This Week's Worship: November 15th, 2026
This Sunday’s Worship Service will be led by Pastor Andrew and our guest Prof. Laura Salah Nasrallah preaching. Gabriel Evans and the Rutgers choir will lead the music and we are happy to announce our beautiful organ will be back in use this Sunday.
To worship with us via Zoom click here or here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87652791475 The Zoom Sanctuary will be open at 10:45am so, if possible, please try and "arrive" before worship begins at 11am. Prayer requests can be sent via chat on Zoom.
To access our YouTube Channel click here. The service will begin around 11am on this channel.
To dial in and listen to the service, call: 929-436-2866 and enter Meeting ID:
876 5279 1475##
Laura Nasrallah knows firsthand how religious texts can inspire people to greatness as well as how they can be abused to foment oppression and violence. Born in the US to an American mother and Lebanese father, Laura lived for a time as a youngster in Lebanon. As Protestants in Lebanon, she recalls, they were “a minority within a minority.” The Nasrallah family had to be evacuated back to the US at the outset of the Lebanese civil war when she was six.
Now a professor of theology at Yale University, Laura will be our guest preacher this Sunday, Nov. 15. An expert on the Apostle Paul, she admits she has something of a love-hate relationship with Paul. On the one hand, several of his letters have been misused to oppress women and minorities. On the other hand, his letters tell us a lot about the issues that were important to first-century people of faith around the Mediterranean basin—many of them surprisingly relevant to today.
On Sunday, she will be relating some of her own childhood story and the perspective it has given her on religious differences as well as how women and slaves might have perceived the early Christian texts. She may even share a little from her archeological explorations for good measure.
—Submitted by Christine Gorman
CE Corner
Sunday School will begin in the Sanctuary and move to the 4th floor after the Children’s Sermon for Sunday School.
Sunday School is offered via Zoom for those who cannot join in person: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87652791475
SAVE THE DATE: Christmas pageant will be Sunday, December 20th. More info coming soon.
Gabe's Music
I am so happy to share that our organ is back! You will hear that the organ is still just as grand as before, but just a bit less aggressive. Our organ technicians from Cartwright Organ have done a tremendous job! Part of the work that was done was retuning the entire organ. That’s a massive undertaking and it puts the organ through some intense work. There may be a few pipes that slip out of tune, but that is expected.
Sunday’s Prelude is “O Jesus, I Have Promised” by Kenneth Lowenberg. Using many stops of the organ, this piece will show off all the colors and voices of the organ that have been revoiced and adjusted. Lowenberg does a wonderful job at building up this hymn tune to really show off the specific colors to help paint the text of this hymn.
Sunday’s anthems are “God, You Made All Things for Singing” by John Ferguson and “A Prayer for Our Time” by Joseph M. Martin.
The Postlude for Sunday is one of my favorites. It’s the famous Toccata in b minor by Eugene Gigout. That composer may not be familiar to you, but you have definitely heard this piece. People usually associate “spooky” organ playing with this piece. This work is one of my favorites. The hands are constantly doing tricky harmonic work while the melody is played by the feet in the pedal line. Starting out small, the reeds are controlled with all of the expression boxes closed on the organ. Gradually, they are opened up to reveal a very powerful sound. This method is quite common in a lot of French style organ music—usually referred to as “caging the beasts.” This became popular during the French Romantic period due to the style of organ building.
Ulla Farmer Giving Tree
Please join us to help bring some joy to those in need. Our Joy Tree has ornaments that ask for volunteers or items that we will give out this holiday to our Thursday night dinner guests. You can be a part of this program by volunteering or purchasing some of the items we need to make this happen.
We are a giving community and this is a vital need for those who depend on our help, especially with benefits being cut right now.
Our Joy Tree is located in our Daniel Russell Room, adjacent to the sanctuary. Please help yourself to grab an ornament with an item or a task and we look forward to your contribution!
- Please take an ornament to volunteer or donate
- Fill out the form and place in provided box
- Take the copy with you to order or purchase the item(s) listed, or to remind you of the task
- Send them to the church or drop them off on the third floor by Sunday, December 6
- Be sure to mark on your calendar the date and time for your task if you are volunteering
This is so crucial at this time, when assistance is in peril. We can do our part to bring some joy to the people in our outreach community!
And join us for a special evening of music Tuesday, November 17 at 7pm to benefit the Ulla Farmer Meal Program hosted by our very own, Jon Smith!
