- Pat GIbbons

Trinity has built Habitat for Humanity homes in 2001 and 2003. Trinity can build again in 2008! Details are at the end of this.

By early June we had already raised a total of almost $4,600. We need $5,000 to reserve two work days for Trinity volunteers, or $10,000 would secure three days for us. The building by volunteers will start with four consecutive days, August 20 through 23, and then continue on twelve successive Saturdays, excluding holiday weekends. The first single Saturday, then, will be September 6. Get your hammers and brushes ready! We will start signing up volunteers in July.

For now, you need a different tool. Get your checkbooks ready! Please consider contributing generously to this good cause sponsored by Trinity. Make checks payable to Trinity and write "Habitat" in the memo line.

Build Details: The build site is two blocks east of Grand Boulevard and two blocks north of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Our home will be sponsored by Trinity, by the Washington University Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and by others, with whom we will be matched by Habitat for Humanity St. Louis staff.

In 2003 we built a home in Hillsdale, which was sponsored and staffed by Interfaith Builders' four churches: Our Lady of the Pillar Parish, Sacred Heart Parish in Valley Park, St. Peter's Episcopal, and Trinity Presbyterian.

In 2001 we built in Hamilton Heights, at the corner of Belt and Wells Avenues. All of the funds and most of the workers came from Trinity.

Cancer affects all of us in some way-either personally or ones we love. This church certainly has felt its impact these past 6 months. On June 6 & 7, the American Cancer Society will hold its Relay for Life at SLU High School. Is anyone at Trinity interested in coordinating the formation of a walking team? Please contact Liz in the office (725-3840).

Trinity built in 2001 and 2003. Trinity can build again! Two blocks east of Grand Boulevard and two north of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. The build will be sponsored by Trinity, the Washington University Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and others. Will we raise $5,000? $10,000? $15,000? For $5,000 we get two build days for Trinity volunteers; we get more days if we raise more. Building will start with four consecutive days in August and then continue on twelve Saturdays. Get your hammers and brushes ready! We need your checkbooks, too. To contribute, make a check payable to Trinity Presbyterian Church and write Habitat on the memo line. Talk to Pat Gibbons for more info.

- Ann Fischer

Please notice the article on the front page of the Post Dispatch on Friday, March 28 about North St. Louis Youth Build.  On March 9, Martha Brunell preached and led worship at Trinity (on Celebration of the Gifts of Women Sunday).  For many years she nurtured the dwindling flock at Friedens U.C.C. and spearheaded the conversion of the church's assets to the "Friedens Neighborhood Foundation" which has tackled Youth Build.  I am presently on the Foundation Board. Martha has been key in the evolution of this project from "dying little church" to a forward-looking foundation--a perfect example of the Easter Feet Dan preached about last Sunday...it's just the outcome that is uncertain.  The loss of federal funding has been devastating.  Please keep the individuals whose lives have been changed by this program in your prayers.

Related Links:

• Friedens/YouthBuild flickr Photo Pool
• Post-Dispatch YouthBuild audio slide show

The Mission Fair Team - Our latest Mission Fair, Trinity in Action, was a great success, and we are already planning an expanded mission event for 2008. Get on the bandwagon now to help us spread the word about mission in our church and community. Call Dave Nelson or Lisa Bernhard for more information.

A New Habitat for Humanity Building Project - 2008 is the year for Trinity to help build another Habitat House. Do you have building skills? Can you paint? How about sweeping? You are needed to work and/or donate funds to build a house for a family in need of a home. Pat Gibbons can tell you all you need to know.

Invite Your Friends Into Ministry - Do you like to talk to people about their gifts and passions? Would you like to be interviewed? The Ministry Discovery team wants to meet with all our members to discover where they can serve God through the Church. Call Norma Vavra or Julie March to find out more.

Friendship and Fellowship - We have so many good events at Trinity that bring us all together for fellowship, sharing, and working together. Join the new Events Coordination Team to help coordinate these events as we build the Body of Christ together at Trinity. Contact Julie March or Lisa Bernhard to get involved.

The Green Team - Flowers, plants, trees, bushes and gardening, we do it all. The Green Team needs your enthusiasm and time to insure that our beautiful sanctuary is adorned for worship, and your green thumb to create lovely flower gardens outside the church. Luise Hoffman and Diana Gray are in charge of this team. (See below.)

The Equipping Ministry Team connects people to the ministries they love. We hope you will hear God's call to service as we "equip the saints for the work of ministry to build up the Body of Christ," which is all of us, right now, at Trinity Presbyterian Church.

The Habitat for Humanity group rebuilding homes in New Orleans has reserved the last week of October and the first week of November of 2008 for another trip down. We stayed in a home in the uptown New Orleans area (owned by St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church and converted into living quarter for volunteers), so the accommodations, at least for what is typical for relief worker volunteers, is pretty plush. I have been there twice and recommend it highly. Anyone interested in joining me on the trip down in 2008? At this point, it looks like the last week in October is the most likely time. Contact Lisa Bernhard: bernhardlm@gmail.com

Want to do hands-on work for one of the agencies Trinity funds through local mission monies? Beyond Housing is building a playground at the Pagedale Family Support Center. To Pre-Register, please call Ed Barni (ask the church office for Ed's phone number) or send e-mail to ebarni@beyondhousing.org with your name, address, home phone, cell phone and the day(s) that you can help us.

Site Preparation Days: Thursday-Friday, September 6-7th, 8:30 am-2:30 pm.

Build Day: Saturday, September 8th. 8:00 am.

Please contact Bob Wagner with questions: (ask the church office for Bob's phone number).

Our congregation raised $3,466 for this offering. The Presbyterian Hunger Program receives 36 percent of undesignated One Great Hour of Sharing gifts, while the Self-Development of People and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance each receives 32 percent.

What: Community restoration day, removing invasive plants and litter from Ruth Park Woods. People of all ages and skills are invited.

When: Saturday, April 14th; The Green Center in U. City. 9am-1pm; lunch after. You can come for all or part.

Call or Email Carissa Gigliotti if interested.
 

From Lisa Bernhard:

The note below is from Dick Glassey, who is in charge of construction of the meeting hall at The Good Earth Village in Houma (the volunteer village that our presbytery is sponsoring with PDA). They still need people to go down and help with construction, and it would be awesome if some people from Trinity could make a trip down to help out. (Contact Lisa for more information: 863-6505; bernhardlm@gmail.com)

I'm a little slow in getting this update out. Thanks to some tremendous help last week, we have approximately 95% of the largest room (dining area) in the building drywalled. The kitchen and one bathroom have some drywall hung. We also framed the building for soffit and fascia and were able to complete the soffit and fascia cover installation on the front wall adjacent to the roadway - 100 feet. Vinyl siding is on site ready for installation as soon as we complete the soffit and fascia cover. The Kitchen appliance quote was firmed up and as soon as our check for the down payment reaches the appliance dealer, appliances will be ordered and the fabrication of the hood for the stoves will start. The flooring has been picked out and paint color is basically picked out. I need to see a quote for the flooring before I can release the order. The floor supplier is working on reducing the cost of the flooring to us.

There was no one in camp this week and no work was done on the building. There will be plenty of people in camp next week and if I can get some direction to them, they should be able to continue hanging drywall. I will be back in Houma the week of March 5 along with a contingent form my church, St. Mark Presbyterian in Ballwin. There will be about 45 other campers in camp that week Our priority will be to first close in the building with soffit and vinyl and then to complete the hanging of the drywall. As soon as the drywall is completely hung, then we can start mudding and taping the drywall.

We still need workers so talk our project up to your people - we can use any skill level!

Yours in Christ,
Dick Glassey

An update and invitation from Lisa Bernhard:

Dick Glassey (the project manager for the construction of the meeting hall in Houma at the PDA volunteer village) will need some help in mid February with drywall installation. It would be wonderful if some people from Trinity could go and help him. The action team that I chair for the presbytery is working with PDA on the volunteer village in Houma.

Here is the note from Dick:

Hi Everyone,

Our small group trip to Houma was very successful. We were able to
button-up all framing needed for the utility wall rough-ins. HVAC people
and plumbers started work last Friday and Monday of this week. Electricians
will be starting today or tomorrow.

The local Elks lodge has offered to help with the insulation and drywall
installations. The Elks may be able to complete the insulation installation
before my next trip down which is planned for Feb. 12- 16, 2007. If the
Elks are successful with the insulation, then we can start drywall that
week. St. Mark Presbyterian in Ballwin is going down that same week Feb
12-16. We will need lots of people to help with the drywall so anyone who
can make it down to Houma this week in Feb. or the next few weeks can help
with the drywall finish and begin the building interior finish work and
exterior vinyl siding.

I have located someone in Houma (thanks to Beulah and Rod Rodrigue of the
Elks) to help us with the vinyl siding installation on a part time basis and
who can loan us the proper equipment for the job.

Dick Glassey

Please contact Lisa Bernhard if you can help. (Lisa Bernhard [bernhardlm@gmail.com], 863-6505)

- Tim Barklage

Greetings, my name is Tim Barklage. For any of you who don't know me well, I'll provide a brief introduction in a bit. But first the reason you are receiving this message is because I, or someone else, thought you might appreciate an opportunity to share your story about mission work at Trinity.

So back to me. I joined Trinity a few years back around the same time that Nancy and I were married in the church. When not running the Product Development team at SAVVIS Inc, you'd likely find me training for the next marathon/triathlon or working on our 109 year old home in the Shaw neighborhood. We recently acquired another property in the neighborhood, but this one is a baby, it's only about 95 years old. This summer it will transform from a four-family shotgun into two town homes. If you have spent any time around us, you'll quickly find that we both have an incurable wanderlust. Last summer we spent three weeks in East Africa. This summer we are planning a trip to Peru for two weeks of white water rafting and mountain trekking.

If that has not worn you out, I have also volunteered for Big Brothers and Big Sisters for the past six years. My little brother is a fourteen year old who is afflicted with bipolar disorder and ADHD. While our time together can sometimes be a challenge, we always learn something from each other and our lives continue to be enriched by our relationship.

The reason I mention this is because I know there are so many other similar stories at Trinity. I'd not only like to further publicize the mission work that we do as a church, but also to tell the stories that individuals are doing which have a positive affect on the world outside of the Trinity community. Below are some ideas which I have discussed with Dan. If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

• Newsletter - I think it would be wonderful to have a regular feature in the newsletter which focuses on one of the many stories. It could range anywhere from a profile on a beneficiary of the food pantry to an outside organization where one of our members volunteers
• Bulletins - How about a Trinity in Action blurb each week? Another angle might be a Did You Know blurb. The idea is bring mission to the top of everyone's awareness.
• Bulletin Board - Wouldn't it be great if the first thing a visitor sees when walking into the doors of Trinity is not only a welcoming usher but also a prominent bulletin board which features a Mission of the Month story. I also envision a permanent fact sheet which outlines the level to which Trinity is committed to social justice. For instance X% of annual budget is mission related, X% of members volunteer time to agencies outside of Trinity, etc. etc.
• Worship - Dan has agreed to explore the idea of having a service or two during the year which focuses heavily on mission stories. People could come up to the podium and share their stories and inspire others to become involved where their passions lead them.
• Website - Post all of this great stuff to our web site.

I may occasionally be in touch for some facts or to see if you might have a story to tell. If you're inspired by some of your own ideas that you would like to put into action, or would like to help with one of the above areas please let me know. Also if you know someone else who might want to contribute feel free to pass that information along as well.

I'll look forward to hearing your stories! You can reach me during the day at 314-628-7522 or in the evening at 314-865-2037.