Christmas

Angels

Still

Available!

Help make a child's Christmas better - we still have some Angels left! Call Mel ASAP at (860) 482-6027.

Angels are due back in Trinity on Sunday December 9.

An Update from Mtr. Carrie

Beloveds of Trinity,

As we enter into the season of Advent, a season of anticipation, you know my own family is going through our own season of anticipation. Our baby girl is growing healthily and is due Epiphany, January 6^th – what a great date for the child of two priests!

With my maternity leave approaching, your vestry and I have been hard at work ensuring our community continues to operate smoothly during that time, and I hope to be able to answer any questions you may have before my leave begins.

I will be off from after Christmas until April 7^th (the Monday before Palm Sunday) with a combination of vacation and paid leave. During that time, our services of Holy Eucharist will be covered by two wonderful retired local clergy, the Rev. Marilyn Anderson and the Rev. Evelyn Wheeler. Emergency pastoral coverage for the first part of leave will be handled by Rev. Marilyn, and after that by a familiar face, the Rev. Nikolaus Combs. He and I will have several weeks off together, then he will go back to work while I take the remainder of leave, and then we will swap.

The full document explaining who to contact about what, and how, can be found here.

The timing of my leave is contingent upon when baby arrives, and as many of you know, due dates are just educated guesses. If she comes very early, Nik will lead our Christmas Eve service, and if she comes Christmas Eve itself, then we will have lay-led ante-communion. And if she comes very late, my leave will be slightly shorter so I can be back with all of you for Holy Week.

I thank you for your ongoing concern, prayers, and respect for myself and Nik as we look forward to this new chapter in our lives. Please do not hesitate to reach out within the next month if you have any questions or concerns.

Yours in Christ,

Mtr. Carrie

The Visitation, by Jacques Daret, c. 1435

[Editor's Note: the guy in this painting is likely thinking, "She slapped me when I touched her belly ..."]

Will and Dan from the YMCA Visited Trinity to Talk about the Winter Shelter



Will and Dan from the YMCA seasonal shelter program joined us during Coffee Hour recently to discuss the upcoming winter shelter season and answer questions from parishioners.

Some take-aways:

• The shelter opens on Sunday December 1. It will close on April 15, 2025.

• It will be open from 7pm to 8am.

• To get into the shelter, people must call 211, and 211 will then take their information and get them on the admission list for the shelter.

• The shelter has a capacity for 11 women in the Lower Chapel, and 19 men in the Upper Parish Hall.

• This has been a strong and successful collaboration with Trinity Church, the YMCA, Community Kitchen, McCall Behavioral Health Network, Greenwoods Counseling, the Torrington Police, and the Mobile Crisis Team.

• Cameras are being installed around the Upper Parish Hall and in the basement, as well as outside and in the parking lot.

Please hold the opening of the shelter in your prayers.

*************

On November 25, Conrad and Mel met with Dan and Will from the Y; DJ from the Community Kitchen; Chief Baldwin and Deputy Chief Barown from Torrington Police; and Deputy Fire Marshall Howell. Some take-aways:

• The Community Kitchen is open Monday through Friday 7am to 1pm (serving breakfast and lunch); Saturdays 10a to 1p (serving lunch); and Sunday from 10a to 6p (lunch and dinner). They also serve dinner Tuesdays and Fridays.

• We would like to allow families to shelter in the rectory living room and the rectory lobby, but the State Fire Marshall did not approve this. Chief Baldwin and the Deputy Fire Marshall would like to see the families on the first floor of the rectory, so Deputy Howell will talk to the state Fire Marshall.

• In the event of a Cold Weather Protocol, our sanctuary can be used as a sanctuary.

• At this meeting, Chief Baldwin asked, "What support do you need from us?" We told him that just asking that question was a welcome sign of support. Will and Dan requested that a police officer "drop in" at the shelter to see the program and connect with staff and guests, so it is proactive rather than reactive.

• We also had a good discussion about loitering. At Trinity, we welcome people who are being fed at the Community Kitchen; or are having appointments with McCall staff; or are attending AA/NA meetings; or are sleeping at the seasonal shelter. We are concerned about people who are loitering or sleeping on the grounds at times when none of these services are being offered. We have noticed a decline in people on the rectory stoop and church steps, as we have posted signs and have been talking to these people.

New Cameras Have Been Installed!

Many new cameras have been installed inside and outside Trinity Church, including the parking lot. The YMCA set up Ring cameras in the Upper Parish Hall, and ten additional cameras are about to go live in other parts of our building.

The seasonal shelter just opened on December 1, with a total of 15 guests on the first night. Twelve men slept in the Upper Parish Hall and three women were in the Lower Chapel. We anticipate this number increasing.

Trinity Church was saddened to learn that Mary Rolfe (widow of George Rolfe) passed away on October 26. She was a long-time parishioner here at Trinity Church, and a friend to many.

You can read her obituary here.

On Tuesday, November 26^th at 9:00 AM, we gathered for the funeral and burial of Mary Rolfe in the sanctuary and memorial garden. Mary and her husband George were longtime members of Trinity, with Mary involved in the music at Trinity and in the wider Torrington community.

Torrington High School will dedicate their upcoming band and orchestra concert to Mary. This concert will be held on December 4 at 7pm in the THS gym. See the flyers below.

Community Thanksgiving Service

The Community Thanksgiving Service was a beautiful event! We had Reverend Scott Cady from St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Reverend Anna Beckman from Full Gospel Lighthouse Church, Reverend Averill Blackburn from Center Congregational Church, and Reverend Carrie Combs from Trinity Episcopal Church. Elizabeth Allyn from Church of Christ Congregational in Norfolk played the organ, and Matthew Valenti from Center Congregational Church played the piano. We also had a choir made up of members from the different churches.

Many thanks to those who made it happen, especially Naomi Cardello.

Many thanks to those who attended the Annual John Brown Memorial Twilight Hike on December 1.

A NEW FORMATION SERIES STARTED!

We started a new formation series on Sunday, November 10, on the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes. We use "Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount Together," edited by Charles E. Moore, as a springboard for our discussions. "Following the Call" is a collection of short meditations on various aspects of the Beatitudes by a range of theologians and Christian thinkers such writers as Augustine St. Francis of Assissi, Henri Nouen, Dorothy Sayers, Dorothy Day, Meister Eckhart, Soren Kierkegaard, and many others. 

We will meet again on December 8, and will decide at that point as a group if we'd like to continue with this series.

We hope you can join us, even if you did not attend the earlier discussions.

Consider attending this improv event with the Goshen Roundabouts - our Vestry clerk Lydia Babbitt will be performing!

Order tickets online at www.goshenplayers.org.

Save the date: December 14 is a Chorus Angelicus concert at Trinity Church, Torrington. Details to follow.

Support your local artists!

Our Culture Is Beautiful Movie Discussion

On Saturday January 25 at 1pm at Trinity Church, we will have a movie screening with Our Culture Is Beautiful, followed by a discussion. Our title this month is a 2014 film (rated PG-13) that centers on a major figure of the civil rights movement in 1965 as he plans a march to draw attention to voting rights in the South. This Oscar-winning* film was directed by Ava DuVernay and stars Daniel Oyelowo.

(*Best Original Song - "Glory" by John Legend and Common.)

If you still can't guess the title of this movie, contact Conrad at conradsank@gmail.com.

Meanwhile, just a short drive from Torrington...

If you have an announcement or event that you would like publicized, or if you are a parishioner involved in an event that you would like to share with the parish, please send it to The Portal at announcements@trinity-torrington.org, and we can then direct your announcement to the best method of communication.

THEOLOGY VIA MEMOLOGY

There's room in the Trinity manger...