Category: General

It’s easier to get fast food than to learn to make nutritious meals.

It’s easier to blow a paycheck on exercise machine that will sit in the basement than to coordinate a sensible schedule of diet and exercise.

It’s easier to take a self-help quiz in a magazine or on Facebook than to do the hard work of seeing a therapist.

It’s harder to keep in conversation with God than to turn to God in desperate prayers. “Last minute may be our preferred mode but it’s not God’s,” said Rev. Jana Purkis Brash in her sermon, “Thirst,” based on the lectionary verses from Jeremiah 2:4-13

“Beneath the  surface of the Jeremiah text is the theme of God’s covenant relationship with the Hebrew people. It was a hard sell. We have a huge appetite for novelty, and we are apt to forsake ordinary cistern water for fancy bottled water. But bottled water won’t slake our thirst for very long.”

Stephen Covey’s “7th habit of a highly effective person” is to “sharpen the saw.”  Covey tells about lumberjacks who keep sawing away, back and forth, with their dull saw because they are “too busy” to stop and sharpen it. The longer they work, the less effective they are. It is easy for them to imagine if they just keep going they will succeed. There is something soothing, even hypnotic, about it.

Worship is like sharpening the saw. Day in, day out, we need to do it, to be still, to devote time to prayer. As Jeremiah predicted, the cistern needs to be kept on good repair – it is our means of grace.

When our blade is sharp, and our cistern is full — God is with us, even in the anxious times.

Gather with your brothers and sisters in Christ, remember your baptism, come away from the Communion table renewed and refreshed.

Welcome folks to our church with the new blue visitor bags! Each has a thumb drive — with the church logo and address — and a postcard of our Tiffany window, plus a visitor’s guide to Princeton. Thanks to T.J. Mortensen for the thumb drives and bags!

When Newfoundland natives hear of big storms in New Jersey, like the one we just had, their joke could be “They call it ‘snowstorm,’ we call it ‘Wednesday.’ ” All women of the church are invited to hear Maria Ivy Blomgren speak on “Newfoundland, the most easterly point in North America,” at the Circle of Friends meeting on Tuesday, February 9, at 10:30 a.m. at PUMC’s Fellowship Hall.

Maria knows this part of Canada well — her grandparents (Ivy and and John Anthony) lived there, and her mother (Dorothy Muriel Anthony) was born there. She will tell about the history and traditions and also of the United Church of Canada. As a special treat, she will bring examples from her grandmother’s teacup collection.

A graduate of the University of Scranton, Maria pursued a master’s in marketing at Golden Gate University. She and her husband, owner-chef Evan Blomgren own the Rocky Hill Inn.

All PUMC women are invited to attend — and bring your friends! If possible RSVP to Robbie Vaccaro (or call her to ask a qustion) at 609-530-0331.

The Circle of Friends, a group of United Methodist Women, meets every other month (or in the months of September, November, February, and April.) Meetings include a speaker, and everyone brings a sandwich. Dessert and beverage are provided. In December the group has a festive holiday lunch and in June there is a picnic. All women in the church are invited.

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