Remarks by Dave Davis on Sunday, August 10, 2025
The Lord be with you. And also with you. Welcome Home, Nassau Church! You don’t see me; I’m actually on vacation. But you all found your seats, where you usually sit.
Let us pray:
How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts. My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God (Psalm 84:1-2).
Loving God, we lift to you with joy and thanksgiving our worship life here in the Sanctuary of Nassau Presbyterian Church. In every generation the saints and the great cloud of witnesses have both worshiped here and contributed to the care of this space. We are humbled for the opportunity for our generation to do the same and offer a transformation of this space that will serve the generations surely to come.
Holy One, in our reform tradition, we acknowledge that the space itself isn’t holy; what is holy is when the people gather here, when you meet us here, when by the grace of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit we worship you here. We gather at the fount here, we come to the table here, we surround the grieving and proclaim resurrection hope here, we celebrate weddings here, we worship each and every Lord’s Day here boldly proclaiming that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
So, yes, we claim this space and our worship life in it to your glory and the glory of your son, Jesus Christ. Your son, our savior. Deo Gloria.
Amen.
Before we continue with worship led by Len and Lauren, please allow me to offer my deepest and most heartfelt words of thanks. First to the members of the session, the ruling elders of the last three years who grasped the vision and boldly led with a theology celebrating God’s abundance. We cannot express enough gratitude to the incredibly generous member of our congregation, who wishes to remain anonymous, whose donation made this sanctuary restoration possible. And for all who make the mission and ministry of this congregation possible. We will have a full dedication of the sanctuary on Sunday, September 28th, at both services. The artisans and the contractors will be here in worship with us.
This morning, I would like to thank the members of the Chancel Text Working Group whose consensus on the texts behind me was nothing short of a Holy Spirit-God thing that reflects who we are as God’s people in this time and place. The group, led by Keith Mertz, included Claire Mulry, Carol Fagundus, Barbara Edwards, Noel Werner, and Bill Wakefield. A big shout out to Henry Behnke, who was basically our general contractor. Working alongside of Henry was Claire Mulry, Dave Kerschner, Jonathan Milley, Linda Gilmore, and Noel Werner. And yes, all of it was begun under the leadership of Bill Wakefield. Bill did more for this space in the last twenty-five years than any other person. May his memory, especially in this room, be a blessing.
I want to thank all the members of the church staff, the seminary staff, and President Jonathan Lee Walton, for making our spring/summer pilgrimage of worship possible. And of course all of you who were up for the adventure.
Lastly, one person deserves a level of thanks for the endless hours, persistence, stress, and joy that led to this project’s completion. Will you please join me in thanking Noel Werner.
Remarks by Noel Werner on Sunday, August 8, 2025
This renovation has been centered around “light” –
- light for those in the pews,
- light for those online,
- light from God’s Word,
- light reflected in our lives,
- light shining forth in the world around us.
As you look around, you’ll first notice new scriptural texts in gold leaf in the chancel, and after worship, I hope you will look at them from different vantage points in the sanctuary and read the short description as you reflect on their meaning for our congregation’s worship, identity, and mission. Download the PDF.
You may notice new brass railings on each side of the chancel, restored decorative pediments (rescued from the basement) above the doors, obsolete railings removed from the instrumental podiums, and the piano in a new position for accompanying the choirs so that the lid opens the correct direction.
New lights are in the perimeter of the tray ceiling, in the restored under-balcony ceilings, and above the two front corners. Combined with the relamping and rewiring of our existing fixtures, illumination for those in the pews has been greatly improved.
A row of spotlights and two rows of par lights provide much better and broader lighting in the front, both for those attending in-person and those online. Training on the use of those lights begins this afternoon for our livestream team, and we look forward to the creative flexibility that will give us, maybe as soon as the chancel drama next week!
The freshly painted ceiling, walls, and moldings look so good partly because of the extensive restoration and replacement of failing plaster and the structural stabilization of the sagging ceiling where the old speakers were, immediately above the communion table. If you were adventurous enough to climb the two-story ladder into the attic, you would find it brightly lit with new walkways and a series of enclosures around the recessed theatrical lighting.
Light works hand-in-hand with speech and music in this place. We’ve been able to install new speakers in the front that cover the entire room. While the organ was dismantled and sealed up, we were able to restore its mechanical elements and look forward to it being fully operational the first Sunday of September.
Take time as you worship to look around at the various ways light plays through the room and give thanks for the opportunity we’ve been given through the congregation’s generosity and vision to build on the work of past generations so that future generations will continue to be gathered, edified, comforted, challenged, and commissioned here in this place.
As the selections of scripture shine from the chancel this morning, I pray that we will, in turn, reflect the light of God’s Word in the world – doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God.
