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One Great Hour of Sharing 2020

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On Palm Sunday, April 5, we will take up a special offering “One Great Hour of Sharing.”

Sharing God’s Love with Our Neighbors-In-Need

in a world of disaster, hunger, and oppression

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.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance  
Restorers of Streets to Live In
Works alongside communities as they recover and find hope after the devastation of natural or human-caused disasters

Presbyterian Hunger Program  
Share your Bread with the Hungry
Takes action to alleviate hunger and the systemic causes of poverty so all may be fed

Self-Development of People 
Loose the Bonds of Injustice
Invests in communities responding to their experiences of racism, oppression, poverty and injustice and educates Presbyterians about the impact of these societal ills

One Great Hour of Sharing lets us come together to open our doors — as well as our hearts — to share the love of Christ through our ministries of justice, compassion, and joy.

Text SHARING to 56512 to receive a link to resources to learn more about how your gift to One Great Hour of Sharing makes a difference, or visit www.pcusa.org/oghs

Questions? Contact us at 502-569-5047 or email

PC(USA) Special Offerings
100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202

TOGETHER, WE BECOME THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD.

Before a hunger emergency struck Somalia, Hawo Abdi and her husband were successful herders near their country’s border with Kenya.However, two years of intensive drought parched the land to the point that they could no longer raise the camels, cattle, sheep and goats that supported them. As her family faced economic ruin, Abdi’s husband died. She was two months pregnant with the couple’s fifth child. Desperate to feed her children, Abdi felt she had no choice but to make the two-day journey to a camp for internally displaced persons to ensure the safety of her four young children and unborn child. Against the background of Somalia’s civil war, the journey was fraught with danger, including the possibility of attack from armed groups and assault. “We had nothing to take with us, and we had to beg for water,” she says. Abdi’s mission to bring her children to a safe refuge was successful. Now she and her children receive a monthly allocation of rice, beans, cooking oil and sugar that One Great Hour of Sharing gifts help provide. While their day-to-day life remains difficult, Abdi and her children, including her new baby, are safe and nourished. “The food aid has improved the living conditions of my family,” she says. “I was able to feed my starving children.”Sadly, Abdi’s story is not unique. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 5.4 million people in Somalia are food insecure, and another 2.6 million people are displaced. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partners with Kaalmo Relief and Development to provide food aid to people in the camp. “We are very grateful for your contribution,” says Mohamed Ahmed Iriri,

Kaalmo’s director. “It will help us a lot in fighting the hunger and poverty affecting our people in Somalia.”One Great Hour of Sharing gifts are helping to address famine and extreme hunger through PC(USA) partners in other countries, including Northern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen. These partners help with emergency food assistance and address the underlying causes of hunger and homelessness for the millions of people struggling to maintain their very existence.In Isaiah 58, the prophet calls us to be “repairers of the breach, restorers of streets to live in,” to care for the hungry, the weak and the vulnerable. Through One Great Hour of Sharing, we extend shelter to those who have no place to stay, food to those who are hungry and compassion to those who have pain—be it physical, emotional or spiritual. Together, we become the household of God; and all are welcome. Won’t you join us with a gift to One Great Hour of Sharing? Because when we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.

Let us pray,

God of refuge, gather us into your household. Under your roof, let us meet together at your table of grace to be fed with good food. Grant us the dream of your world where all are fed, all are housed and all have the dignity you granted from the beginning. May our gifts begin to build this dream. Amen.

Lenten Home Dinners 2020

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Come to the table of grace. Come to the table of love. Come to the table of peace.

You are invited to a Lenten Home Dinner with Communion. These casual, welcoming groups are a lovely practice for this season of Lent. Extend the table and expand your fellowship this Lent.

Sign Up Online:
Sign Up!

For more information or to find out how YOU can host a dinner this Lent, email Corrie Berg.

Find out more about Lent and Easter at Nassau Church this year.

Small Groups – Lent 2020

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The Shape of Salvation in Luke

We confess Jesus saves.
But how does Jesus save us?
What does Jesus save us from?
What does Jesus save us to?

Lenten Small Groups will focus on stories from the gospel of Luke encouraging participants to reflect and wrestle with them. Our hope for this study is that you bring your full self and community with you as you read Luke. Bring your stories, your hopes, your questions and your fears. Through small group fellowship find a vision of salvation wide enough, graceful enough, and merciful enough to carry you through challenging days.

The 2020 Study Guide is now available! Pick one up at the church office or download a copy here: Small Group Study Guide Lent 2020 (pdf)

March 11, 2020

Dear friends,

On this Lenten journey, we find ourselves in a new and challenging landscape. Concerns over COVID-19 are heightening and best practice recommends a policy of social distancing. Although social distancing may seem the antithesis of Christian fellowship, we know there are those in our community who are especially vulnerable to the effects of this virus and, we, as Christians, are called to act communally. For this reason, we are suspending Lenten Small Groups for the foreseeable future and taking a Lenten Sabbath.

It grieves me to write this note. These groups are a weekly source of joy, enrichment, education and fellowship for so many, including me. Even though, face to face gatherings will end. I encourage you all to be in touch with and support one another. We don’t want to leave anyone stranded on this Lenten journey! Perhaps your group might start a Group Email Prayer Chain. There are also several platforms which facilitate virtual meetings, if this might be appealing and possible for your group. Please reading and working through the Lenten Study Guide (download the PDF above) and praying for one another. In lieu of Adult Education, Eric Barreto is excited to record video classes on the upcoming Lukan texts which will be posted to our website. I’ll let you all know when they “live.”

With hopeful hearts and clean hands,

Corrie Berg
Director of Educational Ministries

You can listen to the Adult Education Classes and Sermons for March 1 and March 8 here:

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Find out more about Lent and Easter at Nassau Church this year.

Sign Up

Sign up in Fellowship beginning Sunday, February 9, or online beginning Monday, February 10.

Available Small Groups

Groups meet weekly for six weeks unless otherwise noted. The small groups with spaces available are listed below.

Complete catalogue: Small Groups – Lent 2020 (pdf)

Mondays, Feb. 24 – Mar. 30, 12:00-1:30 p.m. (Soup & Bread provided)
Berg Home, Princeton

Corrie Berg, leader

Corrie is Nassau Church’s Director of Educational Ministries. She counts hosting the “Soup Group” on Mondays a highlight of each Lenten season. Come join this lively group of fellow Lenten pilgrims as, together, we discern the shape of salvation in our own lives.

Wednesdays, Feb. 26 – Apr. 1, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Sakenfeld Home, Skillman (Stonebridge)

Kathie Sakenfeld, leader

Kathie retired from Princeton Seminary in 2013 after teaching Old Testament there for 43 years. An ordained PCUSA clergywoman, she has participated in the life of Nassau Church since 1970 and has served the denomination at Presbytery, national, and international levels.

Wednesdays, Feb. 26 – Apr. 1, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Dolley Madison Room, The Windrows, Princeton

Liz & Kim Beasley

Liz and Kim were married in the Nassau sanctuary in 2010. Liz has served as an elder and on the membership and adult education committees. She was ordained as a deacon in November, 2019. Kim has served on the property committee since 2016. They are very much looking forward to leading a group for the The Windrows community.

 

Adult Education – February 2020

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Incarceration, Race, and Restoration

“If you, even you, had only recognized the things that make for peace!
But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
Luke 19:42 (NRSV)

Sundays, 9:30 a.m., in the Assembly Room
unless otherwise noted

As Christians, we are called to be a part of God’s transformative work of peace, justice, and reconciliation in the world, yet we live in a country with the highest incarceration rate in the world: despite making up close to 5% of the global population, the U.S. has nearly 25% of the world’s prison population. Join us to learn more about crime and punishment in our time, as we consider how we might be part of God’s transformative work.

Download the February 2020 Brochure (pdf)
for more details and speaker bios

February 2 | Nathan Jérémie-Brink

Expanding the Map and Reconsidering the History of Christianity and Slavery

Christianity and slavery are interrelated world movements, a paradox of our understanding of the history of human bondage and racism. In this class, we will look at how Christian theologies and practices both reinforced and challenged the institution of slavery.

Weekly | In-Depth Bible Study with George Hunsinger

Colossians

Sundays, 9:15 a.m.
Maclean House (Garden Entrance)

George Hunsinger continues with a verse-by verse examination of the Letter to the Colossians.

February 2, 9, 16 | Membership Committee & Rev. Lauren J. McFeaters

Inquirers’ Class

Sundays, 9:30 a.m.
Niles Chapel

The Inquirers’ Class, led by our Membership Committee, gives you time to explore the meaning of the Christian faith and church membership, and to learn more about the history and foundations of the Presbyterian Church, PC(USA). Discover opportunities for spiritual growth, service, outreach, and fellowship; learn about the worship, theology, and programs of Nassau Church. What might it mean for your life if you joined in the ministry and mission of this congregation?

February 9 | Rachel Barkow

Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration

Are we destined to maintain a massive state of criminal punishment in America? While it may seem like this is an active time for criminal justice reform, most of the reforms have been relatively minor. And we have been achieving the reforms we have with low crime rates. If crime goes up, all bets are off. What can we do? In this talk, Prof. Barkow will explain why we need far more fundamental changes than the “low-hanging fruit.”

Why do so many of our criminal justice policies fail to make us safer? What are the political dynamics that produce such ill-advised policies? Our speaker will suggest three targets of institutional change.

 

February 16 | Retha Onitiri

150 Years is Enough

New Jersey’s current youth incarceration system is a failed experiment—morally, financially, socially, and from a rehabilitation and public safety perspective. Statistically, black and white children commit offenses at similar rates but two-thirds of New Jersey’s youth prisoners are black and one-third are white. New Jersey spends over $200,000 to incarcerate each child for one year.

Come hear about the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice’s 150 Years is Enough campaign which seeks to close two youth prisons—the New Jersey Training School for Boys (Jamesburg) and the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility (Hayes)—and invest in community-based systems of care as alternatives to incarceration.

February 23 | Cuqui Rivera, Jondhi Harrell, and Mia Hart, with Jonathan Shenk, moderator

Strategies for Engagement

Join us to hear from these community leaders whose programs offer hope and support for those caught up in the criminal justice system or seeking a path out of poverty. Consider how you might offer your time and talents to this transformative work.

 

Opportunities with Mission Partners – February 2020

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Donate REUSABLE Shopping Bags

You are invited to help us care for our planet by donating reusable bags to Arm in Arm! In an effort to better steward our resources and to protect the environment, we would like to reduce plastic waste by using reusable bags in our food pantries. We truly appreciate all of your donations and we are very humbled by your continual generosity in partnering with us to continue serving our community’s needs and also caring for our planet. Please stop by our Nassau pantry located at 61 Nassau St. Our 123 E. Hanover pantry or our Hudson pantry located at 48 Hudson St.  to donate your reusable bags!

Community Matters Panel Discussion

ArmInArm invites you to attend the second in a series of three Community Matters panel discussions, dedicated to education that inspires action. Find out more.

Valentines for Food with ArmInArm

ArmInArm is asking for your support of the 16th annual Valentines for Food, its biggest hunger awareness event of the year. Visit www.arminarm.org/valentines or find out more here.

Brothers On Broadway

Saturday, February 22, 7:30 p.m.
TICKETS ON SALE TODAY!
Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church – Church Life is sponsoring Brothers on Broadway featuring Keith Spencer performing in concert at the Patriots Theater in Trenton at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 22. We only have 25 tickets! Please contact Jeffrey Mascoll or Barbara Flythe if you are interested in purchasing tickets. Tickets are $45 each and will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Visit this website for details.

Opportunities with Mission Partners – January 2020

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Presbyterian Women Winter Gathering and Mission Fair

Join our Presbytery Mission Fair on Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 10:30 am-1:30 pm at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, Princeton for a light lunch followed by Epiphany Cake and projects including bedding for children in Puerto Rico who are suffering the effects from Hurricane Maria and sleeping mats for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Program, lunch, and registration: $5. RSVP by January 15.

Mission Weekend 2020

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January 19-20 is Mission Weekend, when we remind ourselves of our Christian commitment to human flourishing in all places. Join us for these opportunities to get involved.

Youth Mission

Lock-In, January 19-20, 8PM – 8AM

After a normal Fellowship night on Jan. 19th, Senior High Youth are invited to stick around and spend the night in the church. We’ll do some help-out projects for Arm-in-Arm, have some fun, take a midnight run to Hoagie Haven, and maybe even get some sleep. Our Sr. High Leadership Team (Kelsey, Jesse, Nathan, Lauren & Mark) will be here all night.

Contact Mark Edwards (, 609-933-7599)

Signed Permission Form Required

Morning of Mission, Monday, January 20

Come and join an effort below as we equip and serve local organizations. All hands are needed and welcome.

Hands-on Projects

From 10:30 am to 12:00 pm at the church we will be making pet blankets for orphaned animals, putting together sack lunches for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, assembling Creativity Kits for HomeFront, collecting personal care products for Arm in Arm clients and making calendars for ABC Literacy.

Contact Corrie Berg (, 609-924-0103 x108)

Bring donations to the church on Sunday or Monday:

Donation Lists

[ezcol_1half]Creativity Kits for HomeFront

  • pkgs. of crayons (24–48 ct.)
  • pkgs. of colored pencils (24–28 ct.)
  • pkgs. of markers (10–12 ct.)
  • coloring books
  • coloring pads/sketch pads
  • individual packages of stickers

[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]Personal Care Products for Crisis Ministry

  • toothbrushes and toothpaste
  • shampoo and conditioner
  • razors and shaving cream
  • soaps and lotion
  • feminine products

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Community Project

This year’s MLK Day of Service project will take place at the historic Hedgepeth/Williams Middle School of the Arts located in Trenton, New Jersey. The service activities will include school beautification projects such as painting several walls, decorating stairways, and organizing various spaces.

Meet at 8:00 AM at Nassau to carpool and return by 1:00 PM.
Contact Christ Werner Robinson ()

MLK Day 2020 Community Project Facebook Event

MLK Worship Service

Princeton Clergy Association invites everyone to gather for a service to celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 20, at 7PM in Nassau Presbyterians’ sanctuary. Those wishing to join the community choir should come to the music room at 6PM. Reception to follow.

 

#MissionMonday – Young Adult Volunteers

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A Year of Service, A Lifetime of Change

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The Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program is an ecumenical, faith-based year of service for young people (ages 19–30) in sites across the United States and around the world. YAVs accompany local agencies working to address root causes of poverty and reconciliation. Alongside this work, volunteers explore the meaning of their Christian faith and accountability to their neighbors in the community with peers and mentors.

Current YAVs (2020-2021), are serving remotely. Applications are now open for a 2021-2022 in-person YAV service year. Find more information online:

Visit the Website

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Follow #MissionMonday on our social media platforms to hear about how, with your help, Nassau Presbyterian Church is supporting others in our town, our state, and across the world.

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January Conference Room Art Show

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Flying Solo – 2018

Collage birds and portraits by NPC Artist-In-Residence, Trudy Borenstein-Sugiura, will be displayed in the Conference Room Gallery. Originals and giclees (fine art photographs) will be available for sale, and private commissions accepted.

Trudy’s artistic output was originally focused primarily on jewelry design and goldsmithing. All the while, she has had a lifelong devotion to paper and has saved, catalogued and hoarded report cards, postcards, travel brochures, invoices, documents, medical records and books of travels, important personal events and several generations of her family’s ephemera.

Hero – 2016

After the death of her mathematician father, her longstanding interest in paper collage was rekindled; she wanted to make use of and honor his personal papers and writings to make a collaged momento mori portrait of him. This set her on a new path on which she have been traveling since. She is continuing that path with us, creating a large collage from materials submitted by our congregation.

In the last 4 years, her work has been exhibited in group and solo shows in NYC, LA, Chicago, Denver, Cincinnati, Princeton, the Nassau County Museum of Art and the Hamptons, and many commissioned portraits are included in several private collections.

See more online: https://trudy-borenstein-sugiura.squarespace.com/