Blessing of the Backpacks

For some of us, the advent of a new school year is exciting. We hear West Side Story lyrics (“The air is hummin’ and somethin’ great is comin’… “) in our heads and tap dance to the bus stop. School shopping is the absolute best – bouquets of pencils delight us. We just can’t wait to color code our planners. For others, a new school year brings trepidation and an onslaught of anxious questions. Will I like my new teacher? What if my best friend isn’t in my class? … What if I get a bad grade?... don’t make the varsity team?... 

No matter where your kids fall on this spectrum, they will likely carry a backpack to and from school. These backpacks may be mostly empty or crammed full of books and papers. No matter how full they are of stuff, they will contain hopes, dreams, fears, and questions for each new season and each new day of this academic year. If you are a teacher, you will be carrying supplies back and forth to your classrooms as well. 

We invite you all (Preschoolers through High Schoolers, Teachers, College Students, Grad Students, & Professors) to bring those backpacks and schoolbags to Trinity on September 17. Bring them empty or full. Invite a friend! Adults, even if you’re done with school, you are welcome to receive a blessing for your work. If you’d like in on this, we invite you to bring your briefcases, tote bags, or backpacks as well. The priests will bless the bags during the 10:30 a.m. service, to honor all the hopes, dreams, and fears that accompany the new school year, and to ask for God to strengthen, sustain, and encourage all our children as they learn and grow throughout the year. 

The folks at Illustrated Ministries have designed this year’s tag with a simple reminder: You Matter! God sees all of us, knows all of us, and loves us – each of us matters to our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Knowing this, you can pass this message on to your neighbors, near and far. There are color versions of these tags, pre-laminated, so you can attach them and go. Or if you’d like to decorate your own tag, Emily has black and white unlaminated versions of the tag for you to color yourself. 


God’s God Us & We’ve Got This!

Emily

Readings — Three Irish Women Poets

Tuesday, September 26 at 4-5:30pm 
in Pierce-Bishop Hall

Please RSVP to Colette Breen at colette_breen@yahoo.com.

In this collaborative reading three acclaimed Irish poets, Jane Clarke, Katie Donovan and Catherine Phil MacCarthy reflect on a changing Ireland. In the process, they explore how poetry may reveal and restore the past, giving memory and story legitimacy.  They affirm Michael Longley's assertion that "A poet must look after words... And he must not use them as a mere tool, but rather make with them..."

Jane Clarke has published three collections with Bloodaxe Books, The River (2015), When the Tree Falls (2019) and A Change in the Air (2023). Jane received the Ireland Chair of Poetry Travel Award 2022, the Listowel Writers' Week Poem of the Year 2016. A Change in the Air is short-listed for the Forward Prize in Poetry 2023. She grew up on a farm in Co. Roscommon and now lives with her wife in the uplands of Co. Wicklow. janeclarkepoetry.ie

Katie Donovan has published five collections, all with Bloodaxe Books (UK). Her most recent, Off Duty (2016) was short-listed for the Irish Times /Poetry Now Prize. Her work has appeared in the best-selling anthology Staying Alive: real poems for unreal times and The Wake Forest Book of Irish Women Poets. She edited Ireland's Women: Writings Past and Present.  She grew up in a farm in Co. Wexford and now lives in Dalkey, a suburb of Dublin. katiedonovan.com

Catherine Phil MacCarthy has published five collections of poetry including Daughters of the House (2019) and The Invisible Threshold (2012) - short-listed for the Irish Times/ Poetry Now Prize. She is a former editor of Poetry Island Review and was awarded a month-long residency at Varuna, the National Writers' House, NSW, Australia (2022) for work on her forthcoming collection, Catching Sight.  A native of Limerick, she lives in Dublin.      catherinephilmaccarthy.com

Parish Care Announces GriefEncounters

Grief is one of life’s most profound experiences. Many of us are simply not prepared for the level of sadness, isolation and vulnerability that often result after losing someone whom we love deeply. This October, Trinity Episcopal Church will partner with Nassau Presbyterian Church at its Fall Session of GriefEncounters.

This support group is open to all Trinity parishioners and friends who have sustained the recent or not so recent loss of a loved one. The meetings will be held Tuesday, 7-8:30pm, in the conference room at Nassau Presbyterian Church on October 17 & 24; November 7, 14 & 28; and December 5. There will be no meeting on Tuesday, October 31 (Halloween) or on Tuesday, November 21 (Thanksgiving week).

Each meeting will incorporate confidential sharing and guided conversation, with supportive scripture and prayer. If you are interested in finding out more information about the group, please email Deacon Hank Bristol at hbristoldcn@gmail.com.

Did You Bring Me Anything?

Greta was understandably delighted to see me again after 11 days away. She asked me if I had brought her anything, and of course I did — a new collar and a chew toy.

 
 

As I was preparing to come home, I reflected on the gifts that I had received on my trip too.

When I walked St Cuthbert’s Way in 2015, the image that stayed with me was the path across the tidal sands marked with poles. Vocation — as I often tell folks — is a matter of walking from pole to pole, focusing on the next right step even though the end is hard to see. It was a word I needed as a new priest in the middle of a PhD program, anxious about jobs.

 
 

This time, as a more experienced priest in a long-term ministry setting, what struck me were the little markers on the trail. They are not large! And sometimes, like in this picture, they’re hard to notice if you aren’t looking, expecting to find them. This one led between the back of a house and a fence! I almost missed it. The word for me now is LOOK: look for the small signs of God at work, even where you least expect them. God is constantly at work at Trinity Church, and it’s important to constantly look for the markers.

 

I wanted to virtually share with you two more places that I hope to share with you in person: Little Gidding and Canterbury Cathedral.

 

An Introduction to Little Gidding

Inside the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Little Gidding

Canterbury Cathedral

A few extra pictures from Canterbury:

Walking the Pilgrims’ Way

Arriving at the West Gate of the city

The Compass Rose is the symbol of the global Anglican Communion

The site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket, where I offered each one of your prayer requests. Thank you for entrusting me with the ministry of intercession.

Another view of St. Thomas’ martyrdom

The steps to the high altar, where St. Thomas’ shrine was located, have been worn down by pilgrims’ feet. It was also traditional to climb these steps on your knees.

Are you ready to look for some signs of God’s work here at Trinity Church? Let’s go!

 
 

Yours faithfully in Christ,

 

The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kara Slade, Associate Rector

 

Trinity Needs New Usher Volunteers

The usher guild urgently needs new members for both services, to maintain our normal 5 week rotation (and hopefully to expand to 6 weeks). Primary usher duties are to provide a friendly greeting, to pass the collection plate, and to help guide parishioners to the communion rail. Ushers can request to serve at either the 8am or the 10:30am service, and training is included. To join this rewarding ministry, contact Spencer Reynolds, Head Usher, at sreynolds92@gmail.com.

A Postcard from the Pilgrims Way

Dear Trinity friends,

Greetings from the village of Chilham, where I am about to walk to Canterbury and take your prayers with me. I wanted to share a few moments of my travels so far. Check out the videos below, and see the pictures for more detail. I didn’t want to disturb people by making videos inside churches, so I took pictures instead.

In Christ,

 

The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kara Slade, Associate Rector

 

The Temple Church, London

Mother church of the Magna Carta and the common law

A wonderful example of Norman architecture

The round interior of the church is an allusion to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and to the ties between the Knights Templar and Jerusalem

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford

Reformation Memorial

The chancel is built at a slight angle to the rest of the church — your eyes aren’t deceiving you! This is called a “weeping chancel” and signifies the image of Jesus inclining his head towards penitent sinners in mercy.

The flat notch in this pillar was cut to hold the platform where Thomas Cranmer was supposed to publicly recant his Reformation ideals — and refused to do it.

A Few Bonus Pictures:

A procession for the feast of St Mary at the Anglo-Catholic parish of All Saints’ Margaret Street in London. The gentlemen in red coats are Chelsea Pensioners, retired soldiers who participated as an honor guard.

I ran into recent Princeton graduate (and ECP alum) JJ not once, but twice on this trip! If you are an 8am person you may know JJ from Trinity as well.

I also had the pleasure of dinner in Oxford with AKMA and Margaret Adam, who were at Trinity when Leslie Smith was rector.

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