Sunday: 9am, visit www.facebook.com/trinityfolsom for our Sunday service 

Monday: wash your hands

Tuesday: wash your hands

Wednesday: 11am Bible Study on Zoom

Thursday: wash your hands

Friday: wash your hands

Saturday: wash your hands

Prayer List - to submit a prayer request click here.

Altar Flowers - if you would like to dedicate Altar Flowers click here.

The parish office is basically closed. If you need to be in touch with any of us, e-mail us or call us (Fr. Todd’s mobile: 916.367.9281; Barbara’s mobile: 530.306.0585) or call the church office (916.985.2495) and leave a voicemail; when you dial through to my voicemail, it will ring on my mobile phone and I will pick up if I am able to do so, or I will get my voicemail and return the call as soon as I can. Barbara and I will be in on Sundays and will take care of mail and deposits. By the way, if you can, please continue to send in your pledge; our expenses don’t change much, and we have committed to continue to pay our non-salaried folks like the nursery workers and choir section leaders. We are also completely committed to continuing to make our monthly grants to our outreach partners like Twin Lakes Food Bank, non-profits that are already seeing increased need and are relying more than ever on consistent support. 

The staff will continue to gather for worship at 9am on Sunday morning and broadcast it on our Facebook page, but the doors to the church will be locked. Have questions about how to access the service online? E-mail me or Barbara and we will help you out. We will celebrate the Eucharist as part of the 9am service, and if you would like Communion, please e-mail me or call the church office (916.985.2495) and we will schedule it with you.

I encourage you to call one another, text one another, send Facebook messages and e-mails, whatever works to check in on one another and to make sure our most isolated and most vulnerable parishioners have some social interaction. I know that the Thrift Shop, the Altar Guild, and the St. Martha’s Guild are scheduling Zoom meetings, just to keep in touch. If you would like to schedule a Zoom meeting for your ministry group, please e-mail Barbara and she can set it up! We are beginning to resume some programming by web meetings (Wednesday morning Bible study is starting back up already!), and will resume others once we have time to adjust. So tune in Sunday morning at 9am, keep praying, and keep washing those hands! Faithfully, and with much love, Fr. Todd+

Following our first virtual worship service last Sunday, our senior warden shared the (surprisingly detailed) Trinity Lego church that her kids created. It got me thinking that it would be fun to see what other kinds of creative responses people could come up with and a way to share a little joy with one another. Two things I know about the people at Trinity is that we embrace things that are unconventional and that we don’t shy away from a good challenge. This Sunday, we invite anyone - kids, families, adults - to share a creative response to this Sunday’s 9:00am service. You can use whatever supplies you have at home - Legos, crayons, pipe cleaners, watercolors, video camera, you name it - and get your creativity flowing. This Sunday’s Gospel lesson is John 9:1-41, where we hear about Jesus healing a blind man. You can find the full reading here. You can create a response to the Gospel lesson, the other lessons, or anything else that moves you about the service; the Sunday bulletin, with all of the lessons and hymns, can be found here. On Sunday morning, we will put a post on our Facebook page asking you to share your creations in the comments. If you’re not feeling up to submitting your own artwork, you can still participate by checking the Facebook page and “liking” your favorite creations. If you are not a regular attendee at Trinity Folsom, lucky you - since we are worshipping virtually for the time being, you can join in no matter where you are! ~ Karen van Winkle, Director of Children’s Ministries

Our word of the week is S piritual Communion. Spiritual Communion is when you desire to be united with Jesus in the Eucharist but are unable to take Communion – for example, if you’re living in the middle of a pandemic and can only watch the Eucharist on Facebook. Read more about it, and consider using one of the prayers in the article on Sunday as you watch the Eucharistic service on our Facebook page at 9am.

The Wednesday morning Bible study is resuming its meetings by Zoom. The Wednesday morning Bible study studies the lessons for the upcoming Sunday; you can find them here. To join the Bible study on Wednesday mornings at 11am, use this Zoom link.

We were excited to hear from folks that they used their Lent in a Bag this past Sunday before or after watching the service on Facebook! Our Director of Children’s Ministries Karen has about ten Lent in a Bags left, and she will deliver it to your house and leave it at your door if you would like one. E-mail Karen to get one!

Help us give Easter baskets for children in need who are served by Twin Lakes Food Bank. You can sponsor one child’s basket, filled with treats, toys, and some things they really need, for only $15. You can mail us a donation or put it through the mail slot in the front door of the office – just make sure to include a note that says Easter Baskets if you’re giving cash, or write it on the memo line of the check.

The vestry met on Tuesday, March 17th and had our first go at a Zoom group meeting as we all sheltered at home. We heard from the building committee with updates; they are waiting for permits from the city; unfortunately, we anticipate that as non-essential personnel from the city of Folsom are working remotely as well, our building process may be slowed down a bit. However, we are still working with contractors to get bids so we can move forward on the building project as much as we possibly can. The staff are very encouraged by the positive responses they've had from the webcast of Sunday's service, and we appreciate your patience with our technical difficulties. There are some changes they've made for next Sunday, and you've likely already seen that they're working on setting up some online meetings this week to help keep us all connected. We are so proud of how well everyone is doing with loving their neighbors by staying at home, and we are looking forward to when we can see you all again in person when this is all over! ~ Shannon Dillon, Senior Warden

If you would like to make a donation towards the altar flowers for Easter Sunday, use the online form here and select Sunday, April 12th. You can dedicate the flowers for any reason, but Easter is a particularly appropriate day to donate altar flowers in memory of loved ones who have died, and in thanksgiving for loved ones who were recently born or baptized. The suggested donation is $50, but please don’t let that stop you from making a dedication; if you don’t have it, give whatever you can.

While summer seems far off, it’s the time of year to begin registering for summer camp! Many of the children and youth from Trinity spend a week or two at one of the local Episcopal summer camps, in Tahoe, wine country, or the redwoods. 

Most Trinitarians attend Camp Galilee, the camp set right on the eastern shores of Lake Tahoe. Mikayla Knuth, Fr. Charlie’s wife, serves as the camp’s priest and program director. You can read more about Camp Galilee and its programs here.

The two other camps are operated by the Episcopal Diocese of California, but take children and youth from our diocese as well. St. Dorothy’s Rest is nestled in the redwoods near Occidental, while Bishop’s Ranch is just outside Healdsburg and offers the BREAD camp for children and youth.

Our older youth (finishing grades 7-12 in 2020) may be interested in attending the diocesan pilgrimage program, Pathways. This year’s pilgrimage will be to Butte County, where pilgrims will explore matters of social and ecological justice while visiting the local congregations and communities supporting those who have suffered in the wake of the Camp Fire. Young adults are also welcome to apply as adult chaperones. Read more about this opportunity here.

Camp is expensive, but well worth it! Children can get more spiritual formation in one week than they can in an entire year of Sunday School. Fr. Todd is able to offer financial assistance and does not want the cost of camp to prevent any children from attending. If you have any questions or concerns (or just want to let us know where your kids are registered), please contact Fr. Todd.

Attention teenagers and young adults: Camp Galilee, the Episcopal camp set on eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, is currently looking for camp counselors and residential staff to help facilitate a meaningful and adventurous summer program for youth between the ages of 8 and 16. This is a great way to spend a couple of weeks (or a whole summer!) playing in nature’s beauty.  

Counselors bunk with campers and lead adventure groups with two others. They must be 16 and will receive a stipend for a week of counselor training and 1 to 2 weeks at camp. As the name implies, residential staff live at the camp all summer long, providing support to counselors and leading activities like worship, improvisational theater, rock climbing/kayaking, and arts and crafts. All resident staff need to be 18 or older with a high school diploma.  

For more information about Camp Galilee, talk to Fr. Todd or click here.

Trinity Episcopal Church

 801 Figueroa Street

Folsom, CA 95630

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