Westminster Conservatory Noontime Series
Thursday, September 15, 12:15 p.m.
with Music for Solo Piano by American Composers
On Thursday, September 15 the fifteenth season of Westminster Conservatory at Nassau will begin with a recital of music by American composers for solo piano. Clipper Erickson, the soloist, is a member of the teaching faculty at Westminster Conservatory. The recital will take place in the Niles Chapel at 12:15 and is open to the public free of charge.
Erickson will perform the Ballad, opus 6, of Amy Beach; David Finko’s Sonata no. 3, excerpts from Eight Bible Vignettes by Nathaniel Dett, and two movements from Rodeo by Aaron Copland, “Corral Nocturne,” and “Hoedown.”
On October 20 Westminster Conservatory at Nassau will present the Dulcian Reed Trio, Melissa Bohl, oboe; Kenneth Ellison, clarinet; and Zachary Feingold, bassoon.
New School for Music Study
Sunday, September 18, 2:30 p.m.
The New School for Music Study begins is 2016-2017 recital series with an All Chopin recital at Nassau Presbyterian Church. The recital will take place on Sunday, September 18 at 2:30 p.m. and features five of the NSMS faculty members performing some of Chopin’s best-loved compositions. Join us for an afternoon of beautiful music!
In early July, 10 of us went to NorthBay Adventure on the Chesapeake Bay. It was a hot week with non-stop music, excitement, and general craziness. What happens when you pile up zip-lines, whip-cream, sailing, and banana chasing? Check it out the video. Throughout the week we were challenged to believe in the good work that God as accomplished in Christ and to dare to live a life of faith as we follow Jesus. Want to see life to the fullest? Check out all the week’s videos.
ASP in Kentucky
Appalachia Service Project
From July 10-16, 33 of us drove to Warfield, KY for a week with Appalachia Service Project. At three work sites we worked on roofs, floors, insulation, tiling, stairways, water lines, and hearts. We had so much fun with sawzalls, speed squares, and each other as we lived a simple life of service and ministry. God was good and worked on us too and we’ve all come home freshly built for the things God is calling us to. Special thanks to our awesome adult leaders who discovered that a touch of heaven can be had in overalls and safety glasses. And very fine work by everybody at “Nassau Tool & Equipment.”
Beyond Malibu
Beyond Malibu
Far away in the Coast Mountains of B.C., 14 of us from Nassau got lost in the alpine wilds of granite and glaciers. And yet, led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and Nassau Intern Travis Niles, we safely summited Mount Albert and made it back home again. Hopefully you’ve seen some pictures, seen the glow in a hiker’s eyes, and perhaps have been inspired to take a step beyond your ordinary routine. In grace and community we sang on the summit, prayed in the shadows, and basked in the rising of the son. And then we came home exhausted and slept.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Lauren J. McFeaters
September 4, 2016
Freedom comes in many shapes and sizes. Madeleine L’Engle tells an old legend about Judas, that after his death, Judas found himself at the bottom of a deep and slimy pit.
For thousands of years he wept his repentance, and when the tears were finally spent, he looked up, and saw, far into the distance, a tiny glimmer of light.
After a time, he began to climb up toward the light. The walls of the pit were dark and wet, and time and time again he kept slipping back down.
But finally, after great effort, he reached the top and as he dragged himself into a room; he saw it was an upper room; and he saw people, people he knew, people seated around a table.
And Jesus said to Judas,
“We’ve been waiting for you, Judas.”
“We couldn’t begin until you arrived.” (1)
Freedom in Christ sets us free.
For Judas, freedom came in the form of Love, a Love that liberated with forgiveness, lifted restraints, set at liberty a life, and gave him joy.
Today we travel to the Galatians: New Christians for whom Christ’s love has liberated with forgiveness, lifted restraints, set at liberty life, but who find no joy in their freedom.
Instead the Galatians are held captive by unending arguments about the law and food and circumcision – all outward skirmishes taking a lead over inward peace with Christ – all biting and devouring one another rather than living in the commandment they have yet to accept: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
For Paul, whose Gospel message is the unbound and unrestrained life lived in our Lord, the Galatians’ fighting is the outward and visible sign of their ongoing captivity.(2)
Freedom comes in many shapes and sizes. Paul knows freedom in Christ. Perhaps more than most. He’s lost physical freedom many times. He says:
I’ve been imprisoned in toil and hardship, hunger and thirst, cold and exposure.
Five times I have received forty lashes less one.
Once I was trampled with stones.
Three times I have been shipwrecked.
I’ve been in danger from rivers … robbers … my own people.(3)
I’ve known the incarceration of illness, ill-health, and disease.(4)
The wonder of Paul is his ability to find liberty in Christ in the midst of captivity.
Frederick Buechner puts it like this: There was hardly a whistle-stop in the Mediterranean world that Paul didn’t make it to eventually. He planted churches the way Johnny Appleseed planted trees. And whenever he had ten minutes to spare, he wrote letters.
He browbeat, coaxed, comforted, and cursed. He bared his soul. He ruminated and complained. He theologized and arbitrated. He inspired and gloried. And everything he said, wrote, did (from the Damascus Road on) was an attempt to bowl over the human race as he’d been bowled over.(5) The day Paul found freedom in Christ was the day nothing became impossible.
And this is why he is so distraught over his beloved Galatian Church. They’ve taken the gift of salvation and turned it into a reason for self-indulgence and immaturity. For freedom Christ has set us free, yet we, insist on our own way.
It’s obvious what happens to our lives when we try to get our own way all the time; when our wills run riot, and our pleasure-seeking knows no bounds. Without living in Christ and through Christ, our days turn into one big roulette wheel of “Choose Your Fortune!” Paul lays it out for us – what we become without freedom leading the way:
A stinking accumulator of mental and emotional garbage
A cheater for grades and advancement
A selfish grabber of attention and limelight
An instigator of crisis and drama
How about our:
Trusting in cutthroat competition and magic-show religion
Or our vicious tempers and frozen hearts
Our withholding of encouragement and praise
Unrestrained need for judgment, gossip, and slander.(6)
But freedom comes in many shapes and sizes. What happens when we set aside our burdens and live as those set free? Why God grants such calm and simplicity, such serenity, much the same way fruit appears on a tree. Amazing things happen, in the blink of an eye we grow up and mature. We gain:
An affection for others and a willingness to stick with things
Acts of compassion trip from our hearts
We cultivate a conviction that holiness permeates all people and conflicts have resolutions
We find ourselves with loyal friends and we become healthier companions
Our manipulation and over-control fades away and we’re trustworthy, honorable, and dependable
We have no need to force our way into other’s lives
And our ability to forgive ripens to overflowing (7)
You see, for those who belong to Christ, there’s not one detail of life that he will not set free so that we might belong to God body and soul. Living our days in that kind of freedom is like:
Looking up and seeing (far in the distance) a glimmer of light
And climbing up to light,
And when we reach the top,
We find ourselves at the Table,
With people we know,
And Jesus turns and looks at us and says:
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“And we couldn’t begin until you arrived.”(8)
1. Madeleine L’Engle as cited by James T. Moor. A Place of Welcome. Luke 7:36-50. Day1, A division of the Alliance for Christian Media, Atlanta, Georgia, June 17, 2007.
2. J. William Harkins. Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Vol. 3. Eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, 186.
3. 2 Corinthians 11:24-27.
4. 2 Corinthians 12:7.
5. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.
6. Galatians 5: 19-21 adapted from Eugene Peterson’s The Message. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1993.
7. Galatians 5: 22-25 adapted from Eugene Peterson’s The Message. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1993.
8. Madeleine L’Engle as cited by James T. Moor. A Place of Welcome. Luke 7:36-50. Day1, A division of the Alliance for Christian Media, Atlanta, Georgia, June 17, 2007.
The Adult Education Committee invites you to participate in Parker Palmer’s free, 45-minute course on ChurchNext.tv between September 5 and 19.
We are in the midst of what may be the most polarizing and contentious elections in recent U.S. history. Many observers note that the political rancor and rhetoric has reached all time highs, injecting unprecedented fear, division, and unease into our culture.
How do we make sense of this? How do people of faith respond? How do we remain calm and centered amidst our difference and tension, taking our roles as peacemakers, and even prophets, seriously?
Parker Palmer
Educator, author, and activist Parker Palmer has a few ideas. He has written extensively on faith and democracy issues. In this course, he offers thoughtful insight into how we might approach divisive political issues with grace and grit.
Classes at 9:15AM in the Assembly Room unless otherwise noted.
Tolerance in an Intolerant Age: What Should Christians Say?
John Bowlin
September 11
Can we tolerate commitments we despise, activities we consider unjust, persons and lives we find harmful or vile? We are told that tolerance is a virtue, that a liberal democracy requires a tolerant citizenry, a people who can live among differences they cannot endorse, that they might even consider abhorrent. But we worship a God of justice, truth, and love. Can we be faithful to this God while tolerating injustice and enduring falsehood? Can this response to difference bear witness to this God’s love? John Bowlin, the Stuart Associate Prof. of Philosophy and Christian Ethics at Princeton Theological Seminary, has been a member of NPC since 2008, along with Mimi, Nicholas, and Isaac. He teaches moral theology, and started thinking about toleration after attending a cockfight in Collinsville, OK, in May of 2000.
Young Adults in Ministry
Emily Kent & Alyson Kung
September 18
Come and hear how two college graduates serving as PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers have worked with the homeless, women, and children. Then examine the various issues, challenges, and joys they encountered. This is their first time to present their story to a congregation. Alyson and Emily spent the last year in South Korea serving the city of Daejeon through teaching English, working in a women’s shelter, a homeless shelter, and a soup kitchen. As Young Adult Volunteers they learned about the culture and political atmosphere of South Korea with a critical eye towards US involvement. Nassau Presbyterian sponsored their work and calls them friends.
Our Artist in Residence
Armando Soso
September 18
9:15 a.m., Music Room
“Through my weaving, I work to expresses my dreams, my memories, the overlapping cultural influences of my life in the United States, and my aspirations for the future. The traditional elements repeated in different forms throughout my textiles are a means of connecting with, celebrating, and preserving the rich and fascinating Guatemalan culture of my childhood.” Armando Sosa was born into a weaver’s family in Guatemala. As a young boy he was given the task of guarding newly dyed threads drying on the grass of the riverbank; by the age of sixteen he was working on a compound-harness loom. Now a resident of the Princeton area, his tapestries are exhibited widely and he was named “Artist of Exceptional Ability” by the United States Government.
1 Corinthians
George Hunsinger
Beginning September 25
9:15 a.m., Dining Room, Maclean House
George Hunsinger returns for the 20th year to lead this in-depth Bible study, which continues a verse-by-verse examination of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. After a review of the earlier chapters, he will pick up at Chapter 14. The Corinthian congregation wrestles with doctrinal and ethical issues in conversation with their “founding pastor” Paul. Within his correspondence, Paul offers us compelling good news in his understanding of the cross, the resurrection, worship, and life together in Christian community.
Entry to Maclean House, the yellow house next door to the church building, is through the rear garden door. Bring your own Bible or pick one up underneath the flat screen monitor on the first floor of the church near the kitchen.
George Hunsinger is Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the founder of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.
Nassau in Malawi
Liz Heinzel-Nelson
September 25
Jesus’ call to care for the poorest of the poor led Liz Heinzel-Nelson and her family to live for a year in Malawi, Africa. While there she met Sydney, one of the one million orphans living in the 4th poorest country in the world. When she returned in 2009 she helped to found Villages in Partnership (VIP), a Christ-centered non-profit organization working to lift Sydney and 19,000 others out of extreme poverty. Liz will share stories, strategies, challenges, miracles and how the gospel is powerfully changing lives today. Liz Heinzel-Nelson is Executive Director of VIP. She grew up in Princeton, younger sister to Loretta Wells, and now lives with her family in Allentown, New Jersey. She leads teams to Malawi several times a year. Nassau partners with VIP to empower thriving village life.
Offering an opportunity for fellowship and love in a world ever more in need of the Kingdom of Heaven, Small Groups return to Nassau this October with a wide range of themes.
What good is your faith when you are too afraid to read the news?
How are American Creation myths relevant in an election year?
What do we have to do with white privilege?
What can we do about the New Jim Crow?
How did six women change the world of the New Testament?
Overwhelmed by it all? Pick up your coloring book or learn how to photograph what you care about.
Groups meet weekly for six to ten weeks. Sign up on My Nassau above or during Fellowship. Books are available for purchase in the church office during regular business hours or during Fellowship.
While the PDF includes all of the Fall 2016 offerings, the small groups listed below are the ones with spaces available.
Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, by Scott Bader-Saye
Sundays, 9:15-10:30AM 9/25-11/27 (new members are always welcome)
Room 202, Nassau Presbyterian Church
Linda & John Gilmore, and Keith Mertz, leaders
Linda and John Gilmore, and Keith Mertz, have participated in and led small groups for many years. Linda is the Business Administrator at Nassau Church. John is senior vice president, chief operating officer, and treasurer of Princeton Theological Seminary. Keith Mertz is an engineer for Lockheed Martin.
The American Creation Myth (reading A Mercy, by Toni Morrison)
Sundays, 12:15-1:45PM 10/2-11/20 (BYO-Lunch)
Room 202, Nassau Presbyterian Church
Melissa Martin, leader
Melissa Martin is a third-year student at Princeton Theological seminary and an Adult Education intern at Nassau. She also works in the church office as the Administrative Assistant for Pastoral Care. Between her many responsibilities, she loves to sneak in a good novel, because she finds that in those books her big theological questions are explored in a refreshingly human way.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30PM 10/4-11/15
Shenk Home, Princeton Junction
Jonathan Shenk, leader
Jonathan Shenk is a member of the New Brunswick Presbytery’s Mass Incarceration Task Force which seeks to educate and engage member congregations to bring healing to a destructive system. He is also a member of the Princeton/Trenton chapter of the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow and has served as a volunteer prison chaplain.
Enriching Our Faith with Calm and Color
Wednesdays, 10:00-11:30AM 10/5-11/9
Conference Room, Nassau Presbyterian Church
Lauren J. McFeaters, leader
Lauren McFeaters is an Associate Pastor at Nassau and a lover of all things faith-filled, mindful, and visual. Lauren is working on a pastoral project integrating the powerful balance and restoration found in Celtic crosses and pattern.
Do What You Have the Power to Do: Studies of Six New Testament Women, by Helen Bruch Pearson
Thursdays, 9:30-11:00AM 10/6-11/17
Music Room, Nassau Presbyterian Church
Joyce MacKichan Walker & Kristie Finley, leaders
Joyce MacKichan Walker is the Minister of Education at Nassau. Kristie Finley is the pastor of Abundant Grace Dinner Church, a PC(USA) 1001 New Worshiping Communities, and the project coordinator for the Confirmation Project, a Lilly Endowment funded grant studying confirmation across five Protestant denominations.
The Sacred Art of (Your) Photography
Thursdays, 7:30-9:00PM 10/6-11/10
Conference Room, Nassau Presbyterian Church
Ned Walthall, leader
Ned Walthall has been a member of Nassau Church since 1987 and is the geeky guy you see taking pictures at coffee hour.
Young Adult Volunteers Emily Kent and Alyson Kung spent the last year in South Korea, serving the city of Daejeon through teaching English and working in a women’s shelter, a homeless shelter, and a soup kitchen. Hear Alyson and Emily speak on Sunday, September 18.
Shaping Lives and Vocations
With your prayers and partnership, Nassau Church is a part of the formation of a rising generation of called, committed, and confident leaders for our church and our world.
So says Richard Williams, Young Adult Volunteers (YAV) Coordinator for the PC(USA). Richard tells us that we are the largest congregational supporter of the YAV program in the PC(USA) and the first congregation to partner with YAVs beyond our own congregation. Nassau has shaped the lives and vocations of nine young adults to date. Read about Nassau’s impact on the YAV program here (pdf).
A Year of Service, a Lifetime of Change
Young and yearning for community and mission? Consider the YAV program.
Young adults, ages 19-30, choose from five international and 16 national sites.
YAVs are placed in positions with community agencies or local churches.
Jobs vary according to the needs of partners and your skills.
Nassau will walk through the application process with you and support you for the year.
YAVs are exposed to some of the hardest problems in the world – poverty, violence and reconciliation, and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ – while living and reflecting with other volunteers on the meaning and motivation of their Christian faith.
Go! Experience intentional Christian community, simple living, and cross-cultural mission. You will develop leadership, put your faith in action, and learn about your vocation.
Next Steps
Contact Len Scales (x103, g) to learn more about the application and also check out the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Young Adult Volunteer site.
Applications open in October each year for placements beginning the following September. At the end of each YAV year, Nassau invites the young adults we’ve sponsored to tell the story of their year in service.
Westminster Presbyterian Church, our mission partner in Trenton, is gearing up for Get S.E.T., their five-day a week, school-year tutoring program.
In early September, new backpacks filled with school supplies will be presented to the students and all the neighborhood children who participate in their annual Back-to-School Carnival.
Help us prepare backpacks for the kids! Pick up a backpack and the following supplies which will go in each one. Leave donations in the marked basket in the church office by Sunday, September 4.
Backpack in a bright color with positive graphics
1″ 3-hole binder
3 portfolios
70-page count spiral notebook
composition notebooks
medium-point pens in black, blue, and red
lined 3-hole paper
pink bevel eraser
4 #2 pencils
small pencil sharpener
Crayola 24-count crayons
Crayola 12-count long colored pencils
Crayola washable markers
nylon pencil bag
highlighters
12″ ruler
Crayola glue stick
Learn more about Nassau Church’s partnership with Westminster Presbyterian Church on the Mission Partners page.
