Wednesday 7pm: Bible Study

Wednesday 7pm: 11:15am Choir Rehearsal

Thursday 5:30pm: Contemplative Prayer 

Thursday 7:30pm: 9am Choir Rehearsal

Thrift Shop: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-1pm

Our word of the week from The Episcopal Church glossary is Christmas. Christmas is one of the principal feasts of the Church Calendar, and is followed by Christmastide, the twelve days of Christmas. Follow the link to learn a little more about Christmas and its history.

Sunday School classes for children and adults are on holiday break this Sunday – we’ll be back next Sunday, January 6th. 

Our final vestry meeting of the year was brief, much due to the pending Christmas frenzy, but also due to the fact Trinity remains in control. We're gliding into 2019 with no big surprises; we are blessed with both burgeoning attendance and a small financial surplus. We're making preparations for the Annual Meeting in January, during which you can take a look at the final 2019 budget, vote on a new vestry slate, and ask any questions.

I now must acknowledge the wonderful scene that was Trinity on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The church was beautifully and tastefully decorated inside and out, and while each of our five services had its own personality, each was joyously reverent. I watched you smile and scoot over to squeeze in one, two, even three more into your pews; and while some places may have described it as squished, at Trinity you made it feel like an embrace, as you warmly welcomed almost 700 people into these walls. We had both rookies and seasoned lectors, acolytes, ushers, and Eucharistic ministers, all working in unison to ensure each service was polished and peaceful, and an Altar Guild fervently keeping everything together behind the scenes.

Poignant and heartwarming messages of love from our clergy were accompanied by beautifully emotive music from the Children's and Adult choirs.

I am grateful for our marvelously skilled and conscientious staff that led Trinity through such a landmark Advent, and I'm equally grateful for our loving congregation that made Christmas a true celebration on both sides of the rail. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

~Tovi Abello, Sr. Warden   

Just a reminder – for your donations to count for 2018, they need to be in the office or postmarked by December 31st! You can put them in the plate this Sunday, put them through the mail slot in the front door of Trinity House, or put them in the mail by December 31st. 

Plan a holy beginning for your new year and join us for Eucharist at noon on Tuesday, January 1st. Because it’s the day on which Jesus, a Jewish baby boy, would have been ritually circumcised, it was known until recently as the Feast of the Circumcision, but nowadays we call it the Feast of the Holy Name, because he would have been ritually named on this day, too. Whatever it is called, we hope you’ll join us for a brief celebration.  

The Children’s Choir rehearsal on January 2nd is on break for the holiday, but the 11:15am Choir rehearsals resume on January 2nd, and 9am Choir will begin rehearsals again on January 3rd (Brett’s birthday!).

The Wednesday morning Bible Study will be on holiday break on January 2nd, but the evening Bible Study will meet on January 2nd. The Wednesday morning group starts back up on January 9th. 

On Friday, January 4th, the Trinity Trekkers will be kicking off the new year with an excursion to the Mississippi Bar along the American River Parkway. We’ll be meeting at the Shadow Glen Riding Stables (4854 Main Ave. in Fair Oaks) at 9:15am. If you’d like to carpool from the church, we will be leaving for the stables at about 9:00. There may be a chance of rain, but fear not, because we have the option to walk on either dirt or pavement. If you have any questions, please email Fr. Charlie.

One of the traditions we observe on the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th) is the blessing of chalk to write a blessing on the homes of the faithful. The blessing this year will look like this: 20 + C + M + B + 19. It’s the year (2019) and the letters stand for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, a Latin phrase that means “May Christ bless this house.” C, M, and B are also the initials of the Magi, the Three Wise Men or the Three Kings: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. The Bible doesn’t record their names, but these are the names given to them in the tradition of the Church. We read the Biblical account of their visit to the infant Jesus on the Feast of the Epiphany. This year, Epiphany falls on a Sunday, so we’ll bless the chalk during services on Sunday morning, and we’ll have little bags of chalk, with instructions for the blessing, available for you to take home. We can also come to your home, as we have in the past, and write the blessing – but we may not be able to get to everyone that day, since it is a Sunday and we won’t have as much time available as we do when Epiphany falls on a weekday! If you would like for us to come to your home and write the blessing, e-mail Fr. Todd; otherwise, don’t forget to pick up your chalk at church on January 6th!

Mark your calendars for the Annual Parish Meeting: Sunday, January 20th, at 10:30am. You’ll hear a “state of the parish” style report from Fr. Todd, elect three new members of the vestry, and elect delegates to diocesan convention. If you generally avoid annual meetings because they take too long and you don’t like hearing dry reports read, we promise you our annual meeting is very different, and it has to be finished by 11:10 so that Fr. Todd can go do the next service. 

If you’re interested in serving as a delegate to the next diocesan convention, the first diocesan convention with our new bishop, please contact Fr. Todd. Diocesan Convention 2019 will be held November 7-9, and according to the diocesan website, will be in Sacramento, though that could change. Delegates are responsible for their own accommodations, but the parish pays your convention registration fee.     

In addressing a problem like homelessness, it’s very important to have some good statistics. That’s why, on a single night in January (1/30), communities all over the country perform a census of people who are experiencing homelessness. While this count numbers people who are in emergency shelters, it also takes into account those who are unsheltered, which is why volunteers are strategically deployed in teams to count people on the street and where possible, conduct a field interview. Next month, Trinity will be fielding a team or two to help out with this effort. To volunteer, you don’t need to have any prior experience, but you have to be at least 18, attend a training session, and have a strong interest in helping the homeless. If you’re willing, please check out Sacramento Steps Forward’s website for more info, and email Fr. Charlie if you’d like to participate.

   

If you have a request to add to the parish prayer list, e-mail prayers@trinityfolsom.org. Prayer request will be kept confidential within the intercessory prayer group. If you’re interested in joining this prayer group, e-mail Fr. Charlie. 

Each Sunday, the flowers behind the altar are given to the glory of God, and in memory of the dead, or in thanksgiving for living loved ones, for answered prayers, or for life events like births, graduations, weddings, and anniversaries. The suggested donation is $50. If you’re wondering what happens to the flowers, they don’t go to waste! After the Sunday evening service, they are divided into smaller bouquets and taken to parishioners, and to non-parishioners in local nursing homes. You can donate altar flowers on the website.

Trinity Episcopal Church

 801 Figueroa Street

Folsom, CA 95630

(916) 985-2495 ~ www.trinityfolsom.org