The list for 2022 is complete.
Contemplative Prayer Group this Advent
Gathering at 7:00 p.m. in Niles Chapel on the following Thursday evenings: December 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd.
There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. ~Howard Thurman
Join us this Advent for a series of explorations on contemplative prayer. As a season of anticipation and hope, Advent is an ideal time to delve into the longings of our hearts through the inward journey of contemplation.
Over the course of four weeks, we will explore a simple method of contemplative prayer or meditation practiced among early Christians and preserved in various Christian communities around the world. Along the way, we will discover that contemplation draws us into deeper relationship with God, others, and ourselves − and that the discipline of contemplative prayer empowers us to respond to Jesus’ call to follow him and serve the world.
Each short exploration will be followed by a time for contemplative prayer. New and experienced meditators alike are welcome. No registration necessary.
For more information, contact Lauren McFeaters or Chris Renshaw.
#MissionMonday – 2023 Calendars for Eastern State Prison
The Mass Incarceration Task Force is collecting 2023 calendars to send to East Jersey State Prison in Rahway. This gift from NPC is greatly appreciated as expressed in the thank you card for last year’s calendars. The calendars must not have wire, but staples are fine.
Drop off in the Main Office on Sundays by January 8.
Summer Trips 2023
Registration is OPEN!
Download the registration form:Summer 2023 (pdf)
- “Rising Grades” are as of September 2023
- Registration deadlines are listed for each trip
Taizé Community & Paris, France
Registration Deadline: December 1, 2022
July 19-31 (12 nights) | age 15+
Nassau returns to France to join the church universal for a week of community, prayer, song, and framping (French camping).
- Lodging: camping (Taizé) & hostel (Paris)
- Transportation: TGV & bus (to/from Taizé); Metro/cabs in Paris
- Cost: $850/pp (see flyer for more details)
Middle School Splash Camp
Registration Deadline: February 5, 2023
July 4-7 (Tue-Fri) | Rising 6th to 9th Grade
A cool bus full of kids, day trips to the best swim and splash spots, and a ton of sun ’n fun. It’ll be a summer week done right.
- Lodging: your home
- Location: Greater Princeton Area
- Transportation: Bus, pick-up/drop-off at Nassau Church
- Cost: $100/pp (bus, snacks), Bring Your Own Lunch
Appalachia Service Project
Registration Deadline: February 5, 2023
July 9-15 (Sun-Sat) | Rising 9th Grade and up
Home repair in central Appalachia has repeatedly opened our eyes, expanded our skills, helped others and done some work on us too. Come along as God does a little fixing on us all.
- Lodging: cots/air mattresses in school auditorium/gym
- Transportation: 15-passenger vans
- Cost: $450/pp (transportation, lodging & meals on site)
Nassau Book Group (2022-23)
Meeting Dates:
Second Sunday of the Month (mostly) at 12:15 p.m. in the Conference Room. Bring a sack lunch. Coffee and tea are provided. All are welcome.
Contact Ginger August (email)
Sunday, May 21, 11:15 am, Conference Room
Meeting after the 10:00 am Confirmation Service, join the discussion of Innocence Abroad by Mark Twain. From a contemporary review of the book by William Dean Howells, “The idea of a steamer-load of Americans going on a prolonged picnic to Europe and the Holy Land is itself almost sufficiently delightful, and it is perhaps praise enough for the author to add that it suffers nothing from his handling.” (The Atlantic, December 1869). Bring a sack lunch and something to share, coffee & tea provided.
Sunday, April 16, 12:15 pm, Conference Room
Meeting on the 3rd Sunday of the month due to Easter, join the discussion of Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. This novel is divided by about 120 years, involving two different multigenerational families, who move to Vineland, NJ. Both families need to deal with living in a house that is falling apart. Bring a sack lunch and something to share, coffee & tea provided.
Sunday, March 12, 12:15 pm, Conference Room
Join the discussion of Horse by Geraldine Brooks (available at Labyrinth Bookstore). A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history. Bring a sack lunch and something to share, coffee & tea provided.
Sunday, February 12, 12:15 pm, Conference Room
Join the discussion of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997), by Anne Fadiman (available at Labyrinth Bookstore). This is a story based on events in Merced, California between a Hmong family and the doctors at the local hospital’s ER. Bring a sack lunch and something to share, coffee & tea provided. All who have read the book are welcome to the discussion.
Sunday, January 8, 12:15 pm, Conference Room
The Nassau Book Group will next meet on January 8 in the Conference Room at 12:15 pm. We will be discussing Ross King’s book, Leonardo and the Last Supper (available at Labyrinth Bookstore). This story weaves together history, biography and art criticism. Leonardo da Vinci’s completed fresco–The Last Supper, was completed in 1494–the masterpiece that would forever define him.
Sunday, November 13, 12:15 pm, Conference Room
This month the group will discuss American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, a New York Times bestseller and Oprah Book Club pick (available at Labyrinth Bookstore). This 2020 story tells the ordeal of a Mexican woman who was forced to leave behind her life and escape as an undocumented immigrant to the United States with her young son. Themes include survival, grit, freedom of the press, trust, current events, and grief.
Sunday, October 2, 2022, 12:15 pm, Conference Room
Join those interested in re-starting a book group at Nassau! Come with a list of books you have enjoyed and would like to discuss. We will meet and greet newcomers to this fun activity.
Arm In Arm: Preparing for the Holidays
There are many ways to help hungry families set the table this Thanksgiving and throughout the year. Learn about new developments with Arm in Arm and how you can get involved below.
In order to distribute Thanksgiving food in time for the day, please make sure these donations are here at the church by Wednesday, November 16. Use the wooden box outside the door near the playground.
Donate Food – Thanksgiving (pdf)
We are better together because of you!
Donate Money (link) |
Donate Food (pdf) |
Donate Time (link) |
Greetings,
I am excited to share with you that we are embarking on a transformative chapter in Arm In Arm’s history: we are moving our headquarters to Mill One at One Johnston Ave. in Hamilton as of October 1st. Arm In Arm is on the move!
We will continue to serve and even deepen our service to people in Trenton, continuing and enhancing our presence at 48 Hudson Street, and at our Sustainable Garden on E. Hanover St. In fact, through pioneering mobile delivery, using our new state of the art food distribution center at Mill One and new refrigerated truck, we intend to deepen our presence in Trenton, executing more off-site Grab ‘n Go grocery events and reaching community members in their own neighborhoods, at times that are convenient for them. Using data collected by the Trenton Health Team, we have already begun forging partnerships with institutions such as Capital Health, to deliver food where the need is the greatest in a more equitable way.
As you well know, we continue to see an unprecedented increase in our level of service. We are serving more people than ever before, and our current home simply cannot accommodate the storage and efficiency needs we now have. Mill One will essentially operate as a “distribution hub” and offer us more and better space for food storage, including a loading bay so our truck can load and unload easily, as well as space for volunteers to prepare bags for mobile delivery. While families will not come to Mill One for food, as is the case at our other pantries in Trenton and in Princeton, families will come by appointment to meet with our Housing Stability Team to receive help with rental and/or utilities assistance and longer-term case management and/or for financial fitness, nutrition and parenting classes. Our Housing Stability Team will combine in person and virtual meetings to provide the most professional, compassionate and convenient ways to help families in need.
Finally, we will be downsizing our administrative space to provide more in service to our families. We have learned a lot during the pandemic and are incorporating more efficient, best practice use of space in which our staff will have safer, more professional space that they will share as they flex time between being in person and working remotely. Our board, leadership, and staff are all in agreement that this move will enhance our work and increase our impact by providing better space for our services and administrative functions, and by providing a safe and welcoming environment for clients, staff and volunteers, which better embodies our values of dignity and hospitality.
We want to assure you that our mission will remain unchanged as we continue to focus on securing basic needs of food, housing, and work to promote longer-term stability. Our plans are being clearly communicated with our clients, so they know where and when they can find us, ensuring we are meeting their needs.
Thank you for your support and your partnership. Once we are settled in, I will invite you to visit us in our new home.
Let’s continue working better together, helping our community thrive.
Sincerely,
David Fox, Ph.D., M.Div.
Volunteer Opportunities: Woman, Cradle of Abundance
In a September Adult Education class, Elsie McKee shared how Nassau’s gift of a roof has helped sustain and grow the work of Woman, Cradle of Abundance (WoCA) as they house people in need and empower women with income-generating skills. Listen here:
Join us in the work of empowering women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo! Below is our current list of volunteer opportunities.
- Fundraising – help brainstorm on approaches, work on fundraising events
- Publicity – ideas and implementation
- Website maintenance – help update pictures, events, newsletters, etc
- Social media presence – post pictures and write-ups on social media sites to maintain a dynamic presence for WCoA
- Grant application writing – combing through potential sources of grant money for appropriate grants and writing the application
- The sewing school store – help sell sewing school goods at various school/church events, come up with additional ideas for selling the merchandise and implement them.
- Office management – help with general administration, focus to depend on time and interests
- Finance/bookkeeping – maintaining records in Quickbooks, also specifically looking for help preparing WCoA and conducting an internal audit of financial records
- Run an alternative gifts program at Christmas
- Develop/conduct Christian education programs about the Congo for WCoA’s church partners
Contact Karen Brown (email) for more details.
Adult Education Series: The End of the (Main) Line?
The Surprising Past & Uncertain Future of an American Protestant Powerhouse
October 23 – November 20, 2022
9:30 a.m. | Assembly Room
As Presbyterians, we are part of a much wider stream within American Protestant life, often called the Mainline. This tradition was long a powerhouse, which wielded vast influence across all sectors of society. But in recent years most of the headlines it has garnered have centered on its decline. In this series we will revisit the Mainline’s surprising past, paying especially close attention to how this unwieldy Protestant coalition navigated the fierce challenges of the 20th-century public square. Along the way we will also wrestle with the uncertainties of the Mainline’s present and future. In this moment of flux and crisis, where might God be leading us?
Audio recordings will be posted below each class description.
Heath W. Carter is associate professor of American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he teaches and writes about the intersection of Christianity and American public life. He earned a BA in English and theology from Georgetown University in 2003, an MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2005, and a PhD in history from the University of Notre Dame in 2012. He came to Princeton from Valparaiso University, where he was on faculty from 2012 to 2019. He spent the 2016–2017 academic year as the William S. Vaughn Visiting Fellow at Vanderbilt University. He and his family have been actively involved at Nassau Presbyterian Church since moving to Princeton.
October 23: Surveying the Landscape
Reading: America’s Changing Religious Landscape Pew Research Center
We are living through a season of crisis for both American democracy and American Christianity. Together we’ll explore some of the challenging features of our contemporary cultural landscape, including hyper-polarization, widespread decline of trust in institutions, and the rise of “the nones.”
October 30: A Surprisingly Big Tent
Reading: Harry Emerson Fosdick, “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?”
For a generation now the story has been that, around the time of the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial, American Protestantism split into conservative and liberal camps, never to meet again. But the reality is much more complicated. Together we’ll explore the surprisingly capacious contours of the 20th-century Mainline tent.
November 6: The Perils & Promise of a Big Tent, Part I: the Civil Rights era
Reading: Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Together we’ll reflect on how Mainline Protestants’ record on Civil Rights underscores both the perils and promise of a big-tent faith.
November 13: The Perils & Promise of a Big Tent, Part II: after the 1960s
Readings: James Forman, “The Black Manifesto” The New York Review of Books; Sarah Azaransky, “The Episcopal Saint whose journey for social justice took many forms, from sit-ins to priesthood,” Religion News Service; and “U.S. Churches Offer Sanctuary to Aliens Facing Deportation,” The New York Times (subscriber link)
Together we’ll reflect on the extent to which Mainline Protestants succeeded in holding together their unwieldy, big-tent coalition in the decades following the 1960s.
November 20: Listening for God’s Call at the End of the (Main)Line?
Readings: Martin E. Marty, “From Declinism to Discovery,” The Christian Century; James Roh, “First Top Female Pastor at SLC’s First Presbyterian comes as ‘a bolt out of the blue’ for Congregation,” The Salt Lake Tribune
While it’s easy to become overwhelmed by stories of decline and worries about cascading crises, we have not been given a spirit of fear. Where might God be calling us to go from here?
#MissionMonday – Presbyterian Hunger Program Update
Dear members of Nassau Presbyterian Church,
Hunger is looming around the world: in the face of violent conflicts including the war in Ukraine, in the face of rising costs of food in the United States and around the world, and in the face of heat waves and other climate change related impacts that make agriculture hard and drought and flooding real concerns for food insecurity. Affordable housing is feeling more and more elusive to much of America’s population as the pandemic, inflation and other economic factors have influenced the market.
As we pray for these and all other grave situations, we also are called to act. The Hunger Program continues to partner with you, congregations, and partners around the country and world to “alleviate hunger and eliminate its root causes.”
Churches, communities and networks step up to counter the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and increased hunger and poverty caused by conflict, climate change, and rising costs. We deeply appreciate our grantee partners, networks, Hunger Action and Earth Care Congregations, Hunger Action Advocates in presbyteries, and donors who stand together to advocate for just policies and work to find ways to achieve food sovereignty, affordable housing and justice for communities.
Thank you for your financial support. We could not do the level of ministry we are able to do without the gracious support we receive. Gifts to the Hunger Program help us and our partners to create places of safety, peace, healing, and livelihood in the midst of difficult circumstances. God is present in all places, and we give praise for the ways God has moved in our world.
This summer we released our 2021 PHP Impact Report that shares a bit of the work we were able to accomplish in 2021. While numbers and statistics can’t get at the relationships and organizing that ultimately lead to addressing root causes, we do think some of the numbers are wonderful to see, as well as our strategy and a brief story from our partner in El Salvador. We invite you to read the report online:
We continue to work so that people have more and better food, communities standing for justice know they are not alone, and people around the world are allowed to enjoy the healthiness of creation as it was meant to be. Bless you for joining in this mission with us!
Rev. Rebecca Barnes
Coordinator, Presbyterian Hunger Program
Small Groups for Fall 2022
This Fall brings a wonderful diversity of topics, leaders, and platforms, all designed to deepen your knowledge, faith, and community. Whether you opt for in-person or virtual groups, the promise that the Holy Spirit is present when two or more are gathered in God’s name remains a constant.
Click on the Small Group Name to read more.
| Start Time |
SUN |
MON |
TUE |
WED |
THU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | (Main)Line Davis | ||||
| 12 p.m. | (Main)Line Berg | ||||
| 1:30 p.m. | |||||
| 4 p.m. | (grades 4-8) |
||||
| 7 p.m. |
(Main)Line Vanderkam | ||||
| Art of Faithfulness | |||||
| Spiritual Practices | |||||
| 7:30 p.m. |
The End of the (Main)Line? The Surprising Past & Uncertain Future of an America Protestant Powerhouse
Linked In Learning Series
As Presbyterians, we are part of a much wider stream within American Protestant life, often called the Mainline. This tradition was long a powerhouse, which wielded vast influence across all sectors of society. But in recent years most of the headlines it has garnered have centered on its decline. In this series we will revisit the Mainline’s surprising past, paying especially close attention to how this unwieldy Protestant coalition navigated the fierce challenges of the 20th-century public square. Along the way we will also wrestle with the uncertainties of the Mainline’s present and future. In this moment of flux and crisis, where might God be leading us?
Weekly small groups will read Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail, Henry Emerson Fosdicks’ Shall The Fundamentalists Win? as well as recent articles and studies highlighting pivotal moments, remarkable leaders and upcoming challenges of our Protestant tradition.
Join us Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM in the Assembly Room as Heath Carter, Associate Professor of American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary, will talk through the wider societal context and continuing impact of the selected readings. Carter specializes in the intersection of Christianity and American public life in the 20th century. Pastor Dave Davis will address these same themes and challenges in his Sunday sermon adding stories of the early church from the Book of Acts as reference and inspiration.
Mondays, October 17-November 14, 12:00-1:15 p.m.
In-person and outdoors at the home of Corrie Berg in Princeton, NJ.
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.
End of the (Main) Line? – just for Kids (4th-8th graders)
Mondays, October 17-November 14, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
In-person and outdoors at the home of Corrie Berg in Princeton, NJ.
This group is full
Corrie Berg is the Director of Educational Ministries and counts small groups as one of the great joys of her job. They offer precious opportunities to build relationships and deepen faith with her church family.
Mondays, October 17-November 14, 1:30-3:00 p.m.
In-person at the home of Carol Wehrheim in Skillman, NJ
This group is full
Carol Wehrheim is Clerk of Session. She finds small groups a necessary part of her life with Nassau Church, and enjoys playing cornhole.
Tuesdays, October 18-November 15, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
In-person at the home of Mary and Jim Vanderkam in Princeton, NJ.
Register Here
After retiring, Mary and Jim Vanderkam moved to the Princeton area to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Mary was an educator who taught in several contexts, in the classroom, private tutoring, and adult education. Jim was most recently a professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame, with interests in Jewish literature such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Mary and Jim have much appreciated being members of small groups at Nassau.
Wednesdays, October 19-November 16, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Virtual on Zoom
Register Here
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.
Additional Small Group Options
Art of Faithfulness: Musica Divina
Mondays, October 17-November 7, 7:15-8:45PM
Hybrid: In-person (Niles Chapel, Nassau Church) AND on Zoom
Register Here
The Art of Faithfulness continues this year and begins with exploring the connection between music and faith. We will use the practice of Musica Divina, supported by our art of listening, reflection, journaling and discussion to explore music and it’s power to lift our faith to new heights. Musica Divina is a practice that we will cultivate and every week we will use music selected for the group and by the group, anticipating meaningful experiences and conversations as a result. Bring an open heart and mind, your faith and a desire to grow in faith and your love of music, which we all share. And, watch for more Art of Faithfulness opportunities, to be communicated soon!
Kim Kleasen is a long time member of Nassau and the Adult Choir, is currently a Deacon and has gratefully worked on our Forward in Faith Together initiatives while on Session. During the pandemic, Kim completed a course in Spiritual Direction at General Theological Seminary and using those experiences partnered with Noel Werner to lead small groups in the Art of Faithfulness, evolving to more opportunities to use creative arts as a pathway to faith. At General Seminary, Kim worked with faculty and classes to develop and lead Musica Divina, which she now joyfully brings to Nassau Church.
Practices for Spiritual Growth
Mondays (bi-weekly), October 17 & 31, November 14 & 28, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
Join us for a series on practices for spiritual growth, based on Sue Monk Kidd’s When the Heart Waits. Blending her own life experience with an intimate grasp of spirituality, Sue Monk Kidd relates the spiritual crisis that led her to a soul-saving discipline of “active waiting.” We will discuss Kidd’s insights and practices and how they may inform our own spiritual journeys. Aruna Bhargava, Lina Genovesi, Pat Costigan, and Liz Beasley will share leadership and facilitate discussions.
Liz Beasley retired from Rutgers in 2019 to spend as much time as possible with her grandchildren. She also takes classes in fiction-writing, co-chairs the activities committee for the Present Day Club, volunteers with Villages in Partnership, and serves as a deacon at Nassau Church.
Aruna Bhargava is a former college professor and an author of 8 books – fantasy/adventure for children and entrepreneurship/entrepreneur stories for adults. Aruna and her husband run a non-profit to help unemployed youth and underprivileged women in India to become entrepreneurs.
Patricia Costigan has a doctorate from Rutgers University in educational psychology with a focus on reading and learning disabilities and she works with a Child Study Team as a learning consultant in a local school district.
Lina Genovesi, a member of Nassau Church since April 2019, is an intellectual property attorney with a law firm in Greenwich, Connecticut. She spends her free time working on her memoir of growing up in Beirut, Lebanon. Her passion is helping seniors maintain optimum mental and physical health and a joyful wellbeing.
Five Came Back…and Made Great Movies!
Sundays, October 16-November 13, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
This group is full
Led by Frank Capra, five established and well respected Hollywood filmmakers answered the U.S. Government’s call to cover World War Two by filming documentaries aimed at inspiring support. Each artist felt the brutal impact of war and returned deeply affected by what they witnessed and filmed. Inspired by the Netflix documentary and the book, Five Came Back by film journalist Mark Harris, this group will watch and discuss five classic post war films through the lens of artists grappling with atrocity induced trauma and confusing social conflict. Movies: Treasure of the Sierra Madre; My Darling Clementine; I Remember Mama; The Best Years of Our Lives; It’s a Wonderful Life
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 18 has worked for the State of New Jersey.
Adventures in Barth, Season 6
Mondays, October 10-November 14, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
This group is full
Get “Barth Smart” as we dive into Barth’s rich Christology, including the provocative “The Judge Judged in Our Place.” First-timers and experts are welcome as we gather around this rigorous challenge to church and world. Reading is ~40 pages/week.
Mark Edwards joined Nassau as Director of Youth Ministries in 2013. He is a lifelong Presbyterian and holds a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary. He also teaches at Princeton University, The College of New Jersey, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Mark is married to Janine and they have two great kids, lots of animals, and a bunch of backpacks. His new book is Christ Is Time: The Gospel according to Karl Barth (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
The Sacred Art of Photography
In this session of Sacred Art, which will run for seven sessions, participants will create photographs in response to seven questions, three posed in the Old Testament, four posed by Jesus in the New Testament.
The Sacred Art of Photography
Thursdays, October 20 & 27, November 3 & 10, December 1, 8, 15, 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Virtual on Zoom
This group is full
Ned Walthall is a photographer based in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He received his MFA from the Institute of Art and Design at New England College (formerly the New Hampshire Institute of Art). His work has been shown throughout the United States and abroad.
He and his partner, Mari Walthall, are currently at work on a photo book entitled Covid & Faith, in which they explore in some depth the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed individuals’ spiritual practice and beliefs.