Trinity Newsletter for January 6, 2021

January 6, 2021

The mission of Trinity Church is to share Christ's love and grace in a vibrant community whose joyful spirit empowers people to do God's work.

SENIOR WARDEN'S MESSAGE

When we celebrate the beginning of a new year, we celebrate the rebirth of time. We wait for God to do new things. …But we cannot just wait. We must pray.”

These words by Richard Rohr, a prominent theologian, spoke to me when I read them.

As we celebrate the new year, these are some of my wishes.

That we all be healthy and avoid the dreaded Covid-19, and that we be smart enough to take the necessary precautions.

That we welcome Mother Cynthia with joy and thankfulness and express our continuing gratitude to Bambi and David.

That we continue to take care of each other in our parish– those who are grieving, lonely, sick, or otherwise in need of our community support.

That we do our very best to mitigate some of the economic and emotional misery so many in our nation and world now face.

That before too much longer we meet in person and find peace, joy, and inspiration in corporate worship.

That we emerge from this time of political dissension with a functional government.

That we continue to support the many wonderful programs at Trinity, both with our gifts of time and talent and our financial gifts.

That we take joy in our friendships and family ties and appreciate the abundance of life we have.

That we express our gratitude to God for our many blessings.

And that my golf scores improve considerably!

A favorite hymn of mine is 'We've a Story to Tell to the Nations' I love the refrain:

For the darkness shall turn to dawning,

and the dawning to noonday bright;

and Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth,

the kingdom of love and light.

Claire Curcio, Senior Warden

TRINITY NEWS

Today is EPIPHANY, also known as Three Kings Day.

Epiphany celebrates the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family, and the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus to the Gentiles. The Magi came to worship Jesus and bring Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. “Chalking the Door” is a traditional way to celebrate and physically mark the occasion of the Epiphany and ask God’s blessing of our homes and our lives, remembering the hospitality of the Holy Family to the Wise Men. A brief liturgy for blessing your home and chalking the door may be found here.

Advent/Christmas/Epiphany in a Bag – How have you used the items in your bag? Post a picture of you and an item from the bag that you found helpful or fun on the Trinity Religious Education FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/trinityflatjesus under the comments for Advent/Christmas/Epiphany Bag.

RESUMING TRINITY’S GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP

Last March the pandemic curtailed our meetings of Trinity’s Grief Support Group. The leaders believe it is time to resume meeting – this time around over Zoom. (It is also possible to join the meeting by phone using this number 1-301-715-8592.)

Gatherings will occur on the third Monday of each month, until further notice, from 10:30 a.m. – 12 Noon. This month’s meeting will be held on Monday, January 18th. To access the Zoom meeting, the ID number is 994 8002 5394 and the Passcode is 6YiW22.

For additional information, contact Randall Clingenpeel (540-207-0600) or Ruth Brancolini (540-760-6636). Consider joining us if you are finding it difficult to make sense of a significant loss, which might be exacerbated by these troubling times.

TASK FORCE TO PLAN TO DISMANTLE RACISM

The Task Force has been doing the following over the past few months: developing a plan for Trinity, including goals and action items; helping with a book discussion group, participating in the local Ministers Coalition for Social Change, reading and reviewing books on racial justice for Trinity Newsletter articles, interviewing ministers of other churches, and preparing events for Trinity.

You are invited to participate in social change training and group discussions over the next few months – including a Lenten series about Bishop Michael Curry’s book – “The Way of Love.” Some on-line training includes: https://projects.seattletimes.com/2016/under-our-skin/#

Since the second banner “Let’s Dismantle Racism” on the church grounds was stolen a second time in December, there is still a need for the work of the Task Force. If you have any questions, please contact Jean Hunt.

CONGRATULATIONS to Priscilla Rakestraw and Jonathan Barlow!

They announced their engagement at last Sunday's Virtual Coffee Hour.

Missing the news about your Trinity friends? Join us this Sunday!

There will be a VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR this Sunday, January 10th 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!

OFFERING ENVELOPES - There are still 29 boxes in the church entryway (Narthex). PLEASE stop by the church and pick up your offering envelopes. We will not be mailing them. Denise will be in the office on Wednesdays from 9AM to 2PM. Please give her a call before you stop by - (540) 373-2996. Questions about your envelopes?, Contact Val Folden.

The new FORWARD DAY BY DAY for February/March/April is here! You may pick up your copy from the box outside the Ida Beck doors anytime! Please let Denise know if you take the last copy. There are plenty to go around!

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.

YOUTH GROUP - Our next meeting will be Sunday, January 10, 2021 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. via Zoom. Look for an email with sign-in information on Friday, January 8th. Have you solved the Nativity Escape Room activity yet? Be sure to email Miss Sam the 4-digit answer code at sburton@trinity-fredericksburg.org as soon as you figure it out. One person has already claimed their prize! The next two people to contact Miss Sam with the answer code will also earn a prize.

CLUB 45 will have their first meeting of the new year on Sunday, January 17th from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will have a game day! An email will be sent on Friday, January 15th 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. To sign up for the meeting, or for more information, please contact Sam Burton.

Micah's "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR" campaign" is in full swing? Click here or go to Twitter #loveyourneighbor for more details on how you can be a help to our Micah neighbors.

NEED AN ONLINE BIBLE STUDY? The GOOD BOOK CLUB picks up again on January 1 through Shrove Tuesday, February 16, with the Gospel of Mark. Since Mark is the gospel appointed for this lectionary year, you’ll have a chance to dive deep into the scripture through the Good Book Club and then spend time with Mark throughout 2021! We know you have a lot going on, so we wanted to make this year’s Good Book Club accessible and easy to participate. Along with partners from across the Episcopal Church, the Good Book Club offers daily podcasts of the readings and reflections, online book studies (live classes and pre-recorded), weekly preview emails, and different ways to participate via social media. Visit our resources page to learn more and sign up for classes.

"The Sixth of January", a Meditation for the Second Sunday after Christmas by Bishop Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, can be found here.

PLEASE GIVE TO THE BISHOP'S APPEAL TO HELP COVID-RELIEF MINISTRIES - Your gift to the Bishop’s Appeal will help feed those who are hungry, without shelter, and provide access to other basic needs in communities of the Diocese of Virginia affected by the crisis. Through the generosity of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund all online donations up to $25,000 will be matched so your gift to help is doubled. Encourage friends, family and fellow parishioners to join you. Share on social media what our mission means to you. Use the special hashtag #OneTogether so we can harness the power of social media and connection to help share your story!

All the Ways to Give

Online: Make double the impact and help us meet our $25,000 match through your gift @ https://bit.ly/DOVGIVES
Mail: Send your check to Bishop’s Appeal, PO Box 27426, Richmond, VA 23261
Text: Text DIOVA APPEAL to 73256 to give to the DOV Appeal fund [Bishop’s Appeal] using your text messaging. Standard text messaging rates may apply.

TryTank presents: LEADERSHIP SKILLS FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS, by the Virginia Theological Seminary. For almost 20 years, beginning just after 9/11, futurist Bob Johansen has been wrestling with the question of leadership profiles that will be required to thrive in the VUCA World (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous). He wrote a trilogy of books that share the profile he's convinced will work to help us get ready for the next future shock. Our new Rector encourages us to participate in this online webinar, January 13, 3-4PM. Find more information and register here.

Tell Me Something Good, a new web series from The Episcopal Church, highlights positive stories from around the church through conversations with a variety of guests. New episodes of Tell Me Something Good will be released every two weeks. Episodes 1-3 are available for viewing on The Episcopal Church website here, on Facebook here, and on Instagram TV, @theepiscopalchurch. On Episode 3, Rebecca Hall visits with hosts Marcus Halley and Jerusalem Greer about her work with intentional small groups at The Abbey, and how they have blossomed during the pandemic in surprising ways. The Abbey, an extension of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, is a space for spiritual practitioners to meet, primarily online, for classes, groups, and retreats. They draw from both ancient and modern sources with a focus on contemplative practices. Although their particular path is Christian, they welcome all seekers with or without religious affiliation. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/y2rxzrjr

Season 4 of The Episcopal Church’s podcast The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry, is now available. In this episode, Bishop Curry talks with Bryan Stevenson – author, lawyer, and founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama – about what it means to remember, reorient, and renew an active faith in Jesus and his Way of Love.