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#MissionMonday – Arm In Arm Update (August 2022)

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Arm In Arm continues to serve the community at historic levels and this video created earlier this summer details their incredible work in the community. Arm In Arm is providing food to families through an average of more than 4,700 pantry visits and deliveries per month, which is more than double their pre-pandemic average. They are also providing more assistance than ever before to keep families in their homes. Arm In Arm is grateful to the Nassau Presbyterian Community for your partnership in helping them to serve at these historic levels and hopes you will continue to support us, and the community we serve, in the days, months, and year ahead– as an advocate, donor, volunteer, or ambassador. We are better together because of you!


Donate Monday (link)
Donate Food (pdf)
Donate Time (link)

Loaves & Fishes – Thank you volunteers!

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This past Saturday, it was time for the big one. Loaves and Fishes, the biggest volunteer event at Nassau Church, returned. We got up early, loaded up dozens of meatloaves, hundreds of bagged lunches and trays of brownies for the trip to Trenton. And while we were neither driving at Mach 2 nor flying with our hair on fire, we did arrive on time, and our work day volunteers kicked into action. Teams of people put together the take-home meals, cooked the main meal, and ultimately served a veritable feast of meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy.

And although I tend to fly by the seat of my pants, our coordinating committee members, Sharyn and Dave Kerschner, Claire Mulry, Angie and Allen Olsen, and Sallye Zink managed to keep us out of the danger zone.

Dozens served, hundreds were fed, and ultimately the work of our Lord was done. Special thanks to ALL the volunteers who gave their time, talent and resources to make Loaves and Fishes 2022 a success.

With gratitude,

Scott Harmon

#MissionMonday – Refugee Family Update (August 2022)

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August 2022

The Refugee Coordinating Team is very happy to share an update on the members of the Afghan refugee family that Nassau Church has sponsored.  We are so pleased with their progress since our last report and greatly appreciate the volunteer help provided by so many Nassau members.

The team is continuing to assist the members of the family living in Princeton in applying for asylum, as well the father in seeking “humanitarian parole” so he can join the rest of the family.

This summer has been a very busy time for the six children of this family, who range in age from adolescents to young adults.

The two sons continue to be very engaged in their support of the family and their education. The older son is working at a medical office in Princeton, while the younger son is re-starting his education at Mercer County Community College while continuing to work at a local grocery store.

The youngest daughter graduated this spring from elementary school. She is attending the YMCA summer camp and taking math classes at Princeton Middle School.

The next youngest daughter is also taking math classes this summer to prepare for the start of the school year. Her classes are at Princeton High School.

The third youngest daughter recently faced the challenge of aging out of the Princeton Public Schools, having almost graduated from her school in Afghanistan prior to her departure. She is working to complete her high school equivalency degree by passing the GED test, with ESL assistance from Beverly Leach.

The oldest daughter is working at Costco. She and her sisters rely on the support from volunteer drivers from our congregation for their transportation.

Angie Olsen organizes this group of drivers and provides a weekly schedule to keep everyone on track. Some additional help with this driving would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to be added to the driver list or can help in other ways, please contact Len Scales at the Church office (email).

As we hold this family in prayer, please especially pray that the father can be reunited with his family here in Princeton through the humanitarian parole process.

Adult Education in July

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Pop-Up Small Group

Join us, on July 10, 17, & 24, in the Assembly Room at 9:00 a.m. for a 45-minute, pre-service, pop-up small group, facilitated by Adult Education Committee member Louise Yang. Each week, we will gather to discuss the sermon text for that Sunday using questions provided by the Sunday preacher. Bagels, juice, coffee and tea provided. No registration necessary. All are welcome.

2022 Summer Mission: School Supplies

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Trenton students head back to school – help us provide the supplies they need for success.

Every September the new school year brings excitement and lots of new goodies. This year students will be returning from virtual or hybrid learning during the pandemic to the more familiar routines of the schoolhouse. In any event, the supplies add up. In 2019 the average family spent over $200 per student, just too much for many families in our area.

We are joining with Westminster Presbyterian Church (WPC), our partner church in Trenton, to provide 150 backpacks filled with essentials for local kids.  WPC will distribute the school supplies in partnership with Trenton Music Makers, the Apostalic Church, LALDEF, and Sprout University of the Arts.

Donations will be accepted through Sunday, August 14.

Please bring new backpacks to worship on Sunday mornings and place them in the marked basket in the narthex.

To fill the backpacks, we have found that monetary donations go the farthest so that Nassau can purchase grade-specific school supply packs in bulk. Thank you for giving as you are able to help make sure students in Trenton are better prepared for the academic year ahead.

School supply bundles:

  • Elementary Pack, $24
  • Middle School Pack, $32
  • High School Pack, $45

Monetary donations can be made by check or online. Make checks out to Nassau Presbyterian Church, noting “School Supplies” in the memo line and drop in the collection plate or mail to the church office. Use the button below to donate online, choose “School Supplies” from the drop-down Funds box.

Give Now (link)

Every gift helps better prepare children for the year ahead with needed school supplies and with the knowledge that the wider community is cheering them on. Thank you!

 

#MissionMonday – HomeWorks Trenton

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Nassau’s Mission & Outreach Committee has been impressed over the last few years with the developing HomeWorks program in Trenton.

With the help of Nassau members and the ingenuity and dedication of recent grads from local institutions, HomeWorks was created to offer a free, community-based, after-school residential option for high school girls in Trenton. HomeWorks empowers young women and supports their families as they invest in education and life-building skills.

For more information, visit

HomeWorks Trenton

Bending the Moral Arc video wins national prize!

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The Bending the Moral Arc video, Facing the “unpretty things” about our country’s history, was produced for the Bending the Moral Arc Webinar nationally screened on November 30. 2021, has been awarded the 2021 Associated Press Church Award of  excellence in The Video Educational Category. This award, presented annually, highlights the best of faith-based journalism produced for the year, and is presented in 78  categories, with 67 groups participating and, for 2021, had 885 entries.

 

The video was filmed on Saturday, October 9, 2021 in the sanctuaries of The Witherspoon Street and Nassau churches. The participants from WSPC: were: Barbara Flythe, Pamela Johnson, Denyse Leslie, Audi Peal and Cameron Stout; from NPC : Tom Coogan, Bill Katen-Narvell, Claire Mulruy and Pam Wakefield. Pastor Lukata Mjumbe, and Elder Jeffery Mascoll, Chair, WSPC Building and Grounds Committee, were particularly helpful in providing a COVID -Safe environment for the filming. Rev. Paul Seebeck,, Presbyterian Mission Agency, produced and wrote the script for the video. The videographer and director on-site at the two churches was Michael Fitzer, Presbyterian Mission Agency.

It is both gratifying and rewarding for us to be recognized among a group of many talented, courageous and committed journalists. For our part, the work of the Bending the Moral Arc continues and is successful to the extent, we are transformed as individuals and churches, authentically living out in action, the intent of the Matthew 25 call as we continue to build on and nurture the relationship between our two congregations as “Partners in Faith.”

Read more about the Associated Press Church Awards online including a YouTube video of the award ceremony and other relevant details about the awards.

2021 Associated Press Church Awards (link)

Find the updated Bending the Moral Arc resources and a video of the November 2021 webinar on our website:

Bending the Moral Arc Resources (link)

Adult Education – June 2022

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In cooperation with the Adult Education Committee of Nassau Presbyterian Church, the Mass Incarceration Task Force presents:

After Incarceration: Bending the Moral Arc Toward Justice in the season of Juneteenth

In the season of Juneteenth this year we will hear from survivors who are now thrivers. As they work to bring justice to a system in need of reform three speakers will share their stories and, to round out the series, those taking part in the Bending the Moral Arc series will provide an update on their progress. Through activism, education, trauma treatment and community involvement our teachers this month will show us ways we can respond to mass incarceration through action in our communities.

June 5 | 11:15am, Assembly Room

The Necessity of Prison and Reentry Education

Come learn how the presence of educational resources within the correctional system not only changes the lives of the ones directly impacted by incarceration but the people those individuals encounter on a day to day basis. College classrooms on the inside can be a direct bridge to a university education on the outside.

Een Jabriel is currently acting as the Regional Manager for The Petey Greene Program of NJ. He is responsible for recruiting and training college students and community volunteers to go inside of state and federal correctional facilities to tutor incarcerated students. Jabriel has been directly impacted by the criminal justice system and was able to take advantage of prison education through NJ STEP. This experience later led to his graduation from Rutgers University in 2016.

June 12 | 9:00am, Assembly Room (note change in time this week only)

Mass Incarceration and People of Color: Trauma In, Trauma Out

Exploring the dynamics of mass incarceration, the trauma it has disproportionately inflicted on People of Color and how that reconciles with the Word of God.

Kimme Carlos is the CEO and Founder of Kimme Carlos Motivational Consulting LLC., Co-Founder and Lead Facilitator of Sister Wellness Retreats: Healing Spaces for Black Women, and author of The Window of Grace: Living in Recovery through Christian Faith.  She is a graduate of Regent University with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and a minor in Psychology.  Carlos is the proud daughter of Dr. John W. Carlos, 1968 Olympian and civil rights activist, mother of two children, six grandchildren and lives in Pennsylvania.  

June 19 | 11:15am, Assembly Room

Transformative Justice: Helping the formerly incarcerated find their way home

Antonne Henshaw is Director of the Transformative Justice Initiative, a non-profit community service organization that helps formerly incarcerated people enter society. He will share his own experience with incarceration, his return to Camden, New Jersey and how the experience shaped his important work today.

Antonne Henshaw is a Rutgers Camden School of Criminal Justice Graduate School Student, Executive Director of CANDO (Camden African Neighborhood Development Organization), Community Organizer, and founding member of the NJSTEP (New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prison) program. Henshaw has dedicated himself to eradicating mass incarceration and changing legislation to end the structural violence that disproportionately threatens the health of our Black and Brown communities.

June 26 | 11:15am, Assembly Room

Bending the Moral Arc: a partnership between Witherspoon Street and Nassau Presbyterian Churches

Following the death of George Floyd, groups of deeply concerned members from Nassau and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Churches decided to meet weekly to talk openly about race and social justice. This month we are celebrating the two year anniversary of the Bending the Moral Arc Courageous Conversations.

Members from both congregations will share this joint and transformational journey.

Find out more and download the resources online:

Bending the Moral Arc Webinar & Resources

Refugee Resettlement Update (May 2022)

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The Refugee Coordinating Team is excited to share developments with the Afghan Refugee Family—they are investing in work, school, and extended family in the region. We couldn’t be more pleased with the progress of their transition to the States, and we deeply appreciate the continued support of the Nassau Church Family. Together, we are helping make a home for this family away from their homeland.

With a large family of adolescents and young adults it has been an exciting season of planning for summer jobs and coursework. Three family members have found rewarding employment, one is enrolled in Mercer Community College for the fall, and others are planning for summer school and activities.

The family is now a two-car household! We are grateful for the generosity of the congregation in donations from funds to vehicles and, of course, time. With the summer months approaching and the need for more transportation not provided by the school system, we are looking for additional drivers. This requires a background check and willingness to sign up for driving shifts as you are available.

We are looking for a few additional household items as well: lawn mower, picnic table(s) and chairs, wifi compatible printer, and dvd player.

If you would like to be added to the driver list or have possible donations, please contact Len Scales (email) for next steps.

As you hold this family in prayer, please especially pray for the reunification between the father and the family. Nassau is working with an immigration attorney to navigate the process to bring the father to the states as soon as is possible. Through all the trauma of the last eight months, one of the most difficult situations has been the distance it has put between loved ones.

Thank you for surrounding the Coordinating Team with support and the family with love!