Trinity Topics October 11, 2024

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PREPARE THE WAY

What are some ways to satisfy my pledge?

Trinity is asking for a pledge. What are some ways to satisfy my pledge?

Pledge, how do I satisfy thee? Let me count the ways (with apologies to the Bard of Avon):

Some of the typical ways

Write a check and put it in the offering plate when you attend a Sunday service. For some people, the traditional approach is deeply satisfying and has lots of history behind it.
Write a check, put it in a stamped envelope and send it to Trinity Episcopal Church, 316 Adams Street, Toledo, OH 43604. If you can’t get to church or will be away on vacation, let the US Postal Service take care of delivering your gift.

Some slightly less typical ways
Set up an automatic transfer from your a) bank account (ACH transfer), b) credit card, c) debit card, d) PayPal. Call the parish office (419) 243-1231 or email heather@trinitytoledo.org if you need help.
Go to the kiosk in the rear of the church & enter the information about how much you want to give and from what source
Click on the QR code that appears in each Sunday service leaflet
Text to give – (419) OMG-GIVE

Some unusual, but tax-advantaged ways

Take a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) for your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). (Important disclaimer: talk to your financial advisor or accountant before deciding to give this way! And remember, the gift must be transferred directly from your account to Trinity or other charity.)
- Your QCD counts towards satisfying your RMD once you reach RMD age.
- Up to a maximum of $105,000 of your RMD can be donated to a qualified charity.
- If you have the RMD service, be sure to factor in these donations to avoid distributing more than your annual RMD.
- Qualified charitable distributions are counted for the tax year in which they're taken.
- You may be able to avoid taxes on otherwise taxable distributions if you're drawing from a traditional IRA.
Transfer appreciated stock to Trinity. Here are four reasons:
- You can give more. By donating stock that has appreciated for more than a year, you are actually giving 20 percent more than if you sold the stock and then made a cash donation.
- You can potentially reduce future capital gains. Any appreciation of the value of a stock that you love and want to hold for the long term confirms your belief in it, but it can also set the stage for substantial gains when you sell.
- You can give your portfolio a health check. Any investment portfolio can get out of balance. If a review of your investments’ gains and losses shows that it’s time to rebalance your portfolio to maximize its performance and optimize for risk, donating stock can give your portfolio the health check it needs.
- You can donate stocks without headaches. Some people think it will require a lot of paperwork and phone calls to donate stock, or that their chosen charity may not be able to easily accept a stock donation. Trinity can help make such a transfer simple and easy. Just contact the parish office for more information.

At Trinity, we are grateful for every donation and have developed a number of convenient ways to give in support of God’s mission and ministry. We hope one of the ways listed above helps you give regularly and generously.

FAITH & CIVIC LIFE CONTINUES THIS SUNDAY

Topic: Spiritual Disciplines for Public Life

This Sunday, October 13, after the 10:00 am service, we continue our series on Faith & Civic Life when we look at spiritual resources for this election season. Sheila Otto will lead the session this week. It’s not hard to experience a range of emotions during election season: fear, hope, anger, frustration, excitement, anxiety, happiness. Some days it’s possible to experience all of them in the same 24-hour period!

How can we stay grounded? What spiritual disciplines or practices help when we are discouraged and exhausted by the bitterness and rage in our politics? Is it possible for us to become part of a better way of being in this time? Is there an approach to politics that results in healing rather than division, kindness rather than hatred, and hope rather than despair?

Sheila draws from a wide range of spiritual traditions in her teaching and her life. She frequently offers courses at Lourdes University’s Lifelong Learning program. This past summer she led a class called, “Broken Made Beautiful,” where participants experienced the ancient Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold called, Kintsugi (“golden joinery”). Sheila’s spiritual direction and counseling experience make her the perfect person to share ideas about spiritual disciplines during this season. Sheila is the author of a photo/story book, All Stories Are True, Some Actually Happened (Amazon).

Trinity's First Annual Family Friendly Trick-or-Treating Musical Extravaganza! There will be trick-or-treating, a costume parade, food, fun, crafts, and best of all, a musical sing-along! Families and Kids of all ages are welcome and wanted! October 15th 2024 7:00 pm.
Interested in volunteering for this event? Want to help pass out candy, find food, and decorate? Email chelsie@trinitytoledo.org to sign up!

The Bee-Attitudes need your help gathering the honey. Two more spelling bee spots need to be filled for October 17 Spelling Bee. This is going to be un-bee-lievably fun!

TRINITY PLAZA AWARDED SACRED GROUNDS SITE

Thanks to so many of you who have worked hard to plant gardens on the plaza, Trinity has been certified as a Sacred Grounds site by the National Wildlife Federation! You are invited to represent Trinity as we receive our certification at the Sacred Grounds Toledo Celebration & Networking Event on Sunday, October 20 at The Farmhouse, 3188 OH-120, Metamora from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. The Sacred Grounds Toledo Celebration & Networking Event is the Sacred Grounds Toledo annual meeting and includes a potluck dinner, highlights of the past year, Sacred Grounds program updates, networking around challenges and successes, and celebration of Sacred Grounds Toledo faith communities who have completed their certifications. There will also be an optional tour of The Farmhouse’s beautiful property. All Trinity members are invited to attend and contribute to the potluck by registering at https://bit.ly/SGTCelebrate.

Save the date - Saturday, November 2 beginning at 10am we will be one of four watch party locations in our Diocese. Look for RSVP link in next week's Topics.

WEDNESDAY SERVICE RETURNS

BOOK CLUB

November 10 - Sign Up!

ARE YOU CALLED TO SERVE ON TRINITY'S VESTRY?

Nominating Committee formed & receiving names

Trinity’s Nominating Committee has now been formed with the responsibility for presenting a list of three persons who are willing to stand for election to the Vestry at the Annual Meeting of the parish in late January.

The members of the Nominating Committee are Donna Steppe (Senior Warden,) Karen Johnson-Webb, and Kelly Termin. They are eager to speak to any communicant member in good standing of Trinity who might be interested in serving on Trinity’s vestry.

In the Episcopal Church, a vestry is a group of people who, with the rector, govern the parish. Vestry responsibilities include:

Leadership: Overseeing the parish's mission and ministry, and sharing leadership with the rector
Management: Managing the parish's finances, property, and human resources
Advisory: Serving as an advisory council to the rector
Representation: Serving as the legal representative of the parish for matters related to its property and relations with the clergy

Trinity’s Vestry is comprised of nine (9) persons. Each person serves a three-year term and may be elected to a second three-year term after which they must take a year’s hiatus before serving again.

The current members of the Vestry and their terms are:

Class 2022-2025

1. Donna Steppe (second term)

2. Dennis Degnan (second term)

3. Karen Keune (first term)

Class 2023-2026

1. Jeffrey Albright (second term)

2. Jamie Paul (second term)

3. Kyle Grefe (fulfilling Leah Reed’s second term)

Class 2024-2027

1. Gary Franklin (second term)

2. Kimberly Kefalas-Siu (first term)

3. Becky Koskinen (second term)

All three members of the Nominating Committee may be contacted in-person on Sunday mornings or you may email trinity@trinitytoledo.org to express your interest in being considered.

TSN VENDOR LUNCHES

On the third Thursday of each month, Trinity supplies the vendors of Toledo Streets Newspaper (TSN) with a buffet lunch! And we need YOUR help! Trinity will purchase the food but we will need 4-6 volunteers to help prepare the meal deliver it to the TSN Office.

Volunteer for 10/17

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Volunteer for 10/22

TRINITY PRAYER LIST

Did you know that Trinity has an active prayer list? If you’d like prayers for yourself or for someone you know, you can request them by contacting the Trinity office (trinity@trinitytoledo.org or 419-243-1231) or our interim rector, Stephen Applegate (in person or via email at stephen@trinitytoledo.org).

At the moment, all prayer requests are shared only with a small intercessory prayer group who, along with parish clergy, offer recurring prayers for each request. This is not a closed group. If you want to join Trinity parishioners who’ve committed to the practice of regularly praying for others, ask Stephen about joining the prayer team.

When a request is received, it remains on the prayer list for four weeks before it’s taken off. Requests can always be renewed or submitted again. However, having an “expiration date” will prevent the list from overflowing with prayer requests that are out of date.

TRINITY@HOME LIVE-STREAM

Trinity@Home is now a live-stream of Trinity’s 10:00 am in-person service with an interactive chat.

www.trinitytoledo.org/live

EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE

WCC releases 2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity resources

[World Council of Churches] At least once a year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (see […]

Episcopal Church, Washington National Cathedral plan election-related services to pray for peace, unity

[Episcopal News Service] Washington National Cathedral announced Oct. 10 that it is planning a full-day prayer vigil on Election Day, followed by a second day of prayers for peace and […]

Episcopal churches and dioceses to mark Oct. 14 as Indigenous Peoples Day with a variety of services and events

[Episcopal News Service] Indigenous Peoples Day this year is Oct. 14, and a number of states, cities and other entities – including The Episcopal Church – celebrate it instead of […]

Q&A: Presiding Bishop Michael Curry reflects on an eventful nine years as churchwide leader

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was elected and confirmed in June 2015 at the 78th General Convention, and on Nov. 1 that year, he was installed as presiding […]