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October 19, 2018October 6, 2020

Sermon “Miracles Everywhere: Seeing”

On October 14, 2018, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz preached from the sermon series ‘Miracles Everywhere’ on the topic “Seeing”. Her text is from Mark 10:46-52 (Blind Bartimaeus – “Rabbi, I want to see”) and 1 Kings 19:11-13 (Elijah – God passes by in the gentle whisper).

How have you experienced God lately?

We are looking for miracles this month.

Mircales Everywhere

For some this is easy and natural. For many of us this is quite foreign. God is everywhere, but not obvious. Seeing takes practice. Speaking about what we have seen also takes practice. That’s why we need our God-Vision-Goggles.

Miracles are those events that bring people from darkness into light. They turn our attention to what really matters in life and in death. Miracles point beyond the one before us to the One who made us for love’s sake. Miracle means the activity of God. (R Bultmann)
Miracles are our experiences of God’s love, power, presence, and purpose.

What’s the miracle here? – of course Bartimaeus’ sight is restored. But there’s more than meets the eye:
Nearing the end of Mark – last healing miracle in the gospel, next to last miracle.
End of a whole section where sight is the issue. Christ confronts Bartimaeus’ physical blindness, but he’s also working on the spiritual blindness of his disciples.
You notice they are trying to keep Bartimaeus from Christ. They are trying to protect Jesus, but haven’t fully figured out that he doesn’t need this kind of protection. This kind of protection goes against the very kind of Messiah he is. He is about healing, unity, reconciliation, love for all people, not just a few chosen ones.

The spiritual blindness of his closest followers who have failed to fully grasp the upside-down kingdom that Christ has brought near.
Earlier in this chapter – James and John ask Jesus to grant them a favor. Jesus asks “What do you want me to do for you?” The very same question he asks Bartimaeus when he cries out for Jesus and finally gets direct access to him. “What do you want me to do for you?”

Disciples: one sit at left hand, one at right in your glory. Bartimaeus: let me see again.
Disciples: sidestep suffering. Bartimaeus: born out of loss, exclusion, helplessness.
The disciples are blind to the reality that in Christ the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, all discover their freedom. Blind to the reality that Christ is the kind of messiah who goes to the poor, the dirty, the obnoxious, the most desperate, most broken, most troubled, most defeated, most rejected ones.
Somehow Bartimaeus sees that Christ is the Messiah. But he too sees only in part.
He’s regained his physical sight at the word of Jesus, and can now do nothing else but follow him! He has experienced God’s power, presence, love, and purpose right in this miraculous moment, and so he goes, follows this one who have him his freedom.
The very next chapter is the Triumphal Entry – they are about to walk into Jerusalem in a grand processional, and every one of those Jesus supporters that day expected a Messianic revolt to commence under the generalship of Jesus of Nazareth.

Instead they will see him suffer, be rejected, die. Their world will be turned upside-down and inside-out. In witnessing all of this, and ultimately the resurrection of Christ, their blindness will be healed. They will be able to see who the God revealed in Jesus actually is. In his resurrection Christ gives his followers eyes to see the good news of God’s ongoing reign.
The work of Christ is seeking to cure the spiritual blindness of his disciples.
Not even the blindness of his closest followers can impede the work of Christ in the world

Eddie in Puerto Rico
I saw a miracle in him, and he told me about miracles he’s experienced.
Going to church. He went because he was invited. He’s a skateboarder, and spends his time on the streets, in skate parks. One day a friend of his asked him to go to church. eventually he went – for a while. Then he faded away again.
He heard God say to him – you need to go back to church. And so he did.
I asked him what was different about his life after being part of a faith community. Everything. How he thinks, how he feels, his relationships, his friends, his family, how he spends his time and money. He feels a call to ministry- possibly to be a missionary. For now he’s working with ReHace. He’s experiencing relief as he manages his Type 1 Diabetes – diagn in Jan. He’s inviting his friends from the skatepark, off the street to come to church, to meet Jesus, to see something he’s been able to see only for a short time himself. But enough time that he’s experienced his own eyes able to see in ways they never have before.
He’s catching flack from his church members about hanging out with the skater kids. But to me it sounds as if he sees something those church insiders don’t, much like the disciples. He’s been given sight and freedom, and now he must follow. He talks to his friends about Jesus, about the miracles he’s experiencing. He invites them to church. Sometimes they come and sometimes they don’t. That doesn’t stop him from talking about the miracles he’s experienced.

Let’s look for Miracles Everywhere:
Prayer – My teacher, Jesus, Let me see again.
Small – ordinary – your breath, the people, another day, glimpses of a bird or a butterfly or a squirrel – ordinary things, yet you notice something more – recognize that life is of God, beauty is a gift from God, a reminder, an assurance, some hope, some comfort. God does not reveal himself in the wind, the fire, the earthquake with Elijah – it’s the sound of sheer silence. The opposite of what we might assume.

Relationships – Pay attention to service, acts of mercy, small sacrifices, what we do for love
Brokenness – Pay attention not just to success, but to failure. Pay attention to what is broken. Pay attention to the broken pieces, the shards, the tears, and to joy. Pay attention to what, and who, needs healing. Pay attention to what is bent over. Miriam – learned music from a woman who could no longer talk, much less sing.

Put on your God-Vision-Goggles. What miracles have you seen?

Stewardship
Bartimaeus couldn’t help but follow this one who had given him sight
When we are able to see Miracles Everywhere, we realize all is gift, and we too can do nothing but follow this one who pours out gifts upon us
Our response is to follow to give.

October 17, 2018October 6, 2020

Sermon “A Potato, A Fish, and Bread: How Big Is Your Faith”

On World Communion Sunday, October 7, 2018, Pastor Gerri Fowler preached on the topic “A Potato, A Fish, and Bread: How Big Is Your Faith? “ Her text was Mark 9: 30-37.

To hear the sermon live, go to the Princeton United Methodist Church Facebook page

Also the sermon will be podcast soon on this webpage under the category “worship”.

Untitled

Sometimes Mark’s Gospel sounds like it is the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version. The word “immediately” is frequently used and it leaves us breathless in following Jesus as he moves through his ministry here on earth. Jesus and his disciples are on a private journey to Capernaum. Jesus wanted to teach them those things they needed to know while he was still with them. It was nearing his “end time”, as this was the second time he made the prediction of his death. They are listening, but not understanding. We can almost see them nudging one another and quietly saying, “Do you know what he means?” Perhaps they urged one another on saying, “You ask him what he means”. “No, you ask him.” Then Jesus hears them arguing and he finds out they are arguing about who is the greatest among them. We wonder if he perhaps asked in what we would call the vernacular, “Here I am talking about my death and you are worrying about who gets the prize in the Cracker Jack box.” Jesus says to them what we sometimes feel are annoying words, “Whoever would be first must be last of all, and servant of all.”

There was a child in the home where they were staying and he took the child into their presence. The conversation takes a pause. It is as though he holds up a mirror before them in the face of an innocent, trusting, vulnerable, dependent child. In those days, the child would be “the other”. He simply says to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me but the One who sent me.”

The spiritual journey asks us to set aside presumptions, assumptions, provocations, and prejudices. It often asks us to get on our knees rather than the top rung of the ladder. Sometimes it requires a leap of faith to do so. One month ago I was preparing the chapel at our church for our weekly Monday morning prayer time. Since the first week of our nation’s decision to separate immigrant children from their parents, I have led a time of designated prayer for this situation and the pain and sorrow of these immigrants. I saw a couple in the sanctuary while I was passing through to the chapel. Sometimes we have guests from the community who come to join us in prayer. There is a high ledge separating the room I was in from the sanctuary. In my haste to reach the man and his companion, I walked off the ledge and into thin air. That flying leap took me a distance of about 3 feet and I landed on the back edge of a pew, and then on to the floor.

The man that I was rushing toward in order to offer him prayer, became a vessel of caring to me. He had lived and worked in the United States for 23 years and he was to report to the police station at 1:30 that afternoon for deportation. I saw Jesus in his face. The tables were turned and I found myself in a circumstance of pure grace. He made sure I was able to move and then he helped me to my feet. We had a time of prayer for one another and he left for his appointment. We all lose our bearings from time to time. We suffer discouragement, betrayal, loss, shattered dreams, abandonment, misunderstandings. They all become a deportation into circumstances for which we are not prepared. It is at times like this that we are exposed to the limitless love of God for us.

Here we are on Worldwide Communion Sunday. Today (October 7th) we celebrate one great global relationship with Christians all over the world. Heaven help us if we begin and end our encounter with limitations as we argue about who is invited to God’s party and who is not. God’s table is full of the world– a world full of people created in the image of God. We sit at a table big enough for all “the others”, and even for those who see us as “the others”. Grace isn’t always neat and orderly, precise, and wrapped up in a pretty box with the rest of our prejudices. Grace is undeserved. As a pastor from South Africa once said, “God wants to come into our hearts and lives but God wants to bring God’s friends too”.

Untitled

When we imitate and follow Jesus our spiritual bowls get larger and larger. As we grow in faith, our world expands and so do we. When we act upon what we already know of what it means to be a Christian, God supplies more faith from God’s inexhaustible storehouse. It is the nature of faith to expand to meet our needs. Today we look around our world with spiritual eyes and we declare, “We are the Body of Christ”. We see millions eating at the table with us and we beckon to “the others” to come and join us. Jesus holds Open House every day. We are all invited whether we are naughty or nice.

We get the best food that is available which is the “Bread of Life”. We don’t say “take, eat, and be careful”. We say, chew the delicious bread, taste the sweet juice from the grapes. For as the Psalmist tells us, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” We celebrate the One who binds us together. God is pushing our boundaries, challenging our comfort zones, stripping us of our camouflage.
And Jesus took a Muslim–
And Jesus took immigrants from every country–
And Jesus took a homosexual couple–
And Jesus took the least, and the lost, the outcasts, and the discriminated, and the abused–
And he said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the One who sent me.”

For more from this message, click here

September 26, 2018October 6, 2020

Sermon “By God: Gifts for Giving”

On September 23, 2018, Pastor Ginny Cetuk preached on the sermon series “By God” on the topic ‘Gifts for Giving’. Her text was 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11.

To hear the sermon live, go to the Princeton United Methodist Church Facebook page

Also the sermon will be podcast soon on this webpage under the category “worship”.

Pastor Ginny began by suggesting Paul had a problem. He was up against some attitudes and behaviors that had sprung up in the church at Corinth. And they weren’t good.

When we read the scriptures we see what is happening in the communities of the time since often they are being exhorted to change their behaviors. For example, in this letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul reminds the people that God chose the lowly so that no one would be able to boast before God. And he tells them not to be boastful.

So we know that they were boastful, don’t we? Indeed, they were.

Corinth was one of the largest cities in the region and five times as large as Athens.

Paul arrived at Corinth for the first time in the 49 or 50 AD and he found that Corinth was exceptionally diverse in every way – including race and religion – and a major center of commerce as well as the capital of the Province. All faiths of the time were represented in this cosmopolitan city, including worship of the emperor and his family.

Paul lived in Corinth for 18 months and it was here he came to know Priscilla and Aquila with whom he later traveled. Paul knew Corinth well and started a number of Christian communities while there. He loved the city and its people and wrote 4 letters, two of which were lost.

In the letter we read today Paul is clearly concerned about developments across the faith communities in Corinth. In the first several chapters of the letter he talks about the following: divisiveness; taking each other to court; offering food to idols; and class divisions at the communal meal – Communion – in which the poorer people did not receive the same amount of food (bread and wine) as others.

He writes in Chapter 11: 21-22:
20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

Paul is hopping mad for sure…..but his heart is filled with love for these Corinthian Christians….all 40-150 of them…we can’t be sure….

As the letter goes on, we can see that Paul knows they misunderstand something very fundamental. And he does not blame them for that. Instead, he teaches them about the nature of God. For that is what they misunderstand. And they had this misunderstanding because they had absorbed notions about privilege in their very strictly stratified world and those notions had crept into the church.

If we look at their behaviors, we see that they didn’t understand why God would give the gifts Paul was talking about. They thought that some gifts were better than others and that those better gifts were given to the better people. Of course, there were no “better people”…but they didn’t know that, for their society told them differently. Christianity at the time – as it is today as well – was a truly counter-cultural religion.

And they were still learning….

In the passage from 1 Corinthians 12 read for today, Paul is talking about God-given gifts and how we use them for the common good.

Hear my conversation with God here

For more from this message, click here

September 23, 2018September 9, 2021

Sermon “Body Building: Equipped”

On Sunday September 16, 2018, Pastor Smith Walz preached from the sermon series “Body Building” on the topic ‘Equipped’. Her sermon is based on the scripture reading ‘One Body With Many Members’ from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

To hear the sermon live, go to the Princeton United Methodist Church Facebook page here

Also the sermon will be podcast soon on this webpage under the category “worship”.

This is a summary of her message:

What is your part in the Body of Christ? Are you a Foot? A Heart? A Hand? Brain? Arm? Knee? Eye? Ear? Mouth? Funny Bone? Stomach?

Hundreds of different parts work together.

This is the image Paul uses to talk about the Church, which we also call the Body of Christ. But Paul also uses humorous images to tell us there is no hierarchy in the Body of Christ.

EVERY part matters. EVERY ONE matters. EVERY ONE is needed to be the body, to be whole. Those who do manual jobs are no less important than the elected leaders or speakers. Those who work behind the scenes are just as crucial as the ones who are seen and heard. What then is your part in the Body of Christ?

Last Sunday, if you heard nothing else from the sermon of the same series ‘Body Building’, I hope you heard “You are called!” Each one of you is called by God to do God’s work of love, reconciliation and unity in the world. God equips you with one or several spiritual gifts to enable you to fulfill that calling. As we become aware of our calling and the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us to do the work, we find our place in the Body of Christ.

You are called! You are gifted! And you play a crucial role in the Body of Christ, which is the Church.

I was called to be a pastor. So, God helped me over the years to overcome my fear of public speaking, with the guidance and support of friends. And I’ve continued to hear God’s call on my life to be a pastor and to help others too. Thus, through my preaching, I am seeking to engage you, teach, inspire, connect you with God, and with your everyday life. The Holy Spirit called me, equipped me with gifts and I align myself with God’s call. My gifts are teaching, knowledge, shepherding, administration, leadership.

You too are called, you are gifted! You are equipped! God has called you. God has equipped you with one or more gifts. These are your natural gifts. You have to open the gift, use the gift, allow the Holy Spirit to keep equipping you – an active aligning of oneself with God’s intentions, open to being used by God.

Therefore, Let Your Light Shine

Written by Isabella Dougan

August 25, 2018August 20, 2018

A Journey of Faith VII

First mission to what is now Baker’s Basin, Reverend Henry Westwood leads the first ‘Every Member Visitation’

There were other problems besides money. In April 1863 the Secretary of the Official Board was directed “to inform Mrs. Cocks that the practice of throwing slops in the Alley next the Church must be discontinued.” The next month the Board resolved to “recommend earnestly to the members of this Church to attend regularly and punctually the meetings of the Thursday Night Prayer Meeting.”

However, money, or the lack of it, was a constant nagging problem. There seemed to be constant coal bills to be paid. And Brother William Leggett, the long-suffering sexton of the church, frequently threatened to leave. His salary was almost always in arrears and he received no raises, but his devotion to’ his church always persuaded him to remain. At one point he was owed $87.25 in back salary, while the church treasury showed a balance of $1.83. In June, 1864, the church was forced to borrow $275. $105.25 of this went to the sexton, so that he was considered paid in full through the previous April 1. It had been decided to rent the office attached to the parsonage, as well as a house on the rear of the property, and this brought in a small income.

In spite of the scarcity of funds there was outreach. In the spring of 1864 there is mention of the “Brethren of Princessville.” Princessville was a small settlement in Lawrence Township near the Princeton-Kingston Turnpike, now the Princeton Pike, in the area that later came to be known as Baker’s Basin. The Reverend Edmund Hance was the minister at this time and he was authorized “to procure a conveyance to Princessville every Sabbath afternoon (at the expense of this Church) until next Quarterly Conference.”

It is not clear whether this was an attempt to start a new congregation, or a method of attracting the residents of Princessville as prospective members.

The following year it was announced that there would be a basket collection at the Sunday morning and evening service13 for “the cause of missions.”

In 1865 the Trustees were still desperately trying to keep the church solvent. There was $31.00 on hand, with five months’ salary due the sexton. From collections there were receipts of $158.63 and disbursements of $158.54, leaving a balance of 9¢. Funds also came in from the Harvest Home, a Concert, the Mite Society, and the rent of the tenant house, but much of this was used for coal bills from the previous winter and. interest on indebtedness. The minister’s salary was $600 per year for 1864 and 1865, and in October of the latter year a committee was appointed ”to devise a plan to raise the Salary of the Pastor.” 1865 ended with $8.34 in the Treasury; by spring it had been depleted to $6.94.

Still, the Trustees did not let themselves become completely preoccupied with money-raising. Shortly after the arrival of the Reverend Henry Westwood as pastor they conferred with him “in regard to the manner of receiving members by certificate, so that more cordiality, and a better acquaintance may result,” and “regarding times for administering Sacraments.” And the Sexton was directed to rent a pew or pews to the students attending church, indicating that at least a few of the young men were finding their way across Nassau Street. But there was still $50 owing to poor Brother Leggett, to be paid from the first money received from any source whatever. The next year his salary was raised to $8.00 per month, but it is questionable whether he ever received it on time.

In September 1866 an early form of Every Member Canvass was devised, with the membership divided into districts and collectors assigned to each district. Each collector was furnished with a small book “arranged in tabular form” and was given instructions on how to proceed with the collections. Assessments ranged from 1 O¢ to $1.00 each month, with 98 family units represented. Having set this up, “Hoping and believing that the Lord will abundantly bless and prosper this financial effort your Committee beg leave to be discharged.”

August 11, 2018October 6, 2020

Encourage families to sing with us!

The beauty of Christian music comes alive when children and youth feel what the lyrics say, according to Tom Shelton, PUMC’s director of children’s and youth choirs. Choir members learn good singing techniques and music theory (video link here); they participate in worship monthly, present a musical in the spring, and sing at special services throughout the year (video link here). “I want young singers to love music their whole life, not just for the time they are with me,” says Tom.

Encourage families you know to bring their children to PUMC’s choir. What they learn is invaluable. They enter wide-eyed and curious and leave as musical and global citizens. Invite newcomers to the first rehearsal on Wednesday, September 12, at 4:30 p.m. (kindergarten and first grade) and on Wednesday, September 12, at 5:30 p.m. (second through fifth grade). The first rehearsal for youth (grades 6-12) is Sunday, September 9, 5 p.m. Tom teaches the youngest children, ages three and four, during their Sunday School class.

There is no charge to be in a choir, and singers do not need to be church members.
Look for cards in the Sanford Davis Room, forward this blog post “15 reasons why your child should join PUMC’s choirs” , forward a video link showing how kids learn. or here is a link of the choirs singing Hosanna.

Or encourage those interested to email Tom@princetonumc.org.

September 1, 2017October 6, 2020

Fall Kickoff: Get Connected!

For its Fall Kickoff on September 10, Princeton United Methodist Church (PrincetonUMC) launches a new look — new pastors and a new fall worship schedule. It will have one 10 a.m. service that will be ‘live-streamed’ on Facebook at PrincetonUMC. Trey Wince will preach, followed by a “Get Connected” reception. Wince and Dr. Virginia (Ginny) Cetuk have joined Erik (Skitch) Matson on the pastoral staff.

Earlier that day (8 a.m. breakfast) Ed Felten will speak about his days in the White House as Deputy Chief Technology Officer. After the service, in the coffee hour, there will be a Discipleship Fair – to learn about opportunities starting in September and October. Adult education classes begin September 17 at 8:45 a.m.

Sunday School students will worship with their families before going to classes. Youth from grades 6 to 12 will be in the sanctuary for worship; they meet for dinner and youth group on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Traditional worship at PrincetonUMC features the Chancel Choir and the Bell Choir directed by Hyosang Park and the Children’s and Youth Choirs directed by Tom Shelton, both accompanied by Christopher Williams, organist. For one Sunday per month (September 23), at an alternative worship service, a praise band will play.

A diverse congregation whose members come from many surrounding communities, backgrounds, and faith histories, PrincetonUMC is located at the corner of Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue. The church is wheelchair accessible and a nursery is available. For information, 609-924-2613 or http://www.princetonumc.org/

(This article is taken from a press release).

August 18, 2017October 6, 2020

Ed Felten speaks September 10

Dr. Ed Felten will speak about his two years in the White House on Sunday, September 10 at 8 a.m. All are welcome to the hot breakfast, prepared by Ian Macdonald and served by the United Methodist Men. That day is also the Fall Kickoff — worship begins at 10 a.m., followed by a “Get connected” fair.

A long-time member of the congregation, Ed is Princeton University’s Robert E. Kahn Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs and founding director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, which hosts the blog Freedom to Tinker. In 2015-2017 he served in the White House as Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer. Previously he he served as the first Chief Technologist at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

His research interests include computer security and privacy, and technology law and policy. He has published more than 100 papers in the research literature, and two books. His research on topics such as Internet security, privacy, copyright and copy protection, and electronic voting has been covered extensively in the popular press.

Another opportunity to hear Ed will be at the Princeton Regional Chamber luncheon on Thursday, October 5, at 11:30 a.m. at the Forrestal Marriott. Princeton United Methodist Church is a chamber member, and constituents may attend for the member price.

June 23, 2017October 6, 2020

Introducing Ginny Cetuk and Trey Wince

“I am humbled and delighted to be joining the Princeton United Methodist Church on what I think is the most exciting journey in life, namely, being ever growing disciples of Jesus Christ,” says Virginia (Ginny) Samuel Cetuk. She will preach on Sunday, July 2, at 10 a.m., and the service will include Holy Communion.

Ginny has been appointed as Interim Administrative Pastor for 2017-2018, along with Trey Wince, who was appointed as Interim Worship Pastor. Essentially they are splitting the job of our former Senior Pastor, Jana Purkis-Brash.

“My favorite things in life include asking questions, exploring big ideas, reading books about things I know nothing about, gardening, and getting to meet and work with others,” says Ginny. “All of these things happen in church!”

Born and raised in northeastern Pennsylvania, Ginny has a BA from Lycoming College and a Masters in Divinity from Drew Theological Seminary. She was Associate Pastor of the Martinsville United Methodist Church and then staff chaplain at Overlook Hospital for two years followed by an additional three years as Hospice Chaplain.

Returning to Drew in 1981, she served as Associate Dean for 32 of her 35 years at the school. She also served as Dean of Students for two years and interim Dean of the Theological School for one year. She met her husband, Norman Cetuk, in college; they live in Bridgewater and have two sons, Russell and Mitchell.

During his years of church leading, planting, consulting and pastoring, Trey earned a reputation as a vibrant, fun-loving leader. He knows the area well because he served as pastor of Kingston UMC.

He majored in English at Baylor University and has a master’s degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served as College Director (serving students at Vanderbilt, Belmont and Lipscomb Universities), Director of Young Adult Ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, and international missions coordinator with Joshua Expeditions.

Currently Trey is Director of New Disciples at the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference and he will continue part-time in that position. Trey and his wife, Debbie, live in Kingston with their son, Liam. Trey’s first sermon will be July 16 at 10 a.m.

WELCOME!

June 21, 2017October 6, 2020

Rev. Catherine Williams: Her New Job

Congratulations to Rev. Dr. Catherine Williams, celebrated as a recipient of the Women of Color scholarship program and n ewly appointed as Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lancaster Theological Seminary. She has been Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care here at Princeton United Methodist Church.

She completed her Ph.D. program in homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. A Forum for Theological Exploration Doctoral Fellow and Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellow, Williams’ work focused on non-mainstream preaching and bringing it into conversation with traditional preaching. She wrote about developing a distinctive, post-colonial homiletic for Trinidad and Tobago rooted in the indigenous music of calypso.

Catherine graduated summa cum laude graduate from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree. An accomplished musician, she is a teacher of piano and voice.

Her teaching experience also includes serving as a graduate instructor and teaching fellow at Princeton Seminary and as an adjunct professor at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, where she earned a Master of Divinity degree.

Lancaster Seminary President Dr. Carol E. Lytch, in announcing the appointment, said, “I believe our community will be richly blessed with the teaching, ministry, and vibrant presence of Dr. Williams.”