We are a Stephen Ministry congregation Christian Care, Compassion,
Listening — when you need it most.
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Worship Schedule
8:30 AM English Worship Service
9:46 AM The 9:46 Crowd
10:00 AM English Worship Service
11:05 AM Sunday School combined English/Spanish
12:00 PM Spanish Worship Service
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Message from Pastor Triolo
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In the Image of the Trinity ~ Week 3
Dear Friends in Christ,
How we understand the nature of God shapes how we understand ourselves, each other, and the world God made. It informs how we function in our relationships with family, with friends, and at church. It shapes how we administrate our households and organize our congregation’s governance.
In last week’s sermon (found below), I explored the social nature of our Trinitarian God. This Sunday I will explore how the organization of the church reflects God’s nature. Next week I will explore how we as citizens of God’s family individually and corporately fit into God’s organization, the body of Christ.
Yours in the Trinity,
+ Pastor Albert
In the Image of the Trinity: Part 2 of 4
Pastor Albert W. Triolo, January 14, 2018
In the name of our Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
We continue our series on our being created in the image of the Trinity today with the nature of God. Who is God within God’s self? Or, what are the relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Our answers to these questions are critically important because our understanding of the nature of God shapes how we understand ourselves, each other, and the world God made. It informs how we function in our relationships with family, friends, church, and world. It shapes how we administrate our households and organize our congregation’s governance. Consider this, if we understand God as a hierarchy of Father over son and son over Spirit, then we are likely to also understand the church as a hierarchy with pastor over council and council over congregation. But, if we understand God as a communion of three equal persons in one God and one God in three equal persons, then we might see the church as a communion of equal yet differently gifted persons united in God’s mission.
Our Christian understanding of God as Trinity is not clearly explained in the Bible. It developed over time. The early church fathers made it more and more clear with each passing generation. According to Augustine, “the three Persons are three respective subjects; that is, they are concerned with one another and related to one another.
Being
means being-for-itself;
person
…means being in relation to others or with others.” Thomas Aquinas affirmed this saying, “we have the divine Persons as Subsistent Beings permanently and eternally
related
, forming one God or one divine nature.”
[1]
Three-in-one, one-in-three. The early church fathers understood God’s Trinitarian nature as a communion of three equal persons.
Unfortunately, a linear understanding of God also developed. God the Father was seen as superior to the Son and the Spirit. The Father begot the Son and breathed the Spirit. Being sent by the Son, the Spirit was then inferior to the Father and the Son. Some have even considered the Spirit nothing more than the relationship between the Father and the Son. That’s not even a trinity! This hierarchical view of the relationships within the godhead better reflected the government of the empire and the leadership of the church than it did God’s Trinitarian nature. Theologian Leonardo Boff rejects these un-Trinitarian theologies, writing, “theological visions of an a-trinitarian monotheism can serve as an ideological underpinning of power concentrated in one person: dictator, prince, monarch or religious leader.”
[2]
Theologian, Miroslav Volf similarly wrote, “For both the Trinity and for the church, the ‘one’ is structurally decisive…” and “corresponds to the…linear doctrine of the Trinity…”
[3]
Sadly, this un-trinitarian theology continues to be at work today, not only in the world but in the church as well. We see it whenever a congregation functions hierarchically or wherever the gifts of one Christian are even perceived as being dominant to another. Boff attributes this unfortunate turn to our “losing the memory of the essential perspective of the triune God: the communion between the divine Persons. …the Father is always in the Son and the Holy Spirit….The Son is interiorized in the Father and in the Spirit. The Spirit unites the Father and the Son and is totally united to them.”
[4]
Yes, we have forgotten the communal nature of the Trinity. We have allowed our own tendency to subjugate one human to another to shape our understanding of God’s nature rather than allowing God’s nature to shape us.
In Genesis 1, “When God created the heavens and the earth…a
ruach
wind/breath/spirit from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” The Trinity was at work, not as one dominating another but as one-in-three and three-in-one. Father, Son, and Spirit are one God in three persons, equal yet distinguishable one from another.
[5]
The fancy theological word for this is perichoresis. As Boff defines it: perichoresis within the Trinity means a “cohabitation, co-existence, interpenetration of the divine Persons by one another… a complete circulation of life and a perfect coequality between the Persons, without any anteriority or superiority of one over another.”
[6]
There is no hierarchy, just one eternal communion of equal “persons…who” as Boff says, “engage in mutual dialogue, love one another and are intimately related. Each Person is
for
the others,
with
the others and
in
the others.”
[7]
This offers a very different model for human relationships. Not one of superiors and inferiors but differently gifted and equal persons in communion with God, each other, and the world. It is all too obvious that this is not where humanity is today. There is no perichoresis here. As long as people are denigrated because of their gender, color, language, nation of origin, and so forth, we know that we are not reflecting God’s Trinitarian nature. How can we even begin to understand cohabitation, co-existence, or interpenetration of one another if we can’t even bare to consider each other equals? But God is not finished with us. God will one day make this a full and complete reality. In the meantime, we might work toward that reality by, as Boff says, becoming “a society that takes its inspiration from [this] trinitarian communion,” one that does not “tolerate class differences, dominations based on power… subjects those who are different to those who exercise that power [or] marginalizes the former from the latter.”
[8]
But as one that “seeks transformations in social relations because we believe in God, Trinity of Persons, in eternal interrelationship and infinite perichoresis.”
[9]
Next week we will consider how we at St. Mark’s embody this perichoretic society. And on the twenty-seventh we’ll consider our unique personal roles. Then on February eighteenth we’ll begin a conversation as a whole congregation on these topics and others. I hope you plan to join us. In the name of our Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Leonardo Boff,
Trinity and Society. pp. 51-58
[3] Miroslav Volf,
After Our Likeness p. 214
[9] Leonardo Boff,
Holy Trinity, Perfect Community. Kindle edition loc. 131
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An Invitation from The 9:46 Group!
The 9:46 Group
invites the congregation to join us in viewing the second half of “Three Faiths, One God: Judaism, Christianity, Islam," a DVD documentary by Gerald Krell and Meyer Odze. This DVD identifies the essential elements that integrate, and not merely unites, the three religions. Its discussions of the importance of the law, ritual, and family in all three religions point to the foundation stones of dissolving the conflict between all three religions. It has been shown on public television stations and is very well done! We meet in Room 214 of the Education Wing.
This is a very timely viewing in preparation for attending the St. Mark’s presentation on Saturday, January 27, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM to promote Shalom among Muslims and Jews—"Speaking Peace Together."
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Speaking Peace Together
Saturday, January 27 from 9:00 AM-3:30 PM
IS THIS WORTH MY SATURDAY?
As a parent of three boys I fully understand this question. There are many things that demand my limited time. Still, I think this is worth my Saturday! There are many things I do not know about the customs of my neighbors. I am looking forward to learning at this event that I might be more comfortable making connections in my community. To encourage and make it easier for families to attend, St. Mark’s is providing a scholarship for members from our Evangelism Fund. Please follow the link further down for more information and to register.
Announcement shared by Joseph Triolo on 1/14.
Last spring I preached about making relationships with people who are different from us. Now, here at St. Mark’s we are offering Speaking Peace Together as an opportunity to equip our members in making New Connections with their neighbors. As our communities change, we find ourselves living with people from different areas of the world, people with different cultures and different religions. Many of us find it difficult to engage with these new neighbors and a natural fear of the unknown keeps us suspicious of each other. Sadly, we are seeing just how divisive and dangerous this can be in our nation. Speaking Peace Together is an opportunity to demystify our neighbors by learning about their cultures and religions. Studies show that the better we get to know those who are different from ourselves the more at peace we are with one another. Imagine if this could be true on a global scale!
The presenters we are flying in for this event will share their personal experiences and then answer any questions we might have about the cultures they are from. One was raised Jewish, another was a Muslim, and the third grew up Christian. What would you like to know about Judaism or Islam? I certainly am excited to learn something about my neighbors! This is a safe place for us to ask these questions and learn something about our neighbors and begin to demystify them. After the Q&A, we will also have opportunities to practice peace-building conversations. I hope you plan to join us! The registration link is on the webpage.
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Military Packages Collection: Sunday January 28, 2018
O
ur end-of-January recipient will be Joshua Hull, along with his group of deployed folks. We received his name through Sandy Lind, who had told Christie Ballew about our program; Christie, who is also in the military, then furnished two names.
Joshua writes:
“We are an attachment of the 5th Bomb Wing stationed out of Minot, North Dakota, comprised of several different specialties that maintain the Mighty BUFF, B-52 Stratofortress! Most of our unit is here on their very first deployment including myself; we arrived Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, late August and aren’t projected to be home until early spring.
“On a personal note, I’ve served 13 years in the US Air Force and have always felt there was a piece of the puzzle missing having not deployed. So, as tough as it has been being deployed through the holidays and having a longer deployment rotation than most, the satisfaction of maintaining our jets and keeping them flying the skies above has been second to none.
"We LOVE baked goods!!!! From brownies to cookies, there’s not much our bellies won’t say no to. Other food/drink items we eat frequently are protein bars, individual peanut butte snacksr, tuna packets, and drink mixers such as Propel kiwi strawberry or berry flavors. Personal care items we use regularly are baby wipes, toothpaste/brushes, razor blade refills/shaving cream, and Tylenol or Motrin. Highly sought-after candy that is a favorite to most would consist of skittles/dots/gummy worms or bears and beef jerky.”
Thank you very much for your consistent and generous support for this project.
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Hypothermia Week January 28-February 4
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WE ARE ALMOST THERE!
January 28 – February 4
Many volunteers have already stepped forward. Thank you!
We still need the following:
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Breakfast Shift:
Monday, January 29, one volunteer
Thursday, February 1, three volunteers
Friday, February 2, two volunteers
·
Overnight Volunteer:
Thursday, February 1, one
male
volunteer
·
Movie Room Monitor:
Each evening from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Come watch a movie and monitor the room.
·
Parking Lot Monitor:
Each evening from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Keep a watch to see that the guests don't park in the upper parking lot; this is to assure that the school children can be picked up without any problems.
·
People to chat and/or listen:
Each evening come and chat and/or listen to our guests from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
·
Miscellaneous Supplies:
Please check the tree in the narthex for supplies needed, such as snacks and breakfast foods like coffeecakes. We will feed a lot of guests!
·
Lots of Prayers for a Meaningful Week for all of our guests and volunteers!
THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!
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Schedule Available in "Save the Date"
(click on orange line for details)
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Progressive Dinner 2018
Our Progressive Dinner was a fun success! We started with appetizers at the Vigil’s home, then went to the Ferrari’s for main course, and ended our evening at the Makinen’s for dessert and games. It was awesome to gather over wonderful food in loving homes! God is truly at work within and around us when we come together to care for one another and step out of our comfort zone as we connect with one another.
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Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Stephanie Ogle, Julia Bogstad, Kara Barnes, Bonnie Vigil, Anna Stock , Amy Makinen, Kenya Wallace, Joseph Triolo, Benjamin Dalton, Elli Makinen, Will Makinen, Heather Bogstad, Alex Ferrari, Mees, Raiden Westburg, Emilie Dajc, Joy Weekly, Anna Ferrari Vanessa Ferrari, and Harriet Latta
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Save the Date -
Click on event for more information.
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Promoting Shalom among Muslims and Jews
Click
HERE
For more information. And
HERE
to purchase tickets.
- January 28-February 4, 2018
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Communion Cards.
Please don’t forget to fill out a communion card each time you
worship
. Cards are located in the pew racks. If your address has changed, you can include that information so the church office can update your records. In addition, use of the card allows the church office to enter your communion and attendance in the official church records. Thank you.
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Article Deadline
We need YOUR help! In order that ALL OF US receive the necessary documents for This Week, The Messenger, and the website, please send all articles you wish to have published
no later than 5:00 PM on the Tuesday
before the Sunday you wish for the articles to appear. Send those articles to
communications@stmarks-elca.org
.
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