​During the Advent season, a symbolic Branch of Jesse will decorate our Narthex. The Branch is a representation that connects God’s faithfulness through the Old Testament to the newness in the form of the birth of Jesus. Just as God gave us the gift of life through Jesus Christ, we will share this hope with others in our community through the giving of Christmas gifts.

​In lieu of wrapped gifts, $35 gift cards will be provided for our friends at Freedom House (a half-way house for men) and their Family Afterward program, Good News Home (a drug/alcohol abuse treatment center for women), Anderson House (a half-way house for women), and others. In order to provide these gift cards, we are asking for monetary donations only. With these funds, we will purchase the gift cards and distribute them to the recipients. Monetary donations can be made via check, cash, or PayPal. Please note "Giving Branch" on the check or on the envelope if donating cash. There is a secure black box outside the Church office for anyone wanting to drop off, or it can be mailed to the Church. If donating through PayPal, please use the button below. Please note: if using the PayPal link, $1.22 is added to each $35 donation to cover PayPal’s service fee (e.g., to make a donation for 2 gift cards, the charge will be $72.44.)

Please submit all contributions by Sunday, December 10th. If you have any questions, please contact Deanne Altom (deanne.altom@gmail.com) or Michelle Marlow  (michellekmarlow@gmail.com).

Thank you for helping to make the holiday a bit happier for someone less fortunate!

Dear friends,
    For the month of November, we are asking for your generosity in donating items for a Thanksgiving dinner.  This would include canned vegetables, broth, cranberry sauce, instant potatoes, and stuffing mix, to name a few.  During this time of gratitude for all we have, we want to help as many people as possible to also enjoy the season.  Your constant help is very much appreciated by the Open Cupboard and the clients they serve. 
Thank you!! 
Suzanne and Katie Higgins

Necrology List
We are developing a parish Necrology list, so on a monthly basis we can remember those we love but see no longer. To include your loved ones, please leave a message on the parish voicemail (908-236-6301) or send an email to admin@churchholyspirit.org. Please include their name, date of their passing, and the name(s) and relationship(s) of the people remembering them, similar to the way white rose announcements are listed in the bulletin.

In Search of…. Publicity Leader
​We are holding great activities and would like to promote them more widely to the general community! We have eager members of a publicity team and have been documenting a process for publicizing our events in area newsletters, websites, etc. We need someone with great organizational skills to lead the group forward.

In Search of…. Coffee Hour committee
​Who among us could join together to structure social time between the services? We’re looking for 2 or 3 people to take on making coffee each week before the 8, making sure we have milk and half-and-half on hand, arranging for some tasty baked goods, and cleanup after the 10.

Our Blue Christmas prayer service will be held Thursday, December 21, at 7 PM. Prayers, readings, hymns, chants and walking the labyrinth will provide a thoughtful, meditative atmosphere for us to share time together.

10 am ​Christmas Day Service – PJs encouraged

Beginning in Advent, we are introducing an experience of mystagogy: time for reflection on what spoke to our hearts during service. As part of the “Sending Out” section of our worship—following the reception of Communion and before the Announcements—we will pause for a brief sharing.

The invitation will be:
Presider: In a single word or very short and simple phrase, please offer what just spoke to your heart during our worship this morning. We do not comment or reference other reflections. This is only a sharing of a word or short phrase that spoke to your heart.

Some may choose to share a word or simple phrase, none must. This will only take a few moments, but it is not rushed and some silences are welcomed as holy moments.

The presider will conclude this way:
Presider: We thank you, Great Spirit, for moving among us today. Now, let us attend to acts of ministry in the days ahead as we seek to fulfil our mission: to become like Christ as we serve others, proclaim God’s love, and grow in the Spirit.

Our faith needs mystagogy for one simple reason. We celebrate and proclaim a mystery: The divine mystery of our God become one of us, dying and rising for us, and calling us to live after the example of Christ.
​
Sharing what touched our hearts in a communal way, focuses our attention on the movement of the Spirit among us and enlarges our view and apprehension of grace in our midst.

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

More photos from Holy Week and Easter

All of us are upset by what is happening in Ukraine, especially when we see some of the heart wrenching photos of children and families fleeing their homeland which is being overtaken by another country.

Hello CHS Members, 
​A friend of mine, Tracy Fink, has put together a list of much needed items for people in the Ukraine.  She has partnered with Pandemic of Love and Global Empowerment Mission and created a wishlist on Amazon based on their recommendations.   

How it works: You buy from her wishlist link below and the items go to a Florida warehouse for processing and then onto Poland/Ukraine.  Make sure you use the GEM/Doral FL (warehouse) shipping address.  Please don't buy anything not specified on the list. 
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1BISBTTEEWKUQ?ref_=wl_share
Janet Matts

Attached is a copy of a letter June Filipski received from Phil Beekman, Sr VP of Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation, outlining how they are joining with other hospitals to send supplies.  They have committed $20K, but will use additional donations to purchase more supplies.

If you would like to join the Health System in supporting these efforts, you can make a tax-deductible donation through Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation. 100% of your donation will be used for the purchase of additional medical supplies for Ukrainian hospitals. Please visit the Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation website (hltps://foundation.hunterdonhealthcare.org) and click on the yellow "DONATE" button located at the top of the screen. Once redirected, enter in your desired donation amount in the space provided, and under "Gift Designation" click on the option "Direct my gift to" and then select "Ukraine Humanitarian Relief' from the drop-down list. 

Follow these steps:
1. click to their web https://foundation.hunterdonhealthcare.org/​,
2. click donate,
3. scroll to inputting dollar amount
and then
4. select  “Direct my gift to”
5. and then scroll down to the end
to “Ukraine Humanitarian relief. “

As always, Episcopal Relief and Development is reaching out with support in a crisis.
As we pray for an end to violence and for those fleeing Ukraine, please also pray for Episcopal Relief & Development and other ecumenical agencies working to respond to the current crisis. Specific needs will change as the crisis evolves. As of right now, there is a need for cash, blankets and hygiene supplies. Please consider partnering with Episcopal Relief & Development in this response. Visit episcopalrelief.org for more information. Attached is a flyer.
Go to the website (https://www.episcopalrelief.org/what-you-can-do/give/donate-now/individual-donation/) and choose Ukraine Crisis Response Fund.

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

During this time of the Covid-19 epidemic, we will follow the diocesan guidelines.

Find the most recent update here >​

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)

 

During the quarantine, when we did not have live services, flowers were not needed on the altar.  Prior to last March, we welcomed donations of flowers for Thanksgivings, Memorials, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Births, or other special occasions.
 
We are again LIVE at CHS and are asking for your donations of flowers for the altar each week.
 
To have flowers placed  at the altar and ambo, please use the "Donate" button below. Please indicate the reason so that we can acknowledge your gift in the bulletin. Right under the "Make this a monthly donation?" there is a tiny pencil.  That is where you click and type your reason - "in thanksgiving for the birth of our grandchild" .  No, it is not obvious!  If you can't figure out how to make the memorial online, email your reason to Support@churchholyspirit.net  along with the information that you donated online.

Altar Flower Donation

(If you use the  DONATE button at the bottom of CHSNews, the Trumpeter and/or the website please indicate that it is a flower donation and the reason so that we can acknowledge in the bulletin.)

To have your offering listed in the bulletin each week, we ask that you make your donation online no later than one week before; if you wish to pay by check, please email your information to Support@churchholyspirit.net no later than one week prior and mail your check to the church, attention Altar Guild.  The suggested donation amount remains at $35 per offering.
 
It will be lovely to have flowers on the altar every week.  Thank you for your donation.

We are modifying some of the CHS Lay Ministries to enable more parishioners to serve again in our current Hybrid (worship in-person & virtual) environment:

• 1st Reader / Psalm – can be virtual or in-person.  Reads the Old Testament Reading and The Psalm.
  
• 2nd Reader / Intercessor – can be virtual or in-person.  Reads The Epistle and The Intercessory Prayer.
  
• Prayers of the People Responder – can be virtual or in-person.  This lay minister will be un-muted, if virtual, or given a microphone, if in-person.  They voice the People's responses (italicized) after the Intercessor voices the People's petitions.  If you have been a Lay Eucharistic Minister (LEM), we are hoping you will temporarily serve as Responder to the Prayers of the People.
  
• Usher/Greeter – Serves in-person.  We have combined the Ushers and Greeters.  This lay minister is changing the most.  She/he will be stationed at a control console located in the sanctuary and will:    
  >Welcome parishioners and visitors joining the Zoom or arriving in person
  >Control which camera feed is being broadcast
  >Aim moveable camera(s) upon different subjects (for example, the congregation, musician, preacher)
  
• Altar Guild - in-person.  Prepares the sanctuary for Sunday worship.
  

Please note that the following lay ministries will continue to remain temporarily paused:  Acolytes, Lay Eucharistic Visitors (LEV), and Counters.

The next scheduling period will be from February 7th  through April 25th.   Please update your availability in Ministry Schedule Pro (MSP) by Wednesday, January 28th.   We will generate the new schedule Thusday morning, January 29th. 

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 has been almost totally depleted. 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 Prayer Shawl Prison Ministry: John Andrews, Susan Kane, Vicki Brooks, Diane Bendahmane, Karen Murray, Roberta Maas, Judy Linger, Carol Crawford Jones, Anne Simpson, Dot Hospador, and Father Philip. Unleash your creativity and help the Shawl Ministry through this tough period. You will be glad you did.
 

Dear Friends,
 
The only way through is through.
 
I am asking for assistance to develop our worship life in a hybrid environment.
 
With great technical help, and generous donations, we are becoming more adept at broadcasting our worship over the internet and integrated those at home with those capable of coming to in-person worship at Haytown Road.  
 
We are slowly creeping up the learning curve and all of you have been most patient.  Every week, we have an unanticipated technical breakdown and its different and adds to the helplessness of the moment.  However, with constancy and devotion, we lumber on.
 
That said, we are looking  to bouncing forward, not merely bouncing back.
 
Even when the pandemic is over, hybrid worship is here for good. The reality is, there will never be another "snow day."  (Sorry kids- school ain't never gonna be canceled again!)  There will be Sunday worship even on bad weather days cause there will always be internet broadcasts, even if from my
"basement chapel."
 
So who's up for helping?  We will begin with a creative conversation on Zoom, of course.  A date will be announced to those who respond directly to me.  
 
In the short run, we are also looking for vocalists to join our merry band - we are healthfully separated using mics in different spaces safely for all concerned.   It’s is our good fortune to have a modern worship space that allows for safe public worship. AND - remember, as always, no one should feel in any way pressured about coming here live.  Please stay home as only you can know best.  With folks only singing along softly in their masks, it's nice to have a PA system sharing the lyrics with a few voices, and if we had some harmony there, it would be great.  In the future, post-pandemic world, we're still going to want to broadcast hymn singing for those at home, so we are not just filling in temporarily.  This is a long term adaptation. And it will grow the mission of this church.  
 
Pardon for the bluntness here, but I know the world sucks right now and for a bunch of reasons and all at once.  Some days I just want to pull the covers up and hide for four months. But even so, we must rally, as we are able.  I have no idea what a "choir" looks like in the future.  One will have to be rebuilt here.  Among other things.  Our worship will need to emphasize the power and resilience of what a common life in Christ can build in the midst of chaos and calamity. 

Resolve.  Mindfulness. Courage. Tenacity.  How are these exhibited in our gatherings, our common prayers and ritual actions?  The unity of being one body in Christ is threatened.  The integrity of the witness of Jesus in the Gospels is put to the test and some are understandably confused by disparate messengers.  The Church has been here before.  We stand in the long train of the faithful, living through Nero, Caligula, and Diocletian, any number of plagues, the Dark Ages, and more.  We are reminded of their faithfulness and steadfast hope.  
 
So for those who want a stake in the shape of this worshiping life, give me a shout.  As goes worship, so too outreach, and stewardship, and formation, and all of it. All of it (us) will be bouncing forward.  We might not know what reshaping our ministries will look like except that they will all look more like Christ.
 
The only way through is through.
 
Philip+
 

Dear friends,
We recently received a letter from the Open Cupboard Food Pantry, thanking us for donating nearly 700 pounds of food in 2020. This was a great achievement, because COVID made everything so very difficult!! To continue our generosity, please consider donating canned soup, pasta, or vegetables for the next two months. Also, if you are fortunate to receive a free ham or frozen lasagna from a grocery store, the Food Pantry will gladly accept the donation (they have freezers and fridges). Personal toiletries, diapers, and even gift cards are most welcome. Katie and I will be glad to deliver your donations. We gave them 130 pounds of food recently, and they were so delighted, because donations continue to be fewer than usual. Thank you so very much for your kind support.

Suzanne and Katie Higgins

You can bring groceries to CHS or to the Open Cupboard in Clinton. [If it’s more convenient, send a check or ShopRite gift card to the Open Cupboard Food Pantry, 37 Old Highway 22, PO Box 5071, Clinton 08809.]

Generally, the pandemic has everyone short of nerve, and easily annoyed.  The stress factor is obviously carried from the personal to group behavior.  As pastor, I am asking for additional effort be expended to ensure we establish and maintain a gracious gathering across the many small groups that take place.  On top of the COVID factor, there is the challenge of an internet environment under which we exist in small groups which subject us to further risk of disharmony and disaffection.
 
General ethos:
1.     Our small groups do not gather to group think.  It is not our goal to agree.  The natural  tendency in these conflictual times is to long for agreement and to be annoyed should that not occur.  Be reminded that our goal is simply to share and listen.  Then we move along, without anxiety, should the conservation reach a dead end. “OK then. What’s next?” is a helpful mantra. 
​
2.     If we are not agreed with, there is no reason to take it personally.  That would be unhelpful.  Humans can disagree without being disagreeable.  A lighthearted, taking -ourselves-less-seriously approach is the only approach.  On this, you should all agree (kidding)!
 
Tech Considerations:

1.   Zoom meetings are deeply flawed.  It takes work to be gracious and Zoom makes it easy to be rude.  Rudeness happens when we fail to mute ourselves when not talking.  We should practice muting regularly. There is no reason to have an open mic.  Muting ourselves is a gracious and spiritual task.  Think of it as an important pause to collect your thoughts.  It might make our sharing more meaningful.  For those who enjoy more spontaneous conversation, we shall have to modify our behavior in this environment and see if we find  some benefit through the discomfort of it all.
   
   
2.   It is easy to talk over each other, or to suffer through awkward pauses, etc.  If we intend to pass the conversation off to one person, we need to declare it explicitly.  On the other hand, if it is an open question to the whole group, then we should allow for folks to jumble along and it will eventually clear up.  Asking someone else, “Sorry if I jumped in, did you finish your point?” is good etiquette.   If you get offended because someone talked over you, that would be taking it personally and that won’t help.  Better to chime in later,   “I wanted to finish by adding  . . .” and express yourself. 

 
Generally:
 
It takes intentionality to be gracious, forbearing other’s verbal and technical trespassing, and being present to a group through the flawed medium of internet communications.  Intentional graciousness, happily enough, is a charism well known and practiced among us already.  We just need to dial it up.                                    

​ Philip+