For our May meeting, we decided to do another visit to Johnson Park and the East Jersey Olde Towne Village. The weather warmed up for us. In fact it was hot and sunny. But we were glad to have the warmth for our visit to this historic village.
For our June meeting on the 30th, we plan to go to a restaurant as a final close for the season. The details will be determined and we will announce it at worship.
Please know that everyone over the glorious age of 65 is welcome to come along — friends included!
At our April gathering, we enjoyed being challenge– physically — through Margaret Coakley’s instruction and Body Recall. The exercises were not strenuous per se. However, their movement tested us in a surprising way, especially in the area of our core body parts [abs]. Margaret’s gentle approach was so caring that we all enjoyed the session with her tremendously. Thank YOU, Margaret! By the way, she leads classes at the Highland Park Senior/Youth Center on 220 South Sixth Avenue. Sign up sheets can be found on our information desk in the breezeway.
For our May meeting, we decided to do another visit. So on May26th, bring your brown bag lunch to First Reformed Church. We will eat at noon, and then head out in two cars to Johnson Park and the East Jersey Olde Towne Village. Hopefully the weather will be nice for us.
If you are not familiar with East Jersey Olde Towne, let me share with you the following: it features the largest collection of original, reconstructed and replicated 18th and 19th century structures, which “represent the vernacular architecture typical of farm and merchant communities of central New Jersey”. Structures include the New Brunswick Barracks (Visitors Center), Runyon House, Six Mile Run House, Vanderveer House, Indian Queen Tavern, Fitzrandolph House (Storytellers Cottage), and the Smalleytown Schoolhouse.
Again, anyone — even your friends — who are over the age of 65 are welcome to come along.
Tagged as:
Body Recall,
East Jersey Olde Towne
There was a bit of blarney shared on St. Patrick’s Day amongst those gathered for the Free Spirits. Pastor Susan read some jokes regarding men from Kerry and other such districts of that fair country. Elza shared some delicious marzipan candies. And all went away with a twinkle in their eye.
We are going to gather again on April 21st at noon. We are hoping to have Margaret Coakley as a guest, to lead us through some appropriate exercises.
Wear comfortable clothing and bring your lunch. We’ll eat after our ‘work out’. Our Free Spirit group is made up of folks over the age of 65. We enjoy gathering, discussing, sharing meal time with one another. Bring a friend too, if you would like!
The Zimmerli Museum is a wonderful artistic resource that we can enjoy in the heart of our hub city. Thus, some of the Free Spirits headed over to the museum after having their brown bag lunches. We enjoyed a fascinating exhibit by the female Moroccan-born photographer, Lalla Essaydi, titled Les Femmes du Maroc. Her enormous photos of Moroccan women in staged narratives were juxtaposed with Western male paintings from the 19 century. Her photos, taken in the th last five years, showed women draped in Arabic calligraphy-like traditional dress forms, although the fabric was white muslin, thus showing the calligraphy.
Also unusual was that their bodies (faces, legs, hands, etc.) were covered with Arabic calligraphy painted on with henna. Once again, the artist used various techniques and methods to present the women in her photos in a feminist Muslim way. This exhibition goes until Jun 6th and is well worth the visit.
For March, we have planned to enjoy our annual Blarney Day celebration. All Free Spirits are invited to bring lunches on Mar 17th at noon. Pastor Susan will provide something green for dessert. Please bring stories or jokes to share with all.
In January, we had a small group gather in the Randolph Room for some lunch and singing with our dear Organist and Choir Director, Ben Berman. He accompanied us through some traditional goodies, as well as some from the global music hymnal, which the Adult Choir exclusively uses. Thanks so very much, Ben!
In February, we will be gathering a week later than usual because of Ash Wednesday worship service during the third week of the month. So please mark your calendars for Feb 24th. We will gather with our brown bag lunches at noon, then car pool over to the Zimmerli Museum and see what is on exhibit over there. We plan to arrive back to the church around 3:00 p.m. or thereabouts.
In December we braved the cold and drove to the American Hungarian Foundation for a tour of their Festival of Trees and their lace exhibition. The inventory of 19th and early 20th century clothing and furniture from central Europe has grown remarkably and offered a lovely, homey background to the Christmas tree exhibition.
In January, we plan to meet in the Randolph Room for our brown bag lunch on Wednesday, the 20th at noon. We have invited our Choir Director, Ben Berman to lead us in some songs and instrumental music. It should be a lot of fun. Hope the weather is good for that day so many of you can come.
This month is going to again be different. On Wednesday, December 16th, we plan to meet for a brown bag lunch at noon, and afterwards we will car pool over to the American Hungarian Foundation to view their exhibition of the Festival of Trees, which runs from December 6, 2009 through January 31, 2010. We invite whomever would like to attend the outing to come along with us. Friends are always welcome! [ more » ]
