Image by Isabella Dougan
July 19, 2020: ‘Parable of the Weeds’ and ‘Life In The Spirit’
Images Source: Google images
COMMUNITY SERVICE SPOTLIGHT
Thank you, Cornerstone Community Kitchen!
Cornerstone Community Kitchen (CCK) has been continuing its mission of addressing hunger needs in our community, but in a very different way than they did pre-COVID. They continue to gather food items from a variety of sources, including prepared meals from TASK, produce from farms, and non-perishables.
Our volunteers put these items together into take-out packages that are distributed to guests through the door that leads to the fellowship hall, where the guests are waiting outside to receive them. The clothing closet has also opened in a limited, but exciting way, with selected items available outside for people to choose from. Kudos to the CCK team who has re-imagined their ministry in light of these challenging circumstances.
Outreach Initiatives—an opportunity to make a difference
Since March, our nation has been impacted by a series of stunning events and traumas. In less than four months our world has been turned upside down. Who would have expected that over 110,000 Americans would have died from the coronavirus, a pandemic which has swept the world, with New Jersey and New York the worst-hit areas? Who would have expected 40,000,000 Americans would be out of work? On top of this, the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police proved to be the fuel to ignite an explosion of protests, demonstrations and calls for the end of racial discrimination sweeping our nation.
So many lives have been shattered, broken almost beyond recognition. The need for healing and reconciliation is everywhere.
The Outreach Committee welcomes ideas on a program you could begin!
As we hope to move toward recovery in the months ahead, Princeton UMC has funds earmarked as seed money to start new programs to serve the community. From seeds, a mighty forest grows. We – you actually – are invited to help shape events, find a new normal, and build toward a better future. John Wesley’s rule rings truer than ever: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, as long as you can.”
Countless issues face us on the way to healing and recovery. For instance, how do we:
- help our church, community, and nation heal the brokenness revealed by racial inequalities?
- assist people whose jobs are no longer there?
- assist students with new remote learning challenges?
- strengthen our outreach to a shell-shocked community forced to hide and shelter?
- address and cure deep-seated prejudices and racial and other inequalities?
- help the healing process for a community that has gone through these savage crises?
Do you have ideas for sustainable solutions that will help?
We welcome your specific proposals in writing on how you might use funds to begin new initiatives for recovery. Please submit your ideas or refer any questions to:
Karen Longo-Baldwin (klongobaldwin@gmail.com)
or
Jeff Sayre (Jeffcsayre@verizon.net).
We invite your ideas and your personal involvement!
Your Outreach Committee
Posted by Isabella Dougan
For Children: The Curious Garden
The Curious Garden,
by Peter Brown,
helped illustrate the sermon
for Sunday, July 12.
The sermon was based on the Parable of the Sower, the lectionary passage for this week, from Matthew 13.
Princeton UMC Prayer Vigil Culminates in Evening Service
Before May 25, 2020, 8 minutes and 46 seconds was an innocuous span of time. That changed tragically on the day George Floyd died after being held down for 8 minutes and 46 seconds by a police officer who ignored his repeated cries of “I can’t breathe.“ On June 9, as a culminating event for its five-day prayer vigil to stop racism, Princeton UMC invited the public to participate in a service of prayer and personal witness against systemic racism.
Held on the front lawn of the church, the service began with a Time of Silence and Prayer accompanied by the somber music of bells and ending with a reading of the names of Black men, women, and children victimized by police. Here is a link to the program.
Pastor Jenny Smith Walz then invited those gathered to “put words to the pain and struggle that has occurred for so long” by sharing their thoughts and experiences with racism. Many of those who shared think of themselves as caring, as sensitive to the struggles of minorities, but as one volunteer said, “after talking to people of color, I realize racism goes deeper than I ever imagined.” Another, who grew up in the North during segregation, recalled visiting friends in the South when she was a young woman. Getting off the bus she saw on the water fountain the sign Whites Only. “I never talked about what I saw with my friends during that visit, but I returned home realizing how my Black friends must have felt,” she said.
Evangeline Burgers warned against complacency, saying “You can get comfortable reading books [about racism] and going to rallies; you can start to think ‘I am doing something.’ I pray that I don’t let a day go by that I forget my white privilege.” Princeton UMC’s director of children’s ministry closed with a fervent prayer” “Don’t let the fires in our hearts tonight be extinguished.”
Pastor Ginny Cetuk closed the sharing witness part of the service by acknowledging that racism is tolerated in society and our institutions – even the church. “These have been a challenging and frightening few weeks, and I get so very discouraged. But I also realize that I am not alone, that together, we can make significant change.”
As the service moved toward its conclusion, Pastor Jenny challenged those there and those watching virtually to continue to explore and study our own part in contributing to racism in our communities and to pray for guidance observing that “prayer can feel like a wih we put up to Heaven, but prayer creates space in us for God to come in, for the Holy Spirit to show what we need to understand about ourselves.” As she spoke, she picked up a glass jar that had been filled with beans, a Witness Jar. “Thirty-seven million Black people live in the United States. Take a jar, a cup, any container and gather these 37 million represented by beans, buttons, coins; say their names as you pray and find a way to keep them in front of us,” she asked.
Prayer and work to end racism can continue. To access resources – and to contribute resources you have found, go to this link on PrincetonUMC.org.)
Recommended Reading: ‘Mr. Tiger Goes Wild’
Meet Peter Brown, author and illustrator of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, read by Pastor Jenny on July 5, 2020 during Children’s Time.
Here is the story as presented by Storybook Theater.
Relocation Report: Pat H.
Pat H. reports that she moved to North Carolina in 2013, following her family. “I don’t miss the snow at all!” She prefers to be represented, visually, by one of her beautiful quilts.
PAST What persons/activities/tasks/
I was greatly influenced and grew in my faith by Bill Jacobsen and Peggy Fullman who led multiple systematic Bible studies. Jim Harris, Ruth Woodward, and Beverly Burdwood encouraged my creative endeavors. For the Princeton UMC, I used photographic skills for the new member slide shows, made artwork for posters and capital campaign publicity, and served on Outreach and Membership committees at various times. I was the second church webmaster during the years that we were part of the Web Empowered Church (that organization no longer exists) and was a circuit rider for the NJ Annual Conference to help other churches set up websites. Trey Gillette set up the website that followed the Web Empowered Church site and I was the webmaster for that until I moved away in 2013. Abu Ibrahim is now doing a wonderful job with that website.
PRESENT: What is your current job, family, or retirement situation? What milestones did you or family members experience since you moved?
I am currently retired. I do a lot of photography and quilting. I mostly make baby quilts for my family and for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at our Hospital. I make port pillows for cancer patients and an occasional Habitat for Humanity home dedication ceremony quilt. I love to read, swim, bike, walk on our gorgeous NC beaches, and visit family.
HOW are you and your /your church/workplace congregation trying to build community despite social distancing? Or how are you coping with stress?
I currently belong to a large Southern Baptist church which does a lot of local disaster recovery work (meals and construction) following hurricanes and this Corona Virus period. I am involved in a Bible study and Sunday school Class. Our worship services will resume this Sunday, May 31. We have not had as many Corona Virus cases and deaths as you have had in NJ and surrounding states. I have had plenty to do at home during the Stay at Home period here but things are now beginning to return to normal.
END RACISM RESOURCES
In its response to white supremacy, racism — and the police brutality that has resulted in nationwide protests — the United Methodist Church has this to say:
“The denomination’s Council of Bishops called for every United Methodist “to name the 
egregious sin of racism and white supremacy and join together to take a stand against the oppression and injustice that is killing persons of color.” It added: “The United Methodist Church has created an advertising campaign, #EndRacism, in an effort to actively engage in the ministry of dismantling racism and promoting racial justice. Logo courtesy of resourceumc.org.”
It also issued a statement saying, “The United Methodist Church has mounted a denomination-wide campaign, “United Against Racism,” that urges its members not only to pray, but to educate themselves and have conversations about the subject, and to work actively for civil and human rights.”
We at PUMC have compiled “End Racism” resources to help us better understand the Black Lives Matter Movement, systemic racism in the criminal justice system, social repercussions of slavery, and inequality in America.
At this moment in history, white people have become allies of black people fighting for racial justice. These resources addressing racism and anti-racism include lists for all ages as well as for both white and black families.
This extensive collection of books, articles, podcasts, films, videos, songs, poems is curated to include resources sourced from other lists. It will hopefully help us learn and have conversations about racism as it affects every aspect of our society. We invite you to navigate through the resources you like and select what to read or watch and be informed.
If you find something to add, please email it to communications@PrincetonUMC.org and tag it with #praywithusPUMC on your social media page.
—- Isabella Dougan
#praywithusPUMC to End Racism Prayer Guide 5
DAILY PRAYER TO END RACISM
DAY FIVE
DAY OF MATURITY – HANDS & FEET 
-
God’s Word for Today
John 4:15
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
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Reflection
At the end of the healing process, if we don’t want to get ill again, we need to make the change that we want to see in our life. In this scripture passage, we can see that it is important to ask for what we need. The Samaritan woman is asking Jesus to give her the living water and only once she is asking Him, He can give it to her. In this day of Prayer Vigil, we are focusing on our needs, to understand exactly what we are requesting in our lives and for the world. God is hearing us. God will embrace all our needs and requests. By understanding what we really need in order to end racism and to create the real community of all living creatures together, we will be able to receive the right guidance for our Hands and Feet to make it happen.
Recall that Jews and Samaritans were two ethnic-cultural groups who did not mingle with one another. And yet here, they come together through service. Jesus asks, “will you give me a drink?” And African-Americans are asking, “will you let me breathe?” It is through compassionate service for each other that the two communities can become family.
Let’s take this day to put the light on what is going on in our country as much as what is going on in ourselves from the action perspective.
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Prayer and contemplation
What do you really need and how can you ask for it to benefit all involved?
What do you/we need to do in order to end racism, racial tensions, and racial inequalities?
What new direction can you/we decide to follow and how can we make it happen?
How can you/we make sure to commit to the new resolutions taken?
How do you hold yourself accountable in the long run?
We invite you to light a candle, take a cross or a bible, and go simply in a calm space and start breathing for a few seconds.
Shine the light on the things that you need, on the things that you want to change or to be changed. Shine the light on the action you want to take and sustain.
Ask God to support you in your pain and towards happiness.
Ask the Holy Spirit to heal you and everyone.
Ask the Son, Christ, to be with us and in us so we can not only believe, not only follow but abide.
Together we pray.
We believe there is a way to put the human first and not his/her appearance. There is a way to see love, God, and Jesus in each of us and all around us. We pray for not falling into the trap of division, of nurturing separation amongst humans, of playing the game of destruction that darkness wants us to play by forcing us to choose one side of the battlefield whereas Jesus taught us that there is a way out of the battlefield, a third way, a universal solution, which is the one of reconciliation with God and with one another, the one of the Living Church that is the one human family, where the Holy Spirit is always dwelling, nurturing and bringing us out of the division, towards reconciliation and unity, above and beyond all forms. We believe that today is a day when all of humanity will come together, be reconciled, and love each other in one universal community of humans and of all living creatures, under the banner of unconditional love and altruism.
Let’s end racism, once and for all. 
One human family, in God.
Click here for the Prayer Guide Introduction
Posted by Isabella Dougan