Advent: The Beginning of the End of All in Us Not Yet Christ

Inspired by Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton, in his Advent essay Hope or Delusion, writes that Advent is “the beginning of the end of all in us that is not yet Christ.” With that single line, he invites us to step away from any sentimental or Hallmark-style picture of the season. Advent is not a time of nostalgia. It is not a gentle manger scene meant to soothe us. Advent confronts us with the truth of Christ’s birth within the broken, chaotic reality of our lives and our world.

The Incarnation is not sentimentality — it is reality. It is God choosing to enter the world as it is, not as we wish it were. And so, Advent asks us to do the same. It calls us to look honestly at who we are and the difference between our lives and the life of Christ, and at the hopes we carry. Is our hope grounded in the real, living Christ, or is it about an illusion — a kind of spiritual pixie dust we imagine will make everything right without asking anything of us?

Advent, therefore, is not sacred sentimentality or ecclesial escapism. It is a moment of truth — the truth about ourselves, the truth about our world, and the truth about what God is bringing to birth within it. Merton’s insight reminds us that Advent is both invitation and challenge: the call to let the false power of our egos fall away, and to surrender our hearts to the transforming grace of God.

So let us rejoice and give thanks in this season of beginnings —
a season that marks the beginning of the end of all in us not yet Christ,
and the beginning of Christ being born in us anew.

Advent Blessings,

Paul+

Welcome Alicia our new Administrative Assistant to the Rector!

Alicia McCarther and her family have been attending Trinity for the past 11 years. You’ve probably seen them sitting in the back row of the nave at the 10:30 service!

Alicia has served on the vestry for the past three years and will complete her term in December. She has many years of experience working in various churches as a hired singer, choir director, and youth director, and she is thrilled to bring that background into her new role as the Administrative Assistant to the Rector. Alicia and her husband, Sean, have been married for 19 years and have two children: Ian (13) and Lily (9). Alicia is incredibly excited to join Team Trinity in this new way!

Preparing a Way

Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. – Matthew 24:36

Last weekend, a group from Trinity Church gathered at the Community of St. John Baptist in Mendham for a time of prayer and discussion as we look towards Advent. To spend time in prayer in such a beautiful setting was a gift, and if you’re reading this I hope you will consider joining us for our next retreat in March!

During our discussion of the Advent Gospels for Year A – the readings that we’re about to hear in church between now and Christmas – we explored what it might mean to “prepare the way of the Lord” in our hearts and our lives. As we developed a list of concrete practices as a group, we thought you might find it helpful too.

This Advent, you may want to try:

·      Reading a chapter of the Bible or praying a Psalm before you pick up your phone.

·      Changing your Instagram or Spotify algorithm by following more church-related content.

·      Read the Advent devotional from Trinity (I Witness, available at church) or another devotional book

·      Listening to the podcast of Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer from Forward Movement.

·      Listening to sacred music. Try this playlist of upcoming music from our choir, or this playlist of my own favorite Advent songs.

As I have led retreats over the past few years, probably the most common insight I hear from folks is how much it changes your experience of the world to put your phone away. It sounds clichéd by now, but the presence of phones in our pockets is one of the most serious spiritual challenges of our time. This Advent may be a time to re-examine your relationship with your phone - and to reflect on whether or not that relationship needs to change. I know I will be doing that myself!

In the coming days of Advent, we will see the love of God for this world. This is a love so complete that in God’s good time, “the way things are” will be transformed into “the way things should be.”  It is a love so complete that we will know conclusively that the only possible logic of the world is one of peace, of harmony, of new life, of love and redemption. We will know this because the knowledge of God’s truth will fill the world. No longer will we see dimly or guess at God’s designs. We will know at long last what Julian of Norwich saw in her vision: “Would you know your Lord's meaning? Know it well, love was his meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. What did he show you? Love.” This indeed is something to prepare for – not just by decorating our homes and getting all the festive foods ready, but by making a path in our hearts.

Yours in Christ,

Kara+

CHRIST THE KING

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

This Sunday, we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, the final feast of the liturgical year. It is a day that proclaims Christ’s cosmic reign and gently ushers us toward the season of Advent—a time of longing, expectation, and hopeful preparation for the coming of the King.

Yet our human imagination often struggles with kingship. We picture power wrapped in grandeur: thrones and jeweled crowns, palaces and pageantry, subjects bowing before a distant ruler. We imagine hierarchy, dominance, and the wide gap between those who reign and those who serve.

But Christ the King redefines kingship entirely. This feast—also called The Reign of Christ Sunday—invites us to consider the day when God’s world is set right, when divine order and justice are restored. In Christ, power is never about coercion or control. It is always about freedom, healing, and liberation. As Rowan Williams reminds us, “Christ reigns not by taking power, but by giving it away; not by domination, but by self-offering.” His is a kingship shaped by humility, mercy, and sacrificial love.

Fleming Rutledge adds, “The day Christ comes in glory will not be a day of triumph for the powerful, but liberation for the captive.” It will be a day when the last are lifted up, the broken are restored, and the forgotten are brought home.

Christ the King Sunday invites us to look beyond the crowns and kingdoms of this world and to imagine a different kind of rule—one where love is the law, service is strength, and every captive heart is set free. May this vision prepare us as we enter Advent with renewed hope and holy expectation.

Peace and Blessings,

Paul+

Annual Meeting 2025 November 9th

Dear Good People of Trinity Church,

We invite you to join us next Sunday, November 9, following the 10:30 a.m. service, for our Annual Meeting. This gathering is much more than a meeting to fulfill a canonical requirement—it is our annual Trinity family meeting: a time for us to come together, reflect on who we are, and consider how we continue the work of Trinity Church in the world.

Two matters will come before us for a vote or affirmation:

  • The election of the Vestry Class of 2028 and approval of our appointed Youth Representative. You will see that we are blessed to have four very qualified candidates and a Youth Representative (to serve a one year term) that will certainly do a fantastic job representing the needs of Trinity.  In addition, Tom Scott has agreed to fill a vacancy in the Class of 2024. 

  • The approval of the Bylaws. The Vestry has determined that while we have not previously had any official Bylaws now was a good time to put into writing what has been our traditional practices.  The Vestry has reviewed the document and approved it as presented. 

Information about both items can be found below. The full Annual Report will be shared later this week for your review.

Beyond these matters of business, this meeting is also a time for conversation—an opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, share ideas, and dream together. It’s a moment to give thanks, to challenge and encourage one another, and to celebrate the many ways God is at work among us. It is the people of Trinity Church living out what it means to be the Body of Christ.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Peace and Blessings,


Paul Jeanes+                                                       

David Schneider

VESTRY BIOS

The Other Triduum

This weekend, western Christians around the world will observe what sometimes is called the little Triduum: the three days of All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. It’s a parable or a signpost of the other triduum: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. Both of these sets of three days confront us with the truth about death and resurrection. The Triduum of All Saints is about our death and resurrection, and the Triduum of Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is his death and resurrection that makes our resurrection possible.

 If we look at historical and contemporary debates, there have been a lot of words spilled on the relationship between All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. What does it mean on All Saints’ Day that we celebrate the saints? What does it mean that All Souls’ Day is also called the commemoration of all the faithful departed?  A more Catholic approach would say that the saints are special examples of holiness that have been recognized as such by the church. All Souls’ Day, then, is for all of us faithful who die in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection.

A more Protestant understanding might follow the logic of Martin Luther, who says that we are all sinners and yet we are all equally saints redeemed by the cross of Christ. As the famous hymn goes, “there’s not any reason, not in the least, that I shouldn't be one too.”  But regardless of which theological position you take, the message of this week is simple: resurrection. This weekend we remember those who have joined the company of faithful departed before us, and perhaps we will meditate on our own mortality as well. But above all, I hope that you will remember God’s “yes” to you, spoken at Easter that is good news for each one of you.

Yours in Christ,

Kara+

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