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.

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

This is a time when the general populace views many institutions critically and without much respect. What pertains to banks, hospitals and the various levels of government also pertains to the church.

In front of this background it makes only sense that our denomination extended an open invitation to all RCA congregations and interest groups to send representatives for a few days of opinion polling regarding the future direction of our denomination. The results will be shared with General Synod Council (GSC). From there, they will be forwarded to the 2013 General Synod (GS) and then returned to the various Classes.

People followed the call from every part of the United States and Canada and beyond. There were missionaries, professors and chaplains, members of the military, Sunday school leaders and pastors of every variety.

We worshipped together, met in several large groups and broke out into smaller ones. It was a carefully organized process designed to give voice to the great diversity of opinions, needs and heritages within the Reformed Church in America.

Day 1 featured a huge worship in the plenary and a message by General Secretary Tom DeVries. Day 2 was the day of work. We met in large groups of perhaps 25 people and introduced each other by responding to questions like, “How is God working within / through / ahead of you?”

My response was simple. I referred to the contrasts in ministry as I experience them. During the week before Orlando, I was involved with the construction on our church; read a book on perspectives on death and dying in medicine, psychology and law; contributed a few lines to a Muslim publication; and preached and visited and taught an adult education class as well as a confirmation class. There was also a committee meeting, an architect’s reception at a private school and the work for the ecumenical study group for Lent. Can I be an expert or even just a professional in all these things? Most likely not! And so I said to the group in Orlando, “God must be at work in all of this, because left alone I’m not good at doing the splits.”

Following this, we told our congregational stories. This was a moment when it dawned on me how much our congregation owes to someone like Dr. John Henry Livingston. In the late 18th century, he prepared our denomination’s independence from the European mother church. He also was our interim pastor. As such, he dedicated our new sanctuary in 1812. Later he was buried with his wife in our cemetery. When our neighborhood declined in the second half of the 20th century, we pondered moving on innumerable occasions, but never could – not with the graves of Dr. Livingston and other dignitaries behind the church. This forced us to reinvent ourselves and to claim a place in this city. Today it is clear: Many of our ministries would not take place had it not been for the continuing presence of Dr. Livingston!

After lunch, we shifted from the local to the denomination’s context. “Why the RCA?”we asked ourselves, and the responses were as manifold as the people in the room. Value of theological training, willingness to cope with change, our understanding of depravity and election in contrast to the grain of Evangelical American Protestantism, our rich and diverse history – these were among the responses from members of my group.

The next section was spent with recognizing RCA ministries on the denominational level. In our group, these included things like: Network of Pastors, Reformed Church World Service, Global Mission, Interfaith Dialog, Historical Series of RCA Publications, Ecumenical Relations, Social Action, Church Growth Fund, RCA colleges and seminaries, Worship & Liturgies, Disability Awareness and Board of Benefit Services. Each ministry received a paper banner with its name and was posted to the wall.

Once this was accomplished, we used sticky notes to write personal comments for as many ministries as we chose. The comments could be positive or negative. The question, however, was, “How has each ministry had an impact on the life of my home congregation or in our particular context of ministry.”

We meditated the great scope of comments and reconvened in small groups with the task of discerning the general themes from among the previous comments. Then we recorded the themes of special importance to the group members on newsprint to be shared with the larger group. In the end, several such newsprints were put up on the walls. Each member of the large group received five sticky dots to be placed behind the themes we felt should have the highest priority in the future of our denomination’s work. GSC and GS will take it from there. We ended with worship on Saturday night and again on Sunday morning. The latter included a rich sermon by General Secretary Tom DeVries. Its strength was in the questions Tom raised regarding the future of the RCA: Will there be reconciliation and justice for all? Will there be compassion? And: Will we consider others better than ourselves? He could not have said it more appropriately.

My summary is this: We may say a lot of things about our denomination’s course, but we can no longer say we were not asked. The event’s context contributed to its positive atmosphere: The hotel and conference center was in the middle of Walt Disney World Resort with its various theme parks, the food was magnificent, and you could not leave your room without meeting colleagues and friends from every corner of the RCA.

I don’t know whether you have followed the Occupy Wall Street movement or the other similar protests that have sprung up around the country, but I have found the various techniques of the groups quite fascinating. For instance, do you know what “Mic check!” means? While listening to a report on National Public Radio, I learned how this shout-out from the anticipated speaker quieted the masses. What this did was to call the people to order and to listen.

The phrase “Mic check!” would be started from those who were choosing to speak and this would then be repeated down the line until all were listening. Now the reason for repeating the call out was due to the fact that the Occupy Wall Street protestors were not allowed to use microphones or a sound system. So the crowd acted as the sound system.

This call-out “Mic-check” became synonymous to the movements axiom to be a movement of the 99%. The word gets passed on through the people.

Pondering this manner of passing on information, whether it is speeches or even just announcements, I have been pondering how this could be a metaphor for the coming of the Christ-child into our world. News gets passed around from one person reporting a story to another. According to the Nativity story, God sent the angels to the shepherds to announce. “Mic check! A savior is born this day in the city of David” The shepherds went and brought the news to Mary and Joseph. A star appeared in the sky. “Mic check!” and the three Magi followed it, announced (unfortunately) to Herod about a king being born, and then they finally found the babe in Bethlehem. And this “Mic check!” the good news about Jesus – has been passed along through words and scriptures since then. It is the power of passing the word along that has made it a message of hope.

Sometimes, it would be just fun to call out in the middle of a shopping mall during this season, “Mic check! This is all about Christmas! A savior who is born to us.” I wonder whether people would listen; I wonder if people would pass on the message?

Are you “Mic checking” the message of hope and anticipation this season?

Merry, blessed Christmas to you,
Pastor Susan

Twenty wonderful young people eager to hear about such topics! How do you establish ties with the community? How has this changed over the course of the history of your organization? What constitutes a successful community service event? What do you find rewarding; what disappointing? What’s the impact of volunteers in the community as you see it?

We discussed these and similar questions. And slowly, there emerged in the room this mutual enthusiasm for being here in the hub city with all its challenges, its diversity, and its signs of rejuvenation and renewal.

Genuine interest in the non-profit goals of our community organizations, an appreciation particularly for the church’s history, and curiosity about our future potential – it was a rewarding afternoon, indeed! (Continued in Part II )

The highlight of the event was undoubtedly the music performed by Mrs. Bronstein Barton. From the program we were prepared for Bach, Liszt and Debussy. But other than that, the pieces were particularly difficult ones to play, I had not expected the incredible performance we had. Without a sheet of music in front of her, Mrs. Bronstein Barton turned the piano into a jewel box from which she extracted one treasure
after another.

I explained to the audience that this had reminded me of the cold desert fauna of Mrs. Bronstein Barton’s native Chile when the barren rocks are covered with an incredible plethora of precious flowers. The children, many with roots in South America, related immediately. One boy asked whether I knew the name of these flowers, but I had only seen them on the Internet and could not remember the name. Yet, this did not seem to matter much. The youngsters had clearly understood the preciousness of the music. And so they had one question after another for Mrs. Bronstein Barton. And I realized: We could not have done much better than that!

Pastor's Corner

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.

For this reason, we co-hosted with our Turkish neighbors from the Peace Islands Institute another friendship gathering on Oct 25th. We enjoyed Turkish food and fellowship with one another and engaged in an interesting PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Levent Ko on modern political and religious history in Turkey.

“How is this my history?” you might ask, and Brother Roger would respond that it is more important to understand than to be understood. If global peace depends on relationship building, then sharing in our Turkish neighbor’s perception of the world is in our own interest.

By now,you may have had a chance to encounter yet another culture on the premises of First Reformed Church. On Oct 28th, Raíces Cultural Center opened its Day-of-the-Dead Exhibition in the cemetery and inside our buildings. The exhibition includes artwork and small religious objects. It will end on Nov 5th.

What do we know about the Day of the Dead (el Dià de los Muertos)? It’s a Latin American holiday with origins in a pre-Christian Aztec tradition, now connected with the Roman Catholic holiday of All Saints Day. It is celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, but in other countries as well, including Brazil and Spain. Customs include gatherings of friends and family to pray for and to remember the ancestors. This includes the building of private altars as well as the visiting of graves with small gifts.

We Reformed people do not have altars, and we have preference for worshiping collectively. And yet we, too, know that there are many ways of encountering God. At the same time, we want to understand and lay the foundations for empathy and appreciation. From this vantage point, we can only be grateful for the exposure Raíces Cultural Center is offering us at this time. Come and marvel at cultural expressions that have significantly contributed to the diversity of our life experience.

Our sister church, the First Reformed Church of Astoria, has been exposed to this question just as much as we have here at First Reformed Church of New Brunswick. On the occasion of their 176th anniversary, their current pastor, Rev. Dwayne Jackson, likened the situation to cooking from a cookbook. If there is no support from a parent or grandparent, the attempt oftentimes fails. Letters without spirit are dead. By the same token, church ceases to exist when there is nothing left but a well preserved heritage. You can’t do ministry from that. But as long as the Spirit is present, a church will always be more than a museum. Rev. Anna Jackson, who preached the afternoon sermon, focused on this especially.

Filled with the Spirit, the Astoria church had invited us to join in the celebration of their anniversary. Many churches do this now annually. But this is not the point. The point is that we met and encouraged one another; that we joined in shared experience and that we expressed God’s life in us. Ten of our members responded to this opportunity, and Gary Bernhofer was so kind to organize a van for us and drive us straight through Manhattan into Queens.

It was a wonderful day. We adults enjoyed the fellowship with friends we had first met in 2007. Our children heard from the witnesses of the day what it means to stay committed to the church for life. And altogether we saw once more that “church” is bigger than the local congregation. Thank you, First Reformed Church of Astoria, for your warm hospitality!

Recently I had a phone conversation with one of our “building users”, the Martial Arts instructor who was thrilled that so many groups are using our facilities. “You know, the church is a real community center.” “Wonderful!” I thought. We’ve finally made it. Yes, one could really define us as such. Why just this week I was talking with Yue Yue Ensemble about an extra practice date; emailing with Nicole from Raíces Cultural Center who is heading up an ecological event at our church about water and pollution; as well as setting up a Day of the Dead Exhibition; furthermore I have been in talks with United Way about a huge informational fair that they will be hosting here, too. Phew! This place rarely is empty. Did you know that Young Life, a small Christian group working with disadvantaged youth is also hosting a group here on Monday nights now? Yes, we have become a type of community gathering space.

Besides this transformation, we have been working on updating our website and even our Facebook page. Some of you have received invitations to befriend First Reformed Church on Facebook. If you did not know that we are on there, then please do search us out. I will be trying to keep up on adding the various events happening at First Reformed Church. Of course pictures are always a delight to have. Just this past week Lillie from Pine Grove Nursery School (which is housed in our building, too) just sent me snapshots from the Lunchtime Recital last week. We saw the tables of children, a table of seniors, and tables of visitors enjoying their meal in candlelight; there had been a problem with the electric. Thankfully that is now fixed.

So, come, check out all the interesting groups and events that are happening within the old walls of our church buildings.
Fondly,
Pastor Susan

Pastor's Corner

Most recently, the number of critical voices regarding the overgrown front of our church has increased. Some took issue with the two dogwood trees covering the two outdoor signs on either side of the church entrance. Others mentioned the unsightliness of the untrimmed yew bushes. Somebody else bemoaned the desolate condition of the hand rails leading up to the three church doors. And I myself miss some special feature like a lively banner or something similar to highlight the main entrance door and to add life to the otherwise immortal architecture and the evergreens surrounding it.

I was surprised, however, to find out that these issues seem to be indigenous to other Reformed Churches as well. The dining hall of our retreat center in Warwick, NY features plates from most Reformed churches with ties to the Center. During our recent retreat, I took the attached pictures. They are from one of the four walls only. Had I had more time, I could have taken many more pictures like these. Can you see how the trees and bushes obstruct the architectural features in each case? Clearly, bushes and trees are important in our overly developed world. As Christians concerned about God’s creation, we will always want to err on the green side. But does this mean that, even on display plates like these, the branches of a tree are more important than the unique features of a particular steeple?

Church Plates at Warwick

The paradigm of Sleeping Beauty saddens me from a faith perspective. I do not find it justifiable for a church of Jesus Christ to conceal itself from the surrounding community. Rather, we are called to be a presence in the world and part of the yeast that changes society. We are called to help people to cope with life and to hold up ethical standards to those who are in leadership positions in our communities and beyond.

Somehow, a hedge of briar roses does not fit this concept.

When the Diocese became Classis, it was subject to some change. A diocese is organized around a bishop’s cathedral. It is, therefore, an expression of hierarchy and power vested in an individual. By contrast, a Classis is organized as a group with all participating churches sending representatives. Subsequently, the meetings of Classis are not necessarily tied to a particular church. Our Classis of New Brunswick, for example, has a rotating schedule. Every church of Classis can host a meeting.

In several ways, Classis (plural: Classes) has the highest authority within the institutional structure of our denomination. It can start new churches and close others. It supervises the churches that are under its jurisdiction. It ratifies or rejects resolutions from higher denominational levels. Only in judicial matters higher levels like Regional Synod or General Synod can exercise more authority.

This all sounds reasonable and even progressive because it keeps power locally anchored. But is this enough reason for us to be more accepting of the per-member assessment that each Classis conducts annually? It may help, perhaps, to also consider who the Classis is. Look at the accompanying picture taken during a “work dinner” on May 25th when our Classis convened for a stated meeting at the Reformed Church Home in Old Bridge. You should recognize at least three people: Pastor Susan, Pastor Paul Nulton, and our Alternate Elder Delegate Ellen Hamilton.

Approaching Classis through the people we know provides Classis with a face. If Classis has a face, it is less likely subject to more abstract criticism. A glance at the agenda of a Classis meeting may provide further help in this direction. On May 25th, the meeting was organized as one long worship service, with committee reports interspersed where appropriate. It was a beautiful meeting, something of spiritual value for all of us who usually participate in worship through officiating. The following elements of the meeting were especially noteworthy:

• The ordination examination of Peter Sanfilippo provided cause for fruitful theological discussion and,upon completion, gave reason to celebrate our hope for the future.
• Rev. Samir Youssef, the chaplain of the Reformed Church Home, gave a very compassionate report on the situation of Christians in his home country Egypt. How different it is when one of our own relates experience that we hear otherwise in the news.
• As hosting pastor, Rev. Samir also preached that day. It was a sermon we all had to hear, as was evident already by the title: The Lord Will Do Amazing Things Among You. This was followed by a communion service and dinner.

When we left the meeting, I felt uplifted and encouraged in my daily work. The fellowship and the professional wisdom of my colleagues mean “the world” me. They make things easier to bear, they affirm the meaning of what we are doing, and they provide support where needed. I can truly say: I love this Classis! It is a good place to be.

I want to ponder this on the background of the great Lunchtime Recital we hosted here at church on Apr 13th. You may get an impression from the attached pictures – even some of the children of Pine Grove Nursery School were there!

During the second half of the recital, Frederick Urrey (tenor) and Daniel Swenberg (guitar) offered songs from Franz Schubert. One was called The Wanderer and included lines like, “I am a stranger everywhere,” and “that land where they speak my language, Oh land, where are you?” I was moved by lines like these, not just because they were sung in German, or because I am not living in my home country anymore. Rather, I was moved because this particular song cast a light on the situation in our city of New Brunswick, where the majority of the population is immigrants from Middle or South America. There are an awful lot of people in our town with whom the song would resonate. You don’t have to be familiar with the German Romanticism of the early 19th century to see that this is the case.

But it’s more than New Brunswick. Migration is a global phenomenon and leaves marks in many of our lives. Both musicians that day had biographies filled with international experience. And it works vice versa. Do not most of us feel more connected than ever to other parts of the word? The digital revolution has accelerated this development tremendously. And, all of a sudden, there it is again, this realization, “I am a stranger everywhere.” We know this cannot be different, not in this world with its many dislocation opportunities, and with its being subject to constant, never ending change.

Perhaps it is here that the new life in Jesus Christ unfolds its deepest meaning. Does it not permanently offer us freedom from alienation in the wake of our wandering? Without this freedom, surely, we must conclude with the lyrics of Schubert’s song, “There, where you are not, there is happiness.” As Christians, however, we may enjoy a little more tranquility.

Where others are restless, we have peace. Where others in vain search for home, we have already arrived. And where others feel estranged, we know ourselves to be known by the Father of Jesus Christ. That’s why the new life in Christ is so much more than just a pious phrase.

You know, it is no easy thing to be a faithful deacon and usher, as far as worship duties are concerned. Bruce was here for all these years, Sunday after Sunday, not at 9:30a.m. or 9:45a.m., but always punctually at 9:00a.m. He helped the corresponding deacon of the month, organized substitute deacons or ushers when there was a shortage, and was a reliable whistle blower when there was a mistake in the bulletin – like a hymn number from the red hymn book wrongly ascribed to a hymn in the green book. More than once he prevented potential calamities!

However, a retirement, temporary or not, is an important thing, because it enables other deacons and ushers to grow into the responsibilities. I realize this sounds a little bit like work. But there is enjoyment as well when we gather prior to worship and find ourselves surrounded by the sounds of the church coming to life: coffee brewing in the kitchen, the choir rehearsing, and happy bantering in Fellowship Hall.

Then we do what has been done for centuries: We cut the candles, mark the readings, change the liturgical colors and put up the hymns. All over the world, the sounds and actions are similar, at least in principle. Preparing for worship – it is clearly a constant within the story of our faith. What could be more rewarding spiritually than the feeling to be part of it, and to have a place in a line of succession that spans the centuries?

Truly, the hour before worship has special grace!

Dear Friends,

In February, there was a special breakfast with Wes Granberg-Michelson organized by the denominational offices. These were held as a personal farewell and heads-up about the status of the RCA. I found our General Secretary’s story quite personal and moving; moreover, I appreciated the honesty and humble manner with how he presented it.

Here are four lessons that he shared with us as his own personal sense of vision for the RCA churches.

1. It is time to change the way we do things. This has to do with our form of governing – particularly the manner in which we make decisions. Over the years while serving as our General Secretary, Wes moved toward a method of discernment through prayer and facilitating discussion. And he has sought to implement this process even with larger groups.
2. It is time to really move on developing new congregations. This has been a vision that Wes has strongly set forth for many years now. And, although there seem to be a bit fewer ‘organized’ churches, still over 250 new churches have been started since 2003. These new churches look and feel different than the ‘older’, or better said, ‘more established’ churches. Yet, this decision to move into developing new churches has changed our outlook across the denomination. More and more classes are looking at new church starts. It has created a momentum.
3. It is time to relinquish our best efforts to God’s grace. As many of our churches are struggling with finances, we have to begin to really look at our structures and how they may or may not be meeting our call of expressing Christ in our society today. Do we have to do away with assessments? Do we have to reorganize our classical structures or our synods for that matter? How do we deal with our large empty church buildings? Wes brought up several examples of classes and synods doing things ‘differently’ across the USA.
4. It is time to embrace multicultural brothers and sisters in Christ. Across the denomination the faces of RCA members are slowly changing (mostly on the East coast, though), and it is time for us to better welcome these new voices and perspectives. We need to be ‘the church’ in new ways—both respecting our tradition as well as integrating the new perspectives. This will bring about change, but, hopefully, change that inspires us to new mission and ministry.

I am sure that you may find some of this information online at www.rca.org. Our denomination is certainly in a transition, especially as we look at the candidate for the General Secretary position. By the way, Tom DeVries has just been announced as the GSC’s candidate. Certainly we will see more change in our future.

May some of Wes’ lessons help to guide us at First Reformed Church as we will be addressing some of these lessons as well.

Yours truly,
Pastor Susan

In short, we thank you, our dear congregation, from the bottom of our hearts for this moving celebration of our 10th anniversary here at First Reformed Church. Your signs of love and appreciation mean the world to us. We are especially grateful to Walter Johnson for filming some of the contributions so that we can enjoy them again and share with family.

It is also clear that the beauty of our congregational life is the result of God’s grace. Much could have stood in the way. And by the same token you could ask: what are the odds anyway, for four Reformed churches in New Brunswick, and several more right beyond the city borders? Yet, here we are, struggling perhaps, but all of us also serving, praying, and celebrating worship every Sunday. And among these churches, First Reformed in particular is preserving a historic identity without which New Brunswick would be so much poorer. No matter how you look at it; it is the grace of God that all of this is happening.

I was recently invited by denominational leaders to participate in a conversation regarding the RCA offices located on 475 Riverside Drive in New York City at the Interchurch Center. Those who were invited were from the two Regional Synods, which are directly near the center. Due to shrinking membership and the need to be more frugal, the conversation was a time to explore options to relocate the offices from “The God Box”, a term often used when trying to find the place with a taxi driver at the wheel. “The God Box” – what an affectionate term for a building which began with such a vision: Christian Unity. Here is an adapted historical explanation, which I found on the Interchurch Center’s website.

In the early twentieth century a worldwide fervor for Christian unity developed. In the mid-century, interest increased, especially in New York. Hopes were high to build a center in which Protestant and Orthodox churches in America could engage in dialogue and cooperation. Inspiring the endeavor was the idea that Christians ought to do all they can together unless conscience requires them doing it separately. This Lund Principle – so named because its source is the 1954 World Conference on Faith and Order in Lund, Sweden — appealed to many churches, but not all. Evangelicals and Pentecostals remained isolated from interchurch relations. The Roman Catholic Church had not yet officially entered the ecumenical movement and so was not even considered as a partner to ecumenical initiatives.

Originally conceived to be called “The Protestant Center”, and so identified in the 1948 Act of Incorporation, by 1954 it was clear to the founding fathers and mothers of the Center that “Protestant” would not serve as qualifier if, indeed, the building was intended to be ecumenical in identity and mission; thus, the word “Interchurch” was adopted.

On 12 October 1958, a crowd of more than 30,000 people gathered for the Laying of the Cornerstone ceremony. The day’s ceremonies opened with a carillon recital at Riverside Church followed by a procession on Riverside Drive. As the autumn breeze waved the banners of thirty-seven Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches, the President of the United States, Dwight D Eisenhower, laid the cornerstone.

On May 29, 1960, the completed edifice was dedicated in a moving ceremony that marked an unprecedented advance in the movement for greater unity among the churches in the United States. Known as “Dedication Sunday”, the day began with worship and thanksgiving in Riverside Church.
For fifty-one years, our RCA denomination has held offices in this truly remarkable building, which is known around the world as an example of Christian Unity. The RCA even owns 14% of the building, we found out in our meeting.

As the discussion, led by a well trained mediator, continued throughout the morning and afternoon, we learned more about the lack of usage on our part and the costs. I provide these here for your benefit: First, it seems that our ecumenical partners from 50 years ago are seeking other locations for the denominational headquarters. The Presbyterian Church [USA] and the Evangelical. Lutheran Church, to just name a few, have moved some time ago. It appears that the vision is giving out to economic pressure. Second, we did the math, and to our surprise, the cost per square foot was
less than $25. We all remarked that this was cheap considering the location. Third, only particular boards and consultants really use the offices on a daily basis. When the General Secretary moved his office to Grand Rapids, several other RCA boards moved with him. That means that our office space in the Interchurch Center is not being used to capacity. There was some discussion about changing the office size. However,
that was only one possible option.

In the end, there was no final word. We were asked to respond on our own to one of the secretaries. So, none of us know what the outcome will be – whether the offices will move or not.

I share this with you,so that you hear about these discussions in our denomination. Many of you may well remember the events as described above in the history. It must have been a grand celebration. The sad part, in my opinion, is the slow deterioration of the vision. It is quite disconcerting! For it appears to me that Christian Unity is more needed today than ever before. We need a place such as the God Box/the Interchurch Center to promote discussion and to lead us onward with putting aside our differences.

When I find out what the RCA denominational leaders decide regarding the offices on 475 Riverside Drive, I will let you know. You may want to take a trip into NYC yourself and visit the center. There are exhibitions and all sorts of special rooms there for you to tour.

Shalom, Pastor Susan

Oh, this map can yield funny results! How often in the past have we encountered the need to justify ourselves against the charge that we do not really represent the community in which our church is built. This is a serious charge, and we should not dismiss it. The more the surrounding community is reflected in the faces of our worshipping congregation, the more complete our worship will be. For this reason, our ministry values diversity and inclusiveness.

However, the distinction between inner city and suburb itself may have to be updated. It originated from a time when the inner city was ugly and the suburbs safe. This has changed considerably. Consequently, our inner map can be redrawn.

Today, New Brunswick is in many ways the cultural and administrative center of all the surrounding suburbs. In the past, people used to come here for mainly three reasons: the hospitals, work, or social services. But this has changed dramatically. Today, there is a plethora of restaurants, concerts, theaters and open air events. New neighborhoods have emerged with an entirely new scene of art and music. I would venture to say that the city’ consumption of electricity is much higher during the weekends than during normal work days.

What does this mean for us as a church? Foremost it means that we have to draw a wider radius in what we call “our community”. It may not be very helpful any more to emphasize too much the border that separates the city from the suburbs. Instead, the city has become the central place where much of the suburbs’ cultural life takes place. We still have the obligation of serving our immediate neighborhoods to the best of our capabilities. And we do so with much of our social outreach.

However, this does not mean that we should not also direct some of our outreach into the suburb communities from where many of our members come. The field to plow is bigger than we sometimes think.

The construction of Pine Grove Nursery School made our summer hot. We received a sprinkler system on both levels of the education building, remodeled both stairways in the building, had new carpet laid, new phone lines brought in, and a host of other things. This brought contractors, inspectors, fire officials and a great number of volunteers into our building. We are proud that everything has been accomplished and that the school is up and running. Oftentimes, Susan and I looked at each other and said, “If the school wins, we win as a church.”

But now the hot fall comes. With the receipt of a new grant, the remediation work on the site of our former oil tank will resume in October. We had to negotiate the date carefully, because now we have scaffolding on our education building. This will have to be removed before a large drilling rig can make it onto our premises. The rig is needed to install a DEP mandated groundwater well that records water contamination.

Meanwhile, we have learned how the reconstruction of George Street affects our neighborhood. During working hours, lower Bayard Street is a two-way road, too narrow for a rig that requires piloting through town. But somehow the officials in charge showed heart for our church, and with God’s help, the rig will arrive on October 18th.

I have spent much of the beginning of August negotiating these things. Sometimes I closed with the remark that I lost my notes from learning these things at seminary. This and other remarks prompted Bill Gaventa, director of The Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at UMDNJ, to suggest a new sermon title to me: “Getting Through the Jungles to Church”.

That would be a funny title! But I hesitate using it for fear that this might deter us from coming to church. We cannot afford the reputation of not being accessible on Sunday mornings. The reason is simple: if worship here at First Reformed is not the most important part of our life as church, then everybody will think that construction is. This would be a fatal error!

In reality, the opposite should be true. Construction should boost our attendance, because it is very special to come to church at such a historically significant time. I know, I sound like a child of the world when I talk like this. As if attending worship could depend on a lure! But I admit to being driven in part by the fact that our numbers were just so low over the summer. Yet, even if my motivation is theologically entirely off target, it remains part of my human emotions nevertheless.

Be this as it may. I think it is important that we all commit ourselves to increasing our worship attendance this fall. Rally Sunday on September 12th will provide us with a great kick-off. It is part of a special Song-Gift Weekend with star musician and composer Lorraine Nelson Wolf, a voice from deep inside the Reformed Church in America.

Lorraine and her family will perform a special concert on the anniversary of September 11th. Please see the poster in this issue of the newsletter. During worship the following morning, she will present our church with the gift of a special song, written and composed just for us. It might become the anthem of our church. Please make sure you’ll come on Rally Sunday.

I want to give you an illustration, but I will use myself as an example so as to not break trust. However, the underlying principle is the same for many of us. In fact, I suspect that it shapes much of our life experience far beyond the walls of the church.

As you probably know, I like music, the history of ideas, adult education, preaching, and visiting with people. I used to not like numbers, brick and mortar, and social networking. Ah! Social networking was the worst! I would always prefer a library or archive room over against a ballroom. Yet… and you know the rest of the story.

As I indicated, several of us share similar experiences. We like certain things, but life employs us differently. And this is not limited to the realm of the church. Few of us are able to stay faithful to their college majors through the rest of life. Is this not so?

And so I am wondering what it means. As we grow older, we ask ourselves perhaps a bit more often to what degree our life has been successful. But what is success? Prior to understanding this as a spiritual question, we might simply identify success with reaching a pre-set goal. A goal could be to successfully build a career in a certain field of interest. The degree by which we deviate from this goal would then be a measure for failure and success.

This is pre-spiritual, I said. For I am not sure Christians can ultimately think that way. There is always this one word of our Lord in the way, and no earthly power can remove it: “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:36) It summarizes our religious experience that God may have different plans, that his thoughts are not our thoughts.

Recently, my father-in-law sent me a collection of religious sayings. One of these turned out to be a modern footnote to the quote from the Gospel of Mark: “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.” At first, this may just be a surprising swap of terms. But wait a moment, perhaps there is more! Have you ever thought that ending up in a life-place other than the intended may contribute to your inner growth?

By contrast, if we only follow the things we planned our inner growth may never reach its full bloom. However, I want to be careful here. When Jesus said, “not what I want, but what you want,” he was not talking about a plan for his future life, but his death on the cross. Our comparison must stop at this point, where we remain behind, allowed to plan our lives, when he was not.

I greet you with these thoughts and wish you all a blessed a meaningful summer.

Dear Friends,

This morning was a different morning than usual. Children’s voices echoed throughout the education building of FRC. Pine Grove Nursery School hosted a performance of Peacemaker, a short play produced by actors from the George Street Playhouse. It was humorous. Moreover, the children’s enthusiasm was noticeable. And, we staff persons stood in the back with smiles on our faces.

What a joy to have so many children here, their parents and caretakers! So many people using our large buildings on a Monday morning; one can’t call this church a “stained glass aquarium” as the cartoon denotes. We’ve broken the bowl!

And that causes us to pause and say maybe “Ooops!” or “Yeah” In any case, it is a bit scary!

I think all of those feelings come along with that acknowledgment. We have become a different church: one which supports a diverse set of groups coming and going in our buildings. Also, our ministries are changing and refocusing as well, because our outreach and openness to the community keeps shaping our vision of what we want to offer, and how we wish to express that offering.

To give you just another example: at the May consistory meeting, the request for usage by a local group known as Collaborative Arts (a non-for-profit organization) was accepted. They will use our sanctuary for several weeks in August to perform Romeo and Juliet. It reminded me so much of the times when our congregation put on Godspell, which was many years ago. This production, though, will be somewhat intriguing because the arts group plans to spice up the production in a multicultural way: Romeo’s family will be Afro-Caribbean, and Juliet’s will be Latino. Certainly it will be a new way to look at this classic play!

This re-use of the sanctuary and the close bond that the Building Usage Ad-hoc Committee has developed with some of our groups, which use our buildings, is rather remarkable. We don’t see folks as just “renters” but rather as “partners”. Their usage helps us gain new contacts within the fabric of the community, and our facilities provide an affordable venue for many. We all win through the usage and the developing relationships. Who knows where this “relationship” may creatively grow? What opportunities may develop out of working together? Interfacing is a new way to provide new ministries to our community, and it seems that the more we break open the “stained glass aquarium” the greater the possibilities will become.

Did you ever think that our buildings would be a way to evangelize and do outreach? Quite a turn around indeed!

Fondly,
Pastor Susan