Save the Date!

“The Bell Affair” Documentary Viewing

Sunday, April 23, 2023, following the 10:30am Service

The event: A viewing of the documentary entitled “The Bell Affair,” an outgrowth of the book A Question of Freedom: The Families who Challenged Slavery from the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War, by William G. Thomas III.

The Bell Affair is an animated documentary, but the story that it portrays is very real, born out of archival documents, the court record, newspaper accounts, and other contemporaneous sources. Below is a guide for each setting of the film and the historical record that informed the decisions made about its portrayal and the events that happened in each of these key places.

Host: Jeffrey H. Tignor

Program Chair: Eleanor Q. Tignor

Lenten Speaker Series

This year we revive our Lenten sermon series with five guest preachers who will reflect on our Lenten theme, “treasure in clay jars.” Our guests will also join us at coffee hour for continued conversation.

• FEBRUARY 26 | The Rev. Yejide Peters Pietersen, Associate Dean and Director of Formation, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale

• MARCH 5 | The Rev. Bruce D. O'Neill, Rector, St. Clement's Episcopal Church, Berkeley, CA and adjunct faculty, Church Divinity School of the Pacific

• MARCH 12 | The Rev. Tracy Johnson-Russell, Rector, St. Monica's Episcopal Church, Hartford CT; Executive Director and Co-Founder, Your Place Youth Center

• MARCH 19 | Lisa Levy, Chapel on the Green Coordinator, Trinity Episcopal Church and Program Coordinator, Loaves and Fishes

• MARCH 26 | David Zahl, Founder and Director, Mockingbird Ministries; author of multiple books, including Low Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others (and Yourself)

Now is a great time to support the work of the Trinity choristers: the Mabel's Labels Warehouse Sale! Custom labels for home, daycare, school, college, camp, sports.... all at sale prices for a limited time. A portion of your purchase will benefit the Choir Activity Fund. Click here, search "Trinity Boys Choir / Trinity Girls Choir," and never lose an item again! Thank you for your support!

Trinity parishioner and folk singer David Lindsay, along with Kathleen Schomaker, will lead us in a joyful, interactive, half hour of song. We’ll be singing some of his original titles for children as well as some of his favorites from Raffi and others. Join us in the Undercroft on February 19 at 9:30 AM.

Join us for our child-friendly, 25-minute, interactive Family Worship Service this Sunday at 10:30 AM in the Undercroft. Families with babies and toddlers are invited to meet afterward in the Nursery for our Little Blessings Play Group.

Partner with Episcopal Relief & Development to provide support to people affected by the deadly earthquake along the border between Turkey and Syria. Visit episcopalrelief.org today to make a contribution to the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Response Fund.

https://www.episcopalrelief.org/church-in-action/worship-resources/bulletin-inserts-2/turkey-and-syria-earthquake/

Following the 9 am and 10:30 am services on Sundays February 5 and 12th, a choirparent will be in the Undercroft to sell Valentines Day cards complete with a recorded greeting of the trebles of the choir! This initiative has been on hiatus due to the schedule changes necessitated by the pandemic but they're starting up again. They'll be at the table closest to the Undercroft refrigerator for the next two Sundays leading up to Valentines Day. Remember someone with a special card - proceeds directly benefit the Choir Activity Fund.

Parish-wide Coffee Hour Potluck this Week

This Sunday’s coffee hour is brought to us by: YOU! Bring your cookies, cakes, and crudité to coffee hour to share, following our 10:30am service.

The parish-wide coffee hour potluck is every first Sunday of the month.

Food and Personal Care Donations

Food insecurity is at its highest ever, with the cost of essential food rising with no end in sight. Please consider picking up an extra non-perishable item or 2 to bring to church. I usually look at the aisle caps for things on sale, such as soup, beans, cereal, or peanut butter. There is also a need for personal care items, such as toothpaste, soap, and feminine care products.

There will be a basket at the back of the church which will be brought to the altar with the collection.

Donations will be delivered to the Milford Food Bank each week.

Any questions, contact Gloria Hoda 203-430-4066

Trinity Book Group is meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, February 21st at 7:30pm.

We will be discussing is an American Civil war novel, The Red Badge of Courage written by Stephen Crane. Metaphorically, the red badge signals courageousness and is longed for by the young soldier in the story

If you wish to know more about the book group and to receive the link to join us for this discussion, please contact jenniferobriggs@gmail.com.

Trinity is part of a Multi-Church Youth Group which offers activities and formation for two groups: Middle-schoolers and High Schoolers. The leader is Emily McKenna and she is coming this Sunday to meet our teens and preteens. 4th-12th graders can come to learn about the groups as Emily offers a sample of what they are all about.

Parents -- and any Trinity adults! -- gather in our Upper Room at 9:30 AM this Sunday while the children and teens meet in the Undercroft. A brief, theological video is shown, and a discussion follows. "Animate: Practices" is a program designed for adults and will focus this time on "Eating, With Jesus." Thank you, Heather Cochran and David Assis for leading this group!

This Sunday, February 5, 2023, we are honored to welcome our well-beloved Rector Emeritus in our pulpit at the 10:30 a.m. service. As we are very grateful for his wisdom and guidance, we also cherish Andy and Polly's presence in our community. And we are very excited to have Andy preach this Sunday.

Our book selection this Spring is "Braiding Sweetgrass," by Robin Wall Kimmerer. We'll meet on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM on March 1 and 29 (location is being confirmed). Contact Angela to order your book by Feb. 8, Family@TrinityNewHaven.org. Join us! "As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert)."

Adult Education for this Sunday January 29 at 9:30 will be Founding Mothers led by Kate Walton, author of Paradox Lake of Memories.

Kate will introduce Sally Roesch Wagner, an early social justice activist, and other precocious Anglican/Episcopal and Protestant American women in upstate New York who struggled to help women win equality with males. Their movement was inspired by the example of their neighbors, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women, and their sister nations.

Trinity's Annual General Meeting will take place this Sunday, January 29thin the nave after the 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist Service. The agenda is included in the 10:30 a.m. Bulletin. In advance of the meeting, all are encouraged to review the Annual Report. The meeting will take place in the nave, but will not be followed by the usual luncheon, due to high levels of viral infection and corresponding advice from public health officials. After the meeting everyone is welcome to a special coffee hour in the undercroft. 

Wednesday Club is back!

It meets weekly in the undercroft at 9 am to noon for fellowship and to make items by sewing, crafting and knitting to support "The Christmas Market".

Come join the fellowship.

New faces are always welcome!

Mission Council Corner

Similar to how churches have vestries, the Mission Council is a representative body of clergy and lay leaders that oversees certain administrative and financial matters in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.

Rev. Heidi Thorsen is one of the current members of the Mission Council. In an effort to keep Trinity members in touch with the work of Mission Council and the diocese in general, we share the following update:

January 2023 Update

Our most recent meeting of Mission Council was on January 14, 2023 at Camp Washington. This meeting highlighted how we are stronger together, in the following ways:

We are stronger together, financially:

• Churches are working together to lower operational costs – a great example of this is how churches’ property insurance is at a more reasonable rate through affiliation with ECCT

• ECCT is considering other ways of helping churches generate income, such as an agreement with a company installing 5G cell phone technology on church properties. This is still in the early stages of exploration.

• ECCT is helping churches make faithful and financially wise decisions around property. In general, the selling of property is a last resort. ECCT is in conversations with a realty group that could be a potential resource in considering property sale and usage.

We are stronger together, spiritually:

• Mission Council prays together and reflects on scripture (“dwelling in the word”) during our meetings. We recognize that there is a spiritual component to financial and administrative decisions.

• On Jan. 14 Mission Council voted to allow four different task forces, formed at previous ECCT Conventions, to continue their work for another year. The work of these task forces helps us stay faithful and relevant:

o Task Force on Fostering Right Relationship with Indigenous People and ECCT – will continue to explore how justice for indigenous people is very connected to other concerns: environmental justice, creation care, and racial justice, reconciliation, and healing.

o Task Force on Reparations – will explore how a Truth and Reconciliation model could be used among churches to lead the work of truth-telling and racial reconciliation, and as a pre-requisite to a reparations program for ECCT.

o Task Force on ECCT Model Policies – will work to make policy trainings (specifically Safe Church) more accessible and efficient

o Task Force on Racism, Homophobia and Misogyny within the Title IV Process – will work to ensure that the clergy disciplinary process (Title IV) is fair and just for all with respect to gender, race, and LGBTQ orientation, with a focus on diversifying this task force and better understanding the demographic makeup of ECCT.

Submitted by:

Karolyn Nicolaides

The Rev. Sandra Stayner

The Rev. Rachel Thomas

The Rev. Heidi Thorsen

Prepare for Lent—by signing up to contribute one or more reflections for our Words in the Wilderness Lent Devotional series! Every day (except on Sundays) we will post a photo and a brief refection on Facebook from a Trinity community member responding to a Lenten "word of the day." There are a whole new set of words this year, as we continue to reflect on words from our lectionary readings for the third year in a row.

Participate! Here's how:

(1) Sign Up - Email Heidi (hthorsen@trinitynewhaven.org) if you are interested in doing a reflection, and let us know which word / date you are interested in. You can view a full list of words, or sign up directly by adding your name, in this Words in the Wilderness 2023 Sign Up.

(2) Prepare your Reflection - your reflection consists of two parts: a photo, and some text to accompany it. The photo is a photo you've taken, either in the past or for the sake of this exercise. It can be a view from your window, a photo from a family album, a photo of an art work - any thing that reminds you of the word you are reflecting on. The text is a short reflection (around 250 words) on the word of the day. You can tell a story related to the word, reflect on the word, or share a favorite Bible text or piece of writing that relates to the word of the day.

(3) Send your Reflection - All reflections are due the Saturday before the day you sign up for. Email your photo and the text to Heidi (hthorsen@trinitynewhaven.org) and we will share it on Facebook and our website, with attribution.

At our upcoming Annual General Meeting on Sunday, January 29th, Trinity will vote in a new class of Vestry members. Please review their bios below and get to know them and join us in church to vote.

Margaret Coons

Margaret grew up in the Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New Haven for the first time to attend Yale, where she studied history and was active in the service and singing communities. As a study abroad student in the UK, she joined the Pembroke College Chapel Choir and found a church home in the Anglican tradition.

After several years away, including a year at St. Mark's Episocpal Cathedral in Minneapolis, she returned to New Haven with her partner Stefan Weijola in 2021. Margaret and Stefan sing in the Choir of Adults and Girls and were married at Trinity in July 2022. Margaret teaches History and Civics and coaches Cross Country at Wilbur Cross High School.

Charles O’Connell

Having joined the choir of men and boys at the age of 7 in 1986, Charlie O'Connell has enjoyed a life long affiliation with Trinity Church on the Green.   Currently, Charlie lives in New Haven with his wife Dominique, and three daughters Violet, Ella, and Clara.  The O'Connell family returned to Trinity as regular members in 2017, and enjoy the fellowship, love, music and message of Trinity.  Charlie is the founder and CEO of GlucoseZone (www.glucosezone.com), a New Haven based health and wellness company dedicated to helping people living with diabetes around the globe through fitness.

Charlotte Rea

Formerly Head of School at The Williams School in New London, Charlotte was an English Teacher for many years at the Dalton School and Head of the Upper School at the Brearley School, both in Manhattan.  She served as Academic Dean at Northfield Mt. Hermon School in Massachusetts and Assistant Head at the Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles.  After serving as a search consultant to independent schools, Charlotte retired and lives in Hamden. A life-long Episcopalian, Charlotte has belonged to the wonderful community of Trinity for ten years and has served on the Vestry and as Warden.

Bob Scott  

Before retiring to New England 8 years ago, Bob was an organizational development professional for 30 years with the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.  His role was to develop and implement strategies to achieve institutional goals and to create a workplace environment consistent with the university’s values. His goal was to not only increase employee satisfaction but to create employee engagement. As a result, the University was consistently ranked as one of the Best Places to Work in the Houston metroplex. Because of his expertise and success, he became a sought after national speaker on the subject. 

The Episcopal Church has always been a source of strength and an opportunity to serve for him. Among the many ministries he has leant his time and talent to include lay reader, altar guild, children’s Christian formation, annual giving campaigns and chairing a search committee. His goal, if elected, would be to use his skills to increase parishioner engagement through new opportunities and ministries .

Patricia Thurston

I have been a member of Trinity for more than 20 years. I have enjoyed serving as an usher, on the Altar Guild, on the Vestry, and have participated in other programs. I love this faith community. Over the past two decades I have witnessed our parish opening its doors and heart to an increasingly diverse population. We have adapted our worship practices to meet people's spiritual needs in ways that have brought me closer to God through Christ. I am grateful to have found Trinity. I work as a librarian at Yale, where I manage a team of people who have come to the New Haven area from around the globe. Together, our unit receives and catalogs non-Latin script collection material for the library. I am immersed in a world of many languages and faiths, and have come to appreciate the importance of compassion and courage. I truly believe in the mission of the church to serve God through serving others.