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.
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
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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.”
Today is Confirmation Sunday and in just a short while we will celebrate with these 11 confirmands in their public profession of faith and their entrance into the full membership of this church. In many ways the Confirmation program, which has met over the course of this past year, is about confronting the big questions of the faith. I’ve asked lots of questions and while even I can’t answer them all, there is one answer that all these confirmands are prepared to give today. It is the most basic answer to the grandest and most important question.
I like questions. And this text from Acts raises many. There is so much in this episode that it would be easy to get pulled in all kinds of fun directions, by asking all kinds of important questions: questions of philosophy, politics, science, providence, idolatry, religion, culture. So many questions…
[The following section was not delivered on May 21 due to time restraints.]
There is the fact that Athens is full of all kinds of idols. One might easily explore these and the similarities they have with contemporary American culture and politics, much of which is derived from Greek influences. What might we find?
There is the Stoic and Epicurean philosophy and Paul’s engagement with the leading intellectuals of the day. Stoicism emphasizes that “everything happens for a reason” and Epicureans insist that the happy life is attained by 1) simple material pleasures and 2) not thinking too deeply about stuff we can’t grasp. Both were dominant schools of thought. And yet, 2000 years later, it is Paul’s preaching of Christ resurrected that has effectively endured as a dominant coherent school of thought. How did that happen? Is it because Christianity is more rational? And what might happen if we slip back into Stoic assumptions about fate and providence and Epicurean aspirations of pleasure? Could we end up like ancient Greece?
There is the fact that Athens is caught up with the perpetual quest for anything new and exciting. What happens to a culture that jettisons all tradition for the latest and greatest ideas? Did they get confused? Might we?
There is the fact that the Athenians are deeply “religious” and thus likely very “spiritual” and devout — but what it is they worship? They worship Gods of silver and stone? Who could ever fall in love with and worship art and manufacturing?
There is the fact that the Athenians seem to be groping around for ecstasy and divine encounters and yet can’t seem to get their hands on the thing they most crave. And yet, of those who “search” it says they also find God. How should we feel about for God? Will all our fumbling eventually lead us to ecstasy?
There is the fact that Paul claims God “who made the world and everything in it” has “allotted the times and the boundaries” of the universe. Is God the cause of the Big Bang, the weaver of the space-time fabric?
What does it mean that the omnipotent and omniscient God, the God who knows and sees all, “overlooks times of human ignorance”? If God is not focused on our sin, failures, and short-comings, what is God focused on?
What does it mean that “we live and move and have our being” in God? Are we, like fish in water, swimming in something so ubiquitous we can’t even recognize it? Could God really be that immediate and foundational to our moment-by-moment physical existence? How? Where? Why?
Why would the almighty and all-powerful God choose to have the world judged in righteousness by “a man”? Why wouldn’t God just do it? Who is the man? Johnny Cash once sang:
There’s a man goin’ ’round takin’ names.
An’ he decides who to free and who to blame.
Everybody won’t be treated all the same.
There’ll be a golden ladder reaching down.
When the man comes around.
Who is this man? Is Cash’s apocalyptic vision theologically prudent?
What is this “altar to an unknown God”? How can we know things we don’t know? How can we worship a known as unknown? And how can Paul know the the unknowable that others don’t know?
And what of those few converts at the end of the chapter, namely the one named Dionysius the Areopagite? What of the mystical works that surfaced in the 5th or 6th Century claiming to the definitive works of this man? Is unknowing all that we know of God the true way to know that which supersedes and transcends all words, ideas, and mental images of God? How about this for a Dr. Seuss-style theological mind-twister: “But now as we climb from the last things up to the most primary we deny all things, so that we may unhiddenly know that unknowing which itself is hidden from all those possessed of knowing amid all beings, so that we may see above being that darkness concealed from all the light among beings.”[1]
[The May 21 sermon resumes at this point.]
Many of these are great unknowns (or are they unknowables?) and we could go on, and indeed we probably should, but not here and not now. For to do so would be to overlook the greatest and most interesting question of the passage. For at the heart of this strange and world-colliding passage is the “unknown God.” Do you know who it is?
Consider that just last week Pastor Dave preached on the stoning of an early apostle Steven. Those who stoned Steven to death laid their coats (to get better aim and power) at “the feet of a young man named Saul” (Acts 7:58); “…and Saul approved of their killing this” early Christian believer (Acts 8:1). Then, just one chapter later Saul had his own encounter with an “unknown God.” “Lord, who are you?” he asked on the road to Damascus. And now, just a week and eight chapters later, Saul, now known as Paul, is preaching to the philosophical elite in the epicenter of the western intellectual world, Athens. Who is the God that can pull off such conversions? Do you know?
Strangely, the Bible is full of people’s encounters with an unknown God:
Consider Jacob wrestling on the banks of the Jabbok river (Genesis 32). “Please tell me your name,” says Jacob. But the God that Jacob is wrestling with just replies, “Why do you want to know my name?”
Who is this strange God who wrestles with humans, and lets them win? Do you know?
Consider Moses talking with a voice emanating from within a burning bush (Exodus 3), “What did you say your name was again?”
Who is this God that has heard the cries of the people and who has seen their sufferings? Who is this powerful liberating God of the Israelites. Do you know?
Consider the mother of Samson (Judges 13), who encounters a divine being in the fields, a being who promises to answer her prayer for the gift of son. When her husband, Samson’s father, encounters this curiously labeled “man of God” he asks, “Are you the one?” The simple answer in reply is, “I am.”
Who is the enigmatic life-giving God who hears the desperate pleas for a new-born, who simply says, “I am.” Do you know?
Consider a paralytic whose friends chop a hole in the roof of a house, so they can lower him down before a teacher with a bizarre reputation. Who is this one who proclaims to have the authority to forgive sins, to heal paralytics, and who says, “Stand up, take your mat and go to your house” (Mark 2:11)?
And the paralytic got up?! Who has the ability to do such things? Do you know?
Consider a batch of disciples, who spend all their days and nights with their loyal leader. And they get stuck in a storm out on a lake and think they are going to die. And when they panic and begin cussing out their leader, he calms the storm. They are stupefied and they ask, “Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey him” (Mark 4:41).
“Who then is this?” they ask; and they live with him. They don’t even know who this one really is. Do we know?
Consider the little children, “And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them” (Mark 10:16). Did the little children know what was going on? Did they know whose lap they sat upon? In whose embrace they received an eternal blessing regarding entering the kingdom of heaven? Did anybody there have a clue?
Who can make promises and guarantees concerning entering the kingdom of heaven, as this one did? Do we know?
Consider an outcast, a thief and a murderer as they are being publicly executed in the most humiliating and painful way conceived of by the local department of justice. “Those who were crucified with him also taunted him” (Mark 15:32). Who is this one who dies an unjust death, in torture and in shame, all while enduring the mocking insults of those he is with, of those for whom he is with?
Who would do such a thing? They had no idea. Do we?
And finally, consider an early Sunday morning, the friends of the deceased who are racked by grief and depression. Mary comes in, and she “told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it” (Mark 16:11).
I mean, come on, it just wouldn’t be rational? Who is capable of being undead? Who wields power over death itself? Do you know?
From the hills of Midian, from the ford at the river Jabbok, from the fields of Manoah and his wife, from a house that needs re-roofing, from the calmed Sea of Galilee, from the marketplace swarming with vagabond kids, from the bloody site of public executions, to the dark closets of despair and emptiness, we have Paul proclaiming an unknown God in the midst of Athens. These people are smart. These people are educated. These people have heard it all. Most laugh. But not all.
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Some… just a few… certainly no more than a dozen… well, let’s just say 11 decided to cross that boundary. They decided to know the God that others did not. They decided that they did know the God that others thought was unknowable. Who were these 11? Will we ever know?
Caroline, in your confirmation Statement of Faith you wrote: “I believe that God has a plan for us all that we may not understand at the time that events occur or even that we may never be able to understand it, but I believe that God has a purpose for me and everyone around me. I accept God’s plan of salvation.”
Who stands at the center of God’s plan of salvation? Caroline knows.
Lindsey, you wrote: “Having faith is like falling off a cliff backwards with your eyes closed. You can never completely know that what you believe in is true. Even the strongest Christians have some doubt. All parts of our lives belong to God, and he created everything for us. When I am unsure of things, I have to believe that God will catch me and knows what is best for me.”
Who is the One in whom Christians put their trust? Who catches us? Lindsey knows.
Anna, you wrote: “I know that the love and forgiveness of Christ are not something I can ever achieve… With this I am grateful to be accepted into a life with the love of Christ.”
Who is the forgiving messiah who welcomes us in love? Who is the accepting Christ? Anna knows.
Josie, you wrote: “I believe that he will one day come again, but until then he is working with us and through us in spirit… The Holy Spirit has worked through me during ASP last summer, where I helped to repair damaged houses in Kentucky.”
Who is the giver of the Holy Spirit? Who is the God that is with us in Princeton and in Kentucky? Josie knows.
Cal, you wrote: “I believe in the Church, a house of knowledge, [a] closely knitted community that teaches us, preaches to us, enlightens us, provides bagels and lemonade for us, and connects with us.”
Who is the bread of life? The Bagel of Life? Who is Lord of the church? Cal knows.
Matt, you wrote: “I believe that God gave up his only son so that whoever believed in him could live eternally in heaven. God’s forgiving nature and generosity is represented through his son.”
Who is this God? Who is this son? Matt knows.
Luke, you wrote: “In the beginning, only his light pierced the veil of nothingness.”
Who is the light of the World? Luke knows.
Margaret, you wrote: “I believe that every part of the triune God is always present in the world. I believe we must be open to this idea that He might not be as direct as we would like but God does know what is best for us. ”
Who is the indirect God who guides us and walks among us in subtle, cloaked, and sometimes anonymous ways? Margaret knows.
Camille, you wrote: “As the 32 of us were standing in St. Peter’s Basilica in Italy singing our hearts out, we couldn’t help but feel the emotions and feelings of togetherness spreading like wildfire from one person to the next.”
Who is the God who sets hearts afire, who puts promises in stone and invites us into the house of God forever? Camille knows.
Morgan, you wrote: “This year in confirmation I learned many things. One of which was at Lake Champion. I learned God’s love is never-ending no matter what mistakes I make.”
Yes, Morgan, this is something we all need to learn. Who is the one who, as you say, “healed the sick, blinded the brokenhearted, forgave sinners, and died on the cross”? Morgan knows.
Isabel, you wrote: “I believe God has a path for us and we should not worry too much about tomorrow for God is in control.”
Who is the one who tells us not to worry about tomorrow and what we shall eat and we shall drink? Who tells us that our heavenly Father knows we need such things and that they will be provided? Isabel knows.
Friends, we have before us 11 who know who the “unknown God” really is. Today they confirm that they are putting their trust, their faith, and their hope in Jesus Christ. May we, like them, follow Christ into, and through, all the unknowns of our lives. Amen.
[1] Pseudo-Dionysius, The Mystical Theology in Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works (Classics of Western Spirituality), trans. by Colm Luibheid. (NY: Paulist Press, 1987), p.138 (1025B).
Nassau and Westminster Presbyterian Churches have had a long history of sharing opportunities for faithful action together.
The Nassau/Westminster Partnership is about to launch a new inter-congregational project
for strengthening and expand personal relationships between our two congregations.
The Holy Moments: Story-Listening Partnership Project
Acknowledging our united communities as a vibrant and powerful sharing partnership; tapping into the personal stories of faith we have to offer one another, learning to notice, name, and celebrate evidences of God’s Presence among us—both yesterday and today!
Phase One
In the next few weeks, members of the Nassau/Westminster Partnership team will be approaching individuals in their counterpart congregation who have been identified/recognized for their individual faith, courage, or joy—all gifts of the Spirit and evidence of God at work. The members of the team will ask these identified individuals to share a story of faith from their personal journey in a one-on-one interview—Storyteller and Story Listener in a private and personal holy moment.
Phase Two
A few weeks later, Story Listeners will publically reflect on their personal experiences of listening to the story of their Storytellers—not sharing the stories of the Storytellers, for they are not the Story Listeners’ stories to tell. Instead Story Listeners will share with both congregations the spiritual gifts they received from their holy moments with their Storytellers.
If you are approached to share—or lend—your story of faith, courage, or joy, please say yes!
For those who want to know more about or join in on the “Holy Moments: Story-Listening Partnership Project,” you can find an introduction to the project in printed form at both churches:
at Nassau in the literature rack outside the Church Office or contact Patti Daley , 609-273-3345
at Westminster in the Narthext or contact Paula Alekson at
Have you ever worshiped with our partner church in Trenton, Westminster Presbyterian Church?
Nassau and Westminster work together for the justice of the city, and promotion of the good news of Jesus Christ. Come and worship at Westminster on Sunday, June 4 at 11:00 a.m. Celebrate our partnership, participate in a sharing of the Lord’s Supper, and join in joyous worship! Carpooling or maps provided – it’s 20 minutes from Nassau! Pastors Joyce MacKichan Walker and Patti Daley are leading the way!
If you are able to offer a seat in your car OR you need a seat in a car, sign up on the clipboard in the Narthex on Sunday or call the church office during the week.
Driving Directions to 1140 Greenwood Ave., Trenton (Google Map)
From Nassau Presbyterian Church, take Mercer Street/Princeton Pike to Rt. 95 N/295 S (9 min, 5.3 mi)
Take 295 S to Exit 63, Rt. 33 W/Nottingham Way (5 min, 4.6 mi)
Stay on Rt. 33 W, slight left about 0.9 miles, Rt 33 becomes Greenwood Ave
Destination is 1.2 miles further on the right (6 min, 2.0 mi)
Parking is available in a lot behind the church or on the streets surrounding the church
The Session of Nassau Church has passed the following resolution, which was written for adoption by members of the Princeton Clergy Association:
“Love Your Neighbor/Welcome the Stranger”
As congregations serving the town of Princeton, we seek to live out the very foundations of our faith by being in solidarity with immigrants, refugees, and other vulnerable populations in our community. Our covenant is to a ministry of accompanying, advocacy, and bold, faith-filled hospitality. We seek to walk with and support individuals and families who are involved in immigration proceedings, to advocate for fair and just immigration policies, and to care for our neighbors negatively impacted or families torn apart by immigration enforcement.
We pledge to work with non-profit groups, schools, and public officials in representing and carrying out the values of loving neighbor, welcoming the stranger, and speaking up for those who have no voice.
Our intent is to continue to carry out our existing ministries and services while discerning how best to be faithful and serve in the months and years ahead.
Consistent with this resolution, members of Nassau Church who share a concern for immigrants carry out a variety of support activities and advocate for broad-based immigration reform. Two groups provide support services to our immigrant neighbors. Read about their activities below and reach out to the contacts listed to get involved.
For general questions about immigration advocacy and service, contact Bill Wakefield (609-306-5299; ).
Love Your Neighbor, Welcome the Stranger, Help Your Neighbor
This group connects volunteers to people in need, identified by the Princeton Clergy Association, Princeton Human Services, the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Neighborhood Sanctuary Alliance.
Volunteers are needed in a number of areas:
Legal aid
Notary public services
Support for people under deportation orders and their families
ESL instruction
Issuance of Community Identification Cards
Transportation for people without driver’s licenses
Support for frightened children
Monitor ICE operations in case of a raid
Friendship
If you want to help, please contact Frances Slade () and indicate your areas of interest and skills.
Sanctuary
If a person or family is actually and directly threatened with detention or deportation, the Session may take action to offer sanctuary in the church. In that eventuality, volunteers will be needed to provide a more intensive level of support, including:
Being on site or on call at night when the church is closed
Providing transportation for family members who are free to go to work, school, doctors appointments, etc.
Shopping for food and other basic needs
Liaison with LALDEF, a lawyer, or others who are providing other support
Going to immigration court with them to show support
If you would want to help, please contact Maureen Llort () or Frank Llort ().
