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Priest's Ponderings for July
We enter into the summer season in North America, a time when most of the country takes vacation and assumes that God does too! In our liturgical season, we often refer to Ordinary Time, but it usually ends up being anything but ordinary.
As I reference below, I will be offering a four-week course on the basic aspects of Being Christian. I am reminded continually of the monastic adage that "Daily we begin again". It is good to look at basics with new eyes. It is good to review and see where we have been, as well as catch glimpses of where we are going. This course will be helpful for those who are new to Trinity and will be preparation toward confirmation or re-affirmation of faith for those seeking to renew their relationship with God. It is a first step, as we prepare to look at some of the things that are common to all of Christianity and at some of those things that set us apart as Episcopalians.
As one of the gifts being offered to God at the Offertory during the Eucharist, I will be commenting on various parts of the Eucharist and a brief description of why we do some of the things we do. Much less formal than a full Instructed Eucharist, but it should serve some of the same purposes.
As we continue to journey together at Trinity, I want to invite your comments and observations on the types of formal and informal study, book groups, workshops, and the like that are meaningful to you. Let me know the types of questions you have, the type of study that you prefer. This will be helpful to me and to those on the Vestry who are looking at Spiritual Formation. I also would like to hear about the ways in which we can enrich our common life, which will help the Inreach committee on the Vestry. We are also looking at ways to support each other as we each do our own ministries outside the church. However, it is good to think about what common Outreach we can do together.
From that last paragraph, you may get the idea that summer is not the time to slow down! We may not be physically active in some of these things, but I hope that we will use this summer as transition to increased opportunities as we move into the Fall.
Pax et Bonum,
Paul +
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Did You Know?
-July 1st, 5:30pm: Book Study continues in Jane's Hall. The group meets every Monday. (7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29)
-July 14th: Tuna Sunday. Bring canned tuna to church in support of the food bank.
-July 18th: a 4-week study of the basic elements of Christianity begins. Two time slots available: 10:30am-12pm or 5:30-7pm. Group will meet July 18, 25, August 1, and 8 in Jane's Hall. See article below.
-July 28th, 12:30pm: Vestry meeting in Jane's Hall.
-Iconography at Trinity - Fr Paul will conduct a basic introduction to painting icons. We will paint a simple Face of Christ, like the one in his office. Class will meet at Jane's Hall on Friday August 2 and on Saturday August 3 from 9 am to 4 pm. No painting experience is needed and materials will be provided ($25). Please email Fr Paul to sign up and get more details.
-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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Being Christian
A four-week examination of Basic elements of Christianity
I will be offering a four-week study on Thursdays beginning July 18. We will offer two time slots to try and maximize participation - at 10.30 am and at 5.30 pm in Jane's Hall. I anticipate that these events will last around 90 minutes. I hope that all who are interested in Confirmation classes or learning more about the Episcopal Church will join us for these classes, but want to emphasis that all are welcome.
Being Christian is a book by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. It has good material by itself, but I will embellish on the topics a bit. You do not have to read the book to attend, but it may be helpful. The basic topics are Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, and Prayer. While it is easy to dismiss these topics as being too basic within Christianity, they are topics that are foundational to our lives and worth exploring at a deeper level and worth re-visiting time and again.
Each class will be in the format of the Eucharistic liturgy. We will begin with a reading from the gospel, reflections on the reading (a longer sermon than normal, but interactive), some brief intercessory prayers, and then the blessing and sharing of bread and wine.
The title of the book intrigues me a bit. It is easy to say, "I have been baptized, read the Bible, received the Eucharist, and prayed". That is a statement of the past, however. It is the past tense; a done deed.
Being Christian challenges me to change the perspective a bit. I am being Christian when I am living the baptized life, when I am reading and engaging the Bible, when I am offering myself in thanksgiving at the Eucharist, when I am praying (or when I am a prayer).
Then I start looking at the future tense of what I am becoming. The Christian life is a process of becoming, and I hope that this course will help me with that. I look forward to engaging the conversation with you all.
Pax et Bonum
Paul+
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Senior Warden's Report
College for Congregational Development
The first week in June found Fr. Paul, Mary Krauthamel-Lane, Carol Holt, Diane Christensen, Martin Hopper and me at the Bishop's Ranch in Healdsburg for the College of Congregational Development. What a beautiful setting for our training. It was something we as a church had agreed to do as we hired a new priest-in-charge, but we didn't really understand it until we got there. There were teachers and congregational representatives from both our diocese and the Diocese of California.
It was an intensive week, usually with days beginning at 8:00 am for breakfast and ending at 9:00 pm with the service of compline. The basic premise was looking at the different ways in which congregations gather people together, have transformation, and send them out. We looked at various details and tools to help make each part of this work. It is all intended to help us at Trinity to better understand how we work together and what we can do for the future to improve each of these areas.
Some of our work this year will be geared toward strengthening our own spiritual journeys, and other will help equip us to gather people together for their own transformation. Ultimately, we will all be strengthened to work (together or individually) to help meet the needs of the world around us.
Parish Picnic/Trinity Sunday
What a fantastic turnout we had for our picnic at the Pine Grove Park. Father Paul celebrated the Eucharist for approximately 45 parishioners. Everyone enjoyed the sermon, fellowship and of course the food. Thanks to everyone who participated and to those who helped setup and clean up. Special thanks to John Lafferty and Martin Hopper for barbecuing the hamburgers and hotdogs. The picnic was so much fun that we are considering having more than one a year, and will keep everyone posted.
Vestry Highlights
Much of our meeting focused on the College of Congregational Development, discussion of the reorganization of the Vestry meeting agenda, and areas of Vestry responsibility. We determined that there are three areas of focus and Vestry members were assigned specific areas. Vestry members will exercise oversight of these areas and any activities and programs and will offer support and assistance as needed. It is hoped that Vestry members will not have to coordinate all the programs/events themselves, but assist others to organize events. The former Trinity Outreach and Fellowship Team has been disbanded and ongoing events, inreach, outreach, or spiritual formation will be incorporated into the new Vestry organization of responsibilities. More information will be forthcoming regarding these areas. We encourage questions or comments from our parishioners so please contact one of us if you have concerns or want to organize a special event.
Inreach - Lynne Brumit, Mary Krauthamel-Lane, Laurie Jo Leed, Gerry Moore
Outreach - Carol Holt, Martin Hopper, Noreen Lafferty
Spiritual Formation - Diane Christensen and Roberta Ross
Noreen Lafferty
Sr. Warden
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Spiritual Formation
Your Vestry has determined that Spiritual Formation, defined as including instruction, disciplines, and practices which lead to a deepening of spiritual growth, is an integral part of the life of our parish. We, Roberta Ross and Diane Christensen, who lead the Spiritual Formation team, have been researching the many possibilities of Spiritual Formation programs. In the months ahead we will announce a new Spiritual Formation program with events available to church members and also to members of the greater community.
If you have questions about this new endeavor, please contact us: Roberta at (209) 613-9553 and Diane at
dkmchristensen@gmail.com. Also, feel free to leave us notes about your thoughts concerning Spiritual Formation in our Trinity Church boxes downstairs: for example, you could write to us about the times in your life when you have felt closest to God.
Peace and blessings,
Roberta and Diane
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Community Events
-July 11, 9am-2pm: Community Health & Resource Fair at Community Church Pine Grove (14045 Ponderosa Way). Event is free.
-Free summer meals available to children under 18 yrs at various locations in Amador County. Program runs June 10-August 9. Call 257-7791 for info.
-Get Moving! is a free nutrition and exercise program you receive in the mail. Lesson packets, recipes and phone calls are provided in this 10 week program. For more info contact Andriana at 209-223-6774.
-Upcountry Veterans free monthly lunch is the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 11:30am-1:30pm at Pioneer Veterans' Hall, 25100 Buckhorn Ridge Rd. Contact Lori (209-418-9695) for more details.
-Dementia/Alzheimer's Support Group meets the second Monday of each month (5:30-7pm) at Gold Quartz Inn in Sutter Creek- for information contact Susan at 257-1377. They also meet the third Wednesday of each month (2-3:30pm) at Amador Residential Care in Jackson- for information contact Sheri at 223-4444.
-Dad & me: for dads, uncles, grandpas, etc. and children 0-5 years old. This is a chance for a free, fun outing together (like visiting a fire station or garden center). "Dad & me" events are held the 4th Saturday every month. Call 257-1092 to reserve a spot in the next event. Space is limited.
-Amador SPEAKS (suicide prevention/education) is putting together a Suicide Prevention Coalition and is seeking members of the community to participate. Meetings will be held the 3rd Thursday of each month at 3:30pm in Conference Room E at the Health and Human Services Building (10877 Conductor Blvd., Sutter Creek). Contact Vanessa Compton at 223-6315 for more information.
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Food Bank Donations
Food gifts for June totaled 52 pounds.
The total for 2019 is 561 pounds of food collected in the food cart.
Thank you for your generous support of this ministry.
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July Birthdays
T
he following members of our church family are celebrating birthdays in July!
6th- Myrna Hammer
18th- Nancy Moore
23rd- Dorean Davis
31st- Steve Christensen
I
f you are celebrating a birthday in July, 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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