- An Invitation from Choir Director Vicki Carmichael

Trinity's Pastor Dan Anderson-Little is on a temporary leave of absence from his pastoral duties between November 24 and January 11. He will be back in the office on January 12. The Rev. Nancy Wagner is providing pastoral leadership in his absence. If you need pastoral assistance you can reach Nancy at church.

Plan to do some special holiday shopping at our first Trinity Holiday Fair Trade Market on Sunday, December 7 from 9 am to 12:30 pm in the Dining Room. See your bulletin flier for details. Sales directly benefit Fair Trade organizations such as Plowsharing Crafts, Heifer Project, and others that work to ensure that all may have enough.

Hanging of the Greens will be Sunday, December 7, right after worship. Stick around for some treats and bring your strongest hands or best Martha Stewart decorating eye and help prepare the sanctuary and exterior of the church for Advent. All ages and abilities welcome!

Next Sunday, Nov. 30, part of Spiritual Growth for the children at 9:30 will be assembling small care packages for Trinity members off at college. Do you have a special connection to one or more of the collegians? Want to wish them well during midterms and finals? Plan to stop by the Narthex after worship to sign cards. Questions?: Brian Muegge (brian.muegge@gmail.com).

We have close to 300 halogen and incandescent lamps to replace in the building as we work to be more "green." A 14 watt CFL (which will replace a 60 watt incandescent) costs $4.00. We will be starting a FUNdraiser, asking Trinity members to donate the replacement CFL lamps for our building. These could make great "stocking stuffers" for folks on your Christmas list! We will be asking the children in the congregation to help track our progress! Stay tuned for more information or speak with Lois Sechrist.

Dave Nelson shared this prayer with Trinity as the Peacemaking Prayer on November 23, 2008:

Oh, Great Spirit,
whose voice I hear in the winds,
and whose breath gives life
to all the world, hear me!

I come to you as one of your many
children; I am weak...
I am small...I need your wisdom
and your strength.

Let me walk in beauty,
and make my eyes ever behold
the red and purple sunsets.

Make my hands respect
the things you have made,
and make my ears sharp
so I may hear your voice.

Make me wise
so I may understand
the things you have taught my people.

Let me learn
the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.

I ask for wisdom and strength
not to be greater than my brothers
and sisters, but to fight my greatest
enemy-myself.

Make me always ready
to come before you with clean hands
and a straight eye,

So as life fades away, as a fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you
without shame.

- George Walters, White Earth Chippewa

- Liz Nelson

November 9, 2008 sermon by John Pfeifer.

John has served on the Session and the Corporate Affairs Commission for the past three years, and is chairing the 2008 Stewardship Campaign.

Part of Trinity's mission is to provide a welcoming space in which individuals can explore musical. social, intellectual and psychological programs that help them live into the lives God created for them. Therefore, we provide space for:

• Community Music School of Webster University (63 hours of lessons a week)
• OASIS (3 music ensembles for older adults)
• Citywide Gospel Ministries (gospel choir)
• La Leche League (breastfeeding mom's support group)
• U City Great Books
• St. Louis Squares (gay square dancing)
• University City Summer Concert Band
• ArtMuse (interactive art history classes for kids)
• BJC Hospice Threshold Widows and Widowers Grief Support Group
• Genesis House bible study
• Care and Counseling

Did you know Birty makes hammocks? He wants to teach kids (and adults!) this simple skill and invites you to find him Sundays after worship in the Dining Room to help complete the one he has started. Come check it out! Maybe we can sell them at the Alternative Gift Market...

...unless you are donating stamps. There will be a box in the Narthex and also one in the office. Please label your gifts with your name and the contents on the gifts. We need all wrapped gifts by Sunday, November 9. The bags will be distributed on Nov. 16. Thanks so much. Any questions, please call Sandy Norkaitis.

Here are Three Ministry Opportunities:

1) Immediate Bagging Need:The food pantry is in need of baggers for the month of November. We had a record number of clients this Wednesday - 37 by 2:30. The need for food is great, so that means we need lots of food bagged. We are anticipating large numbers the rest of the month but especially on Wednesday, November 19 when we hand out the turkeys. If you can bag once, twice or every week in November, please let Stacey Carman know as soon as possible (carmans@swbell.net).

2) Periodic Treats: Want to do a simple thing for our church with huge reward? Why not think about taking a week now and then to provide the fellowship treats that we and our families all enjoy after worship? It's so simple. Something that kids enjoy helping with too as well as significant others. Quinn has a lot of fun helping me pick things out at the store then helping arrange them on trays in the church kitchen. Reimbursement is simple too. Just give Liz your receipts for items bought and you will be quickly reimbursed. The weeks that we could use some help for this month are, Nov. 16th, and Nov. 30th. December is wide open. Have a fun idea for the Chistmas season? Let us know. If you'd like to give this simple ministry a try please contact Cheryl Evans, Dave Nelson or Jim Person. Thanks!

3) A Hanging of the Greens coordinator is needed. Do a couple of you feel called to help organize our decoration of the sanctuary and exterior for Christmas? We have set aside Sunday, December 7^th as the day. Worker bees are already working on touching up the wreaths and no new decorations need to be made this year-we just need hands to hang items and set up our artificial trees. Please contact Liz (725-3840) for tips-no need to reinvent the wheel.

We will hold a short congregational meeting immediately following worship next Sunday, Nov. 16th to elect new officers and to give concurrence to the Session's recommendation of 6 weeks of leave time for Dr. Dan Anderson-Little. Please plan to attend.

November 2, 2008 sermon by Dr. Volker Kuester.

Dr. Kuester is a Professor of Intercultural Theology at Kampen Theological University in the Netherlands. On Tuesday, November 4 he will give the Annual Mission and Peace Lecture at Eden Theological Seminary. His topic will be "Practicing Mission in the Context of Cultural Religious Pluralism".

On October 26, 2008, bagpiper Jim Miller performed the traditional piping tune "Highland Cathedral" at Trinity, accompanied by Bill Wade on organ.

HighlandCathedral.mp3

- Rev. Dr. Daniel Anderson-Little, Pastor

This year's Stewardship Campaign is called The Best Is Yet to Come. It is based on two key affirmations that the Session reached after long months of conversation and prayer:

• God is calling Trinity to a vital and sustainable future.
• Our current ministry, while strong and vital within the church, is not growing, and therefore is not sustainable.

These two affirmations, in turn, give shape to Trinity's action plan for the coming year:

• The congregation, led by the Session, will engage in an intentional discernment process in order to discover the future to which God is calling us.
• Because the Session does not yet have a clear enough understanding of the future to which God is calling us, we will not make immediate changes in our ministry; therefore in the short term, we will keep our current budget priorities (with a deficit) in order to maintain our strengths.
• As the congregation comes to understand God's call to the future, the Session will make adjustments to our ministry and our budget, trusting that the future God calls us to is both vital and sustainable.

This action plan involves the entire congregation. Over the coming months in worship, in education, and in fellowship we will have many opportunities to discern our future together. To learn more about this new approach to discovering our future and to give your input, you are invited to attend a Town Hall Meeting and Dinner on Sunday, November 2, at 6 p.m.

A new future requires many things of us: commitment, sacrifice, and trust; but we live into that future knowing that God will get us where we need to be. Please join us as we walk together into God's marvelous future - for truly, The Best Is Yet to Come!

Schedule of the Stewardship Campaign

October 26 - Sunday Worship - Stewardship Kick-off. Dan Anderson-Little preaching; John 2:1-11

November 2 - Sunday Worship - Guest Preacher: Volker Kuester, Professor of Intercultural Theology, Kampen Theological University. Trinity Presbyterian Church has a long history of striving to be a global church. This Sunday is an example of where we will build on a strength as we move to the future. Matthew 28:16-20.

November 2 - Town Hall Meeting and Dinner, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Join members of the Session as we discuss the Discernment Process, our Future, and the Budget. A light dinner will be provided. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Call the Church Office 314-725-3840 or email tpcucity@swbell.net for your reservation.

November 9 - Elder John Pfeifer preaching. John 6:1-14.

November 16 - Pledge Sunday. Dan Anderson-Little preaching; John 20:1-18

I am excited to announce that Trinity has hired Dawn Fleishman to serve as our new Minister of Spiritual Growth. Dawn was raised in Arizona and is a recent graduate of Southwestern College in Phoenix, Arizona, where she majored in Christian Ministry and Counseling. She has also done some graduate work in Education and School Guidance Counseling.

Dawn has a variety of work experience in church settings. From 2004 through 2006 she worked with the outreach ministry at Word of Grace church in Mesa, Arizona. In that position, she planned and coordinated local and global mission trips. She was also responsible for identifying and equipping volunteers in the outreach ministry. Dawn has a passion for helping people of all ages grow in their faith. She is a great listener and has experience in working with people of diverse theological backgrounds.

Dawn will start her duties at Trinity on October 27. She will work with the Spiritual Growth Commission to oversee and strengthen our entire educational ministry, with a particular focus on children and youth. She will also work with the Commission and the entire congregation as we continue to make spiritual growth a vital component of every part of the church's life. The Minister of Spiritual Growth position is half-time.

Dawn and her husband Andrew moved to St. Louis in January when Andrew was hired as the Youth Director at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Ballwin. Dawn and Andrew are parents of Owen, who is two years old.

Please join me in warmly welcoming Dawn to the leadership team at Trinity and also in thanking the Search Committee (Stacy Shupe, Karen Mayberry, Catherine Klostermeier, and Rick Hasler) for their excellent work.

- Rev. Julie March, Minister of Equipping

- Rev. Julie March, Minister of Equipping

Do you ever long for a place set apart, a peaceful place to retreat in the midst of your busy schedule? Do you yearn for a time to stop all the activity and get away for a weekend of rest? Plan to attend the 5^th annual Women's Advent Retreat, scheduled for December 5-7 at Mound Ridge Camp and Retreat Center.

Sponsored by Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery, this year's retreat theme is "A Season for Mary." I will lead it. There will be short, guided sessions planned around the theme, and you will also have time to spend alone in quiet, fellowship with other women, read or walk in the woods. For more information or to register, contact me (314-825-3550), Cindy Corley at the Presbytery office (314-772-2395, ext.100) or Christy Foster, Director of Mound Ridge Camp, (cfoster@glpby.org , 573-265-3098).

On Saturday, November 15, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and on Sunday, November 16, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., BJC Hospice will sponsor a retreat from the pre-holiday clamor for up to 30 bereaved adults: This will provide time to thoughtfully memorialize loved ones who have died, to reflect on family traditions, and to consider new and fitting rituals for the upcoming holidays. Sessions will begin in the Dining Room and end in the Chapel.

You are welcome to come on one or both days for these special times away. On Saturday afternoon we'll talk in large and small groups about loss and grief, commemoration, and ways to reduce stress, to find moments of joy in sorrow, and to give and receive meaningfully. On Sunday we'll think concretely together about holiday rituals - what to keep, what to let go of, and what to re-design - make simple personal mementos, and join for a quiet concluding liturgy of remembrance (a spiritual gathering open to all participants, whether religiously affiliated or not). These events are available at no charge thanks to generous funds contributed to BJC Hospice.

For more information or to register, call Suzanne Doyle, Bereavement Specialist (314-953-1806).

- Stacey Carman

As in years past, the Winger Food Pantry will be handing out turkeys to our clients on Wednesday, November 19, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Last year we handed out over 60 turkeys, and with the economy in the state it is in, we expect the need to be even greater this year. If you would like to make a donation to the turkey give-away, please send a check or cash, earmarked for the turkeys, to the church or place it in the offering plate. You can also purchase a turkey and deliver it to the church by Sunday, November 16. If purchasing a turkey, please remember, smaller is better. Many of our clients walk to and from the pantry and they have a difficulty time lugging a large bird home. Many thanks in advance for your support of the food pantry. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at carmans@swbell.net.

The Faith Club - a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew -Three Women Search for Understanding

Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim, was faced with many questions from her school-aged children following September 11, 200l. In seeking to answer them she reached out to the mothers of two other children in their school, a Christian and a Jew. Their hours of discussing the issues that divided them culturally, led them to discover and explore what united them. They have shared their spiritual reflections in speaking engagements and in a book, The Faith Club.

Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner will be Lee Institute's speakers on November 10, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. at Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church, 9450 Clayton Road, 63124. The event, which is free and open to the public, will include a 45-minute presentation, a question and answer session, and a book signing.

For many years, Trinity's local mission giving has supported the International Institute of St. Louis. George Philips recently received the following information about one of their programs:

Our Discover St. Louis program provides the opportunity for new and recent refugee arrivals to find and explore cultural resources on their own. We introduce them to the sites by giving them a chaperoned experience, and all of the information necessary to return on their own. This is important not only because our clients will continue to have limited funds in their first years here due to entry level wages, but they also benefit from the trips from a mental health standpoint; so many of them have been deprived of positive experiences for so long.

Additionally, the trips provide the opportunity for new Americans to interact with their St. Louis neighbors. Community Volunteer Chaperones accompany the refugee families throughout the experience, to help them practice their English and gain confidence in their interactions with native speakers.

For our Discover St. Louis trips, we arrange a school bus or tickets for public transportation to and from the cultural experience (i.e., the zoo, art museum). Your [congregation's] support would offset the transportation costs for our excursions. The best part of supporting this program is the opportunity for your congregants to have a 'hands-on' experience themselves by volunteering for one of our Discover St. Louis events! If they are interested, we can keep them informed of upcoming opportunities to participate.

If you would like to know more about this opportunity, contact Kate Howell, Community Relations Manager, International Institute (314-773-9090 ext 189).

- Julie March

Many of you heard or read the announcement last month that Birty and Digna Hodgson's two daughters and their families were burned out of their duplex in October. Everyone is safe, but Karen and her husband and baby lost absolutely everything and Jackie and her husband and her husband and three children lost almost everything. Thanks to everyone who has already reached out with money, clothes, or offers of furniture and household items once they relocate to temporary housing.

Someone else has reached out as well. Kathie Cahoon is coordinating the donation effort and acting as liaison with the families. As the staff pondered who to invite into this ministry of compassion, I remembered Kathie's Ministry Discovery interview. Kathie was interviewed by Ministry Discovery Team member Lois Eason, and shared her interest in hospitality. Kathie stated that her contribution to ministry was her "helping hands." Whoever we are, whatever we do, God has given us gifts for ministry, and has called us to serve others in Jesus' name. As we seek and find what our own ministries are, we find fulfillment and joy in what we do. THIS is Equipping Ministry.

- Julie March

Trinity's new small group, Wild With Words, is off to a great start, and we welcome new members. Every other Sunday evening we meet to share in fellowship and writing, as we respond to cues from words, pictures, stories and Scripture in exploring our relationship to God and the world. Our writing is spontaneous, and requires no special skills or preparation - it is fun and energizing! Call me for meeting time and dates. ALL are welcome.

We're pleased to have Lyn Lupo join Trinity as an affiliate member. Lyn has been a Presbyterian most of her life, and has served previously as a Deacon and as a Stephen Minister. A resident of the Skinker-DeBalivere neighborhood, Lyn was born in St. Louis, moved to Minnesota for college and graduate school, then returned to this area. She is an active volunteer with the Independence Center, where she has gotten to know Trinity member Jennifer Higginbotham. She also is a friend of Trinity member Debbie Henry. Lyn most appreciates how comfortable she has felt at Trinity, as well as the friendliness of the congregation and staff. She enjoys meeting new people and looks forward to getting to know others at Trinity

In joining Trinity Church, Virginia McKabney is coming full circle. Virginia was baptized, grew up at, and was married at Kingshighway Presbyterian Church, one of the churches that merged in 1953 to form Trinity Church. Until she was a teen, Virginia lived in the city. Her family then moved to Normandy, but they kept their membership at Kingshighway. After getting married, Virginia and her husband lived in North County. While living in North County, Virginia moved her church membership to Bellefontaine Methodist Church since that is where she led a Girl Scout troop. For 20 years, Virginia worked for the Riverview School District. She now makes her home in Ballwin. Virginia has one daughter, three granddaughters and three great-granddaughters. Her family is a great source of pride and joy for her. Virginia keeps busy visiting family and with her work in a gardening club.

George Van Hare joins us by transfer from the Covenant Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, California, where he has been a member for about eight years, and was in his third year as Clerk of the Session. George conveys to us the sad news that a well-known musician of that church, Isaiah Jones, who led gospel choirs at Presbyterian gatherings for years, has recently passed away. Isaiah Jones has a song in our hymnal and used to play keyboards for the 5th Dimension. George has deep roots in the Presbyterian Church in that his great-great grandfather was a Presbyterian missionary to the Klondike Gold Rush in Bennett, Skagway and Dawson, traveling by dogsled, and eventually settling in Regina. George's mother is Canadian and lives there presently, but George grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and later lived in Cleveland and San Francisco. George is married and has three sons: Chris, 15, who attends Clayton Schools; Mark, 21, who is a junior in music at Vassar; and Colin, working in the Bay Area as a chef. George and his wife are both pediatricians, he in Pediatric Cardiology and she in infectious diseases. George moved to St Louis to become Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at Saint Louis Children's Hospital.

- Julie March

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.

- Bill Wade, Interim Minister of Music - Organist

I recently began reading two books by Daniel Levitin, director of the Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise in the Department of Psychology at McGill University. The books, This is Your Brain on Music, and The World in Six Songs, explore how the evolution of the human brain and music are inextricably connected. Levitin posits that "we evolved to produce and consume music for six reasons: friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion, and love." Not surprisingly, these are similar to the ninefold fruit of the Spirit enumerated in Galatians 5:22-23: agápe (love), khara (joy), eirini (peace), makrothymia (patience), khristotis (kindness) and agathosyne (goodness), pistis (faith), prautis (gentleness), egkrateia (self-control).

Music can serve as a way for us to connect with our inner self and get in touch with feelings, emotions and realizations of who we are as individuals and members of a greater community.

The theme of the Stewardship Campaign this year is "The Best is Yet to Come." I am optimistic that the music ministry at Trinity will be endowed with the funds and support necessary to continue to build a vibrant, growth oriented and responsive music ministry that connects with and nourishes the fruit of the Spirit within us all.

Trinity may have put its Reverberations Concert Series on hold with Paul Vasile's departure, but ensembles continue to contact Trinity because of our reputation as welcoming of diverse musical performances and our acoustically warm space. On Sunday, November 9 at 3p.m., The Southeast Baroque Ensemble, guest artists of St. Louis Baroque, will perform a free concert at Trinity (free-will offerings will be accepted). The program will feature two large-scale works by Telemann, as well as a sonata for baroque flute and continuo attributed to Vivaldi and a solo violin sonata in the Italian style by the German violinist Walther. The Southeast Baroque Ensemble, founded over fifteen years ago as a period instrument trio, has grown to a quintet of music faculty from Southeast Missouri State University.

The Saint Louis period instrument group The Kingsbury Ensemble will present a program of baroque favorites on Saturday, November 15, 8:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. The ensemble, which has appeared several times at Trinity returns with an offering of concerti of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, the two masters of the German Baroque period. On the program: the concerto in D Minor for oboe and violin, the harpsichord concerto in D Minor, and two concerti grossi of Handel, opus 6, # 2 and opus 6, #8. Admission charge is $10, and there will be a reception after the concert. For more information, call 314- 862-2675, or go to the group's website: http://www.kingsburyensemble.org. Stay tuned for information about St. Louis Baroque's official season kick-off on Saturday, December 13, with a program of seasonal music for baroque strings. Works will include Corelli's famous "Christmas Concerto" as well as other themed works by Manfredini and Telemann.