Who We Are and How You Too Can Find a PlaceJesus 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.  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) Calling All Knitters and Crocheters  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. The Deacon calls the People to prayer saying
A sign has been given to us. A child shall be born for us and wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a manger. Let us gather in one spirit as we pray to you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Intercessor: Caring for another person means kindness in touch, and tenderness in words, to surrender our own needs and wants as we attend to the other. And when we’re holding and caring for another, we can’t do much else. And when you tend to a little child, you have to put it all down in order to pick up the baby. Gracious God, we’re busy, we tired, we’re full of pressure, and worries, and yet you call us, like Mary and Joseph, to kneel down and pick up the baby, and so, we pray you, O lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Intercessor: Even if you’re a toddler yourself; even if you’re a preteen; even if you’re 95; even if you’ve never remembered ever holding a baby; even if you know nothing about birthin’ babies; you’ll still have some idea as your gaze on something so helpless, that first things are first, and when something is fighting for its life, you’ve got to stop what you are doing and so, we pray you, O lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Intercessor: Even if we can’t, or won’t or will never want to have a baby, we sometimes need to know that Jesus is the only thing we need to hold on to. Even when we don’t know what else to do, we pray you, O lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Even when there is nothing else we can do, we pray to you O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. It’s just true. When you’re holding a baby, there’s not much else you can do . . . except just hold it, and love it, and pray. And honestly, the baby can’t do all that much either, we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. The two of you just sort of . . . melt into one another. You just sort of . . . exist . . . together. we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. I don’t know what it is you came to church for here today, Why you’re here or how easy or hard it was to come here, we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Whether you know it or not, you have come here for one thing, and one thing only. You have come here to hold the Baby. we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Whether you know it or not he is the One who has brought you here and really, there is nothing else you can do. You just hold him. And love him, And pray. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. But be forewarned, for this comes at great cost. To hold this Baby— this Jesus whom we proclaim - means you are going to have to put some things down. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. When you hold this Baby, nothing else matters. Everything else falls away. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. When you hold this Baby, the war makers must put down their weapons and all their garments rolled in blood. The oppressors must put down their rods. The emperors must put down their censuses. The shepherds must put down their staffs. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. The judges must put down their gavels. The bankers their pencils. The farmers their plows. The nurses their stethoscopes The journalists their laptops. The teachers their books. The janitors their brooms. The interns their clipboards. The internet trolls their keyboards. The leaders their egos. Priests and Bishops their collars We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. When you and I hold this Baby— when we hold this Jesus— everything else must fall away: our cell phones, our distractions, our ambitions, our rights, our wrongs, our hurts, our grievances . . . our power. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. “Whatever that is you’re doin,’ you gotta put it down and come hold this baby.” But here’s the final twist. Here’s the insane grace of it all. For all that you and I have to lay aside— for all the power that we have to let go in order to hold this Baby— the thing is he has already gone first. Yeah, you have to give up a lot in order to hold a baby, but think of how much more you have to give up in order to BE the baby. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. He could have come any way he wanted. As a mighty warrior. As a fearsome beast. As a rich king with swagger, and prestige, and power. But instead, this Baby— this Jesus— came like this. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Whatever it was he was doing, he put it down all those years ago so he could come and rest right there next to your beating heart. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. So, my friends, what is it? What is it that you get to lay aside, even if just for this one moment? The Creator of your soul has put down everything he had, because all he ever really wanted . . . was just to be with you. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. So whatever that is you’re doing, put it down. Come on. Hold the baby. There’s nothing else you can do. You just hold him. And love him. And pray. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. And when you do, when put everything down, and hold and love and pray and melt together, You get to become the Christ to others. Let us find the Christ Child in all God’s children who have no one to hold them, Let us hand over the wounds of loneliness and desperation within our own hearts we hide from others and even ourselves, Let us allow ourselves to be held who have the memory of wrong etched on our bodies and in our minds. Let us find the Christ Child in this planet in crisis and reach out, and hold, love, and pray. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Adapted from a sermon of Lonnie Lacy+ by Philip Car-Jones+  Whaling is a form of pfishing known as whaling. It doesn't just affect us! The Diocese of Newark has recently had a series of these attacks and has published an article explaining the phenomenon and what you can do about it.
"You receive an email that appears to be from the Bishop, or your clergy person, asking you to take some kind of action – click a link, download an attachment, wire money to a specified account, purchase gift cards and reply with the serial numbers, or simply to reply quickly. Watch out – it could be a form of email “phishing” known as “whaling.” "Whereas “phishing” involves sending a fraudulent email to a large group of people in the hope that a few will respond, “whaling” involves forging communications that look like they’re from the “big phish” in an organization, i.e. the “whale.” For us, this usually means the Bishop or a clergy person, although it could be someone else in authority. "Because these emails are usually crafted more carefully than your standard “phishing” email, they can be more difficult to detect." Read the whole article, but here are some brief suggestions about what to do:
Please know that no clergy person, Deacon Dot, your wardens or 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. One email 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 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. Pay attention and stay safe! 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 PREVIOUS PERFORMANCESDecember 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. September 23, 2018: Jaime Reyes (cellist) from Far Hills, New Jersey, who graduated from Mason Gross School of Arts in May 2017 performed “Sicilienne” op. 78 by Gabriel Faure for the offertory and a section from one of Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello suites for the postlude as a part of the 10:00 a.m. service. March 18, 2018: Jaime Reyes (cellist) from Far Hills, New Jersey graduated from Mason Gross School of Arts in May 2017 performed "Gabriel's Oboe" by Ennio Morricone for the offertory and "Be Thou My Vision" for the postlude as a part of the 10:00 a.m. service. 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". November 12, 2017: Sarah Riddle is from West Virginia and studied voice (soprano) at Westminster Choir College in Princeton. She has sung with us before. She graduated in May 2017 and resides in the Princeton area. She performed two songs during the offertory, "Come Thou and with us dwell" by William Byrd and "Come, Thou dear Redeemer" by Cesar Franck, as well as the aria "Now Robed in Cool Refreshing Green from Joseph Haydn's THE CREATION " as the postlude.  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. October 29, 2017 Grace Gilday, from Kensington, Maryland and currently residing in Princeton, graduated from Westminster Choir College in Princeton this May with a MM in Vocal Performance (soprano). She sang "A Simple Song" (from MASS) by Leonard Bernstein for the offertory. For the postlude she sang the Air "If God be for us, who can be against us" (from MESSIAH) by George F. Handel APRIL 30, 2017
Jaime Reyes from Far Hills, New Jersey and studying cello at Mason Gross School of Arts performed with us for the April 30th 10 am service. He accompanied on some of the hymns and performed the Vocalise by Sergei Rachmaninoff. He also played the Unaccompanied Cello Suite by J.S. Bach for the postlude. CONFIRMATION SUNDAY - OCTOBER 30TH Jaime Reyes from Far Hills, New Jersey and studying cello at Mason Gross School of Arts will perform with us for the October 30th confirmation service. He will accompany the "Panis Angelicus" anthem sung by the Junior Choir and some of the hymns. He will also be performing the "Adagio" from J.S. Bach's organ Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C and the "Sarabande" from J. S. Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suite in C. 50TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCES SEPTEMBER 25TH We had four graduate students from Westminster Choir College in Princeton participating in our 50th Anniversary of our church on September 25th. Besides singing with the Senior Choir, they sang “The Prayer” by David Foster and the sopranos sang the lovely duet “The Flower Song” from Lakme by Leo Delibes. The singers were: Sarah Riddle, soprano; Rebecca Achtenberg, mezzo-soprano; Evan Stenzel, tenor; Aaron Eaves, bass. April 3rd: Sarah Riddle from West Virginia and studying voice at Westminster Choir College in Princeton sang "Alleluia" and "Laudate Dominum" by W.A. Mozart, sang with the choir and with the hymns. March 6th - Devenny Bennett from Bridgewater New Jersey and studying trumpet at Mason Gross School of Arts. She played "Andante" from Concerto in Bb by Joseph Haydn and "Minuet and Hornpipe" by G. F. Handel and accompanied on hymns. February 28th - Wei Wang from Shanxi China and studying oboe at Mason Gross School of Arts in New Brunswick. He played "Drei Romanzen, Op. 94" by Robert Schumann and "Sonata I" by C. Saint-Saens. He also accompanied the Junior Choir's anthem "Come, My Way" by Ralph Vaughan Williams and accompanied on hymns. February 21st - Raelee Gold from Texas and studying voice at Westminster Choir College in Princeton sang "Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not" from Cantata 21 by J.S. Bach and "I know that my redeemer liveth" from MESSIAH by G. F. Handel. February 14th - Jaime Reyes from Far Hills, New Jersey and studying cello at Mason Gross School of Arts. He played "Prelude" from unaccompanied cello Suite 1 and three "Gigues" from unaccompanied cello Suites 1, 2 & 3. He also accompanied the choir anthem and hymns. December 13 - Catherine Heiba from Bridgewater New Jersey and studying clarinet at Mason Gross School of Arts in New Brunswick. She played "Introduction, Theme and Variation" by Gioachino Rossini and accompanied on hymns. November 29th - Devenny Bennett from Bridgewater New Jersey and studying trumpet at Mason Gross School of Arts. She played "Aria" from Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by Flor Peeters, "Andante" from Trumpet Concerto in Eb by Johann Nepomuk Hummel and accompanied on hymns. November 22nd - Brian (Wei) Wang from Shanxi China and studying oboe at Mason Gross School of Arts. He played "Morceau de Salon Op. 288" by Johann Baptist Wenzel Kalliwoda and accompanied on hymns. November 15th - Jaime Reyes from Far Hills New Jersey and studying cello at Mason Gross School of Arts. He played "Sarabande and Prelude" from unaccompanied cello Suite 2 in d minor by J.S. Bach and accompanied hymns and the choir anthem. November 1st: Sarah Riddle from West Virginia and studying voice at Westminster Choir College in Princeton sang: Ich will dir mein Herze schenken (Lord, to Thee My Heart is Given) from St. Matthew Passion and Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus by J. S. Bach. October 25th - Raelee Gold from Texas and studying voice sang Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion from MESSIAH by George F. Handel and Font of Every Blessing by J. S. Bach. 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.
You might have noticed a large red box in the Narthex which is awaiting items to augment the wish list of the veterans at this worthy facility. This summer our church is emphasizing their need for all sizes of men’s FLIP FLOPS, LAUNDRY PODS, DRYER SHEETS, and all occasion or blank CARDS. Any suggestions or questions can be addressed to Judy Linger or Nanette Chardoussin at [email protected], [email protected]. Thanks for all you do to support the many needs of our friends in the county, needs which often go unmet. In this beautiful place, It’s easy to forget that there are many folks who have been battered by life’s twists and turns. The State of New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs operates Veteran's Haven North, a halfway house for homeless veterans, in Glen Gardner. The house is in constant need of consumable items which are presented to each new resident as they enter the program. The following is a "Wish List" of their current most acute needs:
Any questions can be directed to Judy Linger at [email protected] or cell number (772) 321-4885 or to Nanette Chardoussin at [email protected] Monetary donations are always welcome and accepted. Any monetary donations will be used for quality of life items for our veterans. Organizations wishing to spend money for the facility instead of donating it can contact the superintendent's office 908-537-1963 for a list of items.   AudioFetch has been installed. For those needing hearing assist, this broadcast system works over our already existing wifi. You need only download the AudioFetch app on your smart phone or tablet and you will get live amplified sound through your ear piece. We ask members who have older unused smart phones to donate them - along with chargers etc, so members can use these dedicated devices.
 Photos courtesy of Dave Dabour  Photo courtesy of Jack Daniels Photos courtesy of Cate Mattison
Attached are the minutes - thank you, Carol Crawford-Jones! - from the January 22, 2017 Church of the Holy Spirit Annual Meeting. If you have any questions or corrections, please contact Carol.
Minutes in Word format HOLY + FORMEDdownload this note as a pdf Background It is our privilege to welcome new Christians through Baptism and also to continue to learn and togrow more and more into the likeness of Christ. From the Service of Holy Baptism, Book of Common Prayer pg. 302, we worship this way: Celebrant: Will you by your prayers and witness help this child to grow into the full stature of Christ? Parents and Godparents: I will, with God’s help. AND After all have been presented, the Celebrant addresses the congregation, saying Celebrant: Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ? People: We will. So the question is, “Can you ever stop being a child of God?” Since the answer is always NO, it means we are always capable of growing further into the fuller stature of Christ and helping others do the same. With the advice and support of the Diocese of New Jersey, we embarked last year on a journey toward being “Church” in an era when “Church” exists differently than in the recent past, yet the task of growing into the full stature of Christ is ever more important. Especially in a digital age, the project of formation as Children of God (at any age) is the vital purpose of a faith community. Formation into the image of Christ takes place at every stage of life. The “Church” exists to support that formation and that formation is for the purpose of being Christ in a world needing Christ’s love, grace, mercy and hope. At this point in my life, I have not time for anything that is not about love, grace, mercy and hope. That’s all I want. And that’s all I want in a Church. If we are doing anything that isn’t that, let’s just stop. Happily (and somewhat proudly) my priesthood exists within a community of other priests (that’s you -- ordained at your baptism) who are remarkable for their devotion, commitment, and sacrifice in conspiring to bring about more love, grace, mercy and hope in this world, so that the Kingdom of God might come on earth as it is in heaven. How else do you explain a marathon of Epiphany House Blessings, and the other veritable marathons of mission taking place all the time by so many fellow travelers with Christ? What did we do at the Annual Meeting? Last Fall we embarked on a journey we called Holy+Formed. It is a way of being church that connects us and integrates all we do across the church year in large themes. It is a way of ordering our common life. Basically, you caught the contagion of Christ’s love and so many of you are doing something about it. Holy+Formed gives us structure and a way forward together, as we do something about Christ’s love. This Sunday, during service, we broke into working groups organized around themes that will be our focus for the year. Each of us chose the group to visit based on our interests and each group was guided by a vestry member. We listened and contributed our ideas for several minutes of project development time. This was a creative moment for the birthing of dreams and ideas. The main themes for the next 18 months of parish life together across 2017-2018 are:
We apply the same elements, values and principles to each of the above themes.
Even if you didn't attend, your input and participation are welcome! Contact Father Phil or any vestry member to find out how you can be a part of what is happening.  |
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