Trinity Topics May 9, 2025

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DEAR FRIENDS

Dear Friends,

There are a few spiritual disciplines that I’ve discovered in the course of my life that have had a legitimate role in shaping me and helping me to become a more mature and genuine practitioner of the Christian faith. One of those disciplines is a conscious commitment to looking for reasons to be grateful.

A truth I’ve come to know as a person growing into Christianity (we’re all growing – no one has it figured out. Not even priests!) is summarized in Jesus’ simple teaching, “seek and you will find”. And I’ve learned that if I seek occasions of gratitude, I will find them. And when I find them, life feels better, and the Christian faith is more meaningful. So, I try to set aside some time each week to specifically look for reasons to be grateful: grateful to the people around me, and grateful to God for the blessings I might otherwise overlook.

The Vestry and I are practicing this search for gratitude as a part of our monthly meetings. We set aside a few minutes near the beginning of each meeting to specifically think about reasons we’re grateful and people for whom we are grateful. We say the names and the reasons out loud for each other and we record them, because we want to begin sharing this gratitude with all of you.

This is the list from our last meeting:

For all the people who assisted with Holy Week services and preparing for it
For Grace Mauk coming back
For the music on Easter
For police officers who have been assisting with breakfast incidents
For Michael Kidney for being involved
For Heather Meyer, specifically for the Toledo Grows connection and learning about pollinators

Look for more lists like this in Trinity Topics each month after our Vestry meetings. Of course, this is an incomplete list – they always will be. In a parish like Trinity that has so much going on, it takes a lot of people and a lot of passion to make this ministry happen. So, we hope that you’ll join us in seeking out these occasions of thanksgiving. If you notice something or someone that deserves our thanks, send me a quick email or text to let me know.

I hope you will find, as I have, the ways that being intentionally thankful enriches our lives every day!

Blessings,
Jon+

PLAZA WORK DAYS - MAY 10 & 17

This Saturday, May 10, join us at 1pm on the Plaza. We accomplished so much last Saturday in horrible weather conditions! We will be spreading soil and mulch, creating "puddling areas" for Monarch Waystations, and planting.

Next Saturday, May 17 9:30 a.m. we will plant the Children’s Garden--Melanie Schell will lead children, their families and anyone who wants to help in planting tomatoes, peppers, purple cabbage, sunflower seeds, herbs, vegetable seeds (peas, lettuce, spinach, radishes, cucumbers, pumpkins), and marigolds. Come be a part of such amazing energy! And if you can only dedicate an hour or so, no worries. We will take you.

TSN LUNCH

Thursday May 15th we will be hosting our monthly vendor lunch for Toledo Streets Newspaper. If you are interested in helping to cook, hang out, or eat, please reach out to George at george@trinitytoledo.org or you can sign up here. Just scroll to the bottom and sign on up. We will be meeting in My Brother’s Place at 9am to cook, and then lunching at 11am.

AMERICAN TEENAGER

Tuesday, May 13 at 6pm "American Teenager": A Conversation With Author Nico Lang Trinity is hosting Equality Toledo and Author Nico Lang to discuss their award-winning book, "American Teenager", uplifting the voices of transgender young people across the country. This groundbreaking work follows seven families of trans youth in seven states as they try to navigate a hostile political climate and find joy in a turbulent era. This event is free and we would love to see you!

PRIDE MEETING - MAY 18

PRIDE MEETING: MAY 18 Are you ready to slay? Come help make Pride 2025 a reality at Trinity! It takes a whole village to make Toledo Pride a success, so come show off your true colors after church May 18th.

BROADWAY CONCERT

BROADWAY CONCERT: JUNE 10 @ 7:00 pm Free admission and open to the public! Mark your calendars for the end of the choir season concert, featuring music from Broadway! The Trinity Choir is busy preparing to sing their faces off. We'll see you there! TUESDAY, JUNE 10 @ 7 PM.

TRINITY GOES TO WASHINGTON!

Parishioners Phill Skeldon, Mark Dubielak, Becky Koskinen (Vestry) and George Benson (Dir of Community Engagement) were in Washington, D.C. this week to meet with Legislative Director for Rep. McGovern, Representative Marcy Kaptur and Senior Aid to Sen. Husted. They discussed concerns for our Queer (specifically trans) siblings, cuts to USAID, concerns for Medicaid, and how we see these effects weekly at our Breakfast At Trinity. Before leaving the nation's capital, they also met with folks from the Episcopal Public Policy Network and the Office of Government Relations to explore how we can partner in a more long-term way. Well done, friends!

BELLWETHER FARM SUMMER CAMP

WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY

Women's Bible Study Meets May 17

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B084AADAC23A0FD0-54105807-womens#/

BOOK CLUB

May 18 at 6:30pm (Zoom) -Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous. Grab your book and sign up to be a part of this spirited group! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/Trinitybookclubmay

SCAM ALERT

A reminder for us all - Neither Jon nor any of Trinity Staff will send emails asking for gift cards. These are phishing scams sent from fake emails. Often the language includes something like, "I need your help in handling something discreetly..." Block/delete these emails! You can always call us at the office if you have questions.

TRINITY'S PRAYER LIST

Trinity continues to have 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). All prayer requests are shared only with a small intercessory prayer group who, along with parish clergy, offer recurring prayers for each request. 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; having an “expiration date” simply prevents 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

Anglican Communion secretary-general on the election of Pope Leo XIV

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Pope Leo XIV to lead Roman Catholic Church, first American elected to papacy

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North Carolina farmworkers build their own Episcopal church

[Episcopal News Service] An Episcopal congregation that serves seasonal farmworkers in southeast North Carolina has a new church building thanks to...

Episcopal Church’s political advocacy team expands public witness with weekly prayers

[Episcopal News Service] To say this year has been a busy one for The Episcopal Church’s Washington, D.C.-based Office of Government Relations would...