A Prayer from The Most Rev. Hosam E. Naoum

Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem 

O God of all justice and peace we cry out to you in the midst of the pain and trauma of  violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land. 

Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths - Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all people of the land. 

While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence and the establishment of peace, we  also call for you to bring justice and equity to the peoples. Guide us into your kingdom  where all people are treated with dignity and honour as your children for, to all of us, you  are our Heavenly Father. 

In Jesus’ name we pray. 

Amen.

One in God's Love

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,  

The world gasped in horror at the images from the most recent outbreak of violence in Gaza. And gasp, we should. Horror is a correct and appropriate response. But what do we do after we  gasp? How do we fully understand the situation? How do we process? How do we respond?  

Politicians will rally their supporters mostly to secure a victory in the next election. Pundits will  offer their “unbiased” insights to enlighten the “misguided.” Preachers will offer prayers and  sermons to appear both pastoral and prophetic. And whether we are consciously aware of it or  not, each of us inevitably will take a side, and then, everything we hear, see, think, and say will  be filtered through our position, “our side,” which is undoubtedly the right side.  

There is no question that the attack by Hamas against innocent people is evil and wrong. Likewise, this does not give Israel permission in the cause of self-defense to do whatever they deem appropriate to crush and destroy the Palestinians. Defending does not mean annihilation. 

The current violence and carnage are as old as humanity. It is another chapter in the ongoing  story of sinful people acting in sinful ways. Broken people acting in broken ways. Traumatized  people acting in ways that traumatize more people. It’s the story of sin and our inability to be fully human, as God intended. And since we cannot live fully into our own humanity in God,  again and again and again, we dehumanize others because we’re scared, insecure, and broken. 

I must now ask myself and us, “What should we do as the people of Trinity Church, as  Christians, and as human beings?” And let me tell you that whatever we do will not be perfect  and, for many, will fall miserably short of their expectations. 

I would, however, like us to gather for a conversation on Sunday, October 22, in Pierce-Bishop  Hall during our Adult Forum hour. We will discuss not just the current issue in Israel and  Palestine but how we live with the atrocities of our world and the atrocities in our own lives. The things we cannot fully understand, the things we will never be able to solve. What does it  do to our souls and our common humanity? How do we resist the temptation to let these  events eat away at our humanity, leading to further dehumanization of the other?  

I am fully aware that there is no way that one forum conversation will be sufficient. Still, I believe it is necessary to take one step, a first step, to find our way to the next step on our journey to healing, redemption, and the fullness of our humanity when we are truly one in God’s love. 

Peace and blessings, 

Paul

The Search Begins for Trinity's Next Communications Director

So much is happening at Trinity Church these days!  It's a great time for an experienced Communications professional to join Trinity's staff as our next Communications Director.  This is a part-time position (25 hours per week).  A detailed job description can be found at http://www.trinityprinceton.org/employment.   Please forward it to any people you know who might be interested.  Candidates should send their resume to communicationsearch@trinityprinceton.org.  The search committee for this position, which consists of Tom Scott, Nithila Peter, Annie Bryson, Emily Pruszinski and Phil Unetic, will begin reviewing resumes in several weeks.  

It Is Not Good For Us To Be Alone

In response to my recent e-pistle article titled "The Great Dechurching," two parishioners shared with me an insightful piece by Nicholas Kristoff that addresses the pervasive loneliness epidemic not only in America but across the globe.

Loneliness crushes the soul, but researchers are finding it does far more damage than that. It is linked to strokes, heart disease, dementia, inflammation, and suicide; it breaks the heart literally as well as figuratively.

Loneliness is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and more lethal than consuming six alcoholic drinks a day, according to the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy. Loneliness is more dangerous for health than obesity, he says — and, alas, we have been growing more lonely. A majority of Americans now report experiencing loneliness, based on a widely used scale that asks questions such as whether people lack companionship or feel left out.

Our innate need for one another is woven into the very fabric of creation. In Genesis 2, God proclaimed that it's not good for us to be alone. We are designed to live in community, fostering connections with both the divine and our fellow human beings; it's literally in our DNA. Yet, it seems increasingly challenging for people to discover genuine community and meaningful connections.

Early on, some thought that Facebook and other social media would bind us together, but many experts now think these platforms have instead made us more lonely. People look at Instagram feeds and conclude that everyone else is having fun. Meanwhile, time with screens substitutes for time with human beings. All this may help account for the crisis in mental health of young people over the last dozen years. We often think that older people are most lonely, but polls find that young adults are twice as likely as seniors to report loneliness.


The good news is that we possess the ultimate Good News—the Good News of Jesus Christ. Our faith calls us to be part of a community, for we do not lead our Christian lives in isolation but always in relationship with others. In these times, the church is perfectly positioned to offer a remedy to the growing pandemic of isolation and loneliness. We can provide a sense of community and belonging! One of the individuals who shared the article with me rightly stated, "Recently, a Trinity member told me that they come to Trinity for the 'Community,' and the religious services are an added bonus. If I am honest with myself, I feel that way too. I think we should invite people to join the 'Trinity Community,' not just the church services. We should 'Invite a friend to join in our Community.'" 

How true! We aren't merely inviting people to attend a 'service'; we're inviting them to become part of a community, a family. We're inviting them to share in our lives as we wholeheartedly embrace God's love, as revealed to us through Christ. I hope you share my enthusiasm for inviting people to be a cherished part of our Trinity family! It is not good for us to be alone!

Peace and Blessings,

Paul


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