A heart-y breakfast on 2/14

2016 1 31 2015 3 8 UMM breakfast viewPolio was a dreaded disease for those who grew up in the ’40s and ’50s, and even in the 1980s the world saw about 1,000 cases a day. Join us for breakfast on Sunday, February 14, at 8 am, when Dr. Julie Ann Juliano speaks how Rotary clubs around the world are fighting to eradicate polio. Sponsored by the United Methodist Men but open to all, the tasty hot breakfast, with all the trimmings, will be in Fellowship Hall. A $5 donation is requested.
A native of Queens, Dr. Juliano graduated from New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine and did her internship at the RWJ University Hospital (Somerset). Since 1992 she has been active in the Rotary Club of Branchburg and she served as district governor. She and her husband have three daughters, and she was active in Girl Scouts for 13 years . Board certified in family medicine, she has a private practice in Branchburg, New Jersey.
The Rotary Club of Princeton meets on Tuesdays at 12:15 at the Nassau Club; it is part of an interfaith and international organization that has helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. In 1988 Rotary joined three organizations (WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Now, every dollar is being matched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A member of Princeton Rotary, architect and Rotarian Ahmed Azmy went with his wife Nadia to work as part of a vaccination team in Pakistan. The disease is still alive in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sunday Learning

Two adult classes are offered on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Both welcome ‘drop ins’ at any time.

Bill Arnold
Bill Arnold

The Heart of our Faith class is studying the book of James. says Don Brash, Theologian in Residence at PUMC. New this year — Don will be joined by Bill Arnold as co-leader of the class, known for its lively discussions from divergent points of view.

Meeting2016 feb essays in the library,  the Contemporary Issues class is reading a book of essays, The Givenness of Things, by Marilynne Robinson, who won the Pulitzer for her novel Gilead. According to the publisher, the book “investigates how the work of the great thinkers of the past, Calvin, Locke, Bonhoeffer–and Shakespeare–can infuse our lives, and calls attention to the rise of the self-declared elite in American religious and political life.” For the New York Times review, click here.

Other study groups that welcome drop ins: The United Methodist Men on Tuesday nights, the Monday Morning Group on Monday mornings.

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Carol Singing: Breakfast December 13

Celebrate the season with song at the breakfast sponsored by the United Methodist Men on December 13 in Fellowship Hall. A hot breakfast is served at 8 am, and the program starts at 8:30. Everyone is invited; a $5 donation is requested. It is such a pleasure to again welcome Dr. Karen Zumbrunn to share fascinating stories behind some of our favorite carols. The week before, on Advent Night, she is scheduled to lead the singing – a PUMC tradition for more than 20 years.

For the UMM breakfast Karen will share the fascinating stories behind such favorites as Joy to the World, The First Noel, and On Christmas Night (known as the Sussex Carol). The program will feature medieval carols as well as folk carols from Canada and Czechoslovakia (the latter was written for bagpipes!) Typically, carols are written in a language that can be shared by all. They invite communal singing. The season for singing carols is all too brief — so come and enjoy the music!

Transforming Lives in Haiti

2011 umm thompson family

Join us for breakfast on Sunday, November 8, at 8 a.m., when Elizabeth Thompson will speak about transforming lives and empowering Haitians to rise out of poverty. Sponsored by the United Methodist Men but open to all, the tasty hot breakfast, with all the trimmings, will be in Fellowship Hall. A $5 donation is requested.

Elizabeth is a grant writer on the staff of Heartline Ministries. With a masters degree in international development from Eastern University, Elizabeth had worked in emergency relief with World Vision and several other domestic and international development ministries.  She lives in Princeton with her husband and two young boys.

2011 11 umm haitiHeartline Ministries has been working in Port-au-Prince for 25 years. It offers programs to help the men, women and children of Haiti overcome poverty and transform their lives. The maternity center helps provide education and medical care before, during and after birth. The women’s education center provides training in literacy, sewing, cooking, craft work, business and life skills. It also offers direct individual assistance for health and education, assistance with adoption issues, and men’s discipleship and business training through a on site bakery.

After the 2010 earthquake Heartline Ministries created a mission and volunteer program to provide  housing and opportunities for volunteers. The organization’s guesthouse now provides safe housing  for visitors participating in mission experience trips.

Adult Ed Choices — which is for you?

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Adults have lots of education opportunities this fall. Two classes meet on Sunday mornings at 9:30. The Contemporary Issues class, in the Library, will study the Historical Figure of Jesus by EP Sanders. top right from those pictured above. This informal class focuses on issues that individuals, families, groups, and countries face in today’s world. Past topics have included changing attitudes towards religion, understanding major world religions, science and faith, and politics and religion.

The Heart of Our Faith class meets in Fellowship Hall at 9:30 on Sundays. Rev. Don Brash, PUMC’s resident theologian, will lead the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews.Hebrews is richly textured with beliefs and ideas,” says Don. “It contributed to Christian thinking about faith, worship, transcendence, ministry, the church, and more.” 

Phoebe Quaynor leads an in-depth 32-week Disciple Bible Study on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. This year’s book in the valuable series, Remember Who You Are,  focuses on such themes as the call to remember, the call to repentance, the need for renewed vision, and the place of community. It includes the major and minor Old Testament prophets (except for Daniel) plus the 13 years traditionally attributed to Paul. For a sample chapter click here.

Informal study groups meet Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, and Thursday afternoons. To join the Disciple study, contact phoebe@princetonumc.org. All the other groups welcome drop-in visitors, so just drop by!

 

Learn to Love Telling Your Story!

Looney_000“I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.”
– English evangelist, Katherine Hankey

Narratives about our lives and faith journeys are powerful sources of inspiration.  “Too often these stories remain untold, yet they can be incredibly moving for building community,” says Anna Looney, who teaches about narrative medicine in her Humanism & Medicine course at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. With masters’ degrees in English literature and sociollogy, and a doctorate in sociology, she is an assistant professor in the Medical Student Education division of RWJMS Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.

Anna is the breakfast progam speaker for this Sunday, September 20 at 8 a.m. All are welcome; a $5 donation for the delicious hot breakfast, cooked by the United Methodist Men, is suggested.

Anna will help us understand a bit more about the importance and power of personal stories for hope and inspiration. Our time together will begin with an explanation of the how narratives function as the framework for our self-awareness and personal history. Anna emphasizes emphasizing how personal narratives are central to our faith and daily walk. We’ll have an interactive opportunity to learn about ourselves and each other in a new way.

this most amazing day

“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” E. E. Cummings

On Sunday September 13 at 11 a.m. bring your lawn chair, we will be worshiping outside – in the church that God created. Gathering at Mercer Park East we will sing, and pray and revel in the natural beauty that will surround us. “The verdant green of the grass and trees will be our walls and floor,” says Scott Sherrill, pastoral assistant. “The clear blue of the sky will be our ceiling. The chorus of birds will accompany our hymns.”

2015 june picnic pic 9

Following the service at the park we will have our church community picnic. Everyone is welcome. Please bring your favorite outdoor game to enjoy. If your last name begins with A-Q bring a salad or side dish. If your last name begins with R-Z bring a dessert. This is an opportunity to enjoy the company of friends, to marvel in the beauty of God’s creation, and to celebrate the beginning of our new congregational cycle.

DIRECTIONS: From the church, take Washington Road to the Route 1 traffic circle and continue on Route 571 (Princeton Hightstown Road) for about 2.5 miles. After the high school, turn right on South Mill Road and continue for a little over 3 miles. (South Mill becomes New Edinburg Road and then Edinburg Dutch Neck Road.) Before you get to Old Trenton Road a sign will point you to Mercer County Park East. GPS address: 1346 Edinburgh Road, Princeton Junction NJ 08550.

 

UMM Breakfast: Summer Camps by Home Front

2015 may umw mercer

Connie Mercer, founder of Home Front, helps us celebrate Mothers’ Day by telling about summer camp for 165 children from struggling families. Sponsored by the United Methodist Men, who provide a delicious hot breakfast with all the trimmings, the breakfast is Sunday, May 10, 8 to 9:15 a.m. and is open to all. Suggested donation, $5.

Learning Resilience

Feelings are like waves, says Karin Brouwer. You cannot stop them from 2015 mar umm karin preferred photocoming, but you can decide which ones to surf. Karin spoke at the March breakfast, served by the United Methodist Men, on Finding Inner Resilience to Meet Life’s Challenges.  2015 3 8 UMM breakfast viewKarin trained as a trauma, abuse, and grief recovery counselor, and her insights were so valuable that everyone asked for the power point notes. Here they are.

Adult education — drop-ins welcome

Why I am an atheist who believes in God” is the book now being studied by the Contemporary Issues class, which meets in the library at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. The author, Frank Schaeffer, is the son of noted conservative evangelists who founded L’Abri, a chain of worldwide retreat centers. All are welcome, and new participants or drop-ins are encouraged. Click here for listings of other adult education opportunities — including the new study that starts this Tuesday evening.