Inside this IssueBenevolence of the Month

Pine Grove Nursery 2350 Years of NJ in Concert 2Girl Scout Gold Award 2Greetings from Middleburg South Africa 3Church Trip to Raritan Landing 4First Reformed in History 4Hurray for Dina’s Dwellings 5Consistory Corner 5Songs My Mother Taught Me 5Property Committee Activities 6Music Notes 6TCCDC Update 7Rod’s Grill Night 8

From the Pastor’s Desk— by Pastor Hartmut

We are a blessed church in that so many young people havejoined in the last few years. I was surprised on Sunday, June 22,when we had a good worship attendance, yet there were onlythree among us, who were already members in 2000 whenSusan and I came. Currently, we have another three young peo-ple in our New Member Class. It is just wonderful.

If you, Dear Reader, have not already done so, please make sureto welcome our youngest active member, Devon Wade. Devonwas confirmed on June 8, Pentecost Sunday. I include his State-ment of Faith below, because it reflects so much interest and un-derstanding. The confirmation process has really shown itself tobe indispensable for good religious instruction. Bravo, Devon,and Bravo, First Reformed Church!

May you all have a most blessed summer!

With fond wishes,Pastor Hartmut

Confirmation Class 2013/14Statement of Faith by Devon Kraig Wade

My Story:At my Nana’s wake I was a believer of God. When I felt thepresence with me at the wake everyone was down and sad. Yet Iknew that Nana was with God and was at rest. After feeling thepresence of God I decided to be baptized and learn more aboutGod.

About Prayers:God is the Almighty One, to whom we Christians pray. WhenChristian’s pray they usually do it for guidance or help. Not toooften we pray to God for thanks. Rarely do we take the chanceto personally listen and try to understand what God may say tous. Praying is a two way conversation that can let us talk to Godand receive a sense of what God calls us for.

About Confession:When Jesus was crucified Mary and Two other people stood byhim in his final hour. Christians should stand by Jesus in his

hour of grief.Likewise, Chris-tians todayshould stand byvictims of injus-tice, violenceand oppression.This is how weconfess. Con-fession is a wayto give thanksto God and tolet others know. This helps us become better Christians by giv-ing us a chance to respond to our redemption.

About Christian Ethics:In our session on Christian Ethics I heard of a woman duringWWII, named Amélie. She was told to ring the church bells forHitler just like all the other churches. Amélie decided to notring the bells for Hitler for the bell should only ring for God.This decision caused her to be threatened by the people whowanted her to ring the bells for Hitler. This impressed me be-cause of how strong hearted Amélie was and how she was ableto do what she believed and only rang the bell for God. I hopethat I could be like Amélie and, no matter what, never fall to theclutches of idolatry like the other churches did.

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Inter-Faith:Inter-Faith in my life consists of having friends with different reli-gions. I’m able to learn more about what their beliefs are intheir religion. My religion is Christianity. It is grafted onto thetree of Judaism. Even though we are on the same tree we havedifferent views on religion. Sometimes we can see eye to eye onthings that enable us to coexist with each other with our differentbeliefs.

Final:In my Confirmation classes I learned how to be a better Chris-tian. Every lesson taught me more about my religion. One les-son I cherished was the lesson of our Church's roots. I got tolearn how our faith and tradition came to America and pros-pered over the years.

Benevolence of the Month of JulyA letter from Lolly Schenck, Teacher of Pine Grove NurserySchool

Dear friends, families and members of First Reformed Church,The benevolence for the month of July is Pine Grove NurserySchool, and I would like to tell you where your donations go,and also to thank you all for you extraordinary generosity of lastyear.

Thanks to your contributions to our scholarship fund, we wereable to offer a whole scholarship to a deserving family, whowould not otherwise have been able to attend the school. Theyand we are very, very grateful! Thank you!!The scholarship fund is named for a child who died while shewas a student at Pine Grove. Her parents set up the fund, withthe designation of funds to be for families who wished to attendthe school, but did not have the financial ability to do so. For more than twenty years the Sarah Koch Schatzkin MemorialFund has invited deserving families to be a part of our school.Most of our fundraising efforts throughout the year are ear-marked for this fund and we are proud and grateful that FRC hasjoined us in this effort.

Thank you again for your generosity!

Girl Scout Gold Award—by Pastor Hartmut

As parents, Susan and I were verygrateful that our daughter Allisonreceived her Gold Award duringworship on June 15. Due to ourwork schedule we had missed thegeneral ceremony in South Jersey,but Rona Whitefield from the GirlScout Council of Central andSouthern New Jersey made it pos-sible to have the ceremony duringchurch.

Allison’s Gold Award project was a children’s book on the his-tory of the Buckelew Mansion in Jamesburg. This house of thetown’s founding father had been in disrepair for years. At thesame time, Jamesburg was undergoing significant demographicchanges as many families from Middle and South Americamoved in.

Allison’s book was an attempt to make story of the mansion’s ac-cessible to all residents of Jamesburg. Thus, the book was writ-ten in English and Spanish. A classmate had provided theillustrations.

Working with the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America has along tradition at First Reformed Church. Numerous troops havehelped with a variety of projects in the past, and several of thechurch’s children are involved in either organization. Erin Eckert,for example, received her Bronze Award on June 8. Her brotherTyler Eckert celebrated his Arrow-of-Light and Crossing-overCeremony on June 17.

350 Years of New Jersey in Concert–by Pastor Hartmut

We here at First Reformed Church were just very thankful whenthe Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, inpartnership with Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freehold-ers and the New Brunswick Cultural Center awarded us twogrants from Johnson & Johnson, so that we could host afundraising concert at Crossroads Theatre.

Already this prelude to the concert shows you to what degree itwas a group effort right from the beginning. The concert itselfwas a true celebration of community. From the creation of theprogram, the solicitation of ads for the brochure, the sale of tick-ets and the ushering on the night of the performance – church

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volunteers were involved all along the way.

John Keller started the evening by reciting Philip Freneau’s poem“The Indian Burying Ground”. Thus he invoked a heritage mucholder than the founding of our state.

Then La Fiocco, a Guild for Early Music continued the eveningwith a selection of European and Colonial music. Our own BenBerman is part of this group. The musicians introduced us to thefascinating world of Anglo-Dutch music of the 17th century.This was a time when the British and the Dutch would sink eachother’s ships but would share their music. La Fiocco continuedthe musical time travel with a viola da gamba and a selection ofrecorders that seem to grow in size the closer we came to thetime of the American Revolution.

Then we heard the first song of theAmerican Revolution, and it was clearthat a new age had begun. The largealto recorder was quickly exchangedwith a much shorter instrument; theviola da gamba disappeared, and weheard a brighter, more optimistic tunetake the field. One thing, however, didnot change: our harpsichord that wehad moved from the church to thetheater, accompanied all of it. JohnKeller, who interspersed the entireevening with historic poems, had avery meaningful selection here: WaltWhitman’s “Had I the Choice” andAugust Kleinzahler’s “Storm overHackensack”.

After the intermission, the Yue Yue En-semble took the stage with a selectionof Chinese, Taiwanese and Mongoliansongs. It continued the trajectory ofthe first half of the concert by addingopening us to the immensely diverseinfluences of Eastern culture. The in-troduction to the various pieces linkedthem oftentimes to its immigrationcontext in New Jersey.

If one regards a regional newspaper asa modern forum for all diverse voicesof a given area, then it was very fittingwhen John Keller closed the eveningwith a poem by BJ Ward entitled “TheStar Ledger”

The Worship & Music Committee

thanks everybody involved in this concert for their efforts.The Committee hopes to use the proceeds from theevening for the purchase of our denomination’s new “Lift-up-You-Hearts” Hymnal.

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Church Trip to Raritan Landing—by Pastor Hartmut

Thanks to Mark Nonestied, a member of our church and Mu-seum’s Curator at the East Jersey Olde Towne Village, we wereable to enjoy a special tour to the Raritan Landing exhibitionthere. Thirteen of us participated, and it was a most educatingafternoon. Did you know that Raritan Landing had been in com-petition for a while with New Brunswick, and that it was alreadyin decline when the British destroyed it during the RevolutionaryWar? Did you also know that it was a port community that flour-ished in its day without the traditional institutions that make atown? It seems that there was not even a church there! Yet,among the archeological remains are Dutch tiles from Delft andceramic from Westerwald in Germany. Mark’s tour ended infront of a mural that showed on the left the town in its heydayand on the right the current situation, a section of River Roadand trees. Please check out www.raritanlanding.com for more in-formation.

First Reformed in History—by Pastor Hartmut

Our Adult Education Class “First Wednesdays” is always goodfor a surprise. During the June session, we looked through tenbooks that either are devoted entirely to our church’s history ormention aspects of it in a chapter or paragraph. We wereamazed in the class in how many different and sometimes unex-pected areas First Reformed Church makes an appearance, andwe realized that some of this should be shared with the widercongregation. So here are a few spotlights of what we found:

•Two modern church histories, one originating in England andthe other one in Germany, mention us the home of the radicalPietist Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen. His strong pietisticconvictions did not always bring him friends. Yet he was one ofthe forerunners of the Great Awakening. Controversial as hewas, he posted a board to the back of his sleigh and used thisclumsy bumper sticker to let his enemies know:

No one’s tongue, or no one’s pen,Makes me other than I am.Speak slanderous speakers, speak on end,With words you no one here can rend.He was our first pastor, starting in 1720.

•Several other books featured us because of our architecture.They praised what they call our almost flawless appearance inthe federal style. That is a particular classicizing style in architec-ture when, after the American Revolution, builders felt the needto associate with the ancient democracies of Greece and Rome.In England, they had the Regency style instead. The name al-ready linking it with the monarchy. Thus you can say that ourchurch’s architecture has a patriotic note.

•There was another book showing us from an unexpected nega-tive side. It had a chapter on race relations that started with alarge black-and-white photograph of our church. Then it in-formed that

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Reverend How, minister of the First Reformed Church inNew Brunswick, was still arguing on behalf of slavery asa biblical and permanent institution.”

It was even worse than one would think at first sight, becauseDr. How did not state his conviction in a simple worship servicebut in an address to our denomination’s General Synod as itconvened in our church that year.

•Finally, we had a chapter in an international academic journaland a chapter in a textbook on practical theology from the well-known Alban Institute, both devoted to our 2009 confirmationof Walter Boyles, a young man with autism. The curriculum ourteam had developed, as well as the overall inclusive ministry ofour congregation were at the focus of these publications.

A list of all the books we reviewed that night is available at thechurch office. It includes David Muyskens’ lovingly created book“The Town Clock Church: History of the First Reformed ChurchNew Brunswick, NJ” from 1991. Enjoy the reading!

Hurray for Dina’s Dwellings!—by Pastor Hartmut

What a great surprise awaited our worshippers on June 22! Priorto worship, Sherri Novack and helpers had tied balloons to mostchairs in the Randolph Room and thus transformed our tempo-rary worship space into a place of joyful celebration.

The reason was a City Council funding award in the amount of$604,358 of HOME funds to Dina’s Dwellings. This means, thefirst major funds for the project are coming in. Needless to saythat we had a most beautiful cake during coffee hour! Thankyou, Sherri, Marlana, Joan and Susan for all you did to createthis festive atmosphere.

By God’s grace, construction will soon begin.

Consistory Corner—by Fawn Stephens

Consistory met on Tuesday, June 17th for the regularly sched-uled meeting. The usual business was covered, but most impor-tantly, it was decided that TCCDC/FRC Liaison Committeewould reconvene in the near future, to discuss and start creatingan Interior Design Plan for the reconstructed sanctuary space, toalleviate any design questions that will inevitably arise betweenboth groups during the construction process.

Songs My Mother Taught Me— by Benjamin T. Berman

Join me, Eileen Cooper, and Ji Hea Hwang, on July 27 at12:15pm for a recital of music of Eastern Europe. This recitalwill be particularly interesting for language lovers, as we will bepresenting songs in Polish, Russian, Czech, Yiddish, Hebrew,and even English. The impetus for this recital was to honor theheritage of two singers: mine, and that of Eileen Cooper, my col-league and friend.

Many American singers are of mixed ethnicity, and can claimheritage from many different countries. And so, the title of An-tonín Dvořák’s famous song, from the Gypsy Songs, seemed ap-propriate for this occasion. Eileen and I will explore the music of“our” countries in a recital that will also feature songs and ariasof Shostakovich, Moniuszko, Glick, Ullmann, and Chopin –music of the 19th and 20th centuries that will make you laugh,cry, and see a little deeper into the soul of Eastern Europe.

Admission is $15 for everyone, and we will probably servepierogies and other delicacies of the east afterwards. The recitalwill be in the Randolph Room of First Reformed Church, rightafter worship. Please come celebrate this event with us!

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Recent Property Committee Activities—by Pastor Hartmut

Our Property Committee is one of our most active churchgroups. It combines great fellowship, interest in historic preser-vation, and a deep understanding of John Calvin’s third use ofthe law – to pursue the good as orientation for a faithful life inthis world. Ask Pastor Hartmut about the other two uses of thelaw.

Even outreach has become part of the Property Committee’sagenda. The recent garage sale in East Brunswick is a good ex-ample. Truthfully, it was just like a day at the beach. We had sun,umbrellas, and tons of people surrounding us. And there waseven a plover or killdeer nesting in a patch of grass nearby. Thebird was not even shy!

If you are curious about some of the Committee’s projects, hereis a list:

• Secure and further dig out trench by Randolph room annex.

• Replace the roof of the alcove shed behind the church. RooferSteve Molnar has been contracted for this.

• Paint the foundation of the Sexton’s House. Committee de-cided that this is a better solution than to stucco it. Date to beannounced.

• Reinstall louver board from church steeple. Date to be an-nounced.

•Contract electrician to repair and install the following:o Timer for playground lighto Protective light fixtures in Sexton’s House basemento Floodlight on Randolph Room annex

• Repair the wall beneath the street side windows in the towerof education building; date to be announced:

o Weather proofing beneath window sills with UV resistant foam

o Repoint interior masonry beneath window sills

If you, Dear Reader, have aninterest in the activities andcamaraderie of this Committee, please speak toGary and Josh Bernhofer ortalk with me.

Music Notes—by Benjamin T. Berman

A Spiritual Crossroads, our concert at Crossroads Theatre, was agreat success this year. La Fiocco played a program of pieceswhich traced the development of New Jersey’s roots in Sweden,Netherlands, and Great Britain, ending with Revolutionary Warsongs sung by our very own Lynn Fergusson. Yue Yue sang beau-tiful choral anthems in Taiwanese and Mandarin, as well as anAmerican favorite, “Flying Free” with a golden flute accompani-ment. And we were accompanied throughout by poems of NewJersey residents, including Philip Freneau and Joyce Kilmer, readby our own John Keller.

With this concert, we had hoped to raise enough money to buya set of new hymnals. I am happy to announce that we now havethe funds to purchase a full set of our denomination’s new hym-nal, Lift Up Your Hearts, which we hope to have by the middle ofJuly for use in worship.

We were introduced to the new hymnal by Diane Dykgraaf andJoyce Borger of the General Synod on Wednesday night, June25th. They led us in a worship service that progressed throughthe hymnal from creation to the new creation. We sang newhymns from the book that made us convinced that this is theright hymnal for us. I am so lucky to be able to preside over thisrenewal of our music ministry. And, I look forward to continuingto discover the hymns of Lift Up Your Hearts together with thecongregation. We are about to enter an exciting new era of wor-ship at First Reformed Church. We are truly blessed.

–by Susan Kramer-Mills, Executive Director

Here are some highlights from the Board meeting and other news-worthy items:

1. During the change of paperwork in May and early June when Town Clock CDC moved from first position on all agree-ments, memorandums of understanding, etc. to be replaced by Bergen County United Way (BCUW) – Madeline Housing Part-ners LLC, discussion about the agreement with our Social Service Provider (Women Aware, Inc.) developed. Because BCUW hasits own social service provision, the agreement was rewritten with BCUW providing the case manager for the project. Of course,all of this will be realized once the housing is complete and residents have moved in.

2. Donations and Grants Update –a. We have received donations this past month from the following organizations and individuals: St. Joseph High School– Solidarity Fund, RCA Women’s Crossroads Retreat, Jacoba Circle, North Plainfield Ref. Church, and many individual donations for the Mother’s Day Naming fundraiser.

b. We have received over $600,000 from the City of New Brunswick’s HOME funds. A celebration at worship was sponsored by our Board President, Sherri Novack!

c. We have finalized all the paperwork for the NJ Housing Mortgage and Finance Agency’s Sandy Disaster Relief Funds.Our application is for $2.4 million. Their Board decides on July 10th. Please pray for their positive vote in favor of awarding us this grant.

3.Community Connections -a. We will be hosting the New Brunswick Domestic Violence Coalition’s annual march on October 18. Moreinformation to come

b. We attended and spoke at the Social Justice Forum in Highland Park

4. Fundraising -The Fundraising Team is planning events for the fall, including a groundbreaking event. We will keep everyoneposted.

5. The best way to keep up on what we are doing is to check our many social media connections: a. Website – www.townclockcdc.org

b. Face book – Town Clock Community Development Corp.

c. Twitter – Dina Van B

d.And please appoint us as your Amazon Smile nonprofit donation group. If you don’t know about this, check it out at Amazon Smile. You will have to put us down as the “Town Clock Community DevelopmentCorporation.” We get 0.5% on all your purchases, if you do this.

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First Reformed Church9 Bayard Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901phone: 732-545-1005; fax: 732-545-1139email: Secretary@FirstReformedChurch.netweb site: www.FirstReformedChurch.net