Rev. Higgs to Discuss Anniversary of the Founding of New Jersey

                The
Rev. Dr. Robert Higgs, a historian and pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth,
will kick off the 2014 Anne and Lee Hale Speaker Series on Wednesday, March 19,
with a talk on “Elizabethtown: the 350th Celebration of the Founding
of New Jersey.”

                The
speech begins at 7 p.m. at Westfield Memorial Library, 550 E. Broad St.

                Rev.
Higgs is a chairman for this year’s observance of the anniversary of the royal
charter that established the colony of New Jersey.  His church, located next to the Union County
Courthouse, is on the grounds where the colonists founded Elizabethtown.

                Many
activities are planned across the Garden State to celebrate the founding, and
Rev. Higgs has been involved in organizing these events.

                Rev.
Higgs, who has served in ministries in Zambia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey,
holds degrees from the University of Virginia as well as a master’s and
doctorate from Princeton Seminary.

                His
talk will be the first of four scheduled this year in the popular series named
after the late Anne and Lee Hale.  Anne
Hale, who passed away in 2007, was an active member of the Westfield community
and a library patron. Her husband, well-known for his years of leadership in
many local organizations, was the founder of the Speaker Series; he died last
year.   Funding for the series comes from
The Thomas Glasser Foundation and The Anne and Lee Hale Fund.

                Later
this year, the series will host talks by Dr. Darlene Gibbon of the Rutgers
Cancer Institute; Bruce Johnson, ‘Devil’s Den’ columnist for The Westfield
Leader, and Freia  Mitarai, an
ex-Westfielder who has headed the volunteer programs at the Metropolitan Museum
in Manhattan.

                Those
wishing to attend the Higgs talk are asked to pre-register online at www.wmlnj.org 
(click on Online Calendar) or by phone at 908-789-4090 extension 0.