sacred scripture. Writing before the publication of the King James Version, he relied for the most part on the so-called Geneva Bible, though he occasionally shows awareness of the Vulgate’s Latin. Rather than turning to scripture as a source of truth or meaning as earlier dramatists did, particularly those who wrote the Mystery Plays to which the young Shakespeare was exposed, we find him treating it almost as a source like any other. He thereby explores the tensions about the authority and significance of scripture that dominated so much of English and European public life in the century after Luther posted his 95 theses.

Rhodri Lewis is Senior Research Scholar in English and Comparative Literature at Princeton University, having recently moved from a Professorship of English Literature at the University of Oxford. He remains an Honorary Fellow of St Hugh’s College, Oxford. His most recent publication is Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness (Princeton UP, 2017), and he is currently at work on two main projects: a short book on Christopher Marlowe, and something much longer on the development of satirical writing between 1500 and 1750.

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October 14

Renewal and Rebirth in Jane Austen’s Persuasion

Deborah Nord

9:15 a.m.
Music Room

Austen’s final completed novel, Persuasion, published posthumously in 1918, tells the story of spinster Anne Elliot’s second chance at happiness with the same man, Captain Wentworth, she had rejected years before. But marriage is never just marriage in Jane Austen. This hugely satisfying love story is also a tale of spiritual renewal and even bodily rejuvenation, and it imagines, at the same time, a kind of renewal and reform of British social relations. Longing for rebirth, for escape from her autumnal and dimming life, Anne Elliot also enacts an escape from outmoded notions of privilege, class, and marriage.

Deborah Epstein Nord is Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature at Princeton. A specialist in Victorian literature and culture, her latest books are Gypsies and the British Imagination, 1807-1930 (2006), and, with Maria DiBattista, At Home in the World: Women Writers and Public Life, from Austen to the Present (2017). She is currently working on a project about the relationship between 19th-century fiction and the visual arts.

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October 21

Milton’s Paradise Lost

Russell Leo

9:15 a.m.
Music Room

In Paradise Lost John Milton gives an exciting poetic account of the fallen angels, the Creation of humanity (to say nothing of the rest of the universe), and life in Eden before and immediately after the Fall. But to what extent is it Christian, at least in a way that we recognize today? And to what political ends does Milton write? These are some of the abiding questions you will hear addressed in this introduction to Paradise Lost and its milieux.

Russell Leo, originally from Rochester, New York, received his PhD from the Program in Literature at Duke University where he studied Reformation poetics and their impact across seventeenth century Europe. Leo came to Princeton University in 2009, first, as a postdoctoral fellow at the Society of Fellows and, after 2012, as an Assistant Professor in the English Department.

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October 28

Harry Potter Belongs at Church

Debbie Hough

9:15 a.m.
Music Room

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is easily the best-selling and most popular literature series in recent memory. These books are a “portkey” from Harry’s world into the world of the Bible, because they are jampacked with Christian symbols, values, themes, theological ideas and much more. You are invited to put on your spectacles of faith (if they are shaped like Harry’s even better!) and take a look into the wealth of ideas shared in the seven volumes for fans of all ages.

Debbie Hough recently retired as the Director of Christian Education at Derry Presbyterian Church in Hershey, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education and Princeton Theological Seminary. She is a Harry Potter mini-geek, her favorite character is Professor McGonagall, she’s a Gryffindor and her animagus is a buzzard. And she believes all of this can work together!

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Inquirer’s Class for Prospective Members


October 14, 21, and 28

Lauren McFeaters & the Membership Committee

9:30 a.m.
Niles Chapel

Come explore the meaning of Christian faith, church membership, and the foundations of the Presbyterian Church(USA). Classes are open to anyone wanting to discover more about our church and are required for those who wish to become church members. Your presence and  membership mean everything to us! Contact Lauren McFeaters (, 609-924-0103 x102)

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October 28

Slavery, Presbyterians, and Princeton

Jim Moorhead

12:15 p.m.
Assembly Room

Examine how Presbyterians addressed slavery in the pre-Civil War period. Contrary to what one might suppose, the institution was not confined solely to the South. Slavery still existed in New Jersey, though with dwindling numbers of people in bondage in the early 1800s. Explore Presbyterian responses to slavery here in Princeton–at the college, the seminary, First Church (predecessor of Nassau), and Witherspoon Strett Church.

Jim Moorhead is professor emeritus of American Church history at Princeton Seminary. He became engaged in research on this topic when he wrote two short essays for the university’s online Princeton and Slavery Project, and when he participated in the task force conducting an historical audit of Princeton Seminary’s relationship with slavery. Jim, his wife Cynthia, and their three children are long-time participants in the life of the Nassau congregation.

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Adult Education – September 2018

September Classes
For a look at all the Adult Education offerings in September, download the brochure: Adult Education September 2018


Please note: there will be no Adult Education Classes on September 2


September 9

I’ll Say a Little Prayer for You…

Ann Schoonover

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

 What are our sensibilities when it comes to praying? Join me in an informal conversation, where there are no right or wrong answers, and questions are encouraged.  We will consider our denomination’s tradition of prayer during worship, and explore the role(s) prayer plays in our congregation’s life together. What about contemporary views, practices and expressions of prayer? If time permits, we will share stories about praying and its impact upon ourselves as well as the world around us.

Ann Schoonover, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, is ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PCUSA and currently serves Covenant and Hamilton Square Presbyterian churches. She is developing a regional older adult ministry (ROAM) program involving PCUSA churches in the greater Trenton area.  Formerly, Ann served in hospital, behavioral health, hospice and homecare settings as a chaplain. She has obtained certificates from Good Shepherd Mediation program and additional training in spiritual direction from Oasis Ministries. Keenly interested in people, Ann is fulfilled by guiding individuals, families and congregations through change and transition. Before attending seminary, Ann had a first career in labor relations, where she met her husband Tim Brown; they both now serve the PCUSA in various capacities.

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Ongoing: September 9 through December 16

In-Depth Bible Study: Colossians

George Hunsinger

9:15 AM
Maclean House

George Hunsinger returns for the 21st year to lead this verse-by-verse examination of Colossians. Bibles are available for use during the class. Find them on the Deacon Desk by the church kitchen. Class meets next door in Maclean House (Garden Entrance).

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September 16

Preaching the Gospel

Andrew Scales

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

How do we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ today? That question has shaped worship and preaching for Presbyterians since the Reformation. In a world filled with plenty of bad news, preachers are listening to the Scriptures to discern what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. Join Andrew Scales as we explore together how preachers craft sermons that speak truth amid our hopes, fears, and needs.

Andrew Scales is a PhD Candidate in Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. He also serves as a Chaplain and Executive Co-Director of the Princeton Presbyterians campus ministry with his wife, Len Turner Scales. He is currently finishing his dissertation, “’Every Last Christian Takes Part’: Oscar Romero and Remembrance of Disappeared Persons in El Salvador.”

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September 23

Confessions in Worship and Life?

Dirk Smit

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

The Presbyterian and Reformed practice of weekly corporate confession of sin in worship, and weekly unison reading of a selection from a confession or creed in the PC(USA) Book of Confessions, often garners questions and strong reactions from congregants. Do Reformed people really need creeds and confessional documents? What role could they play in worship and life, and what role do they play?

Dirk Smit is the Rimmer and Ruth De Vries Professor of Reformed Theology and Public Life at Princeton Theological Seminary. He recently came to Princeton from South Africa, with years of experience in Reformed circles and the ecumenical church, including experience with confessional documents and their reception and use in church and public life.

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September 30

Surely the Presence of the Lord is in This Place

David A. Davis and Noel Werner

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

At each weekly gathering of the church staff, one of our major tasks is the preparation of Sunday worship. Within the four-fold movement of Reformed worship, all of our choices are governed by fidelity to scripture, the pastoral needs of the congregation, commitment to discipleship, and our calling in the world. Come hear Dave Davis and Noel Werner as they describe the creative and prayerful process of shaping the worship life of our church.

Dave Davis has been pastor and head-of-staff at Nassau since the fall of 2000. His PhD in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary focused on preaching as a corporate act and the active role of the listener in the preaching event. He has published two sermon collections, A Kingdom You Can Taste and Lord, Teach Us to Pray.

Noel Werner has been the Director of Music at Nassau Presbyterian Church since 2006. He lectures on occasion at Westminster Choir College and Princeton Theological Seminary, and spearheads many cooperative music endeavors in the community, in addition to directing Nassau’s adult choir, coordinating Nassau’s extensive music program, and staffing the Worship and Arts Committee.

[Unfortunately this class was not recorded.]

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Adult Education – August 2018

August Classes
For a look at Adult Education offerings (June-August), download the brochure: Summer2018


Please note: there will be no Adult Education Classes on September 2


August 5

Peter Paul Rubens: His Life and Work

Karlfried Froehlich

11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was one of the great, if not the greatest artist of Dutch Baroque painting in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries whose famous monumental works of religious as well as secular art are found in numerous churches and museums all over the world. While born into a strictly Reformed family who fled persecution in the Spanish Netherlands, he was raised as a Catholic after his father’s death and became the most influential representative of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Living in the harbor city of Antwerp, he was extremely successful and widely in demand for altar pieces and portraits by wealthy patrons including the French, English, and Spanish royal courts, Italian princes and the Vatican. Come and learn all about him!

Karlfried Froehlich, a native of Saxony, Germany, studied theology, history, and classical languages in Germany, Paris, and Basel. Moving to the United States in 1964, he taught at Drew University and from 1968 to 1992 at Princeton Theological Seminary where he held the Benjamin B. Warfield chair in church history. An active member of the Lutheran Church in America (today the ELCA), he was a member of the Lutheran – Roman Catholic National Dialogue in the 1970s and 80s and of the Reformed – Lutheran Conversations in the 1990s which led to the 1997 declaration of full communion between the churches involved.  His scholarly interests include the history of Christian art and the history of biblical interpretation, a field to which he has contributed significantly through his teaching and writing.


August 12

Peter Paul Rubens: The Constantine Tapestries at Philadelphia

Karlfried Froehlich

11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses a fabulous and quite unique treasure—thirteen large pieces of tapestry woven in Paris and Rome after sketches by Rubens and a friend which depict the story of Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor. While much of it is legend, the scenes constitute a fascinating account of one of the most important periods of Early Christian history. Focus on the story told in the tapestries as you hear highlighted its intended parallels to the religious history of France during those turbulent times of upheaval and religious wars.

Karlfried Froehlich, a native of Saxony, Germany, studied theology, history, and classical languages in Germany, Paris, and Basel. Moving to the United States in 1964, he taught at Drew University and from 1968 to 1992 at Princeton Theological Seminary where he held the Benjamin B. Warfield chair in church history. An active member of the Lutheran Church in America (today the ELCA), he was a member of the Lutheran – Roman Catholic National Dialogue in the 1970s and 80s and of the Reformed – Lutheran Conversations in the 1990s which led to the 1997 declaration of full communion between the churches involved.  His scholarly interests include the history of Christian art and the history of biblical interpretation, a field to which he has contributed significantly through his teaching and writing.


August 19

A Year as a Young Adult Volunteer in Peru

Katie Hastings

11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

Selected for a year of service from Nassau Presbyterian Church, Katie will tell us about her time in Peru working in the Casa Del Buen Trato Hovde shelter for women and girls. Come see and hear about her emotional journey, what she found to be most valuable about the YAV program, and what she has learned.

Katie Hastings was born and grew up in Tokyo as a missionary kid. She moved to Princeton at the age of fourteen and was very involved with the youth group and choir at Nassau Presbyterian Church which she attended with her parents, Tom and Carol Hastings. In May of 2017 she graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, studying psychology and economics. She has always been passionate about traveling and learning from different cultures.


August 26

Teaching with Nassau’s Mission Partner, Villages in Partnership, in Malawi

Carla Tuan

11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

After completing a final senior year semester in Paris this spring, Carla flew to Malawi and was introduced to the work of Nassau’s mission partnership in Africa by Liz Heinsel-Nelson, VIP’s Executive Director. Carla divided her time between teaching mathematics at a local high school, teaching computer classes to hopeful college students, and going to the homes of twenty vulnerable families. “They are incredibly poor, with not enough to eat. I am hoping to be able to raise money for them when I get back. Malawi is engulfed in poverty, and yet sometimes not just money, but communicating with villages and letting them do the work is the best solution.” On her return, Carla raised over $1,600.00 for one goat per family and other life-giving supplies.

Carla and her family – sister Susanna and parents Wayne and Emily – have been at Nassau all of Carla’s life. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a major in Mathematics this spring. Beginning in July she started working in NYC doing trading with BMO Capital Markets. Carla loves traveling, running, and reading, and she can do a Rubik’s cube!


 

Adult Education – April 2018

April Line-up
Nassau Making a Difference
Retirement on Your Terms
In-Depth Bible Study: First Corinthians

Download the brochure: AE Apr 2018


Please note: there will be no Adult Education Classes on April 1 (Easter) or April 29 (Communiversity).


Nassau Making a Difference

Nassau’s engagement in and commitment to local mission runs deep and wide. This year’s mission series focuses on three long-standing relationships in Princeton and Trenton. Come both to be inspired by the work in progress and drawn into the stories of the need for justice, advocacy and helping hands.


April 8

Against All Odds

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

Princeton native, Paul Robeson, was the epitome of the 20th-century Renaissance man. He was an exceptional athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist. Several NPC members are working with our Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church friends to restore and renovate Paul’s birthplace at 110 Witherspoon Street. The Paul Robeson House is established as a memorial to Paul’s life and his unwavering commitment to equality on behalf of the poor and underserved.

Denyse Leslie, Clerk of Session at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church and Vice President of the Robeson House Board; Ben Colbert, President of the Board; and Board members from both churches will help us know more about this remarkable man and the exciting plans for his birthplace.


April 15

Trenton – A Tale of Two Cities

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

Come for an insider understanding of the city of Trenton and many of the challenges and opportunities Trenton currently faces, including the changing demographics and medical state of affairs, among others.

Jane Rohlf Boyer, MD, an internal medicine specialist in Trenton, is also a long-time community activist, enthusiast and supporter. She and her husband Ted know and care deeply about Trenton and about those who live there.

Adriana Abizadeh is the Executive Director of The Latin American Legal Defense & Education Fund (LALDEF) in Trenton. She is committed to programs and services focused on the well-being of Latin Americans, their civil rights, and access to health care and education.


April 22

Free at Last

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room

Come hear Jim McCloskey tell the story of his latest, and one of his “most rewarding” cases. On December 20, 2017, Centurion freed and returned to their eagerly awaiting families three ex-soldiers who had spent 26 years falsely imprisoned for a 1992 Savannah, Georgia murder. From start to finish Jim will walk us through this nonsensical tale of justice going awry and how truth can indeed be stranger than fiction.

Jim McCloskey is a current member of Nassau’s session, and the founder of Centurion Ministries, the Princeton based non-profit that works to free persons who have been wrongly convicted.


Retirement on Your Terms

Retirement isn’t a rocking chair and a gold watch anymore. There are nearly as many ways to retire as there are retirees, and what works for one may not be the best solution for another. Join us for a series on successful retirement that addresses questions like when to retire, and the impact of work, familial and community engagement, lifestyle, and faith on quality of life in retirement. (Please note: Financial planning will not be discussed in this series.)


April 15

Factors associated with health and successful aging

9:15 a.m.
Music Room

People in the U.S. are living longer than ever before and many seniors live active and healthy lives. But there’s no getting around one thing: as we age, our bodies and minds change. There are things you can do to stay healthy and active as you age. Come and discuss some of the most important factors associated with healthy aging. Review the health “secrets” of the people leaving in the Blue Zones; areas where people live long and wholesome lives. Participants will have the chance to ask questions on specific “issues” and “difficulties” that they may have faced in their quest to change unhealthy behaviors and attain a healthy lifestyle.

Labros Sidossis is currently Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Kinesiology and Health, at Rutgers University, USA and Professor of Nutrition at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. Dr Sidossis’ teaching and research has focused on the mechanisms regulating human health and diseases (e.g obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemias, severe burn injury). He has also studied the factors determining successful aging in populations in the Mediterranean region and the USA.


April 22

Meaning and Purpose As We Age

9:15 a.m.
Music Room

As we age our roles and responsibilities change, but every stage of life presents opportunities for purpose and meaning. Learn strategies for engaging  with others, serving, and deepening our faith that can make our retirement spiritually rich, satisfying and happy.

The Rev. Robin Bacon Hoffman serves as chaplain to the diverse community at Meadow Lakes, a Springpoint Senior Living retirement community in East Windsor. She earned her M.Div. and Th. M. degrees at Princeton Theological Seminary, after careers in chemical engineering and IT consulting. Ms. Hoffman leads a variety of continuing education workshops for Rutgers University School of Social Work, including Positive Aging, Promoting Wellness in Older Adults and Ethics Essentials. She lives in Princeton Jct. with her husband Jeff, not far from her daughters and grandchildren.


1 Corinthians In Depth

Sundays, 9:15 a.m.
Maclean House (Garden Entrance)

George Hunsinger leads a verse-by-verse examination of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. In this epistle the Corinthian congregation wrestles with doctrinal and ethical issues in conversation with their “founding pastor,” Paul, and Paul offers compelling good news in his understanding of the cross, the resurrection, worship, and life together in Christian community.

George Hunsinger is Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the founder of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.


Adult Education – March 2018

March Line-up
Faith Formation
Bible Big Picture: The New Testament
In-Depth Bible Study: First Corinthians

Download the brochure: AE Mar 2018


Witnessing to Faith 24/7

Darrell Guder, Moderator

On each of the four Sundays in March, come and hear three of Nassau’s members speak to why it is important to them to live out their faith in their  daily lives, and how they attempt to do so. Expect a variety of life stories, challenges, joys, and testimonies to the life to which Christ has called them,  and the places to which they understand Christ has sent them to serve the world God loves.

Darrell Guder, a member of Nassau’s Mission and Outreach Committee and an ordained Presbyterian minister, is the Professor of Missional and  Ecumenical Theology Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary. Guder has a life-long interest in and commitment to forming faith in  congregations that reflects one’s understanding of being sent by Christ, as Christ was sent by God, to serve the world God loves. Guder continues to  teach all over the world, including regularly at Vancouver Theological Seminary. He is the author of many books, most recently Called to Witness: Doing Missional Theology.


March 4

Marshall McKnight, Nicos Scordis, Rebekah Sterlacci

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room


March 11

Lee Davis, Olivia Moorhead, Monisha Pulimood

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room


March 18

Rozlyn Anderson Flood, Jason Sterlacci, Bill Wakefield

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room


March 25

Sharilyn Tel, Deborah Toppmeyer, Nick Valvanis

9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room



A Romp through the New Testament

Bill Phillippe

Sundays, 9:15 a.m.
Niles Chapel

True to the definition of romp, “to play boisterously,” Bill Phillippe will move participants quickly throught the 27 books of the New Testament and do it with a style he believes the writers would approve, even if some biblical interpreters might not. One reviewer of the book says, “Phillippe’s work will  be seen by some as blithe and brash. That’s the best part. He takes us on a tour of what and where and why the Bible happened, and by peeling off the  dusty old trappings he brings to light an enchanted story about people, and a God, we’d like to know better.”

William R. (Bill) Phillippe, upon retirement, chose to move to Princeton primarily so he could worship and engage at Nassau Presbyterian Church. He is a retired Presbyterian minister and author of A Romp through the Bible, and most recently, The Pastor’s Diary. Bill has served a number of  churches as pastor, was a Synod Executive for 10 years, and has served as Acting Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council.


1 Corinthians In Depth

Sundays, 9:15 a.m.
Maclean House (Garden Entrance)

George Hunsinger leads a verse-by-verse examination of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. In this epistle the Corinthian congregation  wrestles with doctrinal and ethical issues in conversation with their “founding pastor,” Paul, and Paul offers compelling good news in his understanding of the cross, the resurrection, worship, and life together in Christian community.

George Hunsinger is Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the founder of the National Religious Campaign  Against Torture.