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Senior Warden's Report for August
Dear Friends,
Our God is an awesome God!
How else could we possibly explain the beautiful change of leadership that has happened so smoothly and with so much incredible growth on the part of this community over the last decade? When Pastor Karen came to Trinity eight years ago, there was a lot of emphasis on the ways laity could help with the oversight of the church so that all the work was not placed on the Rector. While we talked a lot about it and made some strides, it was easy to watch the work be done when there was someone around all the time, willing to do the heavy lifting.
While Karen's leaving was a sad change for many of us, the amount of growth that came from this change has, I truly believe, called us as a community to be stronger, more willing to come forward, and to do the hard work of growth in ways we may not have believed possible. Many people were seen stepping out of comfort zones and into roles that they were willing to try, sometimes for the first time, for the betterment of the church. We not only heard the call for growth, but responded passionately and beautifully. That response was due in large part to the quiet, compassionate leadership of Fr. Craig who encouraged, blessed, and stood back so that we could try on various roles of leadership. What a blessing to have that support and trust; showing us each step of the way, just how much difference it makes when each of us takes a role in the health of our beloved church family!
Today we find ourselves again in the midst of change, with growth opportunities knocking at the door. Our new Priest is now actively pursuing the Call to come amongst us as Shepherd. While we do not yet know who he or she is, we do know that the Applicant Review Committee and the Vestry will sit down within the next several weeks with the Bishop, or another Diocesan representative, to discern who the person may be and determine together who is being Called. Hopefully, not too long thereafter, we will be able to make an offer and announce who will be joining us. Our hope is to have a new Priest by late September or early October.
Until that time, let us remain prayerful about the way we are as a family of faith; welcoming all who come to us with the Spirit of Christ and the radical hospitality Jesus modeled for us all.
Over the next many Sundays, we will have a variety of Priests with us to preach and to celebrate the Eucharist. I encourage you to be here on as many Sunday's as are possible for you. Having this variety of Priests will offer a unique way of experiencing various different kinds of preaching as well as hearing different perspectives on the ways people see God moving in the world and the ways they are choosing to respond.
Margaret Lewis
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Thanking the Kuehns
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| Thanking Fr. Craig and Suzi for the blessing they have been to Trinity and wishing them Godspeed! |
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A wonderful send off for Fr. Craig - the Baptism of baby Letti; blessed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own forever.
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Did You Know?
-Aug. 4 is a Trinity Fellowship outing. Meet at the Volcano Amphitheater and enjoy their production of "Alice in Wonderland" (our own Darrell Holland is in it!). Bring snacks to share, your beverage, chairs, and a wrap (it gets cool up there in the evenings!) Doors open at 6:30pm, show starts at 8pm. Purchase your own tickets- you can contact the box office. If you need help with this, ask Nancy Moore. See you there!
-Aug. 12 is Tuna Sunday. Bring canned tuna to church!
-Aug. 19 after coffee hour will be a meeting of the Trinity Fellowship and Outreach Team (TFOT). The meeting is open to anyone interested. We encourage you to come with ideas to share. Contact Nancy Moore for details.
-Bible Study continues the first and third Sunday of each month. This month it's on the 5th & 19th at 9:35am (between services) in the undercroft. Everyone is invited to join in.
-The Centering Prayer group meets each Wednesday at 9:30-10:30am in Jane's Hall. Everyone is welcome to join this meditative practice. If you have questions about Centering Prayer, contact Martha Robbins, 296-7842.
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Applicant Review Committee Status Report
The Applicant Review Committee (or ARC) is excited to report we have two excellent candidates for our new Part-Time Priest-In-Charge. Applications, reference checks and initial interviews have been completed. The Applicant Review Committee will transmit its report to the Vestry on August 2nd.
The next steps will be for the Vestry and ARC to jointly perform detailed in-person interviews and prepare our joint report to the Bishop. We hope to have these steps completed by Labor Day. We have requested dates to meet with the Bishop to present the report and to discern the call to the candidate in September. Once we have made the call, it should be a quick process to negotiate the contract with our new Part-Time Priest-In-Charge and begin the next stage in our journey of faith together.
Martin R. Hopper
ARC Chairman
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Jr. Warden's Report
Homelessness And Trinity Church
Although we don't often think of it, Amador County has a significant homelessness problem. You may have heard about homeless people living under the Public Library or congregating in Detert Park, but the problem has reached our own church campus. In the past our congregation prepared "care packages" for the homeless and has enthusiastically supported the Interfaith Food Bank. But now the needs and concerns are at our door - literally.
We discovered that one homeless person has established camp behind Jane's Hall and another is dwelling in a large bush adjacent to the front corner of our property. These "guests" raise issues of safety, security, sanitation, and solace. To address safety and security issues we will ensure that our exterior lighting is in good order and timed properly and that we take care to make sure all doors are locked after meetings and events. Combination padlocks have been installed on the tool shed and north storeroom on Jane's Hall - if you need access, call the office for the combination. We have not locked the durable medical equipment closet as we have promised un-restricted community access - if this area becomes a problem, we will need to reassess.
The Vestry has begun to discuss how we might address the sanitation and solace issues. The trade-offs between meeting needs and creating an attractive nuisance will need to be balanced. As a small congregation we can't solve all the County's homeless problems, but working with others we can help. Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Martin R. Hopper
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Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation
On Friday, August 10th and Saturday, August 11th, Trinity Episcopal Church is sponsoring its annual food drive for the Interfaith Food Bank of Amador County at Safeway.
As you know the schools provide meals for many children in our community and when summer comes these are no longer available. Amador County also has a thriving senior program, but many seniors are unable to go the Senior Center to participate in their meals. The food bank is able to provide food to low income seniors, homeless, disabled and unemployed individuals and families that require assistance. Sadly, summer is the time that the food bank experiences difficulty getting donations and has a shortage of nonperishable grocery items that are needed to fill the many requests for food.
Helping to feed the hungry has always been a part of our church's mission and sponsoring the food drive, providing homeless bags, volunteering at the Interfaith Food Bank Thrift Store Great Finds, and the Interfaith Food Bank are all ways in which we accomplish this goal.
We need volunteers to fill two hour shifts on both days to ask shoppers to help by purchasing nonperishable items for the food bank and handing them a "Most Needed Items" list to use. Shifts start at 9:00am and end at 6:00pm on Friday, and 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday. A clip board at the welcome center will be provided for you to sign-up or you can call Noreen Lafferty at 274-4000 or Steve Christensen at 267-0615.
Thank you for your generosity and commitment to this outreach.
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Tuna Sunday
Scarcity of Tuna! Where has all the tuna gone? Our church was known as the church that provided canned tuna to the Interfaith Food Bank and we don't seem to be doing this any longer. Tradition has been that we bring canned tuna to church for the food bank when we have a birthday, anniversary or other thank you offering, however, this has been few and far between in recent days. Because of this we are designating every second Sunday of the month, Tuna Sunday, and are asking that you help us by bringing tuna on that day. If we know of a sale on tuna we will be sure to send that information out to the congregation. Trinity Fellowship and Outreach thanks you as well as the Interfaith Food Bank.
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Cool picnic outing
Wanna get away from the heat? Then join us
Aug. 17th for a cool picnic and/or hike at Woods Lake.
Meet at Trinity at 9am. Carpool leaves at 9:30am. Beautiful 1.5 hour drive up to the picnic area at 8400ft. Restrooms available. BRING: a folding chair, your lunch, drinks, a snack to share if you wish, insect repellent, sunscreen, a hat, jacket, friends and family. Options: sit and talk, fish, hike the 1 mi. trail around the lake.
Questions? Call Anne-Marie Reber or Nancy Moore
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Food Bank Donations
Food gifts for July totaled 131 pounds. The total for 2018 is at 667 pounds.
Thank you for your generous support of this special ministry.
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Trinity Singers Rehearsals
All are invited to join the Trinity Singers/Worship Team! Rehearsals are Wednesdays at 5pm.
Bring your voices, your instruments, and a heart for worship and praise! For more information, please contact Deena Holland at 209-296-6616 or email deenaholland@hotmail.com
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August Birthdays
The following members of our church family are celebrating birthdays in August!
5th- Joy Blair
10th- Rosalie Escamilla
10th- Teddy West
14th- Noreen Lafferty
17th- Alexis Lewis
If you are celebrating a birthday in August, but you don't see your name listed here, please contact our Parish Administrative Asst.
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Would You Like to Contribute to the Newsletter?
If you have an article of interest to the congregation that you would like included in the newsletter, please email it to the office,
office@trinitysuttercreek.org by the
20th of the month. It will be included in the next month's newsletter.
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