Princeton United Methodist Church

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1 August 2016 Princeton United Methodist Church We are a diverse community joyfully responding to God s love and growing as disciples of Christ, by nurturing, teaching and reaching all people. Surprise Talents Windows on the World What's your hidden talent? Your special ability that no one knows about? We all have gifts and talents that get "hidden under a bushel." It's our challenge, as disciples, to use them in Christ's work. Our building also holds surprises that can inspire even the casual passerby -- but only Photo by Duncan Hartley if we open it up to the public. Here on the corner of a busy street, in a town that attracts visitors from near and far, our stained glass windows can attract the casual tourist, looking for sights to see." Our sweetly cozy chapel can offer a sacred space for meditation and prayer. As of now, the "talents" of our building -- its architecture, history, and imagery -- are like candles hidden under bushel baskets instead of being placed on tables where they can give light (Mark 4:21). The newly formed Tiffany Task Force has seized the opportunity to change that. They are reaching out to the community. If you feel called to help, your participation is welcomed. Here's what's already done and what you can do: Counting our blessings: Our St. George and the Dragon window was made by the renowned Tiffany studio and is the only off-campus work by Tiffany in the town. Duncan Hartley (whose hidden talent is art photography) has photographed all our beautiful windows in all their glory. Marv Ostberg (a born tour guide) helped research their history and symbolism in preparation for offering "Dragon Window" tours. Saint George is an allegorical expression of the triumph (continued on page 4) In This Issue 1. Surprise Talents 2. Preparing for Worship Upcoming Events 3. Notes from the Pastor 4. Our Church in the World 5. Membership News 6. Summer Sharing UMW News Looking Ahead and Catching Up 7. Outreach Initiatives 8. Tithing: An End Point or a Springboard? Welcoming Poke mon Players 9. Music Ministry, Children and Youth 10. The Legend of St. George 11. August Birthdays

2 Preparing for Worship This month s worship is based on the Revised Common Lectionary, a three-year cycle of suggested scripture readings that follows the Christian year. Date Sermon Scripture Preacher August 7 Holy Communion Faith: The Conviction of Things Not Seen Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Jana Purkis-Brash August 14 The Stories We Tell Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Erik Skitch Matson August 21 BOOM Luke 13:10-17 Jana Purkis-Brash August 28 Thirst Jeremiah 2:4-13 Jana Purkis-Brash Upcoming August Events Sunday 7: Monday 8: Tuesday 9: Saturday 13: Sunday 14: Sunday 21: Monday 22: Sunday 28: Holy Communion Pick-up Choir Outreach Committee Meeting Worship Committee Meeting Threads of Hope Summer Sharing: Jamie Gerber Newsletter Deadline Women s Choir Rehearsal Membership Committee Staff Parish Committee Women s Choir Rehearsal This Month s Summer Sharing August 14 Jamie Gerber The East and West in Me Later in August Duncan Hartley My Life Though the Lens, From Shakespeare to St. George Have something you d like to share? See page 6 for open dates and contact info! SAVE THE DATES!! Rally Day - Sunday, September 11th. Church Picnic Sunday, September 18th Do you have something you d like to see included in the newsletter? Committee news, an upcoming event? Contact communications@princetonumc.org. The deadline for September s issue is August 14th. 2 2

3 Notes from the Pastor Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the Spirit, any sympathy, complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. Don t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:1-5) Dear Friends, Everywhere I go these days, people are talking about violence and politics and their feelings about the state of our country right now. It may be in the grocery store, or with friends on vacation, or at Monday Morning Group, or coffee hour after church or on Facebook. Some days it s too hard for me to read the news or look at Facebook knowing the barrage of bad news, heart wrenching news I ll see. I find myself asking the question, as a follower of Christ how should I respond to violence? What is God calling me to do? How can I make things better? and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 As Christians we subscribe to the biblical values of respect for life, peace, justice, and community. As someone who has been a committed Christian all my adult life I believe the place to begin is with prayer praying for peace in our homes, communities, nation and the world. Pray for the ability to listen, to hear the pain, anger and frustration that comes with and from violence. As a response to our prayers for change, for things to improve, if we listen carefully we will hear God call us to action. Here find some ways to engage in action. We can: build on existing efforts of our denomination and in our communities for addressing violence. Visit umc.org for suggestions on how to respond to violence, or consider finding out about NOT IN OUR TOWN an interracial, interfaith group united to advance the cause of racial justice in Princeton. They are committed to speaking truth about everyday racism and other forms of prejudice and discrimination. support efforts to attack root causes of crime and violence -- including poverty, substance abuse, lack of opportunity, and racism; build bridges and promoting solidarity across racial and economic lines; pursue economic justice, especially employment; respond to victims of violence, hearing their anguish and defending their dignity. Let s pray together, talk with each other, and take steps to live as God s beloved daughters and sons. In Christ, Jana 3 3

4 Surprise Talents Windows on the World (cont) of the Christian church, over evil. Read about the windows to enrich your own spiritual life and perhaps invite your friends and neighbors to come and see them! See page 10. Letting our light shine: For our new blue visitor bags PUMC member T.J. Mortensen used her corporate connections (one of her hidden 'talents') to procure thumb drives, sometimes called memory sticks, with the church logo and address stamped on them. She loaded them with photos of the windows and church brochures and put them in the blue bags along with postcards of the windows, and a "visit Princeton" brochure. If you spot a visitor, invite them for coffee in the Sanford Davis Room and offer a blue bag! Or send or bring a post card to a friend! Offering sacred hospitality: For the next two months the chapel will be open on some weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The ramp door will open on to Nassau Street, and someone will be there to welcome visitors who wish to sit in the chapel for meditation and prayer -- or maybe they are just curious to look inside, to view the windows. We will have a soft opening in August and announce regularly scheduled days for September. Is this a ministry you would like to do? Contact communications@princetonumc.org. Princeton United Methodist Church already has a reputation as "the friendly church on the corner." Now we can offer new ways for Christ to speak to all kinds of people -- curiosity seekers and culture seekers, passersby and tourists, shopkeepers and students. As in Matthew 5:15 (The Message) we are going to "Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." Our Church in the World Continuing Conversations Not in Our Town Princeton (NIOT) welcomes newcomers to its monthly sessions at Princeton Public Library in the Community Room. An introduction to Continuing Conversations on Race and White Privilege is at 6:45 p.m. and the dialogues start at 7 p.m. Our church supports NIOT, which aims to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere in which everyone will feel respected and have their stories listened to and really heard. We are motivated to explore our own privilege and biases and to continue to learn and grow by hearing each other s stories, so that we can best make a difference. Before the Continuing Conversation on Monday, August 1, there will also be a social hour with refreshments starting at 6:15 p.m. For the following month, the Continuing Conversation will be Tuesday, September 6. Community Night Out is Tuesday, August 2. If you go to Princeton s celebration, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Community Park Pool, visit the fortune wheel made by PUMC member Tim Ewer. Spin the wheel to answer a question and get a prize. It is part of National Night Out when people across the country gather at their homes, on their streets, and at their local community centers to help strengthen the partnership between the community and police. It is hosted by the Princeton Police Department, PBA Local #130, and the Princeton Recreation Department. Admission to the pool that night is free to Princeton residents. Outside the pool there will be rock climbing, demonstrations of emergency equipment, a demonstration by K-9 Harris, inflatable games, and more. Join the fun! 4

5 Our Church in the World (continued) Hear Rev. Buster Soaries A noted faith leader -- Dr. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr. -- will speak at the Princeton Regional Chamber lunch on Thursday, August 11 at 11:30 a.m. at the Forrestal Marriott. The senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, he is a former New Jersey Secretary of State and the author of Breaking Free from Financial Slavery, published by Zondervan. Princeton United Methodist Church belongs to the chamber, so any of us can go for a reduced ticket price ($50). Register as a church representative at the chamber website: For the networking, bring your own business cards as well as brochures or cards from the church. CHECKLIST FOR SUMMER CHURCH PARTICIPATION: Attend PUMC each Sunday (One 10am Service) when in town. Keep your financial support up to date Bring your Youth and Children to the Bible drama program: Summer Sundays Fun Plays Payoff your capital campaign commitment Take advantage of the Nursery with your newborns and babies Participate in one of the Musical programs Congregational singing prior to each service participating in one of the pickup choirs or sharing your instrumental talents. Choose and sponsor an Above and Beyond project Help with the Cornerstone Community Kitchen one or more Wednesday evenings Ask a neighbor or friend to attend services with you Assist with the worship by being a reader, greeter or usher Pray for our church, your family, our community and world - Submitted by Doug Fullman Membership News In this section of the newsletter, we celebrate our members! If you have significant news you d like to share, please submit it to our new Communications Assistant Jasmine. Her is jasmine@princetonumc.org Jamie Gerber speaks August 14 Jamileh Jamie Gerber will speak after church on Sunday, August 14 in Fellowship Hall in the Summer Sharing series. Born in Iran, Jamie has been a teacher, an administrator, and a librarian. She has worked around the world, from Tehran to Trenton, from South Carolina to Spain. Jamie grew up as a Christian in Iran, where most of the people, including her grandparents, were Muslims. Her father had been befriended by Christian missionaries who arranged for his eye disease to be treated in Tehran. It was his Damascus moment, says Jamie. She remembers that, following the teachings of Jesus, he brought people into their home from all backgrounds and religions. Jamie went to college in Beirut and worked in the royal palace, leaving Iran for a year to earn a master s degree in instructional technology from Indiana University. One of her favorite jobs at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was to help newly literate rural farmers read how to improve their agricultural methods. In 1979 she and her family survived the revolution. Jamie moved with her husband and two children to a Spanish fishing village on the Mediterranean Sea, and she found work teaching in an international school. When Jamie moved to Princeton in 1983, she joined our church. She earned her Master of Library Service at Rutgers and worked as a librarian at Princeton University and at the state labor department. When she retired, she was an associate professor at Bloomfield College. Remembering Princeton and PUMC fondly, she moved back here and rejoined the church this past spring. Her topic will be The East and the West in Me. 5

6 Summer Sharing Series: Sharing Stories, Deepening Fellowship PUMC s United Methodist Women Celebrate Flea Market Success and Transition So far this summer, in Summer Sharing sessions after church, Barbara MacGuigan has spoken on her anthropology adventure, and Paul Manulik and Lindsay Diehl have told about their music mission to Haiti. Summer Sharing continues with Jamileh Jamie Gerber on Sunday, August 14 at 11:15am in Fellowship Hall. Her topic: The East and the West in Me. Born in Iran, Jamie has worked around the world from Tehran to Trenton, from South Carolina to Spain. See page 5. Later in August, Duncan Hartley will speak on My Life Through the Lens: From Shakespeare to St. George. Duncan has made it his personal mission to research the faith story behind our St. George and the Dragon window. Mikaela Langdon will speak on September 4, about her mission trip to Hawaii. After many years of service, Cindy Bennett has retired as president of PUMC s United Methodist Women s chapter. With 800,000 members worldwide, the United Methodist Women started out as a group that raised money for missions. Every woman at PUMC may consider herself a member. Cindy invited everyone to a dinner in her home to celebrate the most recent money-raising effort, the spring flea market. The women voted to use the flea market funds to award $200 to each of these charities: Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), Womanspace, Pastor s Discretionary Fund, Contact, Camden Neighborhood, Turning Point Church in Trenton, Homefront, Urban Promise and Hearts for Haiti. The Crisis Ministry for Matching Funds Challenge will be $400. Congratulations to Cindy for a job so well done! Looking Ahead and Catching Up Want to know who s preaching on what scripture passage next Sunday? You can check page two of this newsletter, but you can also go to our website at PrincetonUMC.org. On the menu bar, look for the Worship heading. Click there for Current Sermon Series with the information. Did you miss a Sunday in June or July when the pastors were preaching on Lessons from the Toybox or Vacation Tweets? Or maybe you would like to review a particular sermon. Our audio visual team makes tapes of each service that you can borrow. Above, Larry Gordinier records the worship service. And you can probably find it on the blog at PrincetonUMC.org. Transcripts of the sermons for June are up there now, and July s are coming. Look for the Blog heading on the menu bar and search on the word sermon. Audio of the sermons are also archived on the web. From the Worship tab on the menu bar of PrincetonUMC.org, go to Sermon Archives, and click through on the symbols for sermon.net or podcasts. Sermon topics for August and September will be based on the Revised Common Lectionary. The lectionary is a three-year cycle of suggested scripture readings that follows the Christian year. Each Sunday, the Lectionary recommends four passages, usually two from the Hebrew Bible and two from the New Testament. The preacher can choose to focus on any of the four passages. For this month, the New Testament passages for this month are from Luke and Hebrews. On our website (Worship: Lectionary Readings) you can click through to the verses and study helps. It s inspiring to realize that we are in synch with Christians in many lands. 6 6

7 PUMC Outreach Initiatives Princeton UMC celebrates a long history of supporting global and local missions serving justice and mercy. As our world and our community become more complex and diverse, so do the needs of our neighbors. PUMC s Outreach Committee is seeking to deepen our church family s ministry of help and hope. We are seeking new outreach ministries to support through funding and/or coaching support. We invite you, your Sunday School class, small group or committee to consider spreading the gospel of justice and mercy within our community through organizing a new Outreach Initiative. If you dare to dream big and want more information about the PUMC Outreach Initiatives Grant, please contact chair of the Outreach Committee: L. Albury Summer's not over yet, but the school year will begin again shortly! Plans are underway for supporting our neighbors as we approach the school year. Throughout the next few weeks, we'll be holding a Schools Supplies Drive. Donations of the following items will take some of the load off of families struggling with sufficiency in our area. New, or gently used backpacks (all sizes) pencils, crayons, markers, erasers calculators, rulers, compass/protractor notebooks, binders, graph paper, folders water bottles Drop your donations off in the Donation Center or in the identified bins in the Sanford-Davis Room. For questions, suggestions, or more information please contact: LaVerna Albury, Outreach Committee albury_1@verizon.net. Last year our children helped gather supplies for backpacks Our Communion Offering on August 7 will support the ministry of Mercer Street Friends Food Bank. Since 1987, the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank has led our community s response to hunger in Mercer County. Today they are the largest source of government and privately donated food in Mercer County distributing food to over 60 charitable food providers, including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. Over 2.5 million pounds of food reaches 27,000 people facing the pain and indignity of hunger each year. The Mercer Street Friends Food Bank is a Partner Distribution Organization with the Community FoodBank of NJ and Feeding America. Thank you for your generous support. 7

8 TITHING: An End Point or a Springboard? Throughout the Bible, the concept of Tithing (Donating 10% to the ministry of the church) has been expressed as an appreciation to God for the life, salvation, gifts/talents and resources each of us has been provided. Through these tithes/gifts the work of the church and the charitable contributions through the church were funded and sustained. Many commentators have expressed that Tithing should be just the start or the beginning of our church support and personal charity endeavors. In fact as an example Princeton United Methodist church strives to donate or contribute to organizations through our budget who perform many basic and emergency services to the poor, and needy. With the many demands on our each of our own personal resources, the thought of Tithing has become a journey and a goal to strive for. Others who have reached this plateau have found it exciting to be able to donate even more sometimes by their increased sharing with the church and charitable endeavors. Our church annually sponsors a Tithe Sunday to highlight the importance of each of us to continue the journey and by making a Tithe contribution by our financial commitment to the church. On Sunday, September 4 (On Labor Day Weekend) special envelopes will be available as well as mailed out earlier for us to use to signify our understanding of and commitment to a Tithing concept. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity by taking another step in our faith journey through Tithing. - Submitted by Doug Fullman Welcoming Pokémon Players a Pokéstop to fuel up on the Poke Balls needed to catch the virtual characters. When Pokémon Go players stand on the sidewalk outside the church, up pops a circle with the name of the church and a picture of our bell tower. They spin that circle to refuel on Poke ; Balls. Then, when they spot a Pokémon character they swipe ; the ball to catch it. This happens without us doing anything, but we can also take actions (like spreading lure ) to attract more players and more virtual characters. Our corner on Nassau Street has a new distinction -- our church is a Pokéstop. What s that? It s part of the free new mobile app game Pokémon Go that is sweeping the nation and the world. In just one month, more people are using it than Snapchat and Facebook. With the GPS and camera on their phones, players capture, train, and battle virtual Pokémon characters who appear throughout the real world. They can t play it at home. Real locations -- churches, other buildings, historical attractions -- are Pokéstops. Nearby Bainbridge House, for instance, is also a Pokéstop. Players must go to Churches everywhere are tapping this new phenomenon, and we can too. We can use it to be a witness for Christ and draw people into the church. While the growth committee is concocting its strategy, it tried out one idea -- to spread lure before the Sunday worship service and invite our visitors to come in, see the beautiful windows, hear the music, and perhaps stay for part or all of the service. Along with the virtual lure we offered the real lure of lemonade and cookies. It was a success! We talked to at least 100 passersby and a half dozen groups came inside. Item to remember: the cookies attracted non-players as well. Please be alert to welcome these visitors! And contact Robert Scheffler, chair of the growth committee, if you have ideas or want to join the welcome table. Pokémon knowledge not required. 8

9 Music Ministry Women s Choir Calling women who love to sing! Women s Choir rehearsals continue this month on Sunday, August 21 after the 10am service, and again on Sunday, August 28, at 9am. Experience the joy of music written for the female voice, and sing a surprise piece with us! Summer Pick Up Choir Summer Pick Up Choir is also continuing on August 7th. If you love to sing, but cannot commit to weekly rehearsals, this could be a great solution! This month and next, we ll hold rehearsal on Sunday 8/7 and 9/4, before the 10 am worship service. Not sure if you can learn a piece of music in an hour? Give yourself a chance! Come join other music lovers on Sunday mornings. Be on the lookout for news about our children's music programs for the season! Summer Sundays Fun Plays Continue This month, our children will continue with their Summer Sundays Fun Plays, during worship. - August 7 Jesus the Boy in Jerusalem (Lost in the temple and other adventures) - August 14 James the Brother of Jesus - August 21 St. Christopher and the Christ Child - August 28 Joshua and the Battle of Jericho - September 4 Some of the Adventures of Paul of Tarsus As with last month, children fourth grade and up meet at 9:30 in room 203, while the younger kids stay in the Sanctuary through the Children's Sermon, and join to watch after. 9 9

10 The Legend of St. George Photo by Duncan Hartley The Tiffany window of Saint George and the Dragon is in the balcony window. It has the Tiffany signature in the lower right hand corner. Children love to point out the dead dragon's teeth and jaws. Unlike Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox churches, Methodist windows don't usually depict saints. Instead we focus on Jesus (as in the chapel and the Sanford Davis Room) or the disciples (in the sanctuary). But this Tiffany window was donated by a Methodist preacher and his family at the turn of the century. Surely this preacher father felt comfortable with depicting the dragon and his foe as an allegory. "The legend of St. George and the Dragon is simply an allegorical expression of the triumph of the Christian hero, or the church, over evil," says Duncan Hartley. "Having dared to criticize a Roman emperor, St. George was subjected to horrible torture. " The dragon has been a Christian symbol of sin since the Middle Ages. The metaphor is taken from Revelation 12:9 where Satan is termed the great dragon and that old serpent. In Psalm 91:13 it is written that the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Christian art and literature has made frequent use of this symbolism. "Tudor poet Edmund Spenser, for example, named the Redcrosse Knight as the champion of holiness in The Fairie Queen," says Duncan. "The knight and Una, representing the true religion, are finally betrothed after he has killed the dragon. The figure Gloriana represents glory in the abstract, and Queen Elizabeth I in particular." St. George became the patron saint of England in the 14th century and is now the patron saint of Moscow. Many of the most famous artists depicted St. George, and almost every major museum has a painting of him. How Methodists Got George The family of William Edward Durrell, according to our records and a plaque on the window, donated the dragon window made by Tiffany. "Eddie" Durrell grew up in southern New Jersey. Well liked, and a talented baseball player, his father, Rev. Edward Hicks Durrell, was a Methodist minister. When Eddie came to Princeton University in 1884, he made Princeton Methodist Episcopal Church his church home, according to Ruth Woodward in A Journey of Faith for One Hundred Fifty Years: A History of Princeton United Methodist Church. Princeton was (and is) a Presbyterian town, but the Methodists had gained a foothold when a "shell buyer" purchased the property for the first sanctuary, built in 1849 on Nassau Street. Eddie majored in electrical engineering, graduated with honors in 1889, and starred on the baseball team all six years. In 1891 he studied in Berlin. On a trip to Italy, in 1892, he died of "congestion of the brain" and was buried in Rome. Two years ago family members came and visited to see the window, and worshipped with us on Easter Sunday. Meanwhile the Methodists were evangelizing and growing. In 1910 the church razed its original structure and constructed the present building on the double lot. Many stepped forward to help. Among the contributors was the family of Eddie Durrell. Ministers aren't generally rich, but Rev. Durrell had been investing in cranberry bogs and had become one of the largest cranberry growers in the state. 10

11 Nassau Street & Vandeventer Ave. 7 Vandeventer Avenue Princeton, NJ Jana Purkis-Brash, Senior Pastor jana@princetonumc.org Catherine Williams, Pastoral Care catherine@princetonumc.org Skitch Matson, Youth Pastor skitch@princetonumc.org For the latest news & updates: Princeton UMC is a Stephen Ministry Congregation Deadline for the September Newsletter August 14 newsletter@princetonumc.org 11