Princeton United Methodist

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1 Princeton United Methodist In This Issue 1. Around PUMC This Month January 2019 Newsletter Around Princeton United Methodist This Month 2. Preparing for Worship & Upcoming Events 3. Notes from the Pastor 4. Conversation with Bishop Schol/ Baptism Sunday 5. Miracles Everywhere/UMM Breakfasts Welcome to 2019! This month we are looking forward to having Bishop John Schol with us on Sunday, January 6 to discuss A Way Ahead. Join us on the morning of the 13th for our monthly UMM sponsored breakfast. During worship, we are planning a special day for Baptisms. If you are considering baptism please contact Pastor Jenny. That evening is our Relationship and Faith kickoff meeting at 5pm, followed by a special potluck dinner. We hope you ll join us for these special events. 6. UMM Breakfast Continued 7. Relationship and Faith Church Council Recap Church Council Recap Continued 10. Education Committee 11. January Birthdays 1

2 PREPARING FOR WORSHIP Date Sermon Scripture Preacher January 6 Overwhelmed with Joy Isaiah 60:1-6 & Matthew 2:1-12 Jenny Smith Walz January 13 The Beloved Isaiah 43:1-7 &Luke 3:15-17, Jenny Smith Walz January 20 A Different Sort of People 1 John 4:7-21 Jenny Smith Walz January 27 Christ & the Beloved Jeremiah 31:3-4 & James 5:13-16 Ginny Samuel Cetuk Community UPCOMING JANUARY EVENTS Thursday 3rd at 7pm: Monday 7th at 7pm: Tuesday 8th at 7:30 pm Thurs. - Tues. 10th - 15th Thursday 10th at 7pm: Stephen Ministers Church Council Trustees Feed Truck Cafe Worship Committee Outreach Committee Save the Dates Conversation with Bishop Schol Sunday January 6th at noon UMM Breakfast, Sunday- January 13th at 8am Monday 14th at 7:30pm: Education Committee Tuesday 15th Newsletter Deadline Relationship and Faith All Church Kickoff Sunday January 13th at 5pm Monday 21st at 7pm: Stewardship and Finance Committee Monday 28th at 7:15 pm Staff Parish/ 7:30 pm Membership Committee 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 February s Newsletter is January 15th 2

3 Notes from the Pastor After the Emmanuels were sung and the Nativity was packed away, we stepped into the New Year: 2019 is here! And with it, many of us joined millions of Americans in creating new year s resolutions. We accept that we, our situations and our world, are broken and in need of transformation. (Sound familiar?) So, we buy gym memberships, create book lists, and plan to make macro- and micro-changes to our lives. Our human agency is all we need to make things better. It s it s so close to sounding Christian even Methodist. Christ comes. We want to change. Transformation is sought. Methodists call this process Sanctification. When we talk of new year s resolutions, we believe we change ourselves. It s a focus on what I can do to make things better for me. In Sanctification, we believe God does the changing in us. It s a small shift, but it expects that the change we need is bigger than what any human can do. God s grace to transform us, not our hard work. Sanctification means living into that Emmanuel God with us story. It s an active story, more like a journey. Sometimes it s a wrestling match, like it was with Jacob. It goes on all night, and when God finally gives a blessing, we get a limp, too. (Gen. 32:22-32) What if we set aside our goals for 2019 and spent 3 minutes in prayer listening to what God wants to change in us? 3 minutes is doable, right? Maybe it is the gym membership, or the books for reading. Or maybe it s writing a Thank You card once a week. Or waking up 5 minutes earlier to say a simple prayer in the morning. Or maybe it s joining a small group, like the second round of Relationships and Faith starting on Jan 13 th. God showed up to Jacob in the wrestling match. God was real. Do you want that? Do you want to journey with an Emmanuel God? To be intimately loved by, wrestle with, listen to, and led by this God? If so, try 3 minutes of silence throughout this month, maybe asking this question: Emmanuel God, where are You wanting to work in my life, and what can I do to work with You? Get ready for a blessing and maybe a limp. ~Skitch Matson 3

4 A Conversation with Bishop John Schol about The Way Forward - Sunday, January 6, from noon-2pm at PUMC In April, Pastors Skitch and Ginny led a conversation on The United Methodist Church's struggle around the topic of human sexuality and the pending decisions which are soon coming before our denomination's General Conference. Since then, more is known about these decisions, as concrete plans have been proposed as legislation to the decision-making body of The United Methodist Church. Bishop John Schol will visit Princeton UMC on Sunday, January 6, from noon-1:30 p.m. Join us as he leads us in a time of conversation about The Way Forward, which is the name given to the special General Conference session taking place in St. Louis, February 23-26, Hear about the different proposals for The Way Forward and the implications facing our global United Methodist denomination, as well as our local church. You can ask questions, share your concerns, converse with others in our PUMC community, and have the rare opportunity to engage with our bishop around this topic. Additionally, we will share a pot-luck meal together as we talk. Please bring a dish to share from your own cultural heritage. Baptism Sunday - January 13th We are celebrating Baptisms on Sunday, January 13, If you or a family member has not yet been baptized, this is an opportunity to receive the sacrament of baptism. If you are interested, please contact Debbie in the church office. There is some preparation and a baptism orientation with one of our pastors that is required. If you have already been baptized, you will have the opportunity to remember your baptism this day as well. 4

5 THE GREATER NEW JERSEY CONFERENCE MIRACLES EVERYWHERE UPDATE At this time our membership has pledged $50,370 to the conference s Miracles Everywhere program to be paid over the next three years which is a gift of $286 per average worshipper in our church. This puts us in the Wonder Circle which represent a gift of $250 to $349 per worshiper. The top Miracle Circle of Giving starts at $350 per worshipper and we could reach that goal with just 12 or more pledges of $1,000 or $1,000 per year for three years or other variables of gifts that would bring our total to $61,900 or more. Even if you have made a pledge to Princeton UMC for operating and did not include one for the conference emphasis or if you are now sending in your pledge, we encourage you to consider making a pledge for youth, center cities, hurricane relief, and missionary work in Africa. These ministries are a vital response to those in need and in sharing the Good News to our youth, our community and our worldly neighbors. UMM Breakfast - Sunday, January 13th at 8 am Dr. Dulivanette Muyala Onema-Orbach was born in the United Methodist Hospital at the Mission Station in Wembo Nyama, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As a young child, she came with her family to the United States, where her father attended college in Iowa. Dulivanette started kindergarten and she began to learn English as her third language. Her kindergarten teacher told her to change her name from Dulivanette to Annette because Dulivanette was too long! And so, the teacher taught her how to spell her new name: A-n-n-e-t-t-e. 5

6 UMM Breakfast Continued When Annette s family returned to DRC, she attended The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) on a scholarship from 4th grade - 12 th grade. After Annette graduated from TASOK, she attended Asbury College (now Asbury University) on a scholarship provided by retired United Methodist missionaries, Reverend Alexander Reid and his wife, Mrs. Hazel Reid. After graduating from Asbury College, Annette went to Indiana University, in Bloomington Indiana for graduate studies. Annette complete her MA. and E.D. As a graduate student at Indiana University Annette was awarded a Fellowship from the African Studies Program. The Fellowship paid for her studies and it provided Annette an opportunity to teach Lingala, a major language spoken in DRC. Annette has been a United Methodist her entire life! She was raised as a preacher s kid. (Her father is a retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church in DRC.) Annette has eight brothers and sisters, 22 nieces and nephews, and 4 great nieces and nephews. Annette is married to Frank Orbach and together as a blended family, they are proud parents of five adult children. Their children live in New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Senegal, and Canada. Annette and Frank live in Trenton, New Jersey. Annette has been a member of First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since After teaching for 25 years, Annette retired August 31, 2018 from Community College of Philadelphia. Dr. Annette Onema-Orbach is the current Chair of the Eastern Pennsylvania Congo Partnership. The Congo Partnership is a vision of the Central Congo Episcopal Area and three United States Conferences: Peninsula-Delaware Conference, Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, and Western North Carolina Conference with support from local churches across the U.M. connection to bring glory to God and care for our neighbors. Our Partnership seeks to bring the renewal and restoration of spiritual and material ministries for the whole Church and especially its children. Annette s presentation titled, Does Jesus really love all the children of the world? will focus on Christian Education, specifically children s ministries in the Central Congo Episcopal Area. Children who live near United Methodist mission stations, such as Wembo-Nyama, benefit from Central Congo Partnership Christian Education efforts. She will show a video of the children and will speak about the challenges the children s ministries face today in Congo Episcopal Area. 6

7 Relationships & Faith: Recognizing & Addressing Injustice We are faced daily with polarizing sound bites that foster divisiveness in our communities, our country and our world. Last year, we began Relationships and Faith looking at how we, as people of faith, can change the dynamics by entering into Christ-centered relationships with those we see as different. In January, we will launch Relationships & Faith: Recognizing & Addressing Injustice. For 2019, we will focus on topics that are facing in our country and the United Methodist Church today: Human Sexuality & Gender issues including The Way Forward vote happening in February 2019 which will determine the future of the denomination. See: commission-on-a-way-forward-5-things-you-need-to-know Racism, including injustices from our local community and around the US Our sessions will be based on Biblical teachings and build on our discussions last year about changing how we see and interact with those we perceive as the other in a more Christ-like way. We will learn some new tools for doing this and our sessions will include materials to guide us through discussion, spiritual contemplation and listening. Please join us as we all continue on our journey to deepen our faith and become better disciples in 2019 in our communities, country and world. Please join us for. RELATIONSHIPS & FAITH: Recognizing & Addressing Injustice A Six-Session Program for Our Whole Church Family Sunday, January 13 at 5 pm All Church Kickoff at PUMC, followed by a potluck supper at 6:30 pm. February - Neighborhood Small Group Get-togethers Sunday, March 17 at 5 pm All Church Gathering at PUMC with panel discussion and speaker April - Neighborhood Small Group Get-togethers May - TBD - All Church Gathering at PUMC with panel discussion and speaker Sunday, June 9 at 5 pm - All Church Wrap-up People of all ages from our church family and the surrounding communities are welcome. We especially encourage families of children and youth to join as we learn together. We will have special age-appropriate discussions for children and youth. Interested? Join us on January 12 and bring a salad or dessert to share. Questions? tracey_feick@hotmail.com or speak to any member of the planning team: Ginny Cetuk, Skitch Matson, Jenny Smith-Walz, Dana Dreibelbis, Doug Fullman, Ian Griffiths, Susan Victor, Emilia Tiempo or Tracey Feick. 7

8 2018 Church Council On Saturday, November 17 Princeton United Methodist Church help our Annual Conference at the Calvary Korean United Methodist Church in East Brunswick. The afternoon started with a worship service where we joined with other churches from the New Jersey Annual Conference in singing with a Praise Band made of pastors and Laity from around the conference. Olu Brown, UMC pastor and author who currently serves the lead pastor from Impact Church in Atlanta, Georgia gave an inspiring talk. He shared insight from both scripture and experience. Of particular interest, as Church Council is planning for 2019 and beyond was sharing about Impact s model of discipleship focused on: experience, engage and involve as they work within their community. He also reminded us that in order for our ministries to bear fruit, we sometimes must prune to keep our programs fresh and healthy. If you are interested in more, check out his books Leadership Directions from Moses and 4D Impact. Following worship, we held our annual church conference presided by the Rev. Tom Korkuch, an elder in our conference. At the meeting, we conducted the business of the church including: Nominations Report, which is a work in progress Pastor s Report Membership Report Trustee s Report Approval of Clergy compensation We also acknowledged and supported Susan Victor s ministry beyond the local church, as well as Larry Curtis who is a retired pastor who actively participates in our congregation. We also renewed our support for Phoebe Quaynor as a Candidate for Ministry. Finally, we acknowledged our Certified Lay Minister, Cynthia Gordon. Pastor Jenny also read the names of members who have died in the past year and we prayed. 8

9 Finally, we reviewed Goals. For 2018, we had 4 goals and focused on reviewing our goal of Successful Transition in our second year of staff transitions. Thanks to our transition team: Iona Harding, Laverna Albury, Pam Bradley and Rick Engel. We have also been blessed to have Gerry and Ginny continue with us. Finally, thanks to the Trustees for work getting the parsonage ready. As we welcomed new staff, we held 12 small-group events hosted by members: focus for Stonebridge, families with children, youth, Love Lives On, and 6 different neighborhoods and at church. Additionally, we held All-church events: welcome coffee hour, Jersey Fresh potluck, picnic, Rally Day. All of these brought our church family closer together and welcomed Pastor Jenny. We ve been blessed by: Jenny s creative events as she joined tree of history and future dreams, the puzzle that we worked on together, and most recently her Facebook live outreach. Skitch s leadership on discipleship opportunities for all ages has enriched & benefited our members Ginny s administrative leadership during change Continuity from our music staff with youth and adult choirs, handbells, ensemble, plus new energy - Puerto Rico concert all while we said goodbye to Christopher and welcomed Yang-Hee. Finally, Church Council began 2019 planning at Nov. meeting with a focus on Growth & Intentional Engagement. More to come on this. We also will begin planning for an all-church visioning retreat in

10 HAPPY NEW YEAR! From the PUMC Education Committee 2018 has been full of joy and filled with grace! Again and again, my heart is filled with gratitude for the wonderful people who make wonderful things happen in the PUMC Sunday School world. At all the events and moments we ve had to come together, new relationships have begun and old ones have been strengthened. And Christ s love has come to us through the presence of others. Sunday School Teachers: Marie Griffith, Ashley Willingham, Cindy Gessner, Christine and Steve Wong, Sharon and John Distase, Yvonne Macdonald, Laura Felten, Tracey Feick-Lee, Barbara Sageser, Janis McCarthy, Mae Potts, Andrew Hayes and Chris Cunningham Children s Time: Pastor Jenny and Mr. Tom Shelton Confirmation Teachers: Jacob Davis and Paige Allen Nursery Volunteers: Carla MacGuigan, Iona Harding Connie Offer and Sara Hicks YOU are the angels who make life happen every Sunday morning for the children at PUMC. Oh the JOY of 2018 Advent! Thank YOU, Laura Felten and Susan Lidstone for an afternoon filled with joyful creations. Advent Pageant, Dinner and Caroling would not have happened without this remarkable team: Yvonne Macdonald, Tom Shelton, Delaney McCarty, Jodie Landis, Ian Macdonald and Karen Zumbrum and the Confirmation Class as Ushers, THANK YOU!!! In this New Year The Children will receive Communion on January 6th! Please join us on January 6 th for Epiphany Sunday. Pray towards and save the dates for Children s Choir Musical (2/24/19) Youth Sunday (3/24/19) Youth Choir Musical (5/12/19) 10

11 Rev. Jenny Smith Walz, Lead Pastor Rev. Ginny Samuel Cetuk, Administrative Pastor Rev. Skitch Matson, Discipleship Pastor FOR THE LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES Deadline for the February Newsletter January 15 and 11