Eight children and youth participated in the Kemp Church Music Symposium at Westminster Choir College, reports Tom Shelton, director children’s and youth choirs at PUMC. He attended along with music director Hyosang Park, and he gave one of the workshops. The singers 
included Leanne and Robin from the children’s choir, and from the youth choir — Andi, Rachel, Delaney, Yannick, Ava, and Blaine. Choristers from Nassau Presbyterian Church also participated. They were directed by Dr. Rollo Dilworth, a professor at Temple University.
Knitting for faith and prayer
The prayer shawl group meets Tuesday, September 29. Everyone is invited, no matter your skill level. Here’s how Catherine Williams describes her experience:
I joined the prayer shawl group originally to keep my daughter company. She loved knitting and crocheting but was anxious about being in the company of women so much older than she was. She soon discovered her fears were needless, even as I soon discovered the time spent was therapeutic. The evenings were low-keyed, relaxing, uplifting, and a wonderful opportunity for connecting to God through “prayer-work.” I learned stitches I had not known before and my teachers were all so gracious. I encourage anyone – especially if you’re not yet connected to a group – to give the Prayer Shawl group a try. My daughter is away at college now, but has carried with her treasured memories of those calming Tuesday evenings spent with her crocheting buddies!
Interested? E-mail: prayer-shawls@princetonumc.org or call 609-924-2613
Adult Ed Choices — which is for you?
Adults have lots of education opportunities this fall. Two classes meet on Sunday mornings at 9:30. The Contemporary Issues class, in the Library, will study the Historical Figure of Jesus by EP Sanders. top right from those pictured above. This informal class focuses on issues that individuals, families, groups, and countries face in today’s world. Past topics have included changing attitudes towards religion, understanding major world religions, science and faith, and politics and religion.
The Heart of Our Faith class meets in Fellowship Hall at 9:30 on Sundays. Rev. Don Brash, PUMC’s resident theologian, will lead the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews. “Hebrews is richly textured with beliefs and ideas,” says Don. “It contributed to Christian thinking about faith, worship, transcendence, ministry, the church, and more.”
Phoebe Quaynor leads an in-depth 32-week Disciple Bible Study on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. This year’s book in the valuable series, Remember Who You Are, focuses on such themes as the call to remember, the call to repentance, the need for renewed vision, and the place of community. It includes the major and minor Old Testament prophets (except for Daniel) plus the 13 years traditionally attributed to Paul. For a sample chapter click here.
Informal study groups meet Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, and Thursday afternoons. To join the Disciple study, contact phoebe@princetonumc.org. All the other groups welcome drop-in visitors, so just drop by!
Chansons pour le Congo: Karrin Allyson
Now is the perfect time, says jazz artist Karrin Allyson, to revisit the Rodgers & Hammerstein songbook. Two days after the release of her latest album, Allyson will give a benefit concert “Chansons pour le Congo III” at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). The concert, which benefits two Congo-based charities, will be Sunday, September 20, at 3 p.m. at the Mildred & Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing.
“These songs are innocent yet wise, hopeful yet nobody’s fool, calling us ever forward to be decent human beings,” says Allyson, who features Kenny Barron and John Patitucci on “Many a New Day” on the Motema label. “Sadly, the song ‘You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught,’ from ‘South Pacific’ (a musical that was written with the intention to fight racism) still resonates all too well today.”
The event is presented by the College of New Jersey, Women and Gender Studies Program, Women in Learning and Leadership and Office of the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences. Allyson will be accompanied by bass guitarist Ed Howard. A reception to meet the artists will follow the performance.
Tickets (available online here) are $70 for adults, $50 for seniors, and $30 for students, with a discount for TCNJ students. Sponsorships range from Patron at $240, including three tickets. to Karrin’s Circle for $1,000 with six tickets. For information call 609-688-9979.
This will be the third concert that Allyson, a four-time Grammy nominee, has given to benefit the two charities. Founded by an ecumenical group of Congolese women, Woman, Cradle of Abundance (FEBA) supports a sewing school for girls, medical care for women and children living with HIV/AIDS, counseling for survivors of rape and forced prostitution, and school fees for orphans .
UFAR, founded by PUMC member Dr. Daniel Shungu, is an African-inspired, Lawrenceville-based nonprofit charitable organization that aims, in partnership with other organizations, to eradicate onchocerciasis, a major public health problem in the Kasongo region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Women of the Congo have amazing strength,” says Allyson, “and I only want to help with their goals of a safe and healthy society, freed from diseases like AIDS and riverblindness, and to help the world see that they are FIRST class citizens.”
Learn to Love Telling Your Story!
“I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.”
– English evangelist, Katherine Hankey
Narratives about our lives and faith journeys are powerful sources of inspiration. “Too often these stories remain untold, yet they can be incredibly moving for building community,” says Anna Looney, who teaches about narrative medicine in her Humanism & Medicine course at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. With masters’ degrees in English literature and sociollogy, and a doctorate in sociology, she is an assistant professor in the Medical Student Education division of RWJMS Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.
Anna is the breakfast progam speaker for this Sunday, September 20 at 8 a.m. All are welcome; a $5 donation for the delicious hot breakfast, cooked by the United Methodist Men, is suggested.
Anna will help us understand a bit more about the importance and power of personal stories for hope and inspiration. Our time together will begin with an explanation of the how narratives function as the framework for our self-awareness and personal history. Anna emphasizes emphasizing how personal narratives are central to our faith and daily walk. We’ll have an interactive opportunity to learn about ourselves and each other in a new way.
Loving to tell the story
Tom Shelton gave the children’s sermon on Sunday — rejoicing in the new faces at the first choir rehearsal and inviting others to join on Wednesday afternoons. The opening hymn, I Love to Tell the Story, was so apt for Rally Day. As was the blessing and dedication for all the Sunday School teachers who were happy to welcome students to their class. A good start!
Students versus Stereotypes
![Whistling_Vivaldi_Princeton_Cover-Art-Samples[2]-2 (1)](https://princetonumc.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Whistling_Vivaldi_Princeton_Cover-Art-Samples2-2-1-200x300.jpeg)
Sleeping bags covered the floor of the Youth Room when Princeton United Methodist Church welcomed freshmen from Princeton University for a “service sleepover” this week, part of the Community Action program that launches freshman year. As described in the Packet, they did a service project during the day and met for dinner, and went back to the dorms to shower. On the last night the students and team leaders– and some church staff — met to discuss this year’s ‘pre read book,’ Claude Steele’s Whistling Vivaldi: how stereotypes affect us and what we can do.
That book fits right in to the PUMC sermon series on “Gospel of the Nobodies,” especially “The Ethnic Other.” Steele will speak to the freshmen on September 12. Other opportunities to examine stereotypes and their effect:
Monday, September 14, an event in the department of African American Studies
Sunday, September 20, a panel at the Suzanne Patterson Center.
Rally for learning and fun
Is Sunday School, ages 3 to 8th grade all fun and games? No but the stories can be illustrated in lots of interesting and intriguing ways! Ask Ava, Caleigh, Zoe, Leanne, Delaney or William about how the Holy Spirit works in their lives… unpredictably, like a just-filled balloon.
Sunday School begins on September 13 with a Rally Day worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the sanctuary, followed by sessions in the classroom. Bring your family — invite other families. Together we can explore the love of God. Details? Or to volunteer? Email Kaleigh at Kaleigh@princetonumc.org
this most amazing day
“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” – E. E. Cummings
On Sunday September 13 at 11 a.m. bring your lawn chair, we will be worshiping outside – in the church that God created. Gathering at Mercer Park East we will sing, and pray and revel in the natural beauty that will surround us. “The verdant green of the grass and trees will be our walls and floor,” says Scott Sherrill, pastoral assistant. “The clear blue of the sky will be our ceiling. The chorus of birds will accompany our hymns.”
Following the service at the park we will have our church community picnic. Everyone is welcome. Please bring your favorite outdoor game to enjoy. If your last name begins with A-Q bring a salad or side dish. If your last name begins with R-Z bring a dessert. This is an opportunity to enjoy the company of friends, to marvel in the beauty of God’s creation, and to celebrate the beginning of our new congregational cycle.
DIRECTIONS: From the church, take Washington Road to the Route 1 traffic circle and continue on Route 571 (Princeton Hightstown Road) for about 2.5 miles. After the high school, turn right on South Mill Road and continue for a little over 3 miles. (South Mill becomes New Edinburg Road and then Edinburg Dutch Neck Road.) Before you get to Old Trenton Road a sign will point you to Mercer County Park East. GPS address: 1346 Edinburgh Road, Princeton Junction NJ 08550.
John Boopalan: Bias is an ancient problem
The Ethnic Other was John Boopalan’s topic for the sermon series Gospel of the Nobodies and the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) was his text. Boopalan (shown with his wife, Esther, at right, and Rev. Catherine Williams on the left) is a student at Princeton Theological Seminary. Some excerpts follow– and the for the complete text click here: Boopalan, UMC Sermon, Edited for Print
The topic for today—ethnic other—is one that is both important and urgent, not because it is a new problem but because it is an old one, an ancient one—one that is etched into our patterns of thinking, our reflexes, our everyday dispositions, our ordinary reactions to things and people, even our very selves. We have always struggled to live meaningfully with difference, with others who are different from us in more ways than one.
I come from India. And difference is in the very air we breathe. Although many people think that we Indians all get along, we don’t. If you don’t know already, we are some of the best when it comes to discriminating people. . . .
When we look at strangers who are different, we are struck by their peculiarity—those eyes, those lips, those cheek bones, that skin, hair, speech and all of those things that distinguish them and remind us that there is someone else there with us, someone who is different from us, an “other.”
And then we have a few options. We can say, “Remarkable! How beautiful! “How fearfully and wonderfully you are made!” and then look into their beauty and peculiarity with wonder and love and childlike curiosity….
Or, we can be overcome by fear of difference or some unarticulated prejudice, or some other failure of the imagination or the inability to envision a world that is different from the world that we are used to….
Boopalan considers the parable from the point of view of the lawyer who is familiar with the Torah and, indeed, summarizes its teachings. The lawyer is a good person, and we are generally good people. ..
What does God have to tell us who are generally good people? The parable shows us that while goodness is found in each of us, goodness is also found outside of us, often in places and persons we don’t expect. The parable is a rejoinder to many of us who have the tendency to find the center of our gravity within ourselves and within our in-groups. In contrast, God reminds us that we have to find the center of our gravity outside of ourselves.