TRINITY ePISTLE - Week of Sunday, March 16, 2025

WEEK OF SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2025
✢SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT✢

Luther’s Chicken

The Rev. Dr. Kara Slade

WARNING: This article contains sermon spoilers. Come on Sunday to hear the rest of the story!

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

wandering from the fold of God;

he, to rescue me from danger,

interposed his precious blood.

This Sunday, we will hear a beautiful passage from the Gospel often called Jesus’ Lament Over Jerusalem. Warned by the Pharisees that Herod was out to get him, Jesus says “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” What a wonderful image of the tender care that God extends to each of us in Christ. It’s also one of the passages in Scripture where God’s love is described in feminine terms, and it had a significant influence on Julian of Norwich’s extensive (and famous) meditations on Christ as Mother.

Now, my dad grew up on a farm in Mississippi, but I grew up in the suburbs where both eggs and chickens come in a package from the grocery store. In preparing for this week’s sermon, I spent some time doing some extremely intellectual research, by which I mean watching videos of chickens on YouTube. Like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocvs3rKaWiQ

Before I did my chicken research, I read that passage of Scripture as only about nesting, about how the mother hen keeps the chicks warm in the nest. That’s part of the story, but it’s not the whole story. There is something much more dynamic at work. Outside the nest, the mother hen spreads her wings over her chicks to protect them, and in fact places herself between her chicks and any perceived danger. She is willing to come to harm first in order to protect her babies.

This image also shows up in Martin Luther’s description of what he calls imputed righteousness, where God sees us through Christ, and reckons Christ’s perfect righteousness to us despite the fact that we remain sinners in this life. He writes, “On account of this faith in Christ God does not see the sin that still remains in me. For so long as I go on living in the flesh, there is certainly sin in me. But meanwhile Christ protects me under the shadow of His wings and spreads over me the wide heaven of the forgiveness of sins, under which I live in safety.” (Commentary on Galatians)

I think I’ve shared this with you before, but here’s a video that Sonia and I put together on imputed righteousness and infused righteousness, which is the more Catholic view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYor6YJMdJA

Thanks be to God that in Christ, we are kept safe from every danger by his own willingness to sacrifice everything for us, in love. Come back on Sunday for the rest of the story!

In Christ,

This Sunday’s preacher is The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kara Slade, Associate Rector.

The readings for this Sunday can be found here.

Sunday Forum: Continuation of ‘God of Grace and God of Glory’ with Kara.

Candidate for Director of Family Ministries

Dear Trinity Church Community,

The Family Ministries Committee has been hard at work conducting a search for the Director of Family Ministries. We will be joined this Sunday by a candidate for this position, Chesirae Valentine-Karlin.

The church community is invited to a forum this Sunday, March 16, immediately following the 10:30 am service. We will be meeting in Pierce-Bishop Hall. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend and share feedback with the Family Ministries Committee following the forum. Childcare with lunch for children will be provided.

Also on Sunday, Chesirae will teach Sunday School for our younger students at 9:30 am, and attend Playful Worship during the 10:30 am service.

Please join us for this important event as we work to strengthen our family ministries program.

Blessings to all!

Family Ministries Search Committee

Wednesdays in Lent

Join us on Wednesday evenings this Lent for special programming:

5:30pm Holy Eucharist
6:00pm dinner
Class and discussion on the “I am” statements of Jesus, after dinner
The Lenten program next Wednesday will be “I am the light of the world” led by Noa our seminary intern.

Lenten Book Group: Passions of the Soul, by Rowan Williams

Are you hoping to deepen your faith this Lent? Do you want to learn about what classic theology has to do with modern life? During Lent, a book group led by Madeline Polhill, one of last year’s seminary interns, will study former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ recent work, Passions of the Soul. In this short book, Williams explores Eastern Orthodox theology with a particular eye towards what this theology might have to do with the pressures, challenges, and worries of our lives in the 21st century. We will meet on Monday evenings, beginning March 17 and ending on April 14, at 5:30pm at Trinity Church in the Thomas Room. Questions? Email Madeline Polhill at madeline.polhill@ptsem.edu. We hope to see you there!

Calling all Tenors!

Calling all tenors! Trinity's adult choir is in need of a couple volunteer tenors. If this might be you, please reach out to our Director of Music Meg Harper at harperm@trinityprinceton.org!

Confirmation Class

The Adult Confirmation Class will meet on Sundays at 2 PM starting this Sunday, March 9, in the George Thomas Room. Join us if you're interested in Confirmation, or if you'd like a refresher about the Episcopal Church. Adults should contact Kara at sladek@trinityprinceton.org.

The Adult Confirmation Class will meet on Sundays at 6 PM. Youth (or parents of youth) should contact Donte at milligand@trinityprinceton.org.

Platinum Club

Next Platinum Club meeting is March 17th at 12 noon!
For St. Patrick’s Day, wear your green beads and we will eat green cupcakes!
Find out who was St. Patrick. Did he really explain the Trinity? We hope to see you there.

Oasis Meeting

Attention LGBTQ+ Folks of Trinity!

Oasis, the LGBTQ+ Fellowship of Trinity Church, is rebooting! We will meet on the third Sunday of the month immediately following Choral Compline. Come to Compline and stay for fellowship and conversation. Our first meeting will be March 23 at 5:30 PM in the George Thomas Room. Contact Kara for more information (sladek@trinityprinceton.org), and add your name here to join the mailing list: https://forms.gle/fCYFF5hZusm3fV1P6

Philadelphia Eleven Documentary Streaming Free on PBS

In 1974, the first women were ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church. You can watch the acclaimed documentary on this pivotal event in our church's history at PBS from now until June. Here's a link if you want to watch on your computer, tablet, or phone:

https://www.pbs.org/show/the-philadelphia-eleven/

You can also view it through the PBS app on your smart TV.

Volunteers Wanted for Good Grief

With the growth of our Nights of Support in Princeton, Good Grief is now able to support more grieving children and families. We now offer peer support groups on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings.

With a new night added, we are looking for compassionate and kind volunteers who would like to become a peer support group facilitator. Our next facilitator training is May 2nd-4th at Good Grief in Princeton. Our facilitators make all the difference by creating a safe and caring environment where grieving children and their families can express themselves.

Interested individuals can contact volunteer@good-grief.org.

PRAYER LIST: Please keep the following individuals in your prayers: Judy Anderson, James Arnold, Peter Brown, Katherine Burke, Clark, Ruben C, Evon Cassier, Shereese Clark, Cullen Creel, Patricia Domino, Bob Edwards, Christopher Dismas Eldredge, Steve Evans, Marty Fitzgerald, Pat Grabiec, Shane Greene, Kate H, William Hannan, Charlie Huebner, Tamara James, Ellen Jane, Patricia Killian, Lerose, Lillie Lim, Jay Lipscomb, Chip MacKenzie, Jenny MacKenzie, Les and Joanne Miley, Candice Miller, Chris Moser, Clive Muncaster, Steven Murray, Paul, Ed Perrott, Katrina Poskay, Jason Chandler-Renfro, Kathy S, Amber Schuppan, Dianne Senko, Samantha Seto, Nancy Slade, Maria Smarsh, Marcia Thompson, Trisha Thorne, Phil Unetic, Mike Zimmerman, Betty Zuray ➨ If you want to add someone to the list, please email Annie Bryson at brysona@trinityprinceton.org.

RECOVERY MEETINGS: Looking for recovery meetings? See our list of recurring meetings here.

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 ➨ 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.”