Stewardship 2025 - A Journey Together in Faith

Dear Friends,

We are in the midst of our Stewardship 2025 drive. Your participation is essential as we look to close the gap between our expenses and donations. Thank you to those who have made a pledge and to those who have increased your pledge. The future of Trinity, its mission and ministries, depends on the participation of all it members. As in the past, we will be collecting pledge cards during the services on All Saints Sunday this weekend. Please consider dropping yours in the plate at that time.

Peace and blessings to all,

Bill Hackett and Trudy Sykes

Turkey Trot

Thanksgiving approaches and with it the 17th running of the Trinity Turkey Trot.  Registrations are pouring in and we expect another sell-out this year.  If you intend to run/walk and haven’t registered yet, don’t wait until the last minute.

We are looking for volunteers to help distribute bibs and t-shirts during the week before the race and to perform a myriad of tasks on the day of the race.  You can sign up by clicking the Volunteer tab on the Turkey Trot web site.

As in years past, we are also collecting food for the Arm in Arm pantry.  See the website for details.

TrinityTurkeyTrot.org

Community Support Request

Dear Trinity,

Our beloved Char is in need of some wheels. Being a recent seminary grad and continuing their academic work at Rutgers and Catholic Charities Trenton, they have many obligations that necessitate the need for reliable transportation. For the last six months, they have been relying on borrowing friends’ cars. If you or someone you know is willing to donate a car, sell one for a reasonable price, or loan one through May when they graduate, please reach out to me.

Thank you in advance for your generosity,
Paul  

Stewardship Update

Dear Trinity Church,

Our revenue is less than our expenses. Last year our pledges totaled just over $1.0 million – a significant improvement over the several Covid years but still off earlier highs. Our plate contributions including Christmas and Easter are about $110,000. Rent from our properties totals about $200,000. Bequests and other gifts are usually around $25,000. In recent years we have relied on our endowment to cover the rest, withdrawing more than we have earned – a practice that is not sustainable long term.

When you ask yourself, “Who is Trinity Church to me?” I hope you find that Trinity is not just a building—it’s a home, a community, and a place where we all come together to do God’s work. Your pledge, however large or small will open the door to sustaining Trinity’s mission today and into the future as we continue this journey together.

In Christ, Bill Hackett and Trudy Sykes

Rico

Dear Beloved of Trinity,

On Monday morning, we noticed that our beloved dog, Rico, wasn’t doing well. In fact, he hadn’t been for a few days, and truthfully, he had been in decline over the past year. Rico, who was not young by any means, had been living with diabetes, requiring two insulin injections a day. He also had arthritis. Yet, despite these challenges, he remained a faithful and loving part of our family ever since we adopted him from SAVE over 11 years ago.

We always knew that the day would come, and you know the day I mean, but we never imagined it would be Monday. After taking him to the vet, they ran tests, and the results were not good. Rico was in critical condition, and the cost to stabilize him was high, with no guarantee of recovery. As a family, we made the difficult decision to let him go. We gathered together—both in person and by video call—shared our goodbyes, offered our prayers, and gave Rico a final blessing.

And then, with a simple nod to the vet, a word of consent—“okay”—the decision was made. This little creature, who had been a constant source of love and joy in our lives, was going to die.

I’ve hunted and fished before, where the taking of life is part of the process. But this felt profoundly different. It was the weight of that single word—“okay”—that brought the finality of ending a life so dear to us.

In reflecting on this, I’m reminded of how words have immense power. Just as a word can end a life, it can also bring life. God spoke, and through that divine Word, creation came into being. In our own way, with our words—of hope, love, grace, and mercy—we too can create, heal, and bring new life into being.

Life is fragile, and the boundary between life and death often feels thin. Words of fear, despair, and loneliness can weigh us down, but we hold onto the assurance that the ultimate Word—Jesus, the Word made flesh— brings true life and love into the world.

In this unpredictable world, filled with all kinds of words that carry countless meanings and consequences, may our words be ones of love, hope, grace, and life.

Blessings to our beloved Rico.

Peace and love to you all,

Paul

Journeying Together in Faith!

Dear Trinity Church,

Each year on Kick-Off Sunday, we gather with excitement and hope to begin a new chapter in our shared journey. In these moments, I pray that we reflect on just how much Trinity Church enriches our lives. More than a place of worship; Trinity is our spiritual home—a source of strength that sustains us through the many seasons of life. Faithful stewardship calls us to recommit ourselves to this sacred place, our church home where we gather, grow, and serve.

Stewardship means not only maintaining the physical walls of our beloved church but also nurturing the spiritual and communal bonds that make Trinity a true home for all of us.

To continue this important work, we need your support. Your generosity helps us expand our ministries, care for our sacred space, and ensure that Trinity remains a beacon of hope and faith, both in Princeton and beyond.

As we embark on our 2025 stewardship campaign, I invite you to prayerfully consider how you will support Trinity Church. Whether through financial gifts, volunteering your time, or sharing your talents, every contribution strengthens the fabric of our community and moves us closer to fulfilling our mission. You may make your pledge online here; stewardship letters have been sent via US Postal Service as well.

I am profoundly grateful for all the ways you have supported Trinity Church in the past, and I thank you in advance for your continued generosity. Together, we can embrace the opportunities and meet the challenges before us, ensuring that Trinity remains a welcoming and vibrant spiritual home for all. To that end, I ask you to prayerfully consider making a pledge for the 2025 calendar year. 

Thank you for your faithful generosity and commitment to our beloved Trinity Church.

Forward we go - Journeying together in faith!  

With blessings and gratitude,

Paul

All Shall Be Well … A Morning of Quiet Contemplation

Take a respite from the world for a morning of quiet contemplation, with selected sayings from Julian of Norwich’s Long Text of the Revelations of Divine Love in contrast to its fourteenth century context.

Saturday, October 26th, 9:00AM-12:00PM with Bonnie Bivins in Trinity Church’s Thomas Room next to Pierce Hall.

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