I've been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Don't do this if you like your life just the way it is. Bonhoeffer wants to wreck us:  "It is not works which create faith. Instead, you are given a situation in which you can have faith. The point is to get into such a situation, so that faith is true faith and not self-deception."  
 
One of my goals at Nassau has been to create situations in which faith is needed.  When it is needed, faith comes alive. We've been to some pretty wild places. We've seen faith grow. In us and in others.  Keep stepping.  You can even do that in Princeton.  Hope to see you this Sunday.
ConfirmationConfirmation
Date Change!
Reminder: This weekend's retreat has been rescheduled for Nov. 4, from 10am-2pm.  In the meantime,  please do the following:
 
Please let us know who your mentor is so we can invite them to the Nov. 4 meeting. (Email both Mark (mark@nassauchurch.org) & Lauren (lauren.yeh@nassauchurch.org) so we get the names on the right lists.) We'll have brunch at Mark's house (5 Union St. Kingston NJ), go for a hike and have a good discussion. Confirmands and Mentors attend our Saturday Retreats.
 
Memory work: Confirmands should be prepared to write out or recite their memory work on Saturday morning, Nov. 4.  Memory work for Retreat #1 is the Lord's Prayer and either Romans 5:1-11 or Romans 8:28-39. Mentors are also encouraged to do the memory work.  There will be prizes for the most accurate team. All memory work can be found on the Confirmation page on the NPC website.

Lake Champion: Confirmands are expected to join us for the Lake Champion Winter Weekend (Dec. 1-3, $125, forms attached). Mentors are invited as well and their costs will be covered, but we need to know ASAP if Mentors can make it. 
 
Download the Confirmation 2018 Packet (pdf) or read more on the NPC Website. 
 
Questions or more information, contact Mark.
Free Stuff!

It's here! Show up Sunday and see if Mark opens the boxes...


WinterWE
Winter Weekend for Sr. High
High School Students will have a Winter Weekend at Lake Champion that will warm our hearts for the year to come.
  • Giant Swings, Ice Slides, and a royal Polar Bear Plunge.
  • After a big semester it will be great to cut loose.
  • The fee is $150 per person and includes transportation, lodging, and meals. Scholarships are available, contact Mark.
  • The registration deadline is Sunday, November 5.

Download the 2017 Lake Champion Forms (pdf) or read more on the NPC Website. 
Choirs
Music Notes
from
Ingrid 

Hi All,

I'm super excited that we will sing together with our children's choirs this Sunday, at the 9:15 and 11 am services! The children are really looking forward to singing with you too- this will be very meaningful for them.  Thank you for your leadership, in every way.

Robing and rehearsal reminder:  Middle School and Cantorei will robe in the music room.  Thank you for being ready in the Sanctuary by 8:45 am. 

See you then!

Peace and Courage,
Ingrid

ingrid@nassauchurch.org
SundayPMSunday Night Schedule
Our Sunday Evenings at Nassau schedule, which includes choirs for middle school and high school:
  • 5:00-6:00 pm     Middle School Fellowship
  • 5:00-6:00 pm     Cantorei (Senior High Choir)
  • 6:00-6:30 pm     Youth Dinner
  • 6:40-7:30 pm     Middle School Choir     
  • 6:30-8:00 pm     Senior High Fellowship
Join us!
ParentsNeedSunday Nights - Parents Needed!
Help Serve Youth Dinner

Each week we serve dinner to Nassau's Youth (grades 6-12) between activities at church. And we need YOU! Please click on the SignUp Genius logo to access our online sign up sheet.

Jule Swanke is our Parent Coordinator for Youth Meals. Either Julie or Lauren Yeh can answer any questions you might have about this program.
Travis
Checking in with Travis Niles
Greetings from Göttingen, Germany where I'm just starting a PhD in the New Testament Theology. I've been here for about a month and am settling in well. It's a pretty drastic change from the Canadian Wilderness, though. A new season is beginning. 
 
Though time, space, and culture separate Beyond Malibu, Princeton, and Göttingen, I'm confident that God can meet us regardless of where we are. That thought struck me as I read 1 Kings 18-19 this summer. The prophet Elijah has a triumphant (albeit violent) experience of faith, seeing God show up in a powerful way. Faith is straightforward. But this experience is followed by its exact opposite: Elijah is at the end of his rope, feeling abandoned by God and ready to cash out. Faith is not straightforward. But! in both instances, in the 'place of exaltation' and in the 'place of humiliation', God does indeed show up.
 
My time at Beyond Malibu was itself a good season. I feel like it ended at the right time, no sooner and no later. And it was good. I'm extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to serve alongside stellar people and spend time with a wide range of campers. I missed seeing Nassau up at camp this summer. But it's alright; I decided to haul my dad up Mt. JJ in your stead :).  And I heard you're going back...
 
Hope you all are well. If you want to get in touch, write to me on Facebook (Travis Niles), at tniles11@my.whitworth.edu, or even at my new home address: 
 
Travis Niles
Geist-Strasse 9 
37073 Göttingen, Germany

Summer18Summer 2018
The Youth Ministry Committee has approved this as the schedule for Summer 2018. Get ready for faith.
Registration will open Friday, October 27.

NorthBay (Cheasapeake Bay, VA)
  • For middle school (rising 7th to 9th grade)
  • Thursday, June 28 - Monday, July 2
  • Crazy games, ropes course, sailing/tubing on the lake, climbing wall...
Appalachia Service Project (hopefully in NC)
  • For ages 13 and up (at the time of travel)
  • Sunday, July 15 - Saturday, July 21
  • Inspire hope through home repair in Central Appalachia
Adventure Trips: 
  1. Mountaineering: July 26-August 5 (Flying in/out of Seattle, WA)
  2. Sea Kayaking:  August 8-17 (Flying in/out of Vancouver B.C.)
  • Beyond Malibu (Canadian Rockies, B.C.)
  • For ages 15 and up (at the time of travel)
  • Each trip has a minimum of 5 and maximum of 8 student spots
  • Placement preference goes to first-timers.