Princeton United Methodist

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1 Princeton United Methodist In This Issue 1. Around PUMC This Month December 2018 Newsletter Around Princeton United Methodist This Month In the month of December, we have several celebrations going on. We have the Advent Craft event following worship this Sunday, the Advent Pageant Service and dinner on December 9th, & the Circle of Friends Luncheon on December 11. Also please mark your calendars for the Handbell concert and the Longest Night Service, more information for these events can be found on page 8 & 9. Finally, please Save the Date for our Christmas Concert on Sunday Sunday, December 23rd. More information can be found on page Preparing for Worship & Upcoming Events 3. Notes from the Pastor 4. Notes from the Pastor Continued/ Circle of Friends/Bouquet Donations 5. Miracles Everywhere 6. December Communion offering/ Advent Craft/Advent Pageant 7. UMM Men s Breakfast 8. Thank you Gerri/Christmas Eve Youth Reunion 9. Christmas Wreaths/Poinsettias 10. Christmas Card Alternative 11. Christmas card Alternative/Diaper Drive Challenge 12. Handbell Christmas Concert 13. Longest Night Service 14. Christmas Choir Concert 15. December Birthdays 1

2 PREPARING FOR WORSHIP Date Sermon Scripture Preacher December 2 From Fear to Love Jeremiah 33:14-16 Jenny Smith Walz December 9 From Despair to Hope Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 1:67-79 Jenny Smith Walz December 16 From Addiction to Joy Isaiah 12:2-6, Luke 3:7-8 Jenny Smith Walz December 23 From Bitterness to Peace Luke 1:39-55 Jenny Smith Walz December 30 First Sunday after Christmas Colossians 3:12-17 Jenny Smith Walz UPCOMING DECEMBER EVENTS Monday, 3rd at 7pm: Church Council Thursday 6th at 7pm: Stephen Ministers Thursday - Saturday 6th - 8th Feed Truck Cafe Saturday 8th at 1pm: Pageant Rehearsal Tuesday 11th at 7:30 pm: Trustees meeting Save the Dates UMM Breakfast, Sunday- December 9 at 8am Advent Pageant and Dinner Sunday - December 9 at 5pm Tuesday 11th at 12:30pm: Communications Committee Circle of Friends Christmas Luncheon Tuesday - December 11 at noon Thursday 13th at 7:30pm: Thursday - Saturday 13th - 15th Education Committee Outreach Committee Feed Truck Cafe Monday 17th at 7pm: Stewardship and Finance Committee Handbell Christmas Concert Sunday - December 16 at 5pm Longest Night Service Tuesday - December 18 at 7:30pm Christmas Choir Concert Monday 24th at 8pm: Tuesday - Wednesday 25th - 26th Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Church Office will be Closed Do you have something you d like to see included in the newsletter? Committee news, or an upcoming event? both office@princetonumc.org and commasst@princetonumc.org. The deadline for January s Newsletter is December 15th 2

3 Notes from the Pastor What is your hope for this season of Advent? How do you hope you might be different after this year s Advent season? I asked this of our PUMC staff a few weeks ago, and here are some of their responses: I hope this can be a season of being more than doing. I hope to find a place of peace, calm, centering among the craziness. I hope to truly know Emmanuel God with me. I hope to remember why we are doing all the tasks, to remember the greatest gift we have in Jesus. I hope to find hope this season. I hope to be emboldened and joyful. I hope to have a deeper understanding of God s coming in the flesh in such a way that I become courageous enough to go out into the world to tell others about Jesus. What is your hope for this season of Advent? It s so easy to let this season go by, happy to have survived it all all the activities, the parties, the gatherings, the shopping, the cooking. Or maybe you are surviving a first year without a loved one. Or experiencing a deep loneliness that this season just seems to magnify. Or maybe changes in your family or finances or work life are forcing you to do things differently this year, and that in itself is a challenge. Here is some very good news for all of us! Advent is actually meant for exactly these things. Advent is the season that gets us ready for the coming of Christ, both the incarnation (God coming in the flesh as baby Jesus) and Christ s coming again (bringing God s Kin-dom in its fullness). And part of our getting ready is becoming aware of the deep need we have for Christ s coming in both of these ways. This Advent we will be doing many things as a church and as families in the church. We will have pageants and crafts and meals together. We will be celebrating with concerts and fellowship. We will be collecting diapers for babies in Trenton as a partner of The Maker s Place. There will be opportunities to give gifts to families in need in our community, opportunities to give poinsettias or other sanctuary decoration, as well as opportunities to share financial gifts. We will say farewell to our beloved Pastor Gerri this month. And I hope you will join in the festivities. More than anything, though, we ll take a Bethlehem Trek as we worship together throughout Advent. We ll allow ourselves to see how we need our God to come and make God s home among us and move us from Fear to Love, from Despair to Hope, from Addiction to Joy, from Bitterness to Peace. Along the way we ll have a Longest Night Service where you can come and receive anointing and healing prayer. 3

4 Note From the Pastor Continued In what ways do you need God to come in the flesh in your life, home, community this season? What are your hopes for this Advent? How do you pray you will be different as approach Christmas this year? Know that I m praying for you and for us as we wait, as we seek, as we navigate the season, trekking to Bethlehem and the one who brings us life. Peace and love, Pastor Jenny Circle of Friends Christmas Luncheon - December 11 at noon at the Rocky Hill Inn, 137 Washington St., Rocky Hill Join us for fabulous food and friendship! Please bring gently used coats, gloves, hats and scarves to donate to our Princeton neighbors. Reservations are required by Friday, 12/7. office@princetonumc.org or call Do you enjoy our beautiful fresh flowers during Worship? Why not donate a bouquet in memory of a loved one or to honor a special person in your life? Sign up sheets are in the Sanford-Davis room OR you may contact our new coordinator, Pam Nugent, at (609) or poodleluvs@aol.com. Our church family will share in your memory or happiness! 4

5 Miracles Everywhere 2019 Pledge Isn t it exciting to be in the holiday season with Thanksgiving celebrated and now leading into the Christmas joy of Christ s Birth, and the opportunity for renewal with a New Year. All of these give us an opportunity for celebration, thanksgiving, togetherness and joy. During this holiday season we wish to thank our members for responding to our Miracles Everywhere pledge campaign for the upcoming 2019 church year. We appreciate your support of the important mission and ministries of our church. If you have not yet sent in your pledge card for 2019, you may place it in the mail, bring it to the office, or place in the collection plate at one of our services. Your joining in this expression of joy by making your commitment will enable Princeton United Methodist Church to be the body of Christ in our community and beyond. We appreciate your gifts, your talents, and your witness through giving joyfully. In addition you will also be making the success of PUMC.an example of our everywhere Miracles. CONCLUDING 2018 SUCCESSFULLY As we approach the holidays, it is easy to get caught up in the rush and miss some important closing of the year items. During this holiday season, it is hoped that all of us will finalize our financial commitment to the 2018 budget year, and if possible share our joy by our financial support of our church, and the varied charitable opportunities Princeton United Methodist Church provides as a part of our ministry to the world and our community. Your generous support will be an important contribution which should help enable our church to end this year with a balanced budget. Thanks for your generous support of our church and Merry Christmas. 5

6 December 2 Communion Offering Our Communion Offering on December 2 will support our Pastor s Discretionary Fund. Members of our community are not immune from the unexpected. Many among us live on the financial edge and it only takes a moment: a car breaking down, an unexpected health care need, an emergency home repair, or another family emergency that can tip the balance from self-sufficiency to immediate need. As a community we hold each other up until the balance returns. Through the Pastor s Discretionary Fund, PUMC can support these needs with discrete, short-term financial support. Thank you for your generosity. 6

7 UMM Breakfast - Sunday, December 9 at 8 am Christmas Carols Celebrate the season with Christmas carols - beloved songs that bring back a lifetime of memories about the birth of Jesus and the Holy Family. Join Dr. Karen Fanta Zumbrunn for the United Methodist Men's breakfast on Sunday, December 9in the Assembly Hall.. The breakfast begins at 8, the program at 8:30. The singing of carols originated in Europe. As we sing carols of Advent, Shepherds, Lullabies, Angels, Gifts, Holly, Christmas Trees and Joy Karen will share interesting stories about them. This year's carols will be from England, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, France and North America. Karen states: "when we sing carols we are remembering. Carols tell of a life of faith that began in a crib. They paint word pictures with little gems of music that tell of the birth of Jesus. Carols never date or sound old-fashioned; instead they fill our hearts with peace and joy. Typically carols were/ 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 an participate in the music at the men's breakfast December 9 and return for Advent Night extravaganza, a PUMC tradition that closes with dessert and carols. Known for her swinging and foot-tapping jazz piano style, Dr. Karen Fanta Zumbrunn holds degrees from Ohio State, Harvard, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Karen has combined college teaching with jazz performance. She performed at the Blue Note in Paris, recorded with the International Stars of Jazz in Rome, and has two CDs with her trio. As a Christian and longtime member of PUMC, she taught Sunday School 20 plus years and is a regular volunteer reading tutor in Trenton at TASK. Director of Music at Kingston UMC for two years, she shares her enthusiastic music with our church. She and her husband John have two grown children-sterling and V. 7

8 Thank You, Gerri! Special Coffee Hour to Thank and Celebrate Gerri Fowler Gerri s last day at PUMC is December 18, when she will be leading the Longest Night Service with the Stephen Ministers. Please join us at a special coffee hour on Sunday, December 9, to thank and celebrate Gerri s ministry at PUMC. If you would be willing to provide a dish for the coffee h o u r, p l e a s e l e t I o n a k n o w at ifkharding@gmail.com. Christmas Eve Service Youth Choir Reunion! All present and former youth choir members are invited to sing on Christmas Eve at the 8 pm service. We ll be singing This Christmastide and Mrs. Macdonald will be there to conduct! A short rehearsal at 7:15 pm on 12/24. Contact: Tom Shelton tom@princetonumc.org Christmas Caroling! Our Youth Choir will sing on the steps of the church prior to the Handbell Concert on 12/16, from 4:20-4:40 pm. Our Children s Choir will sing on the steps of the church on Wednesday, 12/19 from 5-5:50 pm. Please come join us for fun & fellowship! 8

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10 Christmas Card Alternative Share the joy of Christ s birth with others... Rather than sending individual Christmas cards to your friends in the congregation, send a single card to the church s Christmas card bulletin board and a check for the amount you would have spent on cards, stamps, and time. A special Christmas greeting will list your name in the newsletter. Your gift will extend your Christmas greeting list and make a difference long after the last card and the crumpled wrapping paper have been put out in the trash. Share the joy by supporting: Princeton Interfaith Refugee Resettlement Committee has focused since 2015 on the work of bringing refugee families already vetted by UNHCR and the US State Department to Princeton. In 2016 the committee supported a Muslim family from Pakistan and on November 27th a Pakistani Christian family arrives. Last year PUMC generously jump-started the group s efforts to purchase a Welcome House for arriving families. Besides refugees, the committee also supports a Princeton family seeking asylum here that needs help paying rent and mom s MCCC tuition. Camden Neighborhood Center has served the local community for nearly 100 years with programs for the entire family, providing a community living room with the support of communities of faith throughout the region. Our support extends to the Center s full range of programs, including their Child Care Center, After School Program; Neighborhood Center (Teen) Leadership Academy, SAGES (Seniors), Community Kitchen and Emergency Services. United Front Against Riverblindness (UFAR) has been making significant progress toward control and elimination of riverblindness in several regions of the DRC. Begun by our own Dr. Daniel Shungu, UFAR s enormous success in the Congo has drawn the attention of other NGO s so that now UFAR s mission has extended to treatments for other neglected tropical diseases. Your contributions will help provide training, treatment and hope for a healthier life for millions of people in the DRC. 10

11 Include this for with your Christmas card and donation and mail it to the church office 11

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13 Longest Night Service A Season of Hope Tuesday, December 18 7:30 pm Sanford Davis Room Princeton United Methodist Church 13

14 Princeton United Methodist Church presents Christmas Concert Alleluia! a Child is Born IN THE TOWN OF DAVID A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU HE IS THE MESSIAH, THE LORD. Sunday, December 23 5pm Princeton United Methodist Church 14

15 Rev. Jenny Smith Walz, Lead Pastor Rev. Ginny Samuel Cetuk, Administrative Pastor Rev. Gerri Fowler, Spiritual Formation Pastor Rev. Skitch Matson, Discipleship Pastor FOR THE LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES Deadline for the January Newsletter December 15 and 15