OCTOBER 18, 2026 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
In the Spirit | by Bernard Stanley Hoyes
7 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton, NJ, 08542 609 924 2613 www.princetonumc.org
Pre-Service Music
THE CHURCH GATHERS Andantino from 25 Preludes
Ciu
Call to Worship By grace we have been saved through faith. This is not our own doing; it is the gift of God! We are God's handiwork, created for good works. God's grace is at work in us, shaping us for love. Grace moves through our prayers and our presence, our gifts and our service, our words and our actions. By the Holy Spirit, God's love takes shape in our lives. Come, let us worship the God who loves us into being and calls us into loving action. We receive God's grace. We live God's grace. We share God's grace. Thanks be to God!
Hymn
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
UMH #57
Prayer of Confession The Lord be with you. And also with you. We join our hearts, our spirits, our voices as one, naming our need for grace and mercy. Gracious God, your love comes to us before we ask, before we act, before we have anything to offer in return. Yet we confess that we sometimes live as though your love must be earned. At other times, we receive your grace but resist the ways it calls us to grow. We are grateful for your love, but reluctant to let it change our priorities, our habits, or our relationships. Forgive us when we separate faith from action, prayer from service, love for you from love for our neighbors. Open our eyes to the work of your Spirit within us. Shape our hearts, our hands, our voices, our time, our resources, and our relationships, so that your grace may become visible in the ways we live. Make us more fully the people you have created us to be. silence for prayer
Words of Assurance
Hear the good news: We are saved by grace, not by works. God's love is not a reward for what we have done, nor is it withdrawn when we fall short. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, beloved, and made new. And God's grace is still at work within us, forming us for lives of love and good works. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Amen.
SHARING IN WORSHIP TODAY
Acolytes - Sidnee Mezazem, Anna Griffiths Liturgists - Josh Chen, Vinette Jones, Christina Lelache Musicians - Intergenerational Choir, Julia Hanna Ushers - Ralph Newhall, Rich Hadley, James Frisbee, Ulanda Frisbee
TODAY’S FLOWERS ARE GIVEN IN MEMORY OF NAOMI, HENRY, BOBBY AND RICHIE MELLER
BY IDA CAHILL
TO HEAR THE WORD AND REFLECT
Music Ministry
For the Beauty of the Earth
John Rutter
Children's Time
Where Children Belong
TFWS #2233
Scripture Reading Ephesians 2:8-10 (p.181) This is the Word of Life. Thanks be to God. Sermon
“Live Faithfully”
Rev. Jenny Smith Walz
TO RESPOND IN FAITH Story Sharing
Theresa Cann
Prayers of the People The Lord's Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Offertory
Opus 23
Dustin O’Halloran
Hymn
Doxology
UMH #94
Prayer of Thanksgiving
AND SCATTERS TO BE IN THE WORLD
Hymn
Forth in Thy Name
UMH #438
Benediction Recessional Postlude
I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me
arr. Paul Taylor
PRAYER CONCERNS
Prayers for all giving and receiving hospice care. May strength, calm, compassion, and rest be available to them. For those from religious and secular spaces in our society who work towards a freer, fairer, more humane, and just world. Prayers for all who are victims of violence and abuse, and for those who come forward to name the perpetrators, to blow the whistle, and to shine a light on injustice.
HAVE PRAYER CONCERNS?
For our Prayer Chain, call Yvonne Macdonald at 609-577-8369 or email her at yvonnee.mac@verizon.net. Email Tyler Mathiasen at tyler@princetonumc.org when you or a family member is in the hospital or in need of a pastoral call.
WELCOME TO
Princeton United Methodist Church 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.
SCAN TO GIVE OR TEXT YOUR GIFT AMOUNT TO 609-554-1128
SCAN TO CONNECT WITH US OR TEXT 'PUMC' TO 609-542-2192
ANNOUNCEMENTS CHURCH CONFERENCE
Our annual Church Conference will be held on Saturday, October 31 at Browns Mills UMC. The Church Conference will begin at 11:30am. Rev. Jana Purkis-Brash will preside. We are working to make it possible to join via zoom as well. Stay tuned.
SING WITH US THIS ADVENT
Come sing with the Intergenerational Choir during the Advent Season! We will start rehearsals for Advent Music on Sunday, November 1. The choir meets from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. to prepare for worship. We meet following worship from 11:45 - 12:30 p.m.
STAFF
Pastor - Rev. Jenny Smith Walz Administrative Director - Tyler Mathiasen Director of Youth Ministry - Brooke Foster Director of Children’s Ministry - Blessing Gwatana Music Director - Tom Shelton Director of Communications - Abby Gillette Church Sexton - Gilmar Enamorado Custodial Staff - Santos Gonzales, Mario Villatoro
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