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Many thanks to Mary Smegielski who led Morning Prayer, and to Tiffany Santiago, who preached.

This Sunday October 18 at 9am, the Rev. Heidi Truax returns to celebrate Eucharist with us. We hope you can join us!

Trinity has a New Rector!

Please click here to read the official announcement from our Senior and Junior Wardens.

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A Short Biography from Trinity’s New Rector, the Rev. E. Wayne Rollins

I was born and raised outside Charleston, West Virginia, and attended a non-denominational

fundamentalist church until the middle of my college years. I hold a BS degree in Education, and have

been certified to teach Music in grades K-12. I hold a Master of Music Degree in Organ Performance

from Westminster Choir College. A highlight of my time there was singing in a choir of 200+ in the first

choral performance on a Live from Lincoln Center presentation of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem.

I have served as Organist/Choirmaster/Music Director in Presbyterian, United Methodist, Roman

Catholic and Episcopal churches. I have also taught music courses on the college level, including two

classes each quarter in a maximum security prison in southern Ohio.

Subsequent study in the Fine Arts followed. Then after a few years of discernment, I obtained the

Master of Divinity Degree from The Methodist Theological School of Ohio. I was ordained a Deacon in the West Virginia Conference, but left after a few years. I explain that time as taking a long hike in boots

that don’t fit.

After a few years of trying anything but churchwork, including sales and as a licensed social

worker, I returned to the Episcopal church in Charleston, singing in the choir and sometimes playing the organ. I began exploring ordination there, resulting in ordination to the diaconate and priesthood in 2004.

I’ve served Episcopal parishes in West Virginia, Maine, Ohio, Michigan, and Delaware. I also

served four years as Pastor in an Evangelical Lutheran congregation in southern Ohio after a year-long

Clinical Pastoral Education residency in a nearby medical center.

I look forward to working in ministry in northwest Connecticut, and making new friends as we

spread the Good News of Christ Jesus together.

Stewardship - Your help in planning for our future

Over the next 60 days, your Vestry will be creating a budget for 2027.

Much of that budget is made up of known quantities – the salaries of our staff, insurance costs, the fact that Eversource wants to raise our electricity rates by more than 25% - you know – the same stuff that you think about when you are making financial decisions for yourself and your family.

But what if you didn’t have any idea how much income you had? What if you didn’t know whether your employer was going to pay you the same amount next month? Or if your annuity was going to be the same next month? Or if Social Security was going to be totally different next quarter?

You couldn’t live that way, right? I know I couldn’t.

Trinity’s budget relies on promises that we make. Those promises are known as pledges and they make up the majority of the income which allows this parish to do everything we do! Our pledges, our promises, allow the Vestry to understand how to budget for the year ahead. But they do more than that.

Our pledges signify our commitment not only to doing our best to assure that the work here continues but also our commitment to everything which Trinity stands for in the world.

Our pledges signify our willingness to continue as followers of Jesus, to spread the Good News in the world, to work toward healing the pain and suffering with which this world exists every day. They signify our willingness to be good Stewards of God’s Word in this world, to be good stewards of this physical plant and good stewards of the mission of this parish.

Now no one will ever tell you how much you should pledge. And if they do, please immediately and kindly ask them to mind their own business. Conrad and I have been working toward tithing 10% of our income for years. And while we have not gotten there yet, we continue to keep our eye on that prize. But I know that I speak for your Junior Warden Ella Frauenhofer, your Treasurer Jessica Magda and your entire Vestry when I beg of you to pledge SOMETHING.

A dollar a week. A dollar month. A dollar a year.

The amount of your pledge is a private matter between you, your family and God. Only Trinity’s Treasurer and Bookkeeper will ever know your pledge amount. Your promise to Trinity will never, ever be the subject of conversation in any committee or Vestry meeting.

All pledges, whether for ten thousand dollars a year or a dollar a year are critically important in the future of Trinity Torrington. So I beg of you to prayerfully consider what you can offer to Trinity, with God’s help, and join us as we gather our promises to Trinity, to God and to one another together on the 8^th of November.

~Lydia

THIS WEDNESDAY AT 7PM!

Who doesn't like a good bedtime story?

Join us for the service on Compline on Wednesday, October 14 at 7 pm in the Sanctuary.

Compline is a quiet, peaceful and contemplative service lasting less than 30 minutes.

As the last of the daily offices, it is the liturgical equivalent of getting ready for bed.

Come experience Compline! 

SOUND HEALING
Returns on November 7, December 5 and January 2!

SOUND HEALING returns to Trinity Torrington! Join us for a highly relaxing hour of singing bowls and guided meditation from Richard Ruiz, a local practitioner. His rain drum is a neat new sound, too!

Sound Healing will be held on Saturday November 7, December 5, and January 2 at 1p. SAVE THOSE DATES NOW!

Sit in a pew, or bring a yoga mat or blanket if you wish to enjoy this hour lying down.

The session is free but donations are appreciated.

Trinity’s embodiment of Christianity in our community is expressed by our efforts to assure that all people know that they are valued and loved.

This is what Christ teaches us. This is what we try to embody in our world. But could we do better? Could

we do more?

Letting our neighbors know that they are valued and loved can take the form of unexpected and unusual

forms of Outreach.


• A ride to the doctor.
• Help in obtaining a birth certificate.
• Assistance in negotiating a bureaucracy.
• Company to buy a pair of safety-required work boots.
• Expertise or advice in a bewildering field.

This sort of Outreach can oftentimes cost little or no money. Other times, the cost is something well beyond

the means of the requestor but easily absorbed by someone else.

After all, $20 might as well be a million dollars if you do not have it.

Trinity is working to create a cadre of parishioners who would like to be asked when these sorts of

Outreach opportunities arise. All the requests will be vetted before they are presented to this cadre.

Assistance, coordination and liaison are also planned as part of this model.

Would you consider placing your name on this list? You would be under no obligation to act on anything

outside of your means, either in the form of time, cost, expertise or otherwise. But what you can give might

make an enormous difference in the life of those who walk the way with us.

We know that some of you already take this sort of action and we are so grateful. This Outreach group

aims to help to streamline our process, mobilize more of us to action and, hopefully, impact even more of

our neighbors.

If you are interested in knowing more, please contact Jessica Wright at 203.217.6525 or

jmwright115@gmail.com.

Overflow Seasonal Shelter

Some folks from Trinity have been meeting with staff members from the Northwest CT Y as we prepare for the new season of the Overflow Shelter. They will be using two bulletin boards in the Upper Parish Hall for relevant information for their guests. (These two boards are pictured below.)

All Trinity Announcements (e.g. upcoming events, Vestry minutes) will be posted on the kiosk in the UPH.

We have started a new book in Formation on Sunday, Oct 11, the Gospel of John! Some of us will also be reading The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary, by David F. Ford, but that is not a requirement for participation. We will look each week at short passages from John, working our way through this important Gospel and taking time to discuss its riches.

Please consider joining us! 

Attention all book lovers, C.S. Lewis lovers, fellowship and discussion lovers:

We have begun, in partnership with Trinity Lime Rock, a monthly discussion group to read and explore C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. Lewis, famed Oxford professor, scholar, and Anglican writer gave a series of radio addresses making a case for the essentials of the Christian faith, and later put these into book form. Speaking during WWII, he was clearly addressing the relevance of Christian faith in a time of violence, tribalism, and existential conflict between democracy, fascism, and terror. Given our world today, his thoughts continue to have resonance.

Please consider joining us! Our reading and discussion schedule is below. Even though we've started, each session can stand on its own and feel free to jump in at any point. We meet from 7-8 PM in the Upper Parish Hall and online. See Bobby Naeher or Ella Frauenhofer for more details. All readings are from Mere Christianity. 

• Oct 18 -  Book 4: 1-6
• Nov. 15- Book 4: 7-11

Quesyions? Contact Bobby Naeher.

COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

We definitely need some people to step forward and host Coffee Hour.

Remember - 
no hosts, no Coffee Hour.

Hosting Coffee Hour is very easy and very appreciated! Just sign up for a date, then bring in some snacks (home-made or store-bought), set up the table, percolate percolate percolate, then clean up.

If you have any questions, please ask Ella, Tiffany or Richard. The sign-up is in the Upper Parish Hall.

THIS SATURDAY AT 9AM!

Men's Breakfast will be held on Saturday October 17 at 9am at the Twin Colony Diner. We have a short prayer and a long conversation while enjoying a delicious breakfast.

Contact Conrad with any questions.

Happenings Around Town and Beyond...

Some of you may remember Ron Dukenski, a former parishioner at Trinity. He is performing in "My Dearest Friend" at Heritage Village, and the details are below. Please contact him at rdukenski@gmail.com to reserve your ticket!

Thanks to Roger Coutant for the above image!

If you have an announcement or event that you would like publicized, or if you are a parishioner involved in an event that you would like to share with the parish, please send it to The Portal at announcements@trinity-torrington.org, and we can then direct your announcement to the best method of communication.

This newsletter was created by a human being, 
not by Artificial Intelligence.

You're welcome.