Who: All of us
What: Are invited to dinner
When: Saturday, March 1
Where: In various Trinity members' homes
Why: So we can get to know one another better
How?: See Below!
We are organizing an adult dinner at multiple Trinity members homes on March 1st. The dinners will be potluck and allow Trinity members to get to know other members, family and friends. To mix things up a little each host will know their list of attendees but attendees won't know who else is coming until they arrive that evening.
We will arrange rides for anyone wanting to attend that needs a ride. Due to the time of this dinner (7:00ish) we will not be providing childcare and instead will plan another meal event later in the year to include children.
Please sign up by email to Karon (tpcucity@swbell.net) or in the Church dining room by February 15th to either be a host or attendee. Hosts can indicate the size of party they wish to have, and the organizing committee will contact them after February 15th. Please feel free to invite anyone that you think might be interested to what will be an exciting evening. Questions? Call me (Tom 862-3437), Sandy Norkaitis (863-7699), Cathy Smith (725-0586) or Ann Fischer (361-5891).
It used to be that ecumenical relations meant Catholics and Protestants tolerating one another. Today, in a world with jet travel, a global economy, and instantaneous communication, we live next door to people who practice a whole host of religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the list goes on. How do we faithfully maintain our Christian convictions while relating meaningfully to people of other faiths?
Beginning Sunday, January 26, Trinity will host an adult education series featuring representatives of selected major faith communities in the St. Louis area. Organized by George Philips, these sessions will be held during the regular education hour beginning at 10:40. The public is invited to all events; child care will be provided.
In this course, we will hear from four of our neighbors who are practicing members of their faith communities. Through dialogue and joint exploration, we will discover points of commonality and points of difference. Not only will we learn about religions that may be new to many of us, but we will begin to a build an interfaith vocabulary. This series will conclude with a presentation by Dr. Damayanthi Niles of Eden Theological Seminary. Dr. Niles teaches Christian theology at Eden and has a minor in Hinduism.
As Cathy Smith notes in her brochure for this series, it is being offered in the spirit of the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Call to Religion and Spirituality which calls on "the institutions of religion and spirituality to develop practical ways to engage creatively with other guiding institutions in pursuit of a just, peaceful, and sustainable world. (see the PC(USA) web site for a more complete copy of text.)
How is God calling you to serve in the church and the world? What gifts has God given you that could change the world? Using Eddy Hall's book Exploding the 7 Myths of Ministry: Unleashing the World-Changing Power of Every Christian, participants will have the opportunity to discover their spiritual gifts and begin to develop them. This class spans two terms; those who attend will be encouraged, but not required to attend all 10 sessions. The class will also be offered on Tuesday evenings for those who want to attend the other Sunday morning class or who cannot make some or all of the Sunday sessions. Dr. Dan Anderson-Little will lead the class. The topics to be covered include:
Tuesday evening classes will begin on February 4. They will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will conclude by 9. Childcare will not be provided for evening sessions.
This Lent, you are invited to a unique Adult Education Offering - a five-week course which will introduce The Pipe Organ as a musical instrument and will focus on the organ's ability to make powerful and compelling spiritual statements. The course will feature works by a wide variety of composers, including J.S. Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude, Herbert Howells, Oliver Messiaen, Dan Locklair, and William Bolcom. The class will include singing, questions and discussion, and participants are welcome to sit in the organ loft, providing an up-close and personal experience of the instrument.
Though the winter weather may be cold, we've planned a few musical events to keep your spirit burning bright!
The local chamber ensemble, Trio Eclectique, will offer special music during worship on Sunday, February 16. Comprised of piano, cello, and clarinet, this ensemble has recently played at the Ethical Society, The St. Louis Art Museum, Christ Church Cathedral, and a variety of other venues.
On Sunday, March 2 we will have a festive Mardi Gras celebration. Special music will be offered by the St. Louis Stompers, a fantastic Dixieland band, and the Festival Choir will sing. A pancake breakfast will follow our service. Don't miss this service of feasting and fun before Lent begins.
Trinity's two choirs for children have been busy all year practicing, having fun, singing in worship, and sharing faith. Before the holidays several children shared the thoughts below with Paul Vasile, Minister of Music.
Dear God I know you love me and are watching over me. Thank you for the
flowers, the trees, the people, thank you God for everything!
- Joanna Schroer
Lord thank you for all my stuff,
Thank you for making my life easy not ruff,
I thank you lord for all I see.
I thank you lord for you have been good to me, amen.
- Joanna Shoemaker
Join to sing!
Come Christians join to sing.
As we sing praises to Christ our king.
Christ gave us Birth.
To this beautiful Earth.
We give him great thanks.
It doesent mean money no Banks.
It means friendship, flexibility, and praising.
Oh no. Don't tell me your dazing.
Stop being bored.
And sing praises to the lord.
Alleluia Amen!
- Joanna Newberry
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus - Phillipians 2:5
What is most important to us? When we strip away all of the trappings of the faith, when we get past programs and structure, what is at the core? This is a question that the Session has been wrestling with over the past six months.
As the Session plans for future ministry, it wants to make sure that what we plan to do is well-grounded in our core values. So we went through a process to identify what those values are. This was done both by the Session, and by congregation members who came to one of two meetings where we talked about core values. Over 40 members of the church participated in these discussions. And the results were consistent throughout: the core values of Trinity Presbyterian Church are:
While this list may seem obvious - isn't that what all churches are supposed have at their core? - the exercise was instructive. We learned that there is broad agreement at Trinity about these core values. And it reminded us that our efforts at church always need to be directed in these three areas.
The task before the Session is now to put some specifics on these general values. What do we currently do that expresses one or more of these areas? What does not? Can they be changed to reflect these values, or should we do something else? How can we strengthen these areas? How can we expand our effectiveness or reach? In coming months, you will hear more about this conversation.
In his letter to the Philippian church, the Apostle Paul tells the Christians there to have the same mind as Jesus. But Paul goes on to suggest that having the same mind (the same core values) is not enough. Paul goes on to say how "mind of Christ" was put into action: who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.
Our calling, our challenge, is not only to have Christ's mind, but to be Christ for the world. Please be in prayer for one another as we continue to seek to be faithful to God's calling to us.
Janet and Sean Mote were introduced in last month's edition. Janet is Director of Christian Education at Trinity. Sean is a web developer with Southwestern Bell. They both lived in a good number of places as children. Janet and Sean have known each other for 15 years and been married for 4 years. They live in Fenton with two dogs in a house that they built.
Michael Osborn is a computer programmer with Union Pacific Railroad. He has worked for Union Pacific for many years in various capacities. He is originally from Cheyenne Wyoming but has lived in St. Louis for many years and recently moved his mother to St. Louis from Cheyenne. He has a Masters degree in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
We're in the home stretch! Several years ago, Trinity members pledged to help rebuild the Frauenkirche cathedral in Dresden, Germany, which was destroyed by the firebombing of that city in World War Two. The rebuilding of the Frauenkirche, which was begun in the 1990s, is a monument to hope and peace. Trinity has pledged $2000 to purchase a stone in this effort. The total raised by January 15 is $1786.16 - just a little more than $200 to go! In addition to the dimes that children (and others) have been bringing to church, members can also make tax deductible contributions by writing checks payable to Friends of Dresden. We can still reach our goal by February 13, the anniversary of the bombing.
This term children in the church school will be learning about and discussing many things:
Have you noticed changes in the church library? Books are still there waiting to be read. But comfortable furniture and other welcoming touches have also appeared. What gives?
Care and Counseling, a non-profit ecumenical pastoral counseling agency with offices throughout the metro area has moved in. Actually, Trinity was instrumental in founding and supporting this agency, which provides counseling to clients on a sliding-scale fee basis.
For many years a Care and Counseling office operated in our apartment building. When that building was sold last fall, Dan Anderson-Little offered the agency space in the main building that is seldom used during the hours when Care and Counseling therapists meet their clients. The agency particularly values the Trinity location because it is centrally located on convenient bus lines.
One of the Care and Counseling therapists now using the library is Deborah Meyerson, MSW, LCSW. She has been a practicing clinical social worker since 1982 and has been with the Care and Counseling staff since 1998. She specializes in the treatment of adolescents and adults. She is comfortable working with a wide range of therapeutic issues and can facilitate treatment with individuals, couples, families and groups.
In her capacity as a therapist her professional activities over the years have also included training, supervision, program development and administration. Most recently she has accepted an adjunct faculty appointment at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work (Washington University) which she begins in January 2003.
"One of the things I value about Care and Counseling is the dedication of its staff to its mission of providing affordable mental health in the form of sliding fee scales throughout the Greater St. Louis area. I am particularly fond of University City because of its diverse population as well as its richness of culture." Ms. Meyerson also emphasized how much she has appreciated the warm welcome she has received from the staff of Trinity Church since the Care and Counseling site was relocated there in October 2002.
Care and Counseling services are available to all, including Trinity members. If you'd like further information, feel free to call Deborah (878-4340, ext.213) or to talk with Dan Anderson-Little. And continue to enjoy using the library, including its comfortable chairs!
If you haven't visited the Trinity web site recently, please come take a look. The site was originally designed to be a way for prospective new members to find out about us, and that's still an important focus, but since October, we've added new features to serve the needs of Trinity members.
At www.trinityucity.org, you can read Trinity News, sermons and the church calendar online, find out about upcoming Adult Ed opportunities, and explore links like Dan's "blog" and dozens of other interesting web sites. There's even a "Fun & Games" page for the youth (or the not-so-youth - "Kids" of all ages will enjoy trying to get three Ms. Do's in a row with the "Tic Tac Do" game.)
But the feature with the most potential to make the site "come alive" is the message boards. When you click the "Discuss" button at the top of our web page, you'll see prayer requests, joys and concerns, and discussions about church issues posted by Trinity members. It's easy to add your voice to the mix by replying to a message or starting a new "thread". December saw a lively discussion about the Covenant Network.
www.trinityucity.org: "Oh what a wondrous web we weave when we practice what we believe!"
November's Alternate Gift Market lit a candle of hope in communities across the globe. Trinity shoppers bought:
Good for us! Thanks to those who helped make the event so successful: Sally Dunn, Steve Nokaitis, Kitty Kirk, Kitty Underwood, Jim Person, Sara Schmidt, Amy Rahm, Harold Glad, Norma Vavra, Kathie Cahoon, Roberta McBride, Ann Fischer, Janet Hoyne, Tom Wilhite, Cathy Kramer, Carol Kramer, Spirit Sorensen, Charlotte Landrum, Julia Koelsch, Pat Dougherty, and the Trinty staff. Oh, yes, and Diane O'Brien, who engineered the whole show.
Next year let's make that 6 llamas and a water buffalo
To my Trinity Church family:
Words cannot express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for your love, caring, and all expressions of sympathy during the illness and loss of our father and husband. Your kindness will never be forgotten.