Arm in Arm is a long-time partner of Trinity Church, helping Mercer County residents in need with food and housing assistance. Join fellow parishioners on Saturday, January 20, 2024 from 10 am to Noon as we prepare food packages for their pantry. We'll be doing this at Arm in Arm's facility at 1 N. Johnston Ave, Suite A230 in Hamilton NJ. Families are welcome but this activity is not recommended for young children. Please contact Melissa Scott at mebscott@comcast.net to register or for questions.
Stewardship Update
Joy to the world, the Lord is coming and our Savior reigns! As we look forward to our celebration of the birth of Jesus let us not forget our brothers and sisters who are hungry, homeless and experiencing challenges living day to day. It is through your financial support to Trinity that enables us to answer Jesus’ call, Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sister of mine, you did for me.” Your PLEDGE enables us to not only “keep our lights on” but to remember and show our concern for all of God’s children. Thank you if you have pledged, and please, pledge today if you haven’t. As of mid-week we have 249 families and individuals who have pledged with a total of $839,679 toward our goal of $1,000,000.
With gratitude for your support,
Trudy Sykes and Bill Hackett
Stewardship Co-Chairs
It is with heartfelt appreciation that we thank the following members of our Trinity community who pledged for 2024. We Are Trinity Church!
E. Kim Adams & Terrance O'Malley
Mary Elizabeth Allen
Judith Anderson
Linda Anderson
Greta Anderson
Nathan and Celeste Arrington
Betsy Ashton and James Stepleton
Vicki Austin-Smith
Louise Bachelder
Steven and Elizabeth Baglio
Janet Baker
Mark Baker and Susan Dibs
Barbara Banks
Grayson Barber
Daniel and Jennifer Bartell
Paul and Holly Becker
Micael and Betsy Bell
Andrew and Stephanie Benjamin
Merrill Biancosino
David and Bonnie Bivins
Michael Blaakman and Angharad Rebholz
Jayne Blankenship
Brett Boal and Lisa Shepard
Sheila Bodine
Raju and Lindsey Bohra
James and Olivan Boon
Henry and Michele Bowden
Benjamin Brand
Leslie Brecknell
Rebecca Brewer and Keith Snedeker
Dcn Henry and Susan Bristol
Ted and Barbara Bromley
Carol Brooks Thomas
Eric and Therese Brown
Greta Brown
Peter and Elizabeth Brown
Anne Bryson
Ryan Bubb
Margaret Burger
William Burks
B Thomas and Barbara Byrne
Jeanie and John Byrne
Kristen Callahan
Marlene Carlson
Milton and Elizabeth Charbonneau
Charles and Julia Chesebrough
Jeannette Ching
Valerie Ching
Dora Ching and Richard Wong
Linda Clark
Wendell Collins
Jeanne Conerly and David Venturo
Joseph and Donna Crafford
Donna Culin
Carter Cunningham
Randall and Heidi Currier
Daniel and Tracy Dart
Helene Davies
C VanLeer and Lynne Davis
Trey Delaney
Julia Denny Clark
Carol Desmond
Mike and Brenda Deverell
Adrian and Suzanne Dicker
Angela and Edward DiJoseph
Jacob and Patricia Dlamini
Annette Duvall-Atlee
Francis and Caryl Dyckman
Michael and Leslie Edwards
Anne Elliott
Shawn and Roberta Ellsworth
Art and Cheryl Eng
Alexander Englert and Luise Lampe
John Eory
Gustav and Constance Escher
Abigail Rian Evans
Larry and Wendy Evans
Stephen and Cheryl Evans
Marisa and Richard Farnum
Anne Faynberg
Evelyn Flory
Robert and Elizabeth Fraser
John Frederick
Antonia Fried
Richard and Mary Funsch
Vikram Galla and Pradeepa Jayakumar
Jeanne Garner
Julia Garry
Alexander Gedye and Fang Yan
Gregory Geehern
Aristides and Elizabeth Georgantas
Albert and Patricia Gerbig
Alexandra Gerry
Victor and Jacqueline Gibbs
Curtis and Sophie Glovier
Lloyd and Kari Gold
Solveig Gold and Joshua Katz
John and Judith Golden
Robin Gosnell
Allie Graham-Hicks and Margaret Hicks
John and Rebecca Griffith
Robert and Wanda Gunning
James and Kammi Gunton
William and Katharine Hackett
Helen Hannan
Carrie Hanson
Janet Haring
Dr Margaret Harper and Michael Gratkowski
Christine Hart
Dan and Nell Haughton
Jeanne-Louise Haviland
Jennifer Hayden
William and Aline Haynes
Donald Healy
Irene Hechler
JoAnn Heisen
Scott and Wendy Heiser
Dennis and Terri Hermann
Neal and Cynthia Hesterberg
Curtis Hoberman
Jim and Meg Holland
Charles and Lucia Huebner
Mary Hulme
Stu Hunter
Gregg H Hutchison
Andrea Hyde
Paul and Christina Jeanes
Lawrence and Deborah Jordan
Bruce Jordan and Jeanne Perantoni
Belrena Kelemen
Joyce Kelleher
Kenneth and Linda Kelly
Scott and Larissa Kelsey
John and Mary Kemp
Lanny King
Allan King and Helen Burke
Michael and Louise Kingston
Dana Klinges
David Knowlton and Diane Zompa
Nina Kola
Fred and Gina Kornfeind
Alex and Tricia Krajunus
Ira Lackey
David Lamb
William and Martha Lashbrook
Penelope Lattimer
Andrea Lauber
Ann Laughlin
Owen and Beverly Leach
Christopher Leavell and John Cooper
Lily Leonard
Lynn Lepore
Emma Levitt
Robert Lewis
Constance Leyden
Frank and Sharon Lorenzo
Kay Mack
Jean Mahoney
Robert and Joanna Martin
Sean and Alicia McCarther
Mark McConnell and Kangyan Chen
Maureen McCormick and Phillip Unetic
Lindsay McDowell
Scott McGoldrick and Linda Noel
Gary and Shirley McKnight
James and Julie Meidlinger
Robert Meier
Edwin and Nancy Metcalf
Jim Meyer
Theresa Meyers
John and Denise Miller
Douglas and Debbier Minck
Thalia Mingo
Donn Mitchell
Marc and Tina Marie Mitchell
Edmund Moeller
Dorothy Morin
John and Lauri Mulvey
Clive and Dulcie Muncaster
Jennifer Nasser
Sarah Jones Nelson
Joan Nester
Ronald Novak
Michael and Morgane O'Connell
Elaine Pagels
Peter and Els Paine
Stephen and Susan Paneyko
Constantin and May Papastephanou
Herman and Rosemary Parish
Dee Patberg
Deborah Pege
Anil and Nithila Peter
James Phillips
Joseph and Marte Pierson
Robert and Shirley Pietrucha
Conrad and Rebecca Plimpton
Madeline Polhill
John Pollock
Robert Predale and Karen Howard
Frances Preston
Jolyon and Emily Pruszinski
Peter and Mary Anne Quinn
Gil and Camille Quinton
Paul Raeder and Robert Holley
John Rassweiler
Elizabeth Read
Rebecca Reynolds
Abigail and Spencer Reynolds
Juliet Richardson and John Wynne
Lester and Barbara Robbins
Claire Roberts
William and Maeryn Roebling
Linda Rothkopf
Wesley Rowell
Clarence and Leslie Rowley
Ralph and Barbara Rubano
Henry Rulon-Miller
Sherrie Russell-Brown
Susan Sanford
Blaise and Ramona Santianni and Romero
John and Ruth Sayer
William and Lisa Schmid
Crawford Schneider
David and Molly Schneider
William Schowalter
Thomas and Melissa Scott
Edith Senyumba
Elizabeth Sheldon
J Nicole Shelton
Jane Shillaber
Tara Sikma
Kara Slade
Steve and Jean Snyder
Thomas and Margaret Southerland
John and Carol Spears
Vernon and Elaine Spencer
James and Michelle Stabler-Havener
James and Monica Stahl
Michael and Jody Stebbins
Anne Steinhorn
Elizabeth Stenard
Rob and Pegi Stengel
Mary Stevens
William and Joanna Storrar
John Sturges
John Sully and Katherine Rohrer
William A Sweeney
Gary and Trudy Sykes
Joseph Syzdek and JoAnn Witherow
Susan Tarr
Constance Tate
Sandi Tatnall
Sylvia Temmer
Jovi and Nancy Tenev
Andros Thomson
John Thurman and Hilary Winter
Daphne Townsend
James Trowbridge
Linda Twining
Martin and Joan Valcin
Janet Van Abs
Sara Vasiliu
Henry and Meredith Von Kohorn
Robert von Zumbusch
Ronald Waetzman and the Rev Stephen Connor
Brent Walker
J Calvin and Judy Walker
M'lou Walker
John and Happy Wallace
Carol Walsh
Robert Walsh
Wendy Warren and Joseph Fronczak
Amy and Jeff Watkins
George and Judy Webb
Ann Weeks
Christy Welborne
Dorothy Werner
Cynthia Westbrook
Maureen Westerman
Dennis Wheeler and Catherine O’Neill
Frederick Wherry and James Furst
Constance White
John and Susanne White
John White and Mary Alden
Cheryl Whitney
Amelia Willson
John and Kathleen Winant
Bruce Woodger
Stuart and Winifred Woody
Gil Woody
Richard and Ann Zultner
Advent Credo
I love this poem by Allan Boesak. It speaks to the mystery of Advent, and particularly to the reality of the in-breaking of Christ into our lives in a profound way. Allan Boesak is a South African pastor and theologian in the Dutch Reformed Church, politician, anti-apartheid activist, and author. This poem is taken from his book Walking on Thorns. As you read these words, I invite you to reflect on how Advent challenges us to hope; yes even hope against hope.
Advent Credo
It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss—
This is true: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life;
It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, hunger and poverty, death and destruction—
This is true: I have come that they may have life, and that abundantly.
It is not true that violence and hatred should have the last word, and that war and destruction rule forever—
This is true: Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, his name shall be called wonderful councilor, mighty God, the Everlasting, the Prince of peace.
It is not true that we are simply victims of the powers of evil who seek to rule the world—
This is true: To me is given authority in heaven and on earth, and lo I am with you, even until the end of the world.
It is not true that we have to wait for those who are specially gifted, who are the prophets of the Church before we can be peacemakers—
This is true: I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions and your old men shall have dreams.
It is not true that our hopes for liberation of humankind, of justice, of human dignity of peace are not meant for this earth and for this history—
This is true: The hour comes, and it is now, that the true worshipers shall worship God in spirit and in truth.
So let us enter Advent in hope, even hope against hope. Let us see visions of love and peace and justice. Let us affirm with humility, with joy, with faith, with courage: Jesus Christ—the life of the world.
The Way Things Should Be
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence--
as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil--
to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence!”
These verses from Isaiah 64 will be the first words of Scripture that we hear on Sunday, at the beginning of a new liturgical year. They are words that not only announce God’s coming as a righteous judge, but that long for it and even plead for it. Advent, as the season that simultaneously looks towards the Incarnation (Jesus’ first coming) and the second coming at the end of all things, is a time when these notes of God’s judgment are inescapable. It can be uncomfortable to contemplate, especially when we think of God’s judgment as the same kind of judgment that we experience now from other humans.
But what if we take God’s difference from us seriously? What if we started thinking of God’s judgment – that wrath to come, as John the Baptist says – not as an act of God’s violence against us, but as the act of a holy God that puts an end to violence once and for all? Isaiah’s vision of God’s kingdom certainly leads us to that conclusion: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
In these days of Advent we see the love of God for this world. This is a love so complete that in God’s good time “the way things are” will be transformed into “the way things should be.” It is a love so complete that we will know conclusively that the only possible logic of the world is one of peace, of harmony, of new life, of love and redemption. We will know this because the knowledge of God’s truth will fill the world. No longer will we see dimly or guess at God’s designs. We will know at long last what Julian of Norwich saw in her vision: “Would you know your Lord's meaning? Know it well, love was his meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. What did he show you? Love.” This indeed is something to prepare for – not just by decorating our homes and getting all the festive foods ready, but by making a path in our hearts.
Yours faithfully in Christ,
The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kara Slade
A Service of Lessons & Carols for Advent
Sunday, December 3 at 5:00 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church.
Seasonal readings and beautiful music sung by the choirs of Trinity Church to help us prepare our hearts for the coming of Christmas.
Repertoire List:
Matin Responsory - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
De caelo veniet - Jacob Handl
Earth grown old - Ghislaine Reece-Trapp
E’en So, Lord Jesus - Paul Manz
We wait for thy loving-kindness, O God - William McKie
Rorate caeli - Josef Rheinberger
O Thou the Central Orb - Charles Wood
Ave Maria - Robert Parsons
Advent Playlists!
Do you need a little Advent music? Check out some Advent playlists from Trinity staff on Spotify.
Kara's Advent playlist features contemporary versions of classic Advent hymns, plus some newer songs in the contemporary Christian genre:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4bvxy4vpm1DtXAhw39eqjL?si=cef84698c5e344d1
Meg has put together a playlist of the music from this year's Advent Lessons and Carols:
We hope you enjoy these musical treats for the season.
The power to bless!
Dear Good People of Trinity Church,
In his book, To Bless the Space Between Us, John O’Donohue writes:
“In the parched deserts of postmodernity a blessing can be like the discovery of a fresh well. It would be lovely if we could rediscover our power to bless one another. I believe each of us can bless. When a blessing is invoked, it changes the atmosphere. Some of the plenitude flows into our hearts from the invisible neighborhood of loving kindness. In the light and reverence of blessing, a person or situation becomes illuminated in a completely new way. In a dead wall a new window opens, in dense darkness a path starts to glimmer, and into a broken heart healing falls like morning dew. It is ironic that so often we continue to live like paupers though our inheritance of spirit is so vast. The quiet eternal that dwells in our souls is silent and subtle; in the activity of blessing it emerges to embrace and nurture us. Let us begin to learn how to bless one another. Whenever you give a blessing, a blessing returns to enfold you.”
May we, on this Thanksgiving Day, find ourselves filled with gratitude for the many gifts that God has given us, and in doing so rediscover our power to bless one another. Undoubtedly changed, may God’s loving kindness and blessing flow abundantly from our hearts in all that we do and say so that the parched deserts of this world will overflow with the wellspring of God’s love.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Paul
A Litany of Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts so freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea.
We thank you, Lord.
For all that is gracious in our lives, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.
For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you, Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.
For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.
For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.
For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.
Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To God be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Collect for Thanksgiving Day
Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Writing Workshop with Elaine Pagels
Join us for a writing workshop led by Dr. Elaine Pagels.
Assisted by Dr. Nithila Peter.
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
December 7th, December 12th,December 21rst,2023
January 11th and January 18th - 2024
(full capacity - around 10 - 12)
Email - nithilapeter@eileads.com or sladek@princetontrinity.org to sign up.
We welcome those willing to explore the process of writing—in the key of memoir, about something you've experienced—recently, or long ago, or whatever! It could be about an experience or moment that has been meaningful, or a turning point, a surprising ending of some episode—whatever you decide. We'd suggest that you consider writing one to five pages a week, and, when you're ready, share what you're writing with the rest of us. We're looking forward to the challenge of just starting in, seeing what happens; often unexpectedly rewarding.
Dr. Elaine Pagels joined the Princeton faculty in 1982, shortly after receiving a MacArthur Fellowship. Perhaps best known as the author of The Gnostic Gospels, The Origin of Satan, and Adam, Eve and the Serpent, she has published widely on Gnosticism and early Christianity, and continues to pursue research interests in late antiquity. She has also written one personal book - Why Religion. This writing workshop is inspired by that experience.
Dr. Nithila Peter works as counsel and coach for emotional intelligence and the leadership journey @ Princeton, NJ. She writes mini-memoirs and EI life-work/work-life stories. She will assist Elaine in the writing workshop.