Wednesday 11am: Bible Study

Wednesday 7pm: Bible Study

Thursday 5:30pm: Contemplative Prayer 

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

Our word of the week is Trinity because this Sunday is Trinity Sunday, our parish’s patronal feast day, and the end of our program year. Join us in church this Sunday to sing some great Trinitarian hymns and to find out which preacher drew the short straw and has to explain the doctrine of the Trinity to you in less than 12 minutes. 

This is our final Sunday of Sunday School classes for children and adults, and then we’ll be on summer break until August 18th! The children’s classes are meeting together this Sunday in the Parish Hall Annex for games and treats, and the adults’ class will meet in the Parish Hall to bring the people of Israel back from exile and begin rebuilding their home.

This Sunday, our friend Ab Malmquist will be back to take more photos – so if you want a re-do or just haven’t had your photo taken yet, this is your chance. We use the photos in our parish photo directory, and we’ll send you a digital copy to use however you like – they’re great for sharing with family and friends on social media, and I saw several of last year’s on photo Christmas cards. Barbara will be at all three coffee hours that morning to help people sign up for access to the online photo directory.  

You don’t need to wait until then, though. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you’ll find step-by-step instructions here. If you have an Android or Kindle, click here. And to access the directory on your computer, you can find instructions here.

If you run into any problems and can’t get in, call the church office or e-mail Barbara and she’ll be happy to help you!

Congratulations to 7:30am parishioner Greg Shakespeare and his wife Miral on the birth of their son, Nikhil, on April 26 ^th. Everyone is happy and healthy, and Greg says that they are learning how to function without sleep and he’ll be back at church soon. 

Parishioners Michelle and Ron Stofan (7:30am) just returned from Washington DC, where their company Garner Products was awarded the President’s “E” Award for “ongoing significant contributions to the expansion of U.S. exports.” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross presented the Stofans with the award, which was created by President Kennedy in 1961. After the awards ceremony, the Stofans got a tour of the Department of Commerce and the Vice President’s office, where son-in-law Tanner Lovell, who completed two tours of duty in Iraq, was given a vice president’s challenge coin. Tanner (in the middle) and Monica Stofan (second from right) were married at Trinity Folsom five years ago today – happy anniversary!

Our new Special Needs ministry identified an easy way to offer a warmer welcome children and adults with special needs: sensory kits, filled with activities and items that will help calm and engage those with sensory processing challenges, challenges faced by many people with autism in particular. Our St. Martha’s Guild sewed bags to hold the kits, and our Special Needs ministry filled them with a variety of items. They’ll be in the narthex beginning this Sunday – if you need one and don’t see them, ask an usher!

If you have an old bicycle, spare parts, helmets, locks, or bike tools that you no longer need and would like to donate, please bring them to the Parish Hall on Saturday, June 22nd, from 9am-2pm, when we will be hosting host a bike drive with Opening Doors. Opening Doors is a Sacramento-based agency that supports human trafficking survivors, immigrants, and newly-arrived refugees. The bikes will be restored by the workshop at Folsom Prison, and then given to refugees who need transportation to job interviews and trainings. We hosted a similar drive the year before last and collected over 80 bikes (and a unicycle!) for our neighbors in need. If yourself or your friends decide to donate, Opening Doors will be able to supply you with a receipt for a tax-deductible donation. If you have any questions, call the church office or e-mail Fr. Charlie. And spread the word to friends and neighbors who might have a spare bike or parts/equipment that they’d like to give to a good cause!

Registration for our 2019 Vacation Bible School (July 22-26, 9am-noon) is filling up quickly – we have almost 40 kids registered, and only have a few more spaces available, so register your child today! 

Online registration for children entering grades K-5 is available here.

We are always looking for volunteers to help out – we need a lot of help with so many kids. We have volunteer opportunities for adults and for middle and high schoolers. The volunteer form lists many of the different ways you can support VBS: being a small group leader to shepherd groups of children as they rotate through daily activities, leading or assisting at a station such as crafts or games, bringing snacks, donating supplies, etc. Or let us know you are flexible and we will DEFINITELY find a role for you! We will also have nursery care available for the parents of young children who would like to volunteer to help with VBS. If you’re interested in volunteering for VBS, sign up here. 

For more information or questions about VBS, contact Karen Van Winkle or Fr. Charlie.

A liturgical note for you – and please, feel free to follow these practices or not, they are customs in our tradition but not required; I mention them because a parishioner recently asked me about them, and I realized that many of our parishioners who come to us from other traditions may not know about them! It is a common custom in The Episcopal Church to bow as the processional cross passes by you at the beginning and end of worship. Most people simply bow their head briefly as the crucifer walks past their pew. Another very common tradition is to turn and face the Gospel book when it is brought into the aisle for the Gospel lesson; most people turn to face the book as it goes by them, and continue to turn to face it until it stops; after the reading is finished, they continue to face the book and turn as it passes by them until they are back to the position from which they started. Some people give a simple bow of the head as the book passes, but this is less common. These customs are meant as reminders and expression of our devotion to Jesus Christ, and if they serve you well, make use of them, and if they don’t, don’t. Note though that in some congregations, turning to face the Gospel book is seen as a matter of respect, much like I would wear a head covering if I were invited to a service at a synagogue - not because I am an observant Jew, but because it would be disrespectful not to follow that practice when I am a guest in someone else’s place of worship. That isn’t the case here, but in some places it would be seen that way, and I always say that if you’re going to be disrespectful, it is best to be intentional about it instead of inadvertently being so! ~ Fr. Todd+

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