Jesus Christ is Risen Today—Alleluia!

Dear Friends,

“Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!” With these joyful words, we awaken once more to the song that has echoed through the centuries—the song of life stronger than death, hope stronger than fear, love stronger than anything that would hold us back.

Easter is not simply a day we celebrate; it is a reality we are invited to enter. As the hymn proclaims, “our triumphant holy day” calls us to lift our hearts and voices, to join creation itself in praise. The stone is rolled away. The tomb is empty. Christ is alive—and because he lives, we are given new life as well.

Easter joy is not shallow or fleeting. It is born out of the depths of Good Friday and carried through the silence of Holy Saturday. And so our “hymns of praise then let us sing” are not naïve, but courageous—rooted in the promise that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God.

I invite you to join us this Sunday, as we gather to celebrate the resurrection. Come and hear the Good News again. Come and sing “Alleluia.” Come and be renewed in the life that the Risen Christ offers to all.

Easter Blessings,           

Paul+

I’m Sorry, but I Don’t Understand.

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

As I write this letter, I’m sitting in the teachers’ lounge at the school where Sophia is working in Madrid, Spain. My Spanish is elementary at best. The teachers come in and warmly welcome me, but after a brief exchange most conversations quickly and politely come to an end. If we continue, we both have to work very hard because we are, quite literally, speaking different languages with very limited fluency in the other. Two phrases I do know are : “Lo siento, pero no entiendo.” (I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.) “Hablo solo un poco de español.” (I speak only a little Spanish.)

So…it takes work—real work—if we want to engage in conversation. It takes patience, creativity, and a willingness to explore different ways of communicating.

This can also be true at times even when we speak the same language—it can seem as if we don’t. Even if we understand every word being said, we may not truly comprehend one another. We see the world through different eyes. We hold different perspectives and opinions about what is true, or right, or good. We may be speaking the same language, but we still fail to understand—and sometimes, even when we do understand, we simply no longer want to engage.

It takes work and commitment, especially in our current reality, to truly communicate with one another—to genuinely seek understanding and to discern a way forward. Many of us are tempted to take the easier path: to throw up our hands and walk away. After all, it’s so much easier to be with people who speak the same language and think the same way we do.

We must resist, however, that temptation and do the hard work to keep the conversation alive. Only then do we have any real possibility of finding a way forward. And perhaps that way forward, precisely because of our differences, will be richer and more vibrant for everyone.

Peace and blessings,
Paul+

Olga y Marta (Two of Sophia’s co-workers)

Lent: A Journey of Recovery

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

There are recovery programs for almost every struggle imaginable because we have a tendency to lose our way. We drift. We fall. We forget who we are. Because our lives are fragile and fallible. We get ourselves caught in messes, tangled in confusion, knotted up in habits and hurts, and we often find ourselves wondering: How did we end up here?

Julian of Norwich, the 14th-century mystic, once wrote, “First there is the fall, and then we recover from the fall—and both are the mercy of God.” She names a fundamental truth of the human story: ever since the fall, we have been in a continuous state of recovery. Life itself is a soulful journey of remembering and returning—to the truth of who we are as beloved children of God.

Though we are forgiven immediately in and through the love of Jesus Christ, that does not mean we swiftly comprehend or easily live into that forgiveness. God’s renewal is given freely, but it often takes time for our hearts to receive it, trust it, and embody it.

So, I invite us, in this holy season of Lent, to accept with grace and humility the reality that we are in recovery. Not as a sign of failure, but as a sign of being human. The whole cosmos is, in some mysterious way, in recovery—groaning toward redemption. Though we continue to wrestle with sin and temptation until our final breath, God invites us to live gladly “because of the knowledge of his love.”

When we anchor ourselves in that love, recovery becomes reconciliation. Struggle becomes renewal. And we learn to trust, even in the midst of our healing, that “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

Lenten Blessings,

Paul+

Addendum:

Though we are forgiven immediately in and through the love of Jesus Christ, that does not mean we swiftly comprehend or easily live into that forgiveness. God’s renewal is given freely, yet it often takes time for our hearts to receive it, trust it, and embody it.

So I invite us, in this holy season of Lent, to accept with grace and humility the reality that we are in recovery—not as a sign of failure, but as a sign of being human. The whole cosmos is, in some mysterious way, in recovery—groaning toward redemption. Though we continue to wrestle with sin and temptation until our final breath, God invites us to live gladly “because of the knowledge of his love.”

When we anchor ourselves in that love, recovery becomes reconciliation. Struggle becomes renewal. And we learn to trust, even in the midst of our healing, that “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

Peace and blessings,

Paul+

A New Year’s Blessing

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

As we begin this new year together, I am drawn to the words of the Irish poet and priest John O’Donohue, from the introduction to his book To Bless the Space Between Us:

“There is a quiet light that shines in every heart.
It draws no attention to itself,
though it is always secretly there.
It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty,
our desire to seek possibility,
and our hearts to love life.
Without this subtle quickening,
our days would be empty and wearisome,
and no horizon would ever awaken our longing…
We enter the world as strangers,
who all at once become heirs
to a harvest of memory, spirit, and dream
that has long preceded us
and will now enfold, nourish, and sustain us.
The gift of the world is our first blessing.”

In the days and months to come, I invite us to open ourselves to the sustaining, guiding, comforting, encouraging, and healing light of Christ—a light that is indeed present in every heart. A light set ablaze at the beginning of creation, the light from which all other light has come to be.

As the true light, it does not burn for its own glory or for praise or attention. Rather, it burns to break through the darkness. It burns to help all living things flourish. It burns to set us free, to show us the way home, to keep us warm, to give us courage, and to remind us that we are not alone. It is the light around which the cosmos revolves, and the source from which all of us find our life.

May we, this year, find ourselves illumined and blessed by this holy, subtle, sacred, blazing flame of life and love.
May it shine within us and through us—
with each breath,
each word,
each act.

Peace and blessings,
Paul+

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+

The World as We Know It… Is Ending

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

A week or so ago, the clergy of the Diocese of New Jersey gathered in Toms River for our annual Fall Clergy Conference—two and a half days of learning, reflection, and fellowship with Bishop French and the Rev. Gay Jennings, former President of the House of Deputies and member of the Presiding Bishop’s staff.

One recurring theme throughout our time together was that we can no longer live with a status quo mindset. “Business as usual” is no longer sustainable. The world around us is changing—rapidly—and these changes compel us to make intentional choices about how we live out our ministries in an ever-evolving society.

One of the phrases that framed our discussions was:

“The world as we know it is ending.”

In truth, that’s been the case since the beginning of time. The world is always changing. Yet, today, the pace and scope of that change are unlike anything humanity has ever experienced. Transformation that once unfolded over centuries or decades now happens in years, months, even weeks. New ideas, technologies, and global connections are reshaping our lives at an unprecedented rate.

So how do we live faithfully in such a rapidly changing world—anchored in the timeless truth of the Gospel?

With that question in mind, I invite you to join me this Sunday during our Adult Forum for a conversation shaped by six questions adapted from our clergy discussions. My hope is that this conversation will help us deepen our shared understanding and prepare us thoughtfully and prayerfully as we approach our Annual Meeting on November 9.

We need to be intentional, prayerful, and proactive as we discern together the future of our ministry at Trinity.

Here are the questions we’ll explore:

1. What do we need from each other?

2. What do you need from your clergy?

3. What do the clergy and leadership of Trinity Church need from you?

4. How can we best support one another?

5. What would be the signs of a strong community and a strong church?

6. What is our fundamental job as the Body of Christ?

The world as we know it is ending—and we have a vital role to play in what is being created anew. Filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered by God’s love, and sustained by God’s grace, we are invited to help shape the world that is coming into being.

And that, my friends, is exciting.

Forward in Faith!

Paul+

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+

A Warm Welcome to All Visitors & Newcomers.

A warm welcome to all visitors & newcomers.

At Trinity Church, 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 circumstances, family configuration, political affiliation, or difference of ability. We celebrate the worth, dignity, and gifts of every person as a child of God.

We warmly welcome the presence and participation of children.

They are a blessing and gift to our worship experience.

Dear Good People of Trinity Church,

I want to bring your attention to two important updates to our bulletin.

The first is a small but significant change to our long-used words of welcome. After prayerful reflection and meaningful conversations with several Trinity members, I have added “political affiliation” to our litany of welcome. I never thought such words would be necessary, but in this season of intense political division, I believe they are. As followers of Christ, we are called to be a community that welcomes all. Trinity Church will not be a “Left” church or a “Right” church, but rather a church that imperfectly yet faithfully strives to follow Jesus Christ and live out the Gospel message for the healing and transformation of the world. This is not easy work. It is work that will not be completed in our lifetimes. Yet each day, in small but meaningful steps, we move closer to God’s dream for our broken world.

The second addition is a welcome directed especially to families with children. Children are essential to the life and vitality of the Church. While their sounds and movements may at times feel distracting, without them there is no future for the Church. These movements and voices are signs of young believers beginning to find their way into the sacramental life of the community we call Trinity. We know how much effort it takes for parents and caregivers to prepare children for worship—and how much energy is spent helping them participate once here. Their efforts deserve our deepest encouragement and our warmest embrace. We must support them with open hearts, open minds, and open arms.

We are especially blessed in this season to have Anne Thomsen Lord, Catherine Breed, and Donte Milligan guiding and nurturing our children and youth. Please reach out to them—or to me—if you feel called to help grow this vital ministry.

I close with the prayer I offered at last Sunday’s forum, a prayer I hope will remain before us as we continue the work of being Trinity Church:

Quicken, O Lord, we pray, all members of your church, that we may be alive to the opportunities and responsibilities of our times. Save us from complacency and from fear of new ways; inspire our minds with the hope of your kingdom; give us joy in what lies before us; and stir our wills to pray and to work until your will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Peace,

Paul+