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Help give homeless children the best summer ever!

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For homeless and vulnerable children in our community, summer often means facing dangerous streets, not having enough food to eat, suffering significant learning loss and missing out on lots of fun. Hard economic times have increased the number of families coming to HomeFront, for help….and they are turning to us.

Can you sponsor a homeless child for HomeFront’s camp program this summer?  One child, one week: $135. We will be gathering a special collection through June 1 to spread God’s love among the most vulnerable members of our immediate community.
Please make your check payable to Princeton UMC and enter: HomeFront Summer Camps in the memo line. Your gift will be collected and blessed with our regular offering.  Thank you for your generosity.

Other opportunities to serve the homeless families of Mercer County through HomeFront:
-volunteers age 17-25 are needed to staff summer camp
–volunteers of any age are needed for administrative help
-volunteers for HomeFront’s GED program: especially in math
-matching gift donations to renovate a large new housing facility
–donations: new linens, housewares, furniture, to equip transitional homes
-large freezer for donated food

To help, visit HomeFrontNJ.org or call 609-989-9417, x 107.

 

 

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UMM Breakfast: Summer Camps by Home Front

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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.

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Children in Mission: May 10

group photo kits P1010888 cropped During Lent, the 2nd-5th grade Sunday School Students collected supplies and bagged hygiene kits which Church World Service will distribute to those in need. Thanks to all who participated!! We made 31 kits and learned about service in a hands on way. All the teachers were very proud of the enthusiasm for helping others that the children demonstrated.

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On Sunday May 10 during 9:30 Worship, we will bless these kits before mailing them to CWS for distribution. The children will have the opportunity to help with the presentation. 

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Hyosang Park, solo handbells on 6/7

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One person, two bells is the usual method for playing handbells. In fact, fewer than a dozen solo handbell artists using four octave handbells concertize in the Eastern United States.

This rare kind of concert will be held on Sunday, June 7, at 4 p.m., when PUMC’s music director, Hyosang Park performs. Hyosang and pianist Akiko Hosaki comprise Duo Grazioso, and they attract wide renown.

Duo Grazioso will also make a special appearance on Saturday, May 9 at 4 p.m. when the ringers from Westminster Choir College will perform. Tickets are $20, $15 for seniors.

Hyosang directs the PUMC handbell choir, which plays for worship on second Sundays. Four ringers from that choir == Anna Gillette, Alex Farkas, Robert Scheffler, and Bill Gardner — will contribute to the June 7th program.

So come and bring your friends and those who love handbells! This concert is free, and the freewill offering will benefit the Ministry Fund.

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Do you have an app for that?

Our world is dominated by electronic communications and devices, and now we have a way to make contributions to the church through direct electronic means.

Through our Princeton United Methodist website, those wishing to make a contribution may do so now. Just go to princetonumc.org/giving to begin. Through this page, donors may use direct withdrawal from their banking or saving account or from their credit/debit card of choice.  Donors have an option of making a onetime gift or have it withdrawn continuously on the schedule chosen.

Not only may gifts be made to our operating, capital or matching giving opportunities, but also funds may be designated to the Appalachia Service Project, our Cornerstone Community Kitchen, or other designated options.

You will find a QR code on that page, if that’s what you prefer. It’s a different kind of “selfie!”

 

 

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Bishop John Schol: Pray for Nepal and Baltimore

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I and United Methodists around the world grieve deeply about the impact of the earthquake in Nepal and the unrest in Baltimore. I call all of our congregations this weekend to pray for the people of Baltimore and Nepal. James 5:13-16 is a powerful scripture on prayer. It includes these lines: If any among us are suffering, pray… The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. The people of Nepal and Baltimore need the powerful and effective prayers of United Methodists.

In Nepal, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake has killed thousands and destroyed homes, buildings and communities. In Baltimore, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American male died while in police custody.

The earthquake in Nepal has shattered lives. We as United Methodists have already begun to mobilize relief and recovery efforts by raising money and supporting churches and local organizations in Nepal. The United Methodist Church began its work in Nepal 60 years ago when we partnered to open a clinic. Today we have five missionaries in Nepal and they and their families are all safe. Our recovery work for the people of Nepal will span many years and I invite you to be generous with your prayers and giving.

A string of deaths of African-American men by police officers has set many communities on edge. For eight years I was the bishop of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and I know the people and communities of Baltimore. It is a dynamic city with outstanding leaders and people. The violent protest in Baltimore is a struggle of larger issues of racism and poverty. There is fear that the system does not treat people equally. I call on United Methodists to pray for the family of Freddie Gray, the leaders and residents of Baltimore and for each of us to work toward healing the wounds of racism and poverty.

The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Let us pray for the people of Nepal and Baltimore. Let us work in our own communities to address the injustices of poverty and racism and to be good stewards of God’s creation.

Keep the faith!

John Schol, Bishop
The United Methodist Church

Greater New Jersey
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Welcome to the Oasis!

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WELCOME TO THE OASIS! This Sunday, for Communiversity, Princeton United Methodist Church will show radical hospitality — opening its doors to foot-weary Princeton visitors. We will offer rest rooms, table seating, sunscreen, and a toddler area. This “Oasis” will even feature a sandbox for toddler play.

The teens will sell baked goods for the Appalachia Service Project and the handbell choir will play.

It’s all in PUMC’s mission statement —

To be a place where ALL are welcome. We embrace and celebrate the vast diversity of the people in our communities, our country and our world.

More than 40,000 people are expected to attend.

 

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To be a place where all are welcome

sar posterHave you noticed the Stand Against Racism poster in the downstairs hall and in storefronts around town? Merchants who support the Stand Against Racism campaign, by putting the signs in the window, are featured in a two-page color spread in Town Topics this week. The ad was sponsored by an anonymous donor to Not in Our Town, an interfaith, interracial group to which our church belongs. Special thanks to Joy Chen — a member of PUMC who is also vice president of the Princeton Merchants Association and proprietor of JoyCards — for designing the poster.

Princeton United Methodist Church and its members are committed to this cause. Our  vision statement says that we aim to be a place where ALL are welcome. “We embrace and celebrate the vast diversity of the people in our communities, our country, and our world.”

Consider following the Not in Our Town Princeton blog, a curated selection of media coverage and a calendar of pertinent events.

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The Gospel According to Calypso

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Many value the Calypso – the indigenous music of Trinidad and Tobago –  exclusively as tourist or Carnival entertainment, says  Catherine Williams, pastoral care assistant.

“However there is much that is akin to preaching in this genre, and the calypsonians themselves would be the first to admit it,” says Catherine. She returned to her home country of Trinidad & Tobago to research her doctoral thesis. “It was my delight to discover anew this cultural gem from my country of origin, and to use it as a lens through which to focus on local preaching.”

Catherine will speak at the Circle of Friends meeting on Tuesday, April 14, at 10:30 a.m. at Rocky Hill’s Trinity Church. The Circle of Friends, part of United Methodist Women, meets bimonthly. RSVP to 609-924-2613 and big a bag lunch; beverage and dessert will be provided. All women are welcome.

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A January class of Homiletics students at the West Indies School of Theology in Trinidad and Tobago.
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“My help comes from the Lord”

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Such a scurry, in the 4th/5th grade class, to cut out flowers, illustrating both the Garden of Gethsemane and this month’s memory verse. Now it hangs outside Room 204, and it reminds us that after the time of trial came joy, and the fulfillment of the promise, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).

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