The Mass Incarceration Task Force is motivated by the deep conviction that every human being is a beloved child of God. Join us on Monday, April 7 at 7:00 pm to learn about volunteering and advocacy opportunities. In addition to hearing updates from our Action Groups, we will be discussing how the current cuts to the federal government are impacting non-profit organizations working to support wrongly convicted and incarcerated persons and their families. All are welcome, including people without a religious affiliation.
Contact Anne Kuhn (email)to receive the Zoom link.
The images above are from Humanize the Numbers, a collaborative photography project bringing together men incarcerated within the Michigan Department of Corrections and students from the University of Michigan. See more at humanizethenumbers.com
Nassau is a proud Mission Partner of Johnsonburg Camp & Retreat Center which has offered outdoors-based programming in New Jersey since 1960. This Summer Jburg is offering 5-day overnight camps with date options ranging from the last week of June to the first week of August for students from 1st to 12th grade.
Last Sunday we heard about Housing Initiatives of Princeton (HIP)’s great work and were invited to their Spring Gathering in May. Nassau is proud to partner with HIP to prevent the eviction of our neighbors and provide transitional housing to stabilize families and individuals as they experience housing disruption.
The Paul Robeson House of Princeton is close to opening their renovated home!
The “Paul Robeson House,” dating from 1842, is a residential property located at 110 Witherspoon Street, where Paul Robeson was born on April 9, 1898. Paul Robeson’s roots in the African American community of Princeton launched him on his world-renowned career as an all-American athlete, actor, singer, scholar and writer, and voice for human rights. The renovated property will host a gallery of memorabilia, non-profit meeting spaces, and temporary lodging.
We are proud to be Mission Partners with The Paul Robeson House of Princeton and invite you to learn more about their capital campaign: https://give-usa.keela.co/Donate2023.
HomeFront, a Mission Partner of Nassau based in Lawrenceville, provides shelter, housing assistance, groceries, and social services to families experiencing poverty in central New Jersey. Recognizing an emerging need with the families they serve and proposing an expansion of their project to the Missions and Outreach Committee, HomeFront used grant funding from Nassau to distribute 114,800 diapers in the month of August alone.
Nassau also supports HomeFront through the monthly Hunger Offering. Organizations supported by your faithful giving each month received over $10,000 in the past fiscal year. At HomeFront, this has contributed to the 23,426 cartloads of groceries distributed at their Choice Market and pop-up food pantries since October. We invite you to bring a donation to church this Sunday (the last Sunday of the month) or give online through the Give Now page of this website and selecting “Hunger Fund” from the drop down menu.
“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.
Sunday, October 8, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Sanctuary
Reception following, Assembly Room
Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, Princeton, NJ, founded 1840.Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, NJ, founded as The First Presbyterian Church of Princeton, 1766.
Learn more about the shared history of Witherspoon Street and Nassau Presbyterian Churches. The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton, President of Princeton Theological Seminary, will speak and we will view a brief documentary by Bob Meola.
By telling the stories of our shared history over the last 186 years, this project offers a look at the evolution and practice of the Presbyterian faith, in one of the oldest towns in America, through the multicolored lenses of our congregations.
Advocating for Human Rights in Israel and Palestine
Washington DC Summit (April 20-21, 2023)
Join Churches for Middle East Peace for our first in person Advocacy Summit since 2019. On April 20, 2023 we will hear from keynote speakers and panelists from Israel/Palestine and the U.S. including Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, and Rev. Dr. Jack Sara. Participants will have the opportunity to take the stories they have heard and advocate on behalf of human rights in Israel and Palestine with their Congressional offices on Friday, April 21. We hope you will consider joining us for fellowship, learning, and the chance to raise your voice on Capitol Hill this April.
Our church mission partner, Villages in Partnership (VIP) is hosting its annual Water Walk fundraiser on Saturday, May 13. I am writing to invite you to join our Nassau Church Water Walkers team to make a life-changing and life-saving difference in the impoverished villages of Malawi.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy and a recent cholera outbreak have made access to clean water even more critical for the people of Malawi. The lack of clean water and sanitation facilities is a leading cause of cholera outbreaks and other waterborne diseases. Additionally, access to water allows girls to stay in school longer, which opens huge opportunities for their futures.
This year the VIP Water Walk will be a hybrid event: we can gather in-person or online on May 13th and reach out across the country and the world to ask people to participate – last year there were 31 Water Walk teams from as far as AZ, CO, CT, TX, IL, VA, PA, and even a team in Malawi!
Joining the Nassau Church Water Walkers team means:
Reaching out to your network of friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors with the opportunity to bring clean water, sanitation facilities, and healthcare to the most remote villages by making a donation. We have an online fundraising platform that makes it easy for others to give.
Joining the Water Walk event happening on May 13th, either in Allentown NJ or online.
If you’re able, logging miles of Mindful Walks in a friendly competition between us and the other teams during the weeks leading up to the main event.
Please visit https://secure.qgiv.com/event/ww2023/team/920954/ to join the Nassau Church Water Walkers as we bring hope and health to the most remote villages in Malawi. If you have any difficulty signing on as a team member at the site, email me at .
If you’d like more details about the Water Walk event, please visit https://secure.qgiv.com/event/ww2023/. For more information about how VIP is helping move people from survival to sustainability, visit villagesinpartnership.org. You can also feel free to email me if you have any questions.
The Witherspoon Street Church and Nassau Church Partnership Team is chronicling the 175 plus year history between the two congregations.
Both churches have a long history of worshipping in Princeton (Nassau, 255 years and Witherspoon, 181 years), Nassau as a predominantly white institution and Witherspoon Street as a historically black institution. There is a complicated historic relationship between the two congregations, and in recent years many members of both churches have been working for reconciliation and collaboration.
The design of the project includes the production of a documentary, Telling Our Stories, with interviews from members of both congregations, a graphic timeline depicting significant events in the life of the partnership, and a one-time event to revisit and celebrate the historic 250th Year Partners in Faith Celebration of the Presbyterian Presence in Princeton held 2004-2006.
If you have a story to tell or other contributions, please contact Barbara Flythe (email).
The Mass Incarceration Task Force is motivated by the deep conviction that every human being is a beloved child of God. Join us on Monday, April 7 at 7:00 pm to learn about volunteering and advocacy opportunities. In addition to hearing updates from our Action Groups, we will be discussing how the current cuts to the federal government are impacting non-profit organizations working to support wrongly convicted and incarcerated persons and their families. All are welcome, including people without a religious affiliation.
