Weekly Update

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Susan Kramer-Mills

Dear Friends ~

Memorial Day is upon us! We will remember our Veterans on Sunday, as well as those who are enlisted.

Please mark your calendars for

First Reformed Church Choirs Concert
Featuring the Bell Choir, Adult Choir,
Organ Solos and Hymn Sing-a-long
Saturday, June 1, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
Free-will Donation!

Here is what’s happening at FRC this week:

Tuesday, May 21
All day Conservator working on grave markers.
5:30 pm Town Clock CDC – Fundraising Team
7:00 pm Consistory Mtg.

Wednesday, May 22
All day Grave Marker Cleaning
8:30 am NB Public Sculpture
11:00 am Staff Mtg.
7:00 pm Choir Rehearsal

Saturday, May 25
8:30 am ISP Work Group

Sunday, May 26
9:00 am Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Breakfast & Banter
9:50 am Bell Choir Rehearsal
10:30 am Worship – Ushers: Heather Epstein and Margaret Coakley
11:30 am Coffee Hour Host: TBD

Blessings,
Susan

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Faithstreet Link

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

Dear Members and Friends of First Reformed Church:

You can help our church grow by going to www.faithstreet.com.

Enter “New Brunswick, NJ” and scroll down in the emerging window until you come to First Reformed Church. This way, you get to see the other New Brunswick churches on Faithstreet. When you come to our church, click on text or picture.

Under “Community Members” you can you can share why you are committed to our church. This could be significant, because readers not familiar with us may want to visit our church based on your comments.

Please also note the feature for scheduling a visit. When an interested person clicks on that button, Faithstreet welcomes the person and sends me his or her contact information so that I can follow up with an invitation. Very cool, and all for free!

Enjoy this new web service.

Pastor Hartmut

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Concert – June 1

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Benjamin T. Berman

Please join us at First Reformed Church for our last concert in the Spring. The Adult Choir of the church will present several anthems, by composers such as Handel, Pitoni, Thompson, Fauré, and Schubert. The Bell Choir will play hymns. And, there will be clarinet solos and pieces for solo Organ as well.

There are no tickets for this event. And, admission is free; but please consider giving an offering to support music at First Reformed Church.

The Concert will be at 7:00pm in the sanctuary of First Reformed Church. The Church is located at the corner of Neilson St. and Bayard St. There is a handicapped-accessible entrance on Bayard St.

Please also see the attached flyer!

Thank you for all of your support. Come share the Spirit with us as we sing together in our beautiful church.

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From the Pastor’s Desk – May, 2013

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

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There is a certain freedom radiating from this picture of walkers not needed for a time. I took the shot during the Lunchtime Recital featuring Glenn Swann on the Japanese shakuhachi. During the following meal, the residents of Spring Hills did not need these walkers.

Faith can give us an inner freedom like this. Encountering the sovereignty of God, we can become content with the coming and passing of life and the limits we experience as created beings. In the image of the shakuhachi flute, everything began with a blade of grass. It developed into a sturdy stem of bamboo. From there, it was turned into a flute. The flute was transformed into music. The music, finally, morphed into thoughts and feelings deep within our souls.

The Prophet Isaiah once said, “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8; compare Psalm 119:89) A modern person without faith affiliation may wonder why a statement like this is not discouraging for the believer. Does it not leave everything transitory but God?

But our Lord Jesus Christ did not see it that way. According to him, a prophet’s word like this only assures us of God’s care. In his famous Sermon on the Mount he therefore said, “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30)

And so when I see the walkers parked empty for a time I recognize the freedom inherent in our faith. Yes, we are transient guests on this earth. But God gives us space to each in our time. And God cares, so that each of us can play a part in this ever evolving world. Go then, and enjoy this special month of May!

With fond wishes,
Pastor Hartmut
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Benevolence of the Month – Rutgers Protestant Campus Ministry

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Church Staff

By Marlana Moore

First Reformed Church member Gary Bernhofer has recently been appointed to the Governing Board of Rutgers Protestant Campus Ministries (RPCM) by the RCA Mid-Atlantic Synod. As Vice President of the RPCM student organization, fellow member of the governing board and prospective future member of FRC, I am excited to welcome Gary on board and to have the opportunity to grow the relationship between these two communities of faith.

RPCM has the goal of providing a safe, inclusive Christian space for everyone on campus, through table fellowship, insightful programming and a relational ministry. Gary comes at a pivotal point for our organization, just after the hiring of a new campus minister, Rev. Patty Fox from the Reformed Church of Highland Park. We look forward to growing our organization with Gary’s help and leadership, which he has demonstrated through his years of service at FRC.
To give you clarity about RPCM, the ministry receives denominational support from the Reformed Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, American Baptist Church, United Church of Christ, and Presbyterian Church USA. Each of these denominations is represented on the Board. Board membership is a three year term with the option to serve for a consecutive term, if so desired.

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Work Proceeding on Sexton’s House

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Gary Bernhofer

By Gary Bernhofer, Property Committee Chair

Of the three properties FRC owns, the Sexton’s House is in the greatest need of attention. Finally, with the completion of phase 1 of our redevelopment plan, we have started to focus on some projects there. With the help of Ty from the ISP program, we have replaced some crumbling brick work on the building’s foundation. Some of the work is visible from the exterior of the house but more has been done to the foundation in the basement.

Last weekend, scraping and painting resumed on the Sexton’s house. The front of the house now has a new, white primer look! I am anxious to get more gallons of the red paint so we can finish the lower front. The funds raised from the Property Committee’s garage sale will be used to purchase more paint for the project. We also anticipate the return of Paul Nulton this summer. Paul will focus on the upper, brown parts of the building. Paul has no fear of heights!

The committee is also looking into repairing the front porch of the Sexton’s House. We’re hoping Ty and his friends will be able to help with this. Stay tuned and watch as this historic old property is transformed!

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Rethinking Our Understanding of the Bible

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Rev. Dr. Hartmut Kramer-Mills

First Wednesdays Project: Rethinking Our Understanding of the Bible

Our New Member Class is morphing into an Adult Education Class. Come and be a part of it! It is an invitation to grow together in the knowledge and understanding of the faith.

When? Every first Wednesday of the month at 7:00PM. First class on May 1.

Where? In the church office on 9 Bayard Street

What for? To read a groundbreaking book that will reshape our understanding of the Bible perhaps just as deeply as the discovery of Galileo Galilei that the sun does not circle around the earth.

The book is written by Jim Brownson, one of our denomination’s seminary professors. It promises help in the RCA’s discussion on homosexuality. It will, however, be interesting for everyone who struggles with understanding the Bible in our time.

What do I bring? Many of us will have bought the book already, but this is not a condition for the first session on may 1.

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