Greetings!The purpose of Trinity Memorial is to be the heart, hands and feet of God in the world ... work and play, word and action ... 

from the rector
You will read poems in Christmas cards, sing songs and carols galore, watch schmaltzy movies along with ten thousand gift idea commercials! You will have to send gifts, cards and food to the ones you love or work(ed) with. If your family is smaller than it once was, you will be in deep grief for yesterday one moment and in grateful joy for today the next – a roller coaster is the only way to try to explain it. The commercialized Christmas machine around us would rather we didn’t notice, just buy, buy, buy.
 
The Christian Advent season is a call to sensibility; a call to lay low from the normal frenzy that Christmas preparation has become. Four Sundays and almost four weeks of taking the time to ponder the promise, feel the strength of our ancestors who have known, sharing their laments and celebrations.
We are blessed with the voices of the prophets and apostles who cried out long before us for the God who dared to walk among us and know us better than we know ourselves.
 
This year is different for everyone – no one can give us a map and so we are sharing the road to the promise together. Ours will one day be the songs of the ancestors. I am grateful for this community on the journey of faith.

Shalom, Donna+
Following the Advent map you received, we celebrate St. Nicholas on Dec. 6 and you are urged to use the small hand crocheted "Peace of the heART" coaster to hold a warm beverage and feel the warmth of the love of the hands that made it.

The church office is closed and Chris is on sick leave for the next couple of weeks. Please do not call Chris if you have her cell number. There is no access to the building unless absolutely necessary. Please email Terry Hirshon for info about shelter meal delivery: tnewirth@haverford.edu. Please contact Rev. Donna 330.766.5904 for all other needs. The voicemail will be picked up daily. Please stay in touch.

Abraham Jam
I participated an Interfaith Peace Conference two years ago. One night a Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian walked into the concert hall … and filled the room with shared friendship, faith and music. You have to see and hear them to understand that there are pockets of people everywhere whose humanity runs deeper than religion. The music that filled that room that night has expanded into a film and roving peace band that inspires all faiths with hope. Hear a bit of their music HERE . There will also be a film debut about their friendship and band. 

CBS TV for Advent and Christmas: Bishop Gutierrez returns to CBS for Sunday services at 5:30 a.m. weekly beginning 11/29; and 6 a.m. on Christmas Day. You can record and watch later! Each week features a different church building, preacher and choir.
Rummage: What do a Calphalon pan, a bedspread, and decorative porcelain plaques have in common? They have all been sold on TMC’s virtual rummage sale! In case you thought rummage sale was canceled in the time of Covid, you were wrong! Since the summer, Sharon has been posting rummage inventory on line (first on Nextdoor.com and then, if they don't sell there, on craigslist.com), and our "treasures" have been passed along to new homes. If you are interested in helping the on-going sale, the best way is to donate. Here’s how it works: you donate an attractive, sellable item, providing a full description and photograph and suggested price. Because there is currently no easy access to the storage space in the church undercroft, the item remains in your house until it sells. Sharon posts the information, and when a sale is imminent, Sharon puts the purchaser and you in touch with each other by email. No phone numbers are exchanged. If you have a "private" email, we can use that. You arrange hand-off of the item, collect the payment, and pass the payment to Sallie for accounting. If you are a perennial worker at the rummage sale in the sanctuary, you will find that this way is easy and pleasant. Can you help? Call Sharon or Sallie if you have a question about what kind of item does well on line.
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Wreath Sale -- we are having our annual wreath sale. Noble wreaths are $20 and a bow is $3. Wreaths must be preordered by December 8th -- click here to download or print the order form or just let Sharon (sharond@voicenet.com or 215-732-1471 know how many of each you want. There is only a limited supply of bows. Pick up in church courtyard on Saturday, December 12 from 10AM -- 12 Noon. Cash or check only -- no credit cards. Bring your payment when you pick up the wreath.
Food Box Project -- We have begun a new initiative to deliver food boxes to those in need in our neighborhood. Carmen Ortiz and Susan Weinman are organizing this project through “Caring for Friends”. Teams of volunteers will meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
 
We plan to leave TMC for Caring for Friends at 2pm, load one or two SUVs - they give us a LOT of food they give us so one SUV will get very packed and weighed down - and take the food back to the Trinity courtyard (getting back about 3:30) where we can unload, sort and box/bag it up for individuals. Guests start coming at about 4:30 to pick up their boxes/bags.
Carmen delivers boxes to people who live a little farther away or who can’t get to the site so some needs to be packed into her truck.
 
The next planned dates are December 8 and December 14th.
 
Needed:
-      4-6 people who are comfortable bending over a lot to help with sorting, breaking down any boxes to be recycled and throwing trash out neatly. 
-      two vehicles doing each run (in case there is an issue with one vehicle or person we can still continue.)
-      donations of 20-medium size moving boxes or 40+ heavy grocery bags (e.g., doubled Trader Joe's bags) that can hold heavy loads for each day.
This will all happen outside (Trinity courtyard) for now due to Covid.
 
If you can help with this project, please contact Susan Weinman at susanweinman@yahoo.com
or 215 317 9858).

LAST CALL: HOLIDAY GREETING CARDS FOR SHUT-INS: the residents at St. Ignatius Nursing Home have been stuck inside with little or no contact from the outside for all these months. It would be nice if we could deliver to them Christmas cards or generic holiday cards with messages of affirmation and hope. You can use regular store bought cards or make your own and write a short message. Since we cannot bring homemade goodies, you might want to include with each card a small flat (to fit in the envelope) ornament; stars and snowflakes are nice and can remain up all year. I hope you all are staying safe at home just as those in the nursing home must. Once you have your cards ready, call or email me revlynn22@gmail.com for a time to bring them to me. I will find a way to get them there.
Pax, Deacon Lynn

From Sharon: I got some cool ornaments from Amazon:
Lemonfilter 12 Pcs Christmas Wooden Hanging Ornaments, Wooden Pendants Ornaments Christmas Tree Decorations (see above). They are
$8.99 for 12 My cards are big (5.5 x 8) so these will fit.

Deacon's corner
Advent is a season designated by the church for Christians to reflect on the coming of the Christ child; to be in touch with our relationship with God. While we make our tangible preparations, we make inner preparations for the coming of Jesus into our lives. Recently, I came across an essay by Christopher Griedrich Blumhardt, a German pastor and religious socialist from the 19th and 20th century. In his essay, “Action in Waiting” about Advent he wrote:
“The work for God goes on quite simply in this way; one does not always have to wait for something out of the ordinary. The all-important thing is to keep your eyes on what comes from God and to make way for it to come into being here on the earth. If you always try to be heavenly and spiritually minded, you won’t understand the everyday work God has for you to do. But if you embrace what is to come from God, if you live for Christ’s coming in practical life, you will learn that divine things can be experienced here and now, things quite different from what our human brains can ever imagine.”
This reminds me of St. Ignatius’ teachings about finding God in everyday life. While we can benefit greatly from immersing ourselves in Advent spiritual activities, Blumhardt is telling us to also look for God in everyday practical life where we can find the divine. As we socially distance and wear our masks let us stay awake, seek and find Christ in everyday places, things and activities.
Let us pray:
God, let us find you in our daily lives. Prepare us for your presence, then, now and forever. Amen.
Pax,
Deacon Lynn 
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Worship leaders 12.6.20
9:00
leaders: Rachel, David, Mia
10:30
Readers: Phyllis, Rachel
Prayers: Anita
Officiant & Preacher: Donna Maree
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Birthdays
December
5 Missy Randolph
9 George Stuempfig
18 Susan Weinman
29 Abbie Kinzler
Worship:
Sundays: all on Zoom
9:00 children ages 0-7 and their families
10:30 everyone welcome; hymns led by the TMC choir, prayers, sermon
coffee hour after both

Wednesdays 9:00 Morning Coffee & Prayer
Thursdays 5:30 Evening Prayer All welcome
Prayer is the most powerful tool we have when we can't be there personally for friend or stranger ...
Healing and support especially for: Mark, Sarah W, Sasha, Shirley, Bill, Travis, Luca, Sallie & Jim W., Jack, Lynn, Andrea, Susan W, Richard, Chris and family, Ulpiano, Carmen O., Peter D. (Sharon's brother-in-law), Charlotte, Abbie
Special prayers of gratitude, especially for Jack's port removed on Wednesday!
Grace for those who have died and all who mourn
Stamina and creativity for all essential workers, especially teachers, clerks, IT professionals, trash collectors, medical personnel, delivery, bankers, restaurant employees ...
As you prayerfully consider your financial support for the work and presence that Trinity provides, please use this link
Designate your gift for:
Pledge
Special Fund
Rector's Discretionary Fund
General Fund for expenses
Other
Our building is closed but the church is still open!
We continue to pray together and worship by moving our services online. We are also keeping our staff employed, repairing and readying for building rentals and and all activity to resume.
While our physical gathering is limited please do not neglect to provide for the work of the church with your financial contributions. You may send a check in the mail, make a direct payment through your ne banking platform or click on the DONATE button to go directly to our secure online service.
Trinity Memorial www.trinityphiladelphia.org
Rentals: events@trinityphiladelphia.org
Rev. Donna: RectorTMC@gmail.com
Donna 330.766.5904
Deacon Lynn: revlynn22@gmail.com
Lynn 908.217.6365
Office: Admin@trinityphiladelphia.org