Justice and Outreach Council
Monthly Digest
September 2021
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Welcome to the Justice and Outreach Council's monthly newsletter.
A place to find all the happenings of this active ministry at Trinity.
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Land Acknowledgement
The JOC committee devised this Land Acknowledgment statement to be read before meetings at Trinity and during services.
We honor and acknowledge the Chumash people, the traditional custodians of this land, and pay our respects to the Chumash elders, past, present, and future, who call this land on which we sit their home. We appreciate their wisdom, their culture, and their presence among us today as the host people of this land. We lament the injustices done to the original inhabitants and the injustices done to this land in the centuries since. We seek the courage and wisdom to heal the wounds of the past and build a better future together, in deep solidarity.
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Ministry Sundays Begin September 12
JOC Hosting Coffee Hour
The Justice and Outreach Council (JOC) will be hosting coffee hour after both services on Welcome Back Sunday, September 12. Be sure to stop by and check out the JOC information table to learn more about Trinity's outreach programs. Perhaps you would like to join our dynamic council? Please take a moment to check us out!
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Global Emergencies in Haiti and Afghanistan
How You Can Help
Lara Cooper, Trinity parishioner and member of JOC, works at Direct Relief International (DRI). She reported last week that “Direct Relief is responding in Haiti. A delivery of PPE and emergency medical backpacks landed in Port-at-Prince last week. FedEx will donate a charter plane that will take 165 pallets of medical aid to local hospitals and health providers this week." For more information and to support DRI visit directrelief.org.
Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) Responds to Afghanistan. EMM is one of nine agencies with federal contracts to provide refugee resettlement services on behalf of the State Department. See the recent communication from EMM on ways to support the welcoming of our Afghan allies to communities across the country.
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More Local Justice Issues
Anonymous Gun Buyback Nets 238 weapons. If this action prevents one death by homicide, suicide or accident, it will be well worth the effort! Thank you to the SB Police Department and coalition Against Gun Violence.
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Border & Migration Ministry Summit
Save the date for the 2021 Border & Migration Ministry Summit, co-hosted by Episcopal Migration Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. The Fourth Annual Border & Migration Ministry Summit will be held virtually, October 21-23, 2021.
The Summit is open to all individuals currently engaged in migration ministries or interested in learning more. This year’s program will offer keynote presentations, workshops, and prayers with three focus tracks: Refugee Resettlement; Asylum & Border Ministries; and Accompaniment. Learn more here.
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Opportunities for Involvement
in our local community, at Trinity, and in the world
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Blood Drive at Trinity
Tuesday, September 7, 1-5pm
In response to the critical blood supply shortage in Santa Barbara, Jeff Krutzsch, our council chair, has arranged for a blood drive to be held at Trinity. All eligible donors are encouraged to donate.
Sign up online, or at coffee hour on September 5, or by calling (805) 542-8500 using blood drive code TESB.
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Transition House
Trinity has had a long history of providing meals for families at Transition House on the fourth Thursday of the month. Currently a small, but mighty group of volunteers are taking turns preparing dinner in their own kitchens (since COVID restrictions prohibit outsider’s use of Transition House’s kitchen). They then deliver the meal to Transition House. This group is made up of Teresa Pietsch, Michael Arnold, Lynn Carlisle, Vanessa Woods, and Stephen Singleton. If you’d like to join them in this effort, please contact Teresa Pietsch at teresapietsch@cox.net
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Meal Ministry in the Park
Our second dinner in the park in August was a success! Trinity partners with Trinity Lutheran Church to serve one meal a month (on the fourth Thursday) to our unhoused neighbors in Alameda Park. We participate in the Neighborhood Navigation Center, which is an ongoing social service at the park.
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All volunteer spots for Election Officers filled!
Please be sure to vote in this important recall election on September 14.
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Coastal Clean Up Day
Saturday, September 18, 9am-noon
Santa Barbara County’s 2021 Coastal Cleanup Day, an international day of volunteer action that offers community members a chance to give back to their favorite beach. With around 30 sites from Carpinteria to Guadalupe, Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD) unites our community for a common cause - clean beaches all along the CA coast! Check out the website for more information on cleanups for each site and sign up to attend a cleanup through Eventbrite. Community service hours are offered for those who need it. Contact: coastalcleanupday@exploreecology.org
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The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was passed in the House of Representatives!
Make your voices heard and ask your Senator to support this bill which would strengthen the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Visit whenweallvote to take action.
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Stories of Shared Ministry |
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Every month we publish a story of shared ministry and volunteerism from a Trinity parishioner. This month’s story is from Michael Neal Arnold, Lay Eucharistic Minister.
"I lightly dipped the communion wafer in the chalice and held it in front of the little lady. “This”, I said, “is the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
She looked up at me with the sweet innocent smile that often accompanies dementia; she asked, “Which part?”" Click here to continue reading.
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Celebrate and Support Justice |
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Keep your eyes open for new celebration envelopes in the pews!
CELEBRATE!...a birthday, an anniversary, a special event of any sort for which you are thankful.
Turn your “celebration” into a donation to the Justice and Outreach Council. We will use these funds to provide comfort and safety to those in need—food, education for children, assistance to immigrants—any of our neighbors needing support….so they can celebrate. Together, these gifts make possible our community of welcome, reconciliation and service.
We would like thank the following people for their generous contributions to the JOC celebration fund. Jeannie Christensen, in celebration for the birthday of her son Eric, who died 11 years ago. Jean Davis, celebrating her daughter Norah’s birthday. Karen Clayton, celebrating husband Kent’s birthday. Irene Marsi, Julia Laraway, and Phil Willis-Conger were also generous donors. Thank you all!!
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The Justice and Outreach Council (JOC) continues its important work in our community and beyond. Funding for the JOC comes from your pledges and Celebration offerings. The JOC’s funding is part of our annual Operating Budget where five percent (5%) of all pledges received during the year is put in the JOC account. As pledge income has remained steady this year, these funds continue to be set aside for justice work.
There are two ways you can continue to celebrate and support our justice work in addition to your pledges both now and in the future. You can send in a check made out to Trinity and simply note “Justice” in the memo line and provide the names of the persons or occasion you want to celebrate. You can also donate via Trinity’s PayPal account, select "Justice Fund" and under “special instructions” provide the names of the persons or occasion you want to celebrate.
Thank you for supporting our justice work through your pledges, donations, prayers, and most of all, the work you do in your lives to make this a more loving, peaceful, and just world.
Kathryn Dean, JOC
Michael Dean, Treasurer
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