TRINITY TRUMPET
NOVEMBER 2021

Our New Worship Series is a series of reflections inspired by the book, How Not to Be Afraid - Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying,
by Gareth Higgins.

The dedication of this book reads:

for Brian Ammons, who once woke me up from a nightmare and said, “You’re OK. You’re OK. You have what you need.” And he was right.
 
NEW WORSHIP SERIES:

October 10
October 17
October 24

October 31


November 7


November 14

November 21
MOVING OUT OF SCARE CITY

Fear of Not Having Enough
Fear of a Meaningless Life
Fear That You'll be Broken Forever

Fear That You Don't Know the Ending
Reformation Sunday

Fear is a Story
All Saints Sunday

Fear for the World

Abundant Love Casts Out Fear
Stewardship Sunday
NEW Zoom Worship Info
Sundays at 10:00 AM

Virtual Worship
To Dial In by Phone Only 1 (312) 626-6799 MTG ID 882-6665-6183


Participant ID (Not required. None provided) “Otherwise just press # ”
                                              Meeting Password 760760

A WORD ABOUT BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

On October 31, millions of children will engage in a celebration that was difficult for the past 2 years – they will go from house to house in search of goodies in the tradition called Trick-or-Treat.

Halloween actually finds its roots in All Hallows Eve – the evening before All Saints Day. October 31 is also the celebration of The Reformation – and the beginning of the Protestant Tradition of which we are a part.

Join us this Reformation Sunday, to examine the roots that launched us to this point.

Join us next Sunday, for All Saints Sunday, when we remember the saints who have gone before us and a special commemoration of loved ones that we have lost in the past year.

If you have a name that you would especially like to be remembered – please email Lisa in the church office by 9 AM Wednesday November 3.
 
God’s Peace in all your beginnings and endings,
Pastor Dale

Bible Study – Come Join Us

There are no prerequisites, no entrance exams…

Just come with curiosity, eagerness to explore contradictions, and a willingness to consider new perspectives.

We’re going to do some pre-Advent preparation and look at the Genealogy of Jesus. Who are the characters that preceded the One whom we follow? They are NOT the “saints” that you’d expect.

We’re on Zoom, so you can join from wherever you are.

Pastor Dale


Join us on Thursdays at 9:45 – 11:00 AM

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 852 9852 3758
Passcode: 760760

By Phone: 1-312-626-6799 US (Chicago)
    
Meeting ID: 852 9852 3758
Passcode: 760760
As we enter November, the Council finds itself beginning the plans for our 2022 budget and our Annual Stewardship Campaign. Please keep an eye out for the Stewardship Mailing. It will include a pledge card and a section for “time and talents” to fill out.

The Stewardship Campaign has been something we have done at Trinity routinely for years. As I think about our current worship series and what Stewardship means to me, I am drawn to the first sermon: “The Fear of Not Having Enough”. This is a fear we all can relate to on some level. However, our worship series ends on Stewardship Sunday with the lesson of how “Abundant Love Casts Out Fear”.  This is inspiring my thinking as we begin the Campaign, because while it is easy for us to give from a place of fear, how wonderful it is to give from a place of love.

During these times of uncertainty, it is easy to step back and let others carry responsibilities of caring for our world and each other. However, at Trinity we have never done that. As a small church of limited means, we have always embraced our role as Stewards of God’s love with whatever means we have.

Thank you to all our members who have been so generous in sharing talents and treasures in the past. As Stewardship Sunday on November 21 approaches, I hope we can all consider ways how we can be stewards of the future of Trinity. 

Thanks,
Kim
Mission Core
 
As we have undertaken participation in the unusual RIP Medical Debt Retirement Fund project with our sister UCC congregations of the Illinois Conference, I thought it worth some additional information about the fund.
 
Here is a part their story from the home webpage, about this unusual organization:
Every day 79,000,000 Americans choose between paying their medical bills and basic needs like food and shelter.
 
Our Story
RIP Medical Debt was founded in 2014 by two former debt collections executives, Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton.

Over the course of decades in the debt-buying industry, Craig and Jerry met with thousands of Americans saddled with unpaid and un-payable medical debt and realized they were uniquely qualified to help these people in need.

They used their expertise and compassion to create a unique way to relieve medical debt: they would use donations to buy large bundles of medical debt and then relieve that debt with no tax consequences to donors or recipients. From this idea came RIP Medical Debt, a New York based 501(C)(3). The results have been spectacular— $5,320,438,726 in medical debts eradicated so far, providing financial relief for over 3,001,525 individuals and families.
                Jerry Ashton                 Craig Antico
 
What is most important about our endeavor is that we’re not doing this by ourselves. We are working in concert with about 245 other UCC congregations here in Illinois, and it is my hope that by the time of our Annual Conference Celebration in November, we will have reached our pledged amount of $1000 dollars. 
 
Thanks to their vote of approval, our Love of Children and Love of Neighbor ministry teams have provided us with a foundation of $500 dollars on which to build. Your check in whatever amount you are able to contribute will bring us closer to our goal. 
Checks should be written to ‘Trinity UCC” with the notation “Medical Debt”.
 
The goal of $100,000 set by our Conference Minister, Rev. Molly Carlson will, when put into action by RIP Medical Debt will realize $10,000,000 of debt relief for many, many peopled. 
 
I would encourage everyone to take a few minutes to take a look at the RIP Medical Debt website in more detail. Here is the link to go there:
Thank you, Trinity!
Roger
CASA CENTRAL HOLIDAY MAGIC

Once again, we will be providing wrapped Christmas gifts for the children of Casa Central. The age range of the children has changed and there is a "wish list" for each child. Please read the letter from Casa Central Development Associate, Ella Benoit, a portion of which is included below.

The gifts will need to be wrapped and labeled for each child. We will do both a ‘bring to church’ on Sundays, and a final “drive and drop” collection on Saturday, December 4th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM in the church driveway (providing we’ve not had a large snowfall).

More information on the children's wish list and how to sign up will be coming soon.

 
"Thank you for your immeasurable support in Casa Central and its wonderful programs. Attached to this email is the list of 26 Holiday Magic participants from our Early Learning Academy, which provides quality early childhood education for children, ages 2 to 5. We please ask that the present be wrapped. I have Trinity UCC Deerfield down for delivery on Monday, December 6th.
 
Trinity UCC Deerfield and yourself are truly making this holiday magical for our Early Learning Academy participants."

Warm Regards,
Ella Benoit
FOR YOUR MUSICAL MEDITATION

The Wartburg Choir in Germany: Celebrating 500 Years of Reformation

2017 marked the 500 year anniversary of The Reformation. This is a documentary about the music of the Reformation. Feel free to skip through and just listen to the music!
Temporary Office Hours

Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 AM - 12 PM
Monday & Thursday, Lisa is working from home and checking email regularly.