End of Year Contributions for 2025:
 
For contributions to reflect on your 2025 giving statement, please note the following:

• Paypal – all donations must be completed by 9 am on January 1st.
• All other – must be received by Sunday January 4th via mail or deposited in the “black box” outside the office with a date of “2025”

Contributions made by December 31, 2025 will reflect on the current year statement, unless otherwise noted on the envelope or check.
 
Thank you for your support of CHS.  Please contact me with any questions or concerns at [email protected].
 
Sally Bird
Treasurer

To the "alumni" of Church of the Holy Spirit-
You are receiving this survey because you are known to have attended, participated in, or been considered a member of The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in Lebanon, NJ.  
In case you weren't aware, The Rev. Phil Carr Jones retired after 35+ years at CHS, and the parish has called a new rector, The Rev. Kim Reinholz.  She began her call here in September and would love to learn more about your experiences "growing up" at CHS. 

In particular, we wanted to invite you to complete the following anonymous survey so you can be sincere.  

And to extend the invitation: come to Church on Sunday, December 28th, and, between the services, have coffee and conversation with members of the formation team. Supposing you'd like to share any stories, memories, or other reflections about your time as a kid/ teen here.  If you are not available to participate in that conversation or would prefer to speak with Mother Kim one-on-one, you can schedule a phone or Zoom call.  

Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your experience; it will help us to support the children in the community now and in the future. 

In our new orientation, four directional points branch from the altar. If we consider the altar the central hub, the bishop's seat is located in the North, and the Eastern point where the Advent wreath is lit, as well as where the ambo/lectern is placed, the children's area (and the creche will be) is on the southern point. I plan to preach facing West (towards the choir).   If anyone would like to see my face during preaching (head-on), please sit in that section.  

A special note about worshipping "in the round". There are no rules that say that folks who attend worship can't move around the worship space during the service. If it is helpful to move with the ministers as we move through the space, feel free to do so. 

Laying out the space like a compass is a physical way to break up expectations about what folks may have previously experienced in worship. 

By reorienting during different aspects of liturgy, having ministers face in different directions, it gives worshippers the opportunity to consider what, if any, aspects of liturgy draw and hold one's attention, as well as which parts are not engaging. 

For instance, what do "The Word," "The Table," music, or another aspect of coming together for sacrament feel like? When we use the prayer book, the hymnal, or the bulletin, is the focus on the words on the page, the stirring in your soul,  or the voices in the space?   What parts of the liturgy inspire and connect or distract and distance you from God, your neighbor, and yourself?  

Some folks dislike this arrangement, others are uncertain, while others are enjoying the new perspective. 

I hope that any concerns, thoughts, feelings, or ideas you have about worship will be shared either with me directly or that, when there are opportunities to discuss and plan worship going forward, you will consider joining the conversation as a member of the worship committee. Plans for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany are in place, but input will be needed soon for the upcoming seasons of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter.  

Kimberly April Reinholz

From Mother Kim:
Here are written instructions for LEMs for Advent/Christmas/Epiphany and  a video so that you are prepared for the new layout on Sundays if you are serving.

Wow!  We're not just winging it?!

Word Document version >

Remember a Loved One and Support the Greening of the Church with a Christmas Flower Donation

The Greening of the Church is Sunday, December 21 after the 10 a.m. service. Remember a loved one and support the greening of the church through a flower donation.

Donations are due by Monday, December 15 to ensure that names of the people for whom the donation is being made are included in the Christmas bulletin. To submit your donation:

1. On the outside of the donation envelope located in the Narthex, include your name and the name(s) for whom the donation is being made and whether it is a memorial or in thanksgiving.
2. Put your donation ($40 is suggested) in the envelope and place it in the collection plate or in the mailbox outside the office. In the memo section, please include flower donation.
3. You can also contribute online using the form below and the online payment button ($40+fee)

Epiphany is when we endeavor to make our hearts and homes welcoming for Christ to abide with us.  As some return from travels like the Magi who returned to their homes by another way we understand the joy of homecoming.   As an extension of this seasonal observance CHS is joining with “Meet Her at the Gates” and Hunterdon Hospital in preparation and celebration of going home by packing care packages for adult and juvenile patients  and those who have been imprisoned as they are released.  The goal is to collect items for 60 care packages in this season.   To participate in this opportunity to love and serve our neighbors in need simply sign up to donate specific items or contribute funds towards the purchase of items. This can be done on the sheets in the gathering space at CHS.  If you cannot sign up in person be in touch with Suzanne Higgins (if you do not have a way to do this directly be in touch with the office and we will forward your message to her) As these are responses to specific needs please only donate the items requested.

This collection will run from January 6, 2026 - February 15, 2026 
We will assemble the Packages on the Day after Valentine’s Day- what a lovely way to love one another.  

Busing Concerns on the Horizon for Clinton Township School District (CTSD)
 
ESC is CTSD’s busing provider, and they are operating at capacity. Due to a lack of drivers, CTSD is getting to a point where ESC may be unable to cover routes. If you have flexibility and either you or someone you know, would be willing to get trained, it would make a significant difference. Retirees, students, stay-at-home parents, or any person with a flexible schedule would be a great candidate. The rate is $30 an hour. Please reach out to [email protected]  

 Our next meeting of the book club is on November 23, to discuss "See No Stranger."  In reading this (I haven't made it to the end), I'm struck by some similarities to our last selection, "James."  For our next discussion, I'd like to try something different.  Let's compare the moral issues these two books have in common - racism certainly leaps out at me.  Rather than our usual in-depth evaluation of our  present selection, I'd like to compare broader themes the two books share.  Some of you have mentioned you would have liked to further explore the characters in "James," so this is an opportunity to do so while reviewing "See No Stranger."  In the meantime, think about how James and Valerie Kaur face similar difficulties in their lives.  Looking forward to this discussion. 
​
Kind regards,
Suzanne Higgins <[email protected]>

Jesus lived in a troubled time; but he announced the dawning of a new era, God's reign of justice and peace. 

He defied the powers that opposed God's reign by reaching out to all the victims of these powers. He gathered a company of followers, teaching them how to live in the freedom of this new era. But the world turned against him; his followers abandoned him; and the authorities executed him as a threat to the peace, in about 33 AD. from the dead! - The one who had risen to them and, through them, to the world. They were now convinced that God had rejected the judgment against Jesus and yet had absorbed the pain of it. By giving Jesus a new life, God validated everything Jesus stood for and gave his followers a new life in solidarity with him and with those he sought to serve. They began to see this new kind of life as the world's true future; others caught the vision and joined them. Thus began an historic movement inspired by this Good News. 

We are people bound together because we follow the way of Jesus Christ. 

We recognize the presence of God in Jesus and see his way of life as God's way toward a world transformed by love.

We tell his story, from generation to generation, convinced that we must follow him and embody his vision. 

Come and get to know Jesus by getting to know people whose lives are being shaped by this Good News.

Discover the Spirit of Jesus and see what God is really like. 

Experience what it means to be part of Jesus' deepening impact on the world  
by belonging to a community of his followers.

Dave Dabour's photos from the Good Friday Day of Service >

More photos from Holy Week and Easter

Sunday Services
In Person and Online - Holy Communion at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

CHS Worship is also on FaceBook Live  (available without Facebook) 

 8:00 a.m. - Holy Communion

Church of the Holy Spirit is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/96238557143?pwd=SUlqdVpqUHdTdVdOWUY5U1BpU0NBUT09
Meeting ID: 962 3855 7143
Passcode: 087656
​
FaceBook Live site link
http://tinyurl.com/CHSWorship
or http://online.churchholyspirit.net

  10:00 a.m. - Holy Communion

Church of the Holy Spirit is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91376817129?pwd=WGg5SGZyRnN5RmtyNWp3UVQwbFFzUT09
Meeting ID: 913 7681 7129
Passcode: 254800

FaceBook Live site link
http://tinyurl.com/CHSWorship
or http://online.churchholyspirit.net
 
Follow and pray along using the Book of Common Prayer (BCP)

 

Since the onset of the pandemic, the Shawl Ministry at the NJ Women's Prison has been shut down. No shawls are currently being made by the inmates of the prison. Consequently, our stock of shawls for distribution by CHS to persons in need is being maintained by the Knit/Crochet & Chat group that meets on Monday afternoons.. If you are a knitter or crocheter, think about picking up your needles and hooks to help replenish our supply. Yarn is available in the hallway bins adjacent to the church office. If you need patterns or advice (or encouragement), ask any member of the Kint/Crochet & Chat group.

Welcome to the CHS Master Calendar
 
The CHS Master Calendar was created to consolidate the multiple calendars that were being used previously.  Not all those calendars were up to date; many did not have the same events listed.  The ability to see details on the many events happening at CHS was not available on all the calendars.
Google calendar became the obvious choice:  it allows us to access one site for all events, to manage those events in one place, including details as needed; embed the calendar on the CHS website; and allow for dynamic changes.  A change made on the master immediately becomes visible on all linked versions.  If a change is made to the master, it appears immediately on the web version and it will appear on your version as well. 

You can access the CHS calendar from your computer, laptop, smart phone or tablet.  To see the calendar on the website, go to www.churchholyspirit.org and scroll to the bottom of the page.  Use the arrows below the header to see future or past months.  Move to the far right and select if you wish to see a week or month at a time or click Agenda for a listing of events.  Details are available for many events.

To have the calendar on your computer or other device, copy and paste or type this URL into your browser: 
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=chs.calendar%40churchholyspirit.net&ctz=America%2FNew_York

A limited number of people have administrative permission: Marge Keller, the Office Admin, Webmaster and CHS News editor.  If you wish to have an event added to the calendar, contact one of them.  To check facility availability, please contact the Office Admin.