Our Father’s House Rocks! (2/25/16)
We need to put Jesus Above All else! Is He greater than your favorite TV star? Is He greater than your favorite athlete? What about music? Is Jesus your favorite Rock Star??? On Thursday Feb. 22 a group from Our Father’s House (our preschool), joined their own “rock band”, picked up their plastic guitars, started out with “ABC Rock” and then moved on by “rocking” to many Spiritual Hits such as: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands I’m Happy...
Read MoreBLAST Locked In on Getting Up in the World! (2/26/16)
Some major BLAST activity will be going on over the weekend of February 26-27. BLAST (Big Loud Awesome Spiritual Time) is our Youth Group. On Friday 2/26 we’re going to begin an overnight lock-in at the church by escaping to the High Elevations Trampoline park. After that, we’ll return to the church for an overnight “lock-in.” Here’s the itinerary: 8:30 – 11:00 PM High Elevations Trampoline Park 11:00 – 12:00 AM Pizza (back in the church) 12:00...
Read MoreYoung Adults are Fixin’ for Fun on the Beach! (3/5/16)
Ocean City? Beach? It’s only March!!! So what? It’s getting warmer, and our new Young Adults group can’t wait to take advantage of the tastes of Spring that we’re slowly being blessed with. On Saturday March 5, we’re traveling to Ocean City to play Ultimate Frisbee on the beach and enjoy other fun on the boards. We will finish with dinner there and then head back to Pitman UMC. Meet at Pitman UMC at 2:00 PM and we will be returning approximately 7:00 PM. Please...
Read MoreBoy Scouts set to Hold Spaghetti Dinner! (4/2/16)
PUMC is honored to host Boy Scout Troop 55, and one of the great things about that is their annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser! This year’s dinner will be served in our Fellowship Hall on Saturday April 2, from 4-7PM. Here are the details: Menu: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad, and… Etc. Food: Tastes great! Service: Friendly, and Fast as an Eagle! When: Saturday April 2, 4-7PM Price (adults): $10 Price (kids): $8 (smaller portion) This is an annual...
Read MoreWho’s Your Valentine? (2/14/16)
February 14… Valentine’s Day! Is it just another “Hallmark Holiday?” What is Love? What do we do with it? And bigger than that, what does it mean to be loved by God? And- really important- what do we do with THAT??? Pastor Jim took a look at these questions (and at some questionable pop music) during his sermon of February 14, 2016. Click the below “Play” button and scroll down to follow along (the recording is from the 9:30 service)… The...
Read MoreValentine’s Day Love Appears at PUMC (2/14/16)
The letters “PUMC” stands for “Pitman United Methodist Church”, but they mean so much more than a building, or a particular church, or an institution. “PUMC” is simply a gathering of people who are motivated by the Holy Spirit to grow closer to God and to extend His love to others. We are a people who see the Cross and react by reaching out our own arms. In our church on this morning of the day we call Valentine’s Day, the Holy Spirit’s work of...
Read MoreA Future with Hope: The Hope Chain
This post is another in a series of updates about our efforts to help people whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012… On this Valentine’s Day, let’s turn our attention to others and in some way latch on to the way that God loves and cares for His children with the Body of Christ. Here is the story of the Hope Chain… A Future With Hope On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. The destruction left by that storm was...
Read MoreCongregants Get a Dress-Down! (2/7/16)
As soon as we arrived to worship on Sunday February 7 (2016), we knew things would be different. Actually, Pastor Jim always tries to keep us on our toes, but this Sunday he greeted us wearing a Jerry Rice San Franscisco 49’ers jersey! One look around the sanctuary and it was easy to see that something was up when people were wearing clothes emblazoned with names such as Phillies, Eagles, Steelers, and Flyers. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and we were going to change things up a bit to...
Read MorePlaying on God’s Super Team (2/7/16)
Super Bowl Sunday! The day of the Big Game! In a few hours the Denver Broncos would battle the Carolina Panthers; each team trying to reach the endzone and to win the Super Bowl prize. Both teams taking their turns making mistakes (fumbles and turnovers). During our worship service we observed this “special day” by dressing down and wearing our favorite team jerseys. Our goal wasn’t to worship Sports; our goal was to learn whatever spiritual lessons we could from this...
Read MoreLenten Devotional for 2016
Members from four local churches have come together to produce a Daily Devotional for this year’s Lenten season. The booklets were published in hardcopy form and distributed within the participating churches, but electronic copies of the devotions are presented here. If you want a printed copy, visit or contact one of the participating churches: Evangelical UMC (Clarksboro) Zion Community Church (Clarksboro) Trinity United Methodist Church (Mullica Hill) and Pitman United Methodist...
Read MoreAsh Wednesday Service (2/10/16)
The Christian calendar has taken us from Advent, through Christmas, through Epiphany, and now we have reached Lent. Everything from the birth to the wise men leads us to this time that climaxes with the resurrection of our Savior on Easter Sunday. The season of Lent is a time of reflection: How is our relationship with God? Am I obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit? Am I growing closer to Christ? And, if not, what’s getting in the way? Pastor Jim’s Lenten sermon series is...
Read MorePUMC Celebrates Ministries with Luncheon (1/31/16)
Just a quick glance through our church newsletter (Steeple Notes), or through the “Coming Events” section of our bulletin, or at the Monthly Calendar (see the link on the website sidebar), reveals that this church is “busy.” But being “busy” and “doing things” doesn’t necessarily mean we’re “doing things” that glorify God. But when the Holy Spirit leads us into these activities, we are then participating in the...
Read MoreDress Down Sunday!!! (2/7/16)
Wear your favorite team jersey to church this Sunday!!! No, this isn’t an “April Fools” joke- it’s February… not April! Did you know that worship is supposed to be FUN, UPLIFTING, and REAL??? Formalities can lead us to a reverent attitude, but sometimes they can also seal us off into something that’s not genuine. And so on Sunday Feb. 7, we’re not going to be irreverent, but we are going to suspend the “dress code” and do things a bit...
Read MoreSnowed out! Missing Church This Morning??? (1/23/16)
Snowed out!!! After getting pounded for the past 36 hours, our roads, parking lots, and sidewalks are covered with snow. Moving about and navigating our sidewalks would be unsafe, so we took the unprecedented (?) step of cancelling our Sunday Morning Activities. So today is a day to dig out and clean up. But aren’t you missing going to church? For those who wouldn’t think of excluding Morning Worship from their Sunday routine, this morning feels kinda weird! Maybe even a bit...
Read More3rd and 4th Graders Learn to Be Jesus’ Hands and Feet (1/17/16)
The Third and Fourth graders in our Sunday School are practicing to be the “Hands” and “Feet” of Jesus by making a chain recording their good deeds. We’re hoping that by the end of the year, our chain will reach around the room! Standing in the Gap As we saw in a recent sermon, Ezekiel 22:30-31 uses the image of someone “Standing in the Gap” between God’s love and humanity’s sinfulness. God is calling us to be “priests”;...
Read MoreThe Surprise Gift (1/17/16)
This message is the third in a three part series called “Three Men and a Baby.” The first part focused on the gift of Gold; of how the Wise Men challenged us to give our best. This second part focused on the gift of Frankincense; of how Jesus is our great High Priest who bridges the wide gap between humanity and God. Before listening to this week’s sermon, you might want to take a look at the first two parts of this series… GOLD FRANKINCENSE Gold reminds us of the...
Read MoreA Future With Hope: Jeanne’s Story
This post is another in a series of updates about our efforts to help people whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012… When Jeanne and her husband moved into their home, they made it a special creative project. Her husband poured his talents into the home. But by the time Sandy had struck, Jeanne’s husband had passed away. The storm took away her touch and special memories with her late husband. As she awaits for her house to be repaired, she continues to pay...
Read MoreLiving Water Connections to Kick Off ’16 with Italian Dinner (1/15/16)
Living Water Connections Dinner Theater Presents… Italian Dinner Jan 15th, 2015 at 6:30 Featuring Performers: Jana Zollner, The Golden Voices of South Jersey, Peter Mace and Bruce Tyler, Noah Avis, Jerome Sheldon, Joachima Kim Speer, Jacqui Zollner, and Steve Legge Dinner cost is $3.00 at the door Please call Linda Headley at 609-254-7254 for more information. Dinner at 6:30 followed by performances until 9:30. Volleyball will be at 9:30 For more info about Living...
Read MoreOperation Shoebox Blesses 11 Million!
In 2015 more than 11 million shoebox gifts were delivered to children in 108 countries around the world. For some of these children this was the first Christmas gift they have ever received. Bible materials printed in 69 languages are included with each shoebox gift; so that every single box represents an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the children and their families. 89 of these boxes came from PUMC. Thanks to everyone who packed a box or donated materials. To God be...
Read MorePastors Ponderings: Christmas Wishes
Pastor Jim emailed the following devotional on January 5. We’re a bit slow in posting this message, but it’s relevant all year… Greetings Friends: Happy New Year to all! Since we are still in the holy season of Christmas (Epiphany begins January 6), I was trying to think of some way to express greetings to all of you. Below is a poem I actually came across many years ago. I recently found it again and feel led to share it with you. It really sums up what this...
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