posted Dec 2, 2009 8:50 AM by Jon Norton
Dutch service and dinner at the Old First Reformed Church
Posted Sat, 11/28/2009 - 12:46pm
The Old First Reformed Church of Brooklyn organized a Dutch service and dinner on Sunday November 15. The event was part of the 5 Dutch Days in New York City. The church, affectionately called “Old First”, dates back to 1654 when what is now New York was still New Amsterdam. Until 1824 services were held in Dutch.
Pastor Meeter welcomed us before the service and gave a tour of the historical building. “Heel goed” and “uitstekend” were the first Dutch words from the New Jersey born pastor, who speaks Dutch well and has a slight Frisian-Gronings accent. He explained that he learned Dutch from his grandparents and that he studied a few months in Groningen, the Netherlands. His PhD dissertation studied the English translations of Dutch liturgy.
The stained-glass windows of the Old First building carry the names of influential New York families of Dutch descent such as Suydam, Cortelyou and Schenk. The organ is a 1891 Roosevelt organ, made by cousins of ‘Teddy’.
Geliefde gemeente, dames en heren, mensen en kinderen
Paster Meeter started his sermon with a greeting in Dutch: “Geliefde gemeente, dames en heren, mensen en kinderen.”
The service incorporated many Dutch elements. The 15 children in the choir were dressed in old Dutch costumes and sang three Psalms in Dutch — quite impressive. During the service Pastor Meeter talked about the history of the church: throughout its existence the congregation has had five buildings at three different locations. At its peak Old First had 1,000 members. In 1792 the church added an English language service and until 1824 the church used the Statenvertaling, the first official Dutch translation of the Bible.
During the sermon the pastor asked: “Why does our church participate in 5 Dutch Days? For many of the same reasons that school or a museum or a gallery or consulate would do this: knowledge, relationships, fun… but the driving motivation is love, The Love of God.”
Avondmaal bekers
The church owns two antique communion cups (avondmaal bekers), crafted in 1684. Pastor Meeter showed us one of them; the other is on display in a museum in New York. The service was attended by around 130 people.
Dutch without potatoes
Dinner was served after the sermon. “Dinner” is used in its original meaning: the first meal of the day, eaten about noon. A team of many volunteers worked for two days to prepare the meal.
Ken Nieuwenhuis, a third generation Dutch-American, developed the menu and managed the kitchen. His grandfather immigrated from Noord-Holland to set up an American branch of a tulip export company in Wyckoff, NJ.
Ken knows Dutch food well: “This is what I grew up with. When I was first thinking of the menu I thought it would be fairly easy: just boil a large amount of potatoes and make a Dutch stamppot or two. But then I realized: no potatoes! The potato was not known to the Dutch colonists in New Netherland at the time. We tried to cook the food as it was done in New Netherland and with ingredients available in the 1600’s. We used Peter Rose’s historic cookbook ‘The Sensible Cook’ for guidance.”
“The dishes had a lot of Dutch cultural influences, but also incorporated what we knew the colonists appropriated from the native Americans, which is why there was a corn meal based bread pudding on the table, and pancakes with pumpkin mash. I also tried to stick with fall vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, celeriac and squash (another New World staple), and with foods that the colonists would also likely have preserved, such as dried peas and smoked metworst. Interestingly, spices such as nutmeg and pepper were available in the 1600’s, due to the Dutch spice trading”.
Ken: “My favorite dish? The rabbit.”
The meal was served and eaten with large wooden spoons. Dishes included:
- Peasoup with carrots and ham
- Metworst with cabbage
- Stewed rabbit
- Rodekool (red cabbage)
- The desserts included a boter letter, Dutch apple pie and home-made speculaas
The highlights of the dinner for a number of first generation Dutch-Americans we spoke with were the stewed rabbit and the sauerkraut with authentic metworst. Good metworst is hard to find in the United States and this was the real thing. Metworst is more flavorful than Polish kielbasa and coarser consistency. Ken Nieuwenhuis shared with us the secret of the sausage: it’s from the Market Basket, a specialty store in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
Over a 100 guests attended the dinner, which was a great success thanks to hard work by the staff and many friendly volunteers.
Old First Reformed Church of Brooklyn
http://www.oldfirstbrooklyn.org |
posted Dec 2, 2009 8:45 AM by Jon Norton
posted Nov 30, 2009 11:44 AM by Jon Norton
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updated Nov 30, 2009 11:52 AM
]
posted Nov 30, 2009 9:09 AM by Jon Norton
PROJECT HOSPITALITY is desperately looking for donations of warm clothes for the homeless.
Please contact Rev. Terry Troia, Executive Director of Project Hospitality, if you can help or have any questions at (718) 448-1544. Their website is www.projecthospitality.org . |
posted Nov 24, 2009 9:53 AM by Jon Norton
"Holiday with the Pops"
Saturday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m., the North Shore Pops Concert Band, Eric R. Albinder conducting, returns to the Parish House at the New Utrecht Reformed Church, Brooklyn, NY for the band's fourth "Holiday with the Pops" concert sponsored by Friends of Historic New Utrecht. Admission is free. Parking is available in the church lot at 18th Ave. between 83rd and 84th Streets. Refreshments will be served after the concert. |
posted Nov 19, 2009 7:59 AM by Jon Norton
A Friend with AIDS...
Is STILL a Friend!
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Queens Reformed Church
94-79 Springfield Blvd.
Queens Village, NY 11428
(718) 465-4309
Queens Reformed Church is hosting its 1st Annual AIDS Conference.
We will have a Keynote Speaker, Workshops, and Lunch will be offered.
Q and A session.
We hope to see you there and bring a friend!
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posted Nov 18, 2009 8:34 AM by Jon Norton
We care…we share… Rev. Charles Stickley and Deacon Tom Schrader, organizer of a Thanksgiving Food Drive, stand by a pickup load of groceries donated by members of the congregation of The Community Church of High Falls. The groceries will go to the Rondout Valley Food Pantry to help fill the Thanksgiving boxes and baskets.
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posted Nov 3, 2009 8:45 AM by Jon Norton
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updated Nov 3, 2009 8:56 AM
]
As you have probably heard by now, Doug Leonard has been selected to serve in the Sultanate Oman as the director of the Al Amana Center, an institute for Christian/Muslim Interfaith learning and cooperation. He has written to you from Oman where he have been meeting with the board and current director Michael Bos to learn the ropes. The center has become officially recognized by the government of Oman and has gained a reputation of being a focal point where significant interfaith cooperation and understanding is taking place. The Al Amana Center is the only Christian organization in the Gulf doing interfaith work between Christians and Muslims. His have attached my profile which describes the work I will be doing in more detail.
Doug is available to speak in churches from November 18th through the end of February about my work in Oman. If you are interested in having him come to your church to preach and/or lead worship and give a presentation, please contact Kathy DeKock at the RCA offices. You can send her an email: kdekock@rca.org
or you can call Kathy at 712-737-4952 Kathy will be arranging his speaking schedule.
Profile:
MINISTRY
Christian-Muslim Interfaith Education
LOCATION
Muscat, Oman
PARTNER
Al Amana Centre
What Need Is God Showing Us?
Tensions between Muslims and Christians have been growing in parts of
the Middle East as a result of isolation between faith groups, misinformation,
and mistrust. There is a need to promote religious tolerance in the
Middle East in order to protect the religious freedom of people of all
faiths in the region. Christians also need to be educated about Islam in
the context of an Arab country. Oman has achieved a good balance, benefiting from the trends of modernization while
maintaining a very traditional culture. This makes Oman an ideal country in which to learn about Arab culture.
What Is God Telling Us to Do?
The RCA supports Doug Leonard as director of Al Amana Centre. His work includes staff oversight, vision casting, communication
and developing relationships with partners and supporting organizations, fundraising, and program design.
Doug will build partnerships between Al Amana Centre and denominations and organizations in both the Middle East and
the U.S. that are undertaking similar interfaith work.
How Are We Doing What God Is Asking?
Doug’s work at the centre will promote a climate of peaceful
coex-istence between Christians and Muslims in the Gulf
region. The centre will work to develop an ecumenical platform
and a voice for Christians in the region. It will continue
to provide an immersion education for Christians to learn
about Islam in the context of an Arab country; Doug hopes to
help the center advance its long-standing goal of launching a
semester-long immersion program for students from RCA colleges
and seminaries. The centre will also continue to sponsor
visits to the U.S. by high-level Omani religious leaders, giving
them an opportunity to learn more about America and the
place of faith in American life.
Who Is Our Partner?
Al Amana Centre grew out of the mission of the RCA in the Arabian Gulf that began in 1893. The RCA established Oman’s
first hospital and its first coeducational school. Al Amana Centre continues this century-
old partnership with the people of Oman, providing immersion education, symposiums,
and speaking tours to build bridges of understanding between Christians
and Muslims in the Gulf region.
Up Close and Personal
A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Doug most recently served as pastor
of Reformed Church of Cortlandtown in Montrose, New York. He studied cultural
anthropology at State University of New York; after graduation, he worked for two
years as a youth leader in Native American ministry with the RCA in Omaha and
Winnebago, Nebraska. He enjoys learning about other cultures and has felt called to
serve the RCA in the mission field for a long time. His hobbies include sculpting,
playing the guitar, and singing. Doug’s father, Roger Leonard, is also an RCA pastor.
Profile in Mission
Global Mission
REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA
FOLLOWING CHRIST IN MISSION
DOUG LEONARD
Al Amana Centre is a place for Muslim-Christian dialogue. |
posted Oct 15, 2009 12:27 PM by Jon Norton
National Council of Churches
H1N1 (Swine Flu) and Seasonal Flu
Best Practices for Congregations
Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health…3 John 1:2a NRSV
Pastors and congregational leaders can play an important role as we move more fully into flu season.
Health officials advise extra precautions with the prospect of both seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu virus
(swine flu) upon us.
Pastors and congregational leaders might take the time now to talk with custodial staff, secretarial
staff, and governing boards about:
ordering and stocking extra hygiene supplies, including facial tissues, hand soap, paper towels,
alcohol-based hand sanitizers, antibacterial cleaning supplies, and additional waste receptacles
with closed lids.
checking that hand washing facilities, either sinks with soap and water or hand sanitizer
dispensers, are adequate and working properly.
cleaning frequently restrooms, handrails, doorknobs, bathroom sink taps, flush toilet handles, and
all surface areas touched by many people.
removing candy dishes or filling candy dishes with individually wrapped candies.
contacting local public health officials to obtain local information regarding meeting cancelation,
seasonal and H1N1 flu immunization availability, as well as treatment options and locations.
planning for cancelation of worship, nursery schools, daycare centers, senior centers, or other
congregational activities when health officials call for a limitation of public gatherings.
posting church plan in the event of the need for worship service cancelation and including this
information in worship bulletin, church newsletter, church email, and community newspapers.
setting up phone trees, email alerts, text messages, public television and radio announcements for
effective communication about congregational cancellations and/or postponements of events and
activities.
explaining in worship services and congregational events the new plans, precautions, and practices
in response to the H1N1 flu virus and seasonal flu in a calm and reassuring manner.
meeting with child care staff and youth group leaders, including leaders of scouting groups, to
review expectations about hygiene and meeting cancelation practices.
Hygiene Practices
Prevent the spread of germs and protect the vulnerable members of the congregation, especially
pregnant women and those with underlying chronic medical conditions, by encouraging the sick to
National Council of Churches
H1N1 (Swine Flu) and Seasonal Flu
Best Practices for Congregations
stay home until they have been without fever for twenty-four hours.
Practice cough and sneeze etiquette. Cover nose and mouth with a facial tissue; cough and sneeze
into sleeve; make available boxes of facial tissues on tables, in classrooms, and at Coffee Hour.
Throw the facial tissue into a waste receptacle after you use it; ensure that waste receptacles are
located throughout the building; empty waste receptacles frequently.
Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Use soap and water
for 15 to 20 seconds to wash hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Worship Practices
Follow public health advice on cancelations of public gatherings and avoiding crowds to evaluate
whether to cancel worship services.
Pass the Peace with a simple nod of acknowledgement. Make and maintain eye contact while
speaking the words, “the peace of Christ,” without the social ritual of a handshake.
Suspend use of the common cup and the practice of “intinction” when celebrating communion.
Use plastic disposable communion cups or wash glass cups in very hot water over 110-115
degrees with detergent.
Encourage celebrants to use hand sanitizers before serving communion.
Wash hands before anointing with oil or the laying on of hands and repeat the practice after the
rite is completed.
Visitation Practices
Check on vulnerable individuals within the community, especially the elderly, infirmed, shut-in,
physically and mentally disabled, and those who live alone.
Follow all hospital infection control protocols. Do not visit hospitals or personal care homes if
experiencing symptoms of influenza.
For more information visit http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/ or The National Council of Churches Health
Task Force www.health-ministries.org.
Encourage all people to get immunizations for BOTH the seasonal flu and
the H1N1 flu virus (swine flu).
National Council of Churches
H1N1 (Swine Flu) and Seasonal Flu
Best Practices for Congregations |
posted Oct 6, 2009 8:19 AM by Jon Norton
As part of the Unbinding the Gospel project of the H.O.P.E. Team, assistance is offered to help your church become a House of Prayer.
Rev. Cathy Gumpert will lead/facilitate groups in this project. She is willing to travel -- all gratis. The only charge is the books (which can be purchased on Amazon.com). Groups can meet wherever -- a church, private home, restaurant of other public place (a wonderful way to be in the presence of the wider world and so some passive evangelism).
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