Hi All! Don’t forget – our Family Thanksgiving Celebration is November 22 from 4-6PMfor all families with children and youth from Pre-K to 12th Grade.
We will join together to feast, worship, and do a mission project. We are asking you to bring the following:
- Your family’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish for our potluck dinner. We will provide the Turkey!
- Personal hygiene products for our mission project for Threads of Hope: shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant. Since we will be assembling kits for families, we also want to collect things like hair elastics, headbands, barrettes, etc.
We will also have a short, interactive worship service with prayer stations for all ages around the thanksgiving theme. It will be a wonderful night. If you could RSVP to me with what you are bringing and how many people, I would appreciate it.
This will be our event for UMYF on the 22nd, and Youth Choir will meet AFTER from 6-7PM. Please mark your calendars appropriately!
Thank you,
Kaleigh
Part-time Temp Job: Youth Ministries
Princeton United Methodist Church seeks to hire a part-time, temporary Assistant Director to support youth ministries and programs. Assists Associate Pastor of Children and Youth Ministries and works collaboratively with staff, parents, volunteers and congregation to insure the spiritual growth and discipleship of youth. Helps with planning and leading Sunday evening youth program as well as youth participation in worship, mission and overall life of the church. Leads youth program and provides continuity while Associate Pastor is on leave. Experience in Christian Youth Ministries required. Degree in ministry or in process desirable. Approximately 10 hours per week. Salary $4,000. If interested, contact Iona Harding ifkharding@gmail.com.
Circle of Friends meets November 10
Hymns and Christian songs enrich our lives and faith — here’s a chance to learn more about them, when Dr. Karen Fanta Zumbrunn shares stories and tunes at the Circle of Friends
meeting on Tuesday, November 10, at 10:30 a.m. at PUMC’s Fellowship Hall.
All PUMC women are invited to attend — and bring your friends! Please note that the meeting is NOT at the usual venue. Bring your own lunch. Dessert will be provided.
Known for her swinging foot-tapping style, Karen’s nickname is “Dr. Jazz.” With degrees from Ohio State, Harvard, and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, Karen has always been a working jazz musician. She performed at the Blue Note in Paris with well-known European and American musicians and has recorded two CDs.
As a Christian and a longtime member of PUMC, she has been a Sunday School teacher and is a regular volunteer reading tutor in Trenton at TASK. She shares her enthusiastic music with our church, at Vacation Bible School and for Advent family celebrations, and she for two years she was director of music at Kingston UMC.
So — join us in song! Requests will be taken. There will be no wrong notes in this program!
Transforming Lives in Haiti
Join us for breakfast on Sunday, November 8, at 8 a.m., when Elizabeth Thompson will speak about transforming lives and empowering Haitians to rise out of poverty. Sponsored by the United Methodist Men but open to all, the tasty hot breakfast, with all the trimmings, will be in Fellowship Hall. A $5 donation is requested.
Elizabeth is a grant writer on the staff of Heartline Ministries. With a masters degree in international development from Eastern University, Elizabeth had worked in emergency relief with World Vision and several other domestic and international development ministries. She lives in Princeton with her husband and two young boys.
Heartline Ministries has been working in Port-au-Prince for 25 years. It offers programs to help the men, women and children of Haiti overcome poverty and transform their lives. The maternity center helps provide education and medical care before, during and after birth. The women’s education center provides training in literacy, sewing, cooking, craft work, business and life skills. It also offers direct individual assistance for health and education, assistance with adoption issues, and men’s discipleship and business training through a on site bakery.
After the 2010 earthquake Heartline Ministries created a mission and volunteer program to provide housing and opportunities for volunteers. The organization’s guesthouse now provides safe housing for visitors participating in mission experience trips.
Ferguson activist at the seminary
“I will not submit to be charged with praying, nor do I accept the righteousness of the some 60 charges laid against those participating in the Moral Monday protests during Ferguson October,” said Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, pleading not guilty last December at Ferguson. “The only signs of Assault, Disorderly Conduct and Disturbance of the Peace I saw that morning clearly came from the garrison of riot police protecting the state citadel from a group of singing,
praying, peaceful clergy, seminarians and members of the community.”
praying, peaceful clergy, seminarians and members of the community.”He will speak at a conference organized by The Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Seminary, “Black Prophetic Rage in the Age of Ferguson,” on Tuesday, November 10th at 7 pm in the Theron Room at the Princeton Seminary Library. Yolanda Pierce directs the center. The roster also includes Dr. Brittney Cooper, Ph.D. and Minister Janisha Gabriel, MA, responders, and Candice Benbow, MA, M.Div., Moderator. Yolanda Pierce directs the center.
Carla MacGuigan: Giving Joyfully at Threads of Hope
Earlier this week I had written down completely different thoughts to share with you about “giving joyfully and putting God first.” However, my plan changed after my service experience yesterday. God has been calling me for a year and a half or so to “give joyfully” one Saturday morning a month to PUMC’s outreach mission project in Trenton at Chamber United Methodist Church. This project Threads of Hope, has become near and dear to my heart and that of my family because it is not so much a project as it is a one to one opportunity to reach out to the “least of these” that Jesus so frequently advocated for. Matthew 25:40 reminds us “anything you have done for the least of these, you did for me.” My family has been involved with many youth mission trips and projects, but this ongoing experience of “giving joyfully” to the least of these (or the “nobodies” as discussed this summer) has changed us all.
I feel that God is asking me to share this experience with you because so few of you have had the opportunity to directly experience Threads of Hope yourselves. Many of you are “giving joyfully” to the numerous other opportunities offered through PUMC such as The Cornerstone Kitchen, ASP, VBS, etc…all of which I think, many of you know a great deal about. My prayers are that after I do my best to make these wonderful and grateful people at Threads of Hope come alive for you, that you will join others from the PUMC family in this very worthwhile mission/outreach project. Minimal time is needed, but the opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life is endless. Our church has been supporting this outreach through our ongoing clothing donations, school supplies donations (such as the recent very successful and much appreciated school supply collection during VBS), prayers and through the dedication of a small group of volunteers and staff members.
So much more help is needed and the Outreach Committee recently committed to fund the buying of containers to store the out of season clothing which will help us protect this very important commodity from the dampness of the church basement. They have also committed to helping pay for craft projects, academic workbooks, and food (usually snacks, but sometimes a breakfast), that we share with the attending families. So far providing these things has come from the generosity of a few volunteers, now it is guaranteed that we can continue to meet our patrons’ needs, especially the children.
From 10 am -noon on the 2nd Saturday each month, we are open as a free, take what you need, clothing closet for people of all ages, colors, faiths, and backgrounds, but really Threads is so much more. In the summer, we are a cool place for people to come and visit with one another and in the winter months we are a warm, inviting place for people to come and visit with one another. The individuals attending range in age from a few weeks old to seniors. The families include multi-generations of great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc…
We started out with about ten people coming the first few months to approximately 40 people yesterday (20 were kids and teens, 20 men and women). They come in all shapes and sizes, speaking different languages or dialects, with most speaking some form of Spanish. Unfortunately, we are lacking volunteers who share this language so communication continues to be difficult as children try to interpret for their non-English speaking adults. Our primary Spanish speaking volunteer, my daughter, is now a freshman living at college and so she has left a huge hole in our ability to even minimally communicate with our patrons.
A parental aside here, watching our daughter move from being very cautious about trying to speak using her limited Spanish to her feeling pretty confident communicating with the children and adults alike, was such a rewarding experience as a mom and dad. She loved attending each month and rearranged her job so that she could be at Threads on the second Saturday every month. The children loved having her talk to them and loved being able to help her improve her Spanish. Many laughs were shared as she did this. God was definitely working through Threads to help our daughter gain confidence and making her feel valued through her service to others. Along with many other opportunities she had for service throughout her years attending church, Threads of Hope has given her a firm foundation of “giving joyfully” of her time and talents.
At Threads yesterday, infants who first came in mothers’ arms are now walking, talking, and participating in craft activities we provide. They are eating the markers and trying to ingest the wiggly eyes. Their fingers, faces, and clothing are colorfully decorated in cheery magic marker. Half-eaten Halloween lollipops, donuts, and fruit are spread across the low tables, craft supplies are creatively being put to use, and little toddlers wander around spending their time taking books and toys in and out of boxes. Yesterday, they were proudly filling donated plastic pumpkins with whatever they could find- shoes, candy, toys, and markers. Older siblings, aunts and uncles who are hardly older than the toddlers, assist the little ones- both those who are family and those they don’t know. Happy chattering in a language I can’t understand is heard not only at the children’s table, but from the adults as well.
What truly amazes me month after month is how the adults go through the clothing with specific needs in mind- those of their family and those of their friends. Special requests are made such as, Do you have diapers? We didn’t. Do you have anything for infants? We didn’t this month. Phones are used to text or call friends to let them know about special months such as school supplies, Halloween costumes, change of season clothing, breakfast etc…A few minutes later and more people have arrived to shop.
Yesterday, was one of those special days as even the tweens were successfully able to find costumes that they can wear for Halloween. Eyes lit up and excited voices abounded as some couldn’t wait to tell me what they had found. “I’m going to be The Hulk,” exclaimed one pre-teen boy. One of our shy regular fourth grade girls finally got a chance to look at the costumes after caring for her younger cousins and she was so pleased to find a pretty Tinker Bell costume in her size that she would be able to wear- excitedly she went to show her grandmother whose face lit up for her excited granddaughter.
School supply Saturday in September was another memorable month. This year in August we had a few children ask us if we were going to have school supplies- they were thrilled to hear that we would have them in September. The smiling thank-yous of the grateful children as they were able to pick out new backpacks, check out the supplies, and supplement the generous ones, already placed within them by the VBS kids, will stick with me for a long time. These children, although I believe are living with many material needs unmet, thoughtfully pick out items to share with absent siblings and friends. Never have we seen our patrons greedily taking extras of anything; the children “joyfully give” to each other and to the adults each month. I get to hear stories from the children such as, “It is my aunt’s birthday, I want to get her something.”
“My brother’s backpack’s zipper is broken, may I take one for him?”
“Look, I found this for my nephew. I’m an uncle. He’s 1 year old and starting to walk around.”
“Do you have any more of those math books like you had last month? I want to give one to my friend.”
We also hear “joyful giving” stories among the adults as well. We have one patron who comes every month to find items for his outreach within the community. He carefully goes through the piles one at a time looking for items that will meet the needs he recognizes within his flock. He has also become one of our regular volunteers as he helps organize clothing, moves big bags of clothing for us, disposes of garbage, and helps the patrons. His commitment to Threads is worthy of praise. Adults hand items to their peers, even when they don’t know the person when they find something that meets the needs of the other person.
So if you want to witness God’s abiding love in others, if you wish to “give joyfully” through service as well as or instead of financially (some of us don’t have the funds), or if you are looking for a way for your family to put God first together (all ages are welcome and can be put to work:-), please consider coming to Threads of Hope on the second Saturday of each month. I believe, that you will, as I do, “receive joyfully” as much if not more than you give! If Saturdays aren’t good for you, please consider service through one of PUMC’s other very worthwhile programs.
Tom S. Tong: On Stewardship
If giving is an act of love, says Tom S. Tong, you can’t force someone to love unless he or she has been loved.
A native of Hong Kong (shown here with his wife, Anita), Tom S. Tong graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and is pursuing further study at Drew University. On Laity Sunday, in a sermon entitled “Giving puts God First,” Tom preached on the text from Mark 12: 41-44, the story of the widow’s mite:
Today’s Gospel reading is a field trip scenario, in which Jesus took his disciples to observe how people made their offerings to treasury. Jesus specifically brings our attention to two contrasting figures; they are the unnamed poor widow and rich people as a type…
Traditional interpretation sees this poor widow as a model for emulation. But do we seriously encourage people to follow this poor woman’s footstep? For most of us, including myself, we are willing and joyful to contribute out of our abundance. If Jesus thinks this poor widow is praiseworthy, does Jesus imply that we are bad?
Tom suggests the possibility that Jesus laments, rather than praises, this widow. He offers possible motivations — maybe she had confidence that the church community would take care of her — and brings in his own experience.
If giving is an act of love, Tom concludes, you can’t force someone to love unless he or she has been loved.
For the complete text, click here
Guest preacher: Rich Hendrickson on October 18
We’re in for a treat — Rev. Rich Hendrickson is in the pulpit next Sunday, speaking on how giving is an act of worship. As the director of stewardship and visioning at Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, he has consulted with our church council on several occasions and is a dynamic speaker. His t
opic: Giving is an act of worship, based on Exodus 35:21-29, Romans 12:1-2 , and Mark 11:15-17. We welcome him to our pulpit.
Following the 11 a.m. service we will gather in Fellowship Hall, when our Church Conference will be led by Rev. Varlyna Wright, our district superintendent. We will celebrate the joys of the past year, reflect on the progress made against our goals, and set goals for 2016 and beyond — please make every effort to attend!
Laity Sunday
Laity Sunday is a time-honored tradition in the United Methodist Church, and we were blessed to have five lay speakers last week. In the 9:30 service — Michele Tuck-Ponder and Carla MacGuigan. At 11 a.m. — Curt Hillegas, John Kuhlthau, and Tom Tong. Malisa Langdon did the children’s time, and they lay readers were Lula Crawford and Laverna Albury. Liturgists were Lindsay Donaldson, Anna Looney, Robert Scheffler, and Cindy Gordon. Thanks to Alex (Imbo) Farkas who directed the choir.
John Kuhlthau: On Stewardship
When I was asked to participate and speak on stewardship, I agreed right away because I cherish this community of believers. This Church has always been and continues to be an amazing collection of diverse, but genuine , honest, faithful believers in and servants of Christ Jesus. I count myself among you without any particular pride but in sincerity and in the earnestness of my discipleship..
As many of you know, I came to Princeton as an outsider. My father was a loyal Son of Rutgers and the family attended the annual Rutgers- Princeton season opening fall football game sitting on the sunny side of Palmer Stadium.
So I had to shift when I applied to and was accepted at Princeton University . . . but I was a Methodist, having become one of Bishop Fred Corson’s Crusaders committed to Christian service. I joined other Methodist students in the Wesley Foundation meetings here at the corner of Nassau and Vandeventer. I dutifully did my Latin and undertook Greek in order to really read the New Testament. Princeton was all male and Carol was going to a Teachers College. We were married here in this church on the Saturday after I graduated on Tuesday. The wedding reception was here in the social hall downstairs which was convenient because it was raining pretty hard. Rev. Charles Marker presided over the ceremony.
After Princeton, I attended the Drew Theological School up in Madison as Carol finished her bachelors’ degree. We lived in married student housing which was quite a different community. I enjoyed my courses but quickly realized that I was not cut out to be a Biblical scholar and I certainly wasn’t cut out for the pastoral ministry. So I fell back on Plan B which was law school. I was persuaded by my guidance counselor and the church hierarchy to take the two small churches in South Jersey that had be selected for me for the summer of 1959, which I did. I preached twice on Sundays and led a Bible Study on Sunday evenings, had a membership class and did most of the things a pastor is called upon to do. But come September, I could not return to the Drew routine and headed to Newark for three years at Rutgers Law School while Carol taught grade school.
After law school and a quick six months in the Army at Fort Dix during the Bay of Pigs episode, I settled in New Brunswick where I began the practice of law under the tutelage of my father, his partners and associates. I reconnected with the Princeton Wesley Foundation and Rev. Bill Kingston, Class of ’55. Carol and I became active in the First Methodist Church of New Brunswick and helped to shepherd the union of the three Methodist Churches that were then struggling to get along to form The Methodist Church in New Brunswick which was at some point pastured by both Rev. Jim Harris and Rev. Greg Young both of whom also served here at Princeton.
But I digress from my path. I was Deputy Public Defender for a short time; then I became the first full time County Prosecutor for Middlesex County for 4 years. As I was about to resign, the issue of casino gambling in Atlantic City came to the fore and I seized on that as a worthwhile political campaign. I resigned as Prosecutor to campaign against casino gambling for the Methodist Church in cooperation with other opponents under the slogan “No Dice”. I worked closely with Rev. Jack Johnson, mostly in South Jersey with church meetings and Saturdays at shopping malls with Youth Fellowship volunteers. Casino gambling was defeated on its first referendum, but of course, it was re-designed and the voters approved.
By that time, I had become a Middlesex County Judge and could not campaign. In due course I was appointed as a Superior Court Judge. I sat as a Judge for 22 years. When I retired from public service, Carol and I decided to move back to Princeton where we have been for the last 15 or so years. We promptly transferred our membership to Princeton United Methodist Church while Rev. Jim Harris was here and frankly we felt quite at home. The reception we received was warm and welcoming. We were soon put to work and began to meet the wonderful people of this congregation.
Rev. Jack Johnson was the District Superintendant in those days and recruited me to go on the board of trustees of the Pennington School. What a refreshing experience that was for an old warhorse like me. The Board was mostly parents of the students, enthusiastic, energetic and dedicated to the growth and improvement of their children. There were some pastors: Rev. Dr. Charles Sayre, pastor at Haddonfield whose father went to the school: Rev. Dr Bob Williams, church historian and former pastor of St. Andrews Methodist Church; Rev David Mertz, now a pastor in Westfield but formerly an associate here and there were others.
I have had a wonderful career and expect more opportunities for service. I have supported each church of which I was a member including my summer membership in Avalon and my affiliate memberships at Turning Point, plus The Pennington School Annual Fund and several Scholarships..
As Deuteronomy says in chapter 12, “You shall bring everything to the place the Lord shall choose, your sacrifices, your tithes, your donations AND (VERSE 12 ) YOU SHALL REJOICE before the Lord Your God ! I rejoice! I rejoice with you all in this wonderful community at Princeton U. M. C.
— John Kuhlthau