All Are Welcome
Among the many beautiful trees around the church (thank you, John and Robbie Vaccaro!) is the mitten and hat tree in the Sanford Davis Room. Doris Pope used to hold the record of the most hats knitted for this tree. Each contribution of mittens, gloves, and hats will go to clients of Cornerstone Community Kitchen, to shield them from the freezing weather that is still to come (yes, it will get cold!) Consider donating warmth to the mitten tree. . .
Celebrate the season with song at the breakfast sponsored by the United Methodist Men on December 13 in Fellowship Hall. A hot breakfast is served at 8 am, and the program starts at 8:30. Everyone is invited; a $5 donation is requested. It is such a pleasure to again welcome Dr. Karen Zumbrunn to share fascinating stories behind some of our favorite carols. The week before, on Advent Night, she is scheduled to lead the singing – a PUMC tradition for more than 20 years.
For the UMM breakfast Karen will share the fascinating stories behind such favorites as Joy to the World, The First Noel, and On Christmas Night (known as the Sussex Carol). The program will feature medieval carols as well as folk carols from Canada and Czechoslovakia (the latter was written for bagpipes!) Typically, carols are written in a language that can be shared by all. They invite communal singing. The season for singing carols is all too brief — so come and enjoy the music!
Here is a link to photos from last year’s Advent Night, posted on Facebook. This year’s pageant is entitled “Joy to the World” and is directed by Kaleigh Corbett and Tom Shelton. The pageant is at 4, dinner and crafts at 5:15, and a carol sing-along with dessert at 6:30. All are welcome!
Be sure to join us for our annual Advent Night celebration on Sunday, December 6th from 4 to 7 p.m. It will be a joy filled evening as we begin our preparation
for the arrival of the Christ Child. We will begin with our Christmas Pageant at 4:00 PM, titled Joy to the World, where we will hear and see the Christmas Story as told by our Sunday School and Children’s Choir. Tom Shelton has been hard at work rehearsing with our elementary school choirs and Sunday School children. It will be a wonderful way to kick off the Advent Season.
Following the pageant, join us for a time of dinner and crafts. From 5:15 – 6:25 there will be 5 craft stations set up for crafters of all ages. Kids, make a secret craft for your parents with help from our confirmation class. Everyone is welcome to decorate a gingerbread
cookie as well! Need a break from crafting? Come on downstairs to the Fellowship Hall for a good old fashioned potluck dinner. Don’t forget to bring something to share!
Be sure you are finished with your craft by 6:30 because we will conclude the evening with carol singing and dessert led by Karen Zumbrunn. Bring your favorite dessert to share.
We hope you will join us for this joy-filled evening. See you on the 6th!
For her sermon, “An Unexpected Gift” on the first Sunday in Advent, November 29, 2015, Pastor Jana Purkis-Brash included this poem, The Story of the Christmas Guest, by Helen Steiner Rice.
Based on the story by Leo Tolstoy, it tells of the humble shopkeeper who was very eager to see Jesus. As in the scripture lesson for that day, he was like the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 64:1-9) who begged for the Messiah to appear, crying out “you have hidden your face from us.”
This contrasts with the New Testament scripture, Matthew 1:18-25, where Joseph is surprised by the news that Mary is pregnant with the son of God, a very unexpected gift.
The shopkeeper in the poem waits and waits, but the only folks who knocked at the door were a beggar, a hungry woman, and a homeless child. Let’s all be on the lookout for ways that Jesus comes to us in unexpected ways.
For more than 30 years, Womanspace has been working with victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. To raise awareness of the on-going presence of domestic violence in our midst — and to raise money to support this valuable non-profit organization — help to sponsor Womanspace Communities of Light on Monday, December 7.
Hundreds of luminaries will be lit around homes and in various community spaces as a symbol of our stand. Luminary kits will be on sale for $10 after both services through December 6. Use the kit to light up the outside of your home, or donate it back to the church to help light up our church home.
Domestic violence and sexual assault are not just women’s issues, and they are not just individual or family problems. Violence against women is a human issue, and a social problem. By illuminating the night we send the message that peace begins where we are
Rare are the moments when everyone from the greater Princeton community gathers together to rejoice and worship God. The interfaith service Thanksgiving service in Princeton University Chapel is one of those most joyful times. Prayers and readings from different congregations, lively music from the pickup choir, the sonorous organ preludes and postludes, liturgical dance — all contribute to an inspiring entrance into the true spirit of thanks. Plan to join your neighbors and friends from all faiths at 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Did you know that more and more people are declaring themselves as spiritual but not religious (SBNR)? In her sermon on November 15, Reverend Jana Purkis-Brash said that 70 percent of millennials describe themselves as more spiritual than religious. Yet some 55 percent of individuals rarely or never pray to God or attend service, don’t read the Bible or gather together. Religion and spirituality are not separate, says Pastor Jana, but are one and it is hard to have one without the other.
Gathering together is an important part of who we are and that is why people feel alone in difficult times in life when there is no community to gather with. Gathering with the community can be a place that offers us hope. In church we also receive the gift of a congregation that we embrace so we do not have to face our grief alone. It is God putting on flesh to walk that journey with us, she adds.
Pastor Jana reminds us in 1 Samuel 1: 4-20 that Hannah is not an SBNR but a member of an organized religion highly committed to spiritual practices who needs that help to continue on her journey. She goes to the temple, deeply distressed and weeping bitterly, pours out her soul to the Lord and feels God’s presence right there in the sanctuary. As we seek to grow in spirit, Hannah is an example of a role model for us, as she says, “I have asked him of the Lord.” So also, we deepen our faith when we follow Hannah to the sanctuary.
Prayers are offered not just as a request for help but as an indication of people telling the truth about their needs. However, we must also remember that while God will answer our prayer, it is God’s will that is done, not ours.
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SBNR, religion, spirituality, Millennials, congregation, community, sanctuary, Hannah, faith, childless, grief, vow, prayer, Elkanah, God’s will, needs, sermon.
The Cornerstone Community Kitchen (CCK) offers a free and nutritious meal every week, even on holidays. Volunteers from the community serve the meal from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. The meal time on Wednesday, November 25 is at noon. In partnership with the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), this ministry of PUMC now serves more than 100 people each week. Some come for the food, some for the fellowship and friendly atmosphere. All are welcome, no questions asked.
Then — celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day at the interfaith service at Princeton University Chapel. Prayers and readings from different congregations, lively music from the pickup choir, the sonorous organ preludes and postludes, liturgical dance — all contribute to an inspiring entrance into the true spirit of thanks. Plan to join your neighbors and friends from all faiths at 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
The Victorian house at 2 Hamilton Avenue served as the parsonage for PUMC from 1928 to 1962. Owned by Adrian and Anne Trevisan, it was on the Historical Society of Princeton’s annual house tour. In this article about it from the Princeton Sun, we learn that, until 1928, the parsonage was on Wiggins Street. In 1942 it was redecorated for a new minister, and in 1950 it was converted to a two-family house. The church sold it in 1962 and moved the parsonage to Laurel Circle.