Trinity Newsletter for June 10, 2020

June 10, 2020

The mission of Trinity Church is to share Christ's love and grace in a vibrant community whose joyful spirit empowers people to do God's work .

A MESSAGE FROM ANNE M. R. ADAMS

Our Minister of Music Denise Symonds played her last service for Pentecost. She played to an empty church with a computer recording her music for broadcast over the internet. This is not how we expected to say goodbye.

As soon as Denise told the choir she was resigning, we started talking about how to honor her time with us. We wanted to have a reception for her on May 31. We wanted to celebrate her leadership and vast musical ability with the whole congregation. Whenever we are able to gather again, we will have such a celebration.

Denise took over as Minister of Music during Advent 2015 after the position was suddenly vacated. She had been accompanist a few years earlier under Chris Ryder, so at least she knew the choir. She stepped into this part-time position on top of her full-time duties as Trinity’s office manager.

We could always trust Denise to pick out great music for services at Trinity. Most in our congregation do not know of the hours she took to match hymns and anthems to the readings each Sunday. She rehearsed with the choir Thursday evenings and prior to services on Sundays. She played with the First Saturday band each month. She worked with musicians at the 9:15 service twice a month. She played at the 8:00 service twice a month too. She played for weddings and funerals.

We are lucky that we don’t have to truly say goodbye as Denise will continue working as Trinity’s office manager. Yet we will miss her contributing to the musical aspects of our worship.

Denise has an incredible breadth of musical knowledge and skill as an organist. We are truly blessed that she shared these talents with us at Trinity.

With great affection and respect,

Anne M. R. Adams

member of Trinity Choir since 1981

TRINITY NEWS

Trinity Discernment Prayer

O Everlasting, Omniscient, and Loving God

We confess that our daily worries and concerns often blind us to your voice and guidance in our lives. We thank You for this time of change, may it be an opportunity to grow together more closely as followers of your son Jesus Christ as we work to discern your path forward for our congregation. We pray that You will watch over the Bishop, diocesan transitional ministry team, the parish clergy, members of our vestry, and the other leaders of our church as they lead us on a new path for our parish. We pray for the members of the discernment committee as they endeavor to do Your holy work in calling a new rector for Trinity. We pray for all the members of our parish family during this time of transition that we come closer to You and feel your presence in our hearts. AMEN.

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

A letter from the Bishops of Virginia regarding PREPARING FOR PHASE II REGATHERING ON OUR CHURCH BUILDINGS can be found here.

TRINITY'S DISCERNMENT COMMITTEE continues to receive names of candidates. Please keep the candidates, committee, and our parish in your prayers.

The MONDAY EVENING EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY (EfM) GROUP at St. George's has openings for participants in the upcoming academic year. I have been participating with this EfM group for the past two years and am happy to invite other Trinitarians to join us. If you have questions or are interested in joining this group's practice, please contact me by June 24 at 540-891-8016. EfM is a unique four-year distance learning certificate program in theological education based upon small-group study and practice. Since its founding in 1975, this international program has assisted more than 100,000 participants in discovering and nurturing their call to Christian service. EfM helps the faithful encounter the breadth and depth of the Christian tradition and bring it into conversation with their experiences of the world as they study, worship, and engage in theological reflection together. Karla Snellings

A Letter from the Bishops of Province III of the Episcopal Church in response to the death of George Floyd can be found here .

UNITED THANK OFFERING presents the Inaugural Great EpisGOpal Race! The United Thank Offering (UTO) invites all to support the 2020 Ingathering by joining them in gratitude, grabbing a pair of sneakers, and racing YOUR way in the Great EpisGOpal Virtual Race. Anytime between July 22 - July 31, choose a preferred mode and distance and race to raise money for COVID-19 relief. Participants can bike a 10K, run a half marathon, skate a mile, and more—the options are limitless. All of the funds that are raised will be collected for the 2020 UTO Ingathering and dispersed to ministries responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking for some friendly competition? Start a team with friends, church, or diocese and see how far the team can collectively go. Registration is just $15 with the option to purchase a race shirt with an amazing original design by Chris Corbin. With a whole week to complete the event, UTO asks that participants please adhere to all CDC recommended social distancing guidelines , maintain a safe distance from others, and avoid trails and walking paths during peak times. To learn more about the race and how to participate, click here .

The Episcopal Church invites everyone to participate in a survey about sexual misconduct in the denomination . Please click here for a letter from Bishop Curry regarding the survey.

ONLINE SUNDAY SCHOOL!! Families with children are invited to join us at 10:30 am on Sunday mornings for a 30 – 40 minute Sunday school lesson on Zoom. Our time together will include a few minutes of social (gathering) time, a few songs we all know, some prayer time, a story, and an easy craft response to the story. This will be geared for children ages 5 through fifth grade, but older and younger people are welcome too. Each child/person will need a pencil, a few sheets of paper, and some crayons or colored pencils. I will email some additional materials to everyone on Fridays. If you did not receive an email last week with the information to join the class meeting and would like for your child to participate, please contact Sam Burton .

YOUTH GROUP MEETINGS VIA ZOOM!! Youth are invited to join us for a youth group meeting via Zoom on Sunday afternoons from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. We will catch up with each other, do a brief Bible study, and play a game. If you did not receive an email last week with the information to join the youth group meeting and would like for your youth to participate, please contact Sam Burton .

CAMPUS MINISTRY will continue to meet through the summer on Wednesdays from 5pm – 7pm! We would like to invite all college students (no matter which college!) to gather with us by Zoom. A Zoom link may be found on our church website, www.trinity-fredericksburg.org, or find the event on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/trinityfredericksburg/ .

During this time when we cannot be together physically, let’s keep in touch virtually. Please check out the TRINITY FACEBOOK PAGE for information, inspiration, and some things to make you smile. Messages from Bishop Curry and from our Bishop Susan Goff are posted as they are received. Don't forget our follow Instagram page and subscribe to our newly formed YouTube channel.