The mission of Trinity Church is to share Christ's love and grace in a vibrant whose joyful spirit empowers people to do God's
work
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When will we re-open?
That’s the question all of us -- parishioners, clergy and Vestry – ask each day. So here goes an update on what we know and what we don’t yet know. And as you’ll note, there’s much more we don’t know, including the date we will resume in-person, face-to-face services.
The Diocese is giving us very good guidance and direct instructions on what we may, may not, and must do to reopen. The paramount concern is, of course, parishioner and clergy safety.
Diocesan guidelines say we, and everyone else who uses the building when we do reopen, must do these things:
- Maintain social distance of at least six feet between individuals or families at services or other activities held at the church.
- Sanitize thoroughly, including after each service.
- Refrain from using common items, such as hymnals, prayer books, collection plates, etc.
- Modify, or refrain from offering, Eucharist at this time.
- Alter the worship service as necessary to maintain physical distance.
- Wear masks when present in the building with groups.
- Continue to provide pastoral care through means other than face-to-face contact.
- Obtain approval of our re-opening plan by the Bishop before we can reassemble.
The Executive Committee is currently looking at a draft of a plan for re-opening. We must answer questions such as these and then figure out how to implement the answers.
- How do we decide who can attend while we must adhere to a sharply reduced number of parishioners in each service?
- How do we sanitize the building between services?
- How do we enter and exit the sanctuary while maintaining social distance?
- What do we do about music, Eucharist, passing of the peace, service without prayer books, and a myriad of other worship details?
- When do we resume our community outreach programs: hosting Micah breakfast, Tuesday Night Outreach, 12-step groups?
- How do we eventually re-open Café Trinity safely?
- How do we train ourselves – ushers, parishioners, clergy and other worship leaders – to conduct services within a new normal?
- How do we continue to communicate with each other quickly and efficiently about changes in procedures, needed pastoral care, and other issues?
The enormity of these issues sounds overwhelming, but we’ll plan carefully and follow our plan, making changes as needed and as allowed. Other churches may follow different procedures and may open earlier or later. We’ll make our own decision at Trinity based on safety, Diocesan guidelines, and the judgment of the leaders of the parish, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
In the meantime, please continue to enjoy the Christian Education programs offered by Sam, the Morning Prayer led by Bambi and others on Wednesday and Sunday mornings, and the many on-line worship services offered from around the USA. Please be aware of others’ needs and call the office if you or someone you know needs pastoral care or other assistance. Please continue to be in touch with each other, read the newsletter, attend virtual meetings when they’re offered, and pray for us all.
We’ll get through this. We really will, and we’ll be the stronger for it.
Claire Curcio, Senior Warden
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Trinity Discernment Prayer
O Everlasting, Omniscient, and Loving God
We confess that our daily worries and concerns often blind us to your voice and guidance in our lives. We thank You for this time of change, may it be an opportunity to grow together more closely as followers of your son Jesus Christ as we work to discern your path forward for our congregation. We pray that You will watch over the Bishop, diocesan transitional ministry team, the parish clergy, members of our vestry, and the other leaders of our church as they lead us on a new path for our parish. We pray for the members of the discernment committee as they endeavor to do Your holy work in calling a new rector for Trinity. We pray for all the members of our parish family during this time of transition that we come closer to You and feel your presence in our hearts. AMEN.
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A letter from the Bishops of the Dioceses of Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland regarding
A Phased Regathering as Church
can be found
here.
"If we choose to embrace this moment and learn all that we can from it,
we will emerge as a stronger church, with greater capacity
for faithful and fruitful ministry when this season passes."
A
Follow-up letter from Bishops of Virginia re:
Planning for Regathering as Church
can be found
here.
Trinity will soon offer guidance as to when it is safe to resume gatherings at the church.
Until then, please stay home and be safe!
We regret to inform you of the passing of
BARBARA REED,
a longtime member of Trinity church. Barbara died at home Tuesday morning, May 7th. Plans for a service for Barbara will be announced at a future date. “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.”
CONGRATULATIONS
to our own Will Dickinson. During the virtual commencement for Berkeley Divinity School, the Episcopal Seminary affiliated with Yale Divinity School, Will was presented with the E. Williams Muehl Award for excellence in preaching.
ONLINE SUNDAY SCHOOL!!
Families with children are invited to join us at 10:30 am on Sunday mornings for a 30 – 40 minute Sunday school lesson on Zoom. Our time together will include a few minutes of social (gathering) time, a few songs we all know, some prayer time, a story, and an easy craft response to the story. This will be geared for children ages 5 through fifth grade, but older and younger people are welcome too. Each child/person will need a pencil, a few sheets of paper, and some crayons or colored pencils. I will email some additional materials to everyone on Fridays.
If you did not receive an email last week with the information to join the class meeting and would like for your child to participate, please contact
Sam Burton
.
YOUTH GROUP MEETINGS VIA ZOOM!!
Youth are invited to join us for a youth group meeting via Zoom on Sunday afternoons from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. We will catch up with each other, do a brief Bible study, and play a game.
This week we will play Password!
If you did not receive an email last week with the information to join the youth group meeting and would like for your youth to participate, please contact
Sam Burton
.
GRADUATING SENIORS
- This year we would like to recognize Graduating Seniors
in the
newsletter
since we will not be able to do so in person at our services. Parents, if you would like to have your senior’s name, picture, and post-graduation plans published in the newsletter, and their picture and name posted on Trinity's website, please send their name, picture (if desired), school from which they are graduating, awards or scholarships they received, church activities in which they are active, sports they play, clubs and community activities in which they participate, hobbies, and post-graduation plans (whether it’s college, the military, the workforce, or trade school) to
Sam Burton
by May 27th for inclusion in the June 3rd newsletter. Let’s show our graduating seniors some love!
CONVERSATION ON GRIEF
- St. George’s and Trinity will join together,over Zoom, for a conversation on grief on Wednesday, May 27th, from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. The leaders, The Rev. Areeta Bridgemohan, Associate Priest of St. George and Randall Clingenpeel, Grief Support Group Leader at Trinity, will be exploring parallels between feelings experienced while “sheltering-in-place” with feelings normally related to grieving significant losses throughout life. How our faith and spirituality are impacted will be one of the topics discussed. Interested participants can join in the discussion using the following information: Wednesday Evenings Formation Discussion 7 pm
Zoom
www.zoom.us/join
or call 929.205.6099 Meeting ID: 995 6492 2148; Password is 300458.
PASTORAL CARE
- During this time when we cannot physically worship together, God still calls us to care for one another. Please think about those members of our Trinity family who might normally sit near you during worship, visit with you at Café’ Trinity, participate with you in a Trinity group, serve on a committee with you, etc. and reach out to check on them. Also, some Trinitarians who are not able to work during the COVID-19 pandemic may have some extra time. This would be a good time to think about members of our parish who you have not seen for a while and reach out to them. The directory is available on our website to registered users to look for phone numbers or emails. If you would like some contact from fellow Trinitarians or you know someone who might benefit from contact, please call the church office (540-373-2996) or email
Harry Dickinson
, Pastoral Care Committee Chair (
click here
). If you would like to volunteer to reach out to others, please email Harry Dickinson. Include your ZIP Code. We can work through our Pastoral Care Area Coordinators to distribute lists of those wishing contact and those volunteering.
SPECIAL OFFERING
– It’s not too late to make a donation to our Parishioner Aid designated fund. Please consider making a donation by mailing a check to Trinity (825 College Ave., 22401) with Parishioner Aid in the memo or by going to
www.trinity-fredericksburg.org
and clicking on the link to Online Giving where you can select the Parishioner Aid fund from the drop-down menu. If members of Trinity need assistance, they can contact Claire Curcio, Senior Warden, at
curciocc@msn.com
or 540-479-6988 or Barry Holliday, Junior Warden, at
bwholliday@verizon.net
or
202 415-1332.
SELF-CARE FOR FAMILIES
- We have been staying home to be safe from the corona virus for weeks now. It is a stressful time for many. Some of us are dealing with the stress better than others but we could all use some self-care. The SALT Project and Jonas Ellison have produced a Guide to Self-care for Families Together at Home which is based on the Scandinavian tradition of hygge (pronounced HOO-gah). Hygge is a feeling of coziness, contentment, and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life. The SALT guide,
found here
, contains some suggestions for cozy activities and building relationships to generate a feeling of hygge in our homes.
FORWARD DAY BY DAY
- With the church office being closed, access to the Forward Day by Day has been extremely limited. Copies of the booklet, Forward Day by Day, will now be left in a box to the left of the Ida Beck doors. You are free to pick up your copy. PLEASE make sure the cover is put back on tightly so the remaining copies don't get wet. Donations may be left in the church mailbox in your envelope marked, "Forward". There is an INCOMING slot in the mailbox. The mail is picked up a few times a week. The staff will try to make sure the box always has a few copies in it. PLEASE contact
Denise i
f the box is missing, if the copies are wet, or if there are no more copies in it.
During this time when we cannot be together physically, let’s keep in touch virtually. Please check out the
TRINITY FACEBOOK PAGE
for information, inspiration, and some things to make you smile. Messages from Bishop Curry and from our Bishop Susan Goff are posted as they are received. Don't forget our follow
Instagram page
and subscribe to our newly formed
YouTube channel.
HAVE YOU HEARD? Chatham Bridge
is closing for an improvement project. Travelers should follow the detour to cross the Rappahannock River between downtown Fredericksburg and Stafford County. Specific dates for the bridge closing will be announced on message board.
Our
SHRINE MONT CAMPS
families were informed that our camping programs have been suspended for this summer because of the novel coronavirus. A letter from Shrine Mont Camp Director, Paris Ball, regarding the suspension of the camps can be found
here
.
BISHOP GOFF'S MEDITATION FOR THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER
can be found
here
.
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Wednesday, May 20
Morning Prayer with Bambi
5:00 pm Campus Ministry via Zoom
Thursday, May 21
Friday, May 22
Saturday, May 23
Sunday, May 24
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Morning Prayer with Bambi
10:15 am Online Sunday School
2:00 pm Youth Group via Zoom
Monday, May 25
Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 26
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Wednesday, May 27
Morning Prayer with Bambi
5:00 pm Campus Ministry via Zoom
Thursday, May 28
Friday, May 29
Saturday, May 30
Sunday, May 31
Day of Pentecost
Morning Prayer with Bambi
10:30 am Online Sunday School
2:00 pm Youth Group via Zoom
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