Worship With Us at Trinity Church

Sunday, 24 November

Feast of the Reign of Christ

10:00 AM

Holy Eucharist Rite II in the Church

and live-streamed via YouTube

Trinity Church YouTube

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*Trinity's Sunday Guest Presider / Preacher

The Rev. Cn. Tim Hodapp

Trinity Book Group - 22 November

Next Grounds Work Day - 23 November

Important Notice - 24 November

*Office Closed for Holiday - 28 November

Trinity's 2024 Giving Tree

Women Together - 3 December

Advent 2024 at Trinity Church

*Advent Quiet Day - 7 December

Carols - Crafts - Cookies - 8 December

2025 Stewardship Packets Available

Choir School Newsletter

Join Our Choir! You’re Invited!

Open Position at Trinity

Prayer List Requests

Calendar

News from the Diocese



During this time at Trinity we will be blessed to welcome visiting priests as presiders and preachers for our Sunday services. In order for you to get to know a bit about them before they arrive on Sunday, please take the time to read their biographies.

Please Welcome The Rev. Cn. Tim Hodapp, Canon for Congregations & Transitions

Trinity is delighted to welcome The Rev. Cn. Tim Hodapp as Sunday’s presider and preacher.

The Rev. Cn. Tim Hodapp joined The Commons staff in 2012. From coaching to working with congregations in transition, he has served ECCT in many capacities at the executive level.

In his latest capacity as Canon for Congregations & Transitions, he collaborated with clergy and vestries across ECCT to discern next steps in the clergy transition process and to invite parishes to ask the question: “What is God inviting us to pay attention to?”

Says Tim: “In 2012, I was invited to join you in serving God’s mission here in Connecticut. Gerard and I couldn’t have imagined the life we’d encounter on this adventure which continues to be one of the greatest privileges of my life. And while God’s plans aren’t always mine, the choice of ‘what’s next’ certainly is. Retirement is the right choice — exciting and a bit daunting — and now is the right time. Connecticut is our home, which inevitably offers a lot of familiarity as we write this next chapter.

Thank you for the pleasure of serving alongside you; and I look forward to continuing to join you and Jesus, following the Spirit’s lead for whatever’s ahead here in ECCT.”

“Tim’s service to ECCT has been one of servant ministry,” says the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello. “Over his 11 years on staff, he has assumed leadership in multiple capacities and been instrumental in helping us imagine a new way of being church in the 21st century. I look forward to continuing to work with Tim as a clergy colleague in ECCT, and am excited for Tim in this next chapter of his life and ministry.”

Says the Rt. Rev. Dr. Laura Ahrens about Tim’s departure: “It has been an absolute joy to share in ministry with the Rev. Cn. Tim Hodapp. His energy, vision, and passion for God’s mission was, and is, a constant source of inspiration for me. I will miss our collaborative work and his kindness. He is a true gift to the Church!”

Tim’s last day at The Commons will be December 20, 2024.

Trinity Book Group

Trinity's Book Group will meet next on Friday, Nov. 22nd, 7:00-8:30 pm, to discuss the book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. As a botanist, Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. - All are invited to attend this and any Book Group meetings, whether for one time or many. The Nov. 22nd meeting will be at the home of Linda and Mark MacGougan in West Hartford; please let them know if you plan to attend at macgougans@gmail.com. Hope to see you there!

Next Grounds Work Day - November 23

The fall season is upon us and soon it will be time for the grounds to be prepared for winter. To accomplish this task the grounds team is planning to schedule three work days on Saturday October 26th, Saturday November 23 and Saturday December 14 starting at 9:00 am. There is plenty of work to be done tidying up the parking lot and various beds in the Memorial Garden, The Close and along Sigourney Street before the big oak trees start to drop their leaves towards the end of the year. Please consider lending a hand on one or more of these days so that as much work can be finished this year and the grounds are in good shape for winter. For more information, please contact Peter Green (860-922-1830). Thank you!

IMPORTANT NOTICE - November 24

Dear Wardens, Vestry and Members of Trinity,

Your Transition Consultant, Gail Lebert, and I are excited to be with you for the Feast of Christ the King, Sunday November 24. We will gather in the sanctuary after the Eucharist with beverages and a little nosh to share with you the next steps for Trinity’s clergy transition. Your vestry is gathering a few days before our Sunday celebration to map out the details and we are eager to share that work with you. Please join us for this great end-of-year (liturgical year!) feast day and the conversation to follow.

Blessings,

Tim

The Rev. Cn. Timothy Hodapp

Canon for Congregations & Transitions

The Church and Office will be closed Thursday, November 28^th in observance of Thanksgiving.

Bulletins for Sunday, December 1 will be prepared and printed by Tuesday, November 26.

Please have any information you’d like included to Kathryn (office at trinityhartford.org ) by Monday, November 25 at 3 pm.

Thanks so much!

Trinity's 2024 Giving Tree

Additional tags will be on the tree on 11/24 

This Advent, we are continuing Trinity's tradition of a Giving Tree - a tree set up in the Sanctuary with tags that list wishes from Hartford children via the Adopt-A-Social Worker program of Covenant to Care. 

Our tree will be up on Sunday, 11/17, with tags for each of the children. Parishioners who wish to participate may chose a tag on this or a subsequent Sunday, purchase the item and place the gift around the baptismal font by Sunday 12/8, when they will

be blessed. We are committed to these children, and it is important that gifts be returned by this date so that they may be distributed. 

With only 3 weeks to shop for and return the gifts, our elves will by busy! Please mark your calendars and plan to join in this festive event.

Questions? Please contact Penny Pearson. 

Women Together - December 3

Women Together: a group that gathers weekly to explore our Christian faith and practice through book discussion, prayer and fellowship. We will meet on Tuesdays from 2:00 to 3:15 pm in the reception room at St. John’s (679 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford, CT).

On Tuesday December 3, 2024 we will begin discussing In the Bleak Midwinter through Advent and Christmas with Christina Rossetti by Rachel Mann © 2019.  If you haven’t read the book, you are welcome to come and join the discussion anyway. “This book explores the power of Advent and the joy of Christmas through the poetry of Christina Rossetti. Best known for her poems-turned-carols In the Bleak Midwinter and Love Came Down at Christmas, Rossetti’s rich and wondrous faith provides an inspiring seasonal companion. For each day from Advent Sunday to the Epiphany, Rachel Mann selects a poem and reflects on it, drawing on Rossetti’s many other writings including her devotional journals and commentary on biblical narratives. At a time when commercial pressures are at their most intense, this volume aims to lead readers to an encounter with God’s time and space, to find our true identity beyond all that would limit and diminish our humanity."

The books we choose are usually available at libraries, amazon.com and other booksellers. WT has been attended by women from St. John’s, Trinity, St. James and St. Monica’s. Please contact Cathy Rowe if you would like additional information.

Advent 2024 at Trinity Church

The Flower Guild of Trinity Church invites you to share in preparing our sacred space for the Season of Advent. Advent is a period of four Sundays preceding Christmas, this year beginning on December 1st.

As in the past, we will decorate the windowsills of the nave with manger scenes (also called creches or nativities.) Many such nativities have been donated over the years but there is always room for more. If you would like to give or loan a creche this Advent, please bring it in to church on Sunday in November or December. We especially enjoy nativities reflecting a diversity of traditions and ethnicities, and in various styles of artistry.

Manger scenes will remain on display through the Christmas season and will be removed after Epiphany. 

Through the Advent season our Advent wreath will be lit each Sunday, and greenery and candles will begin to fill our space and our entryways. The church’s large nativity will be placed in the baptistry. After the 10 AM service on Sunday, December 22, there will be a Hanging of the Greens, where volunteers are invited to help change the hangings on the altar and in the nave from Advent blue to Christmas white and red. We’ll arrange poinsettias and other Christmas flowers that day, hang wreathes and garlands, and generally prepare the space for Christmas Eve, when we will celebrate with one service at 7:30 PM. 

Your help in making all these things happen will be much appreciated.

Advent Quiet Day: Saturday, December 7, 2024

The Companions of the Holy Cross invite you to a Quiet Day at St. Albans Church in Simsbury, on December 7, from 10 to 1. Lunch of homemade soups is included. Our Quiet Day will be led by The Rev. John Van Siclen, Chaplain to the Hartford Chapter. The reflections offered for the Quiet Day will be on "Thresholds". In Celtic spirituality, thresholds are seen as opportunities for growth, self-discovery, and deeper connection with the spiritual world. 

Our vocation statement is: Companions are a community of women, Christ’s disciples, called by God to a life of prayer, transformation, and reconciliation within ourselves, within our Companionship, within our faith communities, and within the whole of creation.

Please contact Kate Smith: Kate48smith@comcast.net for questions and if you wish to attend.

Volunteers Needed for our — Carols ~ Crafts ~ Cookies!

Our holiday celebration of Carols ~ Crafts ~ Cookies event is just around the corner, and we’d love your help to make it fun and successful! 

Here’s how you can pitch in:

• Assist at the Craft Table: Help others create ornaments for the Goodwin Hall Christmas tree.
• Bring Holiday Treats: Share your favorite homemade cookies or holiday goodies.
• Request a Carol: Drop your Christmas tune request in the box outside the sanctuary by Dec. 1.
• Kitchen Help: Warm up hors d’oeuvres on Sunday morning.
• Set Up and Serve: After the worship service, help set out the food for all to enjoy.
• Clean Up Crew: Lend a hand in tidying up after the event.
• Decorating: Join us on Saturday, Dec. 7th at 1:30 pm to set up and decorate for the event.

If you’d like to volunteer, please reach out to: Kate Byroade, Cathy Rowe, or Linda MacGougan.

As the saying goes, “The more, the merrier!” Let’s make this festive occasion a true celebration for our community at Trinity!

2025 Stewardship Packets Available

If you have not received a 2025 Stewardship packet in the mail, packets are available on the tables next to the Sunday bulletins, or you may contact the Church Office to be sent a packet - 860-527-8133 x204. We hope to have all pledges received by December 1 so that we can look ahead to 2025 at Trinity's financial commitments. 

Join Our Choir! You’re Invited!

We know you’ve heard it before, but we want to remind you: Everyone is welcome to join our choir! Whether you’re a seasoned singer or just love to make a joyful noise, there’s a place for you here.

Why Join?

• Share your love of music
• Build friendships within our church community
• Enrich our worship experience together

When: Rehearsals every Thursday, 7:00 -8:30 p.m.

Where: The Choir Room 

Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to connect and contribute! If you have any questions or want to learn more, feel free to reach out to the Director of Music, Markus Centola, email: mcentola@trinityhartford.org.

Position Open at Trinity Episcopal

Trinity Episcopal Church is looking to fill an anticipated opening for a Part-time Parish Administrator. Spread the word if you know someone that might be interested in applying for the position. The job requirements and application materials can be found on the ECCT website: https://www.episcopalct.org/open-positions/parish-job-listings/

Prayer List

Should you like a name added to the Prayer List, please contact the office at office at Trinityhartford.org or 860-527-8133 ext. 204.

Please note that unless the office is otherwise notified, the name will be on the list for 4 weeks and then removed.

News from the Diocese

Click the link below to read up on what's going on in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.

ECCT Newsletter - November 20, 2024

eVoice Deadline

All announcements should be submitted to the office at office@trinityhartford.org by Wednesday 9am for publication that week. Announcements that are submitted late will be held until the following week’s edition.