Plough Monday

January 9, 2023 at 6:30pm
at the Front Entrance
of Trinity Church

The Blessing of the Plough with songs and molly dances by Handsome Molly to mark the occasion will take place on Plough Monday, January 9, 2023, 6:30pm, 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. Please come.

Trenton Music Makers

Monday, January 16 at 6:00pm
at Trinity Church

Trenton Music Makers will give a community concert at Trinity on Monday, January 16 at 6:00pm, in honor of Martin Luther King Day and the National Day of Service.

The concert follows the growing tradition among El Sistema-inspired organizations throughout the United States, celebrating the spirit of youth empowerment and community service that the holiday encompasses. They are inviting the audience to lean into the holiday’s significance by contributing non-perishable foods, or a monetary donation, for another of Trinity's ministry partners, Arm in Arm.

Trenton Music Makers, launched in 2015, is a five-day afterschool orchestra for Trenton students in Grades 1-12, and is the sibling program of Music for the Very Young and Trenton Children’s Chorus. The orchestra includes string and percussion majors, daily orchestra rehearsal, small-group instruction, theory, improvisation and chamber music, together with academic support, hot meals, and transportation from selected schools. The Trenton Music Makers Orchestra has performed with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, with local and regional partner organizations in Paterson, Newark, Union City and Camden, for the Greater Trenton annual awards and the Mill Hill Historic House Tour, and as onstage guests of the NJ Symphony. They are members of the El Sistema NJ Alliance, and national partners of Carnegie Hall Play USA.

Faith & Justice Book Group

Mondays, January 30, February 6, 13, & 20
6pm to 7:15 pm on Zoom

OUT OF THE SUN
On Race and Storytelling
by Esi Edugyan

Esi Edugyan is the author of the internationally bestselling and award-winning novel “Washington Black”, and other fine novels.

OUT OF THE SUN are her essays for the esteemed Canadian Broadcasting Massey Lectures, broadcast on CBC Radio in January of 2022. This book asks us to consider: “What happens when stories normally at the margin gain centrality. How does that complicate who we are, as individuals, as nations, as human beings? Through the lens of visual art, literature, film, and the author’s lived experience, OUT OF THE SUN examines Black histories in art, offering new perspectives to challenge us.”

Please join in our Zoom Book Group 6pm-7:15 pm, Mondays, January 30, February 6, 13, 20.We are sure to have some lively conversation about the book, and how it informs and intersects with our Christian faith.

Contact me, the Rev. Joanne Epply-Schmidt at epplyschmidtj@trinityprinceton.org to signup, and I will send you the link.

OUT OF THE SUN is available at local libraries, or special order at local bookstores, and online sellers.

Advent Wreath-making

Angel Tree 2022

The Angel Tree project will be back in full force this year. Look for the tree inside the church doors on November 27, right after Thanksgiving. We will have the tags with the gifts that families and children have requested hanging on the tree or in baskets. Sign up sheets will be on a table nearby. We have three Sundays to pick a gift and return it wrapped to the church.

I will need all gifts by December 13 so the charities can have their parties to distribute the presents to the families and children. Gifts should be in the range of $25-$50 if you are purchasing a gift card.

The Angel Tree project supports three agencies in our local area:

Arm in Arm, formerly known as Crisis Ministry, was started by Trinity Church and Nassau Presbyterian in 1980. They have three areas of assistance where they help local families in need with food, housing stability and workforce development. This year we will concentrate on those individuals that are in the Workforce development program. This area offers training programs, resume writing, and online computer training. These individuals also work in the food pantries to get hands on experience.

We will be providing gifts cards to the adults who are enrolled in this program.

Housing Initiatives of Princeton provides transitional housing to families for 24 months. In addition to housing, HIP provides individualized case management services for clients to succeed independently. Housing is coupled with job searches, budgeting, educational assistance, and access to food pantries. Assistance is also offered in locating permanent affordable housing, and help with the first month’s rent, and security deposits if needed.

Your gifts will go to families and their children in the three housing units.

Urban Promise of Trenton is equipping Trenton’s children with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management and spiritual growth. Staff and volunteers help empower the children by providing tutoring and homework help along with enriching activities in their afterschool programs. The Street Leaders program employs teens to help lead and mentor the younger children and keep them off the street. They have a 100% high school graduation rate and many continue their higher education. Urban Promise has two locations in Trenton: Camp Truth at Trinity Cathedral, and Camp Grace at East End Community Center on Clinton Ave.

This is our largest agency because of their concentration on children and your gifts will go to all ages of children from elementary age to teens.

Thank you for your support of this tradition,

Martha Lashbrook

Register Children for Christmas Pageant Now

Fall is flying by and Advent is fast approaching! The Rev. Joanne and Emily would like to invite all children between the ages of 3 and 18 to participate in this year’s Christmas Pageant at Trinity Church.

Rehearsals will occur during the Church School hour during November. If your child is in ABC Choir, rehearsals for the Angels’ song will occur during regular ABC Choir rehearsal on Thursdays. We will have two full cast rehearsals on December 10 and 17 from 10-11:30am. The Pageant is scheduled for December 18 (Advent 4), during the 10:30am
service, and will be followed by the Advent Brunch in Pierce-Bishop Hall.

For a full schedule and more information, please visit the Christmas Pageant section of the Family Ministries page on Trinity’s website.

Questions? Email Emily at pruszinskie@trinityprinceton.org.

Thank you all for encouraging our children as they learn to walk in our common faith!

Flower Guild Donations

Dear Friends,

Unfortunately, this year's Flower Guild Donation mailing seems not to have reached everyone. Below is a shortened version of our letter. If you have loved ones who you'd like remembered with flowers at one of our services, please email the information to sbjornberg77@icloud.com. Checks can be mailed to the church or placed in Annie Bryson's mailbox.

"Flowers, greens, and candles enhance our worship at Trinity. Donations for flowers and candles make this possible for all the services held in the church. Many people wish to remember a loved one who has died or mark a particularly joyful occasion by a special gift to the Flower Guild.

You may request flowers for a specific date to remember a loved one or a significant event in the lives of your family and friends. These requests will be listed in the weekly bulletin and in the E-pistle.  You may also wish to donate for Christmas and Easter celebrations. 

When we observe Lent, flowers are not used in the church. In 2023, Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22, 2023. No flowers will be in the church from Sunday, February 26 until Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023. Names for those remembered during Lent will be listed in the Easter Bulletin.

All donations for flowers and candles are welcome and are tax deductible as a charitable gift. Checks should be made to the Flower Guild of Trinity Church. 

Members and visitors to Trinity admire its beauty as well as the majesty of the Liturgy, beautiful music and flowers.  All contributions to the flower and candle funds are deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,
Sylvia Temmer,
Flower Guild Chair