- Stacey and Chris Carman

The Winger Food Pantry was a very busy place over the summer months. In June the pantry was the lucky recipient of boxes of Pepperidge Farm cookies and crackers donated by Sue Smorodin, a member of the OASIS band that practices at Trinity. We also received bread baked by the St. Louis Bread Company from Grace and Peace Fellowship Church in the Central West End. Grace and Peace hosts a food pantry weekly during the school year months but only once a month during the summer months. Fortunately for our clients, Grace and Peace chose to continue receiving the bread weekly during the summer and delivered it to us for our use. Our clients really appreciated this extra treat!

In addition to the food donations, the pantry also received labor donations. Pamela Bruns and her children, who take musical instrument lessons at Trinity, volunteered their time as substitute baggers this summer. The use of the church facilities by outside groups has really paid off big for the pantry this summer.

As we all know, the economic downturn over the last couple months has really affected many people from all walks of life, but those who visit our pantry are some of the most affected. During July we had 70 individuals visit our pantry which helped feed 147 family members. In August those numbers increased to 95 individuals who visited the pantry, helping feed 215 family members. Thank you to the Trinity community for your support of this wonderful mission.

A special thank you to our shoppers - Jane Gibbons (January through March) and Vickie Jeter (July through September) - and our baggers, Joanne Roman, Emily Kelton, Kim Behren, Polly Brown, Elaine Pontious, Anna Gardner-Andrews, Tina Newberry and family and Norma Vavra and Wally Klein. If you would like to get involved with the pantry, consider becoming a bagger for November. It only takes approximately an hour to an hour and a half of your time once a week. Please contact Stacey at carmans@swbell.net if you are interested.

- Pat Gibbons

In the Trinity budget we allocate about 10% of the money we receive in pledge envelopes and loose collections to support local mission efforts. Some, like our Winger Food Pantry, are core activities funded outside of the Church and Community Commission. The Commission has a budget of $18,000 to allocate to agencies like Doorways, Independence Center, HiTech Charities, and others. The agencies recommended to Session and approved this year are Beyond Housing, Care and Counseling, Diversity Awareness Partnership, Doorways, HiTech Charities, Independence Center, Interfaith Partnership, International Institute, Presbyterian Covenant Network, and St. Vincent Home.

We expect to recommend further funds for HiTech Charities, and may increase the amounts given to some of the other agencies. We are considering other agencies we learn of or have supported in the past for the rest of the funding.

We have a number of ways in which we can minimize our footprint in the world at Trinity--recycling, energy changes (light bulbs, heating/cooling), eco-palms, paper consumption, etc. Especially now that we have our report of recommendations from our recent energy audit, the time is ripe to develop this Team idea further (a handful of members have been discussing this since the mission fair last fall). If you are interested, please let Liz know in the office.

- Pat Gibbons

- Pat GIbbons

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.

Trinity built in 2001 and 2003. Trinity can build again! Two blocks east of Grand Boulevard and two north of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. The build will be sponsored by Trinity, the Washington University Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and others. Will we raise $5,000? $10,000? $15,000? For $5,000 we get two build days for Trinity volunteers; we get more days if we raise more. Building will start with four consecutive days in August and then continue on twelve Saturdays. Get your hammers and brushes ready! We need your checkbooks, too. To contribute, make a check payable to Trinity Presbyterian Church and write Habitat on the memo line. Talk to Pat Gibbons for more info.

The Mission Fair Team - Our latest Mission Fair, Trinity in Action, was a great success, and we are already planning an expanded mission event for 2008. Get on the bandwagon now to help us spread the word about mission in our church and community. Call Dave Nelson or Lisa Bernhard for more information.

A New Habitat for Humanity Building Project - 2008 is the year for Trinity to help build another Habitat House. Do you have building skills? Can you paint? How about sweeping? You are needed to work and/or donate funds to build a house for a family in need of a home. Pat Gibbons can tell you all you need to know.

Invite Your Friends Into Ministry - Do you like to talk to people about their gifts and passions? Would you like to be interviewed? The Ministry Discovery team wants to meet with all our members to discover where they can serve God through the Church. Call Norma Vavra or Julie March to find out more.

Friendship and Fellowship - We have so many good events at Trinity that bring us all together for fellowship, sharing, and working together. Join the new Events Coordination Team to help coordinate these events as we build the Body of Christ together at Trinity. Contact Julie March or Lisa Bernhard to get involved.

The Green Team - Flowers, plants, trees, bushes and gardening, we do it all. The Green Team needs your enthusiasm and time to insure that our beautiful sanctuary is adorned for worship, and your green thumb to create lovely flower gardens outside the church. Luise Hoffman and Diana Gray are in charge of this team. (See below.)

The Equipping Ministry Team connects people to the ministries they love. We hope you will hear God's call to service as we "equip the saints for the work of ministry to build up the Body of Christ," which is all of us, right now, at Trinity Presbyterian Church.

The Habitat for Humanity group rebuilding homes in New Orleans has reserved the last week of October and the first week of November of 2008 for another trip down. We stayed in a home in the uptown New Orleans area (owned by St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church and converted into living quarter for volunteers), so the accommodations, at least for what is typical for relief worker volunteers, is pretty plush. I have been there twice and recommend it highly. Anyone interested in joining me on the trip down in 2008? At this point, it looks like the last week in October is the most likely time. Contact Lisa Bernhard: bernhardlm@gmail.com

Want to do hands-on work for one of the agencies Trinity funds through local mission monies? Beyond Housing is building a playground at the Pagedale Family Support Center. To Pre-Register, please call Ed Barni (ask the church office for Ed's phone number) or send e-mail to ebarni@beyondhousing.org with your name, address, home phone, cell phone and the day(s) that you can help us.

Site Preparation Days: Thursday-Friday, September 6-7th, 8:30 am-2:30 pm.

Build Day: Saturday, September 8th. 8:00 am.

Please contact Bob Wagner with questions: (ask the church office for Bob's phone number).

Our congregation raised $3,466 for this offering. The Presbyterian Hunger Program receives 36 percent of undesignated One Great Hour of Sharing gifts, while the Self-Development of People and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance each receives 32 percent.

From Lisa Bernhard:

The note below is from Dick Glassey, who is in charge of construction of the meeting hall at The Good Earth Village in Houma (the volunteer village that our presbytery is sponsoring with PDA). They still need people to go down and help with construction, and it would be awesome if some people from Trinity could make a trip down to help out. (Contact Lisa for more information: 863-6505; bernhardlm@gmail.com)

I'm a little slow in getting this update out. Thanks to some tremendous help last week, we have approximately 95% of the largest room (dining area) in the building drywalled. The kitchen and one bathroom have some drywall hung. We also framed the building for soffit and fascia and were able to complete the soffit and fascia cover installation on the front wall adjacent to the roadway - 100 feet. Vinyl siding is on site ready for installation as soon as we complete the soffit and fascia cover. The Kitchen appliance quote was firmed up and as soon as our check for the down payment reaches the appliance dealer, appliances will be ordered and the fabrication of the hood for the stoves will start. The flooring has been picked out and paint color is basically picked out. I need to see a quote for the flooring before I can release the order. The floor supplier is working on reducing the cost of the flooring to us.

There was no one in camp this week and no work was done on the building. There will be plenty of people in camp next week and if I can get some direction to them, they should be able to continue hanging drywall. I will be back in Houma the week of March 5 along with a contingent form my church, St. Mark Presbyterian in Ballwin. There will be about 45 other campers in camp that week Our priority will be to first close in the building with soffit and vinyl and then to complete the hanging of the drywall. As soon as the drywall is completely hung, then we can start mudding and taping the drywall.

We still need workers so talk our project up to your people - we can use any skill level!

Yours in Christ,
Dick Glassey