Check Out Pastor Valeria's Weekly Blog:
LINK
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Advent!
This year, the season of Advent is rather short because Christmas Eve falls on the fourth Sunday of Advent.
I hope you will find time in the midst of all the holiday stress to welcome Jesus into your lives once again. Light a candle, read a devotional or prayer book, sing your favorite hymn or carol.
This is an emotional time for many people. The holidays can make us a little sentimental: We remember days long gone, family members that are no longer with us, traditions we used to love but can no longer uphold.
And yet Advent is about something NEW: Welcoming God into our world here and now. Our world and our lives are different than they were ten years ago or even last year. Our needs, hopes and wants are different. And that makes us wish that some things could stay the same. There's comfort in familiarity.
Here at Trinity, some of you have experienced discomfort lately. We've installed a projector and screen in the sanctuary and have been using it in worship. We've also changed some of our worship format and have been singing new, unfamiliar music more regularly. The first Sunday of each month, we started offering "Faith 5", an interactive and inter-generational worship experience in small groups.
Our motivation is to make worship more meaningful and accessible to those who did not grow up with our traditions. That was one of the results of our visioning process: To make worship less formal, more interactive and lively, with more variety.
We realize this is difficult because it takes away that sense of familiarity and comfort.
And we want you to know that we are not going to lose all of our traditions. We have a rich treasure of rituals, music and symbols with deep meaning that we will never give up. But we will have to incorporate some new elements as well if we don't want our traditions to become mere habits.
Our gauge in all of this is Jesus. He challenged his own religion and traditions relentlessly. He broke rules left and right in order to reach people who were outside of the norm, and the tradition. He is our role model, he will keep us grounded and focused, and will hold us accountable.
What I would like to ask of you is to walk this journey with us. We (the Worship Team, Deacons and I) don't have all the answers. We are trying to figure this out together. So we appreciate the feedback some of you have given us, and we encourage you to keep talking to us or emailing us. We also ask you to give yourselves a chance to get used to some of the changes. That will require a bit of openness and a willingness to be pushed out of your comfort zone. You may find it was worth it. It will take time. My favorite virtue (not!): Patience. And we, as the ones responsible for preparing worship, will take seriously any thoughts you share with us. We will continue to make adjustments, maybe undo some changes that just don't seem to work for us. This is a work in progress! We need you to be part of it.
I like to look at every difficult situation as an opportunity to learn something. I think this is an opportunity for us as Trinity Church to practice open and respectful communication. It's an opportunity to appreciate our differences in taste, our different experiences, and our different needs. And it's an opportunity to have compassion with ourselves, and with each other, as Jesus does.
I thank you for being a part Trinity Church, and look forward to a new year with all of you!
May God bless you with peace, comfort and joy.
In faith and hope,
Pastor Valeria.
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Mistletoe Mart ~ Saturday, December 2nd 10am-3pm
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The Mistletoe Mart Holiday Fair is our
biggest fundraiser of the year! It will be held on Saturday, Dec.2
nd from 10 – 3.
There will be beautifully decorated live wreaths and swags for sale, the “Festival of Wreaths” artificial custom wreath raffle, crafters selling their handmade wares, a Trinity jewelry table, a Handbag table, a Cookie Walk, and lunch for sale. Please plan to visit us that day and bring a friend. It’s a great way to get some of your Christmas gifts checked off of your list and to get into the holiday spirit!
The committee members are: Rae Carlsen, Martha M, Barbara Baker, Jane O’Toole, Lynn Firth, Bonnie Dodson, Nancy Robbins, Carolyn Squillante, Judy and Frank Bissett, Doug Scally, and me.
We hope to see you there! Spread the word to your family and friends!
Thank you,
Linda Corbett
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CELEBRATING ADVENT
AT TRINITY CHURCH
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Help us decorate the tree at Trinity!
Sunday, December 3rd
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On Sunday, December 3, we invite you to bring a personal item that you are willing to lend us for the season of Advent and Christmas. It need not be an actual Christmas tree ornament. It could be a photo, a souvenir, a craft one of your kids made, a piece of jewelry. Anything that represents the love of God to you.
We'll trim the tree together as we get ready to welcome Jesus into our world.
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The dove tree is a program run by Helping Hands that supports local families in need by buying Christmas gifts and grocery cards for them . Doves will be available at coffee hour. Gifts will be collected at coffee hour December 3rd & 10th. We deliver the gifts on December 10th and we'll be looking for four helpers for packing and delivery that day.
Please contact Barbara Mulligan for more information
barbaramulligan@yahoo.com
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Advent – Better to give than to receive
Ongoing through December
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Daily giving during Advent - Advent Calendars are on the Eagle Scout counter in the hallway! Donations for children in state care and their families to use during visits at the DCF office. Much needed craft items are: crayons, colored pencils, coloring books, paper, self-adhesive craft kits, stickers. Also in need of small toys; Matchbox cars, Legos, Baby Dolls, etc. Monetary donations will also be accepted for additional items to be purchased.
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Lighting the Advent Candles
Sundays in December
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Each Sunday in Advent, we invite individuals or families to light the candle on the Advent wreath and offer a brief prayer or reading.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Donna Greska
dgreska@verizon.net
or Pastor Valeria trinitypastorvaleria@gmail.com.
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WORSHIP SERVICES ~ SUNDAYS, 10AM
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Sunday December 3rd:
First Sunday of Advent "Watch and Wait", with Communion. Bring a personal item to decorate our tree!
Sunday December 10th:
Second Sunday of Advent
"Prepare"
Sunday December 17th:
Third Sunday of Advent
"Behold and Believe" with Christmas Cantata / Pageant
Wednesday December 20th:
Service of Light. See more info below.
Sunday December 24th:
Fourth Sunday of Advent
NO 10 a.m. service.
Please see Christmas Eve service times below
Sunday December 31st:
"Letting Go", in Fellowship Hall
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Worcester Fellowship
Sunday, December 17th 9am
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We need volunteers! Worcester Fellowship will be making lunches to donate on December 17th before worship at 9am.
Donations of food or small monetary amounts towards lunch supplies are welcome.
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Work Mission Trip
December 2017
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Outreach is planning our next work mission: back to Clendenin, WV between Christmas and New Years. We will be helping individuals repair their flood damaged homes. Last year, we helped repair the Clendenin First Baptist Church social hall.
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FROM OUR CHRISTIAN ED DIRECTOR
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December is all about the Christmas Pageant! If your child would like to participate in the Pageant please be sure to have them stay after church on the 3rd for our first practice 11:30-12:30. Other practice dates are as follows: 12/10 during Faith Formation, 12/14 with the choir and 12/17 prior to worship. The pageant will be presented on the 17th during worship. There are plenty of opportunities for kids of all ages to participate with no speaking parts or some speaking parts.
- Pageant practice--this year the kids will be part of the Christmas Cantata that Mike Westberry is leading. Acting and narrating will be intertwined with the singing.
- (Keep Dec 17th in mind) Service day for the teens combined with a Youth Group in the evening.
Hopefully, the syncing of the message in church and in faith foundations has been helpful for your families to continue conversations throughout the week. I wanted to share some of the other things you can look forward to in the upcoming months:
- A redesigned children/teens Trinity webpage that will have information about upcoming lessons, videos or project ideas from prior classes, book reviews from our lending library, games kids can play on the computer, ideas and helpful websites for the whole family.
** If you have been helping to teach THANK YOU, if not we would still love for you to join us! Please be sure that if you have already or plan to in the future to please attend Safe Church Training if you have not already this year. The next one will be on Dec 10th at 11:30 after church. Please RSVP here so we have enough materials ready to go.
We need acolytes! Is your child in grade 4 or above? We would love for them to be involved! All that is required is to please be sure to be at Trinity by 9:50 on the Sunday you are volunteering. Use this link to pick a week(s).
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a084dafa92ca31-acolytes
Please use these next two links to 1) fill out a quick 5 question survey about your Faith Foundation expectations and 2)
sign up to volunteer
to teach (I would love if we had some consistency month to month for the kids of the same people taking the same slot for a month at a time...but this is not a requirement).
Don’t forget we now have a great lending library for youth and teens upstairs!
Sherry :-)
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Altar Flowers Needed 2017/2018
ALTAR FLOWER SIGNUP!
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Trinity now has online sign-ups for altar flowers! We would appreciate your help signing up to take a Sunday. Please click on the link above or below and after you choose a date to bring altar flowers there is a comment section where you can add the blurb you would like written in the Sunday bulletin. Signup Genie will automatically send you an email reminder six days prior to the day you signed up to bring flowers.
12/3/2017 is still open!
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Orders must be in by 12/10/2017
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Order your memorial poinsettias now! Please use the link provided to access the order form.
ORDER FORM
Order forms are also hanging outside the church office (on the purple bulletin board), on the events board in the hallway (outside room 105) and on the counter in the hallway where the donations bins are.
Please return your forms with payment via mail or drop them in the mail slot on the church office door.
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LIGHT! AN EVENING OF INTERFAITH CELEBRATION & CONVERSATION
Saturday, December 16th 7pm to 9:30PM
MORE INFO
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Bringing together people of all faiths and backgrounds to celebrate and learn about our unique identities and traditions, and our shared humanity. 7pm - 8:15pm Interfaith Musical Celebration, 8:15-9:30pm Small group interfaith circles of conversation. Light refreshments served.
PARTNERS: Trinity Church of Northborough, Chinmaya Mission Metro-West, Islamic Society of Greater Worcester, The Congregational Church of Westborough, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Southborough, Neighbors for Peace Southborough, Universalist Unitarian Congregational Society of Westborough, Sikh Study Circle of New England, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Westborough., United Parish of Upton.
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Service of Light at Trinity
Wednesday, December 20th 7:30pm
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Around the longest night of the year, in the midst of our own darkness, we celebrate the light of Jesus coming into our lives. A meditative time of music, readings, prayer, and a candle lighting ceremony will be held on Wednesday, December 20, at 7:30 p.m.
Refreshments will be offered after the service.
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Christmas Eve Services
Sunday, December 24
(There will be no 10am service)
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Family Candlelight
Service
Sunday, December 24th at 5pm
Candlelight
Service
Sunday, December 24th at 11pm
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National Vigil to #EndGunViolence
Wednesday, December 6th 7pm
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December 14, 2017 marks the 5-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy. Since that heartbreaking day in Newtown five years ago, half a million Americans have been killed or injured by guns.
Trinity Church will offer a vigil on Wednesday, December 6, at 7 pm.
We will hold a brief prayer time for the victims of gun violence. Kids can make their own peace posters. We will then convene outside the church, right on Main Street, holding candles and singing to show the community that we care.
Hot chocolate will be offered with a time for conversation and discussion of possible next steps.
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Messy Church
Saturday, December 9th 3pm
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Saturday, December 9th, you are invited to “Messy Church” – a church that is fun, creative, and messy!
We will sing songs, hear a story from the Bible, do a messy craft and have snacks.
All kids age 6 and under are welcome (their parents, grandparents, siblings and friends, too).
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Open Conversation on Race
Sunday, December 10th 11:30am (after coffee hour)
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This spring, we had two open conversations on race, allowing several people of color to share their personal experiences. We had honest, emotional and respectful discussions, asking questions, learning to see life from a very different perspective. New friendships were formed in the process.
We will continue our conversation on Sunday, December 10th, after coffee hour. This is a safe, non-judgmental environment where we practice deep listening and speaking from our own experience.
Whether you've attended a previous session or not, we invite you to join the conversation.
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Coffee House - Open Mic
Friday, December 15th 7pm
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Please join the Coffee House Friday, December 15th at 7pm.
We invite you to come enjoy talented musicians performing a variety of music. You may even hear some poetry recitation. Coffee and refreshments will be served with a suggested donation. BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug). A $5 per person donation will be accepted at the door ($10 max per family).
No charge to performers. Contact Janet Robbins for more information,
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Fellowship Breakfast -
Saturday, December 16th 8am
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Saturday Breakfast Fellowship, December 16th at 8:00am.
As usual, we will start with breakfast and follow with fellowship and discussion.
For more information or to add yourself to the Saturday Breakfast Fellowship email list, please contact Tom Danforth at
tomdan4@gmail.com
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Did you know your shopping can earn Trinity money?
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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.
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Help us get the word out about Trinity Church and its ministries!
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Ongoing Events at Trinity
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Grief Support Group
- Come support and share with others who experienced loss. A Grief Support group is held the first Tuesday of each month, 7:30pm in Room 105. Next meeting date is December 5th. All ages are welcome. If you have questions, please contact Carey Rublesky, 774-258-1814.
Community Meal
- Join us each Wednesday, 6pm in the Fellowship Hall. The meals are free but donations toward the voucher fund are accepted. Each Wednesday at 6pm there is a new community group hosting the meal. Please join us!
Thrift Shop
- Count Your Blessings Thrift Shop at Trinity Church is open every Tuesday 10am - 3pm and Saturday 10am - 1pm. Gently used clothing and shoes for all genders and sizes! Infant to plus sizes available. Donations of clothing and shoes are welcome, please drop off any donations during thrift shop hours or church office hours (see below).
Give us a review on Google!
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Festive Breads w/Pastor Valeria
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Pastor Valeria is at Festive Breads every Wednesday
except December 27
from 8:30 - 10 and looks forward to your visit! Festive Breads is located at
299 W Main St
in Northborough, near Romaine's.
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Westborough Community Chorus Presents: Music Unites Us
December 1st & 2nd at 8pm and December 3rd at 2pm
MORE INFO
Join the Westborough Community Chorus for their traditional holiday show featuring seasonal music for adults and children. Plus a visit from Santa!!! Three shows to be held at Sarah Gibbons Middle School, 20 Fisher Street, Westborough. For advance group sales and ticket information call Ellen Klug at (508) 485-4469.
Website
Heifer Farm Holiday Open House
December 2nd & 3rd and 9th & 10th from 10am to 4pm each day
Take your
photo with a goat
and honor family and friends with a purchase of a special gift at the
Living Gift Market
! Warm yourself with
hot chestnuts
at the bonfire; take a
hayride;
enjoy homemade
soup
; and a visit to
Santa.
Decorate a
gingerbread cookie
and don't miss the
Gift Shop
! Enjoy free admission with a canned good donation for the Worcester County Food Bank. For more information,
508-886-5000
or
heifer.farm@heifer.org
. Want to make an online donation?
www.heifer.org/catalog
. We greatly appreciate your support!
Merrimack Valley Ringers Presents: Merrily We Ring!
Saturday December 2nd at 7pm
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IN OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS
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If you know of someone who is hospitalized, ill, suffering from the loss of a loved one, or troubled in some way and in need of a pastoral call, please call Pastor Valeria at the church office, 508-393-8156.
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Deadline Date ~ December
Tidings
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Please be sure to have all your info for the December issue of
Tidings in to the church office by Sunday, December 26, 2017. Your help is appreciated!
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TRINITY CHURCH
23 Main Street ~ Northborough, MA 01532
(508) 393-8156
trinitychurchnboro@gmail.com
Office Hours:
Monday 9am - Noon & 1pm - 3pm
Tuesday 9am - 1pm
Wedesnday 9am - 10:30am & 11:30am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - Noon & 1pm - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm
Rev. Valeria Schmidt, Sr. Pastor
Trinity Church is an Open & Affirming / Welcoming & Affirming Congregation
Trinity Church's mission is to fill its people with the love of God
and share God's love in all the world.
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