In Matthew 25:40 it is written: “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me’.”
This is what happened at the Men’s Shelter. We cared about fifteen homeless men, heard some of their stories, encountered some of their pain and brokenness, and provided them with shelter for a week. There were many very cold and windy days where the temperature was low and the strong winds made it frigid outdoors. The men came in at 7:00 p.m. and left at 7:00 a.m. We did provide them with coffee, juice, fresh fruit, muffins, etc. so that when they left, it was not on an empty stomach. Some we have “known” for years and feel like we are even “catching up” with them; others are new faces with histories that would make you scratch your head.
None of this would have been possible without the volunteers who stayed the night. There were both men and women who kept watch, talked, read, watched DVDs, puzzeled, etc. And for the first time in several years, our volunteers from First Reformed Church covered each night. Highland Park Reformed Church sent two helpers for which we are very grateful.
Jim Hance was the “guy” in charge – our Shelter Boss. So he gets a special pat on the back. To all of the others, a THANK YOU does not seem to be enough. So here it is in multiples: Thank you! Thank you!! And Thank you!!!!
Tagged as:
men's shelter
It was a special occasion when the Interfaith Dialog Center of Central Jersey invited us for a Mother’s Day celebration on May 3rd in the new headquarters of ebru-tv in Somerset, NJ. We had distinguished speakers: Albert J. Alvarez, Governor Corzine’s Deputy Chief of Staff; State Assembly Member Upendra J. Chivukula (17th District, NJ) and our Pastor, Rev. Susan Kramer-Mills.
Coming from different faith traditions (Muslim, Hindu and Christian), it was meaningful to discover our common humanity by listening to the peculiar challenges of motherhood in our society. Susan’s speech had an especially humorous streak to it.
Following the presentations, ebru-tv showed us their latest production on the subject. This was followed by a mixture of live Sufi & folk music of Turkish and Persian background, performed by Amir Alan Vahab and his ensemble. Their instruments included two dafs (hand drums), a saz (lute) and two neys (reed flutes).
We concluded the evening with a homemade Turkish dinner and much conversation. Thank you to IDC Central Jersey and its Director, Dr. Nuray Tugrul Yurt, for having organized this memorable event.
Yet again it was a spectacular Chili Cook-Off with seven contestants putting up a pot of chili for the challenge.
The winners are:
1st Prize – Heather Epstein
2nd Prize – Liz Hance
3rd Prize – Lauren Bernhofer
Congratulations to the three winners. And thanks to all of you who provided a pot! We had a wonderful turn out. There were more that 35 in attendance. It seems to grow a little each year. This was our fourth year so who knows what will happen in 2010! Ashley and Pam Gray brought their karaoke machine and quite a few folks serenaded us as we cleaned up and enjoyed good conversations around the room.
Special thanks to Erie Beemsterboer, Ethel Salmone, and Pastor Susan Kramer-Mills for their work in making this a successful and fun evening.
Tagged as:
chili
By Ellen Hamilton
Paul Nulton will be helping us with restoration of the church windows from March 17th to March 27th. We need volunteers to help him with the windows. He will really appreciate dinner invitations during this time. Sign up sheets have been posted in Fellowship Hall.
Rod’s Grill Night was a blast on a late July Saturday night. Rod pulled the grill around to the side entrance on Bayard Street while the rest of us decided that the air conditioning of Fellowship Hall was better than the thick humidity outside. People stayed long and enjoyed talking and gabbing with one another until around 9:00 p.m. or later.
Thanks, Rod, for taking the heat!!!
House of Manna , our combined outreach ministry with Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen to provide families with a healthy meal, is going extremely well. The past couple of months the number of folks we have be feeding has increased. Presently there are regularly 25 – 45 people receiving meals. Even though we have Elizabeth, who is hired by Elijah’s Promise, we still need to have a few more volunteers.
Anyone is invited to sign up on elijahspromise@volunteerhub.com. Or, if that is too formal, just show up between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Elizabeth always can have support in serving and washing up.
Tagged as:
elijah's promise,
House of Manna,
outreach,
soup kitchen
Do you remember the devastation of Poile Zedek cemetery at the beginning of this year? Several of us had asked to rush to our neighbor’s help, and so we had a special collection during worship on February 24. At the time we wrote to Rabbi Mykoff the following:
“Here at First Reformed Church we feel that a historic congregation like yours is an important anchor of the community. Together we provide a sense of historic identity, and we help make our community particular. An assault on one of us is,  therefore an assault against all of us.â€
I would like to share with you now the thank-you letter of the synagogue, because so many of us contributed to this cause.
Thank you again for your concerns, you prayers, and your financial contribution.  Together we build community in our neighborhood.
Tagged as:
Poile Zedek,
Rabbi Mykoff,
synagogue
