On Sunday, February 25, we are honored and delighted to welcome Emily Esfahani Smith to preach at our 10:30 a.m. service. Emily draws on psychology, philosophy, and literature to write about the human experience—why we are the way we are and how we can find grace and meaning in a world that is full of suffering. Her book The Power of Meaning, an international bestseller, has been translated into sixteen different languages. The former managing editor of The New Criterion, Smith’s articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and other publications. She has also appeared on NBC’s TODAY, CBS This Morning, and NPR. In 2019, she was a Poynter Journalism Fellow at Yale University. As a speaker, she has delivered dozens of keynotes and workshops at major corporations, conferences, and universities across the country and world. Emily lives in Washington, DC.
The next Trinity Book Club meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. We will be reading Horse by Geraldine Brooks, based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking horse Lexington. All are welcome—please email Jennifer Briggs if you would like to join! Registrants will be sent the Zoom link nearer the time. jenniferobriggs@gmail.com
Our Choir of Adults & Girls and the Boys' Choir offer our monthly service of Choral Morning Prayer this Sunday at 9 a.m. Music by Philip Moore, Herbert Howells, and Will Todd. All are welcome!
Connecting with God's creation is not only spiritually rewarding; it deepens our awareness of the care we owe to our planet, is part of our self-care, and is a rediscovery of how we related better to our Creator. Come and join us on Sunday for this winter version of our Sacred Earth prayer services.
Exciting news—the weekly pledge envelopes have arrived! You can now pick them up at the rear of the church, conveniently located near the sexton's office. Your commitment and support are truly appreciated. Thank you for your generosity and dedication to our community.
If you are unable to pick up your envelopes at church, please email Kyle Picha to make alternate arrangements. kpicha@trinitynewhaven.org
Please note that the correct date for the first soup supper with Jenny Briggs and Lisa Barr is February 19. Last week's eNews had listed it as February 12.
We now have people to host all five Lent Soup Suppers! Next step: sign up to be a guest. Get to know your Trinity family better over fellowship and a shared meal. Hosts provide the soup; guests are welcome to bring sides, a beverage, or dessert. Trinity will provide materials for a short prayer service and "icebreaker" questions for more conversation during the meal.
Pick a date and location that works best for you! RSVP by signing up in the narthex after church, or email Rev. Heidi (hthorsen@trinitynewhaven.org). Details (including the host's address) will be provided to those who RSVP.
Schedule:
Monday, Feb. 19 at noon | New Haven | Jenny Briggs & Lisa Barr
Thursday, Feb. 29 at 5:30 p.m. | Hamden | Leigh Cromey & Rich Walser
Saturday, Mar. 9 at 11:30 a.m. | New Haven (family-friendly option!) | Marge Eichler
Saturday, Mar. 16 at noon | Beacon Falls | Bob Scott & Jim Rothgeb
Tuesday, Mar. 19 at 5:30 p.m. | West Haven | Barbara Jerry
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul & St. James (57 Olive Street) has graciously invited Trinity to join their annual Mardi Gras celebration. Come for an evening of cornbread, jambalaya, and jazz for one last hurrah before the holy fast of Lent! Donations for food will be accepted at the event.
Ash Wednesday is February 14. We offer two services: Holy Eucharist (spoken) at 12:10, and a Solemn Liturgy of the Word (sung, no Communion) at 7:30 p.m. Ashes will be imposed at both services. From 1-3 p.m., passersby on the Green are invited to receive ashes and volunteers will be on hand for conversation and prayers.
Douglas A. Blackman, Slavery by Another Name: The re-enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (New York: Anchor Books, 2008).
In this groundbreaking historical expose, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history: an Age of Neoslavery that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II.
Heather McGhee, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (New York: Random House, 2021).
McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm - the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others.
Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration (New York: Random House, 2010).
From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.
Philip Dray, Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008).
Reconstruction was a time of idealism and sweeping change, as the victorious Union created citizenship rights for the freed slaves and granted the vote to black men. Sixteen black Southerners, elected to the U.S. Congress, arrived in Washington to advocate reforms such as public education, equal rights, land distribution, and the suppression of the Ku Klux Klan. But these men faced astounding odds. They were belittled as corrupt and inadequate by their white political opponents, who used legislative trickery, libel, bribery, and the brutal intimidation of their constituents to rob them of their base of support.
Ibrahim X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 (New York: Random House, 2021).
Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume “community” history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics.
Ibrahim X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (New York: Random House, 2017).
In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Stamped from the Beginning uses the lives of five major American intellectuals to offer a window into the contentious debates between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and antiracists.
Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (New York: Random House, 2021).
In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This is sometimes referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the source of so much that still defines the United States.
Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (New York: Random House, 2020.
This book points to our entire social structure as an unrecognized caste system. Most people see America as racist, and Wilkerson agrees that it is indeed racist. She points out that we tend to refer to slavery as a “sad, dark chapter” in America when in fact it lasted for hundreds of years - but in order to maintain the social order, it was necessary to give Black people the lowest possible status. Whites in turn got top status. In between came the middle castes of “Asians, Latinos, indigenous people, and immigrants of African descent” to fill out the originally bipolar hierarchy.
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (New York: The New Press, 2010).
Alexander argues that the War on Drugs and policies that deny convicted felons equal access to employment, housing, education, and public benefits create a permanent under caste based largely on race. Argues that the War on Drugs and policies that deny convicted felons equal access to employment, housing, education, and public benefits create a permanent under caste based largely on race.
Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. (Logan, IA: Perfection Learning, 2019).
Rothstein explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation – that is, through individual prejudices, income differences or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, he makes clear that it was de jure segregation – the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state and federal governments – that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.
Victor Ray, Critical Race Theory: Why It Matters & Why You Should Care (New York: Random House, 2022).
Ray draws upon the radical thinking of giants such as Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to clearly trace the foundations of critical race theory in the Black intellectual traditions of emancipation and the civil rights movement. From these foundations, Ray explores the many facets of our society that critical race theory interrogates, from deeply embedded structural racism to the historical connection between whiteness and property, ownership, and more.
Linda Villarosa, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation (New York: Random House, 2022).
Villarosa lays bare the forces in the American health-care system and in American society that cause Black people to “live sicker and die quicker” compared to their white counterparts. Today's medical texts and instruments still carry fallacious slavery-era assumptions that Black bodies are fundamentally different from white bodies. Study after study of medical settings show worse treatment and outcomes for Black patients. Villarosa tells us why.
Ilyon Woo, Master Slave Husband Wife (London: Ithaka Press, 2023).
The remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave.
Starting this Sunday, join us for a weekly Bible Study at 9:30 a.m. in the Upper Room (above the narthex). The sessions will explore the lectionary texts for the day through the lens of different themes. Led by seminarians and clergy, we hope to provide a personal and devotional space for conversation on Sunday mornings.
From now through Lent, our Bible Study theme will be the Way of Love, a series of seven practices rooted in the Episcopal tradition. Come as you are and we will read and discuss the text together!
Schedule:
Jan. 28: Turn (Mark 1:21-28)
Feb. 4: Pray (Mark 1:29-39)
Feb. 11: Learn (Mark 9:2-9)
Feb. 18: Go (Mark 1:9-15)
Feb. 25: No Bible Study – Confirmation Class
Mar. 3: Worship (John 2:13-22)
Mar. 10: Bless (John 3:14-21)
Mar. 17: Rest (John 12:20-33)
Mar. 24: No Bible Study – Confirmation Class
Mar. 31: No Bible Study – Easter Sunday
This Sunday, January 28, is National Lego and Kazoo Day. Naturally our Children, Youth, and Family Ministries will be celebrating ... faith-style! Seminarian (and children's songwriter and musician) Will Parker will teach us a song on the kazoo while we pray and play with Legos. Join us in the undercroft at 9:30 a.m. for a faith lesson, snacks, and fun.
Prior to Evensong, come and hear an organ recital at 4 p.m. at Center Church on the Green played by Organ Scholar David Preston. David is the recipient of the 2024 Charles Ives Organ Scholarship, awarded annually by Center Church to a Yale organ student selected from the entire class. In fulfillment of the award's requirements, David will play a recital featuring works by Bach, Böhm, Mozart, Dupré, Alain, and Hakim on the 1971/73 Charles Fisk instrument. The first half of the program will be dedicated to composers of the Baroque and Classical eras, showcasing the repertoire this particular instrument was designed for. The latter half will feature works by 20th and 21st century French composers, whose works shine with a unique light on the instrument. The concert is free and open to the public.
The Wednesday Club has resumed its weekly meetings. Join us in the undercroft from 9 a.m. to noon for fellowship and to sew, craft, and knit items for the annual Christmas Market. New faces are always welcome! For more information, contact Pat Chappell. rachappell@frontier.com
Trinity is seeking to hire two sextons for part-time positions. These people would be part of our Trinity family and would assist our Head Sexton Jeff in maintaining our church building. The positions would be suitable for an active retired person or perhaps a college student able to work in the evenings. Do you know anyone in your circles of friends or family who may be interested? If so, please contact leighcromey@gmail.com and bobroescott@gmail.com for more details.
Celebrate Walden Moore's remarkable career and wish him a happy retirement by contributing to his digital memory book! Share your messages, photos, fond memories, and well-wishes for Walden by clicking HERE. Your contributions will be a cherished part of this special compilation, creating a meaningful keepsake for Walden. The deadline for submissions is April 1. Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of honoring Walden's journey.
We're excited to introduce Trinity's new WhatsApp group, a convenient platform to receive real-time news and notices directly to your phone! Joining is easy—simply download WhatsApp from your app store, create an account, and click HERE to join our group. Stay connected with our community, get the latest updates, and never miss an important announcement. We look forward to keeping you informed and engaged through this convenient communication channel!
We now have people to host all five Lent Soup Suppers! Next step: sign up to be a guest. Get to know your Trinity family better over fellowship and a shared meal. Hosts provide the soup; guests are welcome to bring sides, a beverage, or dessert. Trinity will provide materials for a short prayer service and "icebreaker" questions for more conversation during the meal.
Pick a date and location that works best for you! RSVP by signing up in the narthex after church, or email Rev. Heidi (hthorsen@trinitynewhaven.org). Details (including the host's address) will be provided to those who RSVP.
Schedule:
Monday, Feb. 12 at noon | New Haven | Jenny Briggs & Lisa Barr
Thursday, Feb. 29 at 5:30 p.m. | Hamden | Leigh Cromey & Rich Walser
Saturday, Mar. 9 at 11:30 a.m. | New Haven (family-friendly option!) | Marge Eichler
Saturday, Mar. 16 at noon | Beacon Falls | Bob Scott & Jim Rothgeb
Tuesday, Mar. 19 at 5:30 p.m. | West Haven | Barbara Jerry
We look forward to welcoming the Rev. Marilyn B. Kendrix, retired bridge conference minister of the Southern New England Conference UCC, as the guest preacher at our 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, February 4.
Prior to ordination, Marilyn worked for over 15 years as an organizational development consultant principally at AT&T and also in other profit and non-profit settings. She served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Conference and participated with the Southern New England Conference Planning Team. She also served as the last Conference Minister of the Rhode Island Conference UCC and one of the first Bridge Conference Ministers of the new Southern New England Conference of UCC.
Marilyn earned her B.A. from Spelman College, an HBCU school in Atlanta, Georgia, and an M.B.A. and an M.A. in industrial and organizational psychology, both from the University of New Haven. She also received an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Since 2012, her personal ministry has included preaching at over 100 churches to raise awareness about mass incarceration in America. In her ministry to seek criminal justice reform, Marilyn co- wrote The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream (Significance Press, 2014). Her current social justice preaching ministry addresses systemic racism and the controversy over critical race theory. So far, she has preached at an additional 80 churches on these subjects.
Marilyn retired from the Southern New England Conference in January 2021 and is married to her best friend, Alan. Together they have three children and six grandchildren.
