In This Edition
Ministry Institute


A detailed listing of Ministry Institute events available.

Here's a preview of upcoming events. 

December 16-17 Youth
Trinity Cathedral, Trenton

January 16
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Trinity Cathedral

February 11 
St. Peter's, Freehold

February 25 
St. Matthew's, Pennington

March 6 - 8 
Convent of St. John Baptist, Mendham 
Upcoming Congregational Events
December 9-11th
All Saints'
Navesink
December 9-10
December 10
St. Francis
Dunellen
December 10
St. George
Rumson
December 10
Grace Church
Pemberton
December 10
St. John
Salem
December 11
St. Michael
Trenton
December 11
Cookie Walk and Christmas Bazaar
Christ Church
Middletown
December 11
Church of the Advent
Cape May 
December 11
St. Mary
Stone Harbor
December 11
St. Bartholomew
Cherry Hill 
December 11
Christ Church
Bordentown
December 11th
December 11
Trinity
Princeton
December 14th
St. Michael
Trenton
December 16
St Francis
Dunellen 
December 16
St Mark
Plainfield 
December 18
Canterbury House
at Rutgers
New Brunswick 
December 18
St. James
Edison
December 18
St. John the Evangelist
New Brunswick
December 21st
St. Michael
Trenton
List Your Congregation's Events Here!
 
Adding your events to our calendar is quick and simple; events go live within three business days.

Click here to add an event!
Have a compelling story to share? Click here to e -mail us and let us know! 
December 9, 2016
From the Bishop
Dear People of the Diocese of New Jersey,

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come
among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver
us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and
the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 212)
 
The complex textures of Advent reach into the depths of my soul. The themes of God's judgment, of Christ's second coming, of preparation for his birth anew into our world and into our lives, provoke my imagination and lift my hope.

Stir up, your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us, the Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent beseeches, and because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us.

We are sorely hindered by our sins. We continue to need a Savior.

Susan and I just returned from a pilgrimage to South Africa. We were among a group of 17 people from the Diocese of New Jersey. It was a powerful trip offering a range of experiences. We were privileged to see the great beauty of Cape Town, majestic animals in natural habits in Pilanesberg National Park - lions, elephants, wild dogs, wildebeests, and more.
 
We also engaged with the painful history of apartheid, visiting Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held and tortured for 18 years. I am continually challenged by the brutal capacity human beings have to hurt one another. We went to Soweto, visiting the Hector Pieterson Museum which commemorates the Soweto Uprising along with the tragic death of Hector Pieterson and hundreds of other students who were protesting because the Afrikaans language was being imposed on them in their schools.
 
South Africa continues to struggle with the effects of apartheid just as we in the United States continue to struggle with racism and the continuing residual impact of slavery and Jim Crow. While South Africa engaged in an intentional process of truth and reconciliation, our country has never formally acknowledged the evil legacy of slavery or apologized for it. This nation has never offered any form of reparations for its devastating effects to those whose lives have been impacted over the generations. These effects continue to haunt us all as a society.
 
This past Sunday, The New York Times featured a story titled The Scourge of Racial Bias in New York State's Prisons . It was just one more piece of evidence in a huge trail of history. Confronted repeatedly with evidence of institutional and systemic racism in our society and in our church, too many still refuse to acknowledge it or do anything about it.
 
Advent reminds us that we believe in a God who judges the world. Our faith is not morally neutral. It makes demands of us. God is also merciful and provides us with a means of grace to draw us out of sin and into the divine love. This means is Jesus Christ. Sometimes it's hard to see him through the glitz and tinsel of the secular Christmas observance.
 
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come
among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver
us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and
the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
 
It is Advent. Come Lord Jesus. Come quickly.
 
Blessings and peace,
 

The Right Reverend William H. Stokes, D. D.
Bishop of New Jersey




 

Good News stories and more!

Stop Hunger Now - Lock In
 6th -12th graders and their adult chaperones
December 16-17 

Stop Hunger Now is driven by the vision of a world without hunger. Our mission is to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-changing aid to the world's most vulnerable and creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources.

Meal-packaging events are the heart of our work. We work with volunteers from corporations, faith congregations, schools, colleges and universities, and civic groups.

Volunteers set up and take down packaging stations and equipment, fill bins with raw ingredients, scoop ingredients into meal bags, weigh and seal the bags, box and stack them on pallets, and load the pallets and equipment onto a truck.

Meal-packaging events are a great way to educate volunteers about global hunger and inspire them to get more involved in fighting it. The events also give volunteers hands-on experience in leadership development, team-building, relationship-building, creative problem-solving, and goal-setting and achievement.

 
 Want to avoid the crowds at the mall
and post-Christmas clutter
while helping those in need?
 
Check out some of these great ways to help those across the nation and the world through alternative Gift Catalogs or visit one of the many Holiday Markets being held by congregations around the diocese. 

 
 
March 3-4, 2017
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Princeton, NJ 

with featured speaker 
Becca Stevens of
Thistle Farms

General Information is now online!
 

PreConvention hearings announced!
Resolutions now being accepted!
Still time for nominations!

The Diocese of New Jersey
(609) 394-5281
808 West State St, Trenton, NJ 08618