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In This Issue Around PUMC this Month…………………………..…..1
Preparing for Worship & Upcoming Events .……2
Notes from the Pastor …………………………………...3
October Communion Offering– World
Communion Day
Discernment: A Year Long Practice ………..……..4
PUMC Visioning Retreat ……………………………...5
UMM Monthly Breakfast
I Like Giving: Fostering Generosity ….……………..6
October Birthdays …………….…………………………...7
October 2019
Princeton United Methodist Church
Calling Singers
Do you love singing Christmas carols? Come
and join the Chancel Choir as they get ready
for our annual Christmas Concert. Rehearsals
start on 10/23 and continue every Wednesday
night (except 11/27) at 7 pm, for 30-40
minutes. Dress rehearsal is on 12/18 at 7 pm.
The concert is on Sunday, 12/22 at 5 pm.
Looking forward to seeing those who love to
sing!
Around Princeton United Methodist this month
In the month of October, the PUMC
community is exploring concepts of discernment
and generosity. October brings us another
insightful sermon series titled “I Like Giving.” Our
youth will explore their faith at IGNITE 2019, and
our newcomers will have plenty of opportunities
to get to know the PUMC community. So much
do to and so many ways to spread God’s love.
Join us!
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Date Sermon Scripture Preacher
October 6
World Communion Sunday 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Jenny Smith Walz
October 13
I Like Giving the Way God
Does
Exodus 35:4—36:7 Jenny Smith Walz
October 20
I Like Giving Change Luke 19:1-10 Jenny Smith Walz
October 27
I Like Giving Even When it’s
Messy
Luke 18: 9-4 Skitch Matson
Upcoming october Events Tuesday 1:
Friday 4:
Sunday 6:
Monday 7:
Saturday 12:
Sunday 13:
Communications Committee
IGNITE 2019 Begins
SS Teacher Breakfast
Love Lives On
Newcomers Group
Church Council
Visioning Retreat
UMM Breakfast
Confirmation Class
New Member Orientation
Outreach Committee
Monday 14:
Tuesday 15:
Sunday 20
Monday 21:
Sunday 27:
Membership & Growth Committee
Education Committee
Worship Committee
Confirmation Class
New Member Orientation
Stewardship/Finance Committee
New Member Reception
Coffee With the Pastors
Focus Group discussion-New
Congregational Care Plan
Monday 28:
Thursday 31:
Staff Parish Committee
Halloween
Do you have something you’d like to see
in the newsletter? Committee news,
or an upcoming event?
Email both [email protected] and
The deadline for November’s issue is Oct 15th.
Preparing for worship
Over the past several months the pastoral staff and
SPRC has been thinking together about congregational
care at PUMC and how best to insure that we are doing
our best to meet the care needs of the congregation. To
help us continue to think and plan we are going to have
a focus group to discuss congregational care in the
broadest sense on Sunday, October 27 following wor-
ship. If you would like to participate in that focus group
or would like to nominate someone else to do so, please
send an email to our Office
Manager, Debbie Blok at [email protected] or to
Pastor Ginny at [email protected]. Be sure to put
"Focus Group" in the title of the email. A light lunch will
be served and an important conversation will be had. We
will meet in the Fellowship Hall and I hope you will
prayerfully consider joining us. Please let us hear from
you by October 14.
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Notes from the Pastor Dear Friends,
Every morning I start my day by opening my BibleGateway app to see what the Bible verse is for the
day. Recently, I opened it to find a verse from 1 Peter 1:3. The verse was titled Praise Be to God for a
Living Hope.
I was immediately happy for I knew my soul would be uplifted. I appreciate every verse, every day. But I
don’t always understand them nor am I able to quickly apply them to my life. The Bible is filled with
stories, challenges, and wisdom about the love of God and God’s interactions with us humans since
the beginning. Sometimes we need to begin to understand the Bible by first doing some exegetical
work to understand the meaning of the passage when it was originally written and what was happening
in the faith community of the time. After doing that, we can then ponder how it is related to our own
lives. Sometimes, as with this passage, we have a more immediate understanding of it and what is left
is for us to make the connection with our own lives.
Here is the 1 Peter 1:3 passage:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Peter is reminding us of a great truth about the impact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on our lives,
namely, a living hope. Written to comfort churches throughout the area then known as Asia Minor, it is
understood to be addressing the many forms of persecution that they suffered because of their faith.
Written between AD 81-96, these ancient words speak to us today in all seasons of our lives and I
invite you to ponder them as you read this today and also in the weeks to come. These are the ques-
tions I ask myself:
• What is the “great mercy” of God that Peter speaks of and knows so well? Remember that Peter
was the one who denied Jesus after he was arrested. (Matthew 26)
• What do the words “new birth” mean to you? Have you ever felt reborn in your life? What was it like
to experience that and how did it make you feel?
• How do you understand the phrase “living hope”? Is “living hope” different from “hope”?
• What difference can this verse make for your life today?
These questions are the ones I ponder and my answers to these questions are still forming. I’m excited
by the process as I always am when a verse in the Bible is opened up to me in a new and deeper way.
Psalm 119:105 reminds us that God’s word “is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.” Indeed
it is.
I hope you will let me know what you think about 1 Peter 1:3. You can send me an email at
[email protected] or call/text me at 908-581-2665. I would love to hear what you think and I
pray God’s richest blessings on you as you ruminate on God’s word!!
Blessings in Christ,
Ginny Cetuk, Administrative Pastor
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October Communion Offering , ,,,,
Please give generously on World Communion Sunday!
Sunday, October 6, 2019 One Bread, One Body, One Lord of All!
The people of The United Methodist Church believe that all of God’s chil-
dren have been created and gifted to build the kingdom Jesus ushered in.
On World Communion Sunday, your giving helps to provide scholarships
for national and international graduate students whom God has gifted to
learn and to serve. We make higher education possible for ethnic
students who will be the first generation in
their families to attend college, and for
people of color who haven’t historically
had access to these
resources. Because of your giving on
World Communion Sunday, the most pow-
erful tool to change the world is in more
hands.
Thank you for your generosity.
http://www.umcgiving.org/ministry-
articles/world-communion-sunday
Discernment: A Year-Long Practice
In August and September, I invited you to a year-long practice of Discernment. The invitation
continues, and it will throughout the year. And along the way, I will continue to give you tools and
resources to help you enter this practice.
I’m sharing this Examen Practice with you once again, because it’s a solid foundation on which
to build any practice of Discernment.
As a way of praying, ask yourself
the following questions as you
reflect upon the day* you’ve just
experienced. Pay attention to how
you noticed these things in your
soul, in your body, in your heart, in
your mind. Allow God to reveal you
to yourself. Perhaps you will want
to journal your responses. Perhaps
you have images, sounds, feelings,
or words, you want to capture for
yourself. Perhaps this is a primarily
internal process for you.
Where have I experienced energy, joy, and fullness of life in this day*?
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Visioning Retreat,
October 12, 9am-2pm, PUMC
Knowing God’s vision for our church, knowing where
we are headed, is crucial for our church community.
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says, “Where there is no vision,
the people perish.” Put another way in The Message
version of scripture, “If people can’t see what God is
doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when
they attend to what [God] reveals, they are most
blessed.” God’s vision for us will direct our resources,
our energy, our time, our people, our finances. Without it, we are at the mercy of the next great idea, easi-
ly getting distracted, staying busy, but not necessarily moving anywhere in particular.
With God’s vision, on the other hand, we join God’s work of building and dwelling in God’s Kingdom / Kin-
dom! With God’s vision, we align ourselves with God’s work and purposes for us and for those around us.
And when we do that, there is no limit to what God will do in us and through us to bear fruit, change lives,
transform our community, fill people with abundant life, allowing healing, peace, justice, reconciliation,
and love to flow.
God has a vision for us! God has big dreams! We are collectively listening, discerning what those dreams
are over the next several months together. And it begins on October 12 at 9am in the PUMC sanctu-
ary! We need you to come, help us to listen and dream big with God. Click here to SIGN UP TODAY!
https://princetonumc.breezechms.com/form/b457a0 There is no cost for this Visioning Retreat, though
we ask you to sign up so we can plan for lunch, supplies, and space. Questions? Ask Pastor Jenny.
Where have I felt drained, anxious, or less alive in this day*?
Where have I felt close or connected to God in this day*?
Where have I felt distant or disconnected from God in this day*
*You can reflect on any time period or event - year, season, week, day, vacation, school year,
holiday, gathering, meeting, project, etc. Substitute the appropriate word for “day” as needed.
You can also do this with a group of people as well as individually.
Blessings as you practice! And know that any spiritual practice will challenge us as we seek to
incorporate it into our lives. We might become bored or frustrated or wonder if it’s “working”. We
might discover things that we would rather not be aware of. Yet, if we allow, the formation is in
the struggle. That is, God brings us more fully alive, more fully to love, through the very
challenges we encounter. So keep practicing! And know that I would love to hear how your
discernment practice is going!
“We often equate discernment with a skill which we must master rather than the gift of God’s
love which guides us home to Love.” ~Rose Mary Dougherty
Peace and love, Pastor Jenny
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United Methodist Men’s Breakfast
Sunday, October 13, 2019—8am
Fellowship Hall
Join us for the October Monthly Breakfast where the speaker will be
T’Lea Smith, of the American Red Cross.
T’Lea will bring us up to date on today’s American Red Cross and
it's numerous activities and volunteer opportunities . Join us for this
impactful information and time of fellowship. All are welcome.
Suggested donation $5.
I Like giving: Fostering generosity
We are created to give generously and joyfully, to share creatively and extravagantly
what God has given us. When we do, amazing things happen!
There is this extraordinary story in Exodus 35-36: It was after the Exodus, and Mo-
ses and the Hebrew people had discerned that God was inviting them to build a
tabernacle, a place for worship. Moses invited the people to make an offering to
the Lord: “Let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering. . . “ He goes
on to suggest all sorts of materials - precious metals, fibers, cloth, wood, leather.
And then he asks for an offering of skills - labor, artistry, craftsmanship, design,
spinning, weaving, intelligence, knowledge. “And so they came, everyone whose
heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and brought the Lord’s offering.” It goes on to
detail the numerous extravagant, creative, generous gifts of the people to the Lord, to their community.
But here’s the really amazing part. There was such an outpouring of gifts from the women and men, they
couldn’t handle all of the donations! There was “more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has
commanded us to do.” Moses actually told people to stop bringing offerings for the tabernacle. Can you
imagine? When have you ever heard someone tell you to stop giving? What a joyful place to be - to know
that we’ve given so creatively and extravagantly, out of the stirring of our hearts and the willingness of
our spirits, that we’d given more than enough for the work that God was calling us to!
“I Like Giving” is our theme for our fall stewardship pledge campaign, where we are inviting you to
creative, joyful, extravagant generosity to join in the work that God is doing through PUMC. God has
given so much to us. We can’t out-give God. But I invite you to try!
Our “I Like Giving” theme comes from Brad Formsa’s exploration of generosity as a way of life, which he
shares through a collection of wonderful stories about giving. We’re going to be sharing some of our own
stories of giving as well, but check this one out for some inspiration.
What is your “I Like Giving” story? When have you discovered, like the Hebrews in Exodus, that your
heart was stirred and your spirit willing, and your gift made a difference - in you and in the recipient?
We invite you to (re)discover the joy of living generously! How is God stirring your heart to give?
Questions? Responses? Have a story of generosity to share (your own or that of someone else)? Contact
Pastor Jenny
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Deadline for the November Newsletter
october 15
Princeton UMC is a Stephen
Ministry Congregation
For the latest news and updates,
Nassau Street & Vandeventer Ave.
7 Vandeventer Avenue
Princeton, NJ 08542
609-924-2613
Rev. Jenny Smith Walz, Lead Pastor
Rev. Ginny Samuel Cetuk, Administrative Pastor
Rev. Skitch Matson, Discipleship Pastor