In this week's edition:

- Holy Week: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday videos

- Remaining Holy Week schedule

- Preparing for Easter

- Office Closed Monday 5/6, and Rev. Nathan Vacation

- Wednesday, April 8: Easter Hymn Sing

- Thursday, April 9: Prophetic Voice Ministry Team meeting

- Margins and Movements: Social-justice book club dates

- New logo and May 11 concert for the St. PJ's Jazz Collective

- News from the Wider Church: Hamden's Dinner for a Dollar, Holy Week messages from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop

- This Sunday at St. PJ's

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

- Recent Vestry Minutes

- There's Always More...

Holy Week: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Videos

If you were unable to attend services at St. PJ's this week, you can view them at the links below. Rev. Nathan preached on Maundy Thursday. For Good Friday, Sam Ernest preached, Bishop Laura Ahrens joined us, and five St. PJ's members read the Passion Play.

• Maundy Thursday livestream on YouTube and Facebook

• Good Friday livestream on YouTube and Facebook

Thank you to everyone who brought soup or bread, or helped set up and/or clean up, on Maundy Thursday. Thank you also to everyone who came to last Saturday's Altar Guild polishing party.

Remaining Holy Week Schedule

Attending multiple Holy Week services is a powerful way to walk with Christ through his sorrowful journey, experience a deeper spirit, and ultimately heighten the power and joy of your Easter celebration.

Good Friday, April 3

• 6:30 PM, St. Thomas’s: Liturgy with choir
•  7 PM, St. Luke’s: Good Friday service
• 7 PM, St. John’s: Seven Last Words contemplative service
• 7 PM, Trinity: Solemn Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion

Holy Saturday, April 4

• 11 AM, Christ Church: Liturgy for Families & Children
• 6:30 PM, St. Thomas’s: Easter Vigil
• 7 PM: Easter Vigils at Trinity, St. Luke’s, and St. John’s
• 8 PM, Christ Church: Great Vigil & First Mass of Easter

Preparing for Easter

We look forward to this Sunday's celebration service at 10:30 a.m., including the full jazz collective and two joyful baptisms!

• Please bring a treat for Coffee & Community Hour if you can. We have no single host -- it's a bigger celebration if many of us pitch in!

• Marilyn Bergen is asking for volunteers to help set up the Easter Egg Hunt. If the weather is good, the hunt will be in Wooster Memorial Park after church next door. Rain location is the parish hall. Please contact Marilyn for more information and to volunteer.

Church office closed this Monday,

and Rev. Nathan vacation

The church office will be closed this Monday, April 6.

Rev. Nathan will be on vacation from Thursday, April 9 - Saturday, April 18.

Wednesday, April 8:

Easter Hymn Sing!

Let’s gather this Wednesday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary to sing all the great Easter hymns and many other favorites! There's no agenda other than being together, singing together, calling out hymn numbers for Dylan to play.

This is the first of three hymn sings this year, but the only one until early fall.

Thursday, April 9:

Prophetic Voice Ministry Team meeting

Two of our new ministry teams have officially launched!

Prophetic Voice, the social-justice and outreach team, will meet again this Thursday, April 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the church to discuss upcoming priorities and ideas for our social-justice work. Email Pam Sayre to join the team, even if you can't make it on Thursday.

Resource & Renewal, the new team for external fundraising (grant seeking, fundraising events, marketing ideas, etc.) has also begun, and is in the process of selecting a chair and next meeting date. For now, email Rev. Nathan to join.

Margins and Movements:

Social-justice book club dates

Our social-justice book club will meet at the church on Tuesday, 4/28, 7 p.m., to discuss "The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You" by Dina Nayeri.

Looking ahead, we will also gather on Tuesday, 5/26, to discuss "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson, and again on Tuesday, 6/23, to discuss "Disarming Leviathan: Loving your Christian Nationalist Neighbor" by Pastor Caleb Campbell.

New Logo and May 11 Concert

for the St. PJ's Jazz Collective!

We're excited to announce that our old friend Nate Solberg, former St. PJ's member and professional designer, has graciously made this new logo for the church jazz program (based on the parish logo, which he also designed).

What do you think: Is it a great church band logo, or the greatest church band logo ever?

The new logo is just in time for use at two upcoming events: The St. PJ's Jazz Collective will have a table at the Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival on Sunday, April 19, before performing its first community concert of the year on Monday, May 11 (one of three).

News from the Wider Church: Hamden's Dinner for a Dollar, Holy Week messages from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop

- [ENS] Hamden in the spotlight! Connecticut woman’s passion for community helps provide people with hot meals and dignity: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/03/31/connecticut-womans-passion-for-community-helps-provide-people-with-hot-meals-and-dignity/

- [ENS] The archbishop of Canterbury’s ecumenical Easter letter: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/04/01/the-archbishop-of-canterburys-ecumenical-easter-letter/

- [ENS] Hundreds of Episcopalians join presiding bishop, church leaders in virtual Palm Sunday vigil: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/03/30/hundreds-of-episcopalians-join-presiding-bishop-church-leaders-in-virtual-palm-sunday-vigil/

- [ENS] South Carolina Episcopal campus ministry is a source of faith, fellowship for cadets: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/04/02/south-carolina-episcopal-campus-ministry-is-a-source-of-faith-fellowship-for-cadets/

- [RNS] NY Episcopal Diocese outlines plan for $1.2M racial reparations fund: https://religionnews.com/2026/03/31/ny-episcopalians-advance-racial-reparations-initiative-to-second-phase/

- [NCR] Pope Leo opens Holy Week with plea for peace: No one can use Jesus to 'justify war': https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/pope-leo-opens-holy-week-plea-peace-no-one-can-use-jesus-justify-war

- [RNS] For the first time, Black women bishops in the UMC share Good Friday pulpit: https://religionnews.com/2026/04/02/seven-black-umc-women-bishops-to-preach-on-jesus-7-last-words-in-historic-event/

- [RNS] American politicians talk about persecuted Christians abroad – but here’s what happens when those Christians migrate to the US: https://religionnews.com/2026/04/01/american-politicians-talk-about-persecuted-christians-abroad-but-heres-what-happens-when-those-christians-migrate-to-the-us/

It's Easter!

Come by 10:30 a.m. this Sunday, April 5, for our resurrection celebration with the full jazz band, Holy Eucharist, Holy Baptisms, children's Sunday School, and a big Coffee and Community Hour.

Serving this Sunday:

Easter Sunday

10:30 a.m.

Jazz Eucharist

In person and online

Wednesday

12:30 p.m.



Quiet Communion

In person only

Thursday

12:30 p.m.



Midday Prayers

In person only

Cycles of Prayer and St. PJ's Prayer List

In the Episcopal Church in Connecticut cycle of prayer, we pray this week that through this Easter season, we as a diocese continue growing in faith, living in hope, and serving in love. Like the disciples that came before us, may we proclaim the joy of our Lord’s resurrection in our lives, in our communities, and in our ministries. 

In the Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the La Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico.

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, 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, Fr. Tom, George Moore, A. J. Crosby, Adrienne Brady, Jeannie & Clemente Campos, Marilyn Bergen, Jean Douglas, Melissa & George Cunningham, Joan Cappella, Ruby Slade-Wooten, Yvonne Scott, Joan Farrell, Yvonne Scott, Sharyn Kessler, D.J. Multer  

Candidate for Ordination: Milton Gilder

Departed: The Rev. Nihal de Lanerolle (03/25)

Birthdays: Brenda Jaske (04/05), Isaac Mukwaya (04/08), The Rev. Nathan Empsall (4/09), Letitia Mukwaya (4/11), Sammy Rodriguez (4/11) 

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

Last week was Palm Sunday. The St. PJ's Jazz Collective led our second-line neighborhood jazz parade and Rev. Nathan preached.

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.

Recent Vestry Minutes

Your Vestry met on Wednesday, March 18. As part of that meeting, the minutes for the previous meeting in January were approved (there was no February meeting).

You can read the now-approved January 14 minutes here (PDF).

The March minutes will be approved at the Vestry's next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. They will be made available following approval.

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! This means that our front yard along Olive Street is fenced off. 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:

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
• 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