Church Administrator Liz Nelson will be out of the office for 2 weeks to deal with health issues and will return Monday, March 15. Emails and phone messages will be responded to daily and contact options will be provided for any urgent calls or emails. Thank you in advance for your patience during this time as response time may be slower than usual.
What is the chief end of man? Why do we believe in the one holy, catholic and apostolic church when we are Presbyterian? What do 16th Century condemnations have to do with 21st Century Christianity? Presbyterianism is a confessional faith--that is, we draw on the wisdom and faith of previous generations who expressed their faith through formal creeds and confessions. Some of these creeds are well known like the Apostles' Creed. Others are largely forgotten: we rarely feature the Second Helvetic Confession in worship. But whether we know them or not, our tradition asks that we take them seriously. So what do they mean for us? How do we read them and how do we use them in worship? What if we disagree with parts of them? For four weeks we will explore these fascinating documents and see what we think. Our creeds and confessions: do we believe them or not? The class will meet in the Chapel February 28th at 9:30 am and will be taught by Dr. Dan Anderson-Little.
Trinity will start the Lenten season with a contemplative Ash Wednesday service in the Chapel on February 17th at 7pm.
As the God's Child mission team (Pat Courtney, Dayna Early, and Nancy and Bob Wagoner) prepares to leave for Guatemala on Tuesday, Feb. 23 for 10 days, we will commission them (and their 8 counterparts) during worship on Feb. 21. Immediately following the service, come to the Dining Room for a potluck lunch (they will provide a main dish soup--what can you bring?) and stay if you'd like to help pack the bags with donations (list in the Narthex). The team will build two houses, assist at the homeless shelter, help in the distribution of clothes and visit the malnutrition center. One of the team members will also teach the local women sewing skills.
Let Liz know if you want to join a short Lenten B&B (Bonding & Bridging) small group, starting February 17th (Ash Wednesday).
March 21st / 12 p.m.-1 p.m. Join us for the 2010 CARE FOR KIDS Program in Trinity's sanctuary after worship. Local agencies that support children affected by homelessness, hunger, major illness, abuse/neglect, and instability in the home will share information about their agencies and the many volunteer opportunities available. The Children's Foundation of Mid-America will be one of four featured presenters. All monetary donations will go to Haiti children's relief. More details to come....
The 2009 Annual Report may now be viewed online: http://www.trinityucity.org/AnnRpt/AR2009.html
The season of Lent is the 40 days that precedes Easter. It's funny in a way-Lent remembers a period of Jesus' life that comes right at the beginning of his ministry (his temptation in the wilderness), and yet it sets us up for the very end of his life and ministry (his crucifixion and resurrection).
Lent is traditionally a time of introspection and penitence. It is during Lent that we often give things up, we deny ourselves. But Lent is not only to be thought of as a time of austerity, but as a time of beginnings. The word Lent comes from an old German word meaning springtime. The liturgical season is named for the season in nature.
Think about springtime: it is a time more of potential than full expression; it is a time of lengthening days and warmer weather, but is also dreary with rain and can become unexpectedly cold. It is a season of unexpected delights-crocuses pushing up through the last vestiges of snow and birds returning to nest.
My invitation to you this year is to approach Lent as a time of new beginnings and renewal. Instead of simply giving up something for Lent (and I recommend that as well-fasting, even for part of a day, can be a powerful spiritual experience), I also invite you to plow new ground in your life. Try some new routines-exercise for your body, new prayer experiences for your spirit, new ways of tending to your relationships at home, at work, or at church. These new beginnings can get us ready for the what is truly new-the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's "Yes" in the midst of the world's "no."
Here are a number of ways that you can approach Lent as a time of renewal and beginnings:
Ash Wednesday service, February 17 at 7 p.m. This service is a quiet time of meditation, imposition of ashes, and communion. A powerful way to remind us that the Holy Spirit is stirring in our lives.
Adult Education, March 7-March 28 - Creeds and Confessions of the Church. The creeds and confessions are powerful statements of what our church believes. They both challenge and inform. At the end of the class we will try to find our own words to express our faith.
Prayer Partners - the entire season of Lent. We will begin a new Prayer Partner season at the beginning of Lent. This is a great way to get into a new prayer routine and to pray with another person. This is ideal for both the experienced and novice prayer.
Worship - the entire season of Lent - sometimes it is the most familiar that helps us discover what is new in our lives.
As we move ever closer to the season of Lent, our thoughts are naturally drawn to Jesus' journey to the cross and on to the victory of resurrection. This holy season especially lends itself to prayer-prayers for others and for the world. We can walk with Jesus through the season of Lent, using his words as a guide to prayer. The Lenten Prayer Partners will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 17, and all Trinity members and friends are invited to become a prayer partner during the season of Lent. Each person will join in partnership with another person to pray and meditate daily for one another through April 1, Maundy Thursday. Are you interested in being a prayer partner, in having a prayer partner? To join in this enriching experience, call or email Dan Anderson-Little, dan_tpc@swbell.net, or Julie March, juliammc@sbcglobal.net, or talk to Liz Nelson in the church office. As we walk through this season of Lent together, may we pray with all our being, and so be drawn closer to Christ and to our neighbor.
The church through the centuries has viewed "Israel" in various ways. Some of the ways that Christians have viewed Israel have been demeaning for Jewish people and led to terrible consequences. Some Christian views of Israel continue to have significant political implications today. Other ways of viewing Israel have potential to contribute to dialogue and cooperation between Christians and Jews. This course will explore some of the ways "Israel" has been understood by Christians through the centuries. The class will meet from February 7- 28 at 9:30a.m. in the Chapel and will be taught by Dr. John K. Bracke, Martha McCall Egan Professor of Biblical Studies, Eden Theological Seminary.
Over the past three years, Bob and Nancy Wagoner have helped Trinity build a growing relationship with God's Child, a wonderful mission to and with homeless families in Guatemala. Each time they have gone, members of the church have strengthened the mission by collecting and sending necessary items for poor families in Guatemala. As the Wagoners and other Trinity members get ready to go to Guatemala again, we again have the opportunity to "go with them."
On Tuesday, February 23, the St. Louis Service Team of the God's Child Project will depart for a 10-day mission work experience in Antigua, Guatemala. The 13 members of the team from several St. Louis churches will build two houses, assist at the homeless shelter, help in the distribution of clothes and visit the malnutrition center. One of the team members will also teach the local women sewing skills. This mission project has been supported by members of the Trinity congregation for the past several years. This year Pat Courtney, Dayna Early, and Nancy and Bob Wagoner will be making the trip.
On Sunday, February 21, you will have an opportunity to participate in preparation for the trip. The team will be commissioned during the morning worship service. After the worship service, we will share in a communal pot-luck meal and then those that so wish can assist the team in a "packing party". Each of the team members will take two suitcases with them to Guatemala. One will contain their personal items and the second will be packed with contributed items (up to 50 pounds) for the children and families of Guatemala.
Between now and the 21st, the following items (identified by the God's Child Project as being specifically needed) can be contributed and collected in the area under the weaving in the dining room:
In addition, monetary contributions are always welcome. The team will purchase supplies to build bunk-beds and provide bedding for each home (approx. $250 each). On the day that the homes are turned over, gifts of household staples are also purchased and supplied to the families. Monetary gifts are preferred in cash or a check made out to Trinity Presbyterian Church (with God's Child in the memo line), so that the check can be cashed and taken to Guatemala and converted to the local currency (Quetzal). A letter that can be used for a 2010 tax deductions will be supplied for contributions as desired.
After lunch on the 21st, the contributed items will be weighed and packed. Old light-weight (soft-sided) suitcases (preferably on wheels) would also be appreciated to transport these items to Guatemala. These suitcases are normally left in Antigua and not returned to St. Louis.
I bet many in our congregation are feeling as I am watching the tragic images coming from Haiti. We feel helpless and want to roll up our sleeves and do something to ease the pain and suffering.
Looking at the Presbyterian Diaster Relief website, there are suggestions for assembling kits that would be handed out to people during mission work in Haiti. I think this would be a perfect project for Trinity. Think of the response to our Advent bag project and the cookie drive this year. This project would be like a combination of the two.
There are seven items in the hygiene kit (hand towel, washcloth, soap, toothbrush, bandaids, etc.), which are then put into a gallon ziplock. You can sign up to bring items by email or in the Narthex. We will assemble the kits together, and maybe even raise some funds (including what we would need for postage to mail the kits).
A soup/chili lunch is scheduled for February 7 after church. There will be a loose offering and the proceeds will go for mailing the kits, with the extra money raised sent to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Following the lunch, we will assemble the kits. If we can donate 2,000 cookies, we can assemble dozens and dozens of kits. I would think that we could do a least one hundred kits.
We will need people to organize and promote collecting the items and putting the kits together on that Sunday, as well as people to help shop, set-up, cook, serve and clean-up at the lunch. Please let me or Liz know if you are interesting in pitching in.
I have been smothered with good wishes and love from all of you...thank you, thank you, thank you. There are few side effects from my little stroke, thanks to all the prayers, and I can talk, thank God!!! What would everyone do if I couldn't talk?! God is good, (Dan would add) all the time.
Have you been interested in trying a B&B, but not able to commit to a full 12 weeks? Are you missing the deep spiritual thinking, discussion and bonding with interesting people? Well, the Equipping Ministry Team is going to run a special, six-week round of B&B's (Bonding and Bridging small groups) leading up to Easter.
The session will begin the week of February 15 and we will finish up the week of March 22, the week before Holy Week. If you've participated before, or expressed interest but been unable to commit, please let us know your availability and we will put together some dynamic groups. Check out our B&B blog to get an idea of what we do at http://www.trinityucity.org/bandb and sign up now for a terrific opportunity to grow in faith together through study, sharing and serving. Contact Dave Nelson (camra.Dave@gmail.com) or Julie March (juliammc@sbcglobal.net) for more information and to join a B&B group.
Thank you to all the Winger Food Pantry volunteers and donors during 2009. This year the food pantry is still in need of a couple Wednesday volunteers to staff the food pantry during our open hours and someone to order and pick up food from Shop and Save in order to keep the pantry stocked. We also need someone to help load Boy Scout food once in February and once in March from the STL Food Bank (a commitment of about 45 minutes) and a few volunteers to sort the food once it is delivered to the pantry. Please contact Stacey if you are available at carmans@swbell.net.
Unemployment concerns are touching many of us either directly or with family or friends. Trinity is opening its doors to a local organization so St. Louis workers can learn about trends and positions in this challenging time. Trinity is providing space once a month (the third Wednesday from 9-11 a.m.) for BounceBack St. Louis meetings between February and July 2010. Sponsored by an RCGA (St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association) grant, they provide inservices, employment information and networking for professionals (especially related to IT, health care and environmental jobs) who are unemployed or in career transition. Anyone can attend-it's free. There are other meeting locations and topics in Fenton and Clayton. Share this information with friends! The first meeting at Trinity will be Wednesday, February 17 in the Dining Room. For more details, see http://bouncebackstl.net.
Trinity's intrepid bell choir needs four additional bell ringers for the Spring semester. Rehearsals are presently on Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00. Anyone interested, with or without experience, is welcome. Please contact Bill Wade, Minister of Music - Organist at church or email drwewade@gmail.com.
The 2010 budget is now available. Session wrestled with many budgetary issues in 2009, and the 2010 budget reflects some difficult decisions. Cuts were made in personnel, as Session works to reduce the budget deficit and bring the income and expenses into line. At the same time, the budget also reflects the desire in the congregation for more mission at Trinity. You can talk with any member of Session if you have any questions about the 2010 budget. (Current members of Session include Margy Brown, John Pfeifer, Rick Jeter, Tom Serfass, George Philips, Pat Gibbons, Lynn Reid, Sharon Christopher, Luise Hoffman, Dayna Early, Matt Schindler, Bill Cahoon, Stacy Shupe and Cheryl Evans.)
The Annual Report can be found in the Narthex or on the church's website .and the budget is in the Narthex.
I just wanted you all to know that God was at Trinity last month. It took me a while to get out of my own way and recognize God, of course. I rushed into the church a bit before 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 21, excited to take part in the international chant for peace being held in our chapel. I had promised the chanter I would come a bit early to make sure the room and temperature were to her liking-I had to make sure the vibe was right! Unfortunately, the vibe at that moment also included the final few minutes of a forte trumpet lesson just down the hall, and the strains of Christmas music coming up from the basement as the older adult OASIS band held their holiday concert for 75 people...which was supposed to be ending right then. I also heard a few hand bells ringing in the sanctuary as Bill and Mike set up for a bell rehearsal.
What a cacophony of sound! And at first it worried me. I'm the church calendar-keeper and a people pleaser and I was imagining all the things that might go wrong with four different musical gatherings happening at the same time. My carefully-coordinated schedule was now off and beyond my control: the peace chanters were gathering quietly in the chapel as the trumpet finished and the band played on....and on...and on. Turns out you can hear every note from the basement while sitting on the Chapel floor.
I could've let my expectations and anxieties ruin my chanting experience as I cringed every time our circle of 30 visitors to Trinity paused between chants and the strains of a slightly off-kilter "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" or "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" wafted up to us as the band went 30 minutes longer than planned. But that wasn't God's plan for me. I breathed deeply, looked around and realized that no one else was fazed ("This is a slightly strange vibration," whispered one lady next to me, but that was all).
Then I relaxed and was filled with an acute joy that I was sitting in God's house with God's people who were making joyful noises in all their different ways. Each was supposed to be there...their notes did not always work well together... but what a sound! (That sounds like my perfect description of Trinity, by the way-many voices and personalities who ALL belong here to make their "notes" of praise. The notes will never fit together in perfect harmony, but how boring would that be?! After all, God loves all the heart-felt expression we offer. That's the kind of church I want to belong to-full of the noisy dissonance of joyful worship in all its messy diversity.)
And I was proud to be a member of a welcoming place that allowed space for all these expressions-joy, yearning, celebration, perseverance, hope and dedication. At 7:27 p.m. that night, with trumpet, voice, bells and band, God was present at Trinity. I'm glad I took the time to notice. Take time in 2010 to pause and notice where God is present for you.
Let yourself in for a treat. Log onto Shanthi Philips' blog about her experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, in southern Africa. - http://shanthiphilips.blogspot.com.
After arriving in Africa, Shanthi relished her CBT [Community Based Training.] "CBT finished up on December 22nd. It was all in all, incredible. Like i'm sure i said, my host family was wonderful. my host mom taught me to cook basotho foods, clean, do laundry... pretty much everything i would ever need to know to live on my own. The neighborhood kids came to play with me and taught me every game and dance they knew.
On December 12 she reported: "we found out our sites today! i'm going to be living in the Berea district. its relatively close to the capital. I'm on a school compound...with electricity, running water, and a flush toilet!!!...the school i will be teaching at is so so nice. its on a mission (its a catholic school). the school has a basketball court, science labs, home ec kitchens, wood work shops, a huge auditorium with a speaker system and projector...i'm not sure if this all sounds that great to you all, but you should see the condition of most schools here. its usually just a few classrooms with desks that the kids crowd around. I got one of the nicest schools here i think. and the school is right next to the convent. the sisters all are so sweet...Also, there is a clinic on the mission, which does a lot of hiv/aids education and testing and also obgyn work....The school has dormitories for around 100 students, all of whom are orphans. the school takes care of their school fees and provides food and shelter for them."
Shanthi has also seen another side of Lesotho: [January 12] " I just got back from visiting Maputsoe with Haley and Rory, 2 PCVs who live near me. Maputsoe is a dirty, busy town, right near the border of South Africa. You can actually see Ficksburg, SA from Maputsoe. There are industrial buildings, shops, and just tiny tin shacks side by side lining the main road in Maputsoe. There are tons of kombis and taxis going down the road, shouting to see if they can give you a ride. Intermittently as you walk along the road, you get a whiff of god knows what, either from a latrine or from a restaurant. The "sidewalks" are littered with trash..."
School classes have now begun for Shanthi and her math students. Don't miss her sharing in her mission!
Youth Lock-In for the Confirmation Class
Saturday, February 27 (8 p.m.) - Sunday, February 28 (after worship). Go to www.trinityyouthonline.com.
TRIENNIUM Summer Trip:
Youth, entering 9th -12th grades this fall:
Are you interested in going to Triennium, a Presbyterian youth conference with over 6,000 teenagers? It will be at Purdue University in Indiana from July 20-25. Talk to Dawn Fleishman, Director of Christian Education, for more information.