Second Sunday of Advent, with Communion.

BYOC: Bring your own Communion! We will also have pre-packaged Communion sets available.

Don't have Facebook? Don't worry, you can still view the live service from any device by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/Trinitychurchnorthborough/      

A step-by-step tutorial on how to access Facebook Live, click HERE

Rita is here to help you. If you need technical assistance please email her at [email protected] or call her (508) 393-8156 during virtual office hours and she will walk you through each step.

Wishing you and your families a blessed season of Advent!

We are excited that the kids will be joining us in the sanctuary briefly at the beginning of worship before heading upstairs to prepare their Christmas program.

We are hopeful that we can be together in the building to celebrate Christmas Eve. More information below.

But, we cannot really plan on anything with the Coronavirus still going strong. So, let's take it one day at a time, and take time every day to focus on Jesus' presence in our lives - where we need him the most. Where do you encounter Jesus? Do you see him in a stranger's face? Do you hear his voice speaking to you in music, in reading the Bible or a devotional, in the silence? Can you feel his loving arms around you?

In our worship services during Advent we will be paying attention to our senses and how we experience this special season with our whole being.

Take time to stop and notice what you smell, what you see, what you hear and what you feel. God's love is in the air!

A Holiday Season Blessing for Whatever Lies Ahead

By Kaitlin Curtice, an indigenous author:

May you breathe in and out right here, right now.

May the to-do lists slip into the background for a moment.

May your connection with the Sacred guide you.

May the stresses of this time be acknowledged and let go.

May you let yourself be, simply be.

May good food fill your belly.

May gentle yet fierce truth-telling fall from your lips.

May your heart know its way home.

May you find what and who you need, when you need them.

May you find yourself when you need you.

May you light many candles to guide your way.

May you dream big and expand your longings to learn.

May you cry big tears and let it all go.

May you experience solidarity in the everyday.

May you be the child you’ve always been.

May you listen to the children in your midst.

May you play games and laugh harder.

May you fall asleep to the quiet.

May you find peace on the path you tread.

May Mother Earth speak to you in the busyness.

May you listen to her voice and surrender.

May you savor your morning coffee.

May this holiday season be whatever it needs to be.

May the expectations be an idea and not a trap.

May you rest well and drink well and be all the things.

May you light your own way into the coming year.

All this I hope for you.

Amen.

With prayers for a hopeful, peaceful and joyful season filled with the love of God,

Pastor Valeria

Sunday, December 12: Third Sunday of Advent with the bell choir. Help us honor all of our Trinity Church college students. We hope to see you all in Worship Service as we honor and hand each of them a bag of goodies from The Pastoral Care Team. We are very proud of these young people as they have had all the added Covid-19 stresses to their already hectic college lives.

Sunday, December 19: Fourth Sunday of Advent with the kids' Christmas program. For copyright reasons we will not be able to livestream the Christmas program. Worship will be livestreamed, with the Christmas program being presented to those in the sanctuary at the end of worship, after the live stream ends. Our apologies to those who will not be able to join us in person!

Sunday, December 26: Carol sing with Robin Jubenville, Julia Woodward and the Worship Team

We are planning to hold our Christmas Eve service in the sanctuary at 5 pm on Friday, December 24, with overflow seating in Fellowship Hall to allow for social distancing. At 5:30 we will gather in the parking lot to sing Christmas carols by candlelight. Anyone who is not yet comfortable coming indoors may join us for this special celebration. Worship will also be live streamed to Facebook. We are still in the planning stages so please look for more details coming soon.

Looking for a fun stocking-stuffer? Or some unique “nail art” for yourself? Color Street Nail Strips is a colorful stick-on nail polish, and for a limited time, 25% of your purchase will be donated to Trinity Church. Amy Kwasny, a stylist for Color Street, is spearheading this fundraiser. Click this link to place an order:

https://www.colorstreet.com/FancyNailsinMinutesbyAmy/nailbar/3169824 or contact Amy ([email protected]) for more info or a free sample. ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY DECEMBER 7.

The ONA Team (Open and Affirming) invites you to join us and learn more about using pronouns presented by the LGBTQ+ Initiatives - sponsored by the Northboro Senior Center and Baypath Elder Service, Please see more information below.

All orders must be in by 12/10/2021.

Order forms will be hanging outside the church office (on the purple bulletin board), on the counter in the hallway where the donations bins are and in the church office. Please return your forms with payment via mail or drop them in the mail slot on the church office door.

Orders may also be placed online by clicking the link below:

If you have any questions please contact Rita in the church office for more information:

[email protected] or (508) 393-8156.

Looking for the perfect gift for someone who has everything? Consider a donation in their

name to Worcester Fellowship, the church for Worcester’s homeless men and women. Here is what your donation will provide:

     $15        Bagged lunches for 5 guests

     $25       Thursday Café Hot Meal for 6 guests

     $50       Cold Weather Adult Sleeping Bag

     $75        15 Dunkin Donuts Cards

     $100      Thursday Café Hot Meal for 25 guests

Giving to this program is easy - just go to worcesterfellowship.org and set

up a donation. Your giving certificate makes an excellent stocking stuffer. Thank you

for making a difference for those struggling with homelessness this holiday season.

Why is there such a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asians in America?

Answers may be gleaned from past Asian American history, and also from today’s events! Join us for presentations on Sunday, January 16 and 23, 2022 at 1:00PM on Zoom. Each presentation will have 30 minutes of video, followed by 45 minutes of small group discussion.

You are warmly invited to reserve your seat on Zoom by contacting Rita at the Trinity Church office, [email protected] or call (508)393-8156.

Dave Chin, Social Justice Team

Do you have a background in finance or accounting or an interest in these areas? Are you looking for a new way to apply that knowledge or interest, or gain practical experience? Trinity has a great volunteer opportunity in the role of Assistant Treasurer that we are looking to fill starting in February 2022. The Assistant Treasurer collaborates with the Treasurer to maintain the church’s records of receipts and disbursements, disburse funds, manage the church’s funds, and generate financial reports. The position is performed from home using our online accounting system and basic spreadsheet software. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact Pete Carlsen at [email protected]

Would you like to beautify our worship space with flowers or other decorative items?

Please contact Rita in the office at ( 508 ) 393-8156 or [email protected]

Trinity will be participating in the festivities by offering hot chocolate from 1-4pm. Our gift shop will be open from 10am-4pm. Girl Scouts will be hosting a Kid’s Gift Shop with inexpensive gifts (under $5) for mom and dad. Stop by and join the fun, then attend the Tree Lighting on Blake St at 4:30.

Help Trinity make a difference!

300 Afghan families will be resettling in Central MA. Welcome MA and Ascentria Care Alliance, supported by The Shapiro Foundation, are working together to create a new innovative model for resettlement-built around the formation of Neighborhood Support Teams (NSTs). In contrast to a traditional resettlement model that provides basic housing, minimal cash assistance and a caseworker to a family for the first 90 days after they arrive, NSTs surround that family with support of all kinds for 6-12 months, walking alongside them along their individual road to self-sufficiency. Our Outreach Team is exploring the possibility of putting together a Neighborhood Support Team in Northboro. We will be reaching out to the community and Northboro churches to build a team of about 20 people. If you would like to help, contact John Posluszny at [email protected].

On Nov 11th, Trinity provided lunch for Thursday Café, a weekly free lunch program for Worcester’s homeless. We provided a hot meal of meatloaf, squash, salad, and dessert. Thank you, everyone, who helped cook and deliver the food.

We received this note from Sue Pellerin, the Administrative Director of Worcester Fellowship:

I want to let you and your group know that the Café guests and volunteers were BLOWN AWAY with the wonderful meal Trinity Northborough delivered to them yesterday. Everyone raved about the menu and how great the food was. Please send along our thanks and gratitude for taking care of us yesterday.

We will be providing Worcester Fellowship Sunday worship service lunches on Dec 26, Feb 20, Apr 17, and Jun 19, and lunches for Thursday café on Jan 27, Mar 24, May 12.

Our UCC/ABC Christmas special offering goes to help retired ministers and church leaders who are in need.

You may contribute in the following ways:

1.) Online with a note, “UCC/ABC Retired Minister offering”

2.) Use the pew special offering envelope, make checks out to Trinity Church

3.) Mail your offering with a note, “UCC/ABC Retired Minister offering”

Make checks out to Trinity Church.

All other Christmas offerings (pledge envelopes, Christmas eve service) will support Trinity Church.

Thank you,

Your Outreach Team

It has been amazing to have all the kids together again on Sundays and for youth group. We have continued to focus on creating a faith book during CE. This has led to some really great conversations among the kids and adults. This will be an ongoing project that the kids will work on that will really allow them to dive deep into their own faith and will give them something when we finish that they can bring with them anywhere. Our service project this month was making no sew hats to get added to the Giving

Tree at the library for those in need.

This month we will take a break on our faith books in order to practice and get ready for the Christmas Play. We will use classes on the 5th and 12th to get ready and will perform the play in church on the 19th. Due to copy right laws this portion of the service will not be live streamed so be sure to come watch it live!

This month Sherry will also be sending families a daily devotional that they can use at home.

During Youth Group we Lit up Trinity for the second year in a row. Be sure to take a drive by the church in the evening to see the wonderful work by the kids.

This month we will be going bowling on Friday Dec 17th at 5pm. Please rsvp to

Sherry at [email protected] so that she can make appropriate reservations.

We are in need of teachers and assistant teachers. Sherry preps all the material and sends it to teachers to preview before Sunday. If you can help please email her at [email protected] It is a wonderful way to spend some time with our youth and cultivate intergenerational relationships.

Reminders: Please be sure to go online and fill out all the necessary forms for your child(ren) to participate in our programs. https://www.trinitynorthborough.org/children-youth-forms

Pastor Valeria will be away from December 26 - January 9. In case of a pastoral emergency please contact Rev. Lee Atherton at 508-308-7116 or [email protected]

Shop at your convenience all year!   

Trinity Church is set up as a charity on iGive! Please consider downloading the app or shopping through the iGive site and a percentage of your purchase will be sent to Trinity Church! This does not cost you any extra money, the donation comes from the stores you already shop at.

Please consider shopping through iGive to help support Trinity.

We will be ordering $5 meals from local food establishments and distributing them to our community meals guests to-go, every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Trinity Church. Various organizations have committed to monetary donations for these entrees. 

To donate towards the purchase of meals, please make your checks out to "Helping Hands Association" with "Community Meal" on the memo line, and mail them to Northborough Helping Hands, P.O. Box 383, Northborough, 01532.  

Please use the instructions HERE to add yourself and your family to the Trinity Church online database.

(508) 393-8156 or [email protected]