This is what happened at the Men’s Shelter. We cared about fifteen homeless men, heard some of their stories, encountered some of their pain and brokenness, and provided them with shelter for a week. There were many very cold and windy days where the temperature was low and the strong winds made it frigid outdoors. The men came in at 7:00 p.m. and left at 7:00 a.m. We did provide them with coffee, juice, fresh fruit, muffins, etc. so that when they left, it was not on an empty stomach. Some we have “known” for years and feel like we are even “catching up” with them; others are new faces with histories that would make you scratch your head.

None of this would have been possible without the volunteers who stayed the night. There were both men and women who kept watch, talked, read, watched DVDs, puzzeled, etc. And for the first time in several years, our volunteers from First Reformed Church covered each night. Highland Park Reformed Church sent two helpers for which we are very grateful.

Jim Hance was the “guy” in charge – our Shelter Boss. So he gets a special pat on the back. To all of the others, a THANK YOU does not seem to be enough. So here it is in multiples: Thank you! Thank you!! And Thank you!!!!

Coming from different faith traditions (Muslim, Hindu and Christian), it was meaningful to discover our common humanity by listening to the peculiar challenges of motherhood in our society. Susan’s speech had an especially humorous streak to it.

Following the presentations, ebru-tv showed us their latest production on the subject. This was followed by a mixture of live Sufi & folk music of Turkish and Persian background, performed by Amir Alan Vahab and his ensemble. Their instruments included two dafs (hand drums), a saz (lute) and two neys (reed flutes).

We concluded the evening with a homemade Turkish dinner and much conversation. Thank you to IDC Central Jersey and its Director, Dr. Nuray Tugrul Yurt, for having organized this memorable event.

The winners are:

1st Prize – Heather Epstein
2nd Prize – Liz Hance
3rd Prize – Lauren Bernhofer

Congratulations to the three winners. And thanks to all of you who provided a pot! We had a wonderful turn out. There were more that 35 in attendance. It seems to grow a little each year. This was our fourth year so who knows what will happen in 2010! Ashley and Pam Gray brought their karaoke machine and quite a few folks serenaded us as we cleaned up and enjoyed good conversations around the room.

Special thanks to Erie Beemsterboer, Ethel Salmone, and Pastor Susan Kramer-Mills for their work in making this a successful and fun evening.

Paul Nulton will be helping us with restoration of the church windows from March 17th to March 27th. We need volunteers to help him with the windows. He will really appreciate dinner invitations during this time. Sign up sheets have been posted in Fellowship Hall.

Thanks, Rod, for taking the heat!!!

“Here at First Reformed Church we feel that a historic congregation like yours is an important anchor of the community. Together we provide a sense of historic identity, and we help make our community particular. An assault on one of us is,  therefore an assault against all of us.”

I would like to share with you now the thank-you letter of the synagogue, because so many of us contributed to this cause.

Thank you again for your concerns, you prayers, and your financial contribution.  Together we build community in our neighborhood.

The Fund-raising Committee and the Invitation & Outreach Committee have joined forces! We have been hard at work these past few months brainstorming fund raising events and ways to raise funds for the Preservation Project. We will be planning a lecture series for Fall 2009, which will explore spirituality today. We hope that this will be reflective of the times we are in and address people’s need to understand spirituality.

You may wonder how you can help raise money for the Preservation Project. Well, the answer is you can participate or help promote Dining for Donation at Applebee’s Restaurant on Ryders Lane in Milltown. Applebee’s will partner with us to help us raise money by donating a portion of the bill from every diner we bring in. So the more people we can bring in, the more we will raise. Please save the dates for Dining for Donation at Applebee’s on Sunday, August 3rd and Sunday, October 24th from 11:00 a.m. to closing. We will soon be distributing the flyers, which are to be handed to the wait-staff at the restaurant that day.

Recently, First Reformed Church received two grant awards from private foundations for the Preservation Project. We received $15,000 from the J. Seward Johnson, Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust and $2,500 from the Freylinghuysen Foundation. This, indeed, is wonderful news and sends a positive message to the community and potential funders.

On behalf of the Fund Raising Committee and Invitation & Outreach Committee, thank you for supporting us by your thoughts and prayers. We ask you to continue to keep us in your prayers.

We hope that many of US will participate again on June 1st, this time sitting down with a different group of folks so that the conversations may provide a wonderful catalyst for us to get to know one another.

No need to bring anything. Just know that they have a dog and a cat in case of allergies.

This spring we saw the first results of that planting. As the years go by, these flowers will multiply and eventually fill the yard with uncountable and beautiful blossoms.   

Thank you, all of you, who supported this endeavor.

                              

Random House Dictionary defines the word thank as: to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgement. I think all of these feelings are for Jim Hance and Josh Bernhofer. Without their leadership and work there would have been no shelter for the homeless men.  Help was solicited and gotten from Calvery  Chapel and Highland Park Reformed Church. That is not to say that we here at First Reformed did not take part because we did. Women and men from the different churches volunteered to spend the evenings.

Thank you all!!!

The opening of the House of Manna went off without a hitch. Well, almost. Only one family showed up, and we actually had more volunteers than people to be served. Nevertheless, the tables were set with our china dishes; the volunteers were willing and friendly. Lisanne Finston from Elijah’s Promise waited around to watch the events; she actually – unknowingly – sent away the father of the family, because he showed up before the rest of his family arrived! “Sorry,” she told him, “but this is for children and families.” Later on, we figured out what happened. However, those are mistakes that just such a special project as this one will have to work through. Amazingly, it so wonderful to see how eager people are to volunteer; and what nice conversations are going on in the kitchen.

Just for fun, especially since one of my children asked me for the definition of MANNA, I decided to do a web search. I think that you might find it humorous about the definition. Enjoy!

By extension “manna” has been used to refer to any divine or spiritual nourishment. In a modern botanical context, manna is often used to refer to the secretions of various plants, especially of certain shrubs and trees, and in particular the sugars obtained by evaporating the sap of the Manna Ash, extracted by making small cuts in the bark. The name manna is said to derive from the question “man hu?”, which somewhat means, “what is this?”   This isn’t exactly a Hebrew translation. Most likely MAN means plant lice, with the Hebrew “man hu” thus meaning “this is plant lice”. Thus, it is believed that manna actually refers to the crystallized honeydew of certain scale insects. In the environment of a desert, such honeydew rapidly dries due to evaporation of its water content, becoming a sticky solid. Honeydew of this form is considered a delicacy in the middle east, and is a good source of carbohydrate.

NO, we aren’t offering plant lice, but we are offering wonderful dinners to families, who often find the economic difficulties of trying to feed their families, as if they are walking through the desert. Here at the House of Manna they will find sustenance.

Special thanks go out to Ellen and Bruce Hamilton who are providing a room to him and his dog! Other members are hosting Paul through out the two weeks of his work here.
We will want to send him off with a warm “thanks so much” dinner. So the pastors are inviting folks over to their house in Jamesburg for a Potluck meal on Thursday, March 13th at 6 p.m. Pastor Susan will be making meatloaf and maybe some chicken legs. Please let her know if you plan on attend. We will need side dishes and dessert.
 

On March 29, the Hall Education Fund will host its first annual fundraiser.  As many of you know, the Hall Fund has a long history of helping New Brunswick students with demonstrated financial need secure an education.  Since its inception in the early 1800’s when it was set up to “educate the poor and needy in New Brunswick,” the ministers of and people with ties to First Reformed Church, the Presbyterian Church and Christ Episcopal Church have supported its mission.

In an effort to broaden its donor base, the Hall Fund is holding its first fundraiser in the Friendship Hall of the Presbyterian Church, 100 Livingston Avenue at 7:00 p.m. To honor its long history, it was decided to hold a square dance.  This very American form of dancing is suitable for all ages.

Mike Jacobs, a nationally known caller, will lead us through the dances with his very adept calling. He has been warned that there will be many novices among the participants! The square dance will take place from 7:00 to 9:00. Tickets are $5.00 a person or $10.00 a family. A light snack is provided with the cost of admission. 

Please call Susanne Clark at 732-251-4262 or email her at suwacl@yahoo.com for tickets to the event.

Previewing the silent auction will begin at 6:30 with bidding closing at 8:30. The trustees of the fund are busy securing interesting items and gift certificates for the auction. If you have an item or a service you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please get in touch with Agatha Asamoah by phone at 732-981-9121, or by email at aasamoah@hotmail.com.
We hope you can join us for this evening of fun and fellowship.

Nevertheless, we hope that our members will also feel called to participate, especially since we are giving up our regular Friday evening at the soup kitchen in lieu of volunteering at the House of Manna. Therefore, even if you are just interested in finding out about how the House of Manna will be working, or, more importantly, if you plan to volunteer, please attend the Orientation evening planned for February 12th at 5:30 pm.

In any case, here is a brief job description for volunteers:

☛ About 5 – 6 volunteers are needed for Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5 – 7 pm; and the last Saturday of each month from 11 am -  1:30 pm
☛ A Staff Leader will need to come in approximately a half hour earlier than the rest in order to put the food into the ovens for re-heating. There will be no food preparation on premise. All food will be prepared and brought in from Elijah’s Promise.
☛ Volunteers will have to set up tables and chairs, placemats and place settings.
☛ The warmed food will be put into bowls, which will be served family-style at each table.
☛ After the meals, there will be the clearing of the tables, wash up and clean up.

If you have any questions, please send me an email or give me a phone call.

At

First Reformed Church,
New Brunswick
February 9, 2008
At 6:00 pm

 The Invitation & Outreach Committee will supply:
corn bread, hot dogs [for kids], dessert & beverages.

Contestants are asked to bring a pot of home-made CHILI.

Those sampling should bring
$5.00 / person,
children ages 3 – 12 only $2.50.

There will be PRIZES for
First through Third places.

One of the ministries of our church is to provide shelter for up to fifteen men. We do this one week in December and one week in February. The men come in at 7:00 p.m. and stay until 7:00 a.m. They get coffee, bagels, pastries, orange juice and fruit. Most importantly, a warm, dry, safe place to sleep is provided and they know that someone cares about them.

None of this would be possible if there were not volunteers willing to spend the night with the men. Jim Hance is the leader of the Men’s Shelter. He finds the women and men who are willing to spend the night at the church. He also makes sure that the food is available. Josh Bernhofer is Jim’s backup person. They are assisted by members of First Reformed Church, Calvary Chapel, and Highland Park Reformed Church.

A thank you to all who are involved in providing the place for the men to sleep. Jim Hance get a special thank you for the many extra hours spent making this program work.

The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40