Please note our schedule for Palm Sunday through Good Friday:
Sunday, March 25 we will have a combined Cantorei and Middle School Choir rehearsal from 5 – 6:15 pm. Please meet in the choir room at 5 pm. We will end this rehearsal in the Sanctuary. (Fellowship will begin at 6:15 with dinner “on the town.”)
Good Friday, March 30, 12 Noon service, we will meet in the Sanctuary at 11:00 am. Both Cantorei and Middle School choirs will be singing at this reflective service. Joey Hsia will be playing violin with us. Thank you for your efforts to be there.
The rest of the program year:
April 1, Easter Sunday – NO choir rehearsals
April 8, normal rehearsal schedules resume
April 29, Communiversity – rehearsals at 10:15 am, immediately following the one service of worship that day
Sunday, May 6, Middle School Choir sings at 9:15 am (with Carol Choir and Choir 345 and bell ensemble)
Sunday, May 13, 6 pm Cantorei sings for Senior Send Off
Sunday, May 20, 10 am, Cantorei sings with Adult Choir for Confirmation
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.
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.
Links to trip forms and instructions listed under each trips section below.
All Trips
Sunday, April 22 – Final Payments and All Completed Forms Due
On Sunday, April 22, between services (10:15-11:00 a.m.) and after the 2nd service (12:00-1:30 p.m.), we will host a final payment & forms event in the 2nd Floor Office Suite (above the kitchen).
Linda Gilmore will also be here that day to notarize documents. Please bring photo ID if you are the person who will be signing the documents and also do NOT sign documents that need to be notarized until you are in her presence.
If you or your child cannot make the April 22 event – please contact Lauren Yeh to make arrangements for a different day.
NorthBay
For Middle School (rising 7th to 9th grade)
Thursday, June 28, to Monday, July 2
No mandatory meeting for this trip. Please visit the NorthBay 2018 Trip Page to access required forms. If you have any questions about the trip, please get in touch with Mark Edwards (, 609-933-7599). Questions about the forms should be directed to Lauren Yeh (, 609-924-0103, x106).
Appalachia Service Project
For ages 13 and up (at the time of travel)
Sunday, July 15, to Saturday, July 21
Please visit the ASP 2018 Trip Page to access required forms. If you have any questions about the trip, please get in touch with Mark Edwards (, 609-933-7599). Questions about the forms should be directed to Lauren Yeh (, 609-924-0103, x106).
ASP Mandatory Meeting:
Sunday, June 3, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Assembly Room
If you cannot make this meeting, contact Mark Edwards ASAP!
Hear some general overview of the trip from Mark, go over the 3 S’s, and other ASP Rules & Regulations (part of the downloadable forms, see above). Meet with the team you’ll be working with in Tennessee.
Please visit the Mountain and/or Sea Kayak 2018 Trip Page (links above) to access required forms. If you have any questions about the trip, please get in touch with Mark Edwards (, 609-933-7599). Questions about the forms should be directed to Lauren Yeh (, 609-924-0103, x106).
Beyond Malibu Mandatory Meeting:
Sunday, April 15, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Room 304
OR
Sunday, May 13, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Assembly Room
If you cannot make this meeting, contact Mark Edwards ASAP!
Meet your fellow travelers, make plans for group hikes to get physically prepared, make plans to carpool to and from the airport and get your “gear checked” – we want everyone well prepared for the rigors of hiking and kayaking in the Canadian Rockies!
Print the packing list, pack your bag and bring it to church.
If you bring your bag to church school at 9:15 a.m., Mark will lock it in Room 304
If you bring your bag to the 11 a.m. service, you’ll be able to leave it in a designated area in the Sanctuary
Otherwise, bring it to the meeting room at noon.
Mark will go through your bag with you making suggestions for improvement! We’ll also have sign up sheets for Airport Transportation (Princeton-Newark Airport).
Around the world, millions of people lack access to sustainable food sources, clean water, sanitation, education, and opportunity. The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing — Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of People — all work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, sustenance, and hope.
Received during the season of Lent, each gift to One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) helps to improve the lives of people in these challenging situations. The Offering provides us a way to share God’s love with our neighbors in need. In fact, OGHS is the single, largest way that Presbyterians come together every year to work for a better world.
Nassau Presbyterian Church will receive this offering on March 25, 2018, Palm Sunday, along with the “Fish Banks” the church school children will be bringing forward that day. Resources for families, below.
One Great Hour of Sharing, makes a difference in the world. Read more by clicking the links below.
Invests in communities responding to their experiences of oppression, poverty and injustice and educates Presbyterians about the impact of these issues
Receives 32% of funds raised
Resources for Families
“Fish Banks” are handed out in church school on the first Sunday of Lent, February 18, and collected in Worship on Palm Sunday, March 25.
Use the placemat and interactive map (at pcusa.org/oghsmap) to guide your family’s conversation about One Great Hour of Sharing. Download OGHS18-Place-Mat (pdf)
Sometimes you need to shout at us to tell us what is wrong.
*We pray for our community.
We can be busy, busy, busy, trying to be faithful, and we complain that you don’t even notice. We bicker and fight.
*We pray for our community.
God, you call us to break the chains of injustice,
*May we be repairers of the breach.
Get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
*May we be healers of the wounded.
Free the oppressed,
*May we be fixers of the broken.
Cancel debts,
*May we be restorers of fortune.
Share food with the hungry,
*May we be providers of meals.
Invite the homeless poor in,
*May we be welcomers of all.
Put clothes on the shivering,
*May we be givers of warmth
Be available to our families.
*May we be present to those who know us best.
God, you will turn our lives around and show us where to go.
*May we be followers of the light.
We will be known as those who can fix anything, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
*We pray for our community.
And we will all be free to enjoy God!
*AMEN.
The New School for Music Study, in partnership with Nassau Presbyterian Church, will present a faculty recital on Sunday, February 11 at 2:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary of Nassau Presbyterian Church. “From Russia with Love” will feature music by beloved Russian composers performed by Kristin Cahill, Jason Gallagher, Esther Hayter, Kairy Koshoeva, Charl Louw, and Margie Nelson. Join us for an afternoon of beautiful music!
The recitals are free and open to the public. Donations accepted.
Westminster Conservatory at Nassau
Thursday, February 15
On Thursday, February 15 at 12:15 p.m. Westminster Conservatory at Nassau will present pianist Erik Allesee in a solo recital. The recital will take place in Niles Chapel and is open to the public free of charge. The program includes works by Domenico Scarlatti, Frederic Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, and Maurice Ravel. Erik is a member of the piano faculty at Westminster Conservatory.
On Thursday, March 15 clarinetist Kenneth Ellison will perform with Ena Bronstein Barton, piano.
During Mass Incarceration Awareness Month, we will focus on exposing the human cruelty of mass incarceration, advocating for change in our criminal justice system, and honoring Christ in those incarcerated.
February 4
Sketching the Problem of Mass Incarceration in the U.S.
Mark Lewis Taylor
9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
Explore a portrait of what “mass incarceration” has become in the U.S. today, its various dimensions of social suffering for its primary sufferers and its impact upon all of us in what has been termed “Prison Nation” or “Lockdown America.” Special emphasis will be placed on efforts to abolish “mass incarceration,” with even the New York Times’ editorial staff calling to “End Mass Incarceration Now.”
Mark Lewis Taylor is Princeton Seminary’s Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Theology and Culture. A member of the Presbyterian Church, he frequently teaches and lectures in churches and supports church communities in their efforts to organize on justice and peace issues. He teaches the theologies of Paul Tillich and Gustavo Gutierrez, white racism as theological challenge, feminist and womanist theologies, and empire and capital in theological perspective. He is author of The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America and Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right: Post-9/11 Politics and American Empire, among others.
February 11
New Theologies for Challenging Lockdown America
Mark Lewis Taylor
9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
Examine how mass incarceration and related issues in the “criminal justice” system can become a theological problem, and not only a political, economic, and social one. Special treatment will be given to the challenge of transforming key understandings of Christian atonement theory and biblical and theological views of the cross of Jesus in ways that can enable Christians to contribute to prison criminal justice activism in “Lockdown America” today.
Mark Lewis Taylor is Princeton Seminary’s Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Theology and Culture. A member of the Presbyterian Church, he frequently teaches and lectures in churches and supports church communities in their efforts to organize on justice and peace issues. He teaches the theologies of Paul Tillich and Gustavo Gutierrez, white racism as theological challenge, feminist and womanist theologies, and empire and capital in theological perspective. He is author of The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America and Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right: Post-9/11 Politics and American Empire, among others.
February 18
The Beautiful Struggle: Building Knowledge & Courage to Transform the World
Ruha Benjamin
9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
Consider the pairing of social scientific insights on racism and inequity with spiritual insights on human oneness and justice—which, taken together, offer tools that we urgently need to transform the world.
Ruha Benjamin writes and speaks widely on the connections between science, technology, race and justice. She is an Associate Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, a recent fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, and author of numerous publications. In 2017, she received the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton.
February 25
The Devastating Effects of Mass Incarceration: Find Your Place
Mass Incarceration Task Force
9:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
Over-incarceration can be addressed on several fronts: Pre-incarceration, Incarceration, and Post-incarceration. Hear about the Task Forces’s history, mission, and current and future initiatives, including tutoring, pen pals, mentoring, advocacy and support. Learn ways to become involved that fit your schedule, add your voice, and tap your talents and expertise.
Jonathan Shenk and Mary Beth Charters co-moderate Nassau’s Mass Incarceration Task Force.
Hope for Preventing and Treating Addiction
Sundays, 9:15 a.m in the Music Room
We don’t need statistics to tell us how prevalent addiction is. We have our own stories and families and friends. Come look for some hope in treatment, recovery, and ideas about how to help.
February 11
Addiction, Spirituality, and Family Recovery
Nancy Gardner
9:15 a.m.
Music Room
Addiction creates isolation, secrecy, shame, hopelessness, and a feeling of a downward spiral of options. Spiritual connectedness creates antidotes to these feelings and transforms fear and shame. Using a brief overview of AA/NAs 12 Steps as a roadmap for spiritual growth and Pia Mellody’s model for healing trauma-driven developmental immaturity, look at transforming fear into hope and activating spiritual principles to thrive in recovery.
Nancy Gardner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, working with addicts, alcoholics, and their families for the past 36 years. She has worked as an Employee Assistance counselor for Jersey City Medical Center; a psychiatric social worker for Princeton House, running their family addiction education program and family aftercare program; a family therapist for Catholic Charities Alternative School students; an adjunct instructor for Mercer County Community College; and a therapist in private practice in Hopewell. She specializes in trauma and addictions treatment, using cognitive behavioral interventions, Gestalt, energy psychology, and Pia Mellody’s Model of Developmental Immaturity to treat trauma, addiction, and family systems.
February 18
The Look of Recovery
John Mincarelli
9:15 a.m.
Music Room
A personal view into recovery.
John Mincarelli is a recovering addict who has over eight years of consecutive clean time. He works for the nonprofit organization Recovery Advocates of America, which helps people suffering from the disease of addiction. John is a certified peer recovery specialist, recovery coach, and a certified recovery coach trainer. He has given years to helping others and sharing the hope of recovery. John is a loving father and a grandfather to two beautiful grandchildren.
February 25
Opioids — Please Help
Malissa Arnold
9:15 a.m.
Music Room
Malissa will discuss substance abuse in Mercer County and New Jersey and trends in drug and alcohol misuse, with special focus on the rise of the opioid epidemic. The class will learn more about identifying drug misuse, strategies to prevent misuse, and where one can start to get help when they or a loved one has a substance abuse problem.
Malissa Arnold works in the drug abuse prevention field because she wants to help her community be a healthier place. She worked previously in the White House Office of National Drug Control policy and currently administers a federal grant for drug abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery in Mercer County.
Further Series and Events
Weekly in February
In-Depth Bible Study: First Corinthians
George Hunsinger
9:15 a.m.
Maclean House
George Hunsinger returns for the 21st year to lead this verse-by-verse examination of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. 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).
February 18
Special Noon Session
Mozart’s Coronation Mass
Noel Werner
12:15 p.m.
Music Room
Explore W.A. Mozart’s stirring and delightful Mass in C, nicknamed the “Coronation Mass.” We’ll explain compositional techniques used to illuminate the traditional text of the mass, and the particular context of Mozart’s life in Salzburg and his work for the church will add dimension to our experience of this glorious choral masterpiece. Be sure to attend the choral evening service at Nassau on Saturday, February 24, to hear choir, soloists, and instrumentalists present the Coronation Mass.
Noel Werner has been Director of Music since 2006. He has lectured at Westminster Choir College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Presbyteries of Elizabeth and New Brunswick. His wife, the Rev. Wendi Werner, is the solo pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Dayton, New Jersey. They have two daughters, Sophie and Emily.
GRANDMOTHER OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO FARM THE LAND THAT FEEDS THE CHILDREN IN HER CARE
[ezcol_1half]Najjuma, a 56-year-old widow in Uganda, grows enough food on eight acres to feed the three children and eight orphaned grandchildren in her care. Without the crops that spring from this soil she carefully tends, Najjuma has no means to support these children.
However, while Najjuma was providing the nurture her children and grandchildren needed, her in-laws ordered her to leave the land her husband had inherited.
Fortunately, Najjuma learned that laws were in place to protect widows like her. Your One Great Hour of Sharing Gifts empowered Naijuma to exercise her lawful right to remain on the property.
Thanks to training programs held by Action for Rural Women’s Empowerment (ARUWE), a partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Najjuma knew the law was on her side. She successfully appealed for help through local land governance structures. Yet too often widows aren’t aware of their rights, says Sylvia Nalubega, program officer for ARUWE.[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]“When widows do not know their entitlement to their property or if the husband doesn’t leave a will, many times they are evicted and have nowhere to go,” Sylvia says. One Great Hour of Sharing gifts helped Naijuma avoid this fate.
“Najjuma depends on the land for her livelihood,” says Agnes Mirembe, programs manager for ARUWE. “It is everything to her. Her income is tied to the land.”
In addition to benefitting from ARUWE’s legal aid clinics, Naijuma also learned more efficient farming techniques from this group. She planted two acres of corn and beans that serve as demonstration plots for her neighbors. She freely shares how she was able to increase crop yields and take better care of her children and grandchildren.
Yet Najjuma could have been without a place to plant even a single seed, a plight that would have spelled disaster for her family. Your One Great Hour gifts helped keep this from happening.
In Uganda and around the world, Presbyterians are being faithful to the biblical mandate to care for people who live on the margins. [/ezcol_1half_end]
Through your One Great Hour of Sharing gifts, Christ’s concern for “the least of these” is being expressed and lives are being transformed.
Let us pray:
Gracious God, We pray for the widows in Africa who struggle to provide for their families. We give thanks that you walk with them in their quest for justice, and we hear your call to come alongside people who live on the margins. May we be faithful to your summons. Amen.
THE FRONT PORCH CAFÉ SERVES AS AN ENTRY WAY TO HOPE AND TRANSFORMATION
[ezcol_1half]The Front Porch Café in Akron, Ohio, serves up healthy portions of food and friendship for people needing a new start in life.
At the Front Porch, individuals recovering from addiction or re-entering society after spending time in prison can eat a good meal, grow and learn alongside others who share their struggles, and receive guidance on housing and employment opportunities.
When Diretha joined the Front Porch community five years ago, she had been sober and drug-free for a year, but a decade of unemployment threatened the sustainability of her success. She volunteered at the café and attended its support groups. The staff helped her develop a resume and interviewing skills.
These efforts helped Diretha land a job at a catering company, where she has worked for four years. She continues to live a life free from alcohol and drug abuse.
Your One Great Hour of Sharing gifts contributed to Diretha’s transformation. The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) made a grant that helped renovate and equip the building that houses the café after Eastminster Presbytery’s Committee selected the project for funding. SDOP partners with economically poor people in projects they present, control, own, and are the direct beneficiaries.
[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]The Front Porch Café is part of South Street Ministries, which serves youth and adults in one of Akron’s poorest and most racially diverse neighborhoods. “We get people from the church, the recovery world, and the neighborhood who come in just for a place to gather,” says Joe Tucker, the ministries’ executive director. By purchasing one of the Front Porch’s reasonably priced meals, neighborhood patrons support its witness to hope.
“We give people a lot of hope and redirection,” Joe says. “We tell people, ‘Hey look, half of our staff are in recovery or in re-entry themselves—we know what it’s like. What you are wanting to do is absolutely doable. We believe in Christ, and we will pray with you.’ The consistent reminder of hope is probably the deepest area we have.”
Diretha continues to attend a support group at the Front Porch and its weekly worship service. “If I hadn’t gotten involved with the Front Porch, there is a chance I would have started using again and been in prison or even died,” Diretha says. [/ezcol_1half_end]
Your One Great Hour of Sharing gifts help people move themselves from the depths of despair toward vistas of hope. Please give generously.
Let us pray:
Transforming God, we pray for people who struggle with addiction. We give thanks for ministries like the Front Porch Café that help people overcome his challenge and begin new lives. May we join them in bearing witness to Christ’s desire that all people experience freedom and hope. Amen.
