The Trinity Home Board invites you to a Christmas Tea on Tuesday, December 5 from 3-5 p.m. at the Elm City Club (155 Elm Street). Peter Sipple and the A Cappella Singers will sing a unique repertoire of less familiar Christmas songs.

This Tea is open to parishioners of Trinity who are 60 years of age and older. Parking is available on the Trinity apron and in the lot behind the Elm City Club.

Please RSVP by November 30 to peggyatherton@yahoo.com or 203-273-6118. The event is free, but those who wish to contribute may offer a donation of $25.

Friends of the Green has decorated a New Haven themed tree with fabulous gift cards and gifts to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Visit the Maritime Center (555 Long Wharf Drive) from December 2-10, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to view the incredible display of trees, table settings, and more! Raffle tickets may be purchased at the event for $1 each.

Mark your calendars for our 2023 Christmas Concert, sung once again by the Choirs of Men & Boys and Adults & Girls and featuring musical delights by Carolyn Jennings, Mitchell Southall, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and more! The choirs will be joined by the A Cappella Singers led by Peter Sipple. Suggested donation at the door: $20.

By Augie Segger

On Sunday, November 12, the Choir of Adults & Girls celebrated their twentieth anniversary with a special Evensong and reception. It was a joy to have several alumnae join the choir and to have so many choir parents, friends, and former music staff—including Rachel Segger (Music Program Manager from 2016-2023) and Andy Kotylo (Associate Director of Music from 2008-2016) with us in the congregation. Some members of our extended Trinity family were not physically with us but were nevertheless present through their music—like Jessica French (Organ Scholar from 2007-2008), who composed the evening’s Preces and Responses.

The Boys’ Choir joined the Adults & Girls Choir, conducted by Director of Music Walden Moore and ably accompanied by Associate Director of Music Sarah Johnson and Organ Scholar David Preston. The service began with a prelude played by Maria Cusick (chorister from 2013-2022), who also composed the descant to the hymn “As Newborn Stars Were Stirred to Song.” Two of our present choristers carried the choirs’ banners in procession with reverence and dignity. The Adults & Girls banner led the choir, while the Men & Boys banner followed in support. Other musical works included “Come, Renew Us” by Eleanor Daley, a setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A by C. V. Stanford, and “A Hymn for St. Cecilia” by Herbert Howells. The scripture readings aptly captured the community and friendship our choirs seek to foster: If one member suffers, all suffer with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Corinthians 12:26-27). Indeed, our choristers bring a variety of gifts and talents to the table, and our program teaches them to use such gifts in collaboration with one another. Community is our central tenet, and all who pass through Trinity’s choirs live, work, and are nurtured as the body of Christ.

As the service drew to a close with a Prayer for Church Musicians, our Rector Rev. Luk De Volder took a few moments to acknowledge the hard work of our choristers and organists, the sacrifices made by our choir parents, and the many ways our choirs enrich the life of our parish. Rev. Luk offered special gratitude to Director of Music Walden Moore, who received a standing ovation from the congregation. The Choir of Adults & Girls was founded at Walden’s direction, and so it is fitting that this service marks the first of several legacy events honoring him before his well-earned retirement in June 2024. For 40 years Walden has formed the hearts, minds, and musicianship of hundreds of choristers, adult singers, and organists who—even after many decades—continue to look up to his musical prowess, great faith, and generous spirit. Our chorister program is a testament to Walden’s unwavering commitment to educating young people, and it is hard to imagine Trinity without him.

A festive reception followed Evensong—spearheaded by Sarah Johnson—which included a slideshow curated by Rachel Segger and a delicious cake from Angela Arpino and Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. Each choirgirl and alumna received a commemorative necklace featuring the choir’s logo. After a singing of “Happy Birthday” to the choir, the novice girls (those in their first year in the choir) assumed the task of blowing out the candles. It was a beautiful moment that brought together past, present, and future.

The Choir of Adults & Girls was founded in 2003 to grant girls the same musical education, formation, and community that has been offered to boys since 1885. Since then, children of both genders have joined the long procession of alumni/ae who have been shaped by Trinity's chorister program. In addition to its regular duties at Trinity, the Girls' Choir has taken its music to cities and towns up and down the East Coast, performing with noted orchestras in concert, and has toured twice to the United Kingdom, singing regular services in churches and cathedrals there. "The Choir of Adults & Girls has already assumed an important place in the ongoing history of Trinity's strong and unwavering support of the musical and personal formation of young people in the greater New Haven area," says Walden Moore. "It has already proven itself a vital part of the worship life of the parish, and its graduates testify to the important role that it has had in their formation, especially as seen from their perspective as the adults they have become. I am honored to have been a part of this important step in Trinity's ongoing community work."

Click here to watch the full livestream of the service.

Click here to view photos of the service and reception.

Do you enjoy greeting people and welcoming them to church? Do you want to make sure the 10:30 service is running smoothly? Do you feel a calling to contribute once every six weeks to the graceful hour of prayer, praise, communion, and community at Trinity?

If so, then ushering is for you! Join us as we serve the Trinity community on Sundays. We're a friendly bunch who want to make sure everyone feels welcome and at peace to celebrate God's many gifts and blessings.

Please feel free to contact David Assis or Andrew Smyth (see emails below) or just drop by the back of the church before or after the Sunday 10:30 service and let us know how to get in touch with you.

david.n.assis@gmail.com

andrew_smyth@bellsouth.net

Children, Youth, and Family Ministries is hosting a Thanksgiving food drive. All parishioners are invited to bring food donations to church for Loaves & Fishes on Sunday, November 19 (the Sunday BEFORE Thanksgiving). Most needed items are rice, canned corn, canned peas, pinto beans, boxed or canned soups, shelf-stable milk, pasta and tomato sauce (canned), and boxed macaroni & cheese. Thank you for helping our neighbors in need this holiday season!

Young Adult Episcopalians (YAE) is hosting a Thanksgiving House Church on Thursday, November 16 at 6 p.m. at the Rectory of Grace & St. Peter's Church (2927 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden)! Parking is in the back.

We'll start with a casual Eucharist and continue with dinner. We provide the dinner (not necessarily Thanksgiving fare; let us know if you have dietary restrictions), and guests are encouraged to bring dessert or side dish that makes them feel thankful—whether it's a family tradition or something you really just like to eat.

RSVP to yaeforjesus@gmail.com by Tuesday, November 14. YAE events are for young adults ages 21 to 39ish. We hope you can join us!

Last Sunday, November 5, Chapel on the Green celebrated its 15th anniversary serving the New Haven Green. Over this span, CotG has maintained space for prayer and resource distribution for all who attend, and in aiming to serve both the physical and spiritual needs of the unhoused, has grown into a unique and wonderful community across vast socioeconomic, cultural, and religious spans. It's hard to imagine the Green without Chapel on the Green, and we look forward to the next 15 years as we mark this special anniversary. Click here to view photos of last Sunday's celebration!

The next Trinity Book Club meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. We will be discussing The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry. A Zoom link will be sent to interested persons closer to the date. If you are interested in attending, please email Jennifer Briggs (jenniferobriggs@gmail.com).

By Murray Harrison

The 239th Episcopal Church of Connecticut (ECCT) Convention was held on Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28 at the Hartford Civic Convention Center and Christ Church Cathedral. There was a high level of attendance of both lay and clergy delegates, in an atmosphere more reminiscent of “pre-Covid” times, despite intermittent appearance of masks and accommodations being made for persons requiring greater social distancing precautions. The recently renovated Christ Church Cathedral—a project led and conceived by Trinity’s Duo Dickinson—was filled to capacity for the Saturday morning worship service. The “Salt and Pepper Singers”—of whom Trinity’s Sheila Bonenberger and Gloria Hoda are members – invoked a musically reverent, joyful celebration in the Holy Spirit for those gathered!

In his Address to the Convention on Saturday morning, Bishop Jeffrey Mello shared that what has brought him joy over his first year has been “the amount of Good Courage… witnessed in every corner of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut… It is for many, a hard time to be the church.  It is hard to see the challenges we face as a denomination, as a state, as a country and as a world and still hold out hope that change is possible.  It takes hope to imagine it.  And it takes courage to do it…. The are challenges in front of us are real.  But so is the hope that is in us, and the God that is with us in Christ Jesus.”

Bishop Mello went on to describe numerous innovations being implemented to address matters and concerns identified across the following areas:

• ECCT at the Diocesan Level

• Advocacy/Justice and Reconciliation Work

• Ordained Vocations

• Lay Vocations

• Congregational Life, Support and Transitions.

Acknowledging that ECCT’s website / database are in need of update and ongoing maintenance, and its Communications strategy due for review, Bishop Mello announced that Trinity Parish Member Sarah Woodford had just been hired as ECCT’s new Canon for Communications & Media.  Bishop Mello described Sarah’s role as one that “will help support…internal and external communications, helping us to better connect to one another in clear and faithful ways, and to get our message out to a world who needs to hear the Good News of God in Christ that we proclaim.”

The following resolutions were passed with nearly unanimous support of the Convention:

1. Budget of Convention: The 2024 budget reflects a cost-of-living adjustment to offset increased inflation of 3.05% with four additional new staff at the Commons. The sources of Common Mission Support, a sustainable Investment draw of 5.35% of the three-year average of the unitized value from Missionary Society’s endowments, and a grant from the Trustees in Support of the Bishops will fund the budget.

2. Clergy Compensation Resolution: Proposes a minimum compensation level for clergy within ECCT.  The annual increment for years of ordination and the Cost of Living (COLA) is established by this action and becomes the minimum base for clergy compensation in parishes. Periodic parity adjustments are made as well.

3. Consideration Of Amendment of Diocesan Canon XVI – Bishop Transition Process: ECCT’s current process for electing bishops, adopted in 2018, provided the canonical framework for our most recent episcopal election. The members elected to the Bishop Transition Committee for that election have worked with the Faith and Order Commission to revise the framework that will support future episcopal elections.

4. Repudiating Discriminatory Legislation and Harmful Rhetoric Targeted at Transgender, Non-binary, and Gender Non-conforming Persons: Building on a resolution passed by the 234th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, the present resolution is grounded in the beliefs that all Christians are called to actively repudiate anything that diminishes or harms God’s children and that discriminatory legislation and fear-based rhetoric are inconsistent with the Gospel of Christ.

5. Appropriation of $20,000 for Historical Analysis of ECCT Endowments and to Support Congregations Desiring to Join in the Work of Racial Reparations: ECCT will hire a professional firm experienced in forensic accounting to historically analyze the sources and value of financial gifts to ECCT to determine which, if any, may represent the financial gains derived directly or indirectly from either the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the labor and/or the sale of enslaved persons, or other fruits of the bodies or labor of enslaved persons.

6. Acknowledging the 175th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery in the State of Connecticut and Creating an Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) Reparations Fund: Acknowledging and reaffirming Resolution 7 passed in 2020 at the 236th Convention, this resolution creates a Reparations Fund, and calls upon all congregations and members of the ECCT to reflect on, in a formal and communal way, the long journey to achieve abolition of slavery in the State of Connecticut.

7. Ending the Requirement for a Racial Justice Addendum to the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) Parochial Report: The ECCT form duplicates information now required by The Episcopal Church and therefore represents an unreasonable and an unnecessary burden on parishes to report the same information in a different format.

8. Merger of St. Mary’s Parish in Manchester and St. John’s Parish in Vernon: It is anticipated this merger will support and permit both parishes to increase their outreach and decrease building preservation requirements, expanding their regional mission and enabling them to create a sustainable presence in their communities.

It has been my very great honor and privilege to participate with Geri Mauhs and our Clergy in representing Trinity Church at the 239th Diocesan Convention!

Respectfully submitted,

Murray Harrison

Photos by Geri Mauhs

Enjoy snacks, wine, holiday beverages, and great theater in the Trinity Undercroft on Saturday, December 9 at 5 p.m.!

The Trinity Players continue their annual tradition of reading Dylan Thomas' nostalgic prose poem A Child's Christmas in Wales. Wales is a place where it is always snowing at Christmas. It is a place where there are always uncles at Christmas. The same uncles eating until they nearly burst their buttons and then sleep. It is the sort of poem that once heard becomes part of your memory, calling up a small town in Wales by the two-tongued sea. Following the reading and the solos, we will all sing carols. Solo music by Sarah Reed and Kyle Picha.

Tickets for this fundraiser are $25 per person and $50 if you would like to be a sponsor. All proceeds benefit Trinity's ministries. With limited seating in the Undercroft, get your tickets early! Children are most welcome.

Buy your tickets here.

As we celebrate All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on November 5, we invite you to join us at 5 p.m. to commend all who have died in the last year into God's merciful hands. Sung by the Choir of Adults & Girls and the Boys' Choir, this service features Maurice Duruflé's Requiem (Op. 9) and the reading of names of departed loved ones and friends.

Please click HERE to submit names of departed loved ones and friends by noon on Thursday, November 2. You can also email names directly to our Communications Manager, Kyle Picha (kpicha@trinitynewhaven.org).

The family consists of a mom, a dad, and three children (ages 12, 10, and 3) and is in urgent need of community support. They are currently unable to receive assistance from any agencies, including IRIS. Can you join their support circle? Please contact our Outreach Coordinator, Lisa Levy, to get involved.

cotg@trinitynewhaven.org

Please join us for a final Yarn Works Meeting in preparation for the Christmas Market! We will on Wednesday, November 15, from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the Undercroft. If you're still knitting, there's enough time for maybe one more hat or scarf. We need everything and anything!

We are also in great need of prayer shawls. If you need a pattern or want to understand more about them, please join us and Candy will share more about this important ministry.

For more information, contact:

Gloria Hoda (gloria.hoda@gmail.com)

Candy Carl-Stannard (pcstannard@att.net)

Every visitor to a Sunday service can hear the dedication to music at Trinity. From the choir stalls to the pews in the nave, hymns, psalms, and chant are sung with gusto. Trinity is alive with "joyful noise".

That dedication to music brought Barb Hedberg to Trinity in the 90s as a choir parent, and the transformative experience her family found in the Choir of Men & Boys changed their lives. She sat down with us to offer some thoughts on the importance of the music program in this season of preparation and stewardship. Watch the video below to hear what Barb has to say.

Trinity's choirs are perhaps a perfect distillation of the"Many Gifts, One Spirit" stewardship theme at work in the church. Each singer comes to a choir with unique talents gifts, ambitions, and challenges, and through their shared commitments, compromises, and contributions, a choir emerges, united in song and capable of far more than any constituent part. Likewise, this stewardship season, your financial commitment, whether large or small, is a critical part of the whole. The generosity of parishioners and friends of the church ensures that our Trinity community is a place that reflects God’s radically inclusive love, a love that makes of many gifts, one spirit.

Click here to make your pledge for 2024.

Dear Companions in Christ,

We write to you with sorrow and grief for the lives lost in the current conflict in Israel/Palestine, and we join in deepening our prayers for the people of the Holy Land. From our broken hearts, we offer our prayers to God. We offer to you a prayer from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ). ECCT has supported and walked with AFEDJ for many years. We also offer to you the prayer written by Archbishop Hosam Naoum of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. We invite you to pray with these words as individuals and to share with others as you feel so called.

Many of you may also be looking for life-giving ways to respond with a touch of hope and care. The Alhi Arab hospital in Gaza is in need of funds to support their ministry. This is one way we can provide this touch. We also encourage you to reach out to your friends and neighbors—building bridges, offering kindness, and locally living God’s dream for connection in our world.

May God’s love and peace fill the hearts and minds of all, bringing an end to the violence and moving us all toward peace.

Yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello, Bishop Diocesan

The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan

A Litany for the Restoration of Peace in the Holy Land

God of peace, we pray for the people of Palestine and Israel in these perilous and dangerous times.

For all who are fearful for the safety of their loved ones and themselves, we pray that the assurance of unfailing love, even in the midst of danger, settles upon them. Shelter them from despair and protect them from harm.

For all who are wounded, we pray they find healing.

For all who have died, we pray they find rest.

For all who grieve, we pray they find comfort.

For leaders on all sides, we pray for a renewed will to lay down arms, for the strength to put the grievances and wrongs suffered by their people to rest, and for the conviction to embrace a path of reconciliation and peace that preserves the rights and dignity of all of your children.

God of mercy, help us to remember there is no border that can separate us from your great love and protection, no stone that can sound the well of your deep mercy.

God of justice, we pray with hopeful hearts that your beloved children of the Holy Land will be spared a future of sustained violence and unrest and that a recognition of the humanity of all people will prevail.

We ask all this in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

– American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem

Click here to donate to Alhi Arab Hospital in Gaza.

Once again, the New Haven Pride Festival (planned for Saturday, October 21) has been postponed due to rain. Join us instead on Sunday, October 22 from noon to 6 p.m.!

Given this change, we will organize a group to walk over to the Festival from coffee hour after the 10:30 service. Meet up with Rev. Heidi in the Undercroft at 11:45, and we will make the short walk to the intersection of Orange Street and Crown Street. We will not set up a table, but instead walk around and enjoy the festival together. Join us!

This Sunday, we begin a series of five seminars titled "The Matrix of Faith and State." Led by Charles Lemert and Kate Walton, these seminars study the dynamic between faith and public life in New Haven, in America, and in the Middle East.

Our first seminar, led by Charles, is titled "Harriet Tubman as the Evangelical Moses of Escaping Slaves." See below for a full list of upcoming seminars.

• October 22: Harriet Tubman as the Evangelical Moses of Escaping Slaves

• October 29: Abraham Lincoln's Speech on the New Haven Green

• November 5: Israel: Its Promised Land, Its Babylonian Captivity, and Today

Recess for Christmas Market and Thanksgiving

• December 3: Trinity Home Board's Women Create a Feminine Space

• December 10: Harry Croswell: Disestablishment of Church from State

All seminars meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Undercroft Library.

Our faith calls us to embrace the world, and at Trinity we do this by reaching out to our neighbors on the New Haven Green, extending our care and compassion to all. Chapel on the Green represents a diverse congregation, both housed and unhoused, who gather every Sunday to worship and share a meal. Outreach Coordinator Lisa Levy shares how she’s seen Trinity’s commitment to outreach build a stronger, more compassionate community.

As we reflect on our 2024 Stewardship theme, "Many Gifts, One Spirit," we are reminded of the imperative to reach out and care for our neighbors. We extend our gratitude to Lisa, Trinity’s Outreach Coordinator, for her insight into this theme.

Through Lisa’s testimony, we are reminded that our shared mission in 2024 is rooted in recognizing the myriad gifts within our community. Your commitment ensures that our Trinity community is a place that reflects God’s radically inclusive love.

Click here to make your pledge for 2024.

Last Sunday, the Trinity community joined St. Luke's Episcopal Church for a joyful celebration of their Patronal Feast Day. Thank you to Rev. Teresa Morgan and the entire St. Luke's community for hosting us, and to Rev. Rowena Kemp for her moving sermon. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide both our communities as we walk together in hope, reconciliation, and love.

Click here to view some photos from the day, courtesy of George DeYounge.