Second Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN, became a temporary refuge Sunday for children fleeing a Unitarian church where a gunman opened fire killing two adults and leaving seven others injured.
As many as two dozen children fled to Second Presbyterian during the shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC), which is directly adjacent to Second Presbyterian.
[more]There are few flower arrangement donation sign-ups for the Communion Table through August. Contact the office or sign up on the flower board across from the elevator if you would like to.
Trinity will host a concert of the best of flute duo repertoire with compositions by Gabriel Faure, Philippe Gaubert, Ian Clarke, Robert Baksa, and Gary Schocker. Flutes will be played by Wendy Hymes, Matt Allison and Marie Jureit. Violinist and trinity member Jessica Platt will also join the ensemble for J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #4. The FREE concert will be on Tuesday, July 29th at 7pm in the sanctuary. A freewill offering will be taken.
The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy is collecting non-fiction stories of a time that God's Grace was working in your life, but that Grace was not recognized until hours, days, months, or even years later. If you have a story 500 words or less to share, you have until Nov. 1st to submit it in writing or via phone interview. Contact Liz in the office for more information (725-3840).
Trinity Choir members will jumpstart the season with a retreat at church from 9:30 - 4:30 on Saturday, July 26, with time for conversation and working on music for the fall. Interested in joining the choir? Talk to Vicki Carmichael: 725-3840.
The Worship and Music Commission has some exciting ideas for occasional new expressions of the Communion Service. We invite you to come to The Lord's Table on August 3rd for a true communion between the Lord and ourselves, going back to the communion traditions of 2,000 years ago.
On Monday, August 4th at 7 pm we will have the 3rd in a series of events designed to prepare and inspire Trinity members for deeper interfaith partnerships. We have discussed the concept of "belief" and the idea of "truth" in the first two. Our last two topics will be: "What role does the Bible play in our faith?"and "Who is Jesus for Us?" The format will be interactive, participatory, and exploratory, and the evening will begin with food and drink. Childcare will be available. Please mark your calendars for the August 4th event on the Bible, plan to attend, and bring a friend!
Trinity Choir members will jumpstart the season with a retreat at church from 9:30 - 4:30 on Saturday, July 26, with time for conversation and working on music for the fall. Interested in joining the choir? Talk to Vicki Carmichael: 725-3840.
Want to relive the diversity of music performed at Paul's goodbye party (from early English to African) while helping the Psalm 150 fund? Make a donation to the fund (at least $5 please!) that helps us provide special music throughout the year and receive a CD of Paul's farewell gathering. You can write a check to Trinity with "Psalm 150" in the memo line. Please contact the office with any questions (725-3840).
Congratulations to Dr. Bill Wade, our Interim Minister of Music-Organist, who recently passed his qualifying exams and was named a Colleague of the American Guild of Organists.
Both of these A.I.'s became effective with the close of G.A. and do not need to be ratified by the presbyteries.
As our Co-Moderators Deborah Block and Jon Walton said, "This is a day that has been thirty years in coming and we give thanks for the hope that it offers to so many in the church who have been and still are excluded from ordained office."
The G.A. also
Additionally, the G.A.
Of course, the G.A. did much more. It elected the youngest-ever Moderator, Bruce Reyes-Chow (a plenary speaker at our 2003 Covenant Conference in Washington). It elected Gradye Parsons as Stated Clerk, by a strong majority on the first ballot. (Gradye was the unanimous choice of the Stated Clerk Nominating Committee.)
It also took any number of interesting and important actions, including
I want you to know that your support helped us win these happy results. San Jose is a beautiful but exceptionally expensive venue; your generosity helped us provide the resources, meeting space, and hospitality to help commissioners be effective both in committees and in plenary. Our National Organizer Tricia Dykers Koenig recruits and manages literally dozens of volunteers for G.A.; our "liaison" system worked very well to assist, advise, and connect commissioners and help them achieve shared goals. "I just can't thank the Covenant Network enough," said one commissioner - a sentiment I heard echoed by many others.
Many organizations within the church have already issued manifestos about the year ahead. Our board wants to take a little time to consider how we can be most helpful both to the movement toward inclusion and to the strength and mission of the whole church. We're meeting in a couple of weeks and I know I'll be writing to you again soon after that. Not least, passing the constitutional change through the presbyteries will need major new resources.
For now, though, I want to share with you the hope of this moment, and to thank you for your part in making it happen. A network is only as strong as its constituent parts. How grateful I am for each one of you!
:)
Pam
A "music ministry dream team" has recently begun discussing the future of Trinity's music ministry. Our purpose differs from that of a search committee for the Minister(s) of Music in that it is our task to envision the direction of the entire music ministry at Trinity and then to see where our new Minister(s) of Music might best fit into that picture. As we began discussions, a variety of opinions poured out. One priority we felt especially strongly about was "inclusion" - both in terms of music styles / repertoire and in terms of participation by the whole community. And we realized that we need input from the entire congregation. Sooo --
Join the "music ministry dream team" for lunch after church on Sunday, July 13, to give thanks for Trinity's music ministry and to explore our hopes, priorities, and requirements as the church begins a new phase in our musical life. There will be turkey (salad) with some trimmin's and a chance to gather around tables to talk. How could the dreaming be inclusive without including YOU?
Look for more details in coming weeks. In the meantime, all of us may, in Vicki Carmichael's words, "pray for the music ministry, this time of dreaming and Trinity's many transitions; give your heart's desires for this congregation and this music ministry to God to mold into a wonderful, unexpectable gift."
Also, look for the suggestion box in the hall outside the church office. You can recognize it by its coat of musical notes and hymn tunes!
Mark your calendars for the annual Mound Ridge Family Retreat, September 5 - 7. It is a weekend of spiritual reflection, renewal and celebration in the beautiful forested area surrounding the Meramec River. No telephones, no television, no electronics - just God, family and friends of all ages! Look for more detailed information soon or contact Traci O'Bryan (tlobryan@charter.net).
Earlier this month, Trinity launched the first in its series of events designed to prepare and inspire its members for deeper interfaith partnerships. This first event in a series of four, focused on the concept of belief. What does it mean to believe? As a human being? As a Presbyterian? Despite the possibly daunting goal of getting a handle on what it means to believe in 90 minutes, this event was not a high-powered, didactic presentation on philosophy or Christian theology. Rather, it was an interactive, open-ended discussion and exploration of the concept of belief that was really just the beginning to further conversation.
Consonant with the belief that good food and drink are essential to meaningful and fruitful interaction, the evening began with taste treats provided by our resident sommelier and gourmet chefs, Dave Nelson and Damayanthi Niles (close your eyes, breathe deeply and imagine roasted red pepper bruschetta, avocado mousse, marinated shrimp, and light summer white and red wine). We were then treated to a slideshow presentation of quotations about belief, created by Jayne Howard and Elaine Pontious. Following the slideshow, we broke out into small groups to discuss the implications of some of the quotes and only regretted that we didn't have longer to talk. The second half of the evening was devoted to exploring Christian creeds throughout the ages via a family album metaphor. To assist us in grappling with this concept, we all brought photos of ourselves and created our own family album for the evening. I think all who attended agreed that this metaphor was very helpful in making sense of the fluid and evolving nature of our theology and creeds, as well as the central role that storytelling plays in all areas of our lives.
The next event in this series will occur on July 7th at 7:00 p.m. The theme for this exploration will be "truth." Again the format will be interactive, participatory, and exploratory, and the evening will begin with victuals and libations. Please mark your calendars, plan to attend, and bring a friend!
Trinity has built Habitat for Humanity homes in 2001 and 2003. Trinity can build again in 2008! Details are at the end of this.
By early June we had already raised a total of almost $4,600. We need $5,000 to reserve two work days for Trinity volunteers, or $10,000 would secure three days for us. The building by volunteers will start with four consecutive days, August 20 through 23, and then continue on twelve successive Saturdays, excluding holiday weekends. The first single Saturday, then, will be September 6. Get your hammers and brushes ready! We will start signing up volunteers in July.
For now, you need a different tool. Get your checkbooks ready! Please consider contributing generously to this good cause sponsored by Trinity. Make checks payable to Trinity and write "Habitat" in the memo line.
Build Details: The build site is two blocks east of Grand Boulevard and two blocks north of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Our home will be sponsored by Trinity, by the Washington University Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and by others, with whom we will be matched by Habitat for Humanity St. Louis staff.
In 2003 we built a home in Hillsdale, which was sponsored and staffed by Interfaith Builders' four churches: Our Lady of the Pillar Parish, Sacred Heart Parish in Valley Park, St. Peter's Episcopal, and Trinity Presbyterian.
In 2001 we built in Hamilton Heights, at the corner of Belt and Wells Avenues. All of the funds and most of the workers came from Trinity.
Here's a great big THANK YOU to those people who have sent notes or given feedback about the music during worship. Your thoughts and comments are very helpful and greatly appreciated. We also thank the instrumentalists and soloists who contribute their talents during worship.
As we move forward with the Music Needs Assessment at Trinity, adjectives such as "diverse," "inclusive," and "eclectic" have been used to describe the desired outcome of the Music Ministry. Other words that we've heard include "familiar," "traditional," and "flowing." It is an exciting time to be involved in the Music Ministry and both Vicki Carmichael and I are approaching our commitment as the Interim Ministers of Music to be mindful of these suggestions along with the need to program music that will stretch us in our spiritual growth. Any suggestions or comments can be directed to us by phone, e-mail, or anonymously by putting your comments in the music suggestion box located outside of the church office near the library.
Some food for thought:
Grace and Peace,
Bill Wade, drwewade@gmail.com
Mark your calendars now for the 2008 CROP Walk, scheduled for Sunday, October 26 at Forest Park. Church teams from all over the city joined together last year to raise more money to feed the poor than any other city in the U.S.A! Plan to join the Trinity Trotters this year for a bigger and better CROP Walk for our city. Talk to Julie March about joining the team as we walk to serve those in need.
Equipping Ministry at Trinity has recently formed a new team, The Peace Prayer Team. Peacemaking and praying for peace, as well as funding peacemaking efforts, has a long tradition at Trinity and is most certainly still alive and well. Team members are an important part of each worship service, as we join our hearts together in prayers for others around us and around the world, seeking God's peace and justice for all. Are you interested in joining the Peace Prayer Team? Talk to Luise Hoffmann, Jane Rand or Julie March for more information.
Equipping Ministry has many faces at Trinity Presbyterian Church, as many faces as there are brothers and sisters in Christ here at Trinity, serving in God's name. Take for example our Welcoming Ministry - ushers greet members and visitors to worship with a smile, and the team provides wonderful treats at our fellowship time following the service. We all, during our lifetime, hunger to learn more about our loving God and the message and ministry of Jesus, and many of our fellow members serve all ages in Christian Education as we grow spiritually, physically and intellectually as Christians called to love and serve the world. We are led in prayer for the world by the Peace Prayer Team, and hospitality is offered to visitors through the visitor gift bags. Our Music Ministry lifts our hearts with a great variety of inspiring and beautiful music, and the Green Team beautifies our sanctuary for worship with flowers and growing plants. And this is just on Sunday morning!
Equipping Ministry at Trinity seeks to connect all members to the ministries they love, as God calls them to love and serve. We trust that God will guide us one day at a time, and one step at a time on this journey.
Racism is an ugly word. People get edgy and defensive when they hear it. It has overtones of violence and undertones of destructive ignorance. Trinity people - and all people of good will - emphatically renounce racism.
The media like to highlight the sensational aspects of racism - name-calling, rock-throwing, hateful graffiti - but they are oddly are quiet on the effects of life-long segregation. Segregation is a tangible result of racism; it is visible and identifiable and can be addressed without defense or offense because it just is.
According to several objective criteria, St. Louis is rated the 4th most segregated (black/white) city in the nation. The criteria are:
Perhaps living patterns by themselves do not mean much, but paired with differences in city services, they mean a lot. Black areas in the north city have been ignored, consciously neglected, and even abandoned by the city. Years of cultural isolation, segregation in education, employment, and medical care have left the city's soul painfully blighted. It hurts.
How did this happen? By accident and design.
The first French settlers in the eighteenth century had both black and Native American slaves who usually lived separately from the family owners. Americans who moved in after 1804 were not large slave-holders. There were possibly more free blacks in St. Louis than slaves in the years before 1860, the notorious slave auction held at the Old Courthouse notwithstanding. The races were segregated socially, but not rigidly so. It was illegal to teach blacks to read. John Berry Meacham's floating school on the Mississippi River defied that law and turned out many literate, skilled blacks; some eventually moved into the professions.
After the Civil War, great numbers of uneducated, unskilled free blacks moved to St. Louis from the South. Most found shelter in Mill Creek Valley, which stretched from Tucker to Grand along Market Street. Chestnut Valley, the part of Mill Creek Valley around present-day Union Station, was home to honkytonks and sporting houses. Ragtime and the blues grew up there and that's where Frankie and Johnny were lovers. When the World's Fair was being planned in 1903, City Beautiful organizers rushed to shut down Chestnut Valley and turn out its red lights.
Meanwhile, public education was trickling down. The first high school for blacks west of the Mississippi was built in 1875 and named for the abolitionist Charles Sumner. Schools continued to be separate and unequal until the 1954 Supreme Court decision. Over the next fifty years, the city board of education worked on plans for integration, but it has not yet achieved that goal.
By 1915 affluent blacks - doctors, lawyers, teachers, bankers, and entrepreneurs - lived in the Ville. North of the Central West End, the Ville was one of the very few housing areas in the city that did not have a restrictive covenant, probably by accident. (Restrictive covenants were standard, whether implicit or explicit, and often extended to Jews and Asians, sometimes to Italians and Irish - read Catholics - as well.) Germans and other northern Europeans lived east of the Ville in Bremen and Hyde Park, and northwest of the Ville in Baden and Walnut Park.
In 1916 an ordinance to enforce black/white segregation in housing was put on the ballot by nervous home owners living near the Ville. The initiative was strongly opposed by the newly created NAACP, black religious leaders, the Post-Dispatch, and Globe-Democrat. The all-white Metropolitan Church Federation opposed the ordinance in theory but not actively. It passed by a large margin. The Supreme Court did not let the ordinance stand, but the fear and anger unleashed by the pro-segregation forces damaged race relations for at least two generations.
World War I drew more blacks to the city in search of work. Unskilled and service jobs were the only ones available to them. At that time being a Red Cap at Union Station or a train porter were considered good jobs. During World War II, Scullin Steel became the first company to hire semi-skilled blacks and train them. Carter Carburetor and the small arms plant followed, with segregated shifts. Unions battled the segregation issue for years, with only a few leaders, like Harold Gibbons, fighting for integration.
In the late 1950s St. Louis officials decided that Mill Creek Valley had become a blight on the city. Some 20,000 African Americans called it home and protested. Nonetheless, the huge area was cleared without compensation to the population. No one was given help in relocating. Because of de facto segregated housing, blacks were squeezed into the north side, which was emptying out as whites used VA loans to move to the suburbs. "White flight" was not a racist move to begin with but, as the percentage of blacks increased, white home owners remembered the propaganda from the 1916 campaign and feared losing their investment; block busters exploited the situation.
Throughout our odyssey with cancer, it has become clearer and clearer to us that this is not just a disease that affects Linda; it affects our whole family. I am always reluctant to say that "we have cancer." After all, only Linda had surgery, only Linda had to endure the agony of chemotherapy, only Linda has to be subjected to radiation. But cancer brings a whole family to a new and scary place. Even though Linda's prognosis has always been excellent, we have all been scared for her and for ourselves. So that in that regard, we, as a family, have had cancer. I reflected on the impact it has had on our family on the day (May 30) that Linda finished her last dose of chemo.
Many of you, throughout this time, have asked how our kids are doing. This experience (added to the death of my mother in September and my Father's brain cancer which was diagnosed in April) has been very hard on them, and yet we have seen in each of them a resiliency as well. Linda and I marvel at how well they have held up. They have their moments to be sure, but they have also found ways to express their fear, their uncertainty, their anger, and their hope. To close today, I want to share a poem that Leah (age 9) wrote this Spring (it is part of her book of healing poetry):
I Am...
I am courageous and strong
I wonder how people get cancer
I hear people saying 'Get Well'
I see presents for me
I want my mom and grandpa to get better
I am courageous and strongI imagine I was in a trouble-free country
I feel as if my world is turning upside down
I touch my mom's heart
I worry about my family
I cry when I think about my grandma
I am courageous and strongI understand that I have to be strong
I say I believe in God to heal all people
I dream that something good will happen
I try not to be cranky around my mom
I hope my mom and grandpa get better soon
I am courageous and strong- Leah Anderson-Little
Do you know about the wonderful work of the Board of Religious Organizations? This is the BRO, a group of dedicated volunteers who work year-round, reconditioning and sorting all kinds of toys, which then are given out to families before Christmas.
Recently I took a number of toys that we no longer needed to the BRO. I was inspired at seeing the number of women and men who were hard at work filling boxes of toys. In several rooms, volunteers were cleaning and repairing old toys, stitching dollclothes, and making parts for puzzles! There were other rooms piled high with boxes, each of which was labeled B(oy)or G(irl), with an age-range marked on its side. Everything was very well-organized; the toys were being readied for distribution to many hundreds of kids, identified by 25 social agencies.
These wonderful workers are eager to accept outgrown or not-needed toys, books, dolls, and stuffed animals from your kids' collections. They will even take lost pieces from toys you no longer own, for they keep boxes of odd things which might fill in a set! No toy is ever given out to kids or families until it is refurbished and complete.
The BRO is in the warm, clean basement of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy building, on Tower Grove Avenue, around the corner from the Missouri Botanical Garden. Parking is easy behind the Presbytery building, and BRO workers will help unload, and bring the toys inside. The group is there every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 9am to 2pm.
Telephone 314-865-1677 for further information.
Since it has been almost a year since we switched to the new Sunday morning education-worship schedule (and since we have just completed the first "school year" under the schedule), the Session devoted a few minutes at the last meeting to evaluate the change.
Those present at the meeting who are also involved in Sunday morning Christian Education (whether via Sunday School, confirmation, or adult education) agreed that the change had little positive effect on attendance. In this regard, the discussion included a consideration of the need to possibly restructure our Sunday morning education programs to be more appealing to those in the "Generation X" demographic, the demographic which now has the kids that are of Sunday school age.
Most members of the Session agreed that the presence of children in worship was not as disruptive as had been feared in some quarters. The inclusion of kids as liturgists was a stroke of genius. Other ways of engaging kids in the worship experience were discussed, as well as other ways to include children, including as musicians; special children's sermons were also mentioned.
There was no consensus on the impact the new schedule has had on post-worship fellowship. The new schedule has made possible some new fellowship formats (for example, having tables of food at the front of the sanctuary), and has made it possible for members to linger at post-worship fellowship activities and conversations. On the other hand, coming as it does at the end of the Sunday morning activities, it was suggested that participation in post-worship seems to be lower this year.
The Session agreed that, taken together, there was no need to reverse the schedule change. Instead, the Session realized that every schedule has limitations, and that we should explore new ways to optimize the schedule we are now using. The Worship and Music Commission will continue to discuss this topic and plans to have further conversation with parents about maximizing the worship experience for both themselves and their children.
Welcome Back! Members of the Senior High Mission Trip Team have returned from Mobile, Alabama, where they worked with Urban Mission Camps with Government Street Presbyterian Church. Look for their reflections in next month's Trinity News.
Bon Voyage! And off they go again... this time the senior high group and leaders head to Montreat, NC for retreat. Pray for them as they share a time of fellowship and learning together from July 19-26.