As one of the historic churches which is trusteeing the Hall Fund, our greatest event of the year is to interview the new applicants for scholarships. Our applicant pool this year was greater than ever, which made the selection process quite difficult. Since we did well on our fundraising and hope to hold another event in the October or November, we were able to award $15,000 to graduating, New Brunswick resident, students who are planning on continuing with higher education. The Board is always moved by the talent of these young people and their perseverance through terrible circumstances. They are well-deserving. As the Board makes its final decisions, please hold the Hall Fund and the you people in your prayers.

Here’s what’s happening this week at FRC:

Monday, May 14
RADAR Staff Mtg. 9:30 am
Funeral of B. Emmett 12:00 pm
Raices Board Mtg. 6:30 pm

Tuesday, May 15
Faithbased Coalition 4:30 pm
Consistory 7:30 pm

Wednesday, May 16
Choir Rehearsal 7:30 pm

Friday, May 18
Support for the Indonesian Christians and Bill HR 3590 and visit of General Secretary of RCA Tom DeVries at The Highland Park Reformed Church 1:00 pm

Saturday, May 12
ISP program – work around the church 8:30 am

Sunday, May 20
Choir Rehersal 9:00 am
Bell Choir 9:50 am
Worship 10:30 am, Ushers: Norma &
Sunday School 11:00 am
Elders’ Mtg w/ Confirmands 12 noon
Lunch with Mentors

Blessings and peace be with you,

Pastor Susan

Pastor's Corner

Our great heritage became quite a bit more accessible to the residents of New Brunswick when on April 20 the brothers Paul and Pat from Paul’s Custom Awards and Trophies installed our outdoor sign in front of the church. The aluminum-etched sign has a sturdy steel frame and includes pictures as well as text. The text provides pivotal dates of our history, and explains our relation with the denomination, with Rutgers University and with the city of New Brunswick. It also includes detail of our church’s architectural features. Finally, the sign was the last piece of construction required under the current capital grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust. A photograph will be included in our final report to the State.

Every time the dinner turns out to be a great event. This year, over 500 of us convened at the Imperia in Somerset. We had a nice reception, met friends and colleagues from other churches and had a fine dinner. Several honorees presented their story for all to share. It allowed many of us to see their own efforts in perspective and to draw strength from this.

First Reformed Church had four honorees this year. Please find the acknowledgement for each of them below. The wording is as it appeared in the program brochure. In addition, Bruce Bothwell dedicated his award in memory of his father James Bothwell, who also served as head-deacon and usher at our church for many years. Acknowledging God’s guidance in this, Bruce said, “I appreciate getting this award … I feel like my father’s spirit has also guided me and made me the deacon that I am.” What a wonderful thing to say! It set a nice tone for the evening.

Here are the excerpts from the program brochure:

Bruce C. Bothwell
Bruce has carried on the great tradition of being the Head Usher in our church for many years. He inherited this office from his father, James Bothwell. For many years now, Bruce’s reliability and faithfulness in opening the church, preparing the Holy Table, collecting and counting the offering remain unsurpassed. In this, Bruce represents a facet of the ecumenical church: His office is carried out Sunday after Sunday in very similar ways for generations all over the globe. In addition to this, Bruce served as deacon on Consistory for many years. He was also a member of the Property & Housekeeping Committee and rarely missed one of our frequent workdays. Moreover, he has been an invaluable member of the staff for the Rotating Interfaith Homeless Men’s Shelter that our church houses together with other houses of worship during the winter months. Our congregation is blessed to have Bruce among its members.

James A. Hance, Jr.
Jim has served the church in many capacities. He is an ordained deacon and elder with a special interest in property and finances. Currently, he serves on the Property Committee as a mentor to the younger members. He is also on the Finance & Personnel Committee where he holds the office of Endowment Officer. In addition, Jim chairs our staff for the Rotating Interfaith Homeless Men’s Shelter that our church hosts twice every year. Jim also sits on the Board of our Community Development Corporation. However, much of what Jim contributes to the church does not fall into formal categories. He runs the snow blower in the winter for the entire city block. Work days at church are unthinkable without him. He is the main courier to and from the church, bringing food or disseminating collected goods in town. He has also been one of the main supporters of our churches travel program. In 2008/09 he accompanied a group of 13 of us to Turkey where many of us profited from his ingenious organization skills. After serious medical problems, our congregation is much relieved to have him back in our midst.

Joan M. Fekete
Joan represents the social conscience of our church. Not a friend of many words, she believes in action for the sake of the suffering and lonely. Every week, she volunteers at our city’s feeding program “Elijah’s Promise”, and she coordinates much of the work for the Rotating Interfaith Homeless Men’s Shelter in which our church participates twice every year. For years, she also chaired the Invitation and Outreach Committee under whose auspices the work for the shelter falls. Many a night she has served at the shelter herself. An ordained deacon, Joan has also developed special skills in serving our shut-in elderly. She knows the world of hospitals, rehabilitation centers and social workers. For some, she offers the only possibility to go grocery shopping or to see a physician or dentist. In addition to this hands-on work, Joan continues to serve on the Finance & Personnel Committee as Comptroller and clerk. She is also an important part of our Hospitality Committee. There is not a dinner night or lunchtime recital at church that Joan has not helped prepare in the kitchen. Furthermore, Joan is the Secretary for the Board of or Community Development Corporation. She is married to Julius.

Julius J. Fekete
Julius is our carpenter on site. We say in our buildings, “If the room has woodwork or furniture, Julius has something to do with it.” Over the years, he built the large mailbox at the front entrance, the wardrobe in fellowship hall, the cubbies in the nursery, floor support in the basement, the large kitchen cabinet, the media center, table and window sill in the library, the two large advent wreaths (one of them with stand), and 12 candle holders for the sanctuary windows. He installed the outdoor signs, the brochure holders on the fence, stripped and repainted the outside kitchen door, led a party of many weeks to strip and paint the church pews, oversaw the reconstruction of two large bathrooms, led a team of lawn mowers in the cemetery for years, enlarged our nursery and gave it a new floor and reconstructed parts of the pantry in the Sexton’s House. He also installed the project sign of our preservation project. In addition Julius employed his leadership skills in our church. He chaired our Preservation Team and was part of the joint preservation team with neighboring Christ Episcopal Church. He continues to be a faithful member of the Property Committee. But most of all: It was Julius’ photo documentation of the disrepair of parts of our buildings that turned the tide in 2006 so that Consistory pursued a first planning grant from the State of New Jersey. This became the base for our current historic preservation project.

Town Clock CDC

These are the highlights of the April meeting of the Town Clock CDC Board:

First of all, our strategy for this year is to raise at least $13,000 for operating expenses. That is our first goal. Furthermore a Fundraising Team will be meeting in May to organize themselves for raising the financing for the construction costs. The team members are: Linda Lachesnez, Sherri Novack, Ursula Cargill, John Keller, and Rev. Susan.

Meetings with various Rutgers University faculty members are being planned, since there are several who are concerned with the victimization of women in society.

The review of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between First Reformed Church and the Town Clock CDC has been, in general, completed. Now the Town Clock CDC Board has been asked to review it. The Board members all received a copy at the meeting. A discussion of the MOU is scheduled for the next Board meeting.

John Coakley, Robert Belvin, and Christine Miller Cruiess each had their own style and type of information. What stood out was the question: Why was such a large sanctuary built at this location? Both Drs. Coakley and Belvin worked on an explanation for this. Dr. Coakley compared the location of New Brunswick in the light of where the rest of the Dutch settlers were located. First Reformed Church was really located at the southern end of these settlements. By no means was this area deemed influential. Yet, this was the location that won out, so to speak, for the seminary to be founded. Did this influence, then, the building of a large church?

Dr. Belvin raised some further points, namely, New Brunswick in 1812 was a small town with a population of 3000. Strange that such a church would be built, one that would seat 1200. Doesn’t that seem like a bit too large?

The lectures were really quite challenging and enjoyable. Rarely does one get such well-prepared local history presented. To John, Robert, and Christine we express our heart-felt thanks!

Please join us for this concert, and help us support our connection to the Yue Yue Choir. The Concert will be on June 2, 2012 at 7:30pm in the Sanctuary of First Reformed Church.

After two weeks of rehearsals, the Rainbow Choir came together for this performance and presented three songs to the interfaith group – All Things Bright and Beautiful, The Earth Day Rap, and Noah’s Song. These songs touched on the themes of the day – the beauty of creation, the need to preserve our planet, and God’s promise to us to preserve his creation after he destroyed it once in the flood.

Please spread the word about the Rainbow Choir. If you know anybody who would like to sing with us, or who is considering the possibility, please encourage them to contact me.

The seeds the children planted are bravely growing under the plant lights in the classroom. In the next couple of weeks we should receive a shipment of perennials. Then we will be ready to plant!

What is used to teach you?
Right now we use little booklets called “Learn from the Bible to Live the Good News“, which offer us a key phrase, faith vocabulary, and other activities to do. In the past, we have used many different methods. We had Golden Parable Boxes that contained felt pieces in them which the teacher would use in order to tell parables. We also used wooden figurines to tell stories and to play with. Then we went to a method where every week there would be a snack and a craft for us to do at the end of the lesson. Eventually we went over to this system we have now.

What are your most memorable lessons?
D: My most memorable lesson is the one where Pastor Hartmut came upstairs with us and explained the sacrament of Communion. I remember that he took the special communion silverware upstairs and we had a small communion in the Sunday school room. Two other lessons that I remember were taught by Mrs. Betancourt. In one, she explained that God collected all of our tears and showed us this by showing a large plastic cup filled with water. In the other lesson, I remember making a pet rock to show that God loves us and is always with us, like our pet rock.

K: My most memorable lesson was when we went up to Warwick for a retreat and talked all about God and the Universe. It was just so special and we got to learn in a different place. I always had fun with the lessons outside and they were so special.

Who has taught you?
From the beginning to the present, the list is quite long. The first woman that we had as a Sunday School teacher was Janet Angeline, Mrs. Betancourt, Mrs. Bernhofer, Mr. Bernhofer, Mrs. Boyles, Mrs. Vande Bunte, and finally Mrs. Sena.

– Daphne and Kathleen will be confirmed on June 10th. Please plan to join the celebration!

It was a great event on April 7. The church was filled with the extended families and members of our congregation. Following the afternoon service, we had a warm reception in Fellowship Hall. A wedding dinner followed at the Imperia in Somerset.

 
The sermon centered on the story of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead just before he embarked on his own passion journey. It was an attempt to connect the joyful occasion of Tom and Marissa’s wedding with their service the United States Marine Corps, especially in Afghanistan, and to give meaning to the new journey that is ahead of Tom and Marissa as they become a family in civil life. Here at First Reformed Church, we wish God’s rich blessing upon them!

But now, with the color choices made by our wonderful architect Margaret Westfield, the house begins to develop its very own charm. Of course, what you see is only a first coat. Much more painting is needed. However, already now we have inkling of how beautiful the house will be in the future. And so we thank Tori, Mariel, Christine, Leanna and Maggie for their generous work. We also thank the RUTGERS administration, especially advisor Jennifer Simon, for organizing events like this one. Our New Brunswick community will be the better for it.

And last, but not least, we want to thank Julius Fekete, the senior voice on our Property Committee, who was there to show us which conduits above the panels we could paint, and how to stand a ladder on a slant.

Thank You to all who donated time, food, and energy to the Room for All Conference. The conference was attended by around 25 people. On Thursday we provided them with dinner; and on Friday we served a lunch donated by Metuchen Reformed Church. In all it was a successful event.

Our next event is the Mother’s Day breakfast. For the last couple of years we have had several kinds of breakfast dishes provided for everyone on Mother’s Day. This year the Women’s Guild will be the organizers of this event. If you want to help out by bringing some food please let Erie know by email (secretary@firstreformedchurch.net).

In June we will meet one more time before we take a break for the summer; the date will be announced. Oh, and one more thing: A spring clean-up day for the kitchen is to be set as well.

These were some of the questions Timothy Brown and Justin Hartz answered following their wonderful piano recital on April 18. It was one of the days with fewer middle school students than usual in the audience. Subsequently, the questions asked were of a more academic nature. However, without the students having prompted the Q&A part of our rehearsals in the first place, it became quickly apparent that they shape the atmosphere of our recitals even while occasionally absent. So I conclude: Our concert series is a true intergenerational effort. What else could we wish for?

And so we thank the following for their much appreciated contributions:

• The Hospitality Committee of the church,
• Janet Waanders as the organizer of the Series,
• Our Music Director Ben Berman,
• The Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission, especially Ms. Rosalyn Neal,
• The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders
• The New Jersey State Council of the Arts/Dept. of State, and
• All the faithful providers of soup and bread from both the church and Pine Grove Cooperative Nursery School.

Below is the list of dates for May and June for Coffee Hour. I know it seems far away, but since I will be away from April 26th thru May 6th, I am trying to be prepared.

May 6
May 13 (Mother’s Day)
May 20
May 27
June 3
June 10
June 17 (Father’s Day)
June 24

Please consider hosting one of these days. We all know we appreciate to have a cookie to go with our coffee and tea after the service. If you want to spread the fun, consider hosting with a friend (or 2). It makes the work lighter and it gives you time to spend with your church family and friends. If you reply by email (secretary@firstreformedchurch.net) I will write your name on the list.

Thank you all for considering!

Award winning harpist Elaine Christy teaches at Princeton University and is a member of the Richardson Chamber players there. Christy presented a program of French music for solo harp from Debussy to the 21st century.

As Easter comes upon us, we have a remarkable coincidence with the dawn of a new period of ministry here at First Reformed Church. The reason is that our historic preservation project comes to an end. This means less reporting, less building issues, and less work for the Finance Committee and the Consistory. The Fundraising Committee even had its last meeting.

So, we are resurrecting from construction and paper files and bank statements. Now is the time to become creative again and to continue to nurture the exciting community that has formed around us during the years of brick-and-mortar. It is also important that we invest more efforts, prayer and thoughts in growing our church. What would our meaning be, if we did not try to reach as many of our neighbors near and far in order to offer them participation in God’s peculiar way of relating with us?

A great beginning was offered with the past Lenten Series that the Episcopal churches in town together with First and Second Reformed organized this year. Please see the accompanying pictures taken during the session that our church hosted on March 18. Raíces Cultural Ensemble provided lively music from Cuba; we watched the documentary “Food Matters”, enjoyed Lolly’s great cookies made in our kitchen, and had an engaging discussion on nutrition and the benefit of vitamins in conquering disease. Ron, Norma, Lolly and Margaret had made fresh soups, and Lauren brought the PowerPoint equipment.

Whether one agreed with the movie or not, the point was to take up an issue that concerns all of us, and to deal with it in a matter that nurtures togetherness among neighbors. I hope that the remainder of this year will bestow us with many more such opportunities, so that we can continue to be a center for Christian awareness building.

How did the Lord say? “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20)

With fond wishes,
Pastor Hartmut

Here’s what’s planned for Sunday, April 29th

12 noon BBQ
1:30 pm – Rainbow Choir sings
1:45 – Inter-faith Worship with speaker

Activities continue until 4 pm. Free rabies vaccines!
Presenters: Seeing Eye Dogs, K-9 Unit, Animal Adoption for cats and dogs

We kindly ask for paper products – cups, plates, napkins and utensils and beverages in large containers