Justice and Outreach Council
Monthly Digest
November 2020
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Welcome to the second edition of 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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Opportunities for Involvement
Ways to get involved in our community, at Trinity, and in the world.
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Freedom Warming Center
Trinity Church is part of the interfaith community feeding and sheltering the unsheltered during the cold and rainy months from November through March. We are scheduled for about four weeks during those months and usually open our doors and prepare food when it rains or becomes too cold.
This year's Warming Center season will have houseless guests staying overnight in the Veteran's Memorial Building on Cabrillo Blvd during harsh weather, instead of at individual churches. However, we, along with the other participating churches, have been asked to provide dinner once again.
This is where you come in. Trinity is collecting casseroles in anticipation of the winter Warming Center opening. Trinity's casseroles are a legend among the Warming Center guests, and we need your help again this season! Please consider making a casserole for the freezer — hearty casseroles with chicken, pasta or beef are best. You can pick up an aluminum pan (and drop off casseroles) on Sundays from 12:30-3:30pm at the Greeter Table during the Eucharists on the Labyrinth.
We can also make arrangements to drop off empty tins and collect casseroles at your home if necessary. This standard size will stack in the church freezer and will cook in a similar amount of time. Frozen purchased casseroles are also welcome. We also need packages of dinner rolls and individually wrapped pats of butter which we can freeze until needed.
We will heat the casseroles at Trinity and the food will then be packaged and placed in warming containers to be picked up by warming center staff. Teams of three people will package dinners at Trinity. If you have any questions contact the office: office@trinitysb.org or 805-965-7419.
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The Giving Tree
Christmas is the wonderful time of year when we can celebrate what God has so generously provided us, and share it with less fortunate members of our community. Every year Trinity parishioners provide colorfully wrapped Christmas gifts for residents of PATH Santa Barbara (People Assisting the Homeless), and we know your generosity will shine again.
Simply purchase a large, x-large or XXL unisex warm sweatshirt. Or if your prefer not to shop, $25 gift cards to Old Navy or Target are also appreciated. Then, return your wrapped gift with the size written on the front and place it in the Giving Tree box during the Eucharists on the Labyrinth, on Sundays from 12:30-3:30pm beginning November 8. On December 20, Trinity elves (the Selzler family) will magically transport them to PATH. Contact: office@trinitysb.org.
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Santa Barbara County Foodbank
The Foodbank is experiencing an extreme shortage of non-perishable food items and needs your help! Their Drive-Thru Food Drive will be Saturday, November 14th - come drop-off non-perishable food items without even getting out of your car!
If you want to Fill the Foodbank from the comfort of your own home this season, their Virtual Food Drive is happening NOW. Donate by clicking here.
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Update on JOC’s COVID Task Force
Northern Santa Barbara County continues to record a disproportionate amount of Covid-19 cases, with farmworkers and others in shared housing particularly at risk. Trinity’s Covid-19 task force, part of the Justice and Outreach Council, formed earlier this year to advocate for expanded testing and services to protect vulnerable workers.
The group has made significant progress, including advocating for more public health support from local policymakers. In September, the task force was able to organize 34 signatories, including interfaith organizations, for support of expanded testing and health services for workers. Since then, the Public Health Department has been working with community organizations to deliver culturally appropriate health messaging in several languages, and provide PPE, as well as housing for workers needing to quarantine.
Cases continue to rise, however, and health measures remain urgent. The task force, working in consultation with the Public Health Department and other local organizations, is focused on three areas:
- Expansion of Covid-19 testing for farmworkers at their work sites or other accessible locations. Limited hours of service, barriers to transportation, and technological hurdles still make testing out of reach for many.
- Formation of a dedicated hotline for farmworkers to report safety concerns. The task force is working with several groups to support the formation of this hotline, including advocates at CAUSE, which will be focused on the issue mid-November.
- Prioritization of enforcement efforts for agricultural operations that do not prioritize worker health and safety.
This fall, the task force will return to Trinity members with action items, opportunities for advocacy and ways to support this important effort.
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Stories of Volunteerism
“Extraordinary Kindness” and Sarah House. These two go together in our minds because Sarah House is where one witnesses “Extraordinary Kindness” practiced every day, by everyone. It is who we are; it is what we do.
It is with “Extraordinary Kindness” that Sarah House staff gives comfort and care and compassion to those individuals who are facing the end of their lives.
Throughout Sarah House’s history, Trinity parishioners have been there every step of the way. To read the entire story, click here.
Jean Davis, Trinity Parishioner
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Celebrate and Support Justice
The Justice and Outreach Council (JOC) has continued its important work while Trinity has been in diaspora. 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.
However, with in-person church services suspended, we no longer have “Celebration Sundays”, and we are informed that when we resume gathering at Trinity we will not be allowed to have envelopes (as well as other materials) in the pews.
But be not dismayed! 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 by visiting our website or by clicking here, and under “special instructions” designate your donation for JOC and 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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