Trinity Tidings September 27, 2020

Our Mission

We provide a welcoming environment to explore our faith and serve others.

Our Vision

As a beacon of inclusivity, we

seek to transform our community.

Trinity Tidings E-Newsletter

September 27, 2020

Please pray for:

Jesse + Carol + Carolyn

Cathy + Laurie

September Birthdays

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3 - John L.

5 - Amanda P.P.

10 - Jan L.

18 - Paul L.

20 - Lynne B.

22 - Mary K.

28 - Jennifer P.

Vestry Announcements

Church Finances

Carol H., our treasurer, reported on Trinity's finances to the Vestry Thursday night. Year-to-date, ending August 31, the church has received more than $63,000 in income and has spent almost $66,000. This does show a deficit for the year of close to $3,000.

However, we had anticipated a budgeted loss of $31,000 by this time, so we are doing quite well for the year. Thanks for continuing to support the church during these difficult times.

Sr. Warden Report

Project Thanks

It is once again the time of year when the Interfaith Food Bank gathers donations of food for the underserved in Amador County for Thanksgiving. Last year, over 830 families received food from Project Thanks, and this year the demand is even higher as people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and other factors. The Food Bank expects an increase of 20% in demand this year.

This ministry has been an important one for our congregation, and with your help we would like to continue this tradition. Your Vestry, in keeping with current policies and programs with the Diocese and the community, has determined that this is not the time to have people come to the church to receive their Thanksgiving boxes. Many parishioners have heath challenges and family obligations that preclude them from physically working on Project Thanks and interacting with the community during this time. Therefore, your Vestry has determined that our best course of action would be to accept donations of money on behalf of the Food Bank to support their program and fulfill our mission of helping others.

As a church we have committed to the equivalent of 35 Thanksgiving boxes, at $50.00 per box, totaling $1,750.00. With your generosity we can reach this goal and meet our obligation. To do this, please send your donation to the church, or you can use the donation button on the website. Be sure to mark your donation for Project Thanks. We will gratefully accept any amount, and with everyone’s contribution we will meet or even exceed our goal.

Thank you for your continued support of this vital ministry.

-Noreen Lafferty, Senior Warden

Jr. Warden Report

David H. reports that at long, last the parking lot lights that have been on for 24/7 for quite some time now, now have a dusk-to-dawn sensor, so will only be on during hours of darkness. Some time ago, the lights were changed to LED, and thankfully are still burning bright without having to replace the light element!

Diocese Call for Disaster Relief

In our diocese there are four main fires that have burned over 1,600,000 acres. These fires have impacted 28 churches and three parishioners have lost their homes.

In addition to prayer, if you would like to reach out a helping hand, you can donate to Bishop's Discretionary Fund: Disaster Relief. To donate, click below:

https://secure.accessacs.com/access/oglogin.aspx?sn=159790&f=6&a=20.00

Make checks out to EDNC, put "Disaster Relief" in the memo line, and mail checks to:

The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California

350 University Avenue, Suite 280

Sacramento, CA 95825

100% of your donation will go directly to assist victims in the first stage of the disaster and later during long term recovery.

Diocesan Convention Registration,

Now open for everyone!

New this year, we are inviting all members of the diocese to attend the virtual convention. When you register you will be able to participate in one of the four dynamic learning tracks as well as attend the general sessions. More information to come.

Re-gathering In the Church

We are at last ready to begin in-person worship for a limited number of attendees. We submitted our Protocol Document to the Diocese, and we have been given approval to reopen on a limited basis!

In order to meet the needs of the largest number of people in the congregation, we will continue to have a worship service online at 9:30 AM each Sunday. That service will include recorded music (which we all sing safely in our own homes), followed by a “Zoom Coffee Hour” which gives a chance for some catch-up and conversation.

In-person Eucharist service will be by RESERVATION on the 1st and 3rd Sunday's of each month at 11:30 AM. Our worship space and the service itself will be quite different. The Eucharist will be said with no music. Below is information and links to details about protocols that must be observed to attend the service.

Protocols for In-Person Worship

Mandatory Protocols

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Entry Procedure

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In Church

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Invitation to Attend Service October 4

We are now inviting parishioners for our first in-person service on October 4 at 11:30 AM. This service is offered for up to 10 attendees. All those who wish to attend October 4 must reserve a place by sending email to

reservations@trinitysuttercreek.org

NOTE: Email not active until Tuesday (9/29)

CALL: 209-267-0255

In email or phone message leave your:

Name, phone number, # in party.

The first 10 responders can attend, and will receive a confirmation. Any responders beyond 10 will be so notified and put at the top of the list for the next in-person service.

Acknowledgement of Risk

Because COVID-19 is still a clear and present risk, all attendees must sign an acknowledgement of risk. If you are emailing your reservation, please click button below to fill out the form on-line.

Acknowledgement of Risk Form

Those who receive a hard-copy of this newsletter will also receive a hard-copy of the form. Please read, sign, and bring with you to the service.

Once we receive your acknowledgement, future reservations to attend service will indicate your continued acknowledgement of risk.

Word to the the wise if you have a reservation to attend service:

COME EARLY!

AT LEASE 15 MINUTES

BE PREPARED TO WAIT TO BE CHECKED IN

(Vital for notification of possible COVID-19 exposure.)

FR. PAUL'S PRIESTLY PONDERINGS

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? No, this is not a car trip with the kids, nor is it Advent where we are waiting for Christmas. "There" for us now is the mysterious time to be able to re-gather at the church for public worship. Public Health officials have deemed that we can gather for public worship if we take appropriate precautions, such as a limited number of people present, wearing masks, and the like. Most of this newsletter is devoted to listing those conditions, and we want to make sure that you are aware of them (and the need for them) as you make reservations to come back to church for a worship service. As I have observed in my ponderings before, each of us must make up our own minds as to what behavior or activities are safe in our minds, and which ones are risky. We will all understand if you choose not to risk coming out in public – but we will miss you.

One of the best phrases describing our behavior during this pandemic is one that I originally saw through the Native American community – We stay apart now, so that we will all be able to come together again later. We are blessed that our immediate congregation has been spared from Covid-19 to date, which means we can eventually all gather.

We will start slowly, holding a said Eucharist at 11.30 am on the First and Third Sundays of the month, after the broadcast service on Zoom is complete. It will take us a few weeks to work the logistical bugs out, so we will start with fewer people than is allowable. We have waited this long, we can wait a little longer to make sure it all works well.

Most of us have gotten used to having the Eucharist as our main act of worship on Sundays over the past 40 years. In fact, this reverses the previous trend where Morning Prayer was the most common prayer service as Episcopalians gathered. Both have their place. However, one theological theme that strikes me at this point in time has to do with what we refer to as “The Real Presence” of Christ in the Sacrament. We recognize that Christ is present in the Sacrament in a different way than during other forms of worship. Historically, a lot of arguments have occurred about how this happens, rather than acknowledging that it happens. But it is not just that Christ is present to us. We are present to God – we present ourselves to God. AND, we are present to one another, in ways that doesn’t happen over the phone or video-conferencing.

We will be able to see one another – but not hug. We will have to look for the smiles in people’s eyes, rather than their mouths. But we will be together, in a familiar (yet different) space. We will be together, yet at a distance. We will return to more familiar modes of praying, and not have the feeling of ‘singing the Lord’s song in an alien land’.