I Can See Clearly Now

Dear Beloved of Trinity Church,

In 1972 Johnny Nash recorded the hit song “I can see clearly now, the rain is gone.” It’s light and joyful melody, wonderfully invites your body to sway and puts a smile on your face. I was reminded of this song while reading Passions of the Soul by Rowan Williams.  He writes that “our habitual mental and spiritual condition is one in which we quite simply don’t see clearly.” He continues on to say, “We don’t know things as we ought to know them; we don’t see them as we ought to see them.” Our brokenness - our sin - distorts our vision and understanding.  We struggle to see the truth of things as they really are, whether good or bad, beautiful or painful.

To help us see more clearly, Williams draws on the wisdom of Evagrius of Pontus, a 4th-century monastic theologian. Evagrius described three ways of seeing: the angelic way, the human way, and the diabolic way.

·       The angelic way is to see reality as it truly is “as things emerge from the hand of God.”

·       The diabolic way sees the world through the lens of self-interest and consumerism, where everything is reduced to its usefulness to us: “What can you do for me?”

·       The human way wavers between the two, struggling to see clearly but often sliding back into ego-driven perception, “stuffing the world into the bag of the self.”

Knowing this, we strive to see the world the angelic way. This does not mean wearing rose-colored glasses or pretending things are better than they are. Rather, it means seeing the world truthfully—through the redemptive lens of God’s love and grace. It means recognizing both the pain and brokenness of life and the beauty and possibility that can and will be in and through the love of God.

And one day, one glorious day, it really will be a bright, bright, bright, bright sunshiny day—for all of creation.

Peace and Blessings,

Paul+

All Parish Pizza and Beverages: June 8th

We are thrilled to invite you our All Parish Pizza and Beverages on the Lawn as we launch God of Grace and Glory—a bold and prayerful comprehensive campaign for the future of our beloved church.

 YOU are invited!

Please RSVP and join us: RSVP here:

• All Parish Pizza and Beverages on the Lawn
  Sunday, June 8 from 5-7 pm at Trinity Church
  Join fellow parishioners for an evening of fellowship, refreshments, and conversation as we share the vision and priorities of the campaign. This general campaign gathering is open to all members of the parish and will offer a welcoming space to learn more, ask questions, and get involved.

Music Program Wine and Cheese June 11th

We are thrilled to invite you to our event : “Music Program: Wine and Cheese” as we launch God of Grace and Glory—a bold and prayerful comprehensive campaign for the future of our beloved church.

 YOU are invited!

Please RSVP and join us: RSVP here:

• Music Program Wine and Cheese
  Wednesday, June 11 from 5-7 pm at The Nassau Club
  This special event is for those who sing in the choir or who are passionate about supporting Trinity’s beloved music program. Hosted with the support of Music Director Meg Harper, the evening will celebrate the role of music in our worship and community life – and explore how the campaign will help sustain it well into the future.

• THE NASSAU CLUB DIRECTIONS

A Chance to Meet: Campaign Events

Dear Good People of Trinity,

We are thrilled to invite you to two special upcoming events as we launch God of Grace and Glory—a bold and prayerful comprehensive campaign for the future of our beloved church. (Event details are below.) 

We welcome you to join us for one or both events as we come together to celebrate our church and embark on this important journey forward.

You should have received a more detailed letter in the mail with additional information about the campaign and upcoming events. If not, keep an eye out—it’s on its way!

This is a truly exciting and hopeful time in the life of our church. As we cast a shared vision for the future, may we continue walking forward in faith sustained and guided by God’s grace and glory.

Peace and blessings,

Paul+

Join us for our Upcoming Campaign Events

We have several exciting events for our comprehensive campaign coming up this summer. Please RSVP and join us for these engagements! RSVP here:

• All Parish Pizza and Beverages on the Lawn
  Sunday, June 8 from 5-7 pm at Trinity Church
  Join fellow parishioners for an evening of fellowship, refreshments, and conversation as we share the vision and priorities of the campaign. This general campaign gathering is open to all members of the parish and will offer a welcoming space to learn more, ask questions, and get involved.

• Music Program Wine and Cheese
  Wednesday, June 11 from 5-7 pm at The Nassau Club
  This special event is for those who sing in the choir or who are passionate about supporting Trinity’s beloved music program. Hosted with the support of Music Director Meg Harper, the evening will celebrate the role of music in our worship and community life – and explore how the campaign will help sustain it well into the future.

• Family Back-to-School Celebration
  September (details to come)
  Parents and children are invited to come together for a fun and casual gathering focused on Trinity’s family ministries. As we head into a new program year, we’ll celebrate the importance of faith formation for all ages and share how the campaign will strengthen this ministry in the years ahead.

A Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place

Princeton is alive with energy and joy as people return for Reunions Weekend. From across the country and around the world, they come back—to see old friends, to party, to reminisce, and to sing once again Old Nassau. There’s something deeply moving about remembering together: sharing stories, laughter, and those classic “Do you remember when?” moments.

But alongside the joy, there can be an experience of melancholy and pain. The passing of time brings with it the loss of beloved friends, and some relationships fade. This, too, is part of the tapestry of our lives.

This time last year, I began my sabbatical with a trip to Kentucky. On my first weekend there, I visited Walnut Street Baptist Church—the church of my youth. I stopped in on an adult Sunday School class and was greeted by those who had known me when I was a boy. Many of them are now in their late 80s and 90s. In that moment, I was no longer an adult visitor—I was again the young boy known as “Little Paul,” sitting in the church balcony with my parents, peering down at my grandparents below and spotting my sister across the way with the youth group.

Fifty years have passed in what feels like a nanosecond, yet so much has changed. And in our hearts and minds, through the gift of memory, we can travel through time and experience for but a brief moment, experience our own sacred reunion. I can close my eyes and return to Mrs. Paine’s Sunday School class. I can feel the waters of my baptism and feel Dr. Dehoney’s hands upon my shoulders. I can hear the congregation singing what we sang almost every Sunday:

There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord…

This Reunions and Memorial Day weekend, I invite you to enter into a sacred time of remembering. Let your heart be a place of reunion—a gathering space for the beloved cloud of witnesses who have walked with you on your journey of life and faith. Hear their voices. Feel their presence. Give thanks for their lives and the ways they continue to be with you.  

How beautiful it is to remember. How holy it is to gather. How powerful it is to sing:

Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love…

Let us gather. Let us remember. Let us sing. Let us rejoice—for the gift of life, for the presence of the Spirit, and for the love that binds us together across the years.

Peace and Blessings, 

Paul+

Summer Schedule

Dear friends,
A reminder that his Sunday we will be fully transitioned to our summer service schedule. Please bear these changes in mind as you plan your worship attendance:

• This Sunday, May 25, we will transition to the summer service schedule for Sundays: Holy Eucharist Rite I at 8 AM, and Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10 AM.

• Evening Prayer has ended for the summer, and will resume at the start of fall classes at Princeton Seminary.

• Morning Prayer is now taking place at 7:45 AM Monday-Friday on Zoom only. There will be no in-person Morning Prayer in the Michael Chapel until classes start in the fall. The link to the Zoom may be found on the parish website.

• There will be no midweek services of the Holy Eucharist (Tuesday noon or Wednesday 5:30) after this Sunday, May 25. Midweek services will resume in the fall.

We pray that God’s love, grace, and peace will be with you this summer - and always.

Welcome Emilio Feijóo!

As our former Director of Communications Char Mansfield transitions to their next chapter of life in Chicago, we warmly welcome Emilio as our new Director of Communications.

Emilio E. Feijóo is a fourth year graduate student in the Comparative Literature department. He was born in Baymo, Cuba and came to the USA when he was two years old. 

He received a dual Bachelor’s from Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), a Master’s in Ideology and Discourse Analysis from the University of Essex and a Master’s from the University of Cambridge with a focus on public intellectuals.

His research interests include poetics, rhetorical theory, French and German 19th and 20th century philosophy, and Caribbean literatures. Before pursuing his doctoral studies, he worked at a small personal injury law firm in Naples, FL as a marketing and operations executive. For the last decade, his undergraduate and graduate studies have revolved around one question: how does a theory of poetry translate into a theory of politics?

Please give Emilio a warm Trinity greeting as you see him around.