WORSHIP TIME

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Sunday, March 29, 2020

10:30 a.m. - Morning Prayer

READINGS

 The Liturgy of the Word

Livestream link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/232089804597021

Bulletin link:

March 29, 2020

WORSHIP TIME

Fifth Wednesday in Lent

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

7 p.m. - Evening Prayer

READINGS

 The Liturgy of the Word

Livestream Link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1821967284604102

Bulletin link:

Evening Prayer

View the complete lectionary readings at www.lectionarypage.net

From the Rector's Desk...

Right smack in the middle of Lent is the feast day of the Annunciation, a jarring anachronism in regards to the narrative of Jesus’ life playing out through the Lent/Holy Week/Easter cycle. As I mentioned earlier this week in the Mini Corner, the Annunciation celebrates the visit of Gabriel to Mary to tell her that she is to bear the Messiah (Luke 1:26-38). The placement of the holiday (March 25) is simple: it is nine months before Christmas.

But I feel like there’s something to be gained by that juxtaposition. If you have ever seen a movie like Ocean’s Eleven or other “caper” movies or television programs, there’s often a cinematic technique where, in the midst of a crisis, a flashback shows that the main character has in anticipation of this made some sort of plan that gets revealed in the moment and saves the day.

In the midst of Lent, as we are not only witnessing Jesus heading inexorably towards the cross but also wondering where we ourselves might be heading, we are treated to a little flashback, a story from decades (or centuries) before, in which we are told Jesus is the son of God, who “will reign of Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” (Lk 1:33)

When things look bleak, just remember that there has always been a plan. God has laid out the path to God’s kingdom from the beginning. Moreover, there is always something going on behind the scenes when it comes to God, a part of the story that we may not see in the moment, but will eventually be revealed. Lent is not the end of the story. What we are going through now is not the end of the story. There is more, more going on, more to look forward to, more to discover.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Rob+

Reminder, 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.

Adult Forum



Fr. Rob is going to try to do a video-conference Bible study program, picking up on the Adult Forum's study of the Book of Job. If you are interested, please contact Fr. Rob at  [email protected]

We would like to know about hospitalizations, illnesses or special needs you are experiencing. Please call Fr. Rob, Deacon Deborah Burns, the Church office or a Vestry member so that we can help.

Trinity Youth Group

TYG meetings at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 22. We will use Zoom for our online meetings and we will join the weekly Diocese Youth Group's online meeting.

To join Zoom meeting 

https://zoom.us/j/560802994

 

Meeting ID: 560 802 994

 

Dial by your location:

       +1 253 215 8782 US

       +1 301 715 8592 US

Meeting ID: 560 802 994

 Pump N' Pray

Pump N' Pray will now be meeting at KU Memorial Union parking garage at 6 a.m. every M-W-F .... but ONLY if temperature is above 49 degrees F.

Lay Weeders

The spring cleanup of the church flower beds, originally scheduled for March 28, has been canceled as a group activity. However, the Lay Weeders have been working individually raking, trimming and cleaning out the garden areas. Thanks to them for their hard work!  

Vestry Meetings

The next scheduled Vestry meetings are:

April 6, May 4, June 1

Meetings are open to all and will be held on Zoom at this time. 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 January have been added to our website and bulletin board in Parish Hall.

Easter Vigil

The Diocese of Kansas will be doing a special video service of the Easter Vigil. If you are getting the Diocesan newsletter, The Harvest, you will get a copy of the service leaflet. If you are not getting a copy of The Harvest, please contact Melodie Woerman at  [email protected]

Trinity's Automated Group Voice Messages

Have you been receiving Rob’s voice messages by phone? If you haven't and you'd like to receive calls relating to current happenings at our Church, please email [email protected] .

Save the Dates

Episcopal Summer

Mega Camp  

Sunday, May 31, 2:30 p.m. to

Saturday, June 6, 11 a.m.

Camp Wood YMCA, Elmdale, Kansas

https://edokyouth.wordpress.com/camp/

Trinity Church Directories Emailed

An updated Trinity Church Directory was emailed out Thursday afternoon to email addresses on record. If you are a member and did not receive the email, and you want a copy, please email [email protected] . We will be sending out the PDF directories every three months, and printed versions will be available once our office reopens.

Please use the directory to reach out to other members during this time, especially those members in retirement centers that are currently in lockdown.

Episcopal News links

The Episcopal Church

Episcopal Diocese of Kansas

DioLog - The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas newsletter

Episcopal Diocese of Kansas Youth Ministry

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: 

Eleanor, DJ, Rita, Karen, Olivia, Glenna, Megan, Chris, Tiffany,

Peter, Dianne, Russ, Jay, Wayne, Christina, Kim, Verla, Tate, John, Bob, Annelise, Ollie, Kim, Clarice

Pray for those with special intentions: 

Dane and Natalie, Nicolette, Erin, Carson, Cassie, Michael,Sabrina, Josh, Nicole, David, Barb, Hunter, Logan, Ellen, Gerry, Madeline and Frances, the Schwaller family, Norma, Gary, Susie, Elise, Beth and family, Kelly, Kevin

Pray for those in the hospital: Arienne, Mary Jane, Lea, Jon, Bob, John  

Pray for the departed:  Mark Holmberg, Lorene Mosser, John Drees, Tony Fox, Charles Linn

Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry

  

TIFP served 37 patrons on Saturday, March 21, and 14 patrons on Tuesday, March 24. The food pantry will be open on Saturday, March 28, and Tuesday, March 31.The food distribution is set up and flows easily for our patrons/guests and for the volunteers.

We are grateful to Harvesters, which provides the food supply for our patrons at TIFP. And, we are grateful for our volunteers’ planning and work in setting up procedures and giving food to help our patrons in need.

Harvesters made its regular every-two-week delivery of pre-ordered food on Wednesday, March 24 – which is the primary source of food for the pantry at this time. Volunteers drive to Harvesters-Topeka on Fridays to pick up bread, potatoes and onions. No donated food can be accepted.

TIFP was one of the 25 Douglas County agencies working to alleviate hunger who held a ZOOM meeting on March 26th.  The changes that TIFP has made in our serving procedures puts us in conformity with community wide practices.

Here is how TIFP currently operates:

Volunteers give food to patrons: Safety and social distancing procedures have been set up for patrons and volunteers. Patrons wait in line in 6-foot intervals from each other on the sidewalk next to the parking lot, which is pre-marked with red tapes. Patrons pick up their food and leave. The only data being kept is for the number of people who are served during each opening.

Volunteers place one bag of groceries and one bag of cold food on a small table on the sidewalk at the area next to the parking lot. Volunteers wait at a substantial distance from the table for patrons at another small table outside the door of the Matthews Center. After the patron leaves, a volunteer resupplies the empty table with another set of two bags of food, before another patron walks to the small table.

Volunteers pre-bag groceries in the pantry: All volunteers use hand sanitizer, paper towels and gloves that are available in the pantry at the beginning and end of their session. There is a standard list of food for each bag of food to be prepared. Volunteers in the pantry and the fridge room pre-bag food so that to reduce waiting-in-line time. All bags used – paper and plastic – are new. No recycled bags can be accepted.

TIFP volunteers close the food pantry at the day’s closing times: Volunteers sanitize tables and return them inside the pantry. About 25 bags of food are always prepared for the next day’s opening. Volunteers complete personal hand sanitation and dispose of towels and gloves before they leave the pantry.

The Monthly Harvesters food distribution will be held at First Baptist Church this Saturday, March 28, with volunteers from TIFP, churches and the community.

Send monetary contributions (bank check) to:

Trinity Episcopal Church

1027 Vermont Street

Lawrence, KS 66044

Be sure to write TIFP Food in the memo line.

You can also donate online at our website http://trinitylawrence.org using the donation button in the lower right side of the screen.

Volunteer Corner

Even though our in-person services are suspended, are you looking for something to do to help your Church once public services start up? Several positions are currently open.

Please contact our office if you are able to spare a few hours at

[email protected].

Trinity Youth Group Mentor - Will Chaney will be leaving the Canterbury House and heading back to school. We wish him well and a big thank you for the fine commitment to our middle school and high school kids. If you would like to work with our Youth Group next year, please contact Fr. Rob at [email protected].

Webmaster(s) - Like to thank Jacob Burch and Melissa Hill for volunteering to be our webmasters.

TEST Tidbits: Inspirational Readings and World Water Day

We can all use a little help these days to keep the fear down and make the best of our situation. Here are two poems and an essay for you to read and enjoy. The essay is written by local author Ken Lassman and is at his website www.theresilientactivist.com . The first poem is by Lynn Unger and can be found at www.jewishjournal.com/spiritual/poetry/312324/poem-pandemic . The second poem is by Brother Richard Hendrick from Ireland. His poem is entitled, “The Lockdown” and can be found at www.irishpost.com/news/post-living-ireland-caronavirus-poem-181692 . 



March 22 was World Water Day, a good reminder for us to do all we can to protect and conserve this precious resource. Here are several tips you can use in conserving water in your home:

Please remember that water is part of an integrated system. What we throw on the ground or spew in the air ends up in our water. Support environmentally sound organizations that seek to protect our food and water ( www.foodandwaterwatch.com ) and support regulations that keep our lakes, rivers, streams and wetland clean and healthy.

EARTH STEWARD ACTION:  As a family, review the above tips and make improvements when needed. Stay safe and pray for our fellow citizens working in the necessary jobs to support all of us.

SOURCES:  See above website for inspiration, www.worldwaterday.org/2020 and www.naturalhomebrands.com/blogs/news/25-ways-to-conserve-water-at-home

All past TEST articles are available on our website at http://trinitylawrence.org/trinity-environmental-stewardship-team/

Thursday Noon Service and Wednesday Lenten Series

Both of these events are on hold at this time.

(photo caption- This Kathmandu street is usually packed with vehicles and pedestrians. Most people are taking the lockdown seriously.)

News from Nepal

Hi all! I am praying everyone is healthy and safe there. I made it back to Kathmandu from the village with plan to buy supplies and return, just one day before the country went on unexpected and unannounced total lockdown. That caused some difficulties at first, as they announced at 9 p.m. that the lockdown would begin at 6 a.m. the following morning, and at that point, all stores (including grocery stores) were closed and remain closed.

I had not yet had a chance to buy supplies to last me through that time, but am now all set. I had a tip that the owner of a small local grocery would accept text orders and then leave the items outside the gate behind the store at an agreed-on time – and that's what I did. It worked! It felt very much like I imagine a drug deal would feel (haha) and now I have my "fix" of things like brown rice, dried lentils, dried beans, dates, peanut butter, canned tomatoes, and even miso paste!

The lockdown here has an end-date of March 31, but we anticipate an extension, as India just extended an additional 21 days.

They have started testing here this week and found the third infected person – who was out and about without following quarantine practices after arriving infected from out of the country. I'm sure there's more. Let's see how this all plays out.

In the meantime, I am appreciating watching the St. Margaret's Sunday morning livestream (at 9 p.m. in Nepal), and also the compline service (6:30 a.m. Nepal time) put on by Gar and Kelly Demo at St. Thomas. It is nice to be connected in times like this. I am praying for you all!

(Ps. I am sure it is not a surprise, but my home assignment has been indefinitely delayed. I'll keep you posted as a new date firms up. Maybe next year, the way it is going currently). 

Thank you!

Karin Feltman

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