This is the beginning of our 50th year celebration!
In morning worship
the weaving our "Fabric of Faith" will begin. The first bits of yarn, appropriately, will be woven into our fabric on Pentecost, the birthday of the biblical church, the beginning of the community of Jesus Christ.
Following worship - out the front doors to our own
"Here I am Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart." The Lord has called us to build a home, and its walls are already up.
Trinity is a partner church in Interfaith Builders, and we are building a Habitat for Humanity home in Hillsdale (north of St. Charles Rock Road/Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, west of Kienlen Avenue, and east of Lucas and Hunt Road) at 6421 Mount Avenue. We are building for and with Harriet Carter, her 12-year-old son Earl, and her friend Tree. Workers from all four churches are there every Saturday. The next big item to build is the roof.
We have opportunities for volunteers to sign up to work in the dining room every Sunday. The new Interfaith Builders tee shirts are available for just $5.00. We need Builders, of course. People who want to be there, but not swing hammers, can work as Photographers, helping to record build events for the Carters and for the four churches.
We also need Volunteer Coordinators - typically a couple who work for a month, sending reminder postcards and calling Substitute Builders from a list when that is necessary. We also need Crew Leaders who can direct small groups of volunteers. Good leadership skills are more important than building experience, which can be provided by the house leaders.
We have asked for contributions, which will be used to pay Trinity's share of the sponsor fee. Please consider supporting this project, and be sure to designate your contribution as being for "Habitat." We need to raise $7,500 of new money from our congregation and friends. At this writing we have $6,050, plus an object to be appraised and sold. So it is hard to say exactly where we are, but clear that the fundraising has been successful. Thanks to all who gave so generously.
Interfaith Builders offered an ecumenical service of readings, music, and prayer on Sunday afternoon, May 18, at Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church, with time for refreshments and fellowship afterwards. This was be a great way to meet our partners in this project and prayerfully recall our reasons for participating.
The men and women, mostly white, arrive
after seven on Saturday morning;
idealist college kids meander in,
the architecture student, his girlfriend,
who seems to know this scene better than most,
even some high school boys and girls arrive
in a part of town they'd not otherwise
see, never be aware of, if it were
not for this call to pick up a hammer,
tape measure, level, try-square, trimming knife -
the rudimentary tools of the trade -
and slip them, along with handfuls of nails,
into a canvas belt tied at the waist.
For a day they will play at laboring,
and they will labor, and rest at delay,
and learn to measure twice before the cut,
and learn to make do with less-than-perfect.
You might question the motives of those here.
Do they come to make themselves feel better?
Are they really here to help build a house,
or do they want to glory in goodness?
Will you quibble with bloodied knuckles, with
people up on ladders in December?
Looking into the eyes of the families,
seeing what they are all willing to do,
one can only come to the conclusion
home is the most potent word in the world.
Idealism is a thin, worn blanket;
sleeping under it reminds some of us
to wake, to strap on tools and try again.
Kirk has recently had a poem published in The Edge City Review and has had poems accepted for publication in Margie, The American Journal of Poetry (which will appear in September), and Delmar 10 spring of 2004). Congratulations, Kirk!
On June 21, 1953, a new community of faith was formed by the merging of Kingshighway Presbyterian Church and First United Presbyterian Church. This new community of faithful children of God, following our Lord Jesus Christ, was soon called Trinity Presbyterian Church and was the start of the vibrant congregation we are part of today. Shortly we will begin an eight-month series of events to honor our past, present, and future as we celebrate Trinity's 50th Anniversary.
As we began planning for this celebration we tried to define an overall theme that would connect the varied events we envisioned. Many of us were inspired by a sermon given by the Rev. Linda Loving at last fall's Covenant Network Conference in Minneapolis, entitled "A Little Night Music." She spoke of being faithful to one's beliefs and espoused an idea that storyteller Megan McKenna relates about the ancient "songlines" known to the Australian Aborigines. These songlines are thought to link and transverse the entire earth with lines of power... and as McKenna observes, "once you know the song, you can never get lost in the universe." We feel that the community of faith we know as Trinity knows those song lines as the basic tenets of our Christian faith, and they have helped form and stabilize this congregation over the years.
Rev. Loving's use of the following words of the great Christian mystic Julian of Norwich also struck a chord with us.... "O Christ, more than my axle, you are the warp of my tapestry. I long to weave my life with colored threads of meadows and trees and silver and gold against the night you also create".
The idea of a weaving, led us to an overall theme of "The Fabric of Our Faith". The analogy is that a complete piece of cloth is a combination of the "warp" threads that form the foundation or base of the material, and the individual "woof" threads that complete the fabric by adding pattern, texture and color.
We see the "warp" of Trinity as our basic beliefs and tenets - social justice, inclusiveness, biblical understanding and interpretation, importance of education for all, vibrant programs for youth and children, excellence of music as a part of worship, participation in ecumenical efforts, etc. These components are consistent and eternal, as are the threads of the warp. What makes the fabric unique are the individual threads of the "woof" - the individual lives and gifts of Trinity members, over the past 50 years and into the future. Each adds its unique color and texture as it interacts with the foundational beliefs of the warp. You will all be able to help weave a symbolic faith fabric as we proceed through the celebration.
The party begins Sunday, June 8, Pentecost Sunday... with a street picnic. We will block off Washington in front of the church, and have a neighborhood picnic, reminiscent of past U. City Fairs in the Square. Food and entertainment for all will be provided.
Over the coming months there will be musical events, a display of the nationally known "Shower of Stoles" in September, a Trinity Homecoming weekend in November, a final banquet and "musical extravaganza" in January, and other events to highlight this special occasion. You will receive a mailing shortly delineating the schedule as it presently stands.
We also need your help. While event "chairs" have already been recruited, we need cooks, food preparers and servers, table and chair movers for the picnic, singers, dancers and actors for the musical in January, and those handy with "crafts" to assist with the weaving effort..... among others. The success of this celebration depends on everyone's participation. As usual we are depending on the wealth of varied gifts and talents of Trinity members to give this "Fabric of Our Faith" celebration it own unique richness and depth. Contact Do Kirk or Bob Wagoner to offer your assistance.
Please come and join us and make the celebration complete!
Summer is a wonderful time to explore your faith and discover new expressions in worship at Trinity. You will encounter a variety of preachers (I tend to take the majority of my vacation in the summer) and a variety of musical presentations (the choirs take the summer off, so you will hear soloists and small groups of singers and musicians). Sunday mornings in the summer are also a great time to reconnect with members and connect with visitors. We do not hold our education hour so we move directly from worship to fellowship. I encourage everyone to be a part of the exciting worship life at Trinity which happens throughout the year.
Let me lift up two particular events:
Trinity welcomed three Confirmation Class graduates as its newest members on May 18.
Kari Peglar is an eighth grader at Rockwood Valley Middle School. The daughter of Rob and Robyn Peglar, she has grown up at Trinity. She plays the piano and enjoys art and music. She is a very creative person and has enjoyed the diversity and creativity that has been incorporated into the confirmation class.
Tyler Nutter, the son of Tom and Shawn Nutter, is in eighth grade at Parkway Northeast Middle School. He likes sports - he plays baseball and would like to play hockey. His Advocate, Doug Peden, described Tyler's joining the church a "thoughtful decision."
Maggie Schoeberlein said recently that she "can't wait" to join Trinity. She joins her mother, Nedra Schoeberlein, and her grandparents, Rose Ann and the late Milt Bodman as members of this congregation. An eighth grader at Brentwood Middle School, she loves math and things artistic. Friends, family, and church are important to her.
To get to know confirmation class members better visit their classroom just off the Dining Room!
Though our music program slows down during the summer months, there are still some wonderful opportunities to sing, ring, or play an instrument.
Since January, 157 families or 336 people have received food on Wednesday from the Winger Food Pantry. We were fortunate to be able to pick up 150 more cases of Boy Scout food during this period. Harold Glad and Stacey Carman helped me each month pick up 50 cases at the St. Louis Area Food Bank. The grand total of food we received from the Boy Scout Scouting for Food Drive held in November was 214 cases.
In April, we received 3400 personal care items from the Girl Scout April Showers drive. This year the Girl Scout troops delivered directly to our food pantry and even helped stock the shelves with the items they had collected. Jane Gibbons also helped April 11 when the items were delivered. Spirit Sorenson and Charlotte Landrum continue to bring food donations collected at their school from food drives they organize to help our pantry. Harold also added a shelf to one pantry storage area for all the personal care items.
The volunteer baggers for this period were: Joanne Roman, Emily Kelton, Lynn Beck and Kitty Underwood. Jane Gibbons did the shopping for the pantry from January-March and Stacey Carman is now doing the shopping through June. The regular Wednesday volunteers are Roberta Middelkamp, Jerry Royce, Birty Hodgson, Sally Dunn and Sandy Norkaitis. A huge "thank you" to all the volunteers for your dedication in making the food pantry happen each week.
In celebration of Trinity's longstanding tradition of hamming it up and just having fun, get ready for a night of campy theater with an old-fashioned musical melodrama, complete with dashing heroes and dastardly villains. production will be held Saturday, September 13, 2003 with a dinner beforehand.
What we need right now are actors and singers! Anyone interested in joining us in having a lot of fun, please contact Paul Devine or me. Rehearsals will begin in mid to late August. More details coming soon.
Act now! Brochures are in the church office, or check our website. Scholarships from Presbytery and the Trinity Peacemaking Committee are available. For infomation, talk to Stacy Shupe or Do Kirk .
"The name of this federated church shall be the First United - Kingshighway Presbyterian Church" declares the Articles of Federation. So our new creation is named!...A great many people felt that the new name should be a combination of the names of the churches that were uniting...
Mr. And Mrs. Ray Scholin are the proud parents of a baby girl, Suzanne, born Saturday, May 30th. [June 5, 1953 edition]
...our feelings are mingled with joy and sorrow as we prepare to say farewell, not to one another, but to old Kingshighway - our spiritual home these many years.... After the devotional part of the [June 21] service is over... Mrs. H.H. Helbing, who joined the church in 1905, will bring us a five minute message on the church as she remembers it in those days. Dr. and Mrs. H.H. Helbing are among the few now living who were here at the corner of Kingshighway and Cabanne to welcome the group that came from the Lucas Avenue congregation to federate with Kingshighway in 1907. [Other speakers will include] Mr. Randall Foster, who enrolled in Kingshighway Sunday School in 1911... Dr. W.A. Knight, Sr., who joined the church in 1913... and Mr. Jacob M. Lashley, a prominent citizen, past President of the American Bar Association and active worker for many years in the First United Church, who will use his allotted five minutes to face us toward the future and tell us of the great work that together we may do at 6800 Washington Avenue.... This, I am sure, will be a fitting climax to the speeches, for we are not only leaving - we are going somewhere! Going forward! Going forward together to build the church for the glory of God and the service of man.... [June 12, 1953]
For the past two years, I have had the special opportunity to travel to Orvieto, Italy to spend an extended time at the Istituto San Lodovico. The Istituto is a convent and school associated with the Company of Mary our Lady, a religious order of Roman Catholic sisters; it is also the home of a Renaissance studies program affiliated with Gordon College, my undergraduate alma mater. The program is unique in many respects. Students are immersed in Italian language and culture, read the great works of literature, visit museums and churches to study art and architecture, and are invited to take studio courses from resident painters and sculptors. In addition, guest scholars, theologians, poets, and musicians visit the Istituto throughout the year, creating a dynamic community of artists and thinkers.
In May of 2001, I was invited to Orvieto to co-teach a course on Renaissance architecture and music. Following my visit, the director of the program and I had a number of conversations about my continued involvement with the program. He wanted to see the Istituto present an extended dramatic work and asked if I would serve as the musical director for a production of Claudio Monteverdi's opera, L'Orfeo. I happily accepted and within a few months, the directorial staff was in place, we had auditioned a group of five singers, and we had arranged a two-week workshop in Orvieto for June 2002.
The workshop was a great success, and as the directorial staff debriefed the experience, we quickly realized that a dynamic, working relationship had developed between us. In the following months, we began fundraising for Orfeo and decided to establish our own production company, La Compagnia Colomba (The Company of the Dove). The company's stated mission is to produce early works of theater and music, faithful to their unique spirit and language, but recast in ways that will engage modern audiences. We also have ideas for new works of music, drama, and dance based on the writings of the early Church Fathers, as well as medieval saints and mystics. The artistic director of the company is Karin Coonrod, a director from New York City who has received high praise for her productions of Shakespeare and modern dramatic works. Our set and lighting designer, Christopher Akerlind, has worked with St. Louis Opera Theater for the past 13 years. The producer of the company is John Skillen, a professor of Medieval and Renaissance literature at Gordon College and the director of Gordon's program in Orvieto.
This coming summer we have planned a workshop of medieval Mystery Plays from the Chester and Wakefield cycles. Written in the 13th and 14th centuries, these early dramatic works tell stories of faith with humor, warmth, and profundity. Professional actors from California, New York City, and Boston will work alongside students in the program, and we will perform a few of the plays during the Feast of Corpus Christi, a highlight of Orvieto's year. I will compose original vocal music and dances for the production, some of which will be based on medieval texts and tunes.
I am especially grateful to the staff and congregation of Trinity for your continued support of my endeavors in Italy! For the past two years you have allowed me to take an extended time away, and so many have asked about my upcoming trip. I can only tell you that the opportunity to collaborate with such wonderful, creative people keeps my skills as a musician and composer sharp. Each year, I have come back with renewed energy and new ideas, and I look forward to sharing them with you when I return this year.
Lead miners in Peru thank you. Homeless persons in West Virginia thank you. Afghani school children thank you. Women in Bangladesh thank you.
The One Great Hour of Sharing offering at Trinity has raised $4121.00 so far to support these and many other people in this country and around the world who are in need. This is almost twice the funds raised in 2002. Thank you for your generosity and compassion.
Come join us for another exciting week of VBS. This year's theme is "Lighthouse Kids: Shining God's Light." Children will discover how God's light shines to others and also shines in them.
All children preschool through 4th grade will be welcome. A separate weekend program will be held prior to the weeklong program for 5TH, 6th and 7th graders. Our hope is that the 5th, 6th and 7th graders will return on Monday, June 23, to share their knowledge and help during the weeklong program with the younger students. If you have any questions or just can't wait to volunteer, please contact me at 314-727-9902 or by e-mail at carmans@swbell.net.
As the Chancel Flower Coordinator, I encourage you to assist in beautifying the chancel - to the honor and glory of the Triune God - by providing flowers. You may want to celebrate a birthday, a baptism, a wedding, or an anniversary; or you may desire to remember the death of a loved one. Please feel free to share with me any additional ideas which you may have. You may contact me at (314) 862-6216.
Thank you very much.
Your in Christ,
Polly Brown