This Week at Trinity - Connecting with You (with no need for a mask!)

Weekly News and Thank-Yews from the Pews

This Sunday Worship & Fellowship Info

Facebook Live-Stream broadcast this

Sunday - Easter 5, May 10th at 9:00am.

**Readings for Sunday may be downloaded here.**

After the service, please join together through Zoom! for a virtual coffee hour - click here to gain access!

Wash Your Hands ~ Be Safe ~ Don't Panic ~ Be Sensible

Online Services

Our Online Services will continue through the month of May. Please join us for our Facebook Live-Stream service beginning at 9am. Based on feedback from viewers, recent improvements in new video, audio and internet equipment significantly improved the quality of the viewing experience. Online Services are accessible from our new Trinity website or by accessing our Facebook page at Trinity Episcopal Sonoma.

With the introduction of our new Trinity website you can easily access our Online Services. Within Online Services you will be able to select the following options:

Facebook Live-Stream 9am
Virtual Coffee Hour 10am
Sunday Readings
Past Video Services
Audio Sermons

Returning to our Buildings

We are coordinating with the Diocese for a phased return to our buildings and in person gatherings. New phased guidelines will follow CDC and public health guidelines from the state of California and will include input from the regional deans, the leaders of our governing bodies, and the presiding bishop’s office. A return to our buildings will likely include wearing masks and maintaining physical distance between individuals.

Details on the phases, along with specific worship and gathering guidelines, will be provided in the upcoming weeks.

Ruben Cota-Schultz

Senior Warden

Much appreciation has been heaped on the Communication Committee for their continued hard work in providing livestream Sunday services over the past weeks, and justly so! Folks have been generous with their praise and have claimed that this past Sunday (5/3) was the best yet, with the clearest picture, best sound, and no hiccups during the streaming.

BIG thanks to Ruben, Alfred, and Sheila for their collective tech savvy, and to Fr. Jim, Sheila, Linda, Alfred, Michael and Chris for their commitment in carrying out each service so beautifully.

What a Team we have in Jesus!

This week's "Habits of Grace" video from

Presiding Bishop Curry

Living Compass is offering a 28-day e-Retreat on "Contemplative Practices and Well-Being" that we will be offering through a private Facebook Group. The first of the 28 reflections and contemplative practice suggestions will be posted May 4, 2020, but you can join the group now.

To join the private Facebook group for the 28-day eRetreat Contemplative Practices and Well-Being, click HERE.

Online Giving

A special ‘thank you’ to all our parishioners who continue to mail in donations and stewardship pledges. We have also seen an increase in online giving through Realm.

Parishioners may continue to mail their donations and monthly stewardship pledge contributions to the parish office at 275 E. Spain Street, Sonoma, CA 95476. You can also easily provide your donation or pledge by accessing our website at www.trinitysonoma.org . From the home page, select ‘ Give to Trinity’ . After you enter the amount, from the drop down, you can select the General Fund, Pledges or Flowers. You may also sign in as a Guest or sign-in to your Realm account. You can make a one-time donation or set up for monthly donations based on the date of your choice.

For questions or assistance, please contact Ruben Cota Schultz at rdcjr@sbcglobal.net . Your continued financial support while our church is closed is greatly appreciated.

101 Reasons to be EPISCOPALIAN

#88: The Bible says we should make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Laughter is as joyful a noise as you'll ever hear and there's a lot of it in an Episcopal church.

David Hunter

Diocese of East Tennessee

From the book: 101 Reasons to be Episcopalian, compiled by Louie Crew. Morehouse Publishing, (2003).

NO WORK DAY THIS SATURDAY, MAY 9th!

Staying SAFE beats pruning and raking for the time being.

Take Good Care!

Look at the newly paved parking lot at Trinity!

John Bell has given it a thumbs up for it's scooter-worthiness!

He said there was no need to dodge cracks or veer away from craters any longer. We appreciate your test pilot skills, John!

It will be a happy day when we all get to park together and admire it!

Interesting bit of California history --

Why included in the newsletter? Read to the very end!

The Man Who Built a 40-Foot Spite Fence Around His...

Nicholas Yung considered himself a lucky man. A German who immigrated to the United States in 1848, Yung had worked hard to carve out a living for himself and eventually prosper as the owner of a mortuary in San Francisco.

Read more
getpocket.com

From Marianne Uhl!

Greetings to all from Italy,

Thankfully we're still well and counting our blessings that we do not personally know anyone sick. Since March 10th we've been under a very strict lockdown with many 'incentives' designed to persuade us to follow the many rules that at first seemed to change daily. At this point the rules in Italy and the US seem basically the same, only they are enforced here with more gusto. (Note attached photos taken from La Voce, the local newspaper, this past week.)

The whole situation started way too close to us back on Feb. 21 when Italy's first Covid-19 death was recorded in Vo, a town about 30 miles from us that is located in an area known for spas. Seems like eons ago. The whole town was quarantined for 2 weeks. We watched as the town turned into a twilight zone, never thinking it could happen to all of us... However all the rules and fines finally seem to be working. The situation is improving. With social distancing rules still in place, industrial businesses opened this past week. And the new, (moving), target date for lifting the lockdown for everyone is May 3. This past week I could feel a glimmer of life's rhythm returning as I watched farmers plant the field in back of our house. Hopefully something better than what passed for normal will soon emerge. Sending well wishes to all,

Marianne

Post Script: For those of you who missed coffee hour last Sunday on Zoom, you missed a chance to say hi to Marianne, who joined in for virtual coffee hour from Italy!

It was great to see your smiling face, Marianne -- Please visit us again, very soon!

Announcing our New Trinity Website

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new Trinity website.

It is up and running!

Same address - New look! trinitysonoma.org -- Check it out!

Meet John Meyer:

Our New Church Sexton!

Just recently John was officially hired to work as our church sexton (custodian) and has been doing a wonderful job taking care of the facilities and making sure everything is sparkling clean. You will be pleased to see the results of his hard work when we are all able to gather again at Trinity.

John has been helping out as a volunteer at Trinity for a while now, but has merited advancement as a paid employee! He is shown here (appropriately masked!) holding his first paycheck from Trinity!

Congratulations John!

Diocesan & Beyond News

An easy way to keep abreast of the news around the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California is to subscribe to its newsletter, the Diocesan e-News, which is delivered to your inbox on most Tuesday afternoons. Click HERE to be directed to their signup page. They take your privacy seriously and do not share their lists with anyone; to unsubscribe, simply click on the unsubscribe link that is at the end of each newsletter and you will be taken off the list immediately.

Highlights of Sunday's Service

Sermons at Trinity:

Can be viewed on the Trinity Facebook page, beginning Sunday, March 29, 2020 at 9:00am. The service has been archived on the Trinity Facebook page.

You can listen to past sermons on the parish website.

Sunday Snaps :

Will return when WE return!

Pastoral Care Corner

Your prayers are requested -

During our Online Services, you, members of your family or loved one may find yourself in need of extra support and prayers from our faith community. If you have a particular prayer request, please email Linda Dowd at lindahdowd@sbcglobal.net .

Prayer requests will be added to The Prayers of the People during our Sunday worship each week.