It has been a glorious Christmastide for me, and I hope it’s been wonderful for you as well. We have been blessed with beautiful worship services through Advent, on Christmas Eve, and at Lessons and Carols. I am tremendously grateful to our music program and to all the volunteers throughout all our ministry areas who put in long hours to help us worship the newborn King. THANK YOU for all you do. 

We’re almost ready to turn from feasting to what’s next. But at Epiphany we stand in awe before “the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things” (Ephesians 3:9) Epiphany is a day of encounter, when we recall three visitors from far away, coming to a place they had never been, not entirely sure what would happen next. The wise men knew that they were being led to something important, to the child born king of the Jews. But until they met Jesus, they wouldn’t truly understand what any of this really meant. Until they met Jesus, they had no idea of how their lives were about to change.

We are called to look for the newborn Jesus, to look for the light to the gentiles, to look for God’s incarnate grace, in the circumstances of our own lives. We’re called to look for him at work, at the grocery store, at home with our families and friends, in fellowship shared, and in our church. These are the places where God presents himself to us, the places where God's truth is revealed. These are all places where we may bring our gifts to the King and cast them before his throne. These are the places where we bring our gifts to the giver.

And what happens when we do just that? What happens when we meet Jesus? Scripture tells us that the wise men were warned not to return to Herod, and so they went home by another road. Once you meet Jesus, there's no going back. The old certainties, everything we thought most reliable, we find them vanishing like smoke. All we thought was the solid world melts into air. But what replaces it is built on solid rock. What replaces it is the path of love, of life, and of light.

We truly have had a wonderful season of Christmas here at Trinity Church. Having met the Christ child, we stand at a fork in the road. Will we try to go back the way we came? Or will we live as people who have seen the one who is the Way the Truth, and the Life face to face?

Yours in Christ, and in Christ alone,

Our own Donn Mitchell is an expert on the influence of the Episcopal Church and faith in Christ on some of the major figrues of the 1930's and 1940's, including Frances Perkins and Eleanor Roosevelt. Come out and learn about faith and public life in this pivotal period in American history. 

20's-30's Fellowship members and guests are invited to a "Pre-piphany party" on Sunday, January 5, after the 10:30 service. We will get Indian takeout, but we need to know how many people are coming! RSVP here so we can count you in! 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSehXXss5FntK9dX0yiXEU71Rf5iTfgWTrYHrifbj5pT8dzbHQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Join us at 5pm on Monday, January 6, for a choral Eucharist on the Feast of the Epiphany. The music will feature Renaissance polyphony. Bring some greenery from your tree to burn as we celebrate the revelation of Jesus Christ as the light to the Gentiles. Kids are also invited to bring some pieces of greenery to present at the Offertory on Sunday at the 10:30 service. (If you don't have any, we'll give you some!)

Through January 6th, 2025, the documentary about the Philadelphia Eleven — the first women ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church in 1974 — will be available for personal screening. Get e-tickets here: https://kinema.com/events/the-philadelphia-eleven-ielwpc.

The Blessing of the Plough with songs and molly dances by Handsome Molly to mark the occasion will take place on Plough Monday, 13 January 2025, 6:30 pm, at the front entrance of the church. Plough Monday is the first Monday after Epiphany.  In medieval times, the ploughboys were to return to work on this day to start the new ploughing season, but the day provided one last day of festivity as the ploughboys would disguise themselves and go from house to house threatening to plough up the yard if the landowners did not provide them food and drink. Trinity Church has been marking this day for many years now.  Seminary Intern Richard Pryor will serve as Officiant. We warmly invite you to join us.

January is boring and we are too! "Vaguely middle-aged" people are warmly invited to join us for a potluck on Saturday, January 18 at 5:30 PM in Pierce-Bishop Hall. Childcare will be provided. 

Due to the seminary break, there will be no Evening Prayer until Monday, February 3. Morning Prayer continues on weekdays at 7:45 AM on Zoom (not in person). However there will be no Morning Prayer from December 24 to December 31. Zoom Morning Prayer will resume on Monday, January 3. 

If you haven't tried praying the Daily Office, our Zoom services are a wonderful way to try it out. Join us to find out how much it can add to your walk with Jesus. 

The Diocese of New Jersey has set up a new website focused on formation for all ages. If you'd like to check out their resources, see https://www.growinfaithnj.org. It's truly wonderful to see the work that Canon Susanna Cates and her team have done to make formation resources available to congregations.