Taylor’s book is described by the publisher, Abingdon Press.
Grounded in the real-life context of experience and the encouragement of relatable stories, plus providing an interactive process for meaningful conversations, reflection, and application, two questions shape the book’s content:
1. What every day experiences open the door to compassion’s movement in our lives?
2. How do we recognize and embrace such encounters to cultivate rich expressions of “compassionating” lives and leadership?
By learning to be compassionate just as God is, we become more authentically connected to one another and expand our awareness of the God who is always here.
On Communion Sunday, June 7, 2020, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz preached the second sermon titled “Move-In,” based on John 1: 1-18, in the “Longing to Belong” Worship series. As her message was about belonging, for this week’s reading she recommended:
“Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone” by Brené Brown
The book published by Random House Publishing Group, 2017, deals with how to build and maintain connections and a sense of belonging amid the anger and unrest linked with feelings of unbelonging.
In “Braving the Wilderness,” Brené Brown redefines what truly belonging means to most people, especially in this age of increased polarization. She says, “True belonging does not require you to change who you are. It requires you to be who you are.”
The book also deals with those struggling with loneliness, isolation, and disconnection while longing to belong. Because loneliness is dangerous and can contribute to early death, Pastor Jennycalls on us to “find ways to reconnect with other people, overcome our fear and grow in our compassion and love for one another.”
If you feel like you do not fit in and have feelings of anger, or suffer from loneliness, read“Braving the Wilderness.” Also, watch this video
For Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz read “The Day When God Made Church” at children’s time. Paraclete Press, the publisher, describes — “Children will learn the story of Pentecost: the sights, sounds, and events of that miraculous day described in the Book of Acts. They will also discover who the Holy Spirit is and how God calls each of us to follow Jesus.” Read an excerpt here.
In the wrap up week of the Telling the Story sermon series, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz explains that Paul’s letter to the Philippians reveals that telling a story about God helps define our Narrative Identity.
Narrative Identity has three parts — agency, connectivity, and meaning — as explained in this Tedx video.
He is prison but is quite free – Paul has agency. He is evangelizing effectively behind bars
He is prison but is not isolated – Paul has connectivity and is writing about connection.
He ascribes meaning to his imprisonment – it empowers him to spread the gospel in new ways. (Several comments during the sermon linked the concept of meaning to Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning).
Pastor Jenny invites everyone to tell their own stories. You can, indeed, tell your story to yourself or someone you know. You can write it, or do a selfie video on your phone. Jenny offers this way, on FlipGrid — click here
“Tell us a story about a new story you are trying to write,” she invites.
“Maybe you’ve discovered that a story you tell about yourself, others, the world, the present circumstances, God, etc., is not helpful or true. Maybe you’re discovering that a story you’ve told is no longer serving you. Tell us about this.
Tell us about a story you are hearing God tell about you or others or the world.
Tell us about a time when someone else has helped you tell a different, more helpful, more true story.”
In “Taking the Walk” sermon series on May 24, 2020, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz preached on “Stories We Tell.” Her sermon was based on Philippians 1: 12-21.
1st scripture – 1Peter 2: 9-10 – Peter saluting God’s chosen people
2nd scripture – Acts 1:1-11 – The promise of the Holy Spirit and the Ascension of Jesus
Pastor Jenny
In her sermon on Sunday, April 26, 2020, Rev. Jenny Smith Walz reminded us that the question, ‘Who are you,’ has been asked in many stories, in such classics as ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.’ When Alice met Caterpillar, the first thing he said to her was, “Who are you?” Alice did not know how to answer Caterpillar so she left. In our “Talking the Walk” worship series, we are putting words to our faith, telling stories of God, life, resurrection, healing, etc. This can be very hard to do, sometimes vulnerable to share. We may even think we don’t have a story to tell.
Hearing stories helps us tell our stories and strengthens our faith. Every story has a hero, not necessarily a superhero, but the main character, a protagonist. In Bible scriptures, it is easy to see that God is the hero. We read stories of Moses, Joseph, Samson,Esther. What then is our story? The stories we like best to tell are the ones where we are at the center – we are the heroes. However, we must never forget that God is the hero of our stories – a different sort of hero. He creates, calls, proclaims us into being. God gives us each a co-hero role in the story, thus bringing us into the spotlight. He calls us out of darkness into marvelous light, out of obscurity, out of chaos, out of nothingness.
In the first scripture for today, Peter is reminding the Exiles of the Dispersion who they were – troubled, persecuted, un-gathered. Yet, he brings them grace and peace. With the Covid_19 crisis, God is also reminding us how fragile our identities are. We should, therefore, embrace the truth of what Peter is telling those exiles. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
In worship, we hear a different word – ‘Enough.’ We are enough for God. not because of our greatness, not because of our accomplishments. We are God’s people because it is God who is summoning us into being, gathering us together, shaping us as his people and, telling us who we are – God’s beloved. We don’t have to become the amazing hero of the story. We only have to believe that we are called and chosen and should joyfully respond to God’s love. All we have to do now is to remember who we are and then tell our story of how God has created us, how God has chosen us, how God has called us, how God is shaping us, connecting us, equipping us, and strengthening us to love others and bring justice to this world. Because God claims us, no stereotype can define us, and no ridicule can undo us.
Pastor Jenny explained that we are constantly bombarded by questions that make us question who we are, what our identity is, how much money we have – all the things that tempt us to think that they matter in terms of our identity. God is reminding us again and again that the things that tempt us do not define our identity in Christ. The most important part of our story is not what we do or what we have but in merely being a beloved child of God. And here we are in this covid_19 crisis in a way that may make it even trickier. Even as we find ourselves in isolation, we are trying to understand what is most important and what activities are essential for our well-being.
She referred to the story of Howard Thurman, author, philosopher, theologian, educator, civil rights leader, dean of the chapel at Boston University and the first African American professor at Boston University, several decades ago. He stated that part of his identity as God’s beloved was that which his grandmother, a former slave, gave him when she kept saying over and over again to him, “you are someone.”
Thurman told the story of his family traveling in the South in the 50s when they came upon a playground. The girls wanted to play on the swings, but there was a sign that read “For Whites Only By State Law.” In explaining why they were not allowed on the playground, he said to them: “You are somebody, you are so important to God, so powerful in fact that it takes all of the state legislature, the courts, the sheriffs and policemen… it takes all these to keep two little black girls from swinging in those swings. That is how important you are! Never forget that the estimate of your importance and self-worth can be judged by how much power people are willing to use to control you and keep you in the place they have assigned you. You are two important little girls.” What a way to reinterpret that sign and to keep proclaiming their lovingness, enoughness, somebodyness amid such a terrible injustice!
As we continue our “Talking the Walk” worship series about telling our stories, “I would love to hear the stories of your beginnings and how God was a part of that beginning. So tell me a story of who you are,” announced Pastor Jenny. “Tell me a story of how you know you are God’s beloved child. Tell me a story about your belovedness, your enoughness, your somebodyness, your chosenness. Tell me a story of who you are in God.
Following Pastor Jenny’s sermon, Heather Hadley told her amazing story about how she came to be a member of Princeton United Methodist Church.
To hear the sermon live, go to the Princeton United Methodist Church Facebook page
For the complete video of the April 26 service, found on Princeton United Methodist Church Facebook page, click here
(This post is ‘in progress,’ more details to be added and it will be posted on Facebook, where you can leave comments.)
In her April 19 sermon, which begins at minute 33 on the Facebook video, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz, spoke about the first chapter of John. She referred to Science Mike, Mike McHargue, who explains how our brains help us survive and thrive. They take all the bits of information that come to us and organize them into stories, creating order from chaos. This helps our brains be more efficient. If we aren’t given stories, our brains make up stories, and this is both beautiful and dangerous. The unhelpful stories might be based on your brain’s ‘tape” that was recorded when a parent or teacher told you something that defined you, not in a good way. We need really good stories to help us make meaning out of the world we live in. We need “God-written stories” not tapes that need to be transformed through the Resurrection story.
Another birth story of Jesus is in John 1. Jesus is making an appearance in the Flesh. And we are in that story. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Pastor Jenny quoted Walter Brueggeman: “The words with which we praise God will shape the world in which we live.”
“Not only do God’s words create, but our words create. God has ‘wired us’ to create stories. When we tell our stories we are co-creating with God. We are creating the world in which we live, and the words with which we praise God shape the world in which we live.”
Jesus’ parables are stories that not only describe the Kingdom of God, they create the Kingdom of God
The more we understand our story as one that is in line with God’s story, that we are co-creators of the kingdom of God, the more our lives can shine bright like the light that God created at the very beginning. Our stories create the world we live in. We are not at the mercy of God’s story, the story that is being written about the world. We are coauthors with God.
What is your defining story? How do you tell God’s story? How do you tell your life’s story?
“Tell me a story of your beginning…” asks Pastor Jenny. Her own favorite story about her beginnings is Psalm 139: God knit us together in our mother’s womb. . .
For the children’s message on April 19, 2020, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz introduced this book, When God Made Light. by Matthew Paul Turner, illustrated by David Catrow.
One of the scripture stories for the first Sunday after Easter was from Genesis 1.
The second scripture was from John 1, a retelling of the birth of Jesus.
Live Worship at 10am on Facebook or by Phone (929-436-2866 | Meeting ID: 249 876 072 | # after next prompt)
Communion! – gather bread and juice, wine, or water ahead of time (along with your candle, cross, or bible to create your sacred space)
Virtual Palm Parade – take a horizontal photo or video of you with your palm branch – we’ll be mailing you a palm branch and a paper one you can cut out and decorate or you can find any kind of branch from your yard or your walk outdoors. Send your photos or videos to Evangeline, upload it directly here, or respond to the post on our Facebook Page. Submit them by noon on Sunday! Be sure it’s horizontal!
Children’s Time – Ms. Hyosang will be teaching us how to make a cross out of a palm frond or a strip of paper. Have one ready!
Thursday, April 9 – Maundy Thursday
Live Worship at 6pm on Facebook or by Phone (929-436-2866 | Meeting ID: 249 876 072 | # after next prompt)
Communion – gather bread and juice, wine, or water ahead of time (along with your candle, cross, or bible to create your sacred space)
Foot or Hand Washing – gather a pitcher of water, a basin or bowl, towel(s)
Friday, April 10 – Good Friday
Live Worship at 6pm on Facebook or by Phone (929-436-2866 | Meeting ID: 249 876 072 | # after next prompt)
Tenebrae – gather 7 candles or other types of light. You’ll extinguish each one at different points in the service
Sunrise Service Live Worship at 6:30am on Facebook or by Phone (929-436-2866 | Meeting ID: 249 876 072 | # after next prompt)
Sunrise Service Communion – gather bread and juice, wine, or water ahead of time (along with your candle, cross, or bible to create your sacred space)
Live Worship at 10am on Facebook or by Phone (929-436-2866 | Meeting ID: 249 876 072 | # after next prompt)
Throughout Holy Week
Daily Prayer Stations – will be in your mailed worship packet and on our Website and Facebook.
Prayer Requests
Send prayer requests to be named in worship to Pastor Skitch by 9am on Sundays or respond to the weekly Facebook post
In Search Of. . .
Do you have a working knowledge of technologies, such as Zoom, Facebook, Google, basic video creation? (or a willingness to learn?) Do you have some time to offer?
Help us deepen our PUMC community and strengthen our tools for sharing God’s love with others by sharing your time and talents! So many great ideas have been shared to help us through this time of physical distancing and sheltering at home, and we need more people to help put them in action! Contact the office if you’re ready to help.
Office Update
Tuesday, March 31, was our secretary’s last day in the office as a result of our planned office ministry reorganization. Due to the COVID-19 crisis and some other delays, we have not yet hired people for either of our open positions. So we have an interim plan:
Jasmine Cianflone will continue to produce our weekly Happenings and monthly Newsletter as our virtual communications assistant until we hire for the Administrative and Communications Associate position.
Hyosang Park, our Music Director, will be caring for our virtual bulletins and other worship support.
We’re in the process of contracting with a virtual assistant firm for short-term, part-time help until we are able to hire. This schedule is still being set.
At a minimum, you should expect that phone messages left on our office phone (609-924-2613) and emails sent to our office address will be responded to within one business day. And your postal mail will be received and cared for appropriately.
We’ll share more as this plan develops.
Remember that the church building is closed to non-staff at this time.
Let Us Know!
As our time of physical distancing, staying at home, remote learning, and virtual worship continues, as we start to find a new normal amidst an ever changing and uncertain landscape, as the end of this season looms only vaguely in the distance, the challenge and difficulty only grows. We are not wired for this. We are as ill-prepared to live in social isolation as the hospitals are to treat the whole population at once. While video technology is a wonderful gift, it’s simply not the same as seeing one another face to face and embracing one another with a hug or handshake.
This will continue to take a toll on us, and we will all respond to it differently, with varying emotions and abilities to cope.
Worship and reaching out through various ways to be in touch with others are two healing acts (of many) we can do to help ourselves and one another through this time.
Please invite others who aren’t currently connected with a church (including those who used to be part of PUMC, but perhaps have moved away) to join in our worship and other ministries. Pay attention to people you are in conversation with who are struggling, and invite them to join us.
And if YOU are struggling with anxiety, fear, isolation, loneliness, financial stress, obtaining your basic necessities, grief, etc., please let a pastor or our Circle of Care know. If you need a listening ear or if you would like someone to pray with you, do not hesitate to reach out. Someone will respond!
I miss you all dearly, and I long for the time when we will gather again.
Meet Gregg Louis Taylor, author of Here, Now, with You, subtitled ‘Six Movements of Compassion for Life and Leadership.‘
Meet 
In the wrap up week of the Telling the Story sermon series, Pastor Jenny Smith Walz explains that 
Greetings Beloved PUMC Community!