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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 an Estimate of Giving card and letter, please leave a message for Michele at Trinity (540-373-2996) or email her mbrantley@trinity-fredericksburg.org.

The service will premiere at 8:00 a.m. on Facebook and YouTube.

We’re Still Here: Contemporary Virginia Indians Tell Their Stories, Sandra F. Waugaman and Danielle Moretti-Langholtz, 2000, 107 pp.

The Forgotten Slavery of Our Ancestors is a short video from Teaching Tolerance which offers an introduction to the history of Indigenous enslavement on land that is now the United States. As the featured historians point out, the enslavement of Indigenous peoples stretched from Alaska into South America. It predated and helped shape the system of African enslavement in New England, and it lasted until throughout the 19th century in the West. “This,” explains historian Andrés Reséndez, “is our shared history.” Directed and edited by Howdice Brown III, The Forgotten Slavery of Our Ancestors was produced by Marie Acemah and Alice Qannik Glenn. The running time for this video is just over 12 minutes long. The video may be found here . Just page down a little and then click on the arrow to start the video.

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. 

2021 BUDGET REQUESTS - Please send your 2021 Budget Requests to Michele Brantley by November

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 15th 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.

CLUB 45 – Calling all 4th and 5th graders! Club 45 will have a game day via Zoom this Sunday, November 15th. We will meet from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. to catch up with each other and to play Scattergories, Thanksgiving Bingo, and other games. We will also do a Thanksgiving Gratitude Project. Children will need a pinecone and some colored paper. Parents, I will send an email to you on Friday with the information needed to join the meeting and some attachments for playing games. If you would like your child to participate, please send an email to Sam Burton at sburton@trinity-fredericksburg.org by Thursday at 8:00 p.m.  Club 45ers, 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.

"NO FUTURE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS", a Meditation for the 2rd Week after Pentecost, by The Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor, can be found here.

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 the Most Rev. Thabo Makgoba [TAH-boh Mac-GO-bah], Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of Southern Africa. Archbishop Thabo’s life is punctuated with stories of hope and oppression, joy and anger, truth and reconciliation. The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry, is available on most podcast apps and at episcopalchurch.org. Visit the Way of Love podcast webpage to subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify. If you missed Seasons 1 and 2, or want to go back and listen again, individual episodes, including bonus episodes and reflection guides are here and here. Listen to Season 3 here.

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.