Christmas Eve morning, December 24, features a stable full of faith and fun for all! Join us at 10:30 a.m. for a Family Worship Service and our annual Christmas Festival. Doors open at 10 a.m. for crafts, games, memory-making, and friendly fellowship with parishioners and other families. Presented by Trinity's Children Youth, and Family Ministry. Come and celebrate our Savior's birth!
Congregation B’nai Jacob and Trinity Church on the Green come together to explore our similarities and differences—and the ways that both are a source of blessing. We will end the night with a program of songs and prayers that inspire us. Come, and deepen the relationship between our two congregations.
5:30 p.m. – Guided Conversation & Light Refreshments (Undercroft)
6:15 p.m. – Music & Prayer Service (Nave)
To RSVP:
B'nai Jacob: David Franklin (davidfranklin006@gmail.com)
Trinity: Rev. Heidi Thorsen (hthorsen@trinitynewhaven.org)
Students in grades Pre-K through High School will learn the story of St. Nicholas, whose feast day was December 6. We'll gather at 9:30 a.m. in the Undercroft for an opening prayer service then break out into age-appropriate classes for activities. Adults are welcome to attend "Faith Talk: Sacraments" in the Upper Room at 9:35. We hope you can join us!
Please bring non-perishable food or toiletries to Trinity for distribution to local food banks. Every item is needed and appreciated. Thank you for helping those in need this holiday season.
As we begin a new liturgical year this Sunday, join us at 10:30 a.m. for Advent Lessons & Carols sung by our Parish Choir. Prepare for the coming of the Lord with readings, prayers, and carols by Nathaniel Adam, Boris Ord, Malcolm Archer, James Davy, Eleanor Daley, and André Thomas. All are welcome!
If you're in the mood for more choral music after Advent Lessons & Carols this Sunday, stick around and join us for Evensong at 5 p.m. celebrating the Feast of St. Andrew (traditionally observed on November 30). Sung by the Choir of Adults & Girls and the Boys' Choir, the service will feature music by Margaret Burk, Hildegard von Bingen, and Paul Manz.
Pre-Service Organ Recital at 4:30 p.m.
Evensong will be preceded by a short organ recital at 4:30 p.m. played by Associate Director of Music Sarah Johnson. Featuring movements from Mendelssohn's Sonata No. 6 (Vater unser im Himmelreich) and Bach's Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 645). Come and hear our mighty Aeolian-Skinner organ!
Our Fall 2023 Adult Seminar series, titled "The Matrix of Faith and State," resumes this Sunday and next. Our upcoming sessions are:
Sunday, December 3: Trinity Home Board's Women: Carving Out a Female-Managed Space and Place (Kate Walton)
Sunday, December 10: Trinity's Harry Croswell Accomplishes the Disestablishment of Church from State (Neil Olsen)
Seminars meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Undercroft.
Our annual Christmas Pageant performed by Children, Youth, and Family Ministries will be held on Sunday, December 17 during our 10:30 service! The pageant will be complete with choir, live animals, and even a petting zoo outside on the apron. Rehearsal for all participants is Saturday, December 16 from 10 a.m. to noon. Questions? Contact Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries Angela Arpino.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? I will, with God's help. –Baptismal Covenant
An Afghan asylum-seeking family who arrived in New Haven in 2023 is in urgent need of community support. The father, Faz, approached Trinity for help through Chapel on the Green in March 2023. Since then a team of churches and community members has come together around Faz and his family of five. They are currently unable to receive assistance from any agencies, including Integrated Refugee and Immigration Services (IRIS) due to the family's status and IRIS' capacity.
Here's how you can help:
Donate Funds: All funds collected through this link will go directly towards supporting the family (including living expenses, legal feels, and saving up for permanent housing).
Volunteer Drivers: Faz and family need a team of volunteers to take them to food pantries and appointments. Volunteers must have a car that can hold a car seat (provided by the family).
In-Kind Donations: The family is currently looking for a laptop computer and insulated and waterproof boots (for three girls ages 12, 10, and 3, and mom and dad).
Social Visits and Outings: We are looking for other families with young kids who might be interested in a playdate with the family. The family has very limited English but are friendly and eager to connect.
For more information, please contact Outreach Coordinator Lisa Levy. cotg@trinitynewhaven.org
A newly-housed family of four needs items to furnish their new apartment. Help us respond to this community request!
We specifically need the following in new or gently-used condition:
Full sheet/comforter
Twin sheets/comforter
Blankets
Bath towels
Cookware (pots, pans, bowls)
Silverware
Plates
If you are able to donate any of the items above, please contact Rev. Heidi. hthorsen@trinitynewhaven.org
The Trinity community mourns the lost of beloved parishioner George Parikh, who died suddenly on November 18 at the age of 91. A memorial service for George will be held at Trinity this Saturday, November 25, at 11 a.m. followed by a committal of his ashes to the Columbarium. A repast follows in the Undercroft.
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."
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.
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!