Category Archives: History

Knowing our History

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

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. Continue reading →

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Creativity and Community

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

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? Continue reading →

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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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To Understand Rather Than to Be Understood

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

Brother Roger, the beloved founder of the Taizé Community in France, once observed, “Throughout my life, I had the desire not to prejudge anybody. In relating to everyone, it was essential for me to rather understand than to be understood. In order to understand, faces are even more important than words.”

From here, Brother Roger went on to describe his appreciation of the human face. We, here at First Reformed Church, have been blessed with manifold opportunities for following Brother Roger’s intent. For years, we have participated in the tradition of Taizé. We have also come to realize that peace on earth is only possible if people begin to understand each other and develop empathy and appreciation for each other’s situation. Continue reading →

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Status of Construction

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

The construction is moving forward very well. The dumpster and several contractor cars in the driveway have been a persistent problem, though. We arranged with the parking authority that three specific cars of volunteer staff can park free in the Wolfson Deck. In addition, Architect Margaret Westfield has banned all contractor cars from the driveway. However, the information does not reach everybody. On one morning, there were five different cars of workers and contractors successively parked in front of the dumpster. I approached only two and was quickly tired of the game. Continue reading →

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Concert at Crossroads Theatre

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Janet Waanders

On Jul 16th, we were privileged to use the Crossroads Theater for a fund-raising concert we called A Spiritual Crossroads. The theater’s own name and philosophy inspired us to think about our congregation’s experience over the years of engaging with people from many origins and faith traditions.
Three of those origins and traditions were represented by the gifts of music at the concert. Raíces Cultural Center Ensemble played music from Afro-Cuban rumba spiritual masses and batá chanting and drumming from the Orishas or forces of nature. Jeanel LeBlanc sang hymns and spirituals originating in or important to the African American experience. And Wind of Anatolia played Turkish folk music in the Anatolian tradition. By evening’s end, audience members were dancing first in the aisles and then, at Pastor Susan’s invitation, on stage with Wind of Anatolia. Continue reading →

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