A Gift of Beauty

You are invited to enjoy a service of beauty, a gift from the artists

Saturday March 26, 2022 at 5:00pm
Nassau Presbyterian Church – in person* and live stream**
Music by Quantz, Doppler, Hoover, and Dorff

Kim Kleasen, flute
Noel Werner, harpsichord
Peggy Mankey, cello
Annalise Hume, dance
Ned Walthall, photography
Lauren J. McFeaters, spoken word
Kathy Shanklin, piano
Mari Walthall, written word

*masks required
**https://nassauchurch.org/livestream-worship/

Service Bulletin (PDF)

The Rev. Dr. David Latimore, Director of the Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, to preach for annual Multifaith Service (this year again online) to Honor the Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at 7 PM on Monday, January 17

LINK:  https://peacecoalition.org/events/690-multifaith-service-to-commemorate-the-rev-dr-martin-luther-king-jr.html

The Rev. Dr. David Latimore, Director of the Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, will be the preacher for the annual Multifaith Service honoring the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. starting at 7:00 PM on Monday, January 17. The Rev. Dr. Latimore previously served four Baptist churches and taught at Belmont University.

Due to the upsurge in the pandemic, this years’ Service will again be online, and the information for attending can be found under Upcoming Events at peacecoalition.org. The Service will also include faith leaders and music from a wide range of faith traditions, in addition to Dr. Latimore, and is expected to end by 8:30.

The Service has been taking place annually for over three decades and is co-sponsored by the Princeton Clergy Association and the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action. It has been hosted live at various Houses of Worship in Princeton prior to the 2021 Service.

Among the faith traditions represented by the faith leaders co-leading the Service are AME, Baha’i, Baptist, Christian Science, Jewish, Muslim, Presbyterian, and United Church of Christ.

“We are thrilled to have such a prominent faith leader as our preacher this year, as well a diverse group of faiths represented in the leadership of the Service ever for this years’ Service on the official Holiday for Dr. King’s birthday. We will also have powerful and spiritually uplifting music. We strongly encourage interested people from all backgrounds to visit peacecoalition.org to find the information to participate in this major annual event,” said the Rev. Robert Moore.

Rev. Moore is Executive Director of the Coalition for Peace Action and Treasurer of the Princeton Clergy Association. He has been serving as Chair of the Planning Committee for the Annual MLK Service since late 2017.

We are worshiping in-person and online!

• On September 12^th, two services of worship will return at 9:15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Only the 9:15 a.m. will be livestreamed. However, that service will be available on the website shortly after the service concludes. Therefore, a recorded livestream option is available at 11:00 a.m.
• Church School and Adult Education also return on September 12^th. All other programs are returning in the days after. Details are available in Nassau Generations.
• All indoor activities at 61 Nassau Street require masking and distancing and will not include meals or refreshments.
• The large tent used for Chancel drama will return to the parking lot with other tents put up around the building as possible to maximize outdoor activities: refreshments, meals, fellowship after worship, some church school classes and choral rehearsals, and staff meetings as weather permits.

In-Person Worship Covenant

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself”  Luke 10:27

“The people of Nassau Presbyterian Church celebrate and demonstrate God’s love through worship and service in Princeton and through our lives and work in the world”  Nassau Church Mission Statement

Central to our yearning to demonstrate God’s love and to love our neighbors is a concern for one another’s health and the commitment to keep one another safe. As we move forward in faith together and begin returning to the sanctuary for worship, we shall by God’s grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit, covenant with one another when we gather.

We will honor our collective goal glorifying Jesus Christ, loving each other and taking all steps we can to keep each other safe. To do that, we will

• Refrain from attending worship in person if experiencing a cough, fever, or other COVID symptoms, or if we have had contact with a person with a COVID diagnosis or COVID symptoms
• Listen to each member’s concerns and needs for safety and health and work for the full inclusion of all attending.
• When we gather for worship in person, we will:
• Wear masks and maintain physical distancing
• Refrain from any physical contact, support those who request further distance, and help remind those who struggle to keep distance
• Enjoy conversation and fellowship outside rather than linger in the sanctuary

With our participation in worship in person, we will support the theological conviction that our worship life represents the breadth of our faith community. To do that, we will

• Welcome families with children who are not able to get a vaccine
• Welcome others yet unvaccinated
• Honor our community commitment to protocols in a way that allows ushers and staff to offer hospitality and direction rather than serve as rule or vaccination enforcers.

As we worship together in person we shall seek to be creative and safe regarding all liturgical elements of worship. To do that, we will

• Allow family groups to be closer than physically distant
• Limit all communal singing (for now)
• Resist the urge to pass the peace or greet one another even with a fist or elbow bump
• Continue to have some elements of worship pre-recorded to allow broad participation of leadership
• Commit to all in-person worship leaders, including musicians, being vaccinated and be covid tested before worship.
• Understand and support adaptations to liturgical practice that best enable our hybrid worship of in-person and livestream.

As in all aspects of our life together, we seek to glorify God and honor Jesus Christ in all that we do. Thanks be to God.

What to Expect When Coming back to 61 Nassau Street

• Everyone coming to the sanctuary on Sunday morning is expected to do their own health check at home prior to arriving. If you do sign up and are not experiencing any health concerns or symptoms, please make sure to come, as there may be others who would have liked to come, but found there was not enough space in registration. The doors to the sanctuary will be opened at 9:30 for the 10:00 a.m. service.
• For the safe inclusion of children and anyone yet to be vaccinated, all worshippers are expected to wear masks and remain distanced in seating, moving around the grounds/front plaza, and in greeting new and dear friends.
• Ushers will assist worshippers in finding the designated seating and will try but cannot guarantee favorite and traditional locations.
• Bulletins will be available in the designated pews and will not distributed by the ushers. Please plan to use the bulletins and the hymns reprinted there rather than the hymnals or bibles in the pew racks.
• There will be no offering plates passed for collection. An offering plate/basket will be available on the table in the narthex and you may continue to contribute online or through the mail.
• The congregation will be invited to share in speaking the unison prayers and affirmation of faith (while masked). Only the section leaders will be singing the hymns (while masked). Worship leaders and the congregation will follow along singing only “in their heads.” The congregation will be invited to sing (while masked) either one final hymn or benediction response, please follow the directions provided on Sunday.
• At the conclusion of the service we know worshippers will want to enjoy fellowship and greetings. All fellowship, greeting, and conversation will take place outside on the front plaza. Staff and ushers will direct people to make their way outside and not linger after worship after listening to the postlude. Like “normal” Sundays in the past others make their departure after the benediction/response. If that is your choice, please quickly move any greetings/conversations outdoors.
• The bathrooms near the kitchen on the first floor are available for your use. They are professionally sanitized each week. Please be wise with occupancy. Those visiting the restroom should go by way of the “great hall” outside the church office. The library and sound room entrance will not be used on Sundays by members of the congregation.
• Other areas of the building are not open at this time as ventilation work and preparations for the fall continue.
• During livestream worship the prelude has usually been starting on the hour. The prelude will not begin before the hour. Prior to the prelude a member of the staff will give a few instructions and reminders related to the hybrid nature of our worship.

Join the Nassau family and our local neighbors as we celebrate Princeton’s LGBTQIA+ community on Saturday, June 5. Details here. Stop by our table to say hello and play a few yard games. Help us extend an affirming presence as we “welcome the breadth of humanity and the challenge of the Gospel.”

Bob Mauterstock (a Certified Financial Planner), Bob Schoene (a Pulmonary Specialist), and Bob Weber (Clinical Psychologist) led a Zoom webinar on Sunday, December 6 at 12:15 p.m.

Virtual Coffee Hour celebration in honor of Rev. David A. Davis’ 20 years at Nassau Presbyterian Church.

September 20, 2020