We have become aware that some of you may have received emails that appear to be from Dave Davis or other church staff requesting your help. Please be very cautious. Church staff will not contact you asking you to buy gift cards, etc. Church staff emails will always come from a nassauchurch.org email – not a gmail or other address. We have taken steps to encrypt email addresses on our website to prevent this but it seems nothing can completely block determined scammers.
Please DO NOT respond to these emails. Even if you think an email is really from a church staff member, please make independent contact to verify before you make a financial transaction. You can send an email through the encrypted emails on our website or you can call the church and leave a message. We check the messages regularly.
We can all work together to deter this by reporting these phishing attempts through our service providers’ reporting processes. If you have questions, please call or email the church office.
We appreciate that folks want to help and just want to make sure that none of us are taken advantage of. Use a healthy dose of skepticism!
Pictures of the Nativity, hymns that have been sung for generations, and stories we know from memory all prepare us for the coming of our Lord at Christmas. This season, come learn how what we see, hear and sing combines into a rich theology of the incarnation.
Audio recordings will be posted below each class description.
November 26 & December 3 | Paul Rorem
A Pair of Classic American Hymns
“Blessed Assurance” by Fanny Crosby (1820–1915) reflects nineteenth-century American revivalism. It is personal testimony: “This is my story, this is my song.” “God of Grace and God of Glory” by Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) reflects the early twentieth-century American Social Gospel. It calls for societal transformation: “Cure your children’s warring madness; … rich in things and poor in soul.” These hymns may seem to have quite different and unrelated concerns. But they are closely linked, both historically through Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) and thematically. As Fosdick said, “personal and social Christianity are … one gospel indivisible.”
Nov. 26
Dec. 3
Paul Rorem is Princeton Theological Seminary’s Benjamin B. Warfield Professor of Medieval Church History Emeritus. An ordained Lutheran minister, his courses featured medieval women, mysticism, and hymn texts as a way to engage church history. His Singing Church History: Introducing the Christian Story Through Hymn Texts will be published by Fortress Press in April 2024.
Shall we travel to Florence, Italy for the holidays? Christmas art and its theological roots in the City of Flowers and Light is an almost inexhaustible topic across many centuries. Since Florence was the birthplace of the cultural and religious movement we call the “Renaissance,” we will concentrate on that era and explore Christmas themes in the work of some well-known artists of the 14th and 15th centuries whose lives were lived in the historical shadow of the Florentine Republic: Giotto di Bondone, Tommaso Masaccio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Fra Angelico, Hugo von der Goes, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Sandro Boticelli.
Karlfried Froehlich,a native of Saxony, Germany, moved to the United States in 1964, taught at Drew University and, from 1968 to 1992, at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he held the Benjamin B. Warfield chair in church history. Karlfried is an active member of the Lutheran Church (ELCA). 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.
Join storyteller Maria LoBiondo for an oral rendition of “Where God Is, Love Is” (also known by the title “What Men Live By”), Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s short story in which love of God and neighbor as presented in Matthew 25:35-40 shines through the experiences of Martin the cobbler.
Maria LoBiondobelieves that a story is a heart-to-heart gift shared between teller and listener. She began practicing the oral tradition of storytelling when expecting her second child; her daughter is now 29 years old. In that time, she has shared stories at Princeton’s Littlebrook School and the Princeton Montessori School, at the Catholic Community of St. Charles Borromeo in Montgomery Township, at the Princeton Public Library, and at the New Jersey Storytelling Festival, among other venues. A former reporter and editor for The Princeton Packet, she recently retired from the staff of Princeton University’s Office of Advancement Communications.
In 2020 Jason Oosting, former member of Nassau Church, recorded this four-part adult education series for us. We are pleased to bring it to your attention again this year.
Pick up a family devotional Advent Calendar during fellowship on November 26 or December 3, and reflect daily with your child on the coming of our Lord.
Advent Craft Fair
Wednesday, November 29, 4:00-6:00 pm
Children, age 3 and up, join us for this festive afternoon of crafts, treats, and Christmas stories by the tree. There will be a variety of projects suitable to every ability. Parents are encouraged to stay and participate with preschool-age children.
Wee Christmas
Sunday, December 10, 10:15 am, Sanctuary
Hear the Nativity story and join a low-expectation, high-participation flash pageant (costumes provided!). Wee Christmas is intended for families with children age 2 to grade 2. Older siblings are welcome to participate, if inclined. Joyful Noise and Carol Choir will NOT meet on December 10.
Christmas Pageant and Tea
Sunday, December 17, 4:00 pm, Sanctuary
All are invited to come and enjoy this beloved tradition led by our children and youth, and stay for refreshments and fellowship at 5:00 pm.
Christmas Eve Family Worship
On Christmas Eve, December 24, our 3:00 pm worship service is especially suited to families.
Dan + Claudia Zanes Community Concert
Saturday, January 13, 2024, 5:00 pm
Join us for a special community concert that supports Arm in Arm. Stay tuned for more details!
“Telling Our Stories” is a new documentary film that tells of the history and relationship of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church and Nassau Presbyterian Church. It is the story of how two congregations are working to be honest about our past and move forward together standing on our faith and building relationships one by one. It is 37 minutes long and is a must see!!
The bulletin from the October 8 service, linked below, also contains a history of Presbyterians in Princeton since 1755 compiled by members of the churches.
This autumn, Nassau Presbyterian Church small groups are focusing upon prayer: examples of prayer in the Bible, ways to pray, and prayer within different contexts. Over the next week the Sacred Art of Photography group will be sharing one or two prayers and photos each day on Nassau’s Instagram and Facebook feeds. You will also be able to view these posts here on the website: click on the picture below to see the text/prayer.
December 3 – January 7, Assembly Room, hosted by Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA)
Decorate our Christmas Tree with items needed for the Haiti clinic: muscle rub, antibiotic cream, gauze, tape, Band-Aids, ACE bandages, thermometers, wooden tongue depressors, non-latex gloves, hand lotion, small cakes of soap, packaged toothbrushes, small children’s toys (matchbox cars, jump ropes, etc.), barrettes, and hair ribbons.
Saturday, January 13, 2024 | 5:00 pm in the Sanctuary
We are so pleased to welcome back Dan + Claudia Zanes this January! All ages are welcome to share in this interactive, community concert.
In lieu of tickets, we ask that each attendee please bring one of the food items listed below in support of Arm In Arm’s Valentines for Food Drive. We hope to fill the pews and pack the pantry!
About this Concert:
Grammy Award-winner Dan Zanes, and Haitian American jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes, perform a mix of old and new songs from near and far in a style that’s been called “All-Ages Social Music.” In other words, when they perform, it’s a party! The music is homespun, joyful, sophisticated and artful. Claudia is a board-certified Music Therapist. Her background has given the pair additional ways to make meaningful community connections and reach a diverse audience.
Shopping List:
Canned low-fructose fruit
Canned low-sodium vegetables
Canned tuna, salmon, chicken, or chili
Canned beans or 1 lb. bag of dried beans
No glass containers, please. Be sure to check expiration dates. Monetary donations to Arm in Arm will also be accepted.
The Mission & Outreach Committee of Nassau Presbyterian Church invites you to give a special gift this year by making a donation on a friend’s behalf to organizations who are working to address pressing needs in our community, region, and world. Make any donation and you will receive a virtual card suitable for emailing. The cards include the descriptions below of how each group is putting faith into action. You may also download a printable PDF of this list:
Alternative Gifts will remain available through the end of the Christmas Season—Epiphany, January 6. To receive a card before Christmas Day, make donations by end of business on December 20. Gift cards for donations made between December 21 and January 6 will be emailed on Tuesday, January 9.
This year we will also return to receiving donations during Fellowship between services in the Assembly Room on Sundays, November 29 through December 17 and after the 10 AM service on December 24. At that time, you can pick up physical cards that can be put in the mail.
Donations can be made online using the links below. The name of the Fund is either the name of the organization (Arm in Arm) or a shortened version listed inside the parentheses next to it (LALDEF). Donations to multiple funds can be made during one transaction. An online donation via e-check incurs nominal surcharges. Donating with a credit or debit card results in a charge to the church of approximately 2.5% of the gift — please consider increasing your gift to help defray this cost.
Please contact Lauren Yeh if you have any questions about using the online donation system.
Arm In Arm
The Gift of Hope
Arm In Arm partners with the community to achieve stability for our neighbors in need through the three focus areas of food, financial assistance, and advocacy.
Capital Harmony Works gives children the chance to make music together and provides an artistic venue by which children from different backgrounds get to know each other.
Cetana serves the youth of Myanmar by providing instruction in English and critical thinking, training for teachers, and supplemental scholarship for higher education.
Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 29 national church denominations and organizations, advocate for US policies that promote comprehensive resolutions to conflicts in the Middle East with a focus on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
HomeWorks is a non-profit organization providing a free, community-based, after-school, residential living program for underrepresented high school young women in Trenton empowering its scholars with academic enrichment, social skills and identity-driven leadership programs and developing them to be social justice advocates who will give back to their community.
Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF)
The Gift of Welcome
LALDEF provides advocacy and services for the immigrant communities in Mercer County, including ESL education, the Mercer County Identification Card, citizenship instruction, college preparation mentoring, and legal support for immigration issues.
The Paul Robeson House of Princeton will provide a center focused broadly on social justice issues and, locally, for the minority population of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood of Princeton. It will also provide temporary housing for people in transition.
Princeton Community Housing has supported affordable housing to the Princeton Community for 50 years. They currently provide and manage 466 safe, high quality rental apartments to low and moderate-income residents of diverse backgrounds and ages.
Trenton Area Soup Kitchen provides meals to all who are hungry as well as services to encourage self-sufficiency and to improve quality of life. The group informs the wider community of the needs of the hungry and advocates for resources to meet these needs.
Villages in Partnership addresses extreme poverty in Malawi by addressing the critical needs of water, food security, education, health care, infrastructure, and economic development. They work with rural villages to fight poverty together.
WSPC is the historically African-American Presbyterian congregation in Princeton and is an important beacon of welcome and justice in the community. Give toward WSPC’s endowment to support their legacy of faithfulness and racial reconciliation.
Woman, Cradle of Abundance works with women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight poverty by providing education and community that supports economic independence.
“New Roots (Encouraging the Israelites in Exile to Plant Gardens & Build Houses)” Lauren Wright Pittman (graphic image, inspired by Jeremiah 29:1-7) | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
This fall we turn to the Old Testament for our Linked-In Learning. Presenters were given a list of prayers in the Old Testament and asked to select one as the focus for their presentation, using this prayer to consider their own prayer life. Hearing from others will, we hope, broaden your prayer life along with your knowledge of how God’s people in the Old Testament communicated with God.
Prophets, kings, and faithful followers of God with little power or presence all speak to God and wait for a word from God. Their prayers remind us of the importance of acknowledging God’s presence in our lives and the time necessary to build this relationship with our Creator.
Audio recordings will be posted below each class description.
October 22
Daniel Prays Faithfully (Daniel 6:10-15)
Len Scales serves as the Associate Pastor for Faith Formation, Mission, and Outreach. She also serves part-time as the Executive Co-Director of the Westminster Foundation and Presbyterian Chaplain at Princeton University. She deeply appreciates the diversity of God’s people and is excited to work alongside members of Nassau, students in Princeton, and Nassau’s mission partners.
Amir Samir is an associate pastor at the Heliopolis Evangelical Church (HEC), the second biggest Presbyterian Church in Cairo, Egypt. His ministry is mainly focused on pastoral care ministry. This year he is on a sabbatical leave from his home church as he joins his wife, Dina Bishay who is pursuing a doctoral degree in Christian Education at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Kathie Sakenfeld retired from the Princeton Seminary Old Testament faculty in 2013. Her special interests are the Pentateuch and stories of women throughout the OT. An ordained PCUSA clergywoman, she has participated in the life of Nassau Church since 1970 and has served the denomination at Presbytery, national, and international levels. She currently serves on Nassau’s Adult Education Committee and on the Nassau-Witherspoon Street partnership team.
Frances Katrishen has had an increasing interest in the Holy Spirit, prayer and spirituality leading her to a degree from General Seminary in New York. At Nassau Frances has led a deacon prayer ministry and she currently serves as a ruling elder, sings in the choir, and is a member of the “Adventures in Barth” small group.
Unfortunately the audio recording is not available.
Tom Coogan and his wife Beth have been Nassau Church members since the early years of this century. He has served as deacon, elder and softball coach. Hear about Tom’s spiritual exercises and explore your own.
