Category Archives: General

Construction Coming to an End!

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

It feels like a miracle that we were able to pull this big 1 million dollar preservation project through! As the scaffold around the church comes down, I become once more aware of our boldness to embark on this project in the first place. Our small church family of 70 people – and we experienced something like that! Surely, without God’s grace and provision, this would not have happened. Continue reading →

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Come Share the Joy! Dutch Psalm Singing, Food and Dance!

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Benjamin T. Berman

The Congregation of First Reformed Church would like to cordially invite you to partake in our series of events to celebrate our 200th anniversary. The year 2012 marks an important anniversary for the history of our church. We would be honored to have your company as we converge on this milestone. Continue reading →

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Relics and Rubbish

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

We had an event of a different kind on January 7, when our Fundraising Team hosted an Antiques’ Appraisal in fellowship hall. Joseph Bodnar and colleague Allen had come to introduce us to the auctioneer’s profession and to offer opportunity to have heirlooms and other antiques appraised. It was an Antiques Roadshow of sorts and turned out to be highly educating. In fact, there was so much suspense in the room that I did not even offer a church tour! We still had a table with church artifacts displayed. Please see the pictures. Continue reading →

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Block Party 2011

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

Part of our ministry here at First Reformed Church is the offer of space to various groups of the neighborhood. With this, we hope to not just support our utility costs, but, indeed, to build community. In order to be even more intentional, we invited representatives from all eleven groups to a “block party” in the end of the year. Ben Berman, Lolly Schenk and Susan and I prepared a feast with food from the Phoenician Supermarket in North Brunswick. Continue reading →

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From the Pastor’s Desk

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

The tree-lighting ceremony of 2011 is long in the past. However, it left an impact on the future, and it is for this reason that I want to mention it here, at the beginning of the first newsletter of the year.

We could have decided not to participate in the ceremony. There are so many other groups already contributing to city-wide events like this one. It would have been easy not to go – especially after a week with meetings almost every night. But then I tried envisioning the ensuing picture. Our city is rich in traditions and ethnic backgrounds. The talents of our various community groups are extremely diverse. There are Mexican and Hungarian dancers; there is a modern dance group from one of the public schools. We have choirs, poets, jazz ensembles and a school orchestra. We have
performers trained for cabaret and humorous presentations, and we have serious and critical solo singers. We have everything under the sun. Continue reading →

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Is There Room for Me?

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Joan Fekete

This question is one that may be asked the week of January 15 thru January 22. They are the date that First Reformed Church will host the overflow men’s shelter. You may be saying, “Do we have to hear this again?” and the answer is yes we do. The reason is that the need still exists for providing shelter for those that are not as fortunate as us.

Help is needed in getting volunteers to stay overnight. If no one is available then the answer to the question in the title of this article is NO THERE IS NO ROOM FOR YOU. Continue reading →

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Antiques Afternoon — January 7

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Lauren Bernhofer

January 7, 2012 is coming quickly, and so is the Antiques Afternoon event. Don’t miss out on a great opportunity to find out if your “stuff” is trash or treasure! Haven’t you always wanted to know???

On January 7, from 1-4PM, Joe Bodnar (Bodnar’s Auction) will be speaking about antiques and appraising anything and everything that comes through our doors. The Historic Preservation Fundraising Team is sponsoring this event to raise funds towards our matching grant. There will be refreshments, contests to test your antiques knowledge, and plenty of opportunity to share the stories behind the stuff! Continue reading →

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