Fall Newsletter 2025
Ears to Hear
Note from the Pastor
“If you have ears to hear, then hear!” - Jesus, Luke 8:8b
Dear Beloved PUMC Community,
Why is listening - really listening - so hard for us to do? Most of us were taught from the time we were very young that we need to listen to learn, to be a good friend or partner, to express care for others. We also know what it feels like NOT to be listened to, and the deep pain that can come from that. We know a lot about the importance of listening, and yet, it can be such a challenge to do so well.
I sense that listening can quickly overwhelm us these days. There’s so much to listen to that it can be difficult to decide who or what to listen to. Sometimes it’s hard to hear ourselves among the cacophony of sound, much less hear God or others well.
What if we think of listening as a spiritual practice, as part of our discipleship journey as a follower of Jesus? Could that give extra weight to our commitment to listening, even through the difficulties of it? Could cultivating listening as a holy and spiritual practice help shape us into people who listen with more depth and wisdom?
Jesus was interested in the ways we listen, as were the prophets before him. They are frequently imploring the people of God to have “ears to hear,” to be people who listen, understand, and do the word and will of God. Listening is one of those threads that is woven throughout scripture. Listening is foundational to our relationships with God and with one another, so fundamental to our human flourishing.
We’ll be spending time these next weeks exploring what scripture, tradition, reason, and experience have to say to us about listening. We’ll start by opening our hearts to holy listening and learning to tune into God’s voice. Then we’ll turn to see how we experience love and healing when we are truly heard. We’ll join God in hearing the cries of the world. And we’ll see how the holy practice of listening ultimately transforms us - our lives, our relationships, our community - into builders of God’s kingdom.
While we’ll focus on this during the early fall, I invite us to engage in listening as a spiritual practice for the year ahead - as a yearlong community spiritual practice. Let's seek to be people with “ears to hear.” It may be among the most important and radical things we can do at this moment in time.
Peace and love,
P.S. - Here are a few ideas to start practicing holy listening:
Go for a walk and listen to God’s voice in creation
Invite someone new to PUMC to get coffee or tea and ask them a few curious questions
Invite a neighbor for a walk around the neighborhood
Find a comfortable chair, pur away your phone, and sit in silence for 10-20 minutes
Contents
The Fellowship of Listening
Sermon Series dates
Staff Spotlight
Who is Princeton UMC?
Leadership Bios
Discipleship Bios
The Fellowship of Listening
Notes from Deitrich Bonhoeffer
In September, as we think about the Christian art of listening, our sermon series is titled “Ears to Hear.” Some advice on the subject comes from Life Together, a book on Christian community written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian who died in a Nazi prison.
“Some Christians talk where they should be listening. And if you can’t listen to your next-door neighbor, soon you will no longer be listening to God.”
“Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. Listening can be a greater service than speaking.”
As Bonhoeffer wrote,
“The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear. So, it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him.
One who cannot listen long and patiently will presently be talking beside the point and be never really speaking to others, albeit he be not conscious of it. Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies.”
To bring the value of listening into the 21st century, we can turn to surveys made by the Future of Faith, “a collective effort to bolster one community at a time by helping them listen and love in real, dedicated ways…”
“Faith formation isn’t just about teaching the right lessons,” says Josh Packard, co-founder of Future of Faith. “It’s about creating space for people to wrestle with their beliefs, ask hard questions, and feel heard. Our latest research reveals that being listened to is one of the most powerful drivers of faith development—especially for young people.”
When Future of Faith surveyed more than 2,000 people, 73% of adults and teens reported that they grow in faith when someone listens to them share their beliefs without judgment.
Those surveyed said that a top thing listeners can do to encourage someone to integrate faith into their daily is ask reflective questions. Then, to build trust, add follow up questions.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, London, 1939
the findings of Future of Faith survey of 2,000 people, referenced on pg. 3
“Ears to Hear” Sermon Series
Do we listen well? Do we have “ears to hear?” The sermon series may be able to help us. It will inclu these topics:
September 7: “A Listening Heart”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Luke 8:4-8
September 14: “Tuning In, Tuning Out”
1 Kings 19:9-13, John 10:1-5
September 21: “Love Listens”
Psalm 34:15-18, Luke 24:13-35
September 28: “Hearing the Cries”
Psalm 10:17-18, Luke 18:35-43
October 5: “Hearers and Doers”
Isaiah 55:2b-3, Matthew 7:24-29
Meet Brooke Foster: Youth Director at PUMC
by Kate Lasko
Despite being far away from her home in north Texas, PUMC’s Youth Director Brooke Foster feels right at home here, ensconced among her favorite group of people: the youth.
During Brooke’s childhood, the Fosters moved several times: Ohio, southern Indiana, and Texas. Though homes and neighborhoods changed, the Methodist Church remained a constant in their lives. “My parents were really invested in their local UMC in Ohio,” she shares, adding “We spent a lot of time there between pre-school, Sunday school, and my parents’ involvement in almost everything!” By the time she was a teen in Texas, Brooke’s involvement in church programming grew to include leadership roles, serving on the Conference Council on Youth Ministry and as president on her local youth council. As youth lay leader, “I organized a district-wide youth service day to build Little Free Libraries for Dallas and refugee communities,” she shares. For this initiative, upwards of 70 youth helped build, paint, and fill those libraries. She and the youth also had help from some local churches, congregation volunteers and the Upper Room, which donated books. “I spent all the time I could at church,” she admits, smiling.
The decision to pursue ministry didn’t come upon Brooke like a bolt of lightning but as a call that grew over her years serving at the local church and conference levels. She continued to nurture that call during her undergraduate years at Lipscomb University, where she studied English Writing, Biblical Greek, and Missional Entrepreneurship. “Each summer, I interned in various ministry settings: pastoral intern, chaplain’s assistant, pastoral and youth intern at my home church,” she recalls, adding, “My call strengthened as I led yearly student service trips to the Philippines and Scotland.”
After graduating from Lipscomb in 2018, Brooke headed to Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) where, in addition to her M.Div, she earned certificates in ‘Theology, Women, and Gender” and “Theology, Ecology, and Faith Formation.” As a student, Brooke worked at PTS’s Institute for Youth Ministry in several capacities and currently works full time at the seminary’s Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network as a program coordinator. Her work allows Brooke to channel her affection and respect for youth into programming that deepens faith, develops leadership skills, and builds community. “In my nearly two years with Polaris, I have mentored and equipped more than 140 young adult Christian leaders in 75 cities and 30 states,” she explains, adding “ This summer I am building a four-week virtual course on Sabbath practices that is set to launch during Advent.”
Her extensive background in youth leadership makes her a natural for leading PUMC’s Youth Group. As part of the curriculum (Illustrated Ministry’s Mini-Revolution), Youth Group gathers to share a meal, read
scripture, and practice Lectio Divina (a practice of engaging with Scripture that moves participants to a deeper, more personal encounter with God) “This year, we will shift a bit more to exploring the same scripture in youth that we are using in service,” she explains.
“My sincerest hope is that PUMC’s Youth Group would be a place where anyone can come and feel welcome, seen, valued, and known as a beloved child of God.”
In a recent study from Future of Faith, youth identify listening as a key skill to deepening relationships by building empathy, understanding, and trust. “If we don’t work on listening to our neighbors, we are missing a fundamental piece of our call as Christians,” Brooke states. “God calls us to love God and our
ore when they listen and follow up rather than simply so automatic, yet conversations today are often a simple while the other person is still talking. PUMC youth have res Brooke. “Each time we gather to break bread and read working to build a community that holds God at the center.” d “I want them to all feel like they have a role in creating
As much as Brooke brings to her role as director of Youth Group, she receives much more. “They challenge me to be fully present with them and to engage my faith in different ways,” she shares. Plus, she adds, “they are fun, honest, and willing to ask some of the hardest questions about their faith.”
With the support of PUMC, Brooke is a candidate for ordination as a deacon in the Greater NJ Annual Conference and continues to move toward ordination and a future beyond this Youth Group. Until that time comes, however, she is thrilled to spend some of her time working with young people who are so “talented, articulate, and intelligent ” toward building community.
Listening
by Amy Lowell
’Tis you that are the music, not your song. The song is but a door which, opening wide, Lets forth the pent-up melody inside, Your spirit’s harmony, which clear and strong Sing but of you. Throughout your whole life long Your songs, your thoughts, your doings, each divide This perfect beauty; waves within a tide, Or single notes amid a glorious throng. The song of earth has many different chords; Ocean has many moods and many tones
Yet always ocean. In the damp Spring woods
The painted trillium smiles, while crisp pine cones Autumn alone can ripen. So is this
One music with a thousand cadences.
Who is Princeton UMC?
PUMC is a diverse network with a wide variety of backgrounds, gifts, personalities, and beliefs. We have created our mission, vision, and core values to honor the diversity that is God’s creation and keep our actions and choices focused on him. Part of listening to God as a spiritual practice is to live into his teachings, and we believe these statements reflect this and remind us to hear our community’s needs and push us in the direction God is calling us.
Engaged Growth Core Values
We actively further our journey of discipleship, immersing ourselves in the community, tools, and guidance that form us, free us, and perfect us in love. Through our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, we strengthen and grow our beloved PUMC community with generosity and joy.
Contagious Joy
We practice joy, delighting in God's presence and grace in every aspect of our lives. Our joyful responses to God's grace spark joy in those around us.
Disciplined Discernment
We cultivate our individual and collective practice of listening for and aligning ourselves with God’s direction and purposes. Rooted in scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, our contemplative practice guides us to options and actions that lead to divine love, compassion, and life for others and ourselves.
Deepening Diversity
We reflect God's diverse creation and the fullness of God's kingdom as a fully inclusive, equitable, accessible, multi-cultural, antiracist community in all aspects of our life together.
Our Vision
Compassionate Servanthood
Following Jesus to the margins of society and experience, we seek to see, know, love, and share with those are outcast, overlooked, oppressed, forgotten. Together we work for justice, and restoration.
Creative Innovation
We embrace our God-given creativity to experiment, explore, try new things, embracing our failures and our discoveries. We are open to new ideas, expressions of faith, and ways of being church, paving the way for others.
Holy Boldness
We are emboldened by the Holy Spirit to do hard things and face our fears, while rooting deeply in the life-giving way of Jesus: speak truth to power, stand with the marginalized, maintain unyielding integrity, engage in difficult conversations, follow God’s call, even when it’s risky and unpopular.
Whole-Hearted
Authenticity
We welcome the transformative love of God that empowers us and sets us free to connect with others as our authentic, imperfect selves and embrace others as they do the same. We embody our belovedness and that of all people, trusting that we are enough because God is enough.
PUMC practices joy, celebration, abundance, forgiveness, freedom, sabbath, justice, and shalom, becoming a Jubilee community.
We seek to empower people to embrace the fullness of life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, finding liberation from loneliness, busyness, not enough-ness, shame, and trauma.
We engage community partners and invite our neighbors to join our efforts to create a more liberated and free greater-Princeton community by working to eradicate racial, economic, and social injustice for people of all ages.
We are committed to creating and maintaining physical, spiritual, and online space that is gracious, restorative, and healing.
Our Mission
We are a diverse faith community, engaged in enlivening spiritually thirsty people to joyfully respond to God’s love and grow as disciples of Christ, so that together we may experience the fullness of life.
Leadership Board Bios
At PUMC, we feel community is imperative to live the way Jesus called us. Each of our leaders are members of our beloved community and stays involved to help keep it functioning and thriving. While you may know them for their role in church, their unique backgrounds reflect the vibrant family we have at PUMC. Listed below is an introduction to our leaders, along with their favorite parts of our church mission statement, core values, or vision.
Job: Co-chair, Leadership Board.
Places: Born in Philadelphia, lived in Burlington County, “a Jersey Girl at heart.”
Family: Married to Maurice, stepmother and mother-in-law to Justin and Yuriko and Jason and Lisa, stepgrandma to Mathew, Reyna, Will, Max, and Lucy.
Highlight: Serving as Human Resources Vice President in China for Lucent, at age 55. “The most transformative professional and personal experience of my life. I left with a new sense of wonder and adventure and confidence.”
Joined in 2001, transferring from Montgomery UMC when I married Maurice.
Favorite words: I resonate most with Deepening Diversity in terms of getting to know the uniqueness of one another in a deeper and more meaningful way. I also resonate with Contagious Joy. I want to be filled with joy and help others to experience joy when they engage with PUMC.
Chip Carstensen
Iona Harding
Job: Co-Chair, Leadership Board.
Places: Born and raised in Cleveland, lived in California, Illinois, New York City, and Princeton.
Family: wife Marilynn, daughter Haley and her husband Derek in NYC, son Andrew in Los Angeles, mother Elizabeth living in Lawrenceville.
Highlight: career in finance with several banks and GE Capital; Now help run two small businesses in (a) solar power plus battery storage for businesses in Texas and Puerto Rico and (b) sensors remotely monitoring temperature and humidity for freezers in the life sciences. Joined in 1989.
Favorite words: “embrace the fullness of life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” a daily reminder of the miracle of life God has given us and the enormous potential each of us has to realize that miracle on our own and with others each and every day.
Job: Leadership Board, Children’s Ministry, Confirmation Teacher, VBS team
Places: Born in Ghana, lived in Accra, New York, and New J Family: Proud mom to vibrant, 7 year-old daughter and larg family in the U.S. and Ghana.
Highlight: Director in development program management, specia in oncology drug development. Board chair of FamUni Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering sin their children through financial assistance, educat support, and access to essential services.
Joined in 2020
Favorite words: The word ‘compassion’ deeply resonates with me. Whether in church service, parenting, or my work with the foundation, I strive to lead with empathy and care. Compassion our faith calls us to show up for one another with presence, generosity, and love.
Raphael Aryeetey
Pearl Assan
Job: Leadership Board.
Places: Born in Accra, Ghana. Lived in Accra, London, UK, and Princeton.
Married to Harriet and has three children – Andrew, Raphael, and Arianna.
“Watching my children grow in confidence, curiosity, and character. Whether it is seeing their love for music flourish through piano, their joy in participating in church activities, or their thoughtfulness in how they treat others, I find deep fulfillment in being part of their journey.”
Whole-hearted Authenticity calls us to show up fully and be honest about our doubts, imperfections, and hopes. If we do so, we create a space where others can do the same. There is something deeply sacred about a community that embraces vulnerability as strength and sees belovedness as foundational.
Jobs: Leadership Board, Tiffany Tour team, Chancel Choir.
Places: Born in Morgantown, West Virginia, Lived mostly in Lawrence, now winters in Long Boat Key, Florida.
Family: Married for 31 years, widowed.
Highlight: Forty-plus years as a local/state government executive and management consultant.
Joined about 12 years ago.
Favorite words: What resonates with me are action phrases — enlivening spirituality, eradicate injustice, and deepening diversity. At the same time, there are values of authenticity and joy throughout the work of our church that sustain me, especially when facing challenges. Developing and supporting programs and activities toward our vision is the role of the Discipleship and Leadership Boards. I am grateful to be a part of that work.
Christine Cox
Reggie Cann
Job: Leadership Board.
Places: Born in Ghana, lives in Princeton Junction.
Family: Married to Theresa, two daughters – Abrefi and Nana.
Highlight: Just retired as project management associate directorPharmaceutical Development at Bristol Myers Squibb. Joined in 2006
Favorite words: ‘We are a diverse faith community' reminds me of the book of Revelation where people from all corners of world were gathered at the throne of the chosen one to praise him.
Jobs: Leadership Board, chair of the Stewardship Committee.
Places: Born in New York City, grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, has lived in Philadelphia and outside of Chicago.
Family: Married to Rhinold Ponder, two children – Jamaica (26) and William (18).
Highlight: Served as Mayor of Princeton Township.
Joined in 2024, had been attending since 1999.
Favorite words: ‘We are a diverse faith community’ resonates with me – because I love the diversity of our congregation and I love the different ways that our congregants approach living their faith through service, fellowship, and commitment.
Connie Offer
Jobs: Leadership Board and Usher
Jobs: Leadership Board, VBS Team.
Places: Born in Ohio, lived in DC and New Jersey.
Family: husband Steven, daughter Victoria
Highlight: at a health insurance firm, director of Medicare operations Joined in 2013.
Favorite words: Compassion, because it builds relationships and community.
Places: Born in Jamaica, lived in Montego Bay, Kingston and New Jersey
Family: Parents, Blossom and Euton Griffiths; wife, Marie; children Nathaniel, Leanne, and Anna Kay
Highlight: I try to make a positive difference each day in everything I do.
Joined in 1999.
Favorite words: I enjoy being apart of a diverse community. It brings a richness of energy and thought that you don’t find everywhere.
Michele Tuck Ponder
Ian Griffiths
Discipleship Board Bios
Jobs: Discipleship Board Chair, Congregational Care Task Force, Love Lives On facilitator, volunteer at Maker’s Place.
Places: Born in Washington DC, raised in Amherst, Massachusetts, lived in Kalamazoo and Muskegon Michigan, NYC, and Princeton.
Family: Widowed, one daughter and two granddaughters living in Mexico, two siblings.
Joined in 1998, My daughter Jen was baptized, confirmed, and married here. My husband Don was Catholic but active in the choir and was laid to rest here in 2005.
Highlight: From an early age I was curious about the influence music on the health and well being of humans. I also heard a call to care for those with special needs. I have worked as a Music Therapist, a placement specialist for United Cerebral Palsy, and a Learning Disabilities Teacher/Consultant for Princeton Public Schools.
Favorite words: “...enlivening spiritually thirsty people to joyfu respond to God’s love…” is an affirmation and a call on my journey as a disciple of Christ.
Jazlyn Cruz
LaVerna Albury
Jobs: Discipleship Board, Youth Group Leader, Wednesday Prayer Leader.
Places: Born in New Brunswick, raised in North Brunswick and Franklin Park, currently reside in Somerset.
Family: Mom lives in central Jersey, two sisters live in the state.
Highlight: I love being able to support undergraduates and mentor them on their paths to working in industry. I work as a scientist in pharmaceuticals.
Joined PUMC this spring and is also active at Kingston United Methodist Church.
Favorite words: I take pride in the welcome statement saying ‘We are a diverse faith community’ because it is honest. People of all ages and backgrounds come to this church with the common goal of progressing our spiritual life. Within the church, you can feel the surge of energy and can always walk away learning something new whether in fellowship or during service.
As a place that celebrates diversity and works to stop this loneliness epidemic, wholehearted authenticity is my favorite core value. It reminds us that we all have gifts to offer and that we are truly invited as we are. Hearing that we are enough because God is enough speaks to why we should lead with the most honest version of ourselves. The mosaic of different people and strengths is what makes us greater together as a unit.
Jobs: Discipleship Board, Lay Servant, Lay Member to GNJ Annual Conference, Growth Group with Pastor Jenny.
Places: Born in Sierra Leone, lived in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican City, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Netherlands, Slovenia, Monaco, UAE, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Greece, Austria, Puerto Rico, Yemen, Liberia, Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Eritrea, Suan, Ethiopia, Togo, Senegal, Benin, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, and the United States.
Highlight: For the United Nations, as a Humanitarian Officer managed complex international humanitarian programs, and as Information Coordinator, she wrote many articles and coordinated humanitarian action with governments, ambassadors, donors, UN Agencies, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Non-Governmental Organizations, the media, and other regional bodies. In Eritrea she was nicknamed the “Mother of all CAPs” for her efficiency in preparing and managing the Consolidated InterAgency Emergency Appeals Process in humanitarian response and fundraising.
Joined in 2013.
Isabella Dougan
Favorite Words: “Holy Boldness.” As Christians, we should have serious conversations aboutJesus and what he expects of us. We must not be afraid to stand with the marginalized or suffering people. When we pray to God, He empowers us to speak and act boldly. Therefore, we must be true to our faith and bold in our witness.
Donna Robinson
Jobs: Discipleship Board, leader of the Thursday night Growth Group. Places: Born and raised in Roebling, New Jersey (20 miles south of Princeton), Philadelphia, DC/Maryland/Virginia area, moved back to NJ in 2019.
Family: Proud mom of three adult children.
Highlight: I earned a MA degree in Spiritual and Pastoral Care from Loyola University Maryland in 2012.
Joined in 2019.
Favorite words: Diverse and Together. My experience at Loyola exposed me to people of different nationalities and religious beliefs. We were able to respectfully discuss ancient Biblical passages and current events from our individual perspectives. There were lively discussions that helped me learn to listen to commonalities rather than only focus on our differences. I find that same experience here at PUMC. The person sitting next to me will not believe exactly as I do or receive the same message during service because we are individuals. We each worship the Creator in our own way and are welcomed at PUMC.
Job: Discipleship Board.
Places: Born in Summit, New Jersey. I have lived in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Missouri.
Family: I’m a widower (my wife died in 2012). My boys are 41 and 38, and my daughter is 35. I have seven grandchildren.
Highlight: I am an attorney doing environmental enforcement for the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.
Joined in 1987.
Favorite words: grow as disciples of Christ, so that together we may experience the fullness of life. To me our church, at the core, believes everyone can be a disciple of Christ, and we all work together to help make that happen.
David Dreibelbis
Rick Engel
Job: Discipleship Board
Places: Born in Winter Park, FL, lived in Yardley, Pennsylvania, Minnetonka, Minnesota, Princeton and Plainsboro.
Family: mother Leslie, wife Karen, daughters Louisa and Anita, three siblings.
Highlight: Working for 20 years in Medical Devices, I find great joy in manufacturing and selling products used in surgery.
Joined: officially in 2025, active since 2015.
Favorite words: PUMC is committed to creating and maintaining physical, spiritual, and online space that is gracious, restorative, and healing. I love this statement because it highlights the ways we can all cultivate our best selves to bear fruit for our world.
Jobs: Discipleship Board (just completed term on Leadership Board).
Places: Born in Ghana, lived in Italy, Namibia, Ethiopia, India, Switzerland, Botswana…now living in South Carolina.
Family: Widowed, three daughters – Awoye, Emefa, and Edem.
Highlight: At the United Nations, working on global policies and programs to meet the needs of people living with HIV and Aids, and at the New Jersey Department of Higher Education, helping minorities achieve their potential in a trying environment.
Joined in 2008.
Favorite words: Disciplined Discernment. PUMC provides a range of opportunities for individual and collective faith-growth paths to help one grow spiritually in the way and manner one chooses. The Growth Group has been an enriching experience for me in so many ways.
Emelia Timpo
