Trinity Newsletter for June 17, 2020

June 17, 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 .

SENIOR WARDEN'S NOTES

Our Trinity magnolia tree is in bloom.

If you drive by the church, you will see our tree with its beautiful blossoms. It is sad to see the whole building and parking lots deserted, but the tree reminds us that life and hope still abound in our parish.

The Vestry voted last week that Trinity will remain closed for “regathering”, as the Diocese calls it, for now. We are mailing everyone a letter and a summary of the Diocesan guidelines so everyone can see how we made that decision. We will let you know by signs on the door and e-mail when services resume. For now, we encourage staff to continue to work at home, for their own safety.

We must continue to care for each other in these troubled times. If you know someone living alone or who is a caretaker for a frail person, please text or e-mail that person just to check in – and regardless of what the younger generation tells us, phones do still work for personal conversations. We need to be especially aware of widows, widowers, parents who have lost a child, children who have lost a parent, and others who were accustomed to partners and now find themselves alone. Please let us know if you hear of someone who needs assistance or a listening ear.

Zoom can bring us closer together from distant places. Via Zoom, the Brotherhood welcomed Herb Huser, now living in South Carolina, to their Saturday morning meeting. A child in North Carolina who formerly attended Trinity joined Sunday school. More than one person has commented on the convenience of meeting from home in casual clothes. One parishioner has learned in the past few months to text and to Zoom, adding significantly to contact with others.

Surely we are going to be in Zoom meetings rather than in-person for the next few months, and my guess is that we will continue to conduct some of our activities this way in the future. If you would like to learn more about Zoom, please contact Barry Holliday . An on-line Zoom training session can be arranged for anyone who’s interested in learning more.

One activity that will continue this summer, albeit in different format, is School Dressing Days. Our Trinity Sunday offering will go to that cause, so please write “School Dressing Days” in the memo line of your check. This year families will receive items through curbside pick-up rather than the exuberance of hundreds of children meeting in a large space to be outfitted with new clothes for the school year. The dozen or so Trinitarians who helped last year will not get to see the joy on the children’s faces nor the relief on the parents’. But the children will have something to help them begin the school year well, due to Trinitarians’ generosity. Since we can’t collect material goods this year, the cash offerings are more important than ever.

Are there things we miss acutely? Of course there are, chief among them being unable to talk, hug, and greet each other in person. I worry about our Outreach clients -- are they getting enough food? Are the children we feed through Backpacks getting nourishment from the school sites offering it? Do we have lonely parishioners we aren’t talking with? Will my granddaughter be safe as she marches daily for a cause she believes in? Will I ever get a haircut??? When you’re feeling hopeless, as Bambi alluded to in her homily last Sunday, remember that God is present in the love surrounding us and the beauty of the earth.

Then drive by and visit our magnolia tree.

Claire Curcio, Senior Warden

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.

Allen (Butch) and Judy (Pullen) Cover , married at Trinity on June 6, 1970, celebrated their 50th anniversary by ringing the bell at Trinity five times, once for each decade, a few weeks ago. They were very active at Trinity, leading Youth Group and teaching Sunday School, etc., before they moved away.

CONGRATULATIONS, MICHAEL!

Michael Hamilton (son of Al & Mary Hamilton) graduated from USMA at West Point. He is now a 2Lt in the US Army Engineer Regiment and will attend Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood,Missouri, with his first duty assignment 1st Cavalry at Fort Hood, Texas.

Michael was active in Canterbury Club during his time at West Point.

Michael was active with the youth group of Trinity, was an acolyte at Trinity all during his High School years, and volunteered during the summers with Vacation Bible School.

He was also active with the Parish Youth Ministry Committee (PYM) for all 4 years of high school. He served for 2 years as co-chair of PYM, and organized retreat weekends for youth at Shrine Mont.

Michael attended EYE, the Episcopal Youth Event during his senior year of high school.

He was a Region One alternate youth Delegate to the Diocesan Council for 2018, the Voting Youth Delegate and Member of Committee on Resolutions for the 2019 Diocesan Council, and the Senior Page for the 2020 Diocesan Council.

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL - We are going to try VBS online this summer! The program is called “Compassion Camp” and was designed by Illustrated Ministry. Our online VBS will be five weeks long instead of five consecutive days. It will meet at the normal Zoom Sunday school time of Sundays at 10:30 a.m. beginning July 12th. There will also be a 30 minute mid-week check-in session. These could be held on either Tuesdays or Thursdays at 10:30 a.m., Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., or Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. Please email Sam Burton to let her know if you are interested in online VBS and which mid-week session time would be best for your family so that at-home materials can be prepared.

T RINITY SUNDAY SPECIAL OFFERING – The Vestry has designated the special offering for Trinity Sunday for School Dressing Days to help those in need prepare to go back to school. Please send a check to Trinity Church (825 College Ave., 22401) with Trinity Sunday offering in the memo space or go to the Trinity website, pick online giving, and select Trinity Sunday as the fund. Hopefully we can be generous as the program will rely more on donations of money instead of donations of clothing this year.

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

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 .

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 this week we will play Scattergories! 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.

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA

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

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

A Message from Bishop Goff to 2020 SENIORS can be found here .

NEWS FROM THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

The Episcopal Church invites everyone to participate in GOOD NEWS GARDENS . Join the movement to Plant, Pray & Proclaim! More information can be found 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.