On Friendship Human And Divine

“Friendship is genuine only when you bind fast together people who cleave to you through the charity poured abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us.” - St. Augustine, Confessions, Book V

This has been a difficult week for me. We are approaching the first anniversary of our beloved Sonia Waters’ death. Then, my dear friend Fr. Everett Lees of the Diocese of Oklahoma died, only a couple of weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Everett leaves behind his wife Kristin and three young children, and I ask your prayers for them all. He was a loving husband and father, but I knew him as the kind of friend who helps everyone around him be a better Christian. It was true for his parishioners at Christ Church Tulsa, it was true in the Diocese of Oklahoma, and it was true in the Episcopal Church where he was a tireless advocate for evangelism. Christ Church has been one of the fastest-growing congregations in the Episcopal Church, in no small part because of Everett’s relentless focus on what Good News it is to be made a new creation in Christ. 

St. Augustine tells us that true friendship is found not when we love our friends for worldly reasons, to gain some kind of advantage or favor. Friendship, by which he means Christian friendship, is a model of the friendship between humans and God. We love our friends because we love God in them, and because we love each other towards God. Sonia and Everett were both the kind of priests, and the kind of friends, who loved people towards God - who drew out the best in everyone around them. 

This isn’t a grace that comes only to members of the clergy - far from it! I suspect that each one of us can name people in our lives who have loved us towards God. But it can take intentional action as well as prayer on our part to be that kind of friend to others. I hope that in the year ahead, Trinity Church will grow not only numerically (which, praise God, it is!), but in the kind of friendship that helps us grow in holiness, and in the love of God. It may not be the only way we can experience the truth of the Gospel, but it is one way. As Stanley Hauerwas writes,

“I do not think that questions concerning the truth of Christian convictions can be isolated from what is necessary to sustain friendships that are truthful. I am not suggesting that Christians can be friends only with other Christians. Some of my most cherished friends are with non-Christians. Rather I am suggesting that if what it means to be a Christian is compelling and true, then such truthfulness will be manifest and tested through friendship.”

Your friend in Christ,

Kara

P.S. This interview with Fr. Everett on what makes a good church is outstanding and I commend it to you:

https://bencrosby.substack.com/p/church-growth-discipleship-and-the.

Important Family Ministry Update 

Dear Families, 

I am thrilled to be back at Trinity after my sabbatical. It was such a joy to see  many of you last Sunday! During my time away and upon my return, the Family  Ministry Oversight Committee (FMOC) and I had some important conversations,  leading to fresh insights and clarity about the ministry resulting in some changes. 

First, I regret that Grace Francque is no longer with us. We are deeply grateful for  her contributions to our children and wish her the very best in her next season of  ministry. Second, we are now actively searching for a full-time Director of Family Ministries. This individual will work under my supervision and in close partnership with our FMOC. In the meantime, we are committed to working creatively and  collaboratively to ensure that our programs continue to thrive and flourish. 

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the FMOC members—Krista  Galyon, Luise Lampe, Chris Leavell, Alicia McCarther, and our beloved Kara Slade.  Their dedication and faithfulness have been truly invaluable. 

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or thoughts.  Your input and support are deeply appreciated! 

Forward in Faith! 

Paul

Introducing Donte Milligan, Minister of Youth 

It is my great pleasure to introduce our new Minister of Youth, Donte Milligan. Donte is the Head of Middle School and Chaplain at the Doane Academy in Burlington, NJ, where he has served since 2020. Donte and his family have been joining us for worship and are most happy to call Trinity their church home. In addition, Donte has been in conversation with Bishop French and has officially entered the process for ordination in the Episcopal Church. “My time at Doane Academy has been extremely influential to me personally and spiritually, leading me to leave the  Baptist tradition and begin the process of ordination in the Episcopal church.” 

Donte earned his Bachelors of Arts in History/Education Degree from Bloomsburg  University and his Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies from United Lutheran  Seminary. Donte is currently working on his Master of Sacred Theology from  United Lutheran Seminary as well. 

We’re thrilled to have Donte on board, and he will be leading the first youth event  of the year on Sunday, September 22. Stay tuned for more details! 

Please join me in warmly welcoming Donte and his family to the Trinity  community. You can reach him directly at milligand@trinityprinceton.org 

Sunday School This Sunday!! 

Please join us this Sunday at 9:30 in the Children’s Chapel for our first week of  Sunday School. We welcome Noel McCormick, one of our amazing Trinity  choristers, who will lead the children in a time of song, celebration, and praise to  Kick-Off our year together!! 

See you Sunday!!

Kick-Off Sunday

Dear Good people of Trinity Church,

This Sunday, as you well know, is kick-off Sunday! With the celebration of Labor Day, summer is “officially” over yet we long to hold on to it.  School buses are back on the roads, football season is underway, and fall is just starting to make its presence felt. All of this signals that it’s time for us to come together, to recalibrate, and to prepare for the year ahead. It’s a moment to open ourselves to the possibilities of what God may have in store for us as the people of Trinity Church.

As we live into this new year, I am reminded of the words of the Celtic teacher, J. Philip Newell, who writes, “At key moments of transition in the history of Christianity, inspired Christian teachers have asked, ‘Who is Christ for us today?’” We now find ourselves in such a moment—a significant time of transition not only within the Church but also in our nation and the world. Newell goes on to say, “What are the brokennesses of our world today? What are the battlefields among the nations and the gaping wounds of creation’s body? What are the discords in our communities and the struggles in the most important relationships in our lives?” There is work to be done, Good News to be proclaimed, and love to be shared!

As we embark on this new program year, what will be our role and responsibility in this season? Who is Christ for us today? The ability to articulate clearly and embody fully the answer to that question will determine who we are and what kind of church community we will be.

I so look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

It’s good to be home. 

Let’s go!!

Peace and Blessings,

Paul

Sabbatical Reflection

Dear Good People of Trinity Church,

What an incredible few months it has been! My sabbatical has been a time of profound renewal and joy. It has given me the precious gift of time—to reconnect with my own soul and to share special moments with my family. I’ve traveled more extensively and flown more miles than ever before in my life.

What has made this journey so wonderfully liberating was the knowledge that I have a home and a community filled with love and support. As John O’Donohue beautifully writes in To Bless the Space Between Us, “Home is where the heart is. It stands for the sure center where individual life is shaped and from where it journeys forth.” 

The certainty of our home in Christ and within our beloved Trinity Church community frees us to fully embrace the adventures that life presents, wherever they may lead. We find our grounding and assurance in life’s uncertainties because we are always anchored in God’s love, no matter where our path takes us

Well now the time has come for my travels has come to an end and blessedly the journey has brought me and my family safely home. It’s good to be home! 

I look forward to being with you all on Sunday, September 8th as we Kick-Off our program year and open possibilities of where God will lead us this year!!

Peace and Blessings to all!
Paul

Blessing of the Backpacks

We invite you all (Preschoolers through High Schoolers, Teachers, College Students, Grad Students, & Professors) to bring your backpacks and schoolbags to Trinity on September 1. 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 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. 

Sing, My Soul, His Wondrous Love

Sing, my soul, his wondrous love,

who, from yon bright throne above,

ever watchful o'er our race,

still to us extends his grace.

Heaven and earth by him were made;

all is by his scepter swayed;

what are we that he should show

so much love to us below?

God, the merciful and good,

bought us with the Savior's blood,

and, to make salvation sure,

guides us by his Spirit pure.

Sing, my soul, adore his Name!

Let his glory be thy theme:

praise him till he calls thee home;

trust his love for all to come.

https://youtu.be/865z0idLQf8?si=gFs_XTJRjT-TvJXJ

The author of this hymn text, published first in 1800, is unknown.  I find it to be a tremendously beautiful reflection on God’s goodness to us.  Life is complicated, and sometimes it’s difficult beyond measure.  This text reminds us that the bedrock under all that is the love of God, and the beauty to which that love gives birth.

As we approach kickoff Sunday (just a couple weeks now - it’s on September 8 this year), I find myself thinking about why I do what I do, and why church matters.  For me, the core of this is recognizing the beauty and goodness that God gives us, and how we express that as God’s people.  Music is often spoken about as a “language beyond words” and there is truth to this.

Choral music has a particularly effective role in communicating meaning because it pairs art forms together.  With choral music, we have the combination of “pure” music with poetry.  When finely crafted words come together with music written specifically to amplify their meaning, we get a 1+1=3 effect.  I think there is a parallel here to the effect God’s love has on our lives.  This is what happens when we welcome God’s love and share it within community: the cumulative impact we have becomes greater than that of the individual efforts we put in.

As we embark on this coming program year, with all its gifts and also with the challenges it is sure to bring, I hope we can dwell in the abundant goodness of God’s love, and use every opportunity before us in turn to share it.  Each week, as the choirs of Trinity Church sing in our liturgies, know that our music is given as a gift, both to our community and to God, as the very best reflection we can manage of the beauty of God’s love.

Here’s a link to a setting of the above poem by Sarah MacDonald, which the choir will sing on kickoff Sunday this year.  I hope you enjoy it!   

Looking forward to all that this year holds,

Meg

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