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First Sunday after the Epiphany
Baptism of Jesus
January 12, 2025
Worship Services: 8am Holy Eucharist and 10am Choral Eucharist
View the Printed Liturgy. The 10am service will be livestreamed here.
Our Parish Nurse Jan Fadden will be with us after both services.
Jan will meet with parishioners for health consultation in the library.
Stop by to seek help or to introduce yourself.
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Watershed Young Adult Dinner Church
This Sunday, January 12, 5:30pm
Help support Trinity's new young adult ministry by signing up to make or deliver meals for Watershed Dinner Church. Dinners are held monthly on Sundays at Trinity. Contact Theo Patterson (cydirector@trinitysb.org) for more information. Sign up online here.
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Compline with Story and Sound
This Sunday, January 12, 7-8pm
An evening of meditative music and storytelling in the Trinity Sanctuary with incense, tea, blankets, and candlelight. Our storyteller is Hannah Kenah, playwright, performer, and theater artist. Hannah has performed in national and international tours, including runs at Lincoln Center, Humana Festival, and Yale Repertory Theatre.
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Message from the Rector re: Wildfires | |
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Dear Trinity Friends,
As I watch the news of the horrific fires across Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California, I’m heartbroken at each new photo and story of loss, destruction, and displacement, combined with people’s fear and uncertainty about whether the worst is behind or still ahead of them. I know that many of you have roots in the affected areas, as well as family and friends who may have lost homes, been evacuated, or are suffering from power outages and poor air quality. My prayers and deepest sympathies are with everyone impacted, and I’m ever grateful for all the first responders who continue to put their lives on the line to try and contain the fires, and insure people’s safety and well-being.
On a call with Bishop John Taylor Thursday afternoon, clergy from across the diocese heard updates about how various churches and schools in the diocese have been impacted by the fires, including the total destruction of St. Mark’s church in Altadena, and significant losses at St. Matthew’s in Pacific Palisades, including destruction and damage to school properties, and the complete loss of the homes of two of their priests, to name but a few.
We also heard from Lura Steele, of Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), who spoke about what people need in or after a crisis: community, accurate information, and agency. We can offer community support, even from a distance, through our prayers. We can foster accurate information by sharing reliable news sources (two sources for Episcopal church and school news are ENS, the Episcopal News Service, and the Diocese of Los Angeles website). And we enable agency, Lura Steele said, by giving people resources to make their own decisions about what they most need—that is, money.
If you’d like to offer financial assistance, the diocese is earmarking all contributions to the diocesan One Body, One Spirit Annual Appeal, for the foreseeable future, toward fire relief for those individuals, churches, and schools impacted in our diocese.
For more information, and a pastoral word from Bishop Taylor, please continue to read below.
With faith and gratitude,
Elizabeth+
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Outpouring of Episcopal Support Felt Amid Fires
Locally and nationally the Episcopal community has rallied together, in a resilient outpouring of prayers, love and support as out-of-control Southern California wildfires destroyed thousands of acres, homes, schools, and an Episcopal church among various houses of worship and historic buildings, forcing mass evacuations.
Our Bishop John Taylor noted the outpouring from across The Episcopal Church. “Offers have been flooding in from all over the diocese, from individuals, parishes and missions that have room for evacuees who need shelter. Thank you. Properties continued to blaze, fueling chaos, uncertainty, fear and “losses too great to bear,” Taylor said. “The list of members of our churches in the San Gabriel Valley and Pacific Palisades area who’ve lost homes could exceed 40 or 50 by the time all of the news is in,” he said.
Continue reading here.
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Announcements and Upcoming Events | |
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Youth Group Service Trip on January 17-19
La Cobina Posada del Migrante Border Shelter in Mexicali, Mexico
The tradition of participating in a meaningful weekend service trip to the La Cobina Border Shelter continues this year. Director of Children and Youth, Theo Patterson, will represent Trinity and travel along with organizers from the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara in collaboration with Sister Suzanne and Border Compassion International. Read more from Theo here. There will be a forum at Trinity on February 2 after the 10am service to give parishioners a chance to hear about the experience.
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Kitchen Work Day
Saturday, January 18, 10am-noon
Come join with other church members in our annual kitchen cleanup. We want our kitchen in tip top shape for the coming year. Tasks are not heavy and with enough help we can knock this out in a few short hours. Refreshments will be provided! Join us!
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Women's Group: Women at the Well
Saturday, January 18, 3-4:30pm
The Women at the Well group continues to study Wholehearted Faith. An optional dinner follows at The Natural Cafe on Hitchcock.
Contacts: drcarolynroberts@aol.com or michellengrue@gmail.com
for more information. Meetings are held in the Youth Group room (enter from Micheltorena Street).
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Dignity Index Forum in the Parish Hall
January 19 and 26 from 11:30am to 12:30pm
As part of the Jim Wallis False White Gospel preaching series, the Rev. Mark Asman referenced the Dignity Index as a tool to help us bridge our deep divisions. In the two forums in January, Mark will help us go deeper into understanding and practicing the Dignity Index. In addition to our political divisions, we will explore various applications of the Dignity Index for the family and personal relationships. The Dignity Index says, "Our disagreements aren't causing divisions in our country; it's what we do when we disagree. Do we treat the other side with dignity, or do we treat them with contempt? The Dignity Index helps us discern how we engage with others. For more, please visit: Dignity.us.
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Inauguration of Love and Service
Events on January 19 and 20
Trinity invites you to join us in honoring Inauguration Day as an Inauguration of Love and Service. This is an opportunity to practice centering and grounding ourselves in love and service, to stand in peaceful resistance to the opulence and oppression of empire. Throughout January 19 and 20, we will have multiple opportunities to gather and center on themes of love and service including the following:
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We welcome our guest preacher, Jeff Shaffer of Kingdom Causes. Jeff will speak at both services on Sunday the 19th about the issue of human trafficking in our community;
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Rector Emeritus Mark Asman will be leading the first of a two-part adult forum on the Dignity Index after the 10am service on the 19th;
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We invite your participation in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day events on Monday, January 20th, hosted by Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara. (Details at mlksb.org);
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Our Inauguration of Love and Service will culminate on Trinity's labyrinth being open from noon to 6pm on Monday the 20th, as a space for reflection and grounding. This is an excellent chance to bring our Election Day labyrinth event—Vote/Love/Pray—full circle. If you would like to volunteer to help with the labyrinth event please contact Jax Ranck, jacqueline.robinson.lmft@gmail.com.
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Fraudulent Emails: PLEASE READ
Another round of fraudulent emails were sent today to parishioners by spammers posing as the Rev. Elizabeth Molitors.
Before you respond or act, please:
1) Check the "from" email address. Most of our staff and clergy have "@trinitysb.org" in their email address. This recent scam used "ministryseniorpastor@gmail.com".
2) Check the subject line for a general, vague subject, like "Greetings". Staff or clergy would provide a more detailed subject line in their communications with you.
3) Look for grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors in the text of the email. This is another red flag.
4) Know that our clergy and staff will never request a favor, or ask that you purchase anything for them, including gift cards. They never are "too busy" or need an "immediate" response from you.
Thank you for your vigilance and If you have any question as to whether an email request is truly from clergy or staff, please call the Trinity office, or clergy directly, before responding.
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Hot Lunch at the FARO Center
Wednesday and Thursday, January 22/23
Trinity serves a hot meal to our unhoused neighbors at the FARO Daytime Navigation Center (621 Chapala St.) on the 4th Thursday of every month. On the Wednesday afternoon prior, a team meets at Trinity to prepare the meal. There are many volunteer slots available: Shopping, cooking (no experience needed), serving (the servers will meet at the church and drive the food over to the center), and cleaning. Take a look at the volunteer sign up for more details. Questions? Contact the Rev. Sarah Thomas: sthomas@trinitysb.org.
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Men's Group Breakfast
Saturday, January 25, 8am
Join the Men's Group in Trinity's Guild Hall for a meal and conversation. Steve Jacobson will be the speaker. Steve is the former pastor of Goleta Presbyterian Church and the former Executive Director of Santa Barbara Hospice. He was also the Director of La Casa de Maria prior to the Thomas Fire and Debris flow destroying the facility. Steve will be talking about the relationship between our spirituality and secular work. A $10 free-will offering will be collected. Questions may be directed to the Rev. John Draper, draperj01@gmail.com or to Paul Zink, prz@zinkaia.com.
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Noon Concert: Bassoonapalooza
Monday, January 27, 12:15pm
Join us for the next Noon Concert with The Low Blows. Doors open at 11:45am. $10 suggested donation at the door.
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2025 Annual Giving Campaign Update | |
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Thank you to the 221 pledgers, with a record number of 35 new pledgers!
We are so very close to reaching our goal! If you have not yet had the chance to make your pledge for 2025, please do so today! A pledge—which is an estimate of your giving for the year—allows the vestry to make informed financial decisions based on expected income. Every pledge (no matter the size) matters and makes a difference. Thank you!
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Nursery on Sundays 9-11:30am
The nursery is available for infants and for toddlers under the age of three and a half. It is located on the second floor of the Parish Hall.
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Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS)
Returns on Sunday, January 12
CGS is a Montessori-based religious formation program for child parishioners ages 3½ - 12. Children may arrive as early as 9am in the Children and Youth building behind the sanctuary.
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Youth Group
Thursday, January 16
Youth Group is a time of connection and community for teen parishioners, ages 13-18. This week, we will be preparing for our time in Mexicali with a brief time of fellowship and cultural preparation before we embark on our service trip.
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Word and Life Winter Series
Begins January 16 on Zoom
Word and Life is pleased to announce that its winter series will be based on John Phillip Newell’s latest book, The Great Search: Turning to Earth and Soul in the Quest for Healing and Faith. This selection is a natural extension of the last two series in which the group explored the connections between nature and spirituality. The author himself will be the speaker at the opening session.
The series begins on January 16 and runs through March 20. All sessions will be held via Zoom on Thursday mornings from 10–11:30am. The registration fee is $75 (scholarships are available). For more information about the series and how to register, please visit wordandlife.us.
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Bystander Intervention Training
Saturday, January 18, 10am-noon
Unitarian Society, 1535 Santa Barbara Street
Rev. Julia Hamilton from the Unitarian Society invites Trinity parishioners to attend
an interactive training that will provide a grounding in the principles of nonviolent intervention. Specific de-escalation techniques will be practiced in a variety of scenarios when our fellow community members are being harassed. This will also be an opportunity to connect with others who want to organize for a more compassionate, inclusive, and equitable community. This free workshop is sponsored by the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara. Register in advance here.
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Point-in-Time Count: Volunteers Needed
Wednesday, January 22, 5:30am-9am
The County Continuum of Care (CoC) invites volunteers to participate in the 2025 Homeless Point-In-Time Count. This is the annual count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness on a given day, and data is used to ensure essential homelessness services and funding. Virtual trainings will be offered Jan 14-17. The final day to sign up to volunteer is January 17. Your help is needed to make everyone count! Sign up at countyofsb.pointintime.info. Email pit@sbact.org with any questions.
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Folk Orchestra Winter Concert at Trinity
Sunday, February 2, 2pm
Celebrate the season with the music of winter from around the world. From the snowy Nordic lands of Sweden, Norway, and Finland, Plum Blossoms of China, and fiddle tunes form Appalachia. . . Maybe even some help from Simon and Garfunkel. Come and warm your spirits! Will Call tickets are $35 and available online. (No physical or virtual tickets will be issued, your name will be on the list.)
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Irish Tenor Emmet Cahill at Trinity
Monday, February 3, 7:30-9pm
Join Ireland’s most exciting young tenor Emmet Cahill for an evening of beloved sacred hymns and classic Irish songs. Tickets are $45-$60 available online.
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Submissions for the Trinity Notes weekly Friday newsletter should be received
by noon on the Wednesday prior. Please send your submission to Betty Wenzel, Director of Communications, bwenzel@trinitysb.org.
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