PLEASE NOTE: If you were previously certified, you do not need to repeat this program. This is a one-time certification program and your certification remains in effect for this diocese until further notice.

The Diocese's Promise to Protect
The Diocese of Trenton is committed to the initiatives outlined in the U.S. Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in regard to the reporting and investigation of sexual abuse allegations involving minors. If you have been sexually abused as a minor by a member of the clergy or anyone representing the Catholic Church, or if you know of someone who was, you can report that abuse through the diocesan Abuse Hotline: 1-888-296-2965 or via email at abuseline@dioceseoftrenton.org.

HIV/AIDS Pandemic
Learn more about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, what Catholic Relief Services is doing and what you can do to help.

Substance Abuse Resources
• Veteran’s Substance Abuse Intervention Program is open to any Mercer County reservist or guardsperson who served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Noble Eagle, and who is seeking support and treatment to deal with substance abuse issues. This is a program offered by Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Trenton. For an appointment call 1-800-360-7711.

• The Calix Society is a spiritual program offering help to people affected by alcoholism. It stresses the virtue of total abstinence, and promotes spiritual development through a special relationship with our Lord. Families and friends of persons afflicted by the disease of alcoholism are also welcome. Calix is not intended as a substitute for AA or Al-Anon but rather enhances one’s experience in these fellowships by providing the encouragement and support needed to find serenity and sobriety. The Calix Society meets on the 3rd Saturday of the month in the basement of St. Gregory the Great church in Hamilton Square following the 5pm Vigil Mass. For more information, call Jack at 609-586-3408.

Pregnancy Counseling & Women's Resources
• Pregnant and need help? If you or someone you know is faced with an unplanned pregnancy and is worried that your whole world is changing and you don’t know how to face it or what to do, there are caring and understanding people ready to help. Please call 888-743-4752 and ask to speak to a counselor. All calls are confidential and services are available to all regardless of age, marital status, race, religion, legal residence or economic status.

• Life Choices is an organization dedicated to assisting women with crisis pregnancies. In cooperation with St. Paul’s prolife group and other Mercer County parish prolife groups, it brings its mobile women’s health center to the Mercer County area on a regular basis. The mobile unit is equipped with ultrasound equipment and trained medical personnel. If you would like to become familiar with the extraordinary work being done by Life Choices, you can visit their website at www.lifechoicesonline.org or call Life Choices at 1-877-839-2339. If you or someone you know is in a crisis pregnancy situation, please call Life Choices and speak with one of their trained counselors. Brochures are also available in the church vestibule on the brochure rack.

• Gianna - The Catholic Healthcare Center for Women, part of St. Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick, offers pro-life women's health care, including prenatal care, deliveries, infertility services, general gynecologic care and more. All services are provided in accordance with the US Catholic Bishop's Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. Visit www.saintpetershcs.com/GiannaCenter or contact them at 732-565-5490.

• Rachel’s Vinyard
Is a Ministry dedicated to healing after an abortion. Their website, www.RachelsVineyard.org has a variety of information including retreat schedules. Their 24-hour telephone helpline is 1-877-HOPE-4-Me.

Family and Senior Programs
• The Mercer County Wellness Discount Program was formed to provide a way to reduce the medical costs for families. This FREE program is open to ALL residents of Mercer County and the State of New Jersey. The program provides discounts on both brand and generic medications at an average savings of 30%. There are no restrictions to membership, income or age requirements, and no applications to fill out. Go to http://nj.gov/counties/mercer/ or call 609-989-6852 for more information.

• LIFE is an all-inclusive care program for the elderly which can permit them to remain safely in their own homes while being helped by a team of healthcare experts. LIFE provides medical and nursing care, physical & occupational therapy, nutritional services and social work support. Call 609-599-5433 to find out more.

• St. Mary's Assisted Living (Morris Hall) now has a Memory Care Program that features 20 newly renovated apartments in a cheerful, homelike community for those in relatively good physical health but with moderate to severe dementia. For more information, call Kathy Arty at 609-896-0006 x2278.

• The Mount Carmel Guild Home Health Nursing Program provides in-home nursing and home health services to seniors whose Medicare insurance has been exhausted and have no alternative means of care. The nursing care allows patients to stay in the comfort of their own homes. Services can include: pre-filling insulin syringes, pre-pouring medications, monitoring vital signs, blood sugars and cardiopulmonary status, administering injections, and assisting with pacemakers. Mount Carmel Guild’s nursing care is offered FREE to eligible seniors in Mercer County. Patient referrals are always welcome. If you know someone in need of our services, please contact the Guild at 609.392.5159. Ext. 111 or mtcarmelguild@aol.com

• The NJ Family Care Program is supported by a coalition of New Jersey Catholic organizations including the Catholic Conference, the fifteen Catholic hospitals, the five Catholic Charities agencies, and the diocesan offices of parish ministries of social concerns. Eligible individuals are encouraged to enroll in the reconstituted New Jersey Family Care Program. As a result of the 2005 Family Health Care Coverage Act, enrollment in NJ Family Care has been simplified and eligibility has been expanded. In regard to children in NJ, it is estimated that of the 1.2 million uninsured individuals of the state, over 220,000 are children. Many of these children are eligible for New Jersey Family Care: but families, especially those whose parents work, are simply unaware that their children may be eligible. NJ Family Care can help meet the healthcare needs of uninsured children by covering doctor visits, x-rays, emergency room care, hospitalizations, eyeglasses, prescriptions, and even dental care in most cases. To learn more about the NJ Family Care Program, you can visit the NJ Family Care Website at www.njfamilycare.org or call 1-800-701-0710 to request an application, fact sheets and brochures.

The Board of Princeton Community Housing (PCH) includes St. Paul’s Parish among the faith congregations that belong.

PCH has built four affordable housing developments in Princeton:

• Princeton Community Village(PCH) is located on Bunn Drive and it has 168 townhouses and 71 one-bedroom apartments that are low and moderate income rentals.
• Elm Court, on Elm Road, has 88 rental apartments for seniors and for disabled persons of any age.
• Griggs Farm, on Route 206, has 70 low income rental apartments that stand among market rate rentals and condos.
• Harriet Bryan House(HBH), 310 Elm Road, has 68 new rental apartments for low income seniors.

Interfaith Hospitality Network
Saint Paul’s is now a support parish for Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) of Mercer County. IHN is a national program that seeks to form local, interfaith networks to help homeless families. Consisting of up to 13 hosting congregations, a local network provides housing and food for a few homeless families at a time, while a local IHN office works to find these families a more permanent housing solution, as well as assist parents with career advice and help find daytime care for children. IHN serves families, often with working parents, who have no history of substance abuse, crime, etc. The families spend a week at a participating congregation where they eat dinner with volunteers and stay overnight. In the morning transportation arrives to take them to the IHN center where the parents then proceed to jobs, the children to school, etc. At the end of a week they move on to the next hosting parish. A few times a year Saint Paul’s will be providing volunteers to assist Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton when it is their turn to host for a week; in the future we may have even greater involvement with this program.

Real Faith TV for teens:
Teens discuss issues that affect them and how their faith helps them deal with such issues: Every Saturday at 11am on CN8. See www.realfaithtv.com for other times and channels.

A video produced by the New Jersey Catholic Conference discusses the implications of same-sex marriage from the Church’s point of view.

The Diocese of Trenton recently launched a video-sharing Web site, www.dottube.org to post video and audio produced by the Diocese’s TV and Radio offices and to allow parishes, schools and church members to post their videos in the same fashion as Dottube’s secular relative, YouTube. Dottube’s top-viewed video is the half hour long “Miraculous Feeding Stories in Mark’s Gospel” which was an episode of “Catholic Corner” hosted by Msgr. Nolan. It had 1,289 views after it was posted for 87 days. The site was launched on April 8th. The Dottube videos are mostly posted by Diocesan office such as the Office for Vocations and the Respect Life Office. Stop by and visit!

Marianist Family Retreat Center
Located in Cape May Point, NJ, the retreat center invites you and your family to enhance your spiritual growth by joining in a variety of weekend and week-long retreats in a unique seashore setting. Retreats include family and peer-group activities, Eucharist and other family and community prayer, scheduled recreation and free time daily with ocean swimming. Week-long retreats are held in July and August. Weekend retreats are held in the spring, autumn and during Advent. Families with young children are accommodated in the spring. In addition, the Center hosts retreats for married couples, men’s and women’s groups, young adults, teens and private retreats. A Holy Week Triduum is also offered. For more information, you may write to PO Box 488, Cape May Point, NJ 08212, or phone 609 884-3829, or email mfrc@capemaymarianists.org. Their web site is www.capemaymarianists.org.

Holy Cross Center of Learning
The learning center at the Capital Preparatory Charter High School (formerly Holy Cross School) develops an awareness of Christ’s life in each person with intellectual, cognitive and developmental disabilities. It is staffed entirely by volunteers and supported by donations. The Center is dedicated to bringing to even the most severely handicapped an awareness of God’s love and an opportunity for spiritual growth so that he may fully participate as a member of God’s family. Persons who are autistic, blind, hearing impaired, mentally retarded, emotionally or physically handicapped, neurologically impaired or learning disabled and are at lest 7 years of age, are accepted into the program if they are not able to function in a regular Religious Education Program. The Center provides religion classes, Mass, music, prayer services, Rosary recitation, workshops, parties and recreational activities for its students on Saturday mornings from 10:30am to 12:30pm, September through the middle of May. Religion classes consist of preparation for the Sacraments as well as courses in Continuing Religious Education including Mass, Bible and Gospel study. Altar Server instruction is also given. Any parents interested in enrolling a child or adult in the Program should contact the Coordinator of the Holy Cross Center of Learning, Mrs. Rose Anna L. Romanello, at 609-882-4567. There is no charge for this Program. Volunteers are needed to assist the students in the classroom and during all activities. Any persons 13 years of age or older desiring to volunteer their services in this special ministry as well as those who need community service for the Sacrament of Confirmation should contact Mrs. Romanello.

Donations Needed!
• The children in the parish's CCD (PREP) program collect travel-sized toiletries for distribution to the homeless at the Trenton Soup Kitchen all year round. They need soaps, shampoos, razors, powder, toothpaste, toothbrushes and small sealable sandwich bags. For their brown-bag lunch program, they are also collecting juice boxes, wrapped snacks and brown and plastic sandwich bags. Drop off donations in the Office of Rel. Ed. in the convent.

• Evening Wear Collection: Can you donate a formal gown, evening bag, shawl or other accessories? The St. Paul Youth Group collects evening wear all year long, making it available to young girls who could not otherwise afford prom outfits. To donate, email mramirez@stpaulsofprinceton.org.

Catholic Underground in Mercer County
The Catholic Underground is a Christian coffeehouse, that resides in the St. Vincent de Paul Church basement/auditorium, 555 Allentown-Yardville Road, Yardville, NJ. The Catholic Underground offers popular Christian bands, great music, fellowship, good coffee and refreshments in a traditional coffeehouse with a difference. Each evening will begin with a holy hour of adoration and evening prayer, live music at 7:30pm, followed by music from a featured band around 8:45pm. Catholic Underground will be open every second Friday of the month excepting June, July and August. All ages are welcome. For more information, visit their website at: www.catholicunderground.org.

The Princeton Hub
Is a safe and welcoming gathering place for adults with emotional or developmental challenges. The Hub meets every Saturday from 6:30 - 9:30pm at the Princeton United Methodist Church for conversation, activities and social time. All progams are overseen by two trained staff members plus volunteers. The Hub also provides an opportunity for personal time for parents and guardians. We invite new participants to drop in. For more information, call 924-0781 or visit www.princetonhub.org.

Pen Pals
Be a pen pal for someone in prison. The group offers participants a foolproof system for providing complete anonymity. Remember: I was in prison and you visited me....as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for Me. Matt. 25:36

Visit www.MaryMothofCaptivesSupportGroup.org or email mmocsprtgp@aol.com for more information.

Adoptive Parents Organization
This organization in Central NJ is looking for families who are considering adoption, are in the waiting process, and families created through adoption. They meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7 pm to 9 pm from September thru May at the St. Gregory the Great Parish Center, 4680 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square. They are a non-profit, tax exempt, 501c3 organization. For more information on the organization, email SJTran@aol.com or visit http://apocnj.tripod.com where you will find currently planned events, directions to their meetings, adoption resources, and more.

St. Gregory the Great Networking Group
The SGG Networking Group facilitates networking and education for the employed and unemployed who are willing and committed to providing help and support to one another in the job search process. The group welcomes people of all faiths in the greater Princeton and Trenton areas and surrounding regions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The group is primarily geared toward professionals but is open to all who are interested in job search networking. Meetings are held in the SGG Parish Center, O’Connor Hall, 4620 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square.

Volunteer Opportunities
•St. Lawrence Rehab Center in Lawrenceville needs Eucharistic Ministers to volunteer on either a regular basis (approximately 1 hour a week) or as a substitute. If you are a Eucharistic Minister and interested in volunteering, call Marlene at 896-9500 ext. 2260.

•Morris Hall needs volunteers to work in their gift shop as well as people interested in entertaining, teaching and visiting the elderly at St. Mary’s Residence and St. Joseph’s Skilled Nursing Center. If you can help, please call Elle Wilson at 609-896-0006 x2610.

•Readers are needed by Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Volunteers should be people with expertise in school subjects like accounting, mathematics, computers, medicine and Spanish. To learn more visit www.rfbd.org or email them at volunteer@rfbd.org

•The Crisis Ministry needs weekday morning volunteers one morning a week (8:50am - noon) in their Trenton location to do intake into the food store. Email Elizabeth Ferguson (cmvolunteer@gmail.com) if interested. The Crisis Ministry also needs volunteer tax preparers for their free Tax Prep/Earned Income Tax Credit (EITCO) program. Volunteers work with clients to fill out and electronically file tax returns starting in Feb. 2010. Email Yak-Fa Cheung at afkayafkay@gmail.com if you can help.

•Martin House Learning Center needs volunteers and the store needs donations. The Learning Center needs volunteers to teach or assist adult immigrants to learn to speak and read English. Classes meet Mon - Fri, 9-10:30 am. They also need clerical assistance during these same hours. If you can help, please call Mrs. Catherine Weldon at 584-7829.

The Martin House Store provides good quality used furniture and household goods to people of the inner city of Trenton as part of the family of programs in the diocese. They need donations of bedroom, dining and kitchen furniture in good, usable condition. Living room furniture cannot be more than 5 years old. Housewares like dishes, bedding, pots and pans, functional appliances, etc., are badly needed. Donations of cars which can pass inspection are also of benefit. Please call (609) 989-1040 or (609) 989-8143 to make arrangements for a pick-up or see their website: http://www.martinhouse.org/

• Meals on Wheels needs volunteers to deliver food to homebound residents of the greater Trenton/Ewing area. Ewing volunteers meet between 10:15-10:30 each weekday morning to pick up meals and driving directions. Trenton volunteers meet between 10:30-10:45 to do the same. Volunteers travel in pairs, with one person driving and the other delivering the meal. Routes are generally done by noon or 1pm. Substitutes are also needed. The Arc of Mercer has opportunities for other kinds of volunteers as well. For more information, email volunteer@MOWTE.org.

• Volunteer tutors are needed for the English as a Second Language program run by the Princeton YMCA. No experience is necessary. Tutors are matched with a student and are asked to volunteer a minimum of one-hour/week at a mutually convenient time and place. For more information, call Paula Rossi at 609-497-2100 x306 or email prossi@ywcaprinceton.org.

• Mercy Corps, is a lay volunteer program for women and men, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. It provides opportunities for people over the age of 21 to give a year of service to those in need. The emphasis of the program is service, community and prayer. Volunteer opportunities include teaching or nursing on an Indian reservation or inner city, working in homeless shelters, and social service agencies. Current placements also include Guyana in South America. This is a unique opportunity for those who wish to have an experience ministering to the needy. Room, board and medical insurance and a small stipend are provided. For more information, email Dot McAvay at dmcavay@aol.com.

Natural Family Planning
Recent trends in the medical community indicate that more and more couples are seeking hormone-free, non-steroidal methods of family planning. NFP describes the host of eco-friendly scientific methods of family planning which rely on the natural and observable signs and symptoms of a woman’s cycle to determine phases of fertility. NFP is 100% natural and very reliable if the couple uses it unfailingly. In addition to being morally acceptable as a means of spacing children, numerous studies have shown that couples who use NFP have stronger marriages and more satisfying sexual relationships than other married couples. NFP can also be instrumental in assisting infertile couples to achieve a pregnancy. Since decisions concerning the family involve both husband and wife, we invite couples to take joint responsibility in child planning. Successful use of the method contributes to growth in communication, understanding, and respect in the marriage relationship. Couples learn the method by attending classes, through home study, or by taking an online course (www.nwfs.org/classes.htm). To learn more about the various methods of natural family planning or to register for classes, contact the Office of Family Life/Respect Life, (609) 406-7400, ext. 5556; e-mail phensl@dioceseoftrenton.org, or visit www.njnfp.org.

Sympto-Thermal Method Classes are taught by married couples who are trained and certified by the Couple to Couple League (CCL). To learn more about the Couple to Couple League’s approach to NFP, visit their website at www.ccli.org. To register for Couple to Couple League classes for the Sympto-Thermal Method of NFP, please contact the Office of Family Life/Respect Life at 609-406-7400, ext. 5592.

Creighton Model Method Classes in the Creighton model of NFP are offered on a regular basis in the Trenton Diocese by certified Fertility Care System practitioners. These practitioners are also versed in NaproTechnology (Natural Procreative Technology) to provide married couples with Church approved alternatives for common fertility problems. To learn more about the Creighton method and Napro Technology, go to www.creightonmodel.com, or to register for NFP classes, contact Mary McMenaman at 732-449-9177, or Josi Shimkus at 732-361-7345.