Information about In-Person Worship

What to Expect When Coming back to 61 Nassau Street

Our preparations for in-person worship in June continue! As promised, we would like to provide more details of what the experience in the sanctuary will be like. Throughout the pandemic, worship leaders and musicians along with the baptism and confirmation families have experienced the benefit of being in our sanctuary and some of the awkwardness that comes with so few people, staying safe, and all that comes with the service being livestreamed. It is important that those who come to the sanctuary are best prepared. The list below is intended to help you know what to expect and introduces the procedures and protocols for welcoming 75 worshippers plus worship leaders, ushers, and musicians. We are excited to have all who have signed up for worship!
  • 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.
Thank you for taking the time to peruse these points. We hope you have found it helpful. As we move into this next phase of our worship life and celebrate having people in worship, we continue to give thanks to God for the patience, resilience, and understanding exhibited in the life of Nassau Church since March of 2020. The members of the Forward in Faith Together working group believe deeply that the peace and unity of our congregation is a faithful reflection of our mission statement. We invite you to join us in prayer and love for one another, the stranger, and the world as we take these next steps together.
Nassau Presbyterian Church Mission Statement
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.
Committed to Jesus Christ, our community welcomes the breadth of humanity
           and the challenge of the Gospel.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, people of all ages can find a place here
           to seek abundant life
           and nurture faith.
By God’s grace in our lives, we engage with the world,
           yearn to do what is just and fair,
           encourage what is kind and helpful,
         and seek to walk humbly before God and alongside our neighbors.