WORSHIP ASSISTANTS

Second Sunday of Advent

Parrish Baptism

Sunday, December 8, 2019

8:00 a.m. - Rite I, Holy Eucharist  

Chalice: Donna Griffin, Nancy Pauw

Lector: Tod Sutton

Intercessor: Ray Wilbur

Usher: Andrew Hoyt

10:30 a.m. - Rite II, Holy Eucharist

Lectors: Anne Patterson,

Dean Bevan

Chalice: Glenna Kleinkauf,

Kim Mandle

Verger: Brian Haupt

Acolytes: Ari Myers-Arenth,

Geme Ajekwu, Claire Schmidt

Ushers: David Griffin, Gail Griffin, David Severance,

Vashti Winterburg

Altar Guild:

Carl Edwards, Margaret Bearse, Lynn Segebrecht, Carol Hatton, Melissa Padgett

Flower Guild:

Advent Season Team

Hymns

Entrance Hymn: (616) Hail to the Lord's Anointed (Es flog ein kleins Waldvögelein)

Sequence Hymn: (75) There's a voice in the wilderness crying (Ascension )

Offertory Hymn: 380 (v. 3) Praise God, from whom all blessings flow (Old 100th)

Communion Hymn: (59) Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding (Merton)

Closing Hymn: (67) Comfort, comfort ye my people (Psalm 42 

  Altar Flowers

This Sunday's Altar Flowers are given to the Glory of God

READINGS

 The Liturgy of the Word

See the complete lectionary reading at www.lectionarypage.net

Upcoming Event: Christmas Pageant Rehearsal

Date: Sunday, Dec. 8 and 15

Time: Following 10:30 service

Location: Parish Hall Description: Practice will begin after a light snack following the 10:30 service. Participation in the Christmas Pageant (Sunday 10:30 service on the 22nd) is open to all children in kindergarten through middle school. We need singers, actors and readers for this lovely tradition. Adult helpers are also needed throughout the season. (Note: It's really, really fun.) Thank you in advance for the help. Contact: Susan Hires [email protected]

Upcoming Event: KU Vespers 2019

Date: Sunday, Dec. 8

Time: 2:30 p.m.

Location: Lied Center of Kansas, 1600 Stewart Drive

Description: The Friendship Circle will attend KU Vespers at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8. If you would like to join us, please contact Susan Ralston 843-3920. Please meet at 2 p.m. at Susan Ralston's home and join a car pool to the Lied Center.

Upcoming Event: Trinity Youth Group

Date: Sunday, Dec. 8

Time: 6-7:30 p.m.

Location:  Parish Hall

Description: We will be meeting in the Parish Hall through the Advent season. We will be creating our own favorite pizzas for dinner, decorating our Advent wreath, and working on creating an Advent wreath from our tree stump. We will also mark a timeline on the stump to trace the Church's history. Youth in grades 6 through 12 are invited to attend. Please spread the word.

Upcoming Event: Sunday Evening Holy Eucharist

Date: Sunday, Dec. 8

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Canterbury House,

1116 Louisiana St.

Description: This intimate service offers a time for reflection and prayer using some of the latest Eucharistic rites from Enriching Our Worship.

Upcoming Event: Discussion with Bishop Cathleen Bascom

Date: Thursday, Dec. 12

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Video Meeting

Description: A video book discussion with Bishop Cathleen Bascom, focusing on "The Power of Love," by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. This online discussion will last one hour, and people can participate by video or by phone. 

The link to join the discussion will be sent to those who pre-register with an email to Melodie Woerman at [email protected]. Please use the subject line “Book Club.”

From the Rector's desk...

Amidst the onset of Advent and the approach of Christmas in this liturgical season, we have perhaps forgotten one other change in our worship life together: the switch to the Gospel of Matthew.

For those who do not know, the readings in church are determined based on a three-year cycle that begins on the first Sunday of Advent and ends on Christ the King Sunday. Those three years are referred to as A, B, and C, and we have just begun year A.  A, B, and C each focus on a different synoptic Gospel: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, respectively. The Gospel of John is featured in the season of Lent and occasional feast days every year. So, since we are in year A, we have begun to hear from the Gospel of Matthew.

The author of that Gospel said that a good scribe had to be like a person in charge of a large household, able to go into the storeroom and bring out things both old and new (Mt 13:52), and the author is, by that definition, a good scribe by not only referencing the Old Testament with regularity, but also featuring a great deal of material unique to that Gospel. 

Most scholars agree that Matthew structured his Gospel around alternating narrative passages and speeches delivered by Jesus, detailing five speeches in total (Chapters 5-7 “the Sermon on the Mount”; 9:36-10:42; 13:1-52; chapter 18; and chapters 23-25). In broad terms, the Gospel first details the revelation of Jesus to the world, the responses to Jesus, Jesus’ responses to others, and the righteousness of Jesus through his death and resurrection.

As mentioned earlier, Matthew is particularly interested in the connection between the prophetic elements of the Hebrew Bible and the ways in which Jesus Christ fulfilled those promises. He refers to Christ often as the son of David, and the son of Abraham. In some ways, the author is one of the more entrenched in the Jewish culture and tradition while at the same time profoundly critical of the Jewish community for failing to obey God and recognize Jesus Christ for who he is. Also, while Matthew includes over 90% of the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Matthew has a distinctly different feel that the earlier, more urgent Gospel. While Jesus teaches in beautifully composed parables in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is more didactic, prone to lecture, and speak directly to his audience in the Gospel of Matthew.

In closing, the following year allows us the opportunity to get to know a complex, nuanced depiction of Jesus Christ, early Christianity, and the importance of discipleship.

(Works referenced:  New Testament Story: An Introduction , by Barr, David L.)

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Rob+

Adult Forum



The Adult Forum is the study of the Book of Hebrews 6:1-8 this week. Join us as we explore the Letter to the Hebrews from the New Testament chapter by chapter.  This Sunday is an introduction to the book, including its author and intended audience. The Adult Forum meets in the Jackson Kemper Room Sunday mornings at 9:30.

Long newsletter this week. If you do not see the "This Week at Trinity" at the bottom of the newsletter, there should be an expand button to click to view our complete newsletter.

Lessons and Carols

The Free State Minster is organizing an Advent Choir to perform Lessons and Carols at Trinity Church on the 21st and Grace, Ottawa on the 22nd. Both events will start at 6 p.m. This choir will be made up of members of the various churches and Episcopal institutions in the area and will have a couple of practice times coming up in the next few weeks.



If you are interested, please contact Hurst Coffman at   [email protected]

A Morning Breather

The ladies of Trinity are offering the gift of free child care to Trinity families and their friends on Saturday, Dec. 14, 9-noon. We will watch your little ones, ages infant to 4 in the church nursery, ages 5 to 9 in the Parish Hall. We will provide snacks, crafts and activities to keep everyone happy. To help us plan, please email Camille Olcese, [email protected], if you would like to take this opportunity for a free morning to shop, enjoy coffee with a friend, wrap gifts, or just breathe. Feel free to invite your friends to participate so we can share the love.

Pastoral Care

We want to know about hospitalizations, illnesses, or special needs for pastoral care. Please call the church office, or call a Vestry member or a Deacon Deborah so that we can help.

Women's Quest-ioning Group

Our group normally meets in the Trinity Library during the second and fourth weeks of each month to read and share our thoughts about spiritually oriented books.

For our meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, we will discuss passages from the Bible relating to the birth of Jesus.

Our next meeting will be Jan. 12 where we will start discussing a new book.

We welcome new members to our group anytime. For details about our mission and purpose, please contact Tudy Youngberg at 785-218-2283 or at [email protected] .

Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry  

Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry (TIFP) was open nine days in November 2019 and served 310 families (including 221 children, 494 adults, 42 senior adults — with 22 new households enrolled for food assistance). The food pantry has been open 94 days and has served 6,361 people in 2,845 families so far in 2019.

During November, TIFP ordered 2,444 lbs. of food from Harvesters and also received 485 lbs. of free produce along with approximately 400 loaves of bread. The total expense in November for food purchased locally and through Harvesters was $1,899.62 and the total retail equivalent value of all food provided (food that was donated and purchased for the 310 families) was $7,114.50.

In November, TIFP was grateful to receive a large donation of food from students, faculty and friends from Bishop Seabury Academy. Several students who brought the food sorted and shelved it on Nov. 25. We were also pleased to receive food donation from the staff and residents at Brandon Woods at Alvamar.

We are grateful during this holiday season and thank all partner churches and the community for donations of money, food and daily living items to help fill our shelves to provide food for people who are in need in Lawrence and Douglas County.

Vestry Meetings

There will be no Vestry meeting this December.

The minutes of each meeting are posted to the church bulletin board and Trinity Vestry Minutes. Your Vestry can be contacted at [email protected]

Minutes through September have been added to our website.

Reminder that articles for our newsletter should be sent to [email protected] by noon Wednesday each week. The newsletters are also available on our website and Facebook page.

December Holy Stir-It

This year's Holiday Holy Stir-It will be Sunday, Dec. 15, 3-6 p.m., at Bill and Janet Muggy's festively Christmas-decorated home.  This will be a memorable evening with their 10 trees and extensive artwork collection. Please bring a guest and enjoy fellowship, the festive trees, and wonderful artwork. Hors d'oeuvres will be served; BYOB. You may RSVP or get more information and directions by contacting [email protected] , or you may sign up after the 10:30 service.

Prayer Chain

To add a person's name to the prayer list or to become a prayer chain member, please contact the parish office... Prayers...; or call 785-843-6166) or Carol Hatton, Prayer Chain coordinator ( [email protected]).

The Prayer Chain prays daily for those who are ill, suffering or troubled; who have died; or who wish to offer praise and thanksgivings. Prayer Chain members find that their own private prayer life with God also deepens during this daily practice.

Pray for those who are ill: 

DJ, Judy, Wayne, Eleanor, Charlotte, Julie, Amy, Beth, Alaina, Kurt, Clenece, Kim, Pat, President Jimmy Carter

Pray for those with special intentions: 

The Van Schmus family, Jan, Matt, Pete, the McMillian family, Julie and Madeline, Jane, Tim, Naomi

Pray for those in the hospital:

Marjorie, David, Mary, Rita

Pray for the departed: Robert Schmitt, Ron Rose, Mary Gordon, Bud Olson, Mark Cady, Tim Leary

Middle and Senior High

Youth Group

Please join us at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, in the Parish Hall for our second Advent meeting. We will be creating our own favorite pizzas for dinner, decorating our Advent wreath, and working on creating an Advent wreath from our tree stump. We will also mark a timeline on the stump to trace the Church's history.

Youth in grades 6 through 12 are invited to attend. Please spread the word.

Membership Directory

We would like to update Trinity's membership directory and get a copy to all members. But we need your help! On Sunday Dec. 8, you'll have an opportunity to check your listing for accuracy. A team with a copy of the directory will be in the Narthex and another team in the Atrium following the 8:00 and 10:30 services. Please take a moment to check your listing and indicate whether you'd like to receive a copy of the directory in electronic (email) form, printed form, or both. You can also help by simply calling the church office if your contact info (address, phone, email) has changed in the past two years. 

African Team Ministries Sale: December 8

 

The annual African Team Ministries sale of handcrafted items from Kenya will be before and after both services on Sunday, Dec. 8. African Team Ministries has supported church and relief efforts in East Africa for more than 30 years, and all proceeds go directly to them. Their efforts include resettling displaced people, supporting orphans, conducting AIDS education and providing water-conserving drip irrigation kits to individual farmers.

These handcrafted items of stone, wood and textiles are all made in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Get some Christmas shopping done and aid a longstanding Christian outreach organization at the same time.

TEST Tidbits: The Drawdown Book and Choices for the Alternative Christmas Market Charities 

Every year during Advent, the Trinity Environmental Stewardship Team (TEST) focuses on several charities to receive your contributions; we offer an easy way to honor someone with a very meaningful gift at Christmas. (Please stop by our table between services or after 10:30 service to participate.) This year, we wanted to especially choose charities that help women in developing countries through Episcopal Relief and Development or Heifer International. 

Each organization is making many efforts to encourage women to become educated leaders in their communities and improve the health and lives of their families. Our Team has become convinced of the value of helping developing counties educate their women through effort of world leaders such as Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan. She became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating for a safe and readily available education for girls through high school and beyond. She has been quoted as saying, “One child, one teacher and one pen, can change the world.”

The book “Drawdown ” ranks and calculates the potential benefits of activities that will draw down the root causes of Global Warming, especially as it is scaled on a global stage. This book ranks women’s education as very high on their comprehensive lists. The large coalition of scientists and environmental advocates who are contributors to this book ( www.drawdown.org ) all agree that an educated woman has healthier families consisting of fewer children than her poorly educated sisters. They have found that, on average, these educated women have 4 to 5 fewer children in their families. Given these statistics, the world might have 843 million fewer people by 2050, with a possible reduction of 5 to almost 6 gigatons of emissions that lead to global warming. Also, better-educated girls and women lead to better family and community resilience to the effects of a changing climate.

Heifer International provides families with animals and instructions on caring for these animals. Many Heifer community projects build long-lasting co-ops to help with ongoing issues. Animals are chosen locally and each family that receives a gift promises to give the “first-born” to another family – helping to grow a healthy community. Many women end up guiding their families out of poverty through learning to manage and increase their wealth one cow, pig, goat, etc, at a time.  

EARTH STEWARD ACTION : Please make a contribution to the alternative Christmas Market. Always encourage the women and girls in your families to be the best they can through a good education that emphasizes good choices.

SOURCES:  www.heifer.com , https://www.episcopalrelief.org , www.drawdown.org  

You can visit the Trinity website for past TEST Articles.

Episcopal News links

DioLog - The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas newsletter

Episcopal Diocese of Kansas Youth Ministry

Alternative Christmas Market

What is an Alternative Christmas Market? It is an easy way you can support a worthwhile organization and honor a loved one at the same time.

Please, stop by our table in the Parish Hall between services or after the 10:30 service. We will be open from Dec. 1 through the 22nd. The process is easy – choose an organization, make a donation, pick out a Christmas card and pick up an insert signifying you are donating to honor your loved one. 

This year we are featuring Heifer International (provides animals and care instruction to developing countries) or Episcopal Relief and Development Programs for educating women to read and write or to gain job skills. Both organizations help others in sustainable ways.

Christmas Flowers

Flower Guild is collecting donations for our Christmas Flowers until Dec. 18. Please make your check payable to Trinity Episcopal Church and clearly mark it "Christmas Flowers" when you turn it in along with your donation form. Names from your donation form will be listed in our Christmas Eve Bulletin

Plum Pudding Sale

The Trinity Environmental Stewardship Team (TEST) is selling plum pudding again this Advent season. This year's funds will go toward replacing the 1967 single-pane windows in the kitchen. The puddings are $18 (large, serves eight to 12) and $9 (small, serves four to six), and hard sauce is $1.50 per container. Place orders in the parish hall or contact Vashti Winterburg (785-633-7396). 

Forward Day by Day for November, December, and January is ready in the track racks. Let it be part of your daily life whenever you take time to pray and meditate. Contemplate the passage of scripture. Then see the connection to the other passages referred to. Read the meditation and perhaps make your own. Pray for the people of the diocese for the day. Imagine how those Anglicans are praying .

Ecumenical Campus Ministries

Fair Trade Marketplace Featuring Ten Thousand Villages will be open daily through Dec. 8 ,  11 a.m. to 5 p.m. You’re invited to shop for unique holiday gifts that help end the cycle of poverty and ignite social social change around the globe. Located at 1204 Oread Ave., the market is on the main floor and parking is available on the building’s south side. Contact ECM at 843-4933 or learn more about fair trade at www.TenThousandVillages.com .

A Visit From You-Know-Who

Please join us for our annual St. Nicholas Celebration on Sunday, Dec. 8, at the 10:30 service. Please leave your shoes in the library and wear warm socks.

St. Nicholas Day is Dec. 6, and we will be celebrating on Dec. 8. The tradition of children leaving their shoes out the night of the fifth, hoping for holiday treats, still lives in many northern and eastern Europe countries.

News from Nepal....

This is a really busy time of year, with some fun and not-so-fun things happening. On the "not so fun" side, I am currently working on a lot of administrative things like personal ministry and project budgets for 2020 (yuck), and working on fundraising to make those budgets a reality. On the fun side, I am looking forward to spending Christmas in the village and taking part in the programs there. I plan to head to the village next week and return to Kathmandu between Christmas and New Year's Day. I am excited about renting a vehicle to take Asmita, a new believer, and her entire family to church on Christmas day. Asmita came to Christ about three months ago when she was dying and someone came to her home from our village church to pray for her. She was miraculously healed and immediately gave her life over to Him – but has never even entered a church. I am excited to introduce her to her new "family" there! Please be praying for her, and for the rest of her family to accept Christ into their lives, as well.

Thank you! Karin 

Support Bishop Seabury Academy: Purchase Your

Grocery Cards through BSAP

 

Each month Bishop Seabury Academy Parents provides the opportunity for parents, staff and friends to purchase gift cards to local grocers HyVee, Checkers, the Community Mercantile, Natural Grocers, and Sprouts. 

The grocery card program is the primary funding source for BSAP. The cards are sold at face value and BSAP receives a discount on their purchase.

BSAP receive 6% of the card value from HyVee, Checkers and the Merc, and 5% from Natural Grocers and Sprouts. 

BSAP needs to have your order by the 15th of every month in order for it to be included in the following month's orders. For example, order by 10/15, and your cards will be available on 11/1 with Betsy at the school office.

See the link below for detailed info.

http://www.seaburyacademy.org/parents/bsap-grocery-cards.cfm

An Advent Quiet Day

Saturday, Dec. 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. David’s, 3916 SW 17th St. in Topeka. The theme for the day will be “Creating Space for God” and will feature meditations on creating space in order to hear the voice of God, as well as time for personal reflections, group sharing and a closing Eucharist.

The retreat leader is the Rev. Ted Blakley, rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Hutchinson.

The cost is $10 per person, which covers lunch. The registration form is available at https://edok.formstack.com/forms/advent2019 .

Volunteer Corner

Looking for something to do to help your Church? We have a few positions currently open. Please contact Cathy if you are able to spare a few hours at [email protected].

Sunday School Assistants - Assist Susan once a month with our children during Sunday School class time.

Baptismal Coordinator - This position assists with our baptisms, which occur about four times a year. Duties are to verify with the church office that the service is on the calendar, contact the Sunday hospitality coordinator of the date, contact Deacon Deborah for creating the baptismal certificate, and make sure Father Rob records the event in our Church Baptismal book.

Funeral Reception Coordinator - Bonnie Briscoe coordinates the funeral service and this position helps coordinate the volunteers who provide a small reception following funerals. Many people frequently bring in cookies, etc., as an act of compassion and hospitality, but we need someone to coordinate those efforts.

Vestry Clerk:  This position takes notes for our Vestry meetings and Annual Parish meeting. Please contact Steven King at [email protected] to fill this important position with our Vestry.

Save the Dates

Saint Nicholas Visit

Sunday, Dec. 8, just before our 10:30 service

Christmas Pageant

Sunday, Dec. 22, during our 10:30 service

John Bullock Ordination

Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, 10:30 a.m.,

Grace Episcopal Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave., Topeka, Kansas 66603