In this week's edition:

- Next steps for the Ministry Teams

- Ash Wednesday, February 18



- Lenten Adult Formation: "Harden Not Your Hearts"

- Deacons' Advent Diaper Drive Results

- News from the Wider Church: National church budget, Buddhist monks walk for peace, Virginia Theological Seminary awards Colbert, and more

- This Sunday at St. PJ's

• Cycles of Prayer
• Video: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

- Support Loaves & Fishes and Sunrise Cafe during renovation

- Reach out to Rev. Nathan to schedule your household visit

- There's Always More...

Next steps for the Ministry Teams

By the Rev. Nathan Empsall, priest-in-charge

Thank you to everyone who signed up for one of the new lay-led Ministry Teams, either during Stewardship Season or at the Annual Meeting. As these teams start rolling in the coming month, they should prove great ways to put our faith into action, keep our works of love organized, be in community with one another, empower lay leadership, and strengthen the footings and foundations of St. PJ's. 

If you haven't signed up for one yet, it's never too late! You can join a team (or two or three) at any point in the year. As a reminder, the three current teams are:

• Prophetic Voice (Social Justice, Public Witness, and Outreach)
• Resource and Renewal (Fundraising Events and Grant Seeking)
• Tentmakers (Building and Facilities)

With the meeting behind us, it's time to get started. Some have been asking me what's next.

In the week or so after Ash Wednesday, I will contact each team roster by email with a Doodle poll to pick a time for that team's first meeting. We'll gather at the church to discuss the team's mandate and approach, brainstorm the future together, select a chair, and schedule your next meeting (which can be on Zoom). Some teams may decide to meet more often than others.

Generally speaking, the most successful ministries are usually the ones that have a pastor's support and blessing but are led and carried out by church members. Therefore, with lay leadership as one of this project's top goals, I do not plan to regularly attend team meetings after the first unless requested to for a special purpose.

Perhaps you will divvy up individual tasks at the first meeting and begin the work, or perhaps that will wait for your second (presumably monthly) meeting once I'm out of your way. The job of the chairs should ideally be relatively small: To schedule and keep meetings on track, set agendas, communicate next steps to team members, and when necessary, coordinate with me or other parish leaders.

Please let me know if you have questions, and I look forward to seeing where the Spirit leads St. PJ's, Wooster Square, and New Haven County this year!

Ash Wednesday, February 18, 12:30 p.m.

Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday, February 18.

This year we will have the imposition of ashes during the new 12:30 p.m. Eucharist. Please note that the parking lot may be full by noon for the food-pantry distribution.

There will also bet “Ashes to Go” on the church steps from 8 - 9 a.m.

For an evening service with ashes, check out Christ Church at 6 or either Trinity or St. Thomas's at 7.

Lenten Adult Formation:

"Harden Not Your Hearts"

From Kelly Park, Seminarian Intern

This year, the St. PJ's Lenten adult formation series will be based on "Harden Not Your Hearts," a 2022 online offering from the Ignatian Spiritual Network.

In-person conversations will take place at church after Coffee and Community on most Sundays in Lent.

Additionally, there is also an optional email portion which, upon signup, will arrive each morning in your inbox with reflections, invitations, and the daily INS link. Send an email to kelly.park@yale.edu to be added to the list!

You can receive the emails, come for the conversations, or both! It is my hope that through this time of prayer, penitence, and reflection we will be able to grow together as a community of faith and to shore up our dedication to being Christlike in our hearts, minds, and actions.

Deacons' Advent Diaper Drive Results

From the Diaper Bank of CT:

"The Diaper Bank of Connecticut wishes to sincerely thank St. Paul & St. James Episcopal Church in New Haven for the donation of 2,664 diapers and wipes received on Jan 14, 2026. We are so grateful to you for the time and dedication that it took to make sure that The Diaper Bank of CT received these products.

"Your generous contribution is instrumental in getting diapers and other basic hygiene supplies to poor and low-income families throughout Connecticut each month. Without help from wonderful supporters like you, thousands of families would go without these basic necessities in our own community every day. 

"Please visit our website, www.thediaperbank.org to learn more about our organization and to keep up-to-date on the work that is being accomplished due to caring individuals like you!"

News from the Wider Church

- [ENS] Episcopal Church’s annual budget gets single-page public release, to mixed reviews

- [ENS] Maryland priest, wife caring for children of single mom detained by immigration officials

- [ENS] Seminary awards the Dean’s Cross for Servant Leadership to Stephen Colbert and Evelyn McGee-Colbert

- [ENS] Pennsylvania Episcopalians, church to celebrate life and legacy of Absalom Jones

- [ENS] Buddhist monks visit Washington National Cathedral as their 2,300-mile journey ends

- [ENS] Pennsylvania bishop calls on Trump to ‘apologize or resign’ over racist video depicting Obamas as apes

- [RNS] Sarah Mullally lays out agenda in first major speech as archbishop of Canterbury

Come at 10:30 a.m. this Sunday, February 15 -- the final Sunday after the Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday -- for Holy Eucharist, children's Sunday School, and coffee & community.

Serving this Sunday:

Sunday

Jazz Eucharist

and Children's Sunday School

10:30 a.m.

In person and online

Ash Wednesday

Communion with Imposition of Ashes

12:30 p.m.



In person only.

The parking lot will fill early.

No Wednesday

Daily Office

This Week

Wednesday Prayer regulars have opted to attend the 12:30 Eucharist instead

Cycles of Prayer and St. PJ's Prayer List

In the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's cycle of prayer, we pray this week for Christ Church, Greenwich; St. Barnabas’, Greenwich; Christ Church, Guilford; the ECCT Reparations Fund Board; and the ECCT Racial Healing, Justice & Reconciliation Ministry Network.

In the Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean.

On the St. PJ’s prayer list, we pray for: Rachel, Doug Parker, Anne Matthies, Calvin Griffin, Rev. Walter MacNutt, Kevin Gerbe, Leota Tucker, Edwina Johnson, Cynthia King, Paul D'Agostino, Richard Holcomb, Tiras Jaske, Uli Mackert, Charlie & Bridget Farrell, Alyce, Pam, Tommy, Beverly Lett, Stephen Lett, Vanetta Lloyd, Janea Barthle, Lydia Hamnquist, Rita Valenti-Piovane, Rev. Nihal de Lanerolle, Heather de Lanerolle, Marietta D’Albero, Maria Rodriquez, Marietta Coppola, Paul Mangels, Alexandra Sanseverino, Dr. Milton Coke, Pam Yesner, Rev. Carl Scovel, Karl Mini, Patrick Reynolds, Margaret Perry, Ryan Welch, Jack Welch, Andy & Karla Codney, Kyle Park, Carol Brennan, Fr. Tom, George Moore, A. J. Crosby, Adrienne Brady, Jeannie & Clemente Campos, Marilyn Bergen, Lydia Albers, Jean Douglas, Melissa & George Cunningham, Joan Cappella

Postulant for Ordination: Milton Gilder

Birthdays: Charlie Gagliardi (2/16), Neema Ellen Mukwaya (2/20)

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

Last week, Rev. Nathan celebrated Communion and Tudy Hill preached, including reflections on her recent civil-rights pilgrimage to Alabama and the work of Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative.

If you either missed or want to revisit last Sunday or other recent Sundays at St. PJ's, you can find the recorded livestream on our Facebook and/or YouTube pages.

Support Loaves & Fishes and Sunrise Cafe during renovation

The long-awaited replacement of the steps to the undercroft, right on the corner of Chapel and Olive, is underway! Work has restarted now that the ground has warmed a little and the snow has begun to melt. This means that our front yard along Olive Street is fenced off while construction is underway.

While we are disappointed that we are not able to include a ramp in the project, the new steps will be wider, safer and more welcoming to the community. Please direct questions to Brian Fillmore as Capital Campaign Project Manager.

Sunrise Cafe and Loaves & Fishes continue to operate, using alternate entryways to the undercroft. We acknowledge that though fruitful in the long run, this is an inconvenience for now, so please donate to either important organization if you can:

Reach out to Rev. Nathan to Schedule Your Household Visit

By the Rev. Nathan Empsall, priest-in-charge

By now, you've likely heard me say that I want to visit every St. PJ's household. I want to hear about who you are, what makes you tick, what you believe and love, your history at St. PJ's, and your hopes for the future of our common life together. Ideally this meeting would be at your home, where I can get to know you in your own environment and also offer a home blessing, but coffee shops and walks in the park are okay too.

These meetings are happening, and I have greatly enjoyed them -- but I am also realizing that I am my own bottleneck when it comes to scheduling, as I reach out to families one or two at a time. To try and speed things up, I invite you to reach out to me with some suggested times and dates we might meet.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are ideal, but Fridays and Saturdays are okay too. While weekday daytimes are certainly best, I understand that work schedules can necessitate evenings or Saturdays. Please email me at revnathan@stpaulstjames.org, and I hope to see you outside the church building soon!

There's always more...

Please remember that there is a blue Lost & Found bin in the church office.

If you would like to submit an item for consideration in the eNews or bulletin announcements, please let Rev. Nathan know at revnathan@stpaulstjames.org by next Wednesday afternoon.

Please contact Monifa Atkinson in the church office at office@stpaulstjames.org or (203) 562-2143 if you are interested in receiving more information about any of the following:

- Renting space at St. PJ's for your next party, meeting, concert, wedding, or other event. More info at the St. PJ's website here >>

- Volunteering with St. PJ's

- Adding a name, birthday, or anniversary to the St. PJ's prayer list

- Arranging pastoral care needs

- Purchasing grocery-store gift cards to benefit St. PJ's

- Reserving a place in the St. PJ's columbarium or purchasing a plaque on the Memorial Wall

St. PJ's Staff and Contacts

Administrative Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - Noon

Priest Office Hours: Tuesday - Thursday by appointment

office@stpaulstjames.org

(203) 562-2143

• Priest-in-Charge: The Rev. Nathan Empsall, revnathan@stpaulstjames.org, (203) 278-9199
• Administrative Director: Monifa Atkinson, office@stpaulstjames.org
• Sexton: Sammy Rodriguez
• Children's Ministry: Molly Clayton + Sarah Hill
• Interim Director of Music: Dylan Rowland
• Tech and Music Intern: Dontae James
• Seminary Intern: Kelly Park
• Vestry: Bill Evans (co-warden), Juhani Jaske (co-warden), David Hill (treasurer), Maggie King (clerk), Maurice Harris, Pam Sayre, Vanetta Lloyd, Lynne Severance, David Boyer, Roni Holcomb