Community – Page 10 – Princeton UMC Blog

October 28, 2016October 6, 2020

Halloween Fun for Monday Morning Group

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Undaunted by the spectre of the trick or treaters on Halloween Night, the Monday Morning Group invites everyone to wear costumes to its regular Bible study from 10 to 11:30 on Halloween morning in the library at PUMC.

Afterwards they will troupe down Nassau Street, stopping at Panera for lunch. Who knows, maybe they will even score some candy, suggests Nancy Beatty, Chief Instigator of this caper. Whatever happens they’ll be having fun.

Anyone is welcome to join this group. It’s mostly women, but men are welcome.

October 1, 2016October 6, 2020

Musical Highlights

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La Fiocco, a period instrument ensemble that has scheduled a series of concerts at Princeton United Methodist Church, presents “Golden Age of the Countertenor” on Saturday, October 29 at 7:30 p.m. It features international opera star Ray Chenez and emerging artist Daniel Moody in bravura arias and duets of Handel, Vivaldi, Vinci, and Telemann. Ray Chenez was a 2014 first-prize winner of the prestigious George London Award and was recently profiled in Opera News. Daniel Moody recently completed his masters degree at Yale, and has been a featured young artist at Tanglewood. La Fiocco will be performing on period instruments including baroque strings, recorder, and harpsichord. Tickets are $25, $10 for students, children 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult.

Other musical events with PUMC connections:

Christopher McWilliams plays in Bristol Chapel of Westminster Choir College on Saturday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m., in a free faculty recital “Tea for Two and Beyond.” He is the organist at PUMC.

PUMC’s handbell choir, directed by Hyosang Park, leads worship on Sunday, October 16 at 9:30 and 11.

PUMC’s children’s choirs, directed by Tom Shelton, sing on Sunday, November 6, at the (:30 a.m. service.

October 1, 2016October 6, 2020

‘Saying Hello’ to Donald Lasko in the Kelsey Review

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Editor’s note: last October we celebrated Donald Lasko’s poem “Saying Goodbye.” This same poem was read at his memorial service today (February 10, 2016). We are all so sad that he is no longer here to teach and write. Here is the entry from October, 2016.

“Saying Goodbye,” a poem by Donald Lasko has just been published in MCCC’s the literary journal Kelsey Review, a 30-year-old publication that has just gone digital. To read the poem, click here.

At left, Don reads his poetry at MCCC, but PUMC members recognize him as a member of Chancel Choir; he also sings with Pro Musica. A retired public high school English teacher (married to Kate, who also teaches English), Don graduated from Oberlin College and has an MA with additional doctoral studies in English at SUNY Stony Brook. He received an NEH grant to study with Galway Kinnell and Sharon Olds from NYU School of Creative Writing and taught creative writing and poetry for many years at Summer Institute for the Gifted on numerous college campuses. For more than 50 years he has had numerous poems published in “little” magazines and is a co-editor of a two-volume anthology This Is Just To Say: An Anthology Of Reading For Writers for use at the high school level.

Here is more poetry by Don. “This is” was published in U.S. 1 Newspaper in July, 2015.

Here is the published obituary:

This page can link to more of Don’s work; just email communications@PrincetonUMC.org.

The most recent poem published in U.S. 1 was “Note to Myself” last July. In part, it is a hymn to his baby granddaughter. The final lines:

that this ever came to be is still a mystery we stand before

unknowing, swaddled as we all are from the beginning

in the arms of what some call God. Just sing!

August 31, 2016October 6, 2020

UMM: Chaplain on September 11

CHAPLAIN TED TAYLOR photo by Michael Mancuso, Times of Trenton

The date of September 11 lives large in all our memories. This year, for the United Methodist Men’s breakfast, Chaplain Tedford J. Taylor’s topic will be “Thinking about end of life decisions — how to plan for the future.” Ted will discuss this difficult subject in the context of our faith, having peace rather than denial. By coming to terms with it– spiritually, psychologically, and rationally — and thinking it through, families won’t have to scramble with not knowing what Mom or Dad would wish.

Ted joined Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton in 2007 as the Director of Pastoral Care & Training where he supervises more than 20 volunteer and intern chaplains in providing the spiritual and emotional care to patients. Ted is a diplomate in pastoral supervision through the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy (CPSP) and is board certified as a clinical chaplain with a fellowship in palliative care and hospice through CPSP. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Baptist Theological Seminary. Ted resides with his husband Kevin in Ewing Township and is a Recorded Minister in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and is active in the Yardley Monthly Meeting.

When Chaplain Taylor spoke at the UMM breakfast in January 2015, the discussion on patient centered care was so lively that time ran out, and we welcome his return. The delicious hot breakfast begins at 8 AM, followed by the program at 8:30. A $5 donation for the meal is requested. Everyone is welcome!

August 24, 2016October 6, 2020

Summer Sharing: Duncan Hartley

george by duncan — Photo by Duncan Hartley

Many wonder why PUMC’s Tiffany window shows St. George and the Dragon. “The legend of St. George and the Dragon is simply an allegorical expression of the triumph of the Christian hero, or the church, over evil,” says Duncan Hartley. “Having dared to criticize a Roman emperor, St. George was subjected to horrible torture. ”

Duncan will talk about the window in the Summer Sharing series on Sunday, August 28, at 11:15 a.m. (after the 10 am service) in Fellowship Hall. His title: “My Life Through a Lens: from Shakespeare to St. George.”

The dragon has been a Christian symbol of sin since the Middle Ages. The metaphor is taken from Revelation 12:9 where Satan is termed “the great dragon” and “that old serpent.” In Psalm 91:13 it is written that “the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”

Christian art and literature has made frequent use of this symbolism. “Tudor poet Edmund Spenser, for example, named the Redcrosse Knight as the champion of holiness in The Fairie Queen,” says Duncan. “The knight and Una, representing the true religion, are finally betrothed after he has killed the dragon. The figure Gloriana represents glory in the abstract, and Queen Elizabeth I in particular. ” St. George became the patron saint of England in the 14th century and is now the patron saint of Moscow. Many of the most famous artists depicted St. George, and almost every major museum has a painting of him.

2016 august George Tiffany Durrell label 8246450915_8693f1433d_b — Photo by Duncan Hartley

August 8, 2016October 6, 2020

Summer Sharing: ‘The East and West in Me’

So far this summer, in Summer Sharing sessions after church, Barbara MacGuigan has spoken on her anthropology adventure, and Paul Manulik and Lindsay Diehl have told about their music mission to Haiti.

Summer Sharing continues with Jamileh “Jamie” Gerber on Sunday, August 14 at 11:15 a.m.in Fellowship Hall. Born in Iran, Jamie has worked around the world from Tehran to Trenton, from South Carolina to Spain.

Jamie grew up as a Christian in Iran, where most of the people, including her grandparents, were Muslims. In the early 1930s her father was befriended by Christian missionaries who arranged for his eye disease to be treated in Tehran. “It was his Damascus moment,” says Jamie. She remembers that, following the teachings of Jesus, he brought people into their home from all backgrounds and religions.

Jamie went to college in Beirut and worked in the royal palace, leaving Iran for a year to earn a master’s degree in instructional technology from Indiana University. One of her favorite jobs at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was to help newly literate rural farmers read how to improve their agricultural methods. In 1979 she and her family survived the revolution. Jamie moved with her husband and two children to a Spanish fishing village on the Mediterranean Sea, and she found work teaching in an international school.

When Jamie moved to Princeton in 1983, she joined our church. She earned her Master of Library Service at Rutgers and worked at the Princeton University Library and at the state labor department. Then she left town to be an associate professor at Bloomfield College. Remembering Princeton and PUMC fondly, she moved back here and rejoined the church this spring. Her topic: “The East and the West in Me.”

July 31, 2016October 6, 2020

Hear Rev. ‘Buster’ Soaries at the chamber lunch

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A noted faith leader — Dr. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr. — will speak at the Princeton Regional Chamber Lunch on Thursday, August 11 at 11:30 a.m. at the Forrestal Marriott. The senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, he is a former New Jersey Secretary of State and the author of “Breaking Free from Financial Slavery,” published by Zondervan.

Princeton United Methodist Church belongs to the chamber, so any of us can go for a reduced ticket price ($50). Register as a church representative. For the networking, bring your own business cards as well as brochures or cards from the church.

July 29, 2016October 6, 2020

Making a Difference: Not in Our Town

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Not in Our Town Princeton (NIOT) welcomes newcomers to its monthly sessions at Princeton Public Library in the Community Room. An introduction to “Continuing Conversations on Race and White Privilege” is at 6:45 p.m. and the dialogues start at 7 p.m. Our church supports NIOT, which aims “to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere in which everyone will feel respected and have their stories listened to and really heard. We are motivated to explore our own privilege and biases and to continue to learn and grow by hearing each other’s stories, so that we can best make a difference.”

Before the Continuing Conversation on Monday, August 1, there will also be a social hour with refreshments starting at 6:15 p.m. For the following month, the Continuing Conversation will be Tuesday, September 6.

2016 august niot 2014 b — Spin the wheel, answer a question, get a prize

Community Night Out is Tuesday, August 2. If you go to Princeton’s celebration, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Community Park Pool, visit the ‘fortune wheel’ made by PUMC member Tim Ewer. Spin the wheel to answer a question and get a prize. It is part of National Night Out when people across the country gather at their homes, on their streets, and at their local community centers to help strengthen the partnership between the community and police. It is hosted by the Princeton Police Department, PBA Local #130, and the Princeton Recreation Department. Admission to the pool that night is free to Princeton residents. Outside the pool there will be rock climbing, demonstrations of emergency equipment, a demonstration by K-9 Harris, inflatable games, and more. Join the fun!

July 16, 2016October 6, 2020

Anthropology Adventure: from Durango to the depths of the Grand Canyon

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Everyone is invited to explore ancient cultures with Barbara MacGuigan on Sunday, July 17. A second year student of anthropology at Maryland’s Washington College, Barbara recently participated in a two week experiential learning trip to the American Four Corners Region.

The goal of the seminar was to gain firsthand knowledge of how environment shapes culture and to become acquainted with the issues surrounding American archaeology.

Along with visiting ancient Ancestral Puebloan sites, the class investigated various contemporary Native and Colonial cultural centers including the tourist mecca Durango and Supai Village, nestled in the middle of desert country in the Grand Canyon area.

She will share her findings and her experience after service on Sunday July 17 in Fellowship Hall at about 11:15 a.m. Join us and support Barbara!

Our next summer sharing time will be July 31, when Paul Manulik and Lindsay Diehl tell about their music mission to Haiti.