Author: barbarafox

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Singing joy from around the world: Feb 19

A choir from Sumatera Utara, Indonesia will sing in a free concert at Princeton United Methodist Church on Sunday, February 19, at 3 p.m.

Building bridges through choral music…..Princeton and Westminster Choir College of Rider University welcome more than 800 choral singers from four nations and seven states to participate in “Sing ‘N Joy,” a choral festival and competition sponsored by Interkultur.

Everyone is invited to observe competition sessions, lectures and Friendship Concerts at no charge.  Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Many of the events take place at Princeton High’s performing arts center.

On Sunday, February 19 at 3 p.m. Princeton United Methodist Church will host a friendship concert featuring these choruses: 

• ChildrenSong of New Jersey (Haddonfield, NJ, USA)
• Paduan Suara El-Shaddai Universitas Sumatera Utara (Sumatera Utara, Indonesia)
• Liberty North High School Choir (Liberty, MO, USA)
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University Choir (Shanghai, China)
• Vassar College Majors (Poughkeepsie, NY, USA)

Join the Joy!

 

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Welcome back, Tom Lank

Welcome back to Rev. Tom Lank!  He and his family return to PUMC on Sunday, February 12 so that he can speak at the breakfast served by United Methodist Men. His topic: United Methodist Volunteers in Mission. He will also preach at both services, on the sermon series topic “Life in Community,” based on Deuteronomy 30:15-20 

Tom is a United Methodist Deacon and a product of Princeton UMC, where he discerned his call to ministry as a layperson, and served on staff as the Associate Pastor from 2008-2010.   Tom led the mission trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo  that launched PUMC’s strong support for United Front Against Riverblindness. He currently serves as the Coordinator of the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission program for the Northeastern Jurisdiction, covering United Methodist congregations from Maine to West Virginia to Washington, DC.  Tom, his wife Gretchen Boger, and their two children, Edith (11) and Alice (8) currently live in Philadelphia.

UMM cooks the tasty hot breakfast, and it’s not ‘just for guys.’ Everyone  is invited; a $5 donation is suggested.

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On immigration policy

“Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, . . .

These words, written by poet Emma Lazarus and posted on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty have, for decades, welcomed the foreigner to the shores of our land.  They are words that have described the position of our country, a place that has welcomed the immigrant into a land of hope where a pathway to a better life could be found.

The words “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,” sound very similar to a message that the church has proclaimed for generations:

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28)

The bishops of the Northeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church offer this statement on immigration policy — and it comes with a prayer.  Link here to read this, provided by  Bishop John Schol of the United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey.. 

Here is another link to a prayer, this one for the immigrant and refugee. 

Refugee and Immigrant God, who came wanting to dwell among us.
Hear our prayers.  Amen.

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Sunday School: Not Just for Kids

In addition to Bible studies that meet during the week, two adult classes welcome newcomers on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

The Contemporary Issues Class is starting a new study based on The Unwinding by George Packer. Through a series of glimmering short essays, Packer has put together a story of how wealth has concentrated itself in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century, and the first decade of the 21st. “We meet every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the Library. We welcome new class members,” says Charles Phillips.

The Heart of Faith class meets in Fellowship Hall on Sundays at 9:30. Led by Rev. Don Brash, it will study the differences between the Word as Jesus of Nazareth, the word as the preaching of the preacher, and the Word as the messages of the Scriptures. “We will explore the possible ways of understanding God’s relationship to the words of the Bible and the words of the preacher,” says Don. He is associate professor of historical theology at Palmer Theological Seminary. Everyone is welcome.

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All Are Equal

 

As part of the “God Imagines” sermon series, Gerald C. Liu will preach on “All Are Equal” on Sunday, January 22.

An assistant professor of worship and preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary, he has degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, Emory University, and Vanderbilt.  An ordained United Methodist minister, Gerald  is a minister in residence at Church of the Village, a United Methodist congregation in Manhattan.

He has studied in Germany, served as a minister in England, and did ethnographic research in Uganda for a contributed chapter for The Culture of AIDS in Africa: Hope and Healing Through Music and the Arts, Oxford UP).

Gerald’s text is Revelation 7:9-17, which begins with  …a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

and ends with

‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c]

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Celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

From many faiths and many backgrounds, we joined together to worship and pray and honor the work and ideals of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We were marching “in the light of God.”

See and hear it here

Minister William D. Carter III with Rev. Jana Purkis-Brash, vice president of the Princeton Clergy Association

Rev. Jana Purkis-Brash coordinated the program, sponsored by the Princeton Clergy Association, and welcomed Edith Savage Jennings, a friend of Dr. and Mrs.King. Minister William D. Carter III, a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, sang and preached on “Do You See What I See?” based on Amos 7:1-8.

Rev. Dave Davis, president of the Princeton Clergy Association

 

Participants included Mr. Salim Manzar of the Institute of Islamic Studies, Rev. Catherine Williams of PrincetonUMC, Dr. Eberhard Wunderlich of the Princeton Baha’i Community, Rabbi Adam Feldman of The Jewish Center of Princeton, Rev. David E. Davis of Nassau Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Bob Moore of the Coalition for Peace Action.

Bill Gardner

Dr. Rochelle Ellis, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, accompanied by Hyosang Park of PrincetonUMC, sang “My Dream” by Florence B. Price and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Trumpeter Bill Gardner and organist Christopher McWilliams accompanied. Congregants from many churches attended.

The offering will benefit the United Negro College Fund and the Coalition for Peace Action.

Feed Truck Cafe

After the service the Feed Truck Cafe and members of PrincetonUMC hosted a reception in the adjacent Sanford Davis Room, new home of “Sunny After Dark” cafe.

‘Deep in our hearts, we do believe we shall overcome one day.‘

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What does God do?

“Creation” mural by Michele Jagodzinski

 

 

 

 

God works in at least seven ways, said  Machaela Irving, director of Christian Education.

In January at the Christian Education committee meeting, she offered this mini-study on what we are teaching our children.

God creates.

God sustains.

God loves.

God suffers.

God judges.

God redeems.

God reigns.

For a more complete explanation of this part of “Our Christian Roots,”  click here.

It is based on the  based on the United Methodist  Member’s Handbook.  

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Pray Our Way Forward: January 29 – February 4

“Holy Spirit, renew and inspire us because the way forward is hard and the disciples’ journey is long.“

This sentence concludes the prayer we are asked to offer during the week of January 29. It is part of the Council of Bishops’ prayer initiative, slated for the week of January 29. Bishop John Schol invites all United Methodists to join in “Praying Our Way Forward,” focused prayer before the revision of Book of Discipline on the topic of human sexuality.

Thie UMC bishops call on us to “seek, in this kairos moment, a way forward for profound unity on human sexuality and other matters.” Each conference is assigned a week of prayer, now through Spring, 2018.

Click here to register your commitment to prayer. You can register as an individual or volunteer to coordinate our congregation’s prayer participation. 

Here are the views of  Bishop Schol. As part of his Graceful Controversies initative, anyone from the Greater Jersey Conference may participate in a conference on March 4. 

Click here for the 75-word suggested prayer:  May we find inspiration.

 

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Bring the Family: January 16 Interfaith Service: Martin Luther King Jr.

Every year the Princeton Clergy Association holds an Interfaith Service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , and this year our church will host it. On Monday, January 16 at 7 p.m. people from all walks of life and from different faith communities will converge on our corner of Nassau Street. At this tumultuous moment in our nation’s history, this will be an opportunity to welcome our neighbors — to pray together and sing together.

The preacher, Minister William D. Carter , is also a singer-songwriter (here is a clip from his concert at the Princeton Shopping Center) and the former minister of music at First Baptist Church of Princeton. Currently he is a third-year student at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served in South Africa and directs an organization that plans interfaith events at the United Nations. He is also scheduled to entertain at One Table Cafe, the ‘pay what you can’ dinner program at Trinity Episcopal Church, on Friday, January 20.

Bring the family! “Attendees are encouraged to bring their children, as the service will conclude by 8:30 pm to enable them to go to bed in a timely way on a school night,” says Rev. Robert Moore, treasurer of the Princeton Clergy Association and executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action which co-sponsors the service.

A  freewill offering will be split equally between the United Negro College Fund and the Coalition for Peace Action (www.peacecoalition.org or 609-924-5022).

Hosting this special service gives a a chance to put our mission statement into action — to demonstrate that we are indeed a diverse community, that we joyfully reach out to serve all people.

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Join the Kitchen Cohort!

Chef Ian Macdonald and Annie Wilcox cooked a scrumptious turkey dinner for Advent Night

Turkey and ham with all the trimmings  —  once again we feasted at an Advent Night dinner with Chef Ian Macdonald presiding. Thank you, Ian and Annie Wilcox, and all the helpers!

Now Ian offers to volunteer his expertise to help us make better use of the new kitchen that we all admire — from afar. Those who work with Cornerstone Community Kitchen know, but most of us don’t know how to use the equipment.

To be fully operational as a professional kitchen it needs certain items.

If you would like to help optimize the efficiency of our kitchen, and learn how to use it efficiently, the person to contact about volunteering is Jamie Gerber.  The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, January 15 at noon.