Author: barbarafox

Posted on

Methodists Respond to Ferguson

In response to Ferguson, the Greater New Jersey Conference will hold a “Just in Time” Prayer and Reflection for Justice and Peace, on Sunday, December 7, 5 PM, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1985 Pennington Rd. Ewing. Contact welcome@magnoliaroadumc.org or 609-388-8852
The keynote speaker will be Rev. Gilbert H.Caldwell, civil rights activist. Huffington Post blogger, and retired Methodist minister. A former public defender, De’Travius A. Bethea, will also speak. Reverend Vanessa M. Wilson JD, chair of the conference’s Commission on Religion and Race, will facilitate.
The conference initiated the Conversations about Race Series as a safe forum for clergy and laity to discuss issues of race, ethnicity and culture, as well as gain tools to equip participants to build bridges for full and equal participation of racial and
ethnic people in the total life of the United Methodist Church.
“Just in Time” indicates that the session is being convened as an immediate response to a recent event. In this case, it is the Ferguson, MO grand jury finding of no indictment of Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting and killing of an unarmed
teenager, Michael Brown. This session is designed to be informational, educational and inspirational, as we examine the situation in Ferguson; as well as, the bigger context of race, religion and American law.

 

Posted on

Children’s Sabbath: November 16

2014 nov Shelton choirJoin us on Sunday, November 16, for a Children’s Sabbath service, when the youngest members of our church will lead worship at both 9:30 and 11 a.m. Fourth graders will receive their Bibles and read from them. With Pastor Anna Gillette the fourth and fifth grade class will deliver the sermon.  Led by Tom Shelton, the children’s choirs — shown here in rehearsal — will  sing. All in all we look forward to a very special time, when together we worship God, our loving parent.

Posted on

Moral Monday Rally: October 27

The Campaign to End the New Jim Crow is holding the Moral Monday Rally to end the criminalization of our youth, remove barriers to re-entry, reduce the prison population and invest in the social safety net (schools, housing, jobs).

On October 27, noon to 2 p.m., The Moral Monday Rally will aim for lawmakers to reform our criminal justice laws and racially discriminatory incarceration systems.to end the criminalization of our youth, remove barriers to re-entry, reduce the prison population and invest in the social safety net (schools, housing, jobs). It will be October 27, noon to 2 p.m., on the steps of the New Jersey State House in Trenton. Parking is available in the New Jersey State House and Trenton Wyndham Hotel decks.

jim crow book

Inspired to organize by Michelle Alexander’s seminal book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, the Campaign to End Jim Crow is an all-volunteer grass roots coalition of area leaders and concerned citizens who have come together to raise awareness of our broken criminal justice system, promote prison reform legislation and to garner support for the incarcerated and their families.

In 2010, Michelle Alexander, a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, and legal scholar who has taught at a number of universities, including Stanford Law School, published The New Jim Crow which details how, by targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice systemfunctions as a contemporary system of racial control. Through America’s “war on drugs,” black and brown men in America were targeted for incarceration, thereby recreating a racial caste system denying these people access to employment and voting rights hard fought and won through the civil rights movement, and succeeding in decimating black families. In noted historian Cornel West’s forward of The New Jim Crow, he writes of “the massive use of state power to incarcerate hundreds of thousands of precious poor, black, male (and, increasingly, female) young people in the name of a bogus “War on Drugs.”

Join CENJC’s rally to end the criminalization of our youth, remove barriers to re-entry, reduce the prison population and invest in the social safety net (schools, housing, jobs). Visit CENJC on Facebook.

Methodists, of all Christian denominations, share John Wesley’s heritage of pushing for prison reform.

 

 

Posted on

Christopher McWilliams at the Organ

fantasiaRemember the opening scene from Disney’s Fantasia? With the image of the conductor (Leopold Stowkowski) lifting his arm for the crashing downbeat? That’s J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d minor, and it’s featured on Christopher McWilliams’ organ recital on Saturday, October 25, at 2 p.m., at Princeton United Methodist Church (PUMC)

McWilliams, the organist at PUMC, will also play selections by  Francois Couperin, Herbert Howells, Marco E. Bossi, and Calvin Hampton. Admission is free; a freewill offering will benefit capital improvements to the church.

Christopher McWilliams A Vermont native, McWilliams has a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Organ Performance and a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where he studied with Phyllis Lehrer, Matthew Lewis, and Kenneth Cowan. He teaches private lessons in piano at the Westminster Conservatory of  Music, at PUMC, and in students’ homes, and is a frequent accompanist at the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church.

 

 

Posted on

Help Tell Faith Stories: Online Learning

Here’s news about an online learning course: Church Communication in the 21st Century 

For too long, the voice of people of faith has been hidden, drowned out or altogether silent in the public media. This course is designed to help you reclaim your own voice in order to speak faith to a world desperately in need of the good news of God’s love by using the communications tools of the 21st century. Next class begins on November 5, 2014 and costs $29. PUMC can help with the cost. Find out more here.

What will you learn?

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Explain the importance of telling stories of faith and sharing individual messages in the public sphere.
  • Craft and share personal stories of faith.
  • Identify people and organizations with whom to build relationships via social media and other 21st century communications tools.
  • Use and participate in specific tools, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram or Flickr, and Blog.
  • Articulate and implement best practices for using 21st century communications tools to communicate faith.
  • Discover additional training opportunities to organize a local church small group study for Communicating Faith in the 21st Century that can empower the local church to tell its stories of faith in the public sphere.
  • Access resources from United Methodist Communications, The United Methodist Church, United Methodist News Service, and other denomination and faith-based organizations.

What can I expect?

This online course allows learners to complete the 6-week schedule at their own pace, at their convenience.

In the course, you will

  • Read information,
  • Explore multimedia materials,
  • Engage in discussion forums,
  • Complete assignments,
  • Take quizzes, and
  • Share feedback

Claim — or reclaim your voice to share the Good News!

Posted on

Songs for Congo: November 9

Karrin and Bill

Here is a way to support a cause founded by PUMC’s own Daniel Shungu, United Front Against Riverblindness. Together with another worthy charity for Congo, Woman Cradle of Abundance, UFAR presents its second annual benefit concert with 4-Time Grammy Nominee Karrin Allyson.

When: Sunday, November 9 at 3:00 PM
Reception with the artist will follow. Doors open at 2:30 PM.

Where: Solley Theatre, Arts Council of Princeton
Corner of Paul Robeson Place and Witherspoon St. in Princeton, NJ

Tickets are $70, $30 for students, and sponsorship opportunities are available.

Many at PUMC know how UFAR is working to stamp out riverblindness. We sent a mission team to the DRC five years ago. One-third of the 60 million people in the DRC are at risk for getting riverblindness, which starts with a rash and leads to sight loss, forcing children to leave school to care for parents.

But what is Woman, Cradle of Abundance, also known as FEBA? It aims to change the dismal future for many women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a woman. Founded in 1999 by an ecumenical group of Congolese women, it supports a sewing school where girls learn a marketable trade. It also provides medical care and support for women and children living with HIV / AIDS, counseling for survivors of rape and forced prostitution, and school fees for orphans. The US partner is raising funds to help the Congo project build a Women’s Center.

Help both causes by enjoing a jazz afternoon with Karrin (shown here with her partner Bill McLaughlin). She is described as “always globetrotting and delighting audiences all over the world with her unique and personal style — straight from the heart.”

 

 

Posted on

Meeting Needs: Bentley Community Services

bentley
Dorothy Sterns-Holmes and Brant Holmes of Bentley Community Services have been providing fresh produce, frozen meats, and desserts for Cornerstone Community Kitchen for more than a year –and  now we can hear them speak at the UMM-sponsored breakfast this Sunday, October 12, 8 a.m. Topic: “Meeting Needs Brings About Restoring Self-Sufficiency”
 
Bentley Community Services is a charitable organization dedicated to  providing food, basic necessities, household goods, clothing and adult  education on an ongoing basis to struggling families in need. 

Brentley  welcomes and serves those who need a “hand up” rather than a “hand out” and  are prepared to participate in the unique  method of meeting  needs while working towards restoring self-sufficiency.  Bentley Community  Services encourages and provides the opportunity for its friends and neighbors in the community to join in and assist with their service.This program has been modeled from the Birch Community Services in Portland,  Oregon.

Please contact the church office by 12 noon – Friday, October 10,  with your attendance plans so that we can plan the breakfast for all who will attend by calling (609) 924-2613 or  email office@princetonumc.org. A $5.00 donation for breakfast is recommended.

2014 9 10 hands

 

Posted on

Meeting Tom Shelton

Tom's meeting

Eager to meet Tom Shelton, the successor to Yvonne Macdonald, more than 50 people flocked to the Fellowship Hall after the worship service on August 10. Pam Bradley, from the Staff/Parish committee, introduced him: With 22 years of youth choir experience, Tom has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is assistant professor of sacred music at Westminster Choir College ; he is also associate director of the Princeton Girlchoir and conductor of its Cantores ensemble.

“Children and youth are an important part of ministry,” said Tom, telling how excited he is to be joining the ministry here. “When children and youth lead worship, they are giving of themselves.”

Tom wants the choirs to include everyone and encourages children and youth to invite their friends. We can try to arrange carpools. The Lower Elementary Choir will meet on Wednesday, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and the Upper Elementary Choir from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with the first rehearsal on September 10. The Youth Choir rehearses on Sundays from 5 to 6 p.m., and the first rehearsal is September 7.

Tom was peppered with questions from children, youth, and parents. From second graders in the front row, “Will we play instruments? Will there be parties? ” (Yes to both!) . Other than moving the elementary choir rehearsals from Tuesday to Wednesday, he plans to make no immediate changes to PUMC’s excellent music program, saying, “As we go forward together we will make any changes together.”

Posted on

Passing the Baton: Yvonne to Tom

yvonne headshot on web now 2011tom-175

This press release announces Yvonne Macdonald’s retirement and Tom Shelton’s appointment as director of music for children and youth

“When children and youth feel what the lyrics are saying, the beauty comes alive,” says Tom Shelton. He is the new director of music for children and youth at Princeton United Methodist Church (PUMC), succeeding Yvonne Macdonald, who retired from that post after 40 years.

“Passing the baton to Tom Shelton is a joy and an honor for me,” says Macdonald. “Easing the transition is my belief that seeds sown over the years both in faith–and in music — are blossoming. I know the choirs are in excellent hands.”

With 22 years of youth choir experience, Shelton has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is assistant professor of sacred music at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and conducts the Princeton Girlchoir’s high school ensemble. He is also a prolific composer and aims to write special pieces for the PUMC choirs, ages three through high school. Shelton will be assisted by Anna de Groot.

Schools can teach character development, says Shelton, “but in church we can teach spiritual values. I encourage each child to relate the essence of the song to a personal experience in their lives.”

“We plan to make no immediate changes to PUMC’s excellent youth music program,” says Shelton.

Located at the corner of Nassau and Vandeventer in Princeton, PUMC is a diverse congregation whose members come from many surrounding communities, backgrounds, and faith histories. For information on joining the PUMC choirs, call 609-924-2613 or office@PrincetonUMC.org or www.princetonumc.org.