TRINITY ePISTLE - Sunday, April 7. 2024

WEEK OF SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2024
✢SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER✢

I AM the Alpha and the Omega

The Rev. Paul Jeanes III, Rector

Dear Beloved Ones,

Earlier this week, I had the chance to be in New York for the morning, and I took the opportunity to go by The General Theological Seminary. I sat in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and turned back the clock 28 years. As the weeks draw ever closer to the beginning of my sabbatical, I found those few moments in the Chapel to be profoundly meaningful. I sat in the same spot where I would sit for Morning and Evening Prayer during my Anglican Studies year in the fall of ’96 and spring of ’97. I walked up and stood in the pulpit where I preached my “Senior Sermon” and sat in the officiant’s seat, where I led Evening Prayer for the first time.

As I was sitting there, I couldn’t believe how fast the time had gone. I remember as if it were yesterday, the day that Christina and I drove into the city in a U-Haul truck that was much larger than we needed, but it was the only truck they had. I remember our excitement as new friends helped us move our belongings into the apartment on a scorching day in August.

On our first night, we slept on a futon in the front room because we wanted to look at the Empire State Building, which we could see clearly from the window. We couldn’t believe that we were living in New York. What an amazing year it was!

During the spring term, I was tired and needed a break. A friend who had studied at Princeton Theological Seminary invited me to “get out of town for an excursion to Princeton.” I had never been and immediately took her up on the offer. We got off the Dinky and walked up Alexander, and our first stop was Trinity Church. The doors to the church were open for all to enter, just as they are today. We walked in and sat for a time of quiet and prayer. After looking around a bit, we stood before the central altar and then left for a walk around town. I had no idea that 11 years later, I would have the sacred gift and privilege of being your rector. What an amazing and blessed journey it has been. I still can’t believe it.

All of this is merely an introduction to what may seem like a rather insignificant insight. As I sat in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, I looked to the wall above the altar and saw what I had seen a thousand times before - Λ and Ω with a beautiful stained-glass window in between.

All of our lives, all of our beginnings and all of our endings, and everything in between are held within the embrace of the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Every second, every breath, all of our days and nights, all of the seasons, and all of the years of our lives are part of the ongoing story of God and God’s people. We are a part of the sacred tapestry, song, poem, painting, sculpture, and story that is the artistry of the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End of all that was and all that ever will be. How fast it goes! How fragile it can be. How precious it is! How sacred a gift!

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Rev. 22:13)

Easter Blessings to all!

This Sunday’s preacher is Emily Pruszinski, Director of Family Ministries.

The readings for this Sunday can be found here.

Sunday Forum: First Sunday breakfast.

Anna Lapwood Recital

Attention all music lovers! Acclaimed English organist Anna Lapwood will play a recital at Princeton University Chapel this coming Monday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. A group from Trinity will attend the concert together. We will meet outside the church office at 7:00 p.m. Please join us! For more information on the concert, check out: https://chapel.princeton.edu/events/organist-anna-lapwood-concert.

Newcomer's Tea at the Rectory

Sunday, April 14th at 4pm

New to Trinity in the past year or two? The Newcomers Committee invites you to join the clergy, vestry members and fellow newcomers for refreshments and fellowship at the Rectory where Fr. Paul Jeanes lives. It's next to our parish hall at 25 Mercer St. We'll start at 4 pm and end at 5 pm. Then feel free to join us as we walk next door to the church for the evening prayers said during Compline. Registration is not required but is appreciated; email tomascott1965@gmail.com.

Afternoon Tea and Evensong

Sunday, April 21, 2024

3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Evensong at 5:00

Afternoon Tea Update:

Tea and choral enthusiasts! We still need cookie bakers and sandwich makers to make the tea a success. Please contact Sylvia Temmer, sbjornberg77@icloud.com to volunteer.

Tickets for the Tea will be on sale on April 7 outside Pierce Hall after the 8:00am service, and April 14 in the Narthex after the 10:30am service. Bring your checkbook or cash! The event, priced at $35 per person ($40 at the door) is a fundraising effort for the choir. Please be sure to make your reservations early as seating is limited; if desired, entire tables may be reserved. Reservations may be made by emailing Pegi Stengel at mstengel329@hotmail.com or calling 609-924-4807 and leaving a message.

Voices Chorale: In Conversation with Haydn

Date and Time: Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 4pm

Location: Trinity Church
Join Voices Chorale NJ and the Berks Sinfonietta chamber orchestra in appreciating the mastery of one of Franz Joseph Haydn’s most distinctive and memorable compositions: Missa in Angustiis (Mass for Troubled Times), more popularly known as the Lord Nelson Mass. Between sections of this liturgical work, the chorale will perform contemporary pieces that respond to themes within the Mass, bringing new perspectives on forgiveness, praise, faith, peace, and unity in a divided world.

VCNJ continues its tradition of presenting various musical styles and eras together in thought-provoking concerts to delight and inspire audiences and musicians alike. Contemporary works include Fragile by Sting and Exsultate! Jubilate! by Kyle Pederson.

Tickets and information are available at https://www.voiceschoralenj.org.

Adult: $20 ($25 at the door); Child/Student: $10 ($15 at the door).

Contact Linda Silber (lindafsilber@gmail.com) for more information.

Grief Group

Trinity Church and Nassau Presbyterian Church will once again co-sponsor a grief group called GriefEncounter this spring. The group meets for six sessions at Nassau on Tuesday, March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 9 and 16, from 7pm to 8:30pm. GriefEncounter is led by a trained grief counselor for folks experiencing feelings of loss due to the death of a family member, friend, colleague, anyone who has been part of your life. For additional information, please contact, Wesley Rowell, 646-279-1595, rowellw@trinityprinceton.org.

Oasis LGBTQ+ Group

It is a clear positive that civil and human rights for the LGBTQIA+ community have progressed greatly in the last few decades. It is also very clear that hatred and violence towards queer people is on the rise. In the first three months of 2024, over 300 anti-gay bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country. Many of these bills invoke Christianity as the impetus behind them. There is still so much work to be done.

Oasis is the Trinity Church group for people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. We plan to gather in the weeks after Easter (TBA) for the opportunity to fellowship together and explore how our queerness is a gift from God.

Please contact Wesley Rowell (rowellw@trinityprinceton.org) if you are interested in joining the Oasis group.

Last Week at Trinity

What a glorious Holy Week!!

Alleluia! Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

PRAYER LIST: Please keep the following individuals in your prayers: Caswell and Mary Cooke, Shane Greene, Charlie Huebner, Patricia Killian, Lerose, Judy Maskymovich, Candice Miller, Clive Muncaster, Mark O., The Rev. Rod Pinder, Amber Schuppan, Nancy Slade, Barbara Stowe Please pray for the following souls who have recently passed: Allison Beers, Lisa Belshaw ➨ If you want to add someone to the list, please email Annie Bryson at brysona@trinityprinceton.org.

ZOOM EVENTS: Join all Zoom meetings, unless otherwise advertised, at ZOOM.US/J/2859819016 [By phone: 1 646 558 8656 Meeting ID: 285 981 9016 Password: 1979].

ABOUT US: Trinity Church ➨ Est’d 1833 ➨ An Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey ➨ 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 ➨ (609) 924-2277 ➨ The Rev. Paul Jeanes III, Rector; The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kara N. Slade, Associate Rector; Wesley Rowell, Lay Pastoral Associate ➨ Website: trinityprinceton.org

“We believe God’s love is expansive and unconditional and that through Christ, God has called us to love one another as God loves us. We welcome all people regardless of gender, race, age, culture, ethnic background, sexual orientation, economic circumstance, family configuration, or difference of ability. We celebrate the worth, dignity, and gifts of every person as a child of God.”