Volunteer Opportunities

Parish volunteers are always needed for these two Fall events which support Trinity’s outreach programs:

  • Rummage Sale - Details about rummage in the post above. We need volunteers for all aspects of the sale: set-up, sales, clean-up.  Setup occurs from October 13-17 and the sale itself is on October 18-19.  To volunteer for any of these days, please send your contact information to rummage@trinityprinceton.org .

  • Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot – This annual event is a 5k race beginning at 8 am on Thanksgiving Day.  Father Paul started it the year after he arrived at Trinity Church.  Over 2,000 runners and walkers participated in 2023 and raised over $70,000 for Trinity’s outreach programs and partners.  Trinity parishioners handle all of the functions of the race, from distributing race packets to monitoring the route.  More details will be available soon on how you can help make this year’s race a success.

Arm In Arm 50th Anniversary Celebration

Our Outreach partner, Arm In Arm, will be participating in a 50th Year Anniversary celebration and Health Fair this Saturday, September 21st at 9:30 am. It will be held at 1440 Parkside Ave, Ewing NJ (in the gym located to the right, inside of the main entrance).

They need 6 volunteers who can help prepare and serve non-perishable bags of food to the community during the event.  It will last until 3 o'clock or as long as the food lasts, but even if you can only participate for an hour or 2,  Arm In Arm can still use your help.

To volunteer please click  SIGN UP HERE or call Shariq Marshall with Arm In ARM at 609-508-7851. 

Welcome Noa and Richard!

We are delighted to have two wonderful interns, Noa Bolmenäs and Richard Pryor, III, join us for our 2023-2024 program year! Read a bit about Noa and Richard below. Please greet them warmly when you see them.

Noa: My name is Noa Bolmenäs, I am a 3rd year M.Div student at PTS. I moved to princeton in 2022, after living in beautiful Chicago since 2019. Before then I grew up in wonderful Sweden. Now, I am planning my next steps in life, as well as my marriage to my partner, Narvella. My path has led me on many fascinating adventures, but for now it is pulling me toward church and education. My main interest is the Old Testament. I have found it the most valuable conversation partner and inspiration for dealing with immigration and forced migration, which are the central issues my social work has gone toward. I am more than excited to be at Trinity for this coming year, to get to know this wonderful parish, and to worship together!

Richard: Richard Pryor, III is a Masters student at Princeton Theological Seminary in the Church History and Ecumenics Department. A graduate of the University of the South, he is also the creative editor of Earth & Altar. He is a son of Christ Church in Kent, OH, and is part of the team behind the Episcopal Chant Database and Metrical Collects. He has been a four-time Deputy or Alternate to General Convention, and most recently chaired the Consecration Planning Committee for the Transition to the 12th Bishop of Ohio. He enjoys making and listening to music, testing out new recipes, and reading long-form journalism.

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

Subscribe to Trinity’s email updates