Worship

On November 9th, Second Reformed Church in New Brunswick had invited to a prayer evening with Brother John of Taizé. It was a great evening, and representatives from several area churches had come, including several Reformed churches.

What was so special about it? Was it the chanting, the sea of candles, or the open faces one encountered upon entering the sanctuary? All of this was true, but it was more. The key to understanding Taizé-related things lies in the question what Taizé stands for. “Of course,” you might answer, “this is quickly said: Taizé is a village in France now famous for the monastic community that makes its home there.”

[click to continue...]

On Monday, November 24, beginning at 7:00 p.m., there will be the Hanging of the Greens in the sanctuary and Fellowship Hall. It seems just yesterday, but, yes, the celebration of the birth of Christ is just around the corner.

It seems so distant while thinking about the fears and concerns during this economic crisis. Yet even in this time of difficulty, we are still called to celebrate - a bit more simply, perhaps, but that makes it all the more special. So even in this midst of worries and concerns, we decorate our worship space with greenery.

Why do we use greens for Christmas decorations? Well, the color green stands for new life, for freshness, and new birth. Plants like pine trees, holly, and ivy are called evergreens because they never die. They always keep their green color. And we decorate our sanctuary with greens because God has promised that the church will never die.

Advent is a time when we remember that death could not hold Jesus in his grave - and neither can it hold us either.

The Collegiate Worship Service took place at the Van Wickle House on Aug 24th. More than 100 people from Highland Park, First and Second Reformed Churches – and even Aurea, our church secretary from Suydam Street Church, came with her three grandchildren. Pastor Doug Shepler preached, and Seth Kaper-Dale and Kyle Delhagen (student at NBTS) also led the liturgy. The children sang some of the Vacation Bible School songs and our Viktoriya along with Anna from the Highland Park Church provided incredible music. Of course, the worship service was followed by several tables groaning with food. A BIG THANK YOU goes to Lauren, Gary, and Josh Bernhofer for bringing First Reformed Church’s grill over and grilling for several hours. For the first time in many years people enjoyed a great meal, and this showed by how long people stayed afterwards.

Once again the sanctuary was hung with the saffron hangings as one would find in the French community of Taizé, forming a tent-like construct in the middle of our large space. The hangings make a structure within a structure, bracketing us into a enclosed community. [click to continue...]

Pentecost is one of the high church holidays we cherish especially well at First Reformed Church. Why is that? It is, because we have declared it a bracket in time and space, where we can do things that we would normally do differently. For Pentecost, this includes many features that bear the mark of Taizé, the ecumenical community in France that draws thousands each year to pray, sing, and find direction in life. [click to continue...]

The third Sunday in June usually marks the end of our regular worship time when we go to Rutgers Gardens and hold worship there. This year will be different since we decided to hold worship out on the slated front area of our church. Although we will certainly miss our Rutgers Gardens visit, still we feel that there is greater visibility if we remain on our church property. [click to continue...]

The day has finally arrived: you are cordially invited to the Confirmation of Walter Joseph Boyles III, on Sunday, May 18th. Also, Sandy is taking donations of food for a special coffee hour. We are so pleased and excited about this special confirmation, which has been co-ordinated with many folks of our congregation, predominately Pastor Hartmut and Heather & Dan Epstein.

Sandy has invited many friends and folks who work at the Eden Institute. In fact, she has asked that in lieu of gifts, folks make a donation to our church or to the Eden Institute Foundation. Come and welcome Walter as a confirmed member of our congregation!!!

Don’t forget to wear red or orange or wings of the Spirit!! Yes, our annual Taize and celebration of Pentecost falls right on Mother’s Day, May 11th. So, as in the past, the sanctuary will be decorated with saffron hangings and curtains. The worship service will reflect the meditative style of the i community. And we will remember the birth of the Christian church with unusual and thoughtful worship. May the Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us all.

By Lily Kramer-Mills

The Mar 20th Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Worship this year was quite different because – instead of the usual classical music – my two friends, Bryan Harring on the saxophone, and Enrico Cabriero on piano, played jazz music. Bryan and Rico improvised the beginning of the hymns between the scripture readings. They also performed a jazz song called Lush Life, which made the atmosphere melancholy. Rico then played a lovely piece during communion, which helped the congregation to relax and meditate a bit more. The music added a great touch to the service.

Ethel Salamone also made a specific type of bread with ingredients from the Bible; it is called Ezekiel bread. This made the evening even more special. It tasted quite good and seemed more natural, just as if it was Christ’s real body. The service was moving and ended with the bells being rung thirty-three times (the number of years of Jesus’ life in the world) by Viktoriya. As usual, we left the sanctuary with the lights turned down low and without a blessing.

Maundy Thursday, the evening before Good Friday, will be on March 20th this year; and, as is our custom, we will hold a worship service (and communion) in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. It will begin at 7:30 p.m.

 This year will be a bit different, though, in that a Jazz band, which will include Dan Epstein (Heather’s husband), will provide musical jazz variations of Good Friday hymns. They will play in between the readings set for remembering the events which led up to Christ’s crucifixion.

Our usual Maundy Thursday dinner will also be held a bit differently since our House of Manna is in Fellowship Hall. We have arranged through Elijah’s Promise to have food prepared for us as well, so we can begin eating along with our families at 6:00 p.m., and then from there we can go to worship.

Please inform Pastor Susan or Joan Fekete about attending the dinner. We would like to give a head count to the cooks at Elijah’s Promise. Also, we ask for a $5.00 donation per person for the meal. The proceeds will go to the benefit of the soup kitchen.