Trinity Topics June 28, 2024

Click here to see a web copy of this email

You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to Major Trinity Communications.

RECTOR'S BLOG

Dear Friends,

At the end of this month, I will have been serving Trinity Toledo for nine months – the halfway point of my agreement as Interim Rector with your Vestry. “Time flies when you’re having fun” – so goes the old saying. And it has been fun to be with you! The parish accurately reflects the four words often used to describe it: progressive, inclusive, creative, downtown.

Let me add one more word (although I’m not proposing we add it to our communications.) The word is “involved.” At the Vestry retreat this past February, we decided that one of the things we could do to strengthen Trinity before your next rector comes was to expand the involvement of parishioners in the life and leadership of the parish. This is happening! And it’s happening more quickly than I ever imagined. Let me share the evidence with you.

More than 35 people serve in one of the pods that make Trinity’s weekly community breakfast possible. In addition to those helping through the pods, several other parishioners are present every week to pitch in – welcoming everyone to My Brother’s Place, joining with our neighbors in table fellowship, and washing dishes (we see you, Sean Patrick!). A similar number of members and friends of all ages have helped bring the restored Plaza to life, hauling bags of dirt, topsoil, and mulch from the street to the upper level, planting native species, vegetables, pumpkins, and sunflowers. Someone came to stake the tomatoes this week; another person regularly checks the moisture level in the soil and opens the drip irrigation system to keep the garden watered.

The newly-formed Parish Life Committee has many new participants who have sponsored or will sponsor activities that help build community – events like “Baseball with the Bishop” on Father’s Day, the Mac & Cheese Bakeoff last weekend that welcomed over 60 people to the Parish House, and the upcoming Fourth of July celebration on the Plaza – one of the best places to view Toledo’s Fireworks display. A subgroup is beginning to look at how we can better care for each other when the delivery of a meal, or a ride to an appointment, or being a helpful presence when a death occurs in a family.

The Adult Spiritual Formation Committee has planned two activities this summer and will offer Sunday classes in the fall in preparation for the November elections – everything from the mechanics of voting (voter registration, IDs needed to vote) to how we can disagree with our families and friends without being disagreeable. And this coming Sunday, June 30, we’ve invited parents to gather for a “lunch and learn” about hopes for Christian formation programming this fall for children and youth.

The committee planning for our celebration of Pride in late August has organized itself and meets regularly.

Behind the scenes, members of the Finance Committee monitor cash flow, budgets, and investments. A Property Task Force recently studied and prioritized what work needs to be done to ensure that our buildings are in good shape and are safe and secure.

The eight-member Search Committee recently completed a significant phase of its work and hopes to release the Parish Profile and the Office of Transition Ministry portfolio to the wider church at the beginning of August.

Last but definitely not least, attendance at Sunday services this summer – even with the choir on hiatus – keeps growing! So Trinity is progressive, inclusive, creative, downtown and involved.

Have you found your ministry at Trinity? St. Paul used a metaphor to remind one of the churches he planted that the Body of Christ needs eyes and ears and hands and feet – that it needs all the parts – to function effectively. If anything I’ve mentioned in this letter appeals to you enough that you want to be part of it, contact the Parish Office – (419) 243-1231 or trinity@trinitytoledo.org. And if you have a burning desire to start a new ministry, let us know that, too. There are many ways to discover a ministry that brings you a sense of joy and fulfillment!

I can’t wait to see what happens in the second half of my time as your Interim Rector.

Blessings,

Stephen Applegate

Please join us Thursday, July 4 at Trinity's own little slice of riverfront for the city's annual fireworks celebration! Rain or shine, we will still gather. Meet in My Brother's Place and the Plaza on our 2nd floor any time after 7:00pm. Bring your own coolers, munchies, blankets, chairs and games. We will have some tables and chairs ready for us outside as well as yard games. And if we end up inside My Brother's Place dodging raindrops together, so be it! Both the Four SeaGate Parking Garage elevator and Trinity elevator will be accessible for our evening. The steps from Adams Street to the Plaza will also be open. Utilize the entrance into our building from parking garage. Bring your friends and family - there is room for everyone! Fireworks will begin at dark (approx 10pm).

Dearest Trinity, our beloved soprano section leader Melissa Toth is taking a step back from the music program. She has been accepted into The University of Toledo’s Graduate program to pursue her masters degree in education. And while her studies may take her away from the music department, they will not take her away from Trinity. We are so lucky and fortunate to have worked with Melissa for so long. We are forever humbled by her generous spirit, a voice that sings more than just words but inspires ideas, love and joy, and her dedication to our musical community, especially the choir, through the pandemic. And while she will be missed, she will not be forgotten, and we will gladly cheer her on through two years of hard academic study ahead!

Good luck, Melissa!

With love,

Chelsie and the music team

HE GETS US...BUT WHO IS JESUS ANYWAY?

Since 2022, ads about Jesus have appeared on television and in other media. The ad campaign's tagline is a short three words – He Gets Us. The idea is to take a contemporary question or issue and to show how Jesus understands what people are dealing with – whether it’s saying goodbye, or family issues, or forgiving someone who hurt us. He gets us.
But who is Jesus anyway? Got questions? Got doubts? Not sure? Need a new introduction to a friend? Using Diana Butler Bass’s recent book, Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence, as a resource, we’ll talk about finding Jesus on our own terms and in our own lives.

Sessions will be after church in the Walbridge Room on July 21 and 28, and August 11, 18, and 25. Jolene Miller and Amy Saylor will be facilitating conversation. Participants can come to whichever sessions they want to/are able to attend. Please sign up here if you plan to participate so we know how many books to order. https://sugeni.us/VXj2

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY

A Preview of the City of Toledo’s Comprehensive Plan for Neighborhood Safety Tuesday, July 16 6:30-8:00 p.m. Epworth United Methodist Church, 4855 Central Ave. Malcolm Cunningham, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement (MONSE), will provide office updates, discuss recommendations for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan for Neighborhood Safety, and introduce findings from a study examining the cost of gun violence to Toledoans.

Malcolm will host an interactive forum after the formal presentation. Free, open to all. Sign up here. Sponsored by the Multifaith Coalition to Reduce Gun Violence, Moms Demand Action Toledo, and Sisters 4 Unity. Contact Rev. Meribah Mansfield for more information.

TRINITY PARENT MEETING

Sunday, June 30th we’re having a parental get-together to talk about Trinity’s growing Kids' Ministry. We will discuss the fall schedule, volunteer opportunities, what you’d like from us, and more! Please sign up for the event via our sign-up genius so we can properly gauge the food and activities. We’ll have activities and something to watch for the kids, so bring them along! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B084AADAC23A0FD0-50112032-trinity

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.

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.

Join us on JULY 18th! Sign up here.

BOOK CLUB

Book clubbers! We’re taking a bit of a hiatus for July and August but add this to the late summer reading list so it’s fresh in your mind for discussion on September 8. Stay tuned for sign up and zoom information. (*Our library has print, ebook and audio copies.)

PRIDE DONATIONS

Starting this Sunday going through August 18 we are asking for donations of 8oz water bottles and hard candy for Pride! You can drop them off at our “drop off station” by the columbarium. PLEASE, no chocolate as it tends to melt in the August sun. Any chocolate donated will be considered a tithe for our Director of Operations. If you have any questions please contact our Director of Community Engagement through email at, george@trinitytoledo.org

DIOCESAN PEACE & JUSTICE JUNE RESOURCES

https://www.dohio.org/offices/office-for-mission/peace-and-justice/june-resources

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

Bishops, youth working to end gun violence unite in Louisville rally

[Episcopal News Service – Louisville, Kentucky] After three students were killed and five others were injured in 2023 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, T.J. Rapson, a high school […]

House of Deputies repudiates pro-slavery views of 19th century house president in somber vote

[Episcopal News Service – Louisville, Kentucky] The House of Deputies repudiated the pro-slavery theology of one of its Civil War-era presidents on June 27 at the request of the host […]

Convention’s Official Youth Presence delegates represent future of the church

[Episcopal News Service – Louisville, Kentucky] The 18 high school students making up the Official Youth Presence of the 81st General Convention have brought energy and fresh insight to the […]

Deputies’ new deadlines for resolutions, committees give a nod to General Convention’s future

[Episcopal News Service – Louisville, Kentucky] The Episcopal Church experienced a pandemic-shortened General Convention in 2022, and this week, it is wrapping up a post-pandemic 81st General Convention that, at […]