Welcome to Princeton: UMC Ministers

Just as Princeton UMC commissioned Susan Victor to work in Trenton at the Maker’s Place (click here) we welcome two United Methodist Church Ministers to Princeton. Here are the official announcements from GNJUMC:

Hector A. Burgos is the new Capital District Superintendent.

 

Héctor A. Burgos currently serves as GNJ’s Director of Connectional Ministries. He has previously served as pastor of Oasis UMC in Pleasantville, associate pastor of FUMC of Tuckerton, assistant pastor of West Creek UMC and on MARCHA’s executive team. He has an M.Div from Drew University and a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico. He is a Lewis Community Leaders Fellow and a Certified ICA Coach. He is passionate about urban, multicultural and justice ministries. Hector is married to Jazelis Adorno, pastor at Simpson UMC in Perth Amboy, and they have four children Fabian, Joel, Marcos and Valeria.

Headquartered in Neptune, the Capital District extends from Kingston and Lambertville to Freehold and Medford, and it includes more than 60 congregations. It is one of nine districts in the Greater New Jersey United Methodist Church.

Drew A. Dyson has been appointed to an extension ministry as Executive Director of the Princeton Senior Resource Center effective March 19, 2019.

He succeeds Susan Hoskins, who held that position for 17 years. The Princeton Senior Resource Center is the ‘go to’ resource for aging issues and serves the greater Princeton area, not just the town. According to the mission statement, it is where “aging adults and their families find support, guidance, education, and social programs to help navigate life transitions and continue to be active, healthy, and engaged in the community. Our vision is to create a world where aging adults are respected for their experience and wisdom.” It has 60 collaborative partners and 375 volunteers.

Drew  has been a United Methodist pastor for 19 years, most recently serving as District Superintendent for the Raritan Valley District. He has served as a lead pastor, seminary professor, denominational executive for young people’s ministry, and an associate pastor. He has authored several books, primarily focused on ministry with young people and most recently Wesleyan missionaries theology. He holds both his M.Div. and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Rev. Diane Dyson (a GNJ Deacon) have four children: Timothy, Jeremy, William, and Allison.

 

Getting our fingernails dirty — close to home

These volunteer opportunities refer to organizations on PUMC’s outreach web page — or speakers at a United Methodist Men’s breakfast within the past two years. Each has current volunteer opportunities. The PrincetonUMC blog has live links to the web pages.

Boy Scouts of the USA.

CASA: Court Appointed Special Advocates: trained volunteers represent children at court.

Contact of Mercer County: compassionate listening, crisis intervention and safety services.

Cornerstone Community Kitchen: meal prep & cleanup, scheduling, sorting clothing.

Crisis Ministry: food pantry, assistance with rent, utilities, medicines: cooking demonstration assistant, and pantry intake helpers.

 A Future with Hope: rebuilding homes and lives after Hurricane Sandy: weeklong construction projects, or donate, or sell tickets to the Thunder game June 9th.

HomeFront : helping homeless families: tutors, computer tech, clerical

Housing Initiatives of Princeton : paint, probono services, advocate for affordable housing.

The HUB: drop-in Saturdays for those with unique challenges: friendly helpers.

Isles: garden docents, organizing IT equipment, event photographer, special projects

Mercer Street Friends: teach computer skills, write tech support or FAQ documents, collect and refurbish computers, one-time parenting workshops like scrapbooking, resume building.

Not in Our Town: an interracial, interfaith social action group, programs vs prejudice.

Princeton Community Housing: affordable rental housing. need PUMC representative.

Princeton Healthcare System: reception, visiting, retail.

Princeton Human Services: help with events like the Wheels Rodeo.

Princeton Senior Resource Center: Visit shut-ins, read to children, assist in office.

Threads of Hope: once monthly Saturdays — sort clothing, offer hospitality

Trenton Area Soup Kitchen: tutor, serve meals on 4th Tuesdays,

Salvation Army of NJ: teach brass instrument, event photographs, registration, teaching.

Urban Promise Trenton: afterschool and camp programs: tutoring, teaching.

Volunteer Connect: nonprofit for skills-based volunteer jobs

Womanspace: residential emergency shelter program for battered women and their children: tutors, Spanish translators, collecting newspaper stories for  grant applications.