It was a beautiful week.  With the blessing of the Palms, we began our Holy Week journey.  Tenebrae on Wednesday.  Foot Washing and Vigil on Thursday.  Stations of the Cross, a family experiential service, and three Good Friday liturgies.  The lighting of the New Fire and the Great Vigil of Easter on Holy Saturday.  A spirit and joy filled celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord on Easter morning. The church was literally packed to overflowing - standing room only. The flowers, the liturgy, the choir, the congregation, and the beauty of the day were absolutely glorious.  

But...the celebration didn't end on Sunday, it only started.  There is more Easter to celebrate!  More "Alleluias" to be shouted!  More Good News to be proclaimed!  Easter is not a "one and done" feast day. It is a feast day that we celebrate again and again and again.  In fact each Sunday is a mini-Easter.  Each Sunday we bask in the glory of the Resurrection.    

What a glorious and life giving week it was!  I offer my sincere thanks to you, the good people of Trinity, for your hard work, dedication, and faithfulness as we opened wide the doors of Trinity Church for ALL who wished to join in the great celebration of Easter.  

 

 

 

 

St. Benedict or St. Basil?
Sung Compline this Sunday, April 15, 7:00 p.m.
 
There is still argument among Church scholars as to exactly when the first Compline was offered. Some say under St. Benedict in the 6th Century, and some St. Basil in the 4th. Does it really matter?
 
This Sunday at 7:00 p.m. the Trinity Choir presents its once-a-month sung compline by candlelight (with incense). In our darkened church, solo voices and lovely harmonies will mark the end of another day of prayerful life.  This music-only service lasts approximately 1/2 hour.  Dress is casual. Arrive early and stroll Trinity's beautiful grounds and Memorial Garden in the evening light. 

 

 

 

Save the Date! 20s-30s Group Brunch on April 15

The 20s-30s group will hold its monthly brunch following the 9 am service (approximately 10:15 am) on Sunday, April 15 in the George Thomas Room. Come enjoy good food and fellowship! For more information, or to be added to the 20s-30s group email list, please contact Joanne Golann at jwgolann@gmail.com
 

 

 

A very special bread making event at Trinity will benefit Trinity's own One Table Café and The Bread Houses Network. On Friday, April 20, Nadezhda Savova, the founder of The Bread Houses Network, will be offering an hour of fellowship, hands on bread making and education using bread stamps and sacred bread decorations from many countries prior to the One Table Café dinner sponsored by Terra Momo. We will meet at 5 p.m. in the George Thomas room. For a donation of $25 per person, you not only get to savor the experience of making bread with Nadezhda and others but you will also get to enjoy a great dinner at One Table Café, take a loaf of the bread you make home and share your second loaf with your dinner companions. It is a wonderful way to center yourself, and enjoy the art of bread making and companionship.

 

The Bread Houses Network's mission is to inspire people and communities to discover and develop their creative potential and cooperate across gender, age, ethnic, and religious background through collective bread-making and accompanying art forms and sustainable agriculture. Nadezhda Savova is currently completing her PhD. in cultural anthropology at Princeton University and she will be speaking about her role in the Bread Houses Network at dinner that evening. Come and be inspired, come and be transformed.

To reserve a space contact Diane Somers @ 214.783.5984 or dsomers105@gmail.com by April 18th.

 

 

 

Gift for Seminarians




 

 

The Crisis Ministry

On behalf of the Crisis Ministry, I would like to thank all of the congregations and schools that participated in our 2012 Valentines for Food Drive. Since its inception eight years ago, Valentines for Food remains an important fundraising event and community food drive each year.  This year you helped raise $14,943 and 789 bags of food for our food pantries in Princeton and Trenton.  Many thanks to all who participated!

 

Would you be interested helping us plan more great events to support our work?  We are looking for a few individuals to join our events planning committee, with whatever resources of time, creativity, and energy you would like to share. 

 

Finally, are you an avid cyclist or do you know someone who is?  Please come out and ride for the Crisis Ministry in September's 2012 Battle Against Hunger. This event raises thousands of dollars to fight hunger in Mercer County! You may join for whatever portion of the 200-mile ride from Gettysburg to Trenton you wish, or volunteer to support the riders.  For more information, contact carolynb@thecrisisministry.org

- Carolyn Biondi, Executive Director, The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton.
 

 

Choir Fundraiser: Hymnathon - Singing through the Hymnal   

As you know, the choir is planning a 2013 tour to England, where it will be in residence and sing Evensong service for a week at both St. Paul's Cathedral in London and Lincoln Cathedral. 

 

To raise funds for the trip, the choir will come together for the day on April 21st to sing one verse from each of the 720 hymns in the Hymnal!  You can help by  

• Pledging a certain amount for each hymn the choir as a whole, or your chosen chorister, sings.  If your chorister sings all 720 hymns, your pledge will amount to $36 if you pledge a nickel per hymn, $72 if you pledge a dime, $180 if you pledge a quarter, and so on. 
• Sponsoring a hymn, or dedicating a hymn to someone, for a minimum donation of $50.  The choir will sing all of the verses of sponsored and dedicated hymns, and will announce your dedication at the hymnathon.
• Just making a donation.  All amounts, large and small, are most appreciated!

In addition, if you're in the neighborhood, between 9 am and mid-afternoon on April 21st, please come listen!  Or come sing!   The more singers the merrier!  Great to learn new hymns!

 

Please participate by going to  www.trinitysings.eventbrite.com OR by contacting a chorister to make a pledge.  THANK YOU for your support!

 

This Spring Rummage Sale, be sure you visit a New Shop, "This and That", located in the Jewelry Room

There will be one-of-a-kind treasures including beautiful silk scarves, designer hats and gloves, small purses, dressing gowns and lingerie plus a few surprises!
 

 

The Boutique is one of the Highlights of the Spring Rummage Sale...
...and this year will be no exception! 

Shoppers and antique dealers have found treasures in the Boutique for years -- fine china and glass, silver, works of art and more -- and Trinity's Library and Parlor provide a beautiful setting for the sale.  During these last couple of weeks before Trinity's Traditional Rummage Sale on Saturday, April 27-28th, please check your cupboards and shelves and leave items that will enhance the sale on the bench across from Pierce Hall [donations can be left 24/7 except during the week before Easter].  A donation receipt is available during the church's office hours.  Please call Annie if you have extremely valuable items to donate so she can make arrangements to keep them safely until picked up by the Rummage Committee. 

Thank you from the Rummage Committee

 

Education for Ministry Open House

Thursday April 19, 7 - 9:30 pm, Trinity Parlor

• Are you interested in joining a close knit faith community at Trinity Church?
• Do you seek companionship on your spiritual journey?
• Do you long to explore your faith more deeply? Discover connections between scripture, our faith tradition, and your daily life?
• Do you seek support in identifying and carrying out your vocation, ministry, and purpose in life?
• Are you grappling with life's "big" questions? Are you a seeker?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, we encourage you to join us this Thursday evening, April 19, to sample an EfM seminar and consider if it might be right for you. There is no pressure to join.

 

Education for Ministry (EfM) is a program designed to support Christian lay people in carrying out their ministries in daily life. Sponsored by the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, EfM aims to provide participants with a theological education that focuses on learning to think theologically, understanding our Christian heritage, deepening our faith, and developing a Christian community.

 

While this is a four-year program, participants commit to it just one year at a time. Participants devote their first year to exploring the Old Testament. Subsequent years concentrate on the New Testament, church history and conclude with contemporary theological choices and issues. Participants also engage in a series of common lessons and weekly worship. For more information about the program, please visit the EfM website: (http://www.sewanee.edu/EFM/index.htm).

 

EfM seminar groups consisting of 6 to 12 participants and is led by accredited EfM mentors. At Trinity Church, EfM is led by Donna Laessig and Steven Isham, and meets weekly on Thursday evenings, 7:00-9:30, from September through May. For more information about Trinity's EfM group, contact Steven Isham (609-937-7535) or Donna Laessig (908-420-4337).

 

 

Village to Village: GAIA and the Empowerment of Women, Orphans and Children in Malawi

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you a busy High school student with volunteer hours needed to complete your year before May 1, 2012? We need each other!

If you would like to perform your volunteer hours working our Spring Rummage event then let us know. We can sign off on your hours
in time for your academic year 2011-12. This is a great cause and helps you, us and people less fortunate. So come on down!

Hours and days available are:

Sunday April 22 from 1 - 5 PM
Wednesday April 25 from 6 - 9 PM
Saturday April 28 from 9 AM - 5 PM
Sunday April 29 from 1 - 5 PM

Call 609 924 2277 ext 351 and leave your name, age, and telephone number for our rummage team.

 

You can also sign up be sending an email to Nancy Metcalf at nebm1@comcast.net or  Mary Alden at  mlaeas@comcast.net 

See you there!  

 

Prayer shawls wrap, enfold, comfort and give solace to people who are dealing with illness, surgery or grief.

We are calling all knitters and wannabes to come join old friends and new friends at our monthly prayer shawl knit-a-thons held in members' homes. All are welcome who would enjoy knitting these easy therapeutic patterns, infusing your own prayers for recovery as you knit and then taking the shawls to the clergy for blessing before delivery.

 

We are asking and begging the congregation for names of anyone in the hospital or sick at home who might be comforted by receiving a cozy shawl accompanied by a card with a reading such as:

 

Every lovingly crafted stitch contains a special prayer,                            

That God will send his peace to you and keep you in his care.

 

Knitting Instructions:  

• 3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun Yarn - Michael's or Walmart
• Size 11 or 13 needles. Round needles work really well.
• Cast on 54, 57, 60 or 63 stitches or some multiple of 3.  
• Knit 3, purl 3 to end of row.  
• Turn and knit the purl and purl the knit.  
• If you have 57 or 63 stitches, you'll begin every row with knit.
• A weave pattern will develop. Knit about 2 and 2/3 skeins in pattern. Use the rest of yarn for fringe. The fringe can be as short as 3 inches or as long as 8 or 9 inches. It's up to you.

We suggest that you knit prayers into your shawl as you knit. Many gather for a collective blessing of the shawl before it is given away. There is no right or wrong way to knit or create these mantles of love and care. Come join us!

 

Contact: Molly Schneider at mhcsstrong@aol.com or Susan Finlay at swf1958@verizon.net. Many thanks for your interest.

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen and household goods, books, linens, toys, electrical items, jewelry, small furniture, treasures and works of art for the Boutique, and clothing for all ages, tastes, sizes and seasons are keeping the Rummage volunteers busy every Friday - thank you!  Donations for the traditional Spring Rummage Sale on Friday/Saturday April 27/28 are accepted 24/7 except for the week before Easter and can be left on the bench outside Pierce Hall. Donation receipts are available at the Reception Desk during church office hours.