The Rt. Reverend Barbara Harris was the first woman ordained and consecrated a bishop in The Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion. In her memoir, entitled Hallelujah, Anyhow! [she] quotes an old Gospel hymn that says it this way:

Hallelujah anyhow
Never let your troubles get you down
When your troubles come your way
Hold your hands up high and say
Hallelujah anyhow!

When I get to Heaven, I want to meet one person, and her name is Mary Magdalene. Because if ever there was another Hallelujah, Anyhow sister, it was Mary Magdalene. And her life, and her example, tells us what it means to follow in the way of Jesus, in the Way of Love.

Mary Magdalene showed up when others would not. Mary Magdalene spoke up when others remained silent. Mary Magdalene stood up when others sat down.

John’s Gospel tells us that when many of the disciples fled and abandoned Jesus, Mary Magdalene stood by him at the cross. Hallelujah, Anyhow.

Against the odds, swimming against the current, Mary Magdalene was there.

John’s Gospel says in the 20th chapter, early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene and some of the other women went to the tomb. Hallelujah, Anyhow.

They went to the tomb when it didn’t make any sense. They went to the tomb when the evidence was against them. Jesus was dead. They knew that. The power of the Empire had crushed the hope of love. They knew that. And they got up in the morning and went to the tomb anyhow. Hallelujah, Anyhow.

But more than that, John’s Gospel says it was dark. It was dark. That’s not just the time of day in John’s Gospel. The darkness in John is the domain of evil. In John’s Gospel when Judas leaves the Last Supper to betray Jesus, John inserts a parenthetical remark. When Judas leaves to betray him, John says, “And it was night.” The darkness is the domain of wrong, of hatred, of bigotry, of violence, the domain of sin and death and horror.

And early in the morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, Hallelujah, Anyhow.

The truth is, she didn’t know that Jesus was alive. She was just doing what love does. Caring for her beloved, her Savior, her friend, in his time of death, to give him the last rites of burial. And when she got to the tomb, and the other women with them, they eventually discovered that Jesus was alive, and in the silence of the night, in the moments of despair, in the moments of the worst darkness, God had done something incredible. God had raised Jesus from the dead

The truth is, nobody saw Jesus rise from the dead, because God had done it secretly and quietly, when nobody was looking.

When I was in high school, I learned a poem composed by James Russell Lowell. He wrote it in the 19th century, in one of the darkest periods in American history, when this country was torn asunder by the existence of chattel slavery in our midst. In this great land of freedom, there were slaves being held in bondage. And this nation literally went to war, tearing itself apart, trying to find the way to do what was right. And James Russell Lowell wrote, in the midst of this darkness, in this dark hour:

Though the cause of evil prosper, yet ‘tis truth alone and strong . . .

Though her portion be a scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown

Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own

Hallelujah, Anyhow.

Christ is risen
The Lord is risen, indeed.

God love you, God bless you, and may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.

On Saturday May 11th from 6-10 pm Dove Hall will be transformed into a New Orleans street scene as we present “Laissez les bon temps rouler” for the 2019 Service Auction fundraiser.

There will again be LIVE and SILENT auctions. Our auctioneer will be Rod Donovan, back for a third year. There will be food and drink that helps set the theme for the evening and we’ll have a signature cocktail served in a souvenir glass. Tickets will remain at $40 for early buyers.  If people want to sit together they will need to have one of the group buy the tickets. ​ Get your tickets online, become a sponsor, and/or make a donation here >
​
 Watch for articles in the next Trumpeter, along with posters and other ticklers.  Here is a poster you can download and share!
Marge Keller

Other downloads:

• Individual donation form
• Merchant donation form
• Merchant letter
• Individual donor letter
  

Please know that Father Phil, Deacon Dot, your wardens and your Vestry would never make such a request. They will never ask for personal information, money, gift cards or anything else by email or on social media. Ignore any such request and, if possible, report it to your ISP as a fraud/scam.
The email sent today looked like this:

I am not in the position to make a phone call at the moment as i am in a meeting and that is why i am contacting you via email. I will like you to help handle a personal matter. I would need you to help send send out couple of gift cards to a family member in school concerning her project.and i will need this handled immediately. Kindly let me know if you are available to run this task right now so i can advise the quantity and domination.  

This is an example of phishing, a scam technique using electronic media.

From Wikipedia:
Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Typically carried out by email spoofing or instant messaging, it often directs users to enter personal information at a fake website, the look and feel of which are identical to the legitimate site.

Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques being used to deceive users. Users are often lured by communications purporting to be from trusted parties such as social web sites, auction sites, banks, online payment processors or IT administrators.

For more information on phishing, you can start here > If we are going to live in an world full of technology and use it in our lives, we also need to educate ourselves on its misuse.
​
Faithfully,

This program began in October 2015.  Students from local colleges in advanced music degrees in vocal and instrumental programs have been selected.
​
Future programs will be announced here

December 16, 2018:   A Jazz Trio from Mason Gross School of Arts in New Brunswick will provide the music for the 10 am service. Members include Dave Mosko, Trombone, from Marlton, NJ; Ian Young, Bass, from North Brunswick, NJ; and Ilan Eisenzweig, Guitar, from Princeton, NJ.  Music to be determined.

November 25, 2018:  Abigail Kempson is from Wilton, Connecticut and studied voice (soprano) at Westminster Choir College in Princeton. She graduated in 2016 with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. She resides in Princeton.  She will sing “I will extol Thee, O Lord” from Eli by Michael Costa for the offertory and “I will sing unto the Lord a new song” from Judith by CHH Parry for the postlude for the 10 am service.

November 4, 2018: Pierre Lawrence is studying piano at Mason Gross School of Arts in New Brunswick. He led the congregation in singing the opening hymn "For all the Saints" in the jazz style.  He also played a jazz improvisation for the postlude.

October 21, 2018:   Sarah Ridddle is from West Virginia and studied voice (soprano) at Westminster Choir College in Princeton. She graduated in May 2017 with a masters degree and resides in Pennington.  She sang "Come unto Him, all ye that labor" from The Messiah by G.F. Handel for the offertory and “My Heart Ever Faithful” from the Pentecost Cantata by J.S. Bach for the postlude during the 10 am service.

April 15, 2018:  Sarah Riddle is from West Virginia and studied voice (soprano) at Westminster Choir College in Princeton. She graduated in May 2017 with a masters degree and resides in the Princeton area.

On April 15th she sang "I Know That my Redeemer Liveth"  (No. 45 Part III Messiah) by  G.F.Handel  for the offertory and "Hear ye, Israel" (aria from Elijah) by Felix Mendelssohn as the postlude.

January 14, 2018:   A Jazz Trio from Mason Gross School of Arts in New Brunswick provided the music during the 10 am service. Members included Dave Mosko, Trombone, from Marlton, NJ; Ian Young, Bass, from North Brunswick, NJ; and Ilan Eisenzweig, Guitar, from Princeton, NJ. They played We Three Kings by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. for the Offertory and Take Five by Dave Brubeck for the Postlude.

December 17, 2017:  Pierre Abdou is studying piano at Mason Gross School of Arts in New Brunswick. He performed Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique - Adagio Cantabile for one of the lessons and a jazz improvisation on a Christmas Carol for the postlude.

November 26, 2017:  Tyler Cesario is a tenor from National Park, New Jersey and graduated in the Music Ed Primary Program from Westminster Choir College, Princeton in May.  He will be performing from Saint-Saens' Oratoria de Noel "Domine, ego credidi" with the Senior Choir for the offertory.  For the postlude, he will sing from Felix Mendelssohn's ELIJAH the recitative "Ye people, rend your hearts" and the aria "If with all your hearts".

October 29, 2017 

​Peter Griggs guitar concert - There was no admission charge. This concert was offered as a part of the Jane Self Burnham Scholars Program. Mr. Griggs presented "500 Years Of Music For Guitar" from the Renaissance to the Contemporary, as well as Flamenco, Brazilian music, jazz, blues and several of his own compositions. There was something for listeners of all tastes on this wide-ranging program.  ​

Every Tuesday night, 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. in the St. Jonathan Room
​No meeting March 19

Confirmation classes  
We will meet the 3rd Tuesday of every month through April from 6 pm to 7:30 pm at CHS. Dinner will be served.

All 6th grade through 12th grade students are invited to attend.....whether you are just starting the journey or have already been confirmed!

Father Phil and Pat

Questions?  
Contact Eli Jones elijns2@aol.com  

​Deacon Dot will be holding a “prayer circle” after each service.  It is called a “prayer circle” because we will hold hands as we pray together. It will be a time to pray with others who are feeling a need for extra prayer.  We will meet in the alcove across from the organ.  Anyone interested is welcome to join us.  If you have any questions, please speak with Dot.

New Bible study for grades 6 - 12.    We will be meeting every Tuesday from 7:00 – 8:30 pm in the St. Jonathan Rm.  Please bring your favorite version of the Bible and something to write with (Bibles will be provided).   Any questions, contact
Eli (908) 399-7436.  Hope to see you there!

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.