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Apalachicola, Florida
October 24, 2025
| | Like Every Other, Like None Other | |
I was fortunate enough this week to attend my friend Salem Saloom’s ordination to the priesthood. He is currently serving as Priest-in-Charge at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church in Atmore, AL located on the sovereign nation of the Poarch Creek Indians. Instead of the church, a decision was made to celebrate the service at the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel, also on tribal lands.
There were three times as many priests attending the ordination than usual. The joke going around was that the priests all wanted to be able to say they attended an ordination at a casino. All jokes aside, maybe that applied to some before the service. But any thought of that as a minor reason flew out the window as soon as it began. What I witnessed was an ordination like every other and yet like no other.
An Episcopalian service at its core, Salem’s ordination featured the usual prayers, Scripture selections, laying on of hands, and Holy Communion. This service, however, also featured Native American dance and a sequence hymn sung in Muscogee-Creek by a member of the Poarch Creek Indian Nation. As I followed along with the celebration, I marveled—once again—at how God is present everywhere, yet we remain mostly blind to that same presence in our lives.
Sure, we expect God in the quiet places smelling of old wood and incense. But God is also working in places and ways which might surprise us or in a manner unknown, unexpected, even unwanted! God is slowly turning the hearts of people you pray about but also turning your heart as people pray for you. God is working in the slums and prisons just as that same work continues in halls of power, our church, and our hearts. God is independent of where, how, when, or what we think church should be.
God is even unconnected to language, for the power was in the man’s raspy voice, praising God. The power was in Salem’s calm voice, committing to the vows of the priesthood. The power was in the individual reasons each person had for being there. And for just a little while, we stood at the intersection of the sacred and secular and shared a holy moment. Our separate journeys had brought us alongside a single place in space and time to glimpse the Almighty God’s vision for us: to be at one with God. Not as lay people, deacons, priests, or bishops; but as God’s people, period.
Next time you are in church, or grocery store, or casino look around. We are
all God’s people. At church, we come together to pray to God through
our own piety and personality. We stand together at the junction of
the eternal and the temporal. We are sent out into the world to
preach the gospel as it has worked in our individual lives.
In that way, you are like every other and also like none other.
Love Big and Be Well,
Stephen +
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Formation Class Is Starting. Between now and the bishop’s visit (2/15/2026), Fr. Stephen will host eight informative classes related to the doctrine and faith of The Episcopal Church. These are suitable for anyone who wants to become an Episcopalian or to just learn some church history. There is no obligation other than to learn! Classes will be held (most) Tuesdays from 6-7 pm in the Parish Office Conference Room beginning November 4 through the end of January. If interested, call the office or come to the first meeting and see if you like it!
Ministry Fair October 26. We are excited to announce that our Ministry Fair will be held in Benedict Hall immediately after Sunday service. Travis Pecot has lined up a fantastic group of volunteers eager to talk to you about the following ministries: Cursillo (retreat); ROMEOs (wizened patriarchs of the church); What the Holy Health (body work); Diocesan Lay School (licensed ministry); Catechism/Formation (becoming Episcopalian); Grill Team (for the Holy Smoker); Hospice; Food Pantry; ECCC/Meal on Wheels; Memorial Garden; Outreach; Parish Life; Tour of Homes; Penny’s Worth; Altar Guild; Flower Guild, Acolytes; Lay Eucharistic Ministers (serves wine); Choir and Music; Lectors; Ushers and Greeters; and a few others. Use this as an opportunity to find out more information about how you can serve God’s church.
| | Annual Bake Sale November 1 | | |
For over 35 years, Trinity has been part of the Seafood Festival by offering baked goods and snacks for folks to enjoy. Our annual bake sale has included: Ina Margaret’s famous pound cake, Dot’s delicious pecan pies, the Wagoner’s derby pies and homemade jams, along with many other crowd favorites. We have traditionally raised as much as $1,000 on bake sale day thanks to the generosity of parishioners. All proceeds go to Trinity’s community outreach services.
Here's how you can participate: We need goods to sell, four cashiers, and at least six workers. Look for sign-up sheets in Benedict Hall this Sunday, October 26. If you are unable to sign up, please contact Patti McCartney or the office to let us know what you wish to bring.
You can deliver your home-made items to Benedict Hall on Friday, October 31, from 1 to 4 pm, or on Saturday morning, November 1, before 9 am. Please note what your items are, and who made them. We will have labels, bags, and small boxes available.
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A note from your Outreach Committee:
Hello Trinity Friends!
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Through your gifts and service, your generosity has allowed the Outreach Committee to continue monthly giving to ECCC, The Food Pantry and, Buy Rite Drugs (for vetted, local residents in need to receive prescription drugs).
- You are contributing money for books for the 2nd grade classes at Franklin County Schools with our Reading Volunteers. We have teams that read two Thursdays a month.
- The Cookie Ministry is rolling along, making cookies to be delivered with meals provided through ECCC.
- Seven Franklin County graduating students were awarded computers after submitting a written essay and application describing their needs and plans for further education.
- Your gifts also allowed the committee to offset the cost of five computers that were needed at Ed Corps High School.
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The Outreach Committee is busy this time of year and looks forward to seeing many of you after church on Sunday October 26 for our MINISTRY FAIR in Benedict Hall during Hospitality Hour.
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CHRISTMAS? It's not even Halloween yet! However, November 1 is right aound the corner and that means our annual Giving Tree will sprout names of local students in need of Christmas Giving. Please be on the lookout for your chance to pick a name and provide Christmas Cheer.
-- Jo Branch, for the Trinity Outreach Committee
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Porch Fest Apalach 2025
Apalachicola Porch Fest 2025 has come and gone. Trinity was one of the many host porches and welcomed two bands (Salvato and Manakooras) on the church steps for a beautiful afternoon. Fr. Stephen blessed about 25 golf carts, so people may rest easier driving around town.
And with the help of the Grill Team and other friends, Trinity won the competition for “Favorite Stop” and “Fundraising Rockstars”, raising $952 for Aaron Meals. Thank you, Trinity Grill Team, for making the day such a success
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Susan Keith accepted the two awards for Porch Fest 2025 on behalf of Trinity.
-- Photo: Chuck Keith
| | Diocesan Cycle of Prayer. For churches and ministries: on October 26, pray for St. Luke’s, Mobile, AL; and on November 2, pray for All Saints Episcopal Church, Mobile, AL. For prisons: on October 26, pray for the prisoners, families, and staff of the Butler County Correctional Facility, Greenville, AL; and on November 2, pray for the prisoners, families, and staff of the Monroe County Jail, Monroeville, AL. | | CELEBRATING FAMILY & FRIENDS | |
Family Visits Gorrie Square to
Re-create Historic Photograph
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Bess Collingwood Brown and friends (left) on a vacation visit to Apalachicola ~1907; her great-granddaughter, Amy Cole
(right) strikes the same pose with family in 2025.
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It all started with our growing passion for learning more about our ancestry. I was one of the millions that logged on to the genealogy sites to start mapping our family’s family. Both my husband and I are nearing 70, so we decided we had better get on it!
My great grandmother’s name was Bess Collingwood Brown. When I was old enough to write, she and I became pen pals. (If you don’t know what that is, go ask an old person.) I was fascinated with her because she was SO OLD, and I loved hearing more about her life. She was born in New York in 1872 and lived the later part of her life in Vista, California.
Because I had been dubbed the de facto historian of the family, I ended up with a suitcase full of memorabilia from her life. And here’s where the story merges with the Trinity Episcopal Church in Apalachicola.
The one you see here was just one of many old photos we had combed through. But it was unique and piqued our curiosity. And the writing on the back said she and some friends were visiting Apalach for the first time. It hinted that she was on a vacation from her teaching job at what was then called Georgia College. She taught elocution and the dramatic arts, and possibly music. It was her first job out of college. This would have been about 1907 or '08, we think.
The Gorrie monument behind them gave us a big clue for some research, and, to our great delight, my husband, John, found it online almost immediately. Wow! It’s still there! And the idea to recreate the scene was born.
Our son and his girlfriend live in Tallahassee, and we live in the Orlando area, so we schemed up a short trip to meet them in Apalachicola for the weekend. I do a bit of theatre myself, so it was not hard rounding up some old hats to have some more fun with it.
Lovely Bonnie Stewart approached us as we were setting up the cameras. I was just sure she was going to tell us we were trespassing or something, but no, she was so welcoming and willing to help, especially once she heard what we were doing. But she did warn us that the Blessing of the Animals was happening in a half an hour and so we knew we better get going! (We’re dog lovers, but didn’t necessarily want them in the photo…)
We also spoke with Kay Carson who asked if she could share the final story and photos with your congregation. Of Course! We are always proud to keep our heritage alive, with whomever is willing to listen. We hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed the recreation-and meeting some truly lovely people!
Great Grandma Bess died in 1976 at 103 years old, and I still think of her so fondly. And now, when we proudly hang these photos on our wall, we’ll remember your warmth and hospitality too.
-- Sincerely, Amy, John and Noah Cole with Sarah Mahan
| | At the end of a busy weekend, Stephen and Travis Pecot donned traditional German attire and headed down to the Apalach Oktoberfest Street Party hosted by Water Craft Brewing & Distilling. | | Amelia Wolferseder demonstrated Trinity's tradition of warm and welcoming hospitality, greeting Josie, Trinity's official church cat, on a recent Sunday in Benedict Hall. | | |
(Reader Reflections is a series of offerings written by parishioners on
their favorite spiritual books. If you would like to write a short review
of a book you especially love, please contact Stephen.)
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Carol Wood Reflects on
"Small Things Like These"
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Perhaps it was the “headliner,” “A New York Times Top 100 Book of the 21st Century,” or the fact that Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan, was “Shortlisted for the Booker Prize,” that prompted the purchase in the airport. The cover advertisement was well deserved. Set in 1985, in the weeks before Christmas, the dedication provides a clue to the background of the 120-page story: “To “the women and children who suffered time in Ireland’s mother and baby homes and Magdalen laundries.”
Claire Keegan’s poignant Christmas tale makes the reader ponder what being a Christian is all about. She weaves a kind of parable that speaks as universally as those in the gospels. She contrasts a solvent family with the stark needs of an underprivileged teenage girl.
It takes a few pages before the reader makes the connection with the dedication. We meet the protagonist, Bill Furlong. Bill is a coal merchant whose birth was illegitimate, although he was spared the fate of infants and children who were “given” to the convent. His mother’s employer took both into her home and after his mother’s death raised Bill from the age of 12.
Bill is a modest, likeable, hard-working fellow. He is grateful that he has a wife and five daughters and that they manage on his salary. Despite the jeering he received from school children, his service to the community has contributed to his acceptance in the village.
Christmas week was a busy time for a coal merchant. A call to deliver a load of coal to the convent was not unexpected, but the sight that Bill sees when he opens the coal shed is startling. Bill questions what he sees.
The Mother Superior says “this terrible business” is obviously a mistake. After tea and conversation, Bill returns to his home to change clothes for mass. The family makes plans for Christmas.
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But, on Christmas Eve, Bill is restless. He is anxious to leave the “luncheon” for his workers and get home.
It’s a small town, and Mrs. Kehoe, the proprietor of the restaurant where Bill treated his employees, has heard of Bill’s discovery at the convent. She urges him not to interfere because of the repercussions it might bring on him or his family.
Bill begins to ponder this “safe” advice as he meanders in the shops, observing the “windows of plenty,” while his feet take him back through the snow to the convent. He does not knock on the front door, but goes to the coal shed. His courage in opening the door and risking his “place” in the community and his acceptance in the catholic church is echoed mystically in the observation of the nativity in the center of town.
Bill Furlong asks himself a pivotal question: “Was there any point in being alive without helping one another?” The reader is also left to ponder this pivotal question.
-- Carol Wood
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| | | COMMUNITY EVENTS OF INTEREST | |
Forgotten Coast Freedom Festival Air Show
Saturday, November 15 -- Apalachicola Airport
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Come out to this incredible family day - 9 am t0 4 pm - benefiting the Franklin Education Foundation. Enjoy aerobatic performances, car & bike shows, helicopter rides, and visit vendor tents!
Be part of the show - Volunteer opportunities available. Call Cliff Butler, 850-653-5848.
For details and tickets, Go to:
ForgottenCoastFFAirShow.com
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Your Bay View: Trinity's bi-weekly e-newsletter, the Bay View, reaches members and friends every other Friday, sharing news and inspiration for and about our parish. Please send information and announcements, as well as photographs, to info@trinityapalachicola.org or call the church office at 850-653-9550. The deadline for submission is noon on Wednesday of each publication week. (next deadline is November 5, 2025)
-- Kay Carson, Editor
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Worship Service at 10:30 am Sunday
Morning Prayer at 8:15 am Wednesday
Compline at 8 pm Wednesday - Facebook Live
Church address: 79 6th Street, Apalachicola, Florida 32320
Office address: 76 5th Street, Apalachicola, Florida 32320
Mailing address: PO Box 667, Apalachicola, Florida 32329
Phone number: (850) 653-9550
Email: info@trinityapalachicola.org
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