If it isn’t a non-member wedding or a concert, it may be a small congregation seeking worship space, or a community group needing space. What we once thought to be a burden is now a blessing for many in the community. This past month, we have agreed to allow a Kenyon Seventh Day Adventist congregation to use our sanctuary on Saturdays, starting in September. They will also be using Fellowship Hall for meals for part of the afternoon on that day. We will have the opportunity to negotiate with them about special events, and they have been made aware that there may be Saturdays when we will need use the space ourselves. They are very willing and flexible.

More exciting is the theater production presented by the New Brunswick Collaborative Arts. Starting the second week of August, our sanctuary will begin to look like a stage. They will be building one! Later on in the month, they will be performing Romeo and Juliet – but this time with an ethnic twist. Furthermore, the Collaborative Arts group has been working with the high school, some of whom are hoping to be a part of the cast. Keep your calendars open the second half of August for this special production. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t mention the best part of it: It’s for FREE!

Bill is a very personable young man. He said it is an “honor to work on such a historic property”. He has promised to be careful while working in the cemetery. The Property Committee came to an agreement with Bill to cut the grass every other week during the growing season. Bill, knowing how quickly the grass grows during the spring, has agreed to cut grass every Wednesday but is honoring the cost estimate he gave us for cutting twice per month. He said that every time he comes he will, pick up branches and litter, cut the grass and blow off walkways. As per our request, he will not weed whack around the monuments. We have arranged for volunteers to install wood chips around them so weed whacking, which could damage the tombstones, will not be necessary.

Bill has already become close friends with Pastor Hartmut. In fact, Hartmut and Susan will preside over his wedding this summer to his fiancé, Melissa. If you see Bill Hodge on a Wednesday at the church, introduce yourself. He is a very interesting young man.

During the month of May, we will begin construction on the outside: church roof and steeple will be our primary projects. And then there is our feasibility study on reshaping the interior of our sanctuary. First results will be presented during coffee hour on May 2nd.

With so much brick-and-mortar work going on, it is important that we always know why we are doing this. It would be too little, if our response were a simple reference to the need of an updated bathroom, a renovated steeple, and a flawless roof. I don’t think that remodeling in churches can be an end in itself.

What then is behind all our remodeling? Peter Drucker, the famous business thinker and doyen of modern management, provides some valuable insight. I encountered his work through a newsletter article by Rev. Tim Halverson. Halverson is pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Cape Coral, FL, where my father-in-law worships.

Pondering the burden of yet another building project, Pastor Halverson remembered one of Drucker’s main insights:

“I thought to myself, ‘Do we really want to go through another major building project?’ Then I remembered that one of Drucker’s guiding principles for modern business management is that an organization begins to die the day it is run for the benefit of the insiders and not for the benefit of the outsiders. Think about this in terms of the church – once we become self-absorbed we lose our vision. In the end, Pastor Halverson summarized, ‘The church that exists only for its members has lost touch with Jesus.’

In a way, we Christians have known this all along. Jesus, himself, said, according to John, “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25) Drucker’s insights seem to be nothing but a modern application of this principle. From this vantage point it is important to maintain that we have not remodeled our bathroom just for ourselves. Rather, we wanted it functional and inviting for the large number of people who use it every day: The guests of House of Manna, the members of the various community groups that meet under our roof, as well as the partner churches that worship in our halls.

The same can be said about the steeple and the architecture to which our preservation project is devoted. We take the efforts upon us, because we believe that an aspiring city like New Brunswick needs the reminder of our steeple in its skyline. As responsible Christians, we cannot turn our back on this city and the powerful corporations that shape so much of its life. We want to be visible present with our heritage that spans centuries.

We also want to be present for those in need of shelter. Add the enormous space of our sanctuary to Pastor Halverson’s reflections, and you will quickly see one major reason why our Consistory and its Building Vision Team wanted to explore the possibility of reconfiguring the sanctuary. It was their way of taking the benefit of the outsider into account. Ultimately this is why we are a serving church.

Beginning in April, the Word of Life Congregation, which was worshipping in our sanctuary, will be moving to a new location. On the final March Sunday, Hartmut and I received a heart-felt farewell from their congregation, including a card and a bouquet! They are very grateful for the good relationship we have tended over the last five years, and wanted us to share this with entire congregation. They are moving to a location, which is closer to their membership. Their vivid worship on Sunday afternoons will certainly be missed by all of us. We wish them God Speed!

Throughout March and into April, our church has offered the 2010 Census free access to our Fellowship Hall for the purpose of testing new census takers. From about 2:00 until 7:00 pm on Fridays, there has been a continuous stream of applicants. This is just another way that we have opened our buildings for community use.

This month, Westfield Architects collected pre-qualification forms from the potential contractors involved with Phase I of our project. Following this, Westfield Architects called for references and sent them for approval by the New Jersey Historic Trust (NJHT).

As soon as the NJHT approves the bidder’s list, the bidding documents will be distributed. The bids are due in the second half of March. If all goes according to plan, our Consistory will vote on particular contractors in April. At the same time, our Preservation Team will want to coordinate our choice of contractors with neighboring Christ Episcopal Church. Cooperating in this way, we hope to be economically more efficient. Phase I construction is scheduled to begin during the second half of May. This is when the public will notice progress.

Since our grants from NJHT and from the City of New Brunswick will be paid by reimbursement, there will not be much news prior to the beginning of the construction. The exception is, of course, our reimbursement for previous construction under the NJHT grant. This depends now on recording an easement on our buildings with Middlesex County. NJHT is currently drafting this document, but Consistory will have to approve it before we can bring it to the county office.

There is some development regarding the state grant covering the cost of remediation for our former underground oil tank. The grant has been set aside by the Department of Environmental Protection, but requires review by the NJ Economic Development Authority who will have the final decision.

For those of you who need some more planning, we provide the following calendar in this month’s newsletter.

Think about it! We use the women’s bathroom mostly on Sunday mornings or on the few nights when there is a committee meeting. Yet, we have other congregations using the space with us. Then there is the House of Manna which, perhaps, needs this bathroom more than any other group. Already from a brick-and-mortar standpoint, it is high time that we renovate the room. Gender equality also demands it — we did the men’s bathroom last year. But what it all boils down to in the end is a sheer matter of hospitality. That’s why we really do it.

Below please find the proposed schedule for the renovations. We are happy that the volunteer team of the Colts Neck Reformed Church under the leadership of Dotty Weidman will again support our efforts.

We are also happy that Gary Delhagen’s company will do the plumbing — Gary grew up in our church, and we have good ties to his extended family.

If you, Dear Reader, can contribute something to the effort, please talk with Julius Fekete or myself. We will need people to:

• take apart the old bathroom
• who can paint or grout
• who can fill a dumpster

On Saturdays, we also need volunteers to form a kitchen crew. (As you know, a good meal furthers the friendship between various groups.)

Please let us know how you can help. Together, we can achieve a great thing.

Project breakdown for Women’s Bathroom 2010

1. Plumber removes fixtures and disconnects bathroom heat
2. FRC removes wall and floor tile
3. Plumber roughs out, Electrician installs outlets
4. Colts Neck installs Sheetrock (7 sheets) and sub floor (1st Sat.)
5. Colts Neck puts down floor tiles
6. FRC grouts floor tiles
7. Colts Neck puts up wall tiles (2nd and 3rd Sat.)
8. FRC grouts wall tiles
9. FRC paints walls
10. Electrician installs new light fixtures
11. Plumber installs new fixtures
12. FRC installs new partitions
13. FRC exchanges ceiling tiles and fills the dumpster
14. FRC installs paper towel holders, mirrors, and changing table

When Julius and I dug the holes for the signposts, I felt like a dream come true. After all, the biggest word on the sign is the word PRESERVED;. It implies that the worst part of the project is already behind us, when the sign is established — the application process for the state grant, and the creation of the preservation plan that preceded it.

Theologically, the word PRESERVED; is perhaps questionable. Ministry is never about preserving oneself, but about serving others. However, it doers not take much to realize that our very preservation project bears all the marks of service:

• It secures the brick-and-mortar shelter for all our ministries. Without a roof, they would all fall apart and have no place here in the inner city.
• It serves the identity development of our community. Without its historic heritage, much of our community would be exchangeable and meaningless you could have it anywhere in the world. Our old buildings contribute to the particularity of New Brunswick.
• It serves the legacy of our ancestors who would not have expected anything less from us but to do our utmost to keep this steeple in town.

If you look at it in this way, our project sign is a pretty special sign, wouldn’t you say?

Looking at the lectionary passages set for Jan 1st, I was confronted with the Matthew 25:40 text which states: ” I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these you did it to me.”

The folks listening to Jesus at that moment were wondering what he was referring to. “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?” When? Whenever, is Jesus’ response. What better”call to action” for a new year! What is more arousing than to hear that every time we respond to those in need that we are responding to our Lord Jesus.

Let’s look at our record. Truly, we do respond to such needs by participating in the Men’s Overflow Shelter (this month — Jan 10 – 16) by offering our kitchen and hall for the Family Feeding Program — House of Manna, by supporting the Hall Education Fund — which provides scholarships to New Brunswick needy children going onto higher education, by providing gifts for kids in needy families, by offering space to many groups: the Hyacinth Foundation, the Prom Dress Exchange group, amongst others. And so forth. Isn’t it wonderful that this list has grown over the years? Our commitment to “the least of these” has increased!

So, with a new year, it is time to think about new means of helping the “least of these” That being said, a team of folks has been working for some time discussing some strategic planning for our facilities. Stef Beemsterboer cleverly coined the name for this team: Building Vision Group. Its task has been exactly that: building a vision for our buildings, in particular, for the building of our sanctuary. For one thing, it has been determined from the usage of our BTUs that the sanctuary uses about two to three times the amount of energy (heating & electric) than our education building. We were shocked with this information! Simply because the sanctuary is used only two evenings per week and all day Sunday, while the education building is used almost all week for many hours per day. We realized, with this information, that we are not utilizing the space that the sanctuary provides to the best capacity.

Can we do something better? That’s our quest, if you will. So the group has met with various architects and planners trying to determine how we could possibly address this under usage, or how to better use that space in a greater capacity. The Building Vision Group brought before the consistory, in December, a few ideas, but in order to make plans, it is clear that a feasibility study of the sanctuary space must be completed by an architect. Thus, we are in the process of employing one, who will then provide us with such a study.

Along these same lines, the Building Vision Group has been looking into developing a 501(c)3, which is a nonprofit organization — something we will have to apply for through the federal government. At this point, we have written a Vision Statement in which the paragraph reads: “The Town Clock Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization, sees its historic buildings as a welcoming home, infused with early nineteenth century charm, offering the people of New Brunswick many types of community spaces and shelter opportunities.” As you see, we are clearly putting the least of these before us and considering how we might better serve our Lord. And what better way than through these large buildings that we have which can offer shelter, education, a warm meal, spiritual nurture and so much more.

Fondly,
Pastor Susan

On Nov 21st, we had a particularly successful workday. We took out the Steyntie Heyer tombstone, as Gary’s article describes. We also built a corral for our garbage bins on the side of the Church House. We hope to keep the kitchen a little freer from garbage cans, and we hide their unsightly sight in the front yard. Look at the pictures and see what a productive day it was. Special thanks to Julius Fekete for planning, preparing, and organizing the material.

Great thanks to Jim Hance, who poured concrete two days later in order to secure the five fence posts.

Other helpers on Nov 21st included Ellen and Bruce Hamilton, John Coakley, David Waanders, Rod Gray and I. Joan Fekete provided coffee and cookies for everybody.

The Property Committee is planning to remove the headstone and store it in the basement of the Education Building, thereby protecting it from the rain and ice which would have eventually destroyed it. Symbols inscribed on the headstone identify the maker as being quite prominent in New Jersey at the time. It’s amazing to think that it has been in the same location for 263 years.

In its place, a modern grave marker will be placed. It will simply be inscribed with ‘Steyntie Heyer 1708-1746′. The grave marker will be supplied at no cost by Peoples Monuments on Route 27 in Somerset. What a wonderful gesture by Jack Lynch, the owner of Peoples Monuments. We really don’t know anything about Steyntie other then what was inscribed on her headstone. She was a member of our church as per some research performed by Rev. Muyskens which is presented in his book about the history of First Reformed Church in New Brunswick. I can’t help but wonder what her life was like. What was New Brunswick like in the early 1700s?

Anyway, I’m glad our church is trying (with the help of Peoples Monuments) to be respectful to our ancestors by preserving part of our history.

This renovation will a bit more tedious, since the room is bigger and requires two stalls and two sinks. The Property Committee has been breaking its head over it all and how to organize the plumber and the
electrician.

Nevertheless, let us give thanks for the generous donations totaling $4,183 that have thus far been received for the renovation. Granted, the total cost will exceed this amount, so we are hoping to receive a few more donations. Plus, the Invitation & Outreach Committee is donating any extra money which comes in from the congregational dinners towards the renovations.

Slowly but surely, all things come in due time.