These insights may be one of the reasons, why the phrase ‘commuter church‘ has such bad taste. It seems to refer to congregations who evade the test of life by meeting in communities to which they have no connection. First Reformed Church was a commuter church from the 18th century on. Large parts of its congregation came to church by horse and buggy, because they came from the surrounding farms. Today, we have only a handful of members residing in the city of New Brunswick.

However, is this reason enough to scoff at the word ‘commuter church’? On Jan 30th, Susan, Jim Hance and I attended the stated winter meeting of our Classis. Much of the morning was spent with a workshop on new church starts. We had denominational staff presenting– a good use of Classis dues, if you ask me.

What excited me most that morning was the offer of new language (and I am always interested in language, as you know). One of the two presenters talked repeatedly about the ‘magnetic church’ as a new term for ‘commuter church’.

Oh, if we could adopt these terms here at First Reformed Church!

It would do two things for us. First, we would rid ourselves of the negative connotations of the term ‘commuter church‘. Second, we would turn around the perspective on ourselves. Rather than viewing ourselves as a deficient commuter church, we could actually celebrate the fact that our church provides so much meaning that it draws, Sunday after Sunday and week after week, so many of us from the surrounding areas. In many ways, we have become a magnetic church, and it’s time to claim this part of our identity as well.

Pastor Hartmut

• Discussed and decided to change the Invitation to the Lord’s Supper in order to make the sacrament truly welcoming especially to guests, and the Baptism Liturgy for Children of Pre-Confirmation Age which respects the awareness of these children regarding the sacrament.
• Discussed the preliminary feasibility study presented by our architect James Kruhly and the Building Vision Group. We voted to approve the vertical separation of the sanctuary with the proposed affordable housing units. This will be brought to the congregation in a special meeting with Mr. Kruhly sometime in the near future.
• Discussed the possibility of accepting a student minister for the Fall.

On Mar 14th, the adult choir is going on ‘retreat’ to the Van Wickle House to continue to grow as a ministry. Our special guest is soon-to-be Dr. Mark A. Boyle, the Choir Director at Emanuel Lutheran Church in New Brunswick. He will lead us in a three-hour rehearsal to help us prepare for Holy Week, Easter, and beyond.

As we continue to grow in Love, we are learning that the harmony of music is as mysteriously beautiful and difficult to execute as any of the challenges of all of the ministries of our church.

Two of the gifts of ideas from our special coffee hour in January included finding outside volunteer help and making contact with Rutgers. Those ideas came together with the offer of volunteers from Rutgers to help in our “winter housecleaning” efforts. Snow forced them to cancel, but we hope to have them come later. A group of Rutgers student historians has begun to meet at our church.

These contacts will lead to positive relationships and perhaps to networking that helps in the fund-raising effort.

Yet, there was more going on that Sunday! Therefore, I would like to cast a spotlight on it in order to make visible what exactly it is that we do here at church. If you, Dear Reader, feel that it may be helpful, please use this article to invite friends or colleagues to our church.

First, Feb 21 was a Sunday of baptism and new member admission. We celebrated the coming home of the young family of Elian Titre, Keoduangchay “K.T.” Thiangtham, and their children Natya and Elian. I say, “coming home” because K.T. spent a significant part of her childhood in this church, and because nowadays it is special when an entire family receives the gift of belonging. Please see the accompanying picture taken by Liz Hance.

The joyful event provided an additional chance for a picture of the junior sermon that day. Such moments are too precious to be taken for granted! To be gathered with the future of the church around some serious conversation on a religious matter — I treasure these moments very much. Worship without our children would be less complete, indeed.

Finally, we had a great coffee hour; the pictures here were taken by Gary Bernhofer. Our guest speaker was Mr. James Oleg Kruhly, the architect behind our feasibility study on converting parts of our sanctuary into permanent supportive housing. However, Mr. Kruhly did not just speak about our project.

Rather, he gave a slide presentation on What Is Happening with Places of Worship? He had numerous examples from North America, but also from France, Japan, and Germany.

Mr. Kruhly was well equipped for providing this overview. His company has completed projects in ten states, and in Europe, including the Public Library of Stockholm, Sweden. The quintessence of his lecture was this: colonial churches in America started out as meeting houses for their surrounding community. Yet their introverted architecture signaled: You had to be a member in order to have access.

Today, we come full circle, when churches share space with the community again. Permanent supportive housing is a great illustration. It shows at the same time that churches who consider it are no longer introverted, as they actively pursue a goal in the surrounding world.

Mr. Kruhly closed his remarks by emphasizing the importance of sanctuaries changing in this way as opposed to the sad fact of sanctuaries disappearing altogether. He encouraged us to continue on our path into the surrounding community and world. This was, in my opinion, what Sunday, Feb 21st, was all about.

Truly, this class is an exercise in inclusive ministry! And of course, as you read this, you can still join either for a single session or for the remainder. We meet Friday nights at 8:00 p.m.

Each session’s subject provides another window to the world. We do not want to be a church with siege mentality, where the most prevalent question would be how to keep our faith pure while the world goes berserk. Instead, the world is God’;s creation, and we are some of its stewards.

Consequently, our sessions deal with diverse subjects. How do we respond to evil in the world? Where is our faith when we discuss neurological science and the theory of evolution? What does our faith say regarding the reality of disabilities? How do Christians deal with the phenomenon of the day-and-night society that knows no Sabbath? What happens when homelessness challenges our faith?

Does any of this wet your appetite? Then come and see us Fridays during Lent!

With the short rehearsal time we have, the whole choir is very grateful that every week Norma comes a little bit early so the bells are all out and ready for us to play when we come to the music room. Thank you, Norma, for doing this every week for us!

This month in worship we have several Lenten series and services taking place. We started the Lent season with a collegiate service. This year it was our turn to host Second Reformed Church, Suydam Street Reformed Church and Highland Park Reformed Church. The service was very moving with the imposition of ashes, hand washing and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Following it was a delicious Feast of Sausages which people enjoyed.

An Adult Education class series is being offered on all Fridays of Lent. The series will be led by Pastor Hartmut and held on Friday nights at 8:00 p.m. at various church members’ homes. The theme is Living Our Faith in a Messed-Up World. On Feb 19th, the series started at house of the Pastors. On the following dates, the families mentioned will host the next session. All are welcome to attend any of these.

Feb 26th – the Feketes
Mar 5th, the Waanders
Mar 12th, the Vande Buntes
Mar 19th, the Novacks
Mar 26th, the Hances

We thank all of these generous people to open their houses for these classes.

Like last year on Maundy Thursday, there will be a Seder meal followed by a Tenebrae Worship service. This service was very well received last year, and I know people are looking forward to having this service again. See the article about this elsewhere in the newsletter. And the first Sunday of April we will celebrate Easter. Again special elements for the service are planned.

Looking further ahead on the calender: For our annual Rally Sunday in September, we are working on something really special. It will be a full weekend of special events. The dates to put on your calendar are Sep 11th and 12th. We will host Lorraine Nelson-Wolf in a Song Gift Weekend. More details will be announced later.

Please mark your calendar for Apr 1st, 7:00 p.m. The Seder meal menu will include lamb, rice pilaf, greens, various Seder foods, dessert and beverages. A vegetarian dish will also be available. Since Ethel Salamone is “The Chef”, we know that the meal will be delicious. The cost of the meal is $10 per person and $30 for a family.

Reservations will be required since we have to set up tables in the sanctuary and need to plan out the number of seats. There will be a sign up sheet in Fellowship Hall, with a cut off date of Mar 21st. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask Ethel Salamone or Joan Fekete for more information.

Also unusual was that their bodies (faces, legs, hands, etc.) were covered with Arabic calligraphy painted on with henna. Once again, the artist used various techniques and methods to present the women in her photos in a feminist Muslim way. This exhibition goes until Jun 6th and is well worth the visit.

For March, we have planned to enjoy our annual Blarney Day celebration. All Free Spirits are invited to bring lunches on Mar 17th at noon. Pastor Susan will provide something green for dessert. Please bring stories or jokes to share with all.

Some of them we actually have used already. An example is getting in touch with Rutgers people. After this coffee hour, the church was approached by a coordinator for Rutgers volunteers for a special volunteer work. Having the idea from the coffee hour in mind, we accepted this. Sadly enough, the event fell through because of the snow. But perhaps in the future we will have a chance again to work with Rutgers people.

We know that is not strictly a fund-raising to have young people to come and clean, but without contacts it is hard to start a relationship. Moreover, without a good relationship, you hardly can approach people for contributions.

Of course, if you came up with an idea after this coffee hour, you can always reach out to one of the members of the Fund-raising Committee and let them know: Janet Waanders is the Chair.

Mr. Kruhly’s lecture gave the many gathered in Fellowship Hall an historic perspective of the development of architecture on this continent, beginning with the meeting house style, which was added on to with a foyer and eventually a steeple. Furthermore, the last fifty years has shown an ever increasing preference for the less ornate — almost barn-like — extroverted structures which are more and more open to the natural world.

Mr. Kruhly also touched on the subject of our own considerations regarding a remodeling of the sanctuary interior, for which we have employed him to provide us with a feasibility study. He briefly showed the slides of what such a change could look like.

Sometime in April, the Building Vision Group plans to invite the congregation to hear more about these ideas and to respond with their own thoughts, hopes and dreams.

Gentlemen of the Evening — It sounds like it could be the title of either a book or a play, right? However, it is not. Rather, this is how I refer to the men who use our Men’s Shelter. You may be thinking how silly that phrase is — to use such a description for those who live on the streets. Actually I first used it in jest when talking about the men. Yet, through my encounters with some of them, I have come to realize that they are gentlemen. They always smile when coming in off the streets; they greet us, and even wish us to have a good evening. Their morning responses are usually a “thank you for providing the breakfast.” And their last statement as they go out the door into the cold:”Thanks. You have a good day.” We get to go to our warm homes and beds, while they go out on the streets for the day.

Our turn of hosting the shelter has ended for this year. This winter has had some nasty cold and snowy weather. What a great opportunity for us to show our love of God by following the example of Jesus, who taught us to love our brothers and sisters, to care for our neighbors.

To all those who volunteered for a night to watch over our Gentlemen of the Evening: Thank You very much! Especially, we thank Jim Hance, our Shelter Boss; without him we would not be able to provide this much needed service. He does the leg work, gets the food, sets up the volunteers and, most importantly, brings his train movies.

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.

On Apr 24th, we will honor Yvette Molina for all she has done and still is doing for House of Manna. We will do this by organizing a brunch. The final details for this celebration will be made at our next meeting on Mar 21st.

On Mar 5th, the Church Women United will celebrate World Day of Prayer with a gathering. Crossroads is planning a retreat again in April; if you are interested please see Erie for more details.

I hope to see all of you at our next meeting, which should start a little earlier as the last one.

March 24 Chris Brown Trio, a saxophone, bass, and piano trio performing jazz pieces that Brown and pianist Alex Collins have composed or arranged. Alex Rodriguez is the bassist.

April 14 Cellist Elizabeth Thompson and pianist Phyllis Alpert Lehrer will perform works by Lucas Foss and Samuel Barber in this Barber centenary year.

April 28 Returning performers Li-Chan Chen Maxham and pianist David Iskowitz will be joined by baritone John Maxham in a program of songs by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Quilter, and Romberg.

May 12 Trio21 will perform a varied program of 21st century works ranging from children’s pieces to impressionist musical poems. The group includes flutist Kevin Willois, clarinetist Kenneth Ellison, and pianist Lynda Saponara.

With so much physical work, it is necessary that we take care of our spiritual balance. The time of Lent offers itself for this, as it provides us with some great opportunity to find center in our worship life. As every year, we will begin Lent on Ash Wednesday, Feb 17th, at 7:30 p.m. with a collegiate worship service here at First Reformed Church. Folks from the Highland Park Reformed Church, Second Reformed Church, and the Suydam Street Reformed Church will join us for the occasion. Our organist and choir director, Ben Berman, has found great music for the combined choir.

Following the Ash Wednesday service, we will offer a special confessional liturgy during the beginning part of our Lenten Sunday worship services. This liturgy centers on the baptismal font and is based on words from Psalm 51. Each time, we will pour water into the font, reminding ourselves of the beginning of our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In doing so, we will adapt a format that comes to us from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

In addition to this special worship liturgy, we offer a Lenten Adult Education Class. It has the title, Living Your Faith in a Messed-up World, and comes to us from our sister denomination, the Christian Reformed Church. Each session will focus on a short film or interview that provides an exemplary insight into the relevance of the Reformed faith today. The sessions will be held on Friday nights at 8:00 p.m., beginning on Mar 19th. We are trying to hold these sessions in various homes rather than at church. If you would like to host a session, please call our church office (732-545-1005).

A Presbyterian Lenten liturgy and a Christian-Reformed adult education class — this also reflects where we are as the people of First Reformed Church: firmly embedded in our Reformed tradition and, yet, always eager to broaden our horizon and outlook.

May this year’s Lenten journey be meaningful to you!
Pastor Hartmut

Christmas Eve was a magical worship service with a mighty choral presence and the delicate soloing of Lillian Kramer-Mills. The Beemsterboer family played beautifully their violins during Silent Night, and Hartmut Kramer-Mills accompanied us expertly during our Hiram Square Christmas Caroling event before the service.

On Jan 3rd, the Adult Choir led the worship service at the Reformed Church Home. Pastor Samir welcomed us into his house of worship and many, many people were touched by our music, our preaching, and especially Pastor Hartmut’s leadership of the hymns on his horn.

We are glad to welcome two recent new members to the Adult Choir: Allison Weaver and Heather Epstein. May the whole world sing in exultation, always glorifying God’s name.

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!!!!