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Provision

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Genesis 22:1-14
David A. Davis
July 2, 2017

Have you ever had one of those mornings? One of those mornings like Abraham, as in “Abraham rose early in the morning.” One of those early morning encounters with life that has little do with the time on the clock. One of those moments when the knot in your stomach is larger than the courage in your heart. An early morning when you’re not so sure whether your lips are about to offer God praise or curse, when the intersection of life and faith, question and understanding, assurance and doubt, hindsight and vision, when that intersection gets so crowded that you just have to shout. One of those undesirable spots when the call and cost of discipleship clash with the raw limitations of what it means to be human. You certainly can’t sleep, so you get up. Because it is “early in the morning.” And you find yourself looking deep into the mystery of God.

“Abraham rose early in the morning.” The psalmist assures us that “weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30). It is the writer of Lamentations who proclaims, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lam. 3). But this “early morning,” the early morning in this story of the sacrifice of Isaac, this “early morning” for Abraham, feels a lot different than that. “Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac.” You will remember in the chapter before here in Genesis, when Abraham and Sarah sent Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness, that day, that morning, started the same way. “Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.” That was early in the morning.

“Abraham rose early in the morning.” Only two times in the Book of Genesis. The sacrifice of Isaac and the exile of Hagar and Ishmael. Both times “Abraham rose early in the morning.” When it comes to the reading for today, some interpret the action at sunrise as a kind of bold-print, literary, symbolic exclamation point that emphasizes Abraham’s faith and obedience. At the fresh start of a new day, Abraham sets out with a determination and clarity of thought and faith that is as sure and certain as the rising of the sun. Of course the reader of Genesis never learns enough about Abraham’s thought. There is never enough commentary to really know things like doubt, certainty, questioning, faith, despair, confidence. And this whole scene starts with “After these things, God tested Abraham.” The space between the lines in these stories is just too much. Way too much space when you’re trying to read between the lines. The careful reader, the faith-filled reader, has to yearn for more.

“Early in the morning” may not come for Abraham with the promise and the assurance and the gift of a new day. Perhaps there is a fuzziness to “early in the morning,” like the grey time when it is not quite light but it is no longer dark. Those moments when it’s not quite daytime and the dark of night is not yet finished. Abraham casting Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. Abraham being commanded to place his beloved son Isaac there upon the altar. It was early in the morning. There is a distinctive ambiguity about that kind of early morning, an ambiguity of life and faith, life and death. When the piercing light of day and the blinding darkness of night are right there together, just for a moment. “Abraham rose early in the morning” to encounter the ever-present, constantly-puzzling, sometime-heartbreaking, once-in-a-while-even-punishing mystery of God. It was one of those mornings.

Abraham! Abraham! The careful reader wants to pull Abraham aside and ask a few question. The horrified reader wants to know that Isaac is okay on the inside when all that trauma is done. The note-taking, connect-all-the-dots reader remains frustrated by the absence of Sarah and her now suddenly-lost voice. And every reader ought to want to have a word or two with God about all this. As literary scholar Erich Auerbach has written, so much of the human drama in these biblical narratives is understated. “Thoughts and feelings remain unexpressed,” he writes. Interpretation only comes in the midst of “the silence and the fragmentary speeches.” So much is behind the scenes. And this particular biblical witness, Auerbach concludes, is “fraught with background.”

“Frought with background.” Which makes the ancient story all the more human. You and I, our lives are “frought with background,” too. Every one of us. “Frought with background.” A complexity, a thick description, a hot mess of faith and doubt and joy and sorrow and celebration and suffering. And along with Abraham and Sarah, there are those early morning encounters with the mystery of it all, the mystery of God. One of those kind of mornings. Standing between the promise of God and the raw reality of this life of ours. Rising early to greet a complex canvas of life, sometimes obediently, other times in sheer desperation, hoping that some Word from the Lord will make it all easier, knowing full well that sometimes the morning just gets longer as we once again encounter the ever-present, constantly-puzzling, sometime-heartbreaking, once-in-a-while-even-punishing mystery of God.

Artists and poets tend to do better with this passage they call “the Binding of Isaac.” You can find the scene in window at the National Cathedral. You can go over and look at the sculpture on Princeton’s campus. You can see Rembrandt’s sketch on display right now at the Frick Museum in New York City. Artists and poets do better than preachers because they don’t have to offer any answers. They don’t allow words to eat away, explain away, the dramatic, anthropological, theological tension. Unlike preachers who feel obligated to put a kind of rhetorical, interpretive bow on the story (which drains the life right out of the sacred text), unlike preachers, artists’ renditions of “the Binding of Isaac” invite you to a certain silence as you sit before God, Abraham, Isaac, and the Sarah-less trip to the land of Moriah. The invitation is to sit before the story of humanity’s encounter with the divine, squinting all the while to see into the background, into the mystery of God.

Squinting, looking, seeing. Abraham, in the story here in Genesis 22, he didn’t just rise, he saw. “On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away” (v. 4). “And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns.”(v. 13). Abraham looked. He saw. After Abraham saw the ram, after God intervened, Abraham called that place “the Lord will provide.” In Hebrew, that could also be translated “the Lord sees.” God provides. God sees. God will provide. On the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen. On that Mount, the Lord sees.

To rise up early in the morning, it rarely comes with a whole lot of answers. But it comes with an invitation to try to see. The story of “the Binding of Isaac” tells of one who was thrust into the mystery of it all. One who, by God’s grace, was given just a glimpse. Abraham saw just a glimpse of what God saw. To dwell somewhere between the promise of God and the raw reality of life and of death means that an encounter with the mystery of God is inevitable. Because God sees, God provides, and you and I are mere mortals. You don’t have to turn to artists and poets to ponder the world of death and sacrifice that confronted Abraham that early morning. Death and sacrifice, suffering and eternally unanswered questions abound this side of the kingdom. Some mornings you just look at the world and fall silent. Even then, the invitation comes to stare into the mystery of God, to enter into the life of God. To yearn to see what God sees. To learn again, that on this mountain, God provides.

In the current issue of The Christian Century magazine, President Craig Barnes of Princeton Theological Seminary very movingly and powerfully tells the story of a couple he had married about 20 years ago. In the pastoral conversations leading up to the wedding the groom had shared how frightened he was, scared of losing someone he loved so much. “What if something happens to you?” he said as he turned to his fiancé. Summoning all of the wisdom he could muster, Pastor Barnes said, “In my experience, 100% of marriages come to an end. You’ll never beat those odds.”

The point, of course, was that death was inevitable. In the essay, President Barnes went on to share how he learned not long ago that death did come to that marriage. The husband had died at 50 years old of a sudden heart attack, leaving his wife and two kids. The pastor was able to track down the widow and exchange some correspondence. This time the wisdom came from her.

“His death is inexplicable in any logical sense but I very much feel this is part of the mystery of life. In the six months that have passed, I can say I revere this mystery. I don’t want or need to understand everything about our lives on earth.” She attached a picture of her husband with her two young sons. “I would think one the pleasures of marrying young couples who are deeply in love,” she wrote, “is to see the product of that love decades later.”

President Barnes concludes, “When I read such words about revering mystery, I was pleased to know that she understands what can never be understood. It’s the only way she can carry on without him.” A widow, two young kids. I bet she wrote that email early in the morning, boldly pointing to something of what God sees.

If you stare into the mystery of God long enough, when you rise to meet the earliest of mornings, even then, you are rising into the life of God, which means God is present. God is with us. God provides. God sees. Beyond explanation. Beyond words. Standing before the mystery of God, you and I might fall silent again and again. But by nothing other than the grace and mercy of God, you may start to see, in the fuzziness of this life, in the dawn of the breaking day, you catch, if only a glimpse. You can see God’s provision. You can see another hill. Other wood being carried upon the shoulder. Another place of sacrifice. You can see. Another one bound. Another lamb. You can see. God provides. You can start to see what God sees. Another Son. You can see another Beloved Son. And you can see the broken heart of God.

© 2017 Nassau Presbyterian Church
Contact the church to obtain reprint permission.

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Adult Education – July 2017

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The Heart of the Matter

Grab this summer opportunity to reflect on our role as Christians in a world of uncertainty, change, and anxiety. Come looking to claim your hope, Christian resilience, and the gifts God bestows for the work our times call us to do.

Coffee and bagels served at every class

For a look at the entire Summer offerings, download the brochure: AE Summer-2017 bro.

The digital media files posted on the Nassau Presbyterian Church website are copyrighted by the pastors and presenting lecturers. These works are only for personal and educational use through a digital media player on a personal computer or using a personal digital media device (e.g., iPod). These works may not otherwise be archived or re-posted on the Internet, broadcast in any manner, distributed, transcribed or modified in any way without written permission of the presenting lecturer. The user of the audio file holds no license (of any form – expressed or implied) to any of the content of these files. The same applies to any PowerPoint® presentations.

Mission Matters: Christianity in Taiwan Today

Jonathan Seitz

July 2, 11:15AM
Assembly Room

Come hear about what Presbyterians are doing in Taiwan today. Explore ongoing issues and challenges and questions that impact the future. You will have a chance to ask your questions of our mission coworker on the ground in Taiwan.

Jonathan Seitz has lived in East Asia for more than a decade, first in Beijing and Singapore, and now in Taipei after first going in 2005. Jonathan and Emily are two of about 120 PCUSA mission co-workers serving throughout the world. Jonathan teaches at Taiwan Graduate School of Theology. They also lived in New Jersey for about ten years. Jonathan did his MDiv and PhD at Princeton Theological Seminary and Emily did graduate school in library science at Rutgers. Nassau has proudly supported their work since 2013.

Advocacy and Change Matter: Writing Checks, Signing Petitions, and Protest Marches… Is That All There Is?

Sam Daley-Harris

July 9, 11:15AM
Assembly Room

Are you hungry for a bigger voice in our democracy? Are you frustrated by the options you see: writing more checks, signing more petitions, and joining more protests or counter-protests? Are you wondering if that’s all there is? Sam Daley-Harris answers no, there’s so much more. For Daley-Harris the key is connecting with an organization committed to helping dissolve the powerlessness, but that’s not an easy task. Join Sam as he guides us around the pitfalls and on a path to making a profound difference on issues like getting money out of politics, climate change, ending global and
domestic poverty, and reducing the Pentagon budget.

Sam Daley-Harris founded the anti-poverty lobby RESULTS in 1980 and founded the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation (CCET) in 2012. CCET helps non-profits train their members to create champions in Congress and the media for their cause. Daley-Harris coached Citizens Climate Lobby the first seven years of its existence and is author of Reclaiming Our Democracy: Healing the Break between People and Government. Ashoka (Everyone a Changemaker) founder Bill Drayton called Daley-Harris “one of the certified great social entrepreneurs of the last decades.”

The Constitution Matters: Reviewing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2016–17 Term

Larry Stratton

July 16, 11:15AM
Assembly Room

Explore the U.S. Supreme Court’s cases regarding playgrounds and religious school funding; the scope of the duty of prosecutors to give defendants exculpatory evidence; presidential appointees and congressional recesses; gerrymandered congressional districts; land use regulation and takings; and other hot-button legal issues in the overall context of the judiciary’s place on the constitutional map following Justice Neil Gorsuch’s elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Lawrence M. Stratton is Director of Waynesburg University’s Stover Center for Constitutional Studies and Moral Leadership, and Assistant Professor of Ethics and Constitutional Law at Waynesburg. Dr. Stratton received his M.Div. and Ph.D. in Christian Social Ethics from Princeton Theological  Seminary and also has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. As a field education intern at Nassau Presbyterian during his M.Div. studies, Dr. Stratton began an ongoing exploration of American constitutional  law in relation to insights from the Christian faith during many sessions at Nassau Presbyterian beginning in the fall of 2001.

The Constitution Matters in the Age of Trump

Keith Whittington

July 23, 11:15AM
Assembly Room

Come and explore constitutional issues in the Trump administration. Included will be an examination of the Supreme Court confirmation politics.

Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of several books on American  constitutional history, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. presidency. He has two forthcoming books, one on the history of judicial review of federal statutes and one on free speech on college campuses.

The Presidency Matters: What God Wrought?

Mark Herr

July 30, 11:15AM
Assembly Room

No, not Samuel B. Morse, but Trumpalooza. Come for a post mortem of the 2016 election and an interpretation of the first six months of life under the presidency of Donald J. Trump.

Mark Herr is a Managing Director and Head of Corporate Communications of Point72 Asset Management, L.P. He is responsible for creating and  overseeing the firm’s enterprise-wide internal and external communications strategy and operations. Previously, Mr. Herr was a member of the administration of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, serving as the Director and Assistant Attorney General in charge of New Jersey’s  Division of Consumer Affairs and Bureau of Securities. Mark is a member of Nassau Presbyterian Church.

 

Mission Partnership Quarterly – June 2017

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June has brought opportunities to be particularly present with each of our three major mission partners. Read about the experiences of Dr. Barbara Edwards in Malawi with Villages in Partnership, and about 30 of Nassau’s members and  friends who worshiped on Pentecost Sunday with the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton. Our third partner, Cetana in Myanmar, was present in spirit as their board met on our third floor over Memorial Day weekend , beautifully hosted and fed by Nassau’s Susan and Michael Jennings. All these encounters emphasize the major characteristic of partnerships that thrive – strongly nurtured relationships. Look for the signs!

As always, we welcome your questions, suggestions, and support as we seek to deepen our commitments beyond the Nassau Church community.

For the Mission & Outreach Committee,

Joyce MacKichan Walker, staff

Mission Partnership Quarterly Email Newsletter

Updates and events from our local and global mission partners. Four issues annually. Sign up to receive these updates in your email.

Update from Villages in Partnership

by Barbara Edwards

Every year the Allentown NJ based non-profit Villages in Partnership sends a medical team to Malawi. This year’s 28 person team, largely composed of doctors, nurses and nursing students, treated over 5000 patients in the deeply impoverished villages of Malawi from May 9-20. I represented Nassau Presbyterian Church as a member of this year’s team. Among other amazing experiences we spent a day away from the clinics and at local primary schools:

Wednesday was a great, fun, exhausting day. I think we are all a bit tired from everything we’ve already done this week. We never stop moving here but it is always interesting and fun. Wednesday most of the group went to visit local primary schools. They helped to clean the schools by sweeping with the local homemade brooms (made with small branches held together in your hand) and then mopping with old t-shirts on their hands and knees. Then they went to visit the classrooms where they spoke with the students. The students had lots of questions such as, “What do you eat in America? What do you do for fun? How many languages do you speak? Do you have HIV/AIDS in America? Did you bring a car over with you on the plane?”

While they were at the schools, a few of us went to a village to help cook our lunch. We prepared a large community meal for well over 100 people. We cooked outside under the trees over small fires that they built between bricks. They used corn cobs, sticks and corn stalks for fuel. We chopped greens, shelled peas, pole beans, and ground nuts (peanuts). We ground up the peanuts with a giant mortar and pestle and added them to the food. They also roasted peanuts and ground that up for the most delicious peanut butter I have ever tasted. We fetched water from the well and carried it back to the cooking area about 200 yards on our heads! We also helped to cook nsima, the local version of cooked cornmeal. With the nsima we made “relishes” that are eaten alongside mustard greens, pumpkin leaves, and sweet potato leaves cooked with tomatoes and ground nuts, okra, pigeon peas, and goat cooked with tomatoes. All the food was delicious! We sat on the ground in groups of 3-4 and ate out of shared bowls using our right hand. Yes, we wash our hands beforehand by pouring water from a cup over them. After the meal we all thanked the village and the chief for providing such a wonderful meal for us! We all feel blessed to be here.

We are looking forward to continuing our work with VIP and will keep you updated as to how you may become involved. Any questions? Please contact Loretta Wells at .

Update from Cetana Educational Foundation

by Sue Jennings

Nassau members will have a chance to see firsthand the work of our mission partner Cetana if they join a trip to Myanmar/Burma in January 2018. This will be the third trip since the Nassau/Cetana partnership began four years ago. This time participants will travel to Kanpetlet in Chin state where Nassau is supporting a teacher training project. Joyce MacKichan Walker traveled there with Sue Jennings this past January to get an overview of the project.

Kanpetlet is near Natma Taung National Park, a place of pristine natural beauty that provides opportunities for  birdwatchers, hikers, photographers, and orchid fanciers. Participants in the January 2018 tour will visit the Kanpetlet schools where Cetana is working and have a chance to meet the local leaders involved in the project. In addition, the tour will include stops in Yangon to see the Cetana flagship learning center and the country’s most revered temple, Shwedagon Pagoda; in Bagan, one of the world’s best preserved archaeological sites, where many of the two thousand plus temples date back to the 11th century; in KyaingTong on the border with Thailand, where Cynthia Paul, a beneficiary of Cetana scholarship support, now runs an English learning center; and at Inle lake, famous for its floating gardens and markets and exquisite craft workshops.

The tour is a rare opportunity for travelers to get an inside look at Myanmar/Burma and its fascinating, complex culture. We will have daily contact with local people, who have a reputation for friendliness and generosity; we will have access to monasteries, schools, and other institutions that the casual tourist never sees; and we will see the results of the Myanmar people’s resilience and ingenuity, which make our partnership so rewarding.

Exact dates and the itinerary for the trip are not yet set, but we are planning on a stay of approximately 15 days and looking for a minimum of 10 participants (maximum 16). The exact cost will depend on the number of participants and number of nights (last year for 17 nights the cost was $4600 pp, double occupancy, excluding international airfare). Some financial assistance is available for those with need. Please contact Sue or Michael Jennings () or Joyce MacKichan Walker (609-924-0103, x103, ) BEFORE JULY 9 if you are interested. Deposits will not be due till early August.

Your ideas for making this a vital partnership are welcome. For more information, contact Sue Jennings ().

Update from Westminster Presbyterian Church

by Angie Belmont

“We are standing on Holy Ground, and I know that there are angels all around. Let us praise Jesus now. We are standing in God’s presence on Holy Ground”.  On Pentecost Sunday, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, we sang Holy Ground led by the children of the church. As I looked around at all of the members, visitors, and guests, joined in song, I truly felt the presence of God. In an amazing multicultural, multigenerational, multimedia service, together with over 30 friends from Nassau Presbyterian Church, we participated in a song-filled, praise-filled, worship service that filled our hearts with love.

Our guest preacher was the Rev. Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim, professor of Earlham School of Religion, and co-editor of the book entitled, Intercultural Ministry: Hope for a Changing World. Pastor Karen shared the story of Westminster’s transformational story in its’ chapter 12. Pastor Karen and Rev. Dr. Kathie Sakenfeld also shared information about their book entitled, Faith of our Mothers, Living Still, which will be out in October.  Rev. Joanne Rodríguez, Rev. Patti Daley, Rev. Joyce MacKichan Walker, Rev. Wayne Meisel, and Rev. Dr. Marianne Rhebergen served as liturgist and officiants.

During the celebration of communion, Pastor Karen explained the meanings of the salutation “sawabona” and the response “sikona,” two South Africian phrases that mean “I see you, as you truly are” and the response “I exist” or “I am” not as you imagine, but as I truly am. Each person upon receiving communion, was given a hug and a “sawabona”. This traditional Westminster greeting, usually repeated during the benediction, reinforced the feeling of “una familia” throughout the worship service.

Westminster’s presence in the City of Trenton is a staple portion of the weekly “Seeking the Shalom of the City” PowerPoint presentation during our worship service. On Pentecost Sunday, various pictures were displayed highlighting the partnerships and events shared by Westminster and Nassau churches. Together, we are making a difference in the City and throughout the communities where our shared partnership has been a witness to God’s work through us.

Westminster’s Deacon, Crystal Jordan, a former caterer, prepared a delicious luncheon with funds provided by Nassau. The spirit of joyful communion during worship trickled down into our fellowship time. Many members of both churches remained after worship to break bread together as they got to know one another better.

Interested in visiting Westminster’s 11AM worship and meeting our partners? Contact Patti Daley (). Google directions from Nassau Church: https://goo.gl/maps/6qpZsBXv8T82

Ingrid Ladendorf to Direct Choirs for Children and Youth

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Ingrid Ladendorf
Ingrid has worked with the Joyful Noise Choir since 2011. Above right, she works with the group this past May.

The choral director search committee is pleased to announce that Ingrid Ladendorf has been selected as our new Associate Director of Choirs for Children and Youth.

Ingrid has been the director of the Joyful Noise Choir and has directed numerous Pageants and Chancel Dramas since arriving at Nassau in 2010, and we are looking forward to her work with children and youth of all ages.

She holds degrees from Ithaca College and the Teachers College of Columbia University, is a Program Director and Childhood Advisor at the Diller-Quaile School of Music in Manhattan, and is an Adjunct Professor in music education at The College of New Jersey.

Ingrid will formally start on August 1, though you will certainly see her around this summer putting the plans together for an exciting first year with Carol Choir, Choir 345, the Middle School Choir, and Cantorei.

The committee was impressed not only by Ingrid’s considerable wealth of experience and creative teaching technique, but also by her extraordinary spiritual depth and her love for Christ’s church.

We are delighted to have found such a wonderful individual as Ingrid to be our new director for our children and youth!

With gratitude,

Noel Werner
Kim Kleasen
Shana Lindsey-Morgan
Rebekah Sterlacci
Kristen Ward

Cetana Trip in January ’18

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Journey to Myanmar/Burma in January 2018

Planning is underway for the annual Cetana trip to Myanmar/Burma in mid- to late-January. Exact dates for the trip of approximately 15 days, are not yet set, but the tour will include a visit to Kanpetlet, where Nassau Church’s mission partner Cetana has just launched a teacher training project. Also on the itinerary are Yangon (and the glorious Shwedagon pagoda), archaeological site Bagan, Kyaing Tong, and Inle Lake.

Kanpetlet at Dawn

We need a minimum of 10 participants (maximum 16). The exact cost will depend on the number of participants and number of nights (last year for 17 nights the cost was $4600 pp, double occupancy, excluding international airfare). Some financial assistance is available for those with need.

If you have any interest in visiting this beautiful and unique country, where Nassau is committed to building mutually transformative relationships, contact Sue or Michael Jennings () or talk to Joyce MacKichan Walker (609-924-0103 x103, ) BEFORE JULY 9 . Deposits will not be due till early August.

Congregational Meeting

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A meeting of the congregation of Nassau Presbyterian Church will be held next Sunday, June 25, at 11:00 AM in the Sanctuary for the purpose of electing new Ruling Elders, Deacons, the Audit Committee, and the Nominating Committee and approving the terms of call for the pastors. See the list of nominees below.

Ruling Elders

Russell Annich (Class of 2020)
Audrey Brown (Class of 2018, youth)
Polly Griffin (Class of 2020)
Holly Hardaway (Class of 2019)
Camille Ladendorf (Class of 2020, youth)
Je Oh (Class of 2020)
Monisha Pulimood (Class of 2020)
Jason Sterlacci (Class of 2020)
John Thurber (Class of 2020)

Deacons

Karen Berliner (second term)
Josie Brothers (youth)
Melissa Davis (second term)
Janine Edwards
Katherine (Kate) Harmon
Alan Hendry
Margaret Hill (youth)
Frances Katrishen (second term)
Anne Kuhn
Jeff Kuhn
Cecelia (Celia) Tazelaar
Deborah Toppmeyer
Edwin (Ned) Walthall (second term)

Nominating Committee

Linda Jesse
Michael Dean Morgan
Alexandra (Allie) Rounds (youth)
Donna Saragnese
Carol Wehrheim

Audit Committee

Ann Elmes

Preschool Curriculum

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About the Curriculum (see the “Front Matter” files)

At Home Resources: www.pcusastore.com/GGGdownloads

With advance notice, we can make copies for you during the week and leave them in your attendance folder. Contact Lauren Yeh (x106, )

Quick Links:
Fall (September, October, November) Ages3to5 Frontmatter Fall
Winter (December, January, February) Ages3to5 Frontmatter Winter
Spring (March, April, May) Ages3to5 Frontmatter Spring

Fall 2024 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: SCM_Ages3to5_Year1Fall
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

September

9/1 * Ages3to5 Year1Fall1

9/8 Ages3to5 Year1Fall2

9/15 Ages3to5 Year1Fall3

9/22 Ages3to5 Year1Fall4

9/29 Ages3to5 Year1Fall5

*FYI – 9/1 is part of the Summer Semester

October

10/6 Ages3to5 Year1Fall6

10/13 Ages3to5 Year1Fall7

10/20 Ages3to5 Year1Fall8

10/27 Ages3to5 Year1Fall9

November

11/3 Ages3to5 Year1Fall10

11/10 Ages3to5 Year1Fall11

11/17 Ages3to5 Year1Fall12

11/24 Ages3to5 Year1Fall13

Winter 24/25 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: SCM Ages3to5 Year1Winter
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

December

12/1 Ages3to5 Year1Winter1

12/8 Ages3to5 Year1Winter2

12/15 Ages3to5 Year1Winter3

12/22 Ages3to5 Year1Winter4

12/29 *Ages3to5 Year1Winter5

*FYI – 12/29 is a 10am service

January

1/5 Ages3to5 Year1Winter6

1/12 Ages3to5 Year1Winter7

1/19 Ages3to5 Year1Winter8

1/26 Ages3to5 Year1Winter9

February

2/2 Ages3to5 Year1Winter10

2/9 Ages3to5 Year1Winter11

2/16 Ages3to5 Year1Winter12

2/23 Ages3to5 Year1Winter13

Spring 2025 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: SCM_Ages3to5_Year1Spring
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

March

3/2 Ages3to5 Year1Winter14

3/9 Ages3to5 Year1Spring1

3/16 Ages3to5 Year1Spring2

3/23 Ages3to5 Year1Spring3

3/30 Ages3to5 Year1Spring4

April

4/6 Ages3to5 Year1Spring5

4/13 Ages3to5 Year1Spring6

4/20* Ages3to5 Year1Spring7

4/27 Ages3to5 Year1Spring8

*FYI – 4/20 is Easter Sunday

May

5/4 Ages3to5 Year1Spring9

5/11 Ages3to5 Year1Spring10

Summer 2025 Semester

10 am Worship Services

5/18 Ages3to5 Year1Spring11

5/25 Ages3to5 Year1Spring12

6/1 Ages3to5 Year1Spring13

6/8 Ages3to5 Year1Spring14

 

Grades 1 & 2 Curriculum

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About the Curriculum (see “Frontmatter” files below)

At Home Resources: www.pcusastore.com/GGGdownloads

With advance notice, we can make copies for you during the week and leave them in your attendance folder. Contact Lauren Yeh (x106, )

Quick Links:
Fall (September, October, November) Ages5to7 Frontmatter Fall
Winter (December, January, February) Ages5to7 Frontmatter Winter
Spring (March, April, May) Ages5to7 Frontmatter Spring

Fall 2024 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: (file is too big to upload – contact Lauren Yeh if you need a specific page)
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

September

9/1* Ages5to7 Year1Fall1

9/8 Ages5to7 Year1Fall2

9/15 Ages5to7 Year1Fall3

9/22 Ages5to7 Year1Fall4

9/29 Ages5to7 Year1Fall5

*FYI – 9/1 is part of the Summer Semester

October

10/6 Ages5to7 Year1Fall6

10/13 Ages5to7 Year1Fall7

10/20 Ages5to7 Year1Fall8

10/27 Ages5to7 Year1Fall9

November

11/3 Ages5to7 Year1Fall10

11/10 Ages5to7 Year1Fall11

11/17 Ages5to7 Year1Fall12

11/24 Ages5to7 Year1Fall13

Winter 24/25 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: (file is too big to upload – contact Lauren Yeh if you need a specific page)
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

December

12/1 Ages5to7 Year1Winter1

12/8 Ages5to7 Year1Winter2

12/15 Ages5to7 Year1Winter3

12/22 Ages5to7 Year1Winter4

12/29* Ages5to7 Year1Winter5

*FYI – 12/29 10am Service

January

1/5 Ages5to7 Year1Winter6

1/12 Ages5to7 Year1Winter7

1/19 Ages5to7 Year1Winter8

1/26 Ages5to7 Year1Winter9

February

2/2 Ages5to7 Year1Winter10

2/9 Ages5to7 Year1Winter11

2/16 Ages5to7 Year1Winter12

2/23 Ages5to7 Year1Winter13

Spring 2025 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: (file is too big to upload – contact Lauren Yeh if you need a specific page)
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

March

3/2 Ages5to7 Year1Winter14

3/9 Ages5to7 Year1Spring1

3/16*  Ages5to7 Year1Spring2

3/23 Ages5to7 Year1Spring3

3/30 Ages5to7 Year1Spring4

*FYI – 3/16 Youth Sunday

April

4/6 Ages5to7 Year1Spring5

4/13 Ages5to7 Year1Spring6

4/20* Ages5to7 Year1Spring7

4/27 Ages5to7 Year1Spring8

*FYI – 4/20 Easter Sunday

May

5/4 Ages5to7 Year1Spring9

5/11 Ages5to7 Year1Spring10

Summer 2025 Semester

5/18 Ages5to7 Year1Spring11

5/25 Ages5to7 Year1Spring12

6/1 Ages5to7 Year1Spring13

6/8 Ages5to7 Year1Spring14

 

3rd, 4th & 5th Grade Curriculum

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About the Curriculum (see the “Frontmatter” files below)

At Home Resources: www.pcusastore.com/GGGdownloads

With advance notice, we can make copies for you during the week and leave them in your attendance folder. Contact Lauren Yeh (x106, )

Quick Links:
Fall (September, October, November) Ages8to10 Frontmatter Fall
Winter (December, January, February) Ages8to10 Frontmatter Winter
Spring (March, April, May) Ages8to10 Frontmatter Spring

Fall 2024 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: (file is too big to upload – contact Lauren Yeh if you need a specific page)
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

September

9/1* Ages8to10 Year1Fall1

9/8 Ages8to10 Year1Fall2

9/15 Ages8to10 Year1Fall3

9/22 Ages8to10 Year1Fall4

9/29 Ages8to10 Year1Fall5

*FYI – 9/1 is in Summer Semester

October

10/6 Ages8to10 Year1Fall6

10/13 Ages8to10 Year1Fall7

10/20 Ages8to10 Year1Fall8

10/27 Ages8to10 Year1Fall9

November

11/3 Ages8to10 Year1Fall10

11/10 Ages8to10 Year1Fall11

11/17 Ages8to10 Year1Fall12

11/24 Ages8to10 Year1Fall13

Winter 24/25 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: (file is too big to upload – contact Lauren Yeh if you need a specific page)
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

December

12/1 Ages8to10 Year1Winter1

12/8 Ages8to10 Year1Winter2

12/15 Ages8to10 Year1Winter3

12/22 Ages8to10 Year1Winter4

12/29* Ages8to10 Year1Winter5

*FYI – 12/29, 10 am Service

January

1/5 Ages8to10 Year1Winter6

1/12 Ages8to10 Year1Winter7

1/19 Ages8to10 Year1Winter8

1/26 Ages8to10 Year1Winter9

February

2/2 Ages8to10 Year1Winter10

2/9 Ages8to10 Year1Winter11

2/16 Ages8to10 Year1Winter12

2/23 Ages8to10 Year1Winter13

Spring 2025 Semester

Stories, Colors, and More: (file is too big to upload – contact Lauren Yeh if you need a specific page)
(includes the weekly read aloud story, coloring pages are included in weekly curriculum below)

March

3/2 Ages8to10 Year1Winter14

3/9 Ages8to10 Year1Spring1

3/16* Ages8to10 Year1Spring2

3/23 Ages8to10 Year1Spring3

3/30 Ages8to10 Year1Spring4

*FYI – 3/16, Youth Sunday

April

4/6 Ages8to10 Year1Spring5

4/13 Ages8to10 Year1Spring6

4/20* Ages8to10 Year1Spring7

4/27 Ages8to10 Year1Spring8

*FYI – 4/20, Easter Sunday

May

5/4 Ages8to10 Year1Spring9

5/11 Ages8to10 Year1Spring10

Summer 2025 Semester

10 am Worship Service

5/18 Ages8to10 Year1Spring11

5/25 Ages8to10 Year1Spring12

6/1 Ages8to10 Year1Spring13

6/8 Ages8to10 Year1Spring14

Adult Education – June 2017

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The Heart of the Matter

Grab this summer opportunity to reflect on our role as Christians in a world of uncertainty, change, and anxiety. Come looking to claim your hope, Christian resilience, and the gifts God bestows for the work our times call us to do.

Coffee and bagels served at every class

For a look at the entire Summer offerings, download the brochure: AE Summer-2017 bro.

The digital media files posted on the Nassau Presbyterian Church website are copyrighted by the pastors and presenting lecturers. These works are only for personal and educational use through a digital media player on a personal computer or using a personal digital media device (e.g., iPod). These works may not otherwise be archived or re-posted on the Internet, broadcast in any manner, distributed, transcribed or modified in any way without written permission of the presenting lecturer. The user of the audio file holds no license (of any form – expressed or implied) to any of the content of these files. The same applies to any PowerPoint® presentations.

Churches Matter! Lives Matter!

Rick Ufford-Chase

June 11, 11:15AM
Assembly Room

Rick will focus the conversation on one of the central questions he takes on in his recent book, “What does it take to create strong faith communities that have the capacity to provide solidarity to those who are most at risk in our community and around the world.” Rick knows Nassau Church well, and we have worked together on numerous projects over the last few years. Please come for a conversation together about what it takes to shape a relevant Christian witness in the challenging times in which we live.

Rick Ufford-Chase and his wife Kitty are the Co-Directors of Stony Point Center and co-founders of the multifaith Community of Living Traditions. Rick is the author of the book Faithful Resistance: Gospel Visions for the Church in a Time of Empire, and he is the Associate Director for Interfaith Formation for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. He is an avid outdoorsman, and spends his spare time guiding whitewater raft trips in the Adirondacks.

Refugees Matter!

Deborah Amos

June 18, 11:15AM
Assembly Room

Deborah Amos of NPR will bring us an update on current refugee resettlement developments. Deborah has become our life-line to knowledgeable analysis and continuing compassionate action on this issue.

Deborah Amos covers the Middle East for NPR News with reports heard on “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” and “Weekend Edition.”