Sing, my soul, his wondrous love,

who, from yon bright throne above,

ever watchful o'er our race,

still to us extends his grace.

Heaven and earth by him were made;

all is by his scepter swayed;

what are we that he should show

so much love to us below?

God, the merciful and good,

bought us with the Savior's blood,

and, to make salvation sure,

guides us by his Spirit pure.

Sing, my soul, adore his Name!

Let his glory be thy theme:

praise him till he calls thee home;

trust his love for all to come.

The author of this hymn text, published first in 1800, is unknown.  I find it to be a tremendously beautiful reflection on God’s goodness to us.  Life is complicated, and sometimes it’s difficult beyond measure.  This text reminds us that the bedrock under all that is the love of God, and the beauty to which that love gives birth.

As we approach kickoff Sunday (just a couple weeks now - it’s on September 8 this year), I find myself thinking about why I do what I do, and why church matters. For me, the core of this is recognizing the beauty and goodness that God gives us, and how we express that as God’s people. Music is often spoken about as a “language beyond words,” and there is truth to this.

Choral music has a particularly effective role in communicating meaning because it pairs art forms together. With choral music, we have the combination of “pure” music with poetry. When finely crafted words come together with music written specifically to amplify their meaning, we get a 1+1=3 effect. I think there is a parallel here to the effect God’s love has on our lives. This is what happens when we welcome God’s love and share it within community: the cumulative impact we have becomes greater than that of the individual efforts we put in.

As we embark on this coming program year, with all its gifts as well as the challenges it is sure to bring, I hope we can dwell in the abundant goodness of God’s love, and use every opportunity before us in turn to share it. Each week as the choirs of Trinity Church sing in our liturgies, know that our music is given as a gift: both to our community and to God, as the very best reflection we can manage of the beauty of God’s love.

Here’s a link to a setting by Sarah MacDonald of the above poem, which the choir will sing on kickoff Sunday this year.  I hope you enjoy it! https://youtu.be/865z0idLQf8?si=gFs_XTJRjT-TvJXJ

Looking forward to all that this year holds,

Meg

Who are seniors? Can’t define them! We are those who have done it! We retired from our paying work, and we are at leisure? Well, not really… but we can go out for a longish lunch if we want to. So here it is. Let’s start a lunch group at Trinity for those of us who want more community with our fellow parishioners.

We will have a first meeting on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at noon in the Parish Hall. Bring a sandwich or whatever you’d like to have for lunch. Dessert and drinks will be provided. It will be very informal. And yes, we will have name tags. We want to be able to remember the name of that person you met the following Sunday!

We will brainstorm about: the right time to meet? How organized should we be? What will we call the group?  Do we want to do this?  Do we prefer a restaurant meal?

For more information contact Kara (sladek@trinityprinceton.org) or Sylvia Temmer (sbjornberg77@icloud.com).

We invite you all (Preschoolers through High Schoolers, Teachers, College Students, Grad Students, & Professors) to bring your backpacks and schoolbags to Trinity on September 1. Bring them empty or full. Invite a friend! Adults, even if you’re done with school, you are welcome to receive a blessing for your work. If you’d like in on this, we invite you to bring your briefcases, tote bags, or backpacks as well. The priests will bless the bags during the 10 a.m. service, to honor all the hopes, dreams, and fears that accompany the new school year, and to ask for God to strengthen, sustain, and encourage all our children as they learn and grow throughout the year. 

This year, donations will be accepted at the storage PODS in the church parking lot on the following Sunday mornings after the two morning services: September 8, 15, 22, 29 and October 6.  

Reservations are needed: please email your request to rummage@trinityprinceton.org and include the date and time you would like to bring your donations.   Reservations will be confirmed.

To make the sale a success, please donate:

• significant works of art and items of value

• books for children and on the best-seller list

• clothing with a designer label or the original price tag

• gently used bargain and “better” clothes for men, women and children

• shoes and boots in good condition

• valuable jewelry and costume jewelry

• toys for children and holiday gifts and decorations

• housewares and electrical items including pots and pans, coffee makers and lamps

• vintage treasures for the “Vintage This & That” – clothes, hats, scarves, purses and more

Every rummage sale is a labor-intensive effort so when you bring your donations, please plan to stay and help load the boxes and bags into the PODs. On Sunday, October 13, lots of help is needed, especially “muscle” help, when the donations stored in the PODs are moved into the church building to the rooms for the sale.  Please plan to be part of this church-wide effort!

In these last days of Summer, please set aside your donations that will turn into dollars for Trinity’s Outreach program!

Thank you,

The Rummage Committee

Stay up to date with Paul’s Sabbatical updates here: https://www.trinityprinceton.org/sabbatical-updates.