Hospitality

Dear People of Trinity Church,

Recently, I’ve been spending time with Henri Nouwen’s Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life. One section that especially caught my attention is titled “Reaching Out to Our Fellow Human Beings.” In it, Nouwen reflects deeply on the biblical idea of hospitality—“one of the richest biblical terms that can deepen and broaden our insight into our relationships with our fellow human beings.”

Nouwen offers a powerful reimagining of what hospitality truly means. It is so much more than simply welcoming a stranger. He writes, “The Dutch use the word gastvrijheid, which means the freedom of the guest.”

Hospitality, Nouwen explains, “means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom undisturbed by dividing lines. It is not to lead our neighbor into a corner where there are no alternatives left, but to open a wide spectrum of options for choice and commitment. It is not an educated intimidation with good books, good stories, and good works, but the liberation of fearful hearts so that words can take root and bear fruit.”

Hospitality, then, is a way of liberation—for both the host and the guest, the one who welcomes and the one who is welcomed. It frees us from our preconceived notions, prejudices, and suspicions. It opens our hearts and minds to the possibility that something new and wonderful might happen in the space between us.

True hospitality says not, “Come, and you will become one of us,” but rather, “Come, and together we will discover something new.” It creates a space in which truth and grace, diversity and unity, can coexist. In that space, we begin to see one another not as strangers but as bearers of gifts to be shared—gifts that bless both giver and receiver.

In this particular season of our church’s life—and in our national life—may we practice this liberating, life-giving hospitality. May we rediscover the freedom that bears the fruit of love, community, grace, and healing.

Peace and Blessings,

Paul+

The Joy of Beauty

It’s that most wonderful time of the year here in Princeton, when the leaves begin to turn, the weather gets cool, and the radiance of fall is all around us. This time of year lends itself well to quiet contemplation, to thinking more deeply about our world – which is in the first instance God’s world. For me, it’s a time to revel in the beauty of creation and the joy of being a creature in relationship with God.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about beauty and the role it plays (or doesn’t play) in our culture, especially after reading a marvelous interview between Peter Wehner and the novelist and nonfiction writer Marilynne Robinson. Robinson is, I think, our greatest living chronicler of the dignity of humanity as God’s creatures – a humanist in the classic sense.

Here’s a link to the article, which I commend to you enthusiastically. (I hope the gift link doesn’t die…) 

Our contemporary culture, Robinson says, has fallen into a functionalist and materialist aesthetic sensibility, so that anything that points at beauty and the soul is seen as somehow untrue or – at best –an unnecessary luxury:

“It’s like we have made beauty into something falsified. Calvin says there is not a blade of grass that God created that was not meant to ravish us with its beauty. The idea of the beautiful is a signature of God, I think for Calvin and Jonathan Edwards and many other people. This distillation of the joy, the sensory joy, of being among things in the world.”

Despite any cultural claims to the contrary, we live in an enchanted world, shot through with the glory of God and the fellowship of human souls both living and in that “great cloud of witnesses” who rejoice in God’s nearer presence. The spiritual aspects of life are as real (or more real) than the material. As Robinson puts it, the enchantment of the world is “reality clearly perceived.” She continues, “I think God enchanted things and it is for us to acknowledge the fact.”

In this beautiful season of the year in our community, I pray that you will find time to slow down, take a breath, and look for those signatures of God in the enchanted world all around us.

Yours in Christ,

Kara+

Travel to the Holy Land

Spirited Pilgrimages

A couple of years back, some members of Trinity Church traveled with our Rector, Paul Jeanes, and The Rev. Keith Marsh and to the Holy Land.

It proved to be a marvelous and spiritually uplifting experience for all who made the pilgrimage! After retiring in June of 2023, Keith started Spirited Pilgrimages, a business devoted to planning, promoting and hosting unique, small-group pilgrimages around the world for people of faith.

Two pilgrimages have been planned for the fall of next year and you are invited to join: 

  • The Footsteps of Paul – September 9-19, 2026 – travel through Turkey and Greece by land and sea - visit sites from the Book of Acts associated with St. Paul on his missionary journeys: Ephesus, Patmos, Corinth, Athens and more, including the islands of Crete and Santorini  

  • Celtic Christianity – October 12-24, 2026 – follow the path of Christianity’s early years in the Celtic kingdoms, beginning in Ireland and expanding into Scotland and northern England – trace the spread of Celtic Christianity from its introduction by St. Patrick to its demise at the Council of Whitby.

These pilgrimages will be led by Keith, an experienced pilgrimage planner and host. To learn more about these two all-inclusive pilgrimages – expansive itinerary, roundtrip airfare, lodging and meal details, price and deadlines, as well as how to reserve your spot – visit the Spirited Pilgrimages website at: spiritedpilgrimages.com

CHOIR TO LONDON

CHOIR TO LONDON

In August 2026, our choir will be on tour in the UK, first at Ely Cathedral and then at Westminster Abbey.

Trinity is putting together a trip for any parishioners who would like to support the choir while they are in London - and see the sights in London and beyond.

Whether you are a chorister parent, a spouse or friend of an adult choir member, or a Trinity parishioner who enjoys music, liturgy, and history, this trip is for you!

The tour will include day trips to Canterbury Cathedral and to Oxford, as well as activities in London itself. We will attend daily Evensong at Westminster Abbey, as well as the Sunday Eucharist at which Trinity's choir will sing.

If you're interested in the tour and wish to be added to the list, fill out the form at the link below:

https://forms.gle/jKkcFtroi926g9oy6

Pre-Advent Retreat Community of St. John the Baptist

Pre-Advent Retreat Community of St. John the Baptist

Are you looking for a way to start Advent in a prayerful way? Would you like to get away from Princeton to a quiet, historic retreat center? 

Join us for a two-night pre-Advent retreat at the Community of St. John the Baptist in Mendham, NJ. We’ll spend time in prayer and reflection, as well as enjoying the community’s natural beauty. The cost for lodging and meals is $250, and we need a firm number of attendees by October 14.

Register at the link below, and contact Kara at sladek@trinityprinceton.org to sign up. 

FORM

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