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.
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We Shall Be Changed.
I’m currently reading a book of essays by church leaders with that title edited by Mark D.W. Edington. It just came into print and is subtitled Questions for the Post-Pandemic Church.
Change is our middle name right now. I am excited about the changes I see happening at Trinity, especially the hope that in coming months we will call a new rector.
We have lamented – grieved – what we don’t have right now. Most of us are facing greatly modified holiday celebrations approaching, both in the parish and in our homes. My family has canceled travel plans but we plan to meet virtually.
I am constantly amazed at the adaptations we have made at Trinity. Most groups are still managing to meet, some by Zoom and some by masked, socially distanced outdoor gatherings. We’ll have to figure out what cooler weather means for some of those meetings. Most groups have most of their members attending, and we must come up with solutions so that no one will be excluded due to lack of technology.
Innovative ways of doing things keep appearing. The Brotherhood was able to have a national leader attend a meeting by Zoom and their prayer initiative is drawing requests electronically from distant parts of the US. The Daughters of the King have ingeniously devised a children’s morning with Santa by Zoom. We will have drive-through ingathering of pledges on Sunday with Sam handing out Advent bags in the parking lot then. She is deep into planning for a virtual Christmas Eve service. The Allison family will represent us by singing and recording a carol to be included in the lessons and carols program being organized by the nine Micah churches. GEMS are collecting toys as usual for Toys for Tots and Donna Krauss has us organized for Elf Sunday. We sign up electronically this year instead of on the bulletin board but what the hey, we’re still meeting the need. And I did my shopping for those events safely on-line this year.
Blessings in a Backpack resumes this week, masked and distanced and very carefully planned to minimize contact among a very few workers. The leadership team of Tuesday night outreach meets this week to strategize how to resume that program. We have the coffee hour – it’s not Café Trinity but it is an opportunity to meet and greet our fellow parishioners. The Micah ministry is very much alive but in a somewhat altered format. We will be soon be requesting help in gathering items for those sheltered in motels and other housing.
The Vestry meets frequently by Zoom, as do other organizations such as book groups and the Task Force to Dismantle Racism. The Altar Guild has modified their procedures to be ready to serve safely when we regather. The Annual Convention met virtually last week with our delegate Sug Clingenpeel and alternate Rosemary Arneson navigating the necessary technology, and we had notification of the results of their discussions within hours. We are providing virtual worship twice a week and gearing up technology to do an even better job in the future. We tease Barry Holliday about being our substitute organist while we appreciate the smooth way he has integrated recorded music into our services – another successful adaptation, in the absence of a Minister of Music.
We all know how much we have lost by not being together. But I encourage us to rejoice in our creativity, adaptability, and ingenuity in finding way to continue the work of our amazing Trinity. We have regained the energy to make phone calls and even to write notes on paper in an envelope with a stamp to those who need support in these tough times. We must maintain that contact with parishioners.
In the book We Shall Be Changed, Paul-Gordon Chandler quotes the German theologian Jurgen Moltmann: “Change is the way God most often does God’s work.”
We’re part of that change. And if you’re sitting at home thinking of new creative things to do at Trinity, please give me or any Vestry member a call. The future is wide open.
Claire Curcio, Senior Warden
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SPECIAL DRIVE-THROUGH 'DROP OFF' AND 'PICK UP' EVENT
THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 11:30AM - 2PM!
Estimate of Giving Cards – One concept of stewardship is “Using the gifts God gives us to do the work God calls us to do.” Many Trinitarians happily give to support our programs and we thank you. Estimate of Giving cards for 2021 were mailed out recently. 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. Then take an adventure to our “drive-through” ingathering of cards on November 22 in the College Avenue circular driveway between 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.. Or you can mail your card Attention Michele at Trinity or click here to submit your estimate online. If you did not receive the letter, please leave a message for our bookkeeper Michele at Trinity (540-373-2996) or email her at mbrantley@trinity-fredericksburg.com. Thanks be to God!
Pick up your bag - Advent starts on Sunday, November 29th! Come to Trinity on Sunday, November 22 during the drive-through estimate of giving card ingathering event to get your Advent/Christmas/Epiphany at Home bags. Since we are not yet able to regather as a parish, these bags will contain items and activities for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany that people can do at home to help celebrate these important seasons of the church year. Some of the items included in the bags are a set of Advent candles, Advent wreath devotionals, an Advent meditation booklet, an Advent calendar, a Christmas ornament kit, a Christmas craft, instructions for blessing your home and chalking your door, including a piece of chalk, and other activities for Epiphany.
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ZOOM WITH SANTA!
The Daughters of the King are hosting Santa Zoom sessions for Trinity children and grandchildren on December 14th and 15th at 6:00pm. Children will listen to Santa as he talks about Christmas, reads a story about the birth of Baby Jesus, and answers some questions submitted in advance. If you would like to participate in this event, send an email to Paige Kerby no later than November 25th. The email should include the name and age of each child participating and the email address you wish to use for the Zoom meeting. You will be notified of the date you are scheduled to Zoom with Santa. If you need to be assigned on a specific date, please include that information in the email. Santa is looking forward to spending some time with his Trinity children! Hope you can join in the fun!
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"HOLY JOLLY BAGS"
Fellow Trinitarians,
With the corona virus environment, Micah has decided not to provide the use of the homeless shelter on Route 3 but to put up the homeless in local hotels this winter. As such we will not have to provide volunteers to help with the shelter on Friday nights as we have done in the past. However, Micah is looking for the local churches to provide help in other ways.
One of their suggestions is to provide “Holy Jolly Bags”, back packs to the homeless for this Christmas. Back packs are highly prized by the homeless, because they carry all their belongings in them. I have volunteered to coordinate Trinity’s efforts for this. Micah has suggested that we could provide new back packs with Christmas goodies in the bags along with a letter. They are requesting that the back packs all have same items so that it would be easy to distribute.
From their suggested list, I am proposing the back packs could be filled with a $5 gift card from Walmart, a fleece blanket, wool socks, Christmas candy, a small foldable umbrella and a personal note. (I have researched this on the Web and all items including the back packs, except the candy, are available on Walmart’s website for about $50-$60.) You might like to do this as a family or jointly with another family. Micah is requesting the donated back packs be delivered to them by December 18.
Since I would be collecting them, I would like you to bring them to the church parking lot next to the kitchen along William Street between 10:30 AM and 12 noon on Sunday, December 13th. If you plan to do this, please let me know beforehand so that I have an idea of how many will be donated and can look for you on the 13th. My phone number is (540) 371-0074 and email is pfarr@verizon.net. Thanks for considering this worthwhile effort! At this time of year, let us share our blessings with those in need!
Yours in Christ, Bill Farr
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MORE TRINITY NEWS & EVENTS |
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CHRISTMAS PAGEANT - Advent starts in just a few weeks! This year we will not be able to have an in-person Christmas Pageant, but we would like to try a Christmas Pageant by Zoom. If you are interested in having your child participate, please let Sam Burton know. Donna Krauss and I will be choosing the parts as soon as we know who would like to participate.
2021 BUDGET REQUESTS - Please send your 2021 Budget Requests to Michele Brantley by Wednesday, November 25th. Thank you for your cooperation.
TRINITY CHRISTMAS OUTREACH - 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. Below details the specifics for this year's program:
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Sign up online at this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a48a4ad2fa5fc1-christmas
- Last Day to Sign up is November 29, 2020
- Gifts can be wrapped this year; label with name only.
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Drive Up Drop Off in the Church circle on Wednesday, December 2, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (We will need 3 elves during this time to help out, please contact Donna)
Peace and blessings to each of you, - Donna
Recovering with love and gratitude: An Episcopal response to the COVID-19 pandemic in local contexts. 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 attached links 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. I sent my contribution via the online link and it was very easy. For information about UTO grants, click here. Jean Hunt, Parish UTO Coordinator
VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR continues this Sunday, November 22nd 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.
YOUTH GROUP will not meet this Sunday. The next meeting will be Sunday, December 6th. For more information, please contact Sam Burton .
The RAPPAHANNOCK REGION TRANSGENDER GROUP (RRTG) invites you to join us for Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020, an outdoor, socially-distanced event in Hurkamp Park, Fredericksburg this Friday November 20th, from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. More information here.
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NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA
"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses", a Meditation for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, by Bishop Susan Goff, can be found here.
Highlights from the 226th Annual Convention can be found here.
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NEWS FROM THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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.
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Wednesday, November 18
4:00 pm Blessings in a Backpack packing
Thursday, November 19
AM Blessings in a Backpack delivery
10:00 am Task Force to Plan to "Dismantle Racism" online
Friday, November 20
8:30 am Micah Breakfast delivery
Saturday, November 21
11:00 am GEMS "Toys for Tots" Ingathering (College Avenue parking lot)
Sunday, November 22
The Last Sunday after Pentecost:
Christ the King
9:30 am Virtual Coffee Hour
10:30 am Sunday School online
11:30 am Drive-through Event --
Estimate of Giving Cards &
Advent/Christmas/Epiphany Bags
(circle in front of the church)
Monday, November 23
Tuesday, November 24
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Wednesday, November 25
Thursday, November 26
Thanksgiving Day
Friday, November 27
Saturday, November 28
8:00 am Brotherhood of St. Andrew online
Sunday, November 29
The First Sunday of Advent
9:30 am Virtual Coffee Hour
10:30 am Sunday School online
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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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