Claire Curcio, Senior Warden

This year, all contributions to the United Thank Offering will be applied to COVID-19 relief projects.  

We will not be holding a parish ingathering this fall. The national UTO Board and staff have requested this fall's contribution be submitted individually. The links included below provide methods to contribute online, via text, or via check.  Everyone is encouraged to send their contributions using one of the methods listed.  Please note your church and diocese (either on the check memo line or in the comment/memo box at the bottom of the online donation line)and it will be recorded appropriately in United Thank Offering's records.

Fellow Trinitarians, I hope this message finds each of you doing well. Times have changed as we all recognize and thus our Christmas Outreach program must adapt. This year you will have the opportunity to sign up online through signup genius. If you have any difficulty, please call Donna Krauss (540) 907-1136 or email at dkrauss33@verizon.net. This year we have adopted 20 children from 6 families in the region. Your support is greatly appreciated. 

ESTIMATE OF GIVING – Estimate of Giving cards for 2021 were mailed out last week. Please read the letter enclosed with the card and prayerfully consider where you are on your journey and what you are able to commit to Trinity so the Vestry can plan the 2021 budget. We will hold a “drive-through” ingathering of cards on November 22; OR you can mail your card Attention Michele at Trinity, OR go to Trinity’s website and click on Online Giving and then click Pledge Online Here, OR click here to submit your estimate online. If you did not receive the letter, please leave a message for Michele at Trinity (540-373-2996) or email her mbrantley@trinity-fredericksburg.org.  Let’s use the gifts God gives us to do the work God calls us to do! Thank you for your generosity and continued support for Trinity. Thanks be to God!  

We are 179 churches worshipping together in one faith community. Join us for these two special diocesan online gatherings. Both services will premiere on Facebook and YouTube. More information will be distributed as the service dates approach.

REGATHERING FOR IN-PERSON WORSHIP – The Vestry appointed a task force to prepare a plan for regathering for in-person worship when the local health conditions improve to the point where the 7-day rolling average of new COVID cases per 100,000 persons meets the Diocesan guidelines of 5 or under. When completed, the plan will be submitted to the Diocese for approval. People would need to register, provide contact tracing information, and agree to keep appropriate distances. Given the social distancing requirements, only about 40 people would be allowed to attend a service and would need to wear masks. Those attending would wait for ushers to guide people to pews to ensure distancing. There would be no singing, but there could be instrumental music. If the eucharist is offered, there will only be bread, which would be delivered to attendees in their pews rather than going to the altar rail. At the end of the service, ushers would remind people to exit rather than linger to keep appropriate distancing. There would be no café or Christian education. As you can see, the gathering would be quite different from our traditional worship service and, given the increasing rate of new cases recently, it will likely be a while longer before Trinity can offer in-person worship after the plan is approved.     

BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK begins delivering food to children at Rocky Run Elementary School on November 18th. The cost to sponsor a child for an entire year is $100 or $50 for a half year. Because this is a year like no other we will only be sponsoring the children for a half year. If you would consider giving a $100 you could actually sponsor two children. Ideally, as more children attend classes we would increase the numbers upwards to 75-100. Blessings in a Backpack is a non-budgeted ministry and relies solely on your donations. If you feel as though this is something you would like to become involved in, please send a check to Trinity Episcopal Church, 825 College Avenue, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 and include Blessings in a Backpack on the memo line. Thank You. Nancy Griswold Coordinator, Blessings in a Backpack

VESTRY MEETING HIGHLIGHTS – The October Vestry meeting included the following items: In the September Treasurer’s report, Val Folden noted that total collections were at 67% of the annual budget. Non-pledge giving year-to-date was significantly below budget, as expected since we are not holding worship services at Trinity. Expenses were only about 55% of annual budget mainly because we are not paying a full-time rector. (Nine months of the year would be 75%.) The Vestry approved 2021 pledges to the Diocese and Region at 2020 amounts. The Regathering Task Force reported on discussions related to a plan to submit to the Diocese for when we might have limited in-person worship. The Dismantling Racism task force has been posting materials to Trinity’s website and has received an offer from the Diocese for training. The Gifts Team’s proposed plan for the annual giving program for this fall was approved including a “drive-through” ingathering of estimate of giving cards on November 22. The Technology Committee revised the recommended purchases of a smaller amount of audio-video equipment in preparation for live-streaming worship services when we regather. The Worship & Liturgy Committee was asked to look into offering prayer partners again.   

On August 3, 1990, President of the United States George H. W. Bush declared the month of November as “NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH,” thereafter commonly referred to as “Native American Heritage Month.” The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people, also known as “Indigenous People.” For more information, click here.

VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR continues this Sunday, November 8th at 9:30 a.m. Zoom meeting ID # 441 267 3172 and the password is 6YiW22. This will be a recurring Zoom meeting with the same ID and password each Sunday. We ask that everyone mute their microphones when we start the Zoom meeting to minimize background noise. You can unmute when and if you want to speak. We look forward to seeing you!

Families with children are invited to join us for ONLINE SUNDAY SCHOOL this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. for a 40 to 50-minute Sunday school lesson on Zoom. Our time together will include a few minutes of social (gathering) time, some 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 additional materials to everyone on Friday. If you have not received emails in the past with the information to join the class meeting and would like for your child to participate, please contact Sam Burton at sburton@trinity-fredericksburg.org.

PARENTS OF YOUTH - The Youth Group will be meeting via Zoom this Sunday, November 8th from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. We will play games, talk about a Gratitude Project, watch a brief TED Talk video, and have a discussion. Sam will send a reminder email on Friday with handouts and the instructions for getting into the meeting. I hope your youth will be able to join us! Trusted friends may be invited to participate in the Zoom meeting as well, just forward Friday’s email to them. If you have any questions, please contact Sam at sburton@trinity-fredericksburg.org.

CLUB 45 will have a game day via Zoom on Sunday, November 15 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. An email will be sent on Friday, November 13th with the information needed to join the meeting and some attachments for playing games. I hope all Club 45ers can join us for some fun! Trusted friends may be invited to participate in the Zoom meeting as well, just forward Friday’s email to them. For more information, please contact Sam Burton at sburton@trinity-fredericksburg.org.

"WHO WILL WE BE ON WEDNESDAY", a Meditation for the 22nd Week after Pentecost, by The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, can be found here.

General Convention Task Force invites Episcopalians to participate in survey “SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH: A CALL FOR STORIES” Responses requested by: November 5, 2020. In the work of contemplating the theology of social justice advocacy in The Episcopal Church, the Task Force recognizes that different people have vastly different perspectives and experiences. For some, social justice advocacy may seem somewhat peripheral to their spiritual lives in the church; for others, social justice may have become an important focal point of their theology over time; for still others, the struggle for social justice is fundamental to and inseparable from their experience of what it is to be a Christian. The members of the Task Force would like to gather stories and deeper perspectives to support their work on behalf of the Church and invite Episcopalians to consider sharing their experience by completing the survey, “Social Justice and the Episcopal Church: A Call for Stories”. The survey can be found online here. This is a nationally-sponsored endeavor, not directly related to the work of the Trinity Dismantling Racism Task Force.

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.