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TRANSITION UPDATE
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The Search Committee’s work has continued for the last several weeks behind the scenes as they continue to discern with the rector candidates who remain in the process. When will a new rector come to Trinity? The answer is “soon,” but it’s impossible to forecast exactly when. As a veteran of serving many churches in transition, I can tell you that the sheer number of variables makes a prediction impossible.
If it’s impossible to predict the next rector’s arrival, it isn’t impossible to predict my departure as your interim. My last Sunday at Trinity will be January 12, 2025. I had hoped to be able to have the announcement of my leaving coincide with the announcement of your new rector’s coming. However, since I have only seven Sundays left, I felt this announcement could not be delayed any longer. The Wardens and Vestry and the staff have known about this timetable for a while – and it’s not been a secret – but it’s now time for this notice in topics.
What’s next for you? A soon-to-be announced name of a new rector, and a new beginning in the ministry of parish and priest. And what a blessed and lucky priest it will be who comes to serve with you here in downtown Toledo. I have loved being here and have been grateful for the work done by so many to “prepare the way.” When I was a director of a wilderness tripping camp, our goal when camping in the wilderness was to leave the campsite better than we found it. I pray that has happened at Trinity.
What’s next for me? After a short break, I will begin serving as Interim Rector of St. Paul’s, Cleveland Heights on Sunday, January 26, leading a staff of 20 through their transition to their new rector sometime, God willing, in 2026.
There’ll be time for us to say good-bye. The Wardens, Vestry, and I will have a ministry review before I leave to capture all that’s been accomplished and to acknowledge what we’ve learned from each other. I’ve told the parish leadership that marking the farewells of interims should always be low key. I firmly believe that interim work is something done collaboratively, and that the congregation and its leaders always deserve the major part of the credit for a successful transition. So, on my last Sunday, we’ll celebrate your successes – which have been many!
Faithfully yours, Stephen Applegate
| GREENING OF CHURCH |
Saturday, December 7 at 9:30. Sign up and save the date!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B084AADAC23A0FD0-53044906-greening |
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Our next bake-off competition is slated for December 1, 2024.
Start planning and signup now!
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ANNUAL PLEDGE DRIVE UPDATE
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On October 6, Joe and Jennifer Dawson – this year’s co-chairs – kicked off Trinity’s Annual Pledge Drive. The Stewardship Committee established an ambitious goal of $215,000 for 2025 – a 6.8% increase over the amount pledged for 2024.
This past Sunday, the amount pledged for 2025 was $216,567 with 66 households represented!! Trinity parishioners’ generous response has made it possible to exceed the monetary goal for the pledge drive!!
There’s now one more goal to achieve. In addition to a monetary goal for 2025, the Stewardship Committee established a participation goal of 80 pledging households.
If you haven’t yet made a pledge for 2025, please consider becoming one of the 14 households Trinity needs to meet the participation goal. Here are some possible pledge levels:
$2 a week (or about the cost of an 8 oz. coffee at Starbucks) = $104 per year. $3 a week (or the cost of a basic streaming service subscription on Netflix = $156 per year.
$5 a week (or the cost of the $5 meal deal at McDonalds) = $260 per year.
We hope you agree that the progressive, inclusive, creative ministries Trinity is doing are worth at least a weekly cup of good coffee! To make your pledge online, please go here. And thank you for considering a pledge for 2025.
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Christmas Memorial Poinsettia Sale
Christmas Memorial Poinsettias are on sale - you can order your poinsettia by filling out our online form, or you can find order forms at the Parish Life Table in the back of the Sanctuary. When filling out your form, please be sure to include your first and last name, phone number and quantity. If you are requesting a plant in honor or memory of a loved one, please include their first and last name(s) which we will list in our Christmas Eve bulletin.
The poinsettias will be 6 1/2" with multiple blooms, for $12.00 each. Flowers can be taken home after our 11pm Christmas Eve service. Orders are due by Tuesday, December 17th!
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CHRISTMAS "Advent" SING-ALONG!
Crafts, Snacks and Songs Wednesday, December 11th, 2024 @ 7:00 pm
Join your Trinity Musicians as we sing the night away with our favorite CHRISTMAS SONGS! Featuring music like "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," an interactive "Twelve Days of Christmas" and "Frosty the Snowman," just to name a few. Lyrics, snacks, crafts and songs will be provided. FREE EVENT.
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CHORAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT TRINITY Saturday, December 14th, 2024 @ 7:00 pm
The Northwest Ohio Vocal Arts Ensemble, NOVA, celebrates the wonder of the nativity story with a musical journey through time. Through medieval chant, early Renaissance, and rich 20th century settings, this program of beautiful choral selections is sure to bring a sense of mystery and awe to your holiday season. A free-will offering will be taken with a suggested donation of $30. Program is approximately 1 hour, without intermission.
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CASTING CALL: TRINITY CHRISTMAS PAGEANT Rehearsal after church December 22nd, and performed December 24th @ 4:00 pm
Trinity's calling all theatre enthusiasts and performers to sign up to participate in this year's Christmas Pageant! With a script written by Chelsie and Grace, you can trust it will be fun, joyful, and have a great message. (And, you'll have a great time!) While preference will be given to our youngest actors, all are welcome. We'll find a part for you. Click the sign-up genius to learn more about how you can get involved. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/christmaspageant24
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ADVENT CALENDARS AVAILABLE THIS SUNDAY!
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We all have our Lutheran siblings to thank for Advent Calendars – those clever “clocks” that help us mark the time until Christ’s birth at Christmas. For years, Advent calendars were simple paper calendars with flaps or little doors that someone opens to reveal a prize – typically a piece of chocolate or a tiny toy. They were ways to engage children in the countdown.
Advent calendars are just for kids anymore. For $109.99 you can order a deluxe Advent calendar from Harry & David with 104 pieces of chocolate truffles. Southern Living offers its list of the “40 Best Advent Calendars for 2024” featuring books, fishing lures, everything Williams Sonoma offers for the cookie baker in your life (think spatulas, sugar shakers, cookie cutters, piping bags, and decorating tips), and all the calendars featuring beer, whisky, cocktails, or wine. And we cannot fail to mention Aldi’s much-anticipated Advent Calendars. They are here — and there are Chocolate, Cheese, and Wine versions.
At Trinity, we’re keeping it simple and – not surprisingly – religious. This Sunday, look for “Slow Down. Quiet. It’s Advent: Twenty-four Days for the Heart’s Journey to Bethlehem” calendars. Suitable for adults, children, and entire families, these calendars, drawn by Episcopal priest Jay Sidebotham, provide suggestions for what you might read, ideas for prayer, backgrounds for saints’ days like Nicholas, Lucy, or Thomas, and reminders to remember those for whom Christmas isn’t necessarily a joyous time.
Published by Forward Movement, they are free for the taking. All we ask is that you take one per household, that you display it prominently (refrigerator doors are perfect), and that you get out your colored pencils or crayons and brighten up the monochrome in which they calendars are printed!
| #ADVENTWORD FOR 2024
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Deepen your experience of Advent by participating in a collaborative online Advent calendar, combining reflections, prayer, and images. A single word from the Sunday Lectionary readings has been chosen for each day of the season of Advent. A daily meditation (in English and Spanish) and visual image inspired by this word is shared via email, with an invitation to share your personal reflections and photos via social media.
These images are shared on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with the hashtag #AdventWord, to make them easy for others to view them. Words for the current year are released in advance, to give people time to take a photo for the day’s word (or finding one in your photo archive). The words for 2022 are provided below.
AdventWord is an offering of Episcopal publisher Forward Movement, which offers ways to incorporate AdventWord into your prayer practice:
Sign up to receive the daily meditation (in English and Spanish) by email at http://adventword.org Follow AdventWord on social media to read and comment on the daily meditation and view images inspired by the day’s word:
Facebook: @AdventWordOrg Instagram: @AdventWord Twitter: @adventword Reflect on the day’s word and capture your response: a photo, written reflections, crafts, drawings, poems, found art, and other creative expressions. You can do this individually or with others. Suggestions for using AdventWord with kids are provided on the reverse. Contribute to this online global Advent calendar by sharing your response to the day’s word on social media using the hashtag #AdventWord: photos, poems, found art, etc. Reflect on others’ responses by searching social media for #adventword
AdventWord with Children
Sybil MacBeth, author of the book Praying in Color, suggests using AdventWord to create an Advent prayer chain: talk with kids about the word of the day, then decorate a strip of paper with the day’s word, then add it as a new link in the prayer chain.
In 2020, at GrowChristians.org, Emily Gowdy Canady encourages parents to talk with their kids about the word of the day, then have them identify pictures in books or magazines that reflect the word. Consider taking a walk with kids outside to look for something that reflects the word.
Kids may also want to create drawings, collages, or other art to capture their sense of the day’s word. At the end of Advent, look over the body of their work with them and ask them to tell you more about what they created and what they learned about Jesus and waiting for Jesus’ birth.
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BOOK CLUB |
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We will take a pause for the cause and meet on January 19 at 6:30pm via Zoom to discuss our next selection: "There Are Rivers In The Sky" by Elif Shafak. From the Booker Prize finalist, author of The Island of Missing Trees, an enchanting new tale about three characters living along two great rivers, all connected by a single drop of water. Zoom meet up details coming soon.
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| Sign Up Now
| | 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
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EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE
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