As we slowly emerge from this pandemic, the knowledge that there is no return to “normal” or a pre-pandemic past becomes more clear with each passing month. The last year and a half have changed us and our community in countless ways. Yet the days of extreme quarantine and isolation are behind us. Old rhythms and routines are returning in new ways, and we are deeply grateful that our community of faith is gathering again in-person to worship, pray, sing (some) and learn together. This reunion or return comes with joy, trepidation and expectation as we continue to learn how to be a faithful people of God in our context and community.
Click on the Small Group Name to read more.
Together Again: Biblical Stories of Reunion & Restoration
The fall series will focus on six stories of reunion from our scriptures, some very familiar, some less so. We return to the complicated family dynamics found in the stories of Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers and the parable of the prodigal son. These are stories we know well and remember often as models of Christian redemption and reconciliation. But a close reading brings to light each of the very-human characters in these narratives and gives us a fuller understanding and maybe even a little more empathy for each of them. We will also look at stories where reunion is stalled, avoided or only anticipated. As we slowly return to cooperate worship and gatherings within our own community, come explore how earlier generations of believers have learned from and experienced reunion.
Mondays, October 11-November 15, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
In-person and outdoors at the home of Corrie Berg in Princeton, NJ (Zoom if raining).
Register Here
Corrie Berg, is the Director of Educational Ministries and always delighted to talk about Bible stories, whether it’s with grown ups or with children. She finds that she often learns the most by discussing the stories of our faith with the people of our church.
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Mondays, October 11-November 15, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
Register Here
Jim and Cynthia Moorhead are long-time members of the Nassau Community. Cynthia is a retired pre-school teacher but continues to show her love for children through her leadership in church school, VBS, and children’s choirs. Jim is an ordained minister and Professor of American Church History Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary.
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Tuesdays, October 12-November 16, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
Register Here
Carol Wehrheim is Clerk of Session. She finds small groups a necessary part of her life with Nassau Church, and enjoys playing cornhole.
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Wednesdays, October 13-November 17, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Virtual on Zoom
This group is full
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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Additional Small Group Options
Art of Faithfulness
Sundays, October 24-November 28, 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
Register Here
To be human is to be creative. To be human is to be in community with others. As we live this time of reemergence and reunions, come and discover how your God given gifts of creativity can reflect and inform the joys, challenges, struggles, hopes and more of this time and of our faith, individually and collectively. Each week we will consider Biblical texts of reunions and reemergence and marry that with the creative talents of each group member as we lift our creativity in response to these days.
Kim Kleasen is a long-time member of Nassau, the Adult Choir and flautist. She also enjoys needlework, artistic journaling and cooking as faith filled creative endeavors. She is a Ruling Elder, currently serving on Session and is working on our Forward in Faith Together initiatives. She is concluding a course of study at General Theological Seminary in Spiritual Direction where she has put a focus on the Creative Arts and Faith / Spirituality.
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Together Again – just for Kids (4th-8th graders)
Mondays, October 11-November 15, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
In-person and outdoors at the home of Corrie Berg in Princeton, NJ (Zoom if raining).
This group is full
Corrie Berg is the Director of Educational Ministries and always delighted to talk about Bible stories, whether it’s with grown ups or with children. She finds that she often learns the most by discussing the stories of our faith with the people of our church.
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Reunion Movies
Sundays October 10-November 14, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
Register Here
There are many kinds of reunions in the movies. In the first week, movie fans will meet and have our own virtual reunion, following our summer hiatus. Each week thereafter, we will see a preselected movie and then meet virtually to talk about it. Join us to discuss these fascinating films and examine our fall theme of reunion and restoration. Movie selections include: Boyhood; Harvey; Jojo Rabbit; Spirited Away; The Visitor; Babette’s Feast.
Marshall McKnight, a lifelong movie buff, has been a Nassau Church member since 2011. He is a deacon and is active on the Mass Incarceration Task Force. He also serves on the Adult Education and Membership Committees. He was a journalist for seven years and for the last 17 has worked for the State of New Jersey. For the last two years, he has been an avid participant in the wonderful Nassau Church movie small groups led by film expert Karl Bjorkman who is enrolled in seminary this fall.
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GriefEncounters
Tuesdays, October 5-December 7, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
In-person at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Assembly Room
Register Here
Are you suffering from the loss of a loved one? Know that you are not alone. GriefEncounters, Nassau’s new supportive small group, is here for you. Grief can be debilitating, isolating, and surprisingly peaceful, often all at once. It is one of life’s two most profound experiences, directly resulting from the other – love. Join co-Leaders, Lois Foley and Marcia Wood, as we share our journeys of grief, supported by God’s grace, scripture, and one another. GriefEncounters is a ministry of Nassau’s congregational care. Register by email with Marcia Wood in the link above.
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Adventures in Barth, Episode IV
Humanity and Time in Church Dogmatics III/2
Tuesdays, October 12-November 16, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
This group is full
Get “Barth Smart” as we encounter Mark’s favorite volume in the Church Dogmatics. Addressing our understanding of humanity and temporality, Barth rethinks and arguably solves the meta-question, “What is a human?” First-timers and experts are welcome as we gather around this rigorous challenge to mind and heart, church and world. Reading is ~40 pages/week.
Mark Edwards joined Nassau as Director of Youth Ministries in September of 2013. He is a lifelong Presbyterian and holds a PhD in Philosophy and Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has taught at Princeton University, The College of New Jersey, and Princeton Theological Seminary. His Give it Away: The Gospel according to Karl Barth is forthcoming in ‘22. Mark is married to Janine, and they have two great kids, a dog, a cat, seven chickens, and a bunch of bikes.
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Writing to Reunion
Thursdays, October 15-November 19, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
This group was canceled
Come engage with the theme of reunion and restoration in a new and creative way. For six weeks this fall, sermons will explicate important reunions in the Bible. In this small group, participants will reflect upon these reunions, by writing about them. Then, in weekly meetings, the group will read and discuss participants’ written reflections. All writing styles are welcome and encouraged in this supportive environment. Together in the Holy Spirit, we’ll create a community of readers and writers.
Tom Quinlan is all about writing. He has studied writing from literary and psychological perspectives. In his professional life, he researches how digital technologies have transformed literacy.
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The Sacred Art of Photography (Returning Members)
Thursdays, October 14-November 18, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
This group will continue to explore the relation of images to Biblical texts, focusing this fall on the theme of reunion. You will a need camera of some sort–a pinhole, a smart phone, and iPhone, a DSLR, something–a desire to read the scripture and the explore how images evoke the spirit; and some imagination.
Interested in this group or in the possibility of an Intro Photography Group in the Spring? Click below to send an email to Ned:
Email Ned Walthall
Ned Walthall has been thinking about and taking photographs for years. He received an MFA in Photography from The New England College Institute of Art and Design (formerly The New Hampshire Institute of Art). His work has been exhibited at Gallery 14 in Hopewell, New Jersey; The New England School of Photography in Boston; and (currently) at the Glasgow Gallery of Photography. He is currently the editor of the Light Has No Enemies blog, at https://lhne.tumblr.com/
His work can be seen at http://www.nedwalthall.com/ and you can follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/walthallphotography/.
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