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"In This Together, Mate!"
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During the London Blitz (1940-1941) Winston Churchill asked the British people to contribute their pots and pans to the war effort. Aluminum cookware, in particular, was requested -- aluminum being the primary material of the Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes which British factories were then stamping out by the thousands. Photos of the mountains of scrap metal collected in those months are still important symbols of unified British resolve in a time of danger.
In her account of those years, Citizens of London, historian Lynne Olson notes that little if any of the scrap metal collected actually made it onto production lines. In making their appeal, Churchill and Lord Beaverbrook (the crafty press baron in charge of aircraft production) were actually not seeking aluminum as much as they were seeking to galvanize and unite citizens. You might consider their program propaganda, or cagey leadership, or a mix of the two. But what Churchill and Beaverbrook understood was this: people feeling helpless need, somehow, to give. Need, somehow, to step up and out of a defensive crouch. News images of children carrying pots for donation reminded all Britons that "we're in this together, mate."
I was so moved recently to see Boston unite so quickly to send needed goods to Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey: boxed pasta, new socks, toothpaste, baby wipes. City employees and volunteers stacked pallet after pallet on City Hall onto trucks. We can assume that most of these goods have found their way to people who have lost so very much. We hope that they have brought both practical support and spiritual comfort to those now in the midst of mucking out. Perhaps it was all a small drop in a muddy ocean of human need. At times like this though, I discern something sacramental in piles of donated goods. They are visible signs of invisible love and care, passed from stranger to stranger and mystically uniting each to each. For donors, that act of giving reminds us of who we are, and of the giver in whose image we are each made.
I wonder sometimes why donating cash doesn't have quite the same moral heft as pallets of goods in the popular imagination. Is it because money, unlike an aluminum saucepan, is increasingly without shape or form in a cash-free culture? Is it because money relies on the integrity and judgment of the recipient for the role it will play in the recovery and asks no small degree of trust from the donor? Is it because, unlike giving boxed pasta or socks or toothpaste, giving money means open-ended support for a wider mission versus relieving a concrete and easily imagined need?
Nonetheless, money -- and prayers behind it -- is what is needed right now in those portions of the US and Caribbean just beginning to recover from Harvey and Irma. Money in this sense is like type-O blood: lifesaving, universally accepted, and useful in contexts that we at a safe remove cannot begin to imagine. Our bishops have asked that we offer what assistance we can through Episcopal Relief and Development, and you can read more about ERD's current relief work and make a gift here: https://support.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-relief.
Thank you for considering our bishops' request. See you in church!
Faithfully and fondly,
The Reverend Patrick C. Ward
Associate Rector
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Holy Eucharist
7:45 a.m., 9 a.m., 6 p.m.
Morning Prayer
11:15 a.m.
Sacred Silence
7 p.m.
Choral Compline
8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Choral Evensong
5:45 p.m.
THURSDAY
Holy Eucharist with Prayers for Healing
12:10 p.m.
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This Week at Trinity |
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Limited Appointments Available!
There are a few photo appointments available this Saturday, or evenings Sunday or Monday. Don't miss out on getting a free photo directory! To schedule, visit the website.
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Fridays at Trinity Concert Series
Fridays beginning September 15
12:10 p.m.
Church
Join us on Friday afternoons for this weekly series of midday organ concerts featuring innovative programs by recitalists from across the United States and abroad. There is no charge for admission, but we invite a donation of $10.
More...
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Spiritual Journeys: Cancer Support
Tues., September 19
6:30 p.m.
Parish House
Spiritual Journeys, Trinity's cancer support group, generally meets on the third Tuesday of the month. If you are coming for the first time, please
contact
Perry Colmore, [email protected], 617-416-5616. More...
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| Explore, Learn, Grow |
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Small Group Bible Studies Launch September 24!
Small group Bible Studies offer parishioners an opportunity to gather weekly to study Scripture together in a supportive, open environment.
To sign up, contact Kristen Filipic. More...
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Register Now for
Inquirer's Class!
Tuesdays, Oct.-Dec. (8-week session, including 1 Sat. retreat)
6 - 8:45 p.m.
Forum
Are you new or returning to the Christian faith, and harboring some questions? Join us for an extended introduction (or refresher) to the Christian faith and the specific history and polity of the Episcopal Church.
More...
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| Forums |
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Outreach Sunday
Sun., September 17
All Day
Church, Commons, & Forum
Learn more about Trinity's urban justice ministries at Outreach Sunday.
More...
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A New View:
Trinity's
La Farge Murals
Sun., September 24
10:15 a.m.
Church
Join art conservator Corrine Long and the Rev. Patrick Ward for a new look at the
twin John La Farge murals cleaned and restored this past summer. Freed from decades of accumulated grime, these works will be specially lit to show them in new and vivid detail. More...
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Last Week's
Sermon & Forum |
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Miss last Sunday, or just want to experience the sermon or Forum again? We invite you to listen or watch on our website:
Last Sunday's sermon:
by the Rev. Bill Rich, Interim Rector
Last Sunday's Forum:
with the Rev. Patrick Ward, Associate Rector; Cathy Portlock Pacitto, Director of Children's Ministries; Richard Webster, Director of Music & Organist; & the Rev. Rita Powell, Associate Rector
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Sew You Knit? We Need You!
Do you like to knit? Knit hats and mittens for refugee children! Patterns and some materials available. Contact Mary Sherman for more information.
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Pine Street Inn Feeding Team
Tues., September 19
4:30 p.m.
444 Harrison Ave., Boston
Join us on the third Tuesday of each month to serve dinner at the Woman's Inn and the Men's Inn.
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Harbor to the Bay
Rideout Breakfast
Sat., September 23
4 - 7 a.m.
Undercroft
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Rodman Ride for Kids
Sat., September 23
7 am - 1 pm
10 Lincoln Rd., Foxboro, MA
Bike 25, 50, or 100 miles to support the Trinity Boston Foundation--or volunteer or donate to support Team Trinity!
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Prepare & Serve Dinner at Rosie's Place
Wed., September 27
4 p.m.
889 Harrison Ave., Boston
Join our team on the 4th Wednesday and any 5th Tuesday of each month to prepare and serve an evening meal at Rosie's Place, a shelter for women and their children. More...
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| GBIO Fall Launch
Thurs., October 5
6-8 p.m.
Ferris Library
Want to work shoulder to shoulder with people of different faiths and backgrounds in the Boston area to bring about a more just society? Whether you're new or a veteran, come to Trinity's Greater Boston Interfaith Organization chapter launch meeting for the fall!
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