Opportunities with Mission Partners – September 2019

Send Hunger Packing Princeton

On Sunday, September 15th from 2-4pm Send Hunger Packing Princeton (SHUPPrinceton), which provides weekend food to Princeton students in need, will be having their 5th annual Fall “friendraiser” at Hinds Plaza (next to the Princeton Public Library). This year’s food packing event, in partnership with Mercer Street Friends, will be a unique opportunity for Princeton families to come together to help their community by providing for people in need.  Admission to the event is Free, however donations are appreciated and can be made in person or on their website www.SHUPPrinceton.org.

“This Community focused event is a wonderful opportunity for Princeton families to come together to serve those in our community who need our help” –Ross Wishnick, Founder, SHUPPrinceton

To date, SHUPPrinceton has distributed over 140,000 meals to Princeton children. For more information, or to make a donation go to www.SHUPPrinceton.org Contact: Wendy Vasquez 908-797-7291 


Visit Nassau’s Myanmar Mission Partner

Lois Young and Sue Jennings are leading a trip to Myanmar this fall on behalf of Nassau’s international mission partner Cetana. The date of the tour is October 9-20. Somewhat shorter than in previous years, the tour will nevertheless include visits to Cetana teaching sites in Yangon as well as Inle Lake, Bagan, and Ngapali Beach. Excluding international airfare, the approximate cost will be $3500 per person double occupancy, including lodging, internal transportation via bus and air, all meals, sightseeing, and baggage transfers.


Conversation with International Peacemaker

September 29, Noon-ish, Witherspoon Street Church, Fellowship Hall
Come welcome and meet International Peacemaker Monique Ngoie Mukuna Misenga from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Elder Misenga will talk about how education and income-generating projects help women lift themselves out of extreme poverty. She is an advocate for women’s rights and works to end violence again women. The program will also include information about Witherspoon’s connections with Liberia and Ghana.

Nassau’s Plarn Project

“Plarn” is plastic yarn made from repurposed plastic shopping and newspaper bags and can be used to make sleeping mats for those experiencing homelessness. Nassau is partnering with our Interfaith Stitchers for Peace and Trenton Area Soup Kitchen to make “plarn” sleeping mats for their clients who are in need of a sleeping surface that is more comfortable than pavement, a hard floor, or a simple cot. It takes 500 bags to make one mat.

Join us and:
1) Collect clean, dry grocery store plastic and newspaper bags and bring them to the church where bins are ready outside the church office.
2) Use the written instructions to cut bags, tie them together, and create a plarn ball and drop them in the bins outside the church office.
3) Use the instructions to crochet / knit mats on your own.
4) Learn to do it all and attend one of our workshops on Sundays:
Sep. 8: 10:15–11:15 am & 12:00-1:00 pm, Niles Chapel
Sep. 15: 10:15–11:00 am, Niles Chapel
Sep. 15: 12:15–1:30 pm with the Senior Adult Lunch, Assembly Room
Sep. 22: 10:15–11:00 am, Niles Chapel

Opportunities with Mission Partners – August 2019

School Supply Drive for GetSET

We are once again joining with Westminster Presbyterian Church, our partner church in Trenton, to provide 200 backpacks filled with essentials for local kids.

Please stop by Nassau Church and choose an item or two to donate from our Back-to-School display on the Great Wall. Thanks to the generosity of Princeton University Class of 1974, money has already been donated to purchase the backpacks for this fall! If you would like to make an additional financial contribution, this will be used by Westminster to handpick toys for young people in their community.

Supplies and monetary donations can be dropped off in the church office through Sunday, August 18. Make checks out to Nassau Presbyterian Church, noting “GetSET” in the memo line. Donations can be made online HERE, choose “Get Set – Westminster” in the Fund drop down box. Thank you!

All supplies and money collected at Nassau Church during the back to school drive will be donated to the GetSET program at Westminster Church.


Heritage Tour

The Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society is honoring 29 African American establishments in Princeton. The locations will be designated by Heritage plaques that will give a brief history of the establishment. The first four Heritage plaques will honor the four churches in the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood. Saturday, August 10, there will be a walking tour of the four churches to unveil the plaques with a brief history and blessing by the churches’ ministers. The schedule for the tour is as follows:

9:45 — Leave from the Waxwood apartment building at 35 Quarry Street – walk to Birch Avenue (For those who do not want to walk from this location, you may meet us at Morning Star Church of God in Christ.)
10:05 — Gather at Morning Star Church of God in Christ
10:25 — Walk up Witherspoon Street to gather at Mt. Pisgah AME Church
10:45 — Walk to next block to gather at Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church
11:05 — Walk to Green Street toward John Street to gather at The First Baptist Church of Princeton

For those who wish to rest and have a cool drink and refreshments, you are welcome to walk from the First Baptist Church to 30 Quarry Street. For church members who prefer to stay at their church until the tour arrives, we will meet with you when we arrive at your church.


Witherspoon Partnership Summer Reading

The Witherspoon Church–Nassau Church Joint Mission Collaboration Committee will be reading Radical Reconciliation, Beyond Political Pietism and Christian Quietism by Allan Aubrey Boesak and Curtiss Paul DeYoung over the summer. The congregations of both churches are invited to join in the reading of this important book to promote a common language around reconciliation.

 


Visit Nassau’s Myanmar Mission Partner

Lois Young and Sue Jennings are leading a trip to Myanmar this fall on behalf of Nassau’s international mission partner Cetana. The date of the tour is October 9-20. Somewhat shorter than in previous years, the tour will nevertheless include visits to Cetana teaching sites in Yangon as well as Inle Lake, Bagan, and Ngapali Beach. Excluding international airfare, the approximate cost will be $3500 per person double occupancy, including lodging, internal transportation via bus and air, all meals, sightseeing, and baggage transfers.


Crossroads Theater to Feature Play about Paul Robeson

Crossroads Theater’s (New Brunswick) open­ing season will feature a play about Paul Robeson. Witherspoon Street Presbyterian is gauging interest for a group trip to the theatre on Saturday, September 14, at 3:00 p.m (cost approximately $50 per person). Please contact Michelle Peal () before August 25 to reserve your seat with the group.

VIP trip to Malawi

Help Pack Suitcases For Malawi

Stephanie Patterson, Madelyn Patterson, and Loretta & Bob Wells are traveling in August to Malawi, Africa, on a friendship trip with our mission partner, Villages in Partnership. Help fill their “extra” suitcases! Requested items include:
– Shoes (flip-flops and soccer cleats most appreciated)
– Toothbrushes and toothpaste
– Unscented soaps
– Light-weight blankets
– Crayons
Place goods in the collection bin in the church office by Sunday, July 28. Please also keep Barbara Edwards and the July medical mission team in prayer along with the August friendship trip and all our mission partners in Malawi. Thank you!

Opportunities with Partner Congregations – July 2019

School Supply Drive for GetSET

We are once again joining with Westminster Presbyterian Church, our partner church in Trenton, to provide 200 backpacks filled with essentials for local kids.

Please stop by Nassau Church and choose an item or two to donate from our Back-to-School display on the Great Wall. Thanks to the generosity of Princeton University Class of 1974, money has already been donated to purchase the backpacks for this fall! If you would like to make an additional financial contribution, this will be used by Westminster to handpick toys for young people in their community.

Supplies and monetary donations can be dropped off in the church office through Sunday, August 11. Make checks out to Nassau Presbyterian Church, noting “GetSET” in the memo line. Thank you!

All supplies and money collected at Nassau Church during the back to school drive will be donated to the GetSET program at Westminster Church.


The Earth is the Lord’s: Climate Change and Environmental Justice

A summer program for youth grades 6-12 sponsored by Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church

Saturday, July 13, 2019
8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
124 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ

To register, contact Michelle Peal (, 908-313-4178).

Download the flyer (pdf).


Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church Outdoor Worship and All-Church Picnic

Sunday, July 14, 2019
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
SPECIAL NOTE FROM WITHERSPOON- CHANGE OF LOCATION

Due the flash flood on Thursday evening, the Van Nest park is unable to be cleaned sufficiently.

We have been blessed to find a new location which is larger and has more parking, closer access for seniors at the West Windsor Community Park located at Bernt Midland Blvd / Slayback Road, Princeton Hightstown Road (571). http://www.wwparks-recreation.com/parks/wwcommunity.html

The amenities at West Windsor Community Park include basketball, soccer, skate and bike park, tennis courts, football fields, and a playground.  We will have games as well.  Come with an appetite to fellowship and have fun.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Please let Sarah Finbow (, x107) know if you plan to attend by July 8, 2019 so that we can give accurate numbers.

Officer Nominations 2019

The following nominations will be presented and voted on at the congregational meeting of Nassau Presbyterian Church on June 30, 2019.

2019 ELDER Nominations

Rich O’Brien

Benjamin Yeh

Janet Roman

Bill Wakefield

Allison Harmon (youth)

Barbara Edwards

Jeff Santoro

Shana Lindsey-Morgan

 

2019 DEACON Nominations

Beth Coogan

Lynette Dunn

Zack Gilmore

Linda Jesse

Marshall McKnight

Pam Wakefield

Eliana Hansen (youth)

John Parker

Miriam Eley

Liz Beasley

Susan Smiley

Karen Barrows

 

2019 NOMINATING COMMITTEE Nominations

Gordon Thomas

Cynthia Moorhead

James Takasugi

Joan Kettelkamp

Youth- tbd

 

 2019 AUDIT COMMITTEE Nominations

Gabriella Milley (2020)- 2 more years

Zhengqing Li

David Hill

 

 

 

 

Opportunities with Partner Congregations – June 2019

Museum of the Bible – Saturday, June 29

Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church would like to invite members of Nassau to join us on a trip to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC on Saturday, June 29. The cost per person to cover the trip (bus and museum tickets included) is $90 per person.

We will leave at 7:00 am from Princeton in the parking lot for the Billie Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve off of Mountain Avenue between Route 206 and Bayard Lane, returning to the same location at 9:00 pm.

The Museum includes artifacts, short films, panoramas, technology-enhanced exhibits, and a biblically themed restaurant (foodies should definitely check it out!). It tells the story of how the Bible came to us, illustrates the culture, and of special interest is a current exhibit called “The Slave Bible: Let the Story Be Told.”

Please make your reservation for this trip ASAP as seats are filling up. To reserve your spot, contact Audi Peal (908-938-9573, . Checks should be made payable to “Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church” with “Museum of the Bible” on the memo line, and mailed on or before Wednesday, June 19, to:

Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church
124 Witherspoon Street
Princeton NJ 08542


Bethany Community Garden Party – Saturday, June 29

You are invited to the 7th annual Bethany Community Garden Party, on Saturday, June 29, from 2:00 – 6:00 pm at 426 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton. The Garden Party celebration will include honoring Westminster partners an open mic, spoken word, drumming, and dancing from 4:00–5:00 PM. Light refreshments will be provided by ArmInArm and The Bonner Foundation.

Designed by David Byers, the Bethany Community Garden is a project of the Bethany House of Hospitality, and the produce goes to their residents and neighbors and also to clients of ArmInArm.

Contact Karen Hernández-Granzen ()


 

International YAV Experience

 

My YAV experience in Peru is and always will be an experience I will not know how to put into words. Even though it has been almost a year since my return from Peru, it still is something I am processing and probably will continue to process for many years.

I served as a YAV in Huanuco, Peru, a small city north east of Lima. I was working at Casa Del Buen Trato Hovde, a nonprofit center for women and girls who were victims of sexual abuse and/or domestic violence. It is actually the only shelter like this in all of Peru. Working alongside the psychologist, I organized and lead workshops on topics such as self-esteem, trauma, healing, etc., yoga and meditation classes, and was just a person that the girls could come and talk to. What I experienced there gave me so many new and different perspectives on life, privilege, and so much more. I am so grateful for all the amazing people I met throughout the year, including my host family, fellow YAVs, the girls at the shelter, the women I worked with, and so many more.

I first heard about the YAV program through Nassau church in high school. I remember hearing about it and thinking what an incredible opportunity it was. About six years later, I ended up applying. Nassau church helped me throughout my entire application and fundraising process. I could not have done it without their support. Returning to Nassau after my YAV year and being able to lead a talk and discussion about what my year was like was such a surreal experience. I am so grateful to have a place like Nassau church that continues to feel like home no matter where I am in the world and I look forward to returning in the future.

Blessings,

Katie

 

Read more about Nassau’s support for young adults in mission here.