Since 2011, Trinity Cathedral has ministered to prisoners and their families through the Angel Tree® program of Prison Fellowship® by providing Christmas presents to children on behalf of an incarcerated parent. By receiving a gift and a loving message from a parent who is in prison, a child knows that he or she is still loved and remembered. This Christmas marked the tenth year of Trinity Cathedral’s participation in the Prison Fellowship® Angel Tree Program. In 2022, we provided gifts for twenty children in support of eight prisoners, bringing our totals since we began this ministry to two-hundred and eight children and one-hundred and six prisoners served. Thanks to the particular generosity and creativity of a volunteer, who dressed for the day as an elf, the children were treated to cookies and milk; and each of the parents/caregivers received a care package. We also handed out gospel materials provided by the national Angel Tree® office along with a list of the Cathedral’s ongoing programs and ministries.

We continue to be thankful to all who volunteer and contribute to the success of this ministry. Through your generosity and compassion, we are supporting the families of prisoners and strengthening relationships between incarcerated parents and their children for, when a child receives a gift from an incarcerated parent, that child knows that he or she is still loved and remembered.

Founded in 1894, The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey is a nonprofit organization that helps at-risk infants, children, youth, and families achieve their potential. They protect abused or neglected infants and children, strengthen families, and strive for stable, permanent, and loving homes. The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey gives parents the knowledge they need to help their children and themselves long after their active services have ended.

The Central Jersey Family Health Consortium’s Healthy Women, Healthy Families (HWHF) program is a statewide initiative focusing on improving maternal and infant health outcomes for all women of childbearing age and their families while reducing racial, ethnic and economic disparities. This is accomplished through a collaborative, community driven approach by the Central Intake Specialists, Early Childhood Specialists and Community Health Workers. The CJFHC HWHF team serves Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon counties.

WIC (Women, Infants & Children) is a preventive public health nutrition program that provides nutrition and breastfeeding education, nutritious foods, and improved access to regular health care and social services to low and moderate-income pregnant, post-partum and breastfeeding women and young children with, or at risk of developing nutrition-related health problems.

WIC partners with many farmers and farmers’ markets around the state. Participants can use WIC funds to purchase selected fresh farm goods.

Prior to the pandemic, Trinity Cathedral had a presence in the “TEACH” program at the Rescue Mission of Trenton since 2008. TEACH offers educational classes to Rescue Mission residents who are transitioning to freedom after release from the prison system. Classes include GED preparation, computer skills, and life skills training. In the computer skills area, up to five students at a time use modern computers in a renovated workspace, working on individually tailored exercises to match their personal skill level. Training includes the use of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Power Point and Access), and is focused on improving employment prospects. But this is also a ministry of presence: Some of the participants have been incarcerated for a decade or more and are very grateful for the volunteers’ time and commitment to help them reintegrate. Deacon Chris Cox is a regular volunteer; this is a very rewarding ministry, so please don’t hesitate to ask Chris for more information if you feel so called.