Ever laughed so hard you started crying? That’s exactly what our hand-picked party games do! Grab another person and a snack to share, and join us for Celebrity, Four-On-A-Couch, and Heads-Up on Sunday, July 30th, from 7pm-9pm in the Sanford-Davis Room.Summer Fun Nights
Every second week, starting July 16, enjoy an informal time for people of all ages to come together, play games, create new friendships and deepen others.
Thanks to Hyosang Park, Skitch Matson, and Pixar, the first Summer S
unday Night was great fun for all. Hyosang cooked her delectible specialties (plus of course popcorn!) and Skitch screened the Pixar favorite “Inside Out.”
Is Monopoly or Scrabble your favorite board game, or have you latched on to a trendy favorite? Bring it to Board Game Night on Sunday, July 16, 7-9 p.m.
Contact Skitch Matson (skitch@Princetonumc.org) if you can help plan Board Game Night or one of the other nights, like Party Game Night on July 30. It’s Parent Date Night on August 13, (bring your children to PUMC for a movie while you go on a date) and a chance to win big at Jeopardy on August 27.
Do you have friends you’d like to invite to church without seeming pushy? Start by bringing them to Summer Sunday Nights.
ASP Team Works in Flood-Ravaged Town:
With hammers and saws they work in Appalachia, then return to share their inspiring stories about making homes warmer, safer, and drier. For four decades Princeton United Methodist Church has sent teen and adult volunteers to work for the Appalachia Service Project (ASP).
This year’s 23-person team will go to Rainelle, West Virginia. Founded as a sawmill town (the sawmill is gone now), it was ravaged by flash floods on June 24, 2016. At least 200 people from the 1,500 people in Rainelle had to be rescued, and residents fear that it will become a ghost town. ‘Here is a video. “It looked like a war zone,” said a state trooper.
Skitch Matson, youth pastor, leads the team along with Mary Jo and Rich Kahn, Christine Shungu, Robert Scheffler, Matthew Ireland, and Dan Bartell. Don’t miss this inspiring worship service on Sunday, July 9, at 10 a.m.
ASP is a Christian ministry, but it is open to those of any faith. It aims to inspire hope and service — instilling compassion for other people and a fresh appreciation for one’s place and purpose in the world. Preparation was an eight-month process that included learning Appalachian culture and raising funds with an auction dinner and Super Bowl hoagies.
See them, hear them — youths talk about race relations
Youth from Princeton and around the nation will talk about race on Saturday morning, April 23. Grace Penn, who attends PrincetonUMC, is the administrator for the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, which has its national conference here. Anyone may attend. Meanwhile students at Princeton High School discuss “See Me, Hear Me,” an open, honest dialogue with today’s youth. Reservations are needed. Details here.
Bring the Family: January 16 Interfaith Service: Martin Luther King Jr.
Every year the Princeton Clergy Association holds an Interfaith Service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , and this year our church will host it. On Monday, January 16 at 7 p.m. people from all walks of life and from different faith communities will converge on our corner of Nassau Street. At this tumultuous moment in our nation’s history, this will be an opportunity to welcome our neighbors — to pray together and sing together.
The preacher, Minister William D. Carter , is also a singer-songwriter (here is a clip from his concert at the Princeton Shopping Center) and the former minister of music at First Baptist Church of Princeton. Currently he is a third-year student at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served in South Africa and directs an organization that plans interfaith events at the United Nations. He is also scheduled to entertain at One Table Cafe, the ‘pay what you can’ dinner program at Trinity Episcopal Church, on Friday, January 20.
Bring the family! “Attendees are encouraged to bring their children, as the service will conclude by 8:30 pm to enable them to go to bed in a timely way on a school night,” says Rev. Robert Moore, treasurer of the Princeton Clergy Association and executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action which co-sponsors the service.
A freewill offering will be split equally between the United Negro College Fund and the Coalition for Peace Action (www.peacecoalition.org or 609-924-5022).
Hosting this special service gives a a chance to put our mission statement into action — to demonstrate that we are indeed a diverse community, that we joyfully reach out to serve all people.
Youth News—Meet Jacob Davis
The youth program at PUMC includes multiple “Youth Staff” volunteers who dedicate their time to mentoring our teens. Most of these “Staff,” however, are new to PUMC. So, for the next few months we will showcase a short interview with each youth staff, allowing us to know a bit more about them and their passion for our youth. Hopefully this short piece will give you the courage to talk with them the next time you see them!
Blessings,
Pastor Skitch Matson
Q. Tell us a bit about where you’re from.
I was born and raised in Largo, FL right by the beach (near Tampa). After High School I joined the Coast Guard and spent a few years moving around from Virginia to North Carolina, and then eventually back to Jacksonville, FL.
Q. Do you have any past experiences working with youth?
For the past six years I have been working on and off with youth. I have volunteered at my home church when I was around, went on trips with my old youth group as an adult leader (but still a kid at heart), spent 2 weeks working at the Duke Youth Academy a few summers ago, and most recently spent just over a year as a small group leader at a youth group in Jacksonville with my wife, Rachel.
Q. How long have you been in Princeton?
We have now been in Princeton for almost 4 months. We moved here so I could finish my degree in Religion at TCNJ, and my wife, Rachel, could attend Princeton Theological Seminary.
Q.Why are you a Youth Staff?
I am a youth staff because youth matter so much to our church as well as our communities, which is often forgotten. They have great insight, valued praises, and real concerns; their voices need to be heard within our communities and congregations. It is a blessing to work with and walk through life with these students during this formative time in their lives.
Q. What does Youth Staff mean to you?
It’s a group of adults who come together with the hope that God will use us to show each student the endless love God has for each of them.
Q. I hear you like good books, what’s one that you would recommend? “Reaching Out: Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life” by Henri J.M. Nouwen.
Written by Isabella Dougan
Training for God’s Work
Bishop John Schol gives the Greater New Jersey conference a report card here Among his recommendations are to reach out like a new church (hint: sponsor an Easter Egg hunt NOT on church grounds) and to “take the church to the community”
- Plan “bridge events” designed explicitly to draw people from the community by providing for them something they need or enjoy — block parties, free concerts, seasonal events, parenting classes, sports camps, or school supply giveaways, etc. Source: Get Their Name by Bob Farr, Doug Anderson, and Kay Kotan (Abingdon Press, 2013)
- Hold these events off church property or outside the church walls in venues where people feel comfortable and naturally congregate.
As church leaders, we are urged to take training.
Here is the link to “Back to Basics” training for church council members, available in various locations on January 28, 29, or 31. Also February 21 or 23. Those who have attended say the conference training is excellent!
The conference’s United Methodist Women have a winter retreat on Monday, February 20 at the Pinelands (former Mt. Misery!) and the registration deadline is supposed to be January 15.
Growing the Church Younger on March 5 is an intriguing conference in Wayne.
Paul Nixon, author of “Weird Church: welcome to the 21st century” will be the keynote speaker at OUTBOUND, A Day on Evangelism, on Saturday, March 25, in Wayne.
On a national level, the Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church offer a plethora of resources. These webinars are available even retroactively and are easy to sign up for.
Leading Congregations Effectively in a Global World, webinar Tuesday, January 17, 7 pm
Church Council: What’s My Role? webinar Tuesday, January 27, 7 pm
What Every Child Should Experience – downloadable guide for teachers and leaders
Older Adult Ministry – how can adults help form children’s faith – webinar to listen to
Baby Boomer spirituality webinars starting Tuesday, January 24, 7 p.m.
How to talk politics in your church without being unChristian, webinar Monday, January 23, 2 p.m.
Healthy Family series: setting financial goals, webinar Tuesday, February 7, 2 p.m.
Here are some downloadable booklets from Discipleship Ministries
From Numbers to Narratives – using a narrative budget
How to Have a Courageous Conversation
Writing as a Calling, Ministry, & Work
Here are some downloadable booklets from a non-denominational organization Practical Resouces for Churches
It offers many of the resources that we can find at UMC national headquarters, and the webinars require membership, but some are worth looking at. The booklets seem to be free.
On a local level, Princeton Community Works offers useful workshops on Monday, January 30.
Samples: the Three R’s of Volunteer Management, How to Run a Productive Meeting, Tools and Techniques to Build an engaged and Motivated Team.
Overwhelming? Yes. Less daunting if you attend with a friend. Seek out someone you don’t know, someone different from you, and offer this as a bonding experience. You and the church will be enriched. 
Chinese New Year: Fellowship Lunch January 22
We will celebrate the Chinese New Year at a luncheon with our church family on Sunday, January 22, even though China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and other countries observe New Year’s Day on January 1 of the Lunar Calendar.
As you all aware there are twelve animals symbolizing the 12 year cycle. The year of 2017 is ‘Rooster’ – a tenth symbol comes after Monkey.
Here would be a good place to tell a story that every child in Korea is told about regarding these twelve animals. God gathered all twelve 
animals – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. He told them there will be a race to decide which animal is superior. So they started the race. All animals started to run as fast as they could.
To make the story short I cannot tell you what happened during the entire race. But who do you think won the race? Tiger? Dog? Maybe Horse? It was the Rat. He rode on the top of Ox’s head. And he jumped in front of him a moment before the Ox was about to pass the finishing line. Rat took the first place and Ox came in the second place. The story tells that how cunning a rat is. How an ox is a hard working animal.
By the way, the pig came in the last. Well, so a pig perceives as a slow and lazy animal in our culture.
Getting back to our Luncheon– there will be Chinese, Philippines and Korean food. The menu is a top secret. You will find out when you come to celebrate with your church family. But here is a piece of the secret. You will get a chance to make your own dumplings and take it home to cook for those who want to try. Mark your calendar — it is on January 22 after the 11 am service. Hope to see you all there. —
Hyosang Park, Music Director
One day at @PrincetonUMC: #SocialMediaSunday
In many churches around the world September 25, 2016, is “Social Media Sunday,” the day set aside to use digital devices intentionally to share their life of faith with the world. In that spirit, here are some of today’s videos and pictures taken at Princeton United Methodist Church.
In worship, the Ensemble (Charles Hayes, Harran Williams, Michael Andrew Cabus, Eileen Francisco-Cabus) sang Charles Hayes’ God’s Hands.
Cindy Gordon, in the Children’s Time, illustrated how Jeremiah challenged God’s people to take risks. Machaela Irving read the scripture, and Rev. Jana Purkis-Brash preached on the Jeremiah selection of this week’s lectionary (Jeremiah 32:1-3a; 6-15) in a sermon entitled “Step Out in Faith.”
The Chancel Choir, directed by Hyosang Park, sang Michael Burkhardt’s The Lord is Beautiful
Meanwhile, in Sunday School, The toddlers experience Christ’s love with delight-filled play, and they also practice the habit of simple prayer, with Mae Potts and Marie Griffiths.
First to third graders, led by Yvonne Macdonald and Sharon Distase, helped praise God with a cheerleading chant.
Skitch Matson, in the Youth Room, had teens working in small groups on the concept of Sabbath, as in Exodus 16.
One of the two adult classes, Contemporary Issues, met in the library to discuss Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers by Kwame Anthony Appiah.
The Heart of Our Faith class met in Fellowship Hall, where Rev. Don Brash led a discussion on Persevering Hope.
After church, the Handbell Choir practiced. From noon to 1:30, church doors were open, and the Tiffany Task Force gave a half dozen families (from Iceland to Venezuela) the stained glass window tour.
That evening, the youth choir practiced for their anthem next week, followed by dinner and fellowship.
PUMC didn’t call attention to Social Media Sunday this year, but we are trying to use every media possible to welcome visitors and help each other grow as Christ’s disciples. We believe that with more than 1 million new social mobile users added each day, we need to use new tools to be where people are. If you would like to help — taking videos and photos, using media like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and more, email the Comm Team, communications@PrincetonUMC.org. Smart phones at the ready!
Summer Sharing: Mikaela Langdon
Mikaela Langdon will speak about her mission trip to Oahu on Sunday, September 4, at 11:15 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall, after the 10 a.m. service. Mikaela ‘grew up’ in this church, faithfully participating in choirs and the Appalachia Service Project. Her parents are Malisa Winn Langdon and Scott Langdon, and her brother, Connor, is a senior football player at West Summer Windsor-Plainsboro South.
Mikaela is a senior at Rowan University, studying Writing Arts. Over the summer of 2015, she traveled to Hawaii with CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) where she spent seven weeks growing in her faith and sharing the Gospel. During her time there, she volunteered at an aquarium and helped grow Cru at the University of Hawaii.