Category: Community

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Scholarships for PrincetonUMC Students

Ten undergraduate students, members of Princeton United Methodist Church, are being supported this year by PUMC Educational Scholarships. Other scholarships, for undergraduates and graduate students, are available from the GNJUMC and the United Methodist Church headquarters in Nashville. Click here for information. 

The Princeton United Methodist Church Educational Scholarship is awarded each year to church members attending an accredited undergraduate college, and to support those preparing for ministry at the Masters’ level. Scholarships are awarded in June. Applications are available in the church office. Deadline for submission of applications and supporting essays, references and transcripts is May 1.

The Scholarship Fund was established in the 1930s and revived in 1996 with the generous endowment from the will of Alice Parker and ongoing donations by members of the congregation. The Scholarship has been helping members of the church community achieve their educational goals for eight decades.

Applications are reviewed by the PUMC Scholarship committee and awards made from the earnings of the endowment. Students may apply for renewal for up to four years. The Scholarship not only supports students financially but reminds them that
their church community is behind them as they move on to future endeavors. A recent graduate explained, “as I head to start a new job I will take the love of PUMC with me. Your love and support have meant so much. Thank You.”

The PUMC Scholarship Fund needs to be continually replenished. You may make a donation to the endowment either online giving, personal check, or through transfer.

 

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Susan Victor Commissioned: Maker’s Place in Trenton

Celebrating Susan Victor’s commissioning to serve at Maker’s Place, from left: Michael Reed, Pastor; Susan Victor, Deacon; Judy Miller, Cornerstone Community Kitchen Clothes Closet; Jennifer Hartigan, PrincetonUMC Volunteer

At worship on February 10, Princeton UMC commissioned Susan Victor to serve at Maker’s Place, a Hope Center of the United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey.  Susan is an ordained Deacon, whose primary appointment is to Womanspace, where she works with women, men, and families impacted by domestic and sexual violence, as well as the staff of Womanspace. All Deacons who serve outside the local church are also appointed to a local church ministry where they also serve in various capacities, yet on a much smaller scale. For the last 9 years, Susan’s secondary appointment has been Princeton UMC.

Susan Victor found her faith home in the United Methodist Church after moving to the US from India. She completed her theological training at Union Biblical Seminary, India and Princeton Theological Seminary. She has an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and is a licensed clinical social worker. She particularly loves working with the confirmation class at Princeton UMC.

Susan has discerned that her gifts and service are needed at The Maker’s Place, the new Hope Center and ministry in Trenton, which is led by Rev. Michael Reed. Michael was
with us for worship the first week in December and we collected diapers for The Maker’s Place throughout Lent. Susan is faithfully answering God’s current call for her life
and ministry, and we celebrate that with her. She will be an enormous help and support for The Maker’s Place as they connect in faith around Food and Families.

The Maker’s Place will be her secondary appointment, effective Jan 1, 2019. We aren’t entirely saying goodbye to her and Vasanth, however. Susan will continue to be part of our Relationships and Faith steering team. She also hopes to help our congregation to connect with The Maker’s Place in powerful ways. Vasanth will maintain his membership with us. And until The Maker’s Place begins holding worship services, they will continue to worship with us.

 

 

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Thanksgiving Reflection 2018: Princeton Community Thanksgiving Service

Rev. Jenny Smith Walz

Rev. Jenny Smith Walz gave her Thanksgiving Reflection for 2018 at the Princeton Community Thanksgiving Service held on November 22, 2018. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We know that practicing gratitude is beneficial to our health and well-being. Well documented:

● Better physical health

● Better mental health

● Less anger, more empathy

● Better sleep

● Better self-esteem

● Better emotional and mental resilience (deal with stress and recover from trauma)

● Better and more relationships

I believe there’s far more to gratitude than even this. Something beyond benefits to our own individual minds, hearts, and bodies. Something that moves us corporately, communally, into a different realm, a different way of being and of being together. Something that is even world changing. 

I think of images of gratitude from my tradition. They are full of song and dance. Running and joy. Eating and sharing. Freedom and transformation. 

● I see Miriam and all of the Hebrew women dancing and singing with timbrels on the other side of sea after leaving Egypt and Pharaoh and slavery behind.

● I hear the song of Moses after the sea closes behind him, both horse and driver having been hurled into the sea, in awe over this exodus God has accomplished.

● I see the unnamed Samaritan woman at the well leaving her water jar behind, running to the others in her village telling them how she has met one who has seen and knows her and LOVES her with compassion and hope and healing she’s never before known.

● I see Peter jumping out of a boat on the sea of Galilee after the risen Christ has appeared to him and the other disciples. After a miserable night of fishing, catching nothing, the risen Christ provides an abundant catch and then invites them to eat with him on the shore. Peter doesn’t wait for the boat to reach shore, he jumps off and swims, eager to greet his teacher.

● I see the early Christian community sharing all they have, eating together, caring for one another because God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them, adjusting their whole structure and practice to care for the widows when it came to be known they weren’t getting enough to eat. 

See, when gratitude is at work it changes not just our minds and hearts and bodies. It changes our whole society, our whole communal life together. When we practice gratitude, we are also living in the freedom and joy and abundant life of God’s realm. 

 

There are things that compete, however, for that same place in our hearts where gratitude dwells. One of the key competitors for the attention of our hearts is something none of us are immune to: consumerism. If your mailbox and inbox are anything like mine, those retailers we have relationships with have been gearing us up for the holiday shopping season for several weeks now. Today, I opened a Thanksgiving message from a Christian mom-blogger, and inside, to my dismay, were tips on saving even more money on Black Friday and throughout the season, and in a way that actually earned her MORE money. 

Friends we are so immersed in consumer culture, we hardly even know how deep in it we are. We have financial stake in it ourselves as our companies work to end the year as far ahead as possible, as we hope for the big bonuses. We have been shaped such that wish lists for Christmas are normal. And our wants are fed like starving dogs. And the messages all around tell us that we are lacking, our children need more, our households are incomplete, and our lives would be better, easier, free-er, more comfortable, more satiated if only we bought, had, acquired more, more, more. We are sure that we are not enough, and buying more will help solve this spiritual trouble. And not only this, but we are serving our country by spending, by growing the economy. 

But this, friends, runs counter to the heart of each of our faiths, each of our deeper spiritual wisdom and knowledge. God did not make us consumers. God made us receivers and givers. God made us dependent on God and one another, despite all of our behavior to the contrary. 

It’s gratitude, however, that deep gratitude that causes us to dance and sing. That causes us to run and jump out of boats. That causes us to eat and share and be generous and compassionate with one another. This kind of gratitude, it is powerful stuff. When practiced whole-heartedly, consistently, persistently, this kind of gratitude shatters the whole illusion that our consumer culture holds before our eyes and our appetites. And behind it reveals true freedom and joy – freedom from fear, from scarcity, from captivity, from envy, and greed, from avarice and illusion.

May we each discover this kind of gratitude today and the source of it as well. 

Morris West encourages us as well. He says, “At a certain age our lives simplify and we need have only three phrases left in our spiritual vocabulary: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

May we sing songs of doxology and praise. May we dance with joy and abundance. May we run toward the source of life and the giver of every good gift. May we share generously with one another and in doing so proclaim “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” to the God who gives us all we ever needed.

May it be so today and in all the days to come. 

Amen. 

 

 

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Continuing Conversation on Race: December 3

Continuing Conversations on Race and White Privilege is at Princeton Public Library is on First Mondays at 7 p.m.
Continuing Conversations on Race and White Privilege is at Princeton Public Library is on First Mondays at 7 p.m.

NIOT Princeton welcomes anyone who is committed to working towards building genuinely inclusive communities and working for racial justice. For more information, or to ask about volunteering, go to NIOTPrinceton.org or see Barbara Fox.

The next Continuing Conversation on Race and White Privilege will be Monday, December 3, at 7 p.m., and Rev. Dr. Charles Frederick Boyer will speak on “Liberating Public Policy Theologically.” 

What is liberation theology, and how does it connect with racial justice?
How can legislation and public policy be examined through a prophetic racial justice lens?  
What role should liberation theology play in birthing faith-rooted advocacy and activism?

Rev. Boyer has said, “As an African-American minister of the gospel, I am compelled to fight and encourage the struggle for freedom and justice. Mass incarceration, private prisons, and prison industrial complex slave labor which is legalized in our constitution, must be challenged at every level.”

NOT IN OUR TOWN PRINCETON is a multi-racial, multi-faith group of individuals who stand together for racial justice and inclusive communities. Our focus is to promote the equitable treatment of all, and to uncover and confront white supremacy — a system which manipulates and pits all races and ethnicities against each other.

Our goal is to identify and expose the political, economic, and cultural systems which have enabled white supremacy to flourish, and to create new structures and policies which will ensure equity and inclusion for all. In our commitment to uncovering the blight of white supremacy on our humanity, we take responsibility to address it and eliminate it in all its forms through intentional action, starting with ourselves and our communities.

 

 

 

 

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At the Seminary: Everyone Welcome

 

Joe R. Engel organ at Miller Chapel, PTSEM

Many of the courses and events at Princeton Theological Seminary are open to the community. Some are free, and most take place in either Miller Chapel or Mackey Dining Hall, or both. The daily chapel service from 11:30 a.m. to noon is an exciting spiritual experience.

A very popular favorite is the Carols of Many Nations concert on Wednesday, December 12. with three identical services at 3:30, 6:30, and 8:30 p.m. Tickets for that can be reserved on November 12.  Dress warmly – at the close, the congregation will follow the choir outside. .  

Anyone may attend the CommUNITY Gatherings at Princeton Theological Seminary. On Thursday, December 6th, engage in a timely topic: Navigating Difficult Conversations in These Challenging Times. Leading discussion will be the Rev. Jennie Salas, PTS Associate Director in the Field Education, and Parish Associate at Iglesia Presbiteriana Nuevas Fronteras.

Worship in Miller Chapel is from 11:30 am-12:00 pm, followed by Lunch, Presentation, & Conversation from 12-1:30 pm. Select lunch ($10) in the Mackay Dining Hall, and then come to the the Main Lounge. Future Gatherings:

Thursday, February 7, 2019: Serving Those of Different Faiths: A Military Chaplain’s Experience,with Chaplain Jeffrey Ross, ThM ’19

Friday, March 1, 2019: In His Image: Art Ministry as an Essential Element of Worship, with Dave Teich, Art Minister, First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown

Tuesday, April 30, 2019: Walking with Those with Mental Illness, with the Rev. Kerri Erbig, BCCC, the Rev. MaryJane Inman, BCC, and the Rev. Miriam Diephouse-McMillan, BCCC, Chaplains at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital-Pastoral Services Department

To register for the CommUNITY Gatherings, click here or contact Rev. Joicy Becker-Richards, Director of Campus Relations Joicy.becker@ptsem.edu 609.497.7960. For concert tickets, try this link.
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All Saints vs the Marathon

On November 4, All Saints Sunday, our usually saintly personalities may undergo some slight trials. It’s Turn the Clocks Back Sunday and also some roads will be closed for a Half-Marathon race, for a good cause, Hitops, 

The organizers have tried to schedule so the roads are clear in time for worshippers in Princeton to attend services. For the map showing the times when you can get through on a particular road, click here. 

However, the town issues this warning. The race and road closures will begin promptly at 7 am. As the runners proceed through intersections the roadways will be re-opened. Please plan accordingly if you are traveling into town between those hours. If you are attending a religious service or other business we are encouraging you to leave early and if you encounter a road block explain to the officer staffing that where you are going and they will be able to direct you accordingly. The race should conclude and all roadways will be open at approximately 11 am.

 

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God is Doing Miracles Everywhere!

Mircales Everywhere Put on your God-Vision Goggles, take a look around and see what God is up to! Look for signs of God’s love, presence, power, and purpose. Bring your miracle stories to worship with you the next two weeks. They will become cranes and hang in our sanctuary. And get ready! You’ll have the opportunity to joyfully respond to these miracles through your financial pledge on October 28. God is inviting you to be part of Miracles Everywhere through your financial and spiritual gifts given to PUMC in 2019 and the Greater New Jersey Conference. Your gifts will heal, renew, unite, transform, grow, and empower people in our church, in our community, and throughout the world. What a miracle!

 

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Clothing Closet: Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen

Judy Miller, manager of the Clothing Store at Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen, shown here with donations for PrincetonPeriod

Q&A with Judy Miller, manager of the Clothing Store at Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen, where she is also a board member. She arranges the table decor for each Wednesday meal, and she distributes clothing and other needed items during CCK meals.

Who gets the clothes?

The clothing is distributed at CCK dinners which are a fun place to sit and chat with folks from all different ages and stages. We have international students who come to practice their English skills, we have retirees, young families (primarily Spanish speaking), we have all ages and stages, quite a mix of people, nice people.

Under the new program, PrincetonPeriod, you are now also accepting feminine hygiene products? 

Yes, we are providing tampons and pads for girls and women who don’t have easy, reliable, affordable access to them.

What’s the best part of running the Clothing Closet?

I take the job of distribution very seriously. If someone’s been kind enough to gift us with certain resources, I really try to find that next home thoughtfully to match the gifted item with the need. Sometimes that is apparent immediately and sometimes it takes a while to achieve that best match.

The donation closet is always packed full. Where do those bags come from?

We get quite a range of clothes. For the kind of store that we are, we get above average quality. Some of it comes from consignment stores that we have a relationship with. And then we have students, who treat their clothes like students treat clothes! You have to sort of laugh!

What happens to the ‘less worthy’ donations?

I do a couple of loads of laundry a week to rescue things. If they realize their potential they get to come back to the store, if they don’t, they go to textile recycling.

Can you share any stories?

To protect privacy, I can’t provide details. Most of the time the items are distributed within the CCK population, but occasionally we have an opportunity to serve an international or county need by partnering with some other agency. For example, a Pakistani student at the seminary asked if there were things she could take to her own country. So a small number of backpacks and school supplies and clothing went with her. along with a suitcase to put it all in. We had a group of our CCK participants from Guatemala who still have family – in some cases children – still in that country. They asked if there was infants and children’s clothing that would be off season to us, but in season to them, that they could send.

More recently we partnered with Witherspoon Presbyterian Church to help repair their windows. Some items we weren’t able to find home for – because of size or season or some specific feature – we passed along to enhance what they could offer at their thrift sale.  That’s an example of a local use of resources sent to a different location that had great merit. In some cases, selected items sent elsewhere makes sense.

Thank you, Judy, for your dedicated service! To volunteer to help in Cornerstone Community Kitchen, click here. 

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Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen: Princeton Period

Monica Rosado - Princeton Period Project - Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen
Monica Rosado - Princeton Period Project - Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen
Monica Rosado – Princeton Period Project

Founded in 2012 as a non-sectarian ministry of the Princeton United Methodist Church, Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen has provided more than 25,000 meals to our guests at our free weekly no-questions-asked dinners.

A new, pioneering program – PrincetonPeriod.org – has been established to further meet the needs of our neighbors. It provides feminine hygiene products (tampons and pads) for girls and women who don’t have easy, reliable, affordable access to them. Not having these products can be embarrassing and limiting – and cause potential health risks. For information, go to www.PrincetonPeriod.org.

Donors are coming through PUMC’s doors to bring products. They are making contributions electronically (through our website) and by check (administered by our financial team).In other words, we help PCCK and all its programs by keeping the building open (lights and heat on) and also with our financial volunteers. PCCK credits PUMC this help on its website:

PCCK, a completely non-sectarian program open to the entire community, operates within the Princeton United Methodist Church (PUMC). While we are an independent Section 501(c)(3) public charity (Tax ID 46-4758389), we share a number of church resources to keep our expenses down.  

Six years ago, almost all of the Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen volunteers belonged to the church and a loyal core continues to help faithfully. It’s wonderful that PCCK has attracted so many partners and volunteer help from elsewhere. However Larry Apperson (our inspired founder of PCCK) suggests that many more volunteer opportunities exist. Whatever your skill, PCCK has a place for it! To volunteer for Princeton Cornerstone Community Kitchen, go to www.princetoncornerstone.org