Dear families,

The screen shot above (thanks Mr. Parker!) gives a glimpse of intrepid church school teachers continuing ministry and mastering technology this past year via Zoom. Gone was the 9:30am Sunday stampede from the sanctuary to classrooms in all corners of the building. Gone was sitting crisscross applesauce on mats in a circle waiting for the weekly story. Gone were the pilgrimaging preschoolers with boxes of mac and cheese led by Mr. Gordon to the Arm in Arm donation box. And gone was the well stocked weekly bagel bar on the 3rd floor for the older kids.
I miss all these things.

But guess what didn't go away? Our church school teachers. They showed up Sunday after Sunday wearing church shirts and smiles. They condensed lessons to a riveting 25 minutes to keep all engaged. They learned to spotlight, mute and welcome children in a virtual classroom. They taught sign language to give children a new way to sing our praises to God. And they learned, better yet remembered, to keep telling the stories of Jesus trusting that the Holy Spirit would bring words to life and stories to hearts even over Zoom.

Please say a prayer of gratitude or send word of thanks to your child's teacher in the next day or two. It's been a challenging year. This Sunday is the last Sunday of regular church school. Zoom church school will begin a summer session in June. Details below.

with shared gratitude,
Club 3-4-5
Parking Lot Picnic & 5th Grade Sending Ceremony
Friday, May 21, 5:00-7:00 PM (tomorrow!)
The last gathering of the year.
All 3rd, 4th & 5th graders and friends welcome.
Summer Zoom Church School
Sundays @ 9:30am
Preschoolers to rising grade 3
Begins June 6
Summer Zoom church school. Click on, join up - from home, from the beach, from wherever summer adventures take you.
Zoom classroom links and details are emailed first thing Sunday morning.
Click below to join the mailing list.
Weekly Zoom link will only be sent to those who sign up.
Wilderness Wanderings: God Prepares a People
Mon, June 28 - Thu, July 1, 9:00am-12:00pm
Age 3 to rising grade 6
This year's program, Wilderness Wanderings will take place outside and in-person at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Princeton. All of our favorite VBS traditions and tents will migrate to their spacious property where we will learn how God guides and provides for God's people.

PresbyCamp, June 28-July 1, 12-3:30pm, is back for rising grades 4-6. Bring a lunch and join us for out-and-about fun-with-a-mission focus afternoons.

Questions? Email me.
Music Notes
Dear families,

I recently counted the number of virtual choir videos our children and youth have made this year - would you like to know this number? Drum roll please.... FORTY TWO!

It is pretty amazing. You are pretty amazing. A little over a year ago, I had never considered how to put a virtual choir video together. We had a virtual Christmas Pageant, Chancel Drama, we lead congregational worship with sign language, instruments and songs of scripture that will stay with us for years to come. I now have the videos to bring back at your senior send off :)

We learned to adapt, we took chances and unmuted as much as possible. We continued to learn that a choir is a group effort; that even though singing a small part in a video, the collection of our voices became a choir, and we created something vital and bigger than each of us individually. We clapped loudly, danced and contributed what we had to offer, and we lead worship, time and time again. Thanks be to God for ALL and for EACH of you.

Gosh we need to see each other in person, and we need an....

End of the Year Choir Celebration!
In-Person, Wednesday, May 26, 4:00 - 5:30pm, in my backyard. All Children and Youth Choirs are invited: badminton, trampoline, special craft and treats. Masks will be worn. Please sign up below so we know you are coming. See you then!
Rain date: Thursday, May 27, 4:00 - 5:30 pm.

Our Summer Chancel Drama is:

RESCUE IN THE NIGHT!
The Story of Daniel in the Lions' Den

In-Person, every afternoon,
August 9th - 13th

This Chancel Drama includes a variety of roles with speaking and singing leadership. It is SUPER fun and one of my favorites! Children/Youth, rising grades 3-12 are encouraged to sign up below - everyone is cast. We'll have costumes, music, lines and microphones.

Come lead worship through memorable storytelling and song! Friends, cousins, neighbors welcome. Sign up now to receive your script in June! Email me with questions.
All Choirs for Children and Youth will resume in September 2021.
See you at our Chancel Drama!

Rising Middle Schoolers, individual zoom voice lessons will continue in the coming months. Please reach out if you are interested.
In Faith,

Ingrid
Ingrid@nassauchurch.org
Nassa u Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542