Celebrate! - African Music Workshop

Fred Onovwerosuoke's musical vocation began early (in the 60's) as an elementary school choir-boy in Ghana. By 1992 he was performing with Pieces of Eight, a St. Louis-based a capella jazz group. He has served as accompanist, arranger, composer, conductor and music director in a variety of musical groups around the world.

Inspired by his high-school teacher, Mr. Onovwerosuoke began incorporating into performance music by composers of African origin and descent. In 1994, he founded the St. Louis African Chorus to foster a better understanding of Africa through music and other art forms.

The African Chorus has become the world's premier group for music in African languages, and has inspired independent subsidiaries around the U.S. Fred and the African Chorus have become favorite invitees to international music festivals, with recent tours and master classes to South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Mr. Onovwerosuoke is an active conductor, lecturer, and presenter of African choral music. Born in Ghana to Nigerian parents, he is fluent in French and several African languages, and travels extensively in Africa and around the world.

One of the great joys of World Communion Sunday is singing praises to God with Christians around the world. This year, on World Communion Sunday, Trinity will reverberate with music from Africa, as we celebrate our unity with Christians around the globe.

Fred Onovwerosuoke, artistic director of the St. Louis African Chorus and Joseph Muyale, a choral conductor from Kenya, will lead Trinity's Festival Choir as we sing a new song to the Lord. The African chorus' master drummer and lead dancer will add to worship experience on Sunday.

All members of Trinity are invited to be a part of this wonderful celebration, as a singer or as a worshiper. If you would like to be a part of the Choir (no previous experience necessary), you are invited to attend an African Music Workshop. The Workshop consists of a rehearsal on Tuesday, September 30 at 7:30 PM and another extended rehearsal and fellowship time on Saturday, October 4. Please call the church to let us know you plan to attend. The rehearsals are open to the public; if you would like to experience this music, but would rather not sing, please come to the rehearsals.

Mr. Onovwerosuoke and Mr. Muyale will also speak during the Christian Education hour after worship on the 5th.

All members and friends of the congregation are encouraged to join us as we celebrate our unity with Christians around the globe through music!

- Stacy Shupe

On Tuesday evenings at Trinity, all is quiet in the chapel. The lights are dimmed, and candles are lit to remind us of the intense but simple love of Christ. Souls of the congregation enter quietly and sit in a circle around a simple cross. Each soul comes with different needs, different desires, and different expectations, but we sit together and support one another in prayer, sometimes silent, sometimes spoken, always shared.

Meditative music greets those who enter, allowing a chance to center oneself. A short liturgy provides focus for those who need it before an extended time of prayer through Taize-like music and silence. Those who are present sing the simple songs repeatedly, and through this repetition many of them lose themselves in prayer. The thoughts racing through their minds begin to slow and their focus is no longer on their intellects, but on their spirits. Each person may appear to pray alone, but the simple act of being together in such a holy act creates the foundation for true community.

Those of us who are at this time leading the prayer service hope for it to be a place where all in the Trinity family can come for a moment of quiet, a moment of rest, a moment to be with God in the midst of our crazy commitments. We are exploring different ways of praying, for we recognize that our ways of prayer are as diverse as our congregation.

Beginning October 7, we will reinstate the weekly prayer service at 7 p.m. each Tuesday evening in the chapel. In October, we will have a theme each week, so that individuals with specific desires can be sure that their needs will be met. All are invited to each service, regardless of the specific focus. Individual prayer is welcomed and encouraged.

• October 7 - Prayer for renewal for caretakers of all kinds (if you are or know of a caretaker that is not able to attend, let us know and we will pray for that person)
• October 14 - Prayer for the earth and peace among God's creation
• October 21 - Prayer for specific needs within our congregation
• October 28 - Prayer for deepening one's personal spirituality

We hope that this service is a time where Trinity members and friends can support each other spiritually through prayer. We would like to see our community bound together not only in times of deep sorrow and great joy, but also in the nitty-gritty of daily life and ongoing struggles. We welcome each of you to try these services a few times and see if they open in you a longing that you never realized you had.

We welcome and encourage you to talk to Barb Rand, Betty Burnett, Diane O'Brien, or Stacy Shupe with your ideas of how a meaningful prayer service for you might look and sound.

- Do Kirk

In 1975 the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church called for a study of peacemaking and foreign policy. A task force was formed and the document "Peacemaking: The Believers' Calling" was presented and adopted by the 192nd General Assembly. In 1980 the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program was born. In 1983 the GA recommended that the session of each congregation adopt the "Commitment to Peacemaking."

In 1983, after study and prayerful consideration of that document, the Session of Trinity Presbyterian Church signed the Peacemaking commitment. The Peacemaking Task Force was formed and the Trinity peacemaking journey began. We accepted the challenge to endeavor to live out God's Shalom in all facets of our lives.

Each year we join other Presbyterians in supporting this work through the Peacemaking Offering. Our portion of the offering to be received this year on October 5, World Communion Sunday, will be given to support the Bantu Refugee Family Project beginning at Trinity.

- Tom and Ruth Cobb

Weaving our Past into the Present

Saturday, November 1
Dinner celebration, 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 2
Worship, 9:30 a.m.
Brunch following

Please plan to be part of Trinity's homecoming celebration on November 1st and 2nd. This will be a unique opportunity to look back at our past and understand how it explains and informs who we are today.

Church homecomings are a long-standing tradition in many churches designed to provide a means of staying connected with extended families, and with those who have moved on or away. They are a time to celebrate who we are and remember who we were. For example, did you know that the First United Presbyterian Church which merged with Kingshighway Presbyterian Church in 1950 began its existence in the 1840s at Broadway and Locust, a site now occupied by the Federal Reserve Bank? The church moved to University City in the early 1920s to help support a Presbyterian seminary located where COCA now stands.

All those with connections to Trinity, be they past or present, can certainly call the church their home and thus anticipate coming home for this celebration.

The weekend begins with a dinner on Saturday evening, designed to be reminiscent of past Trinity events - maybe jambalaya and Creole bread pudding or Brunswick stew and angel biscuits. The program for the evening will provide interactive opportunities to place yourself on the Trinity Timeline as we remember and celebrate our successes, challenges, and moments of utter comedic disaster. As is traditional at many church homecomings, the evening will include a hymn sing.

On Sunday morning, Don Weems, our Pastor Emeritus, is scheduled to preach as part of a service to celebrate all the saints of the church. This will be followed by a brunch where all will be encouraged to continue to make and re-establish connections as we weave our past into the present.

Fall 1953 issues of The Kingshighway report that members of the newly merged congregations were busy: tuning and getting the organ ready for Mr. Albert Scholin and the choir... remodeling the assembly room under the Sanctuary into education space with eight class rooms on the side... plastering and painting the entire downstairs... extending the building to the south (west of the furnace room) to proved a nursery... installing an elevator... enlarging the kitchen... organizing basketball teams... celebrating World-Wide Communion Sunday... supporting a seminary in Pakistan and the rehabilitation of Presbyterian Churches in Korea... preparing for 300 people for Wednesday night dinner and programs (in a being-renovated kitchen)... renaming the newsletter... conducting a stewardship drive... meeting... meeting... meeting.

In Tawasi (young adults) meetings, Genny Richmond, Martha Christensen, Joy Brooks (Pipes) were serving refreshments; Marge Plourde presented "The Understudy," an "interesting story of conversion to Christianity."

- Cricket Gordon

After eighteen years of attending classes in the Special School District, our daughter Anna graduated on May 16, 2003. The search for a place for her to continue learning culminated in acceptance in a local program. Before she began attending classes ther, Brian, Anna and I met with JoAnn, the head of th program; Kathy, the head teacher, and Kathryn, Anna's case worker.

"I see that you have..." JoAnn began, carefully selecting her words as she spoke, "a number of imaginary creatures in your house."

"Oh, yes," I replied enthusiastically. "We have an imaginary menagerie."

"Could you... tell us about them?" she continued slowly. Three faces looked at me expectantly.

"Well, the alligator is probably the most popular," I began, at which point Anna grinned and made her alligator sound - "Haaaaaahhhhhh!"

"I'd better start from the beginning," I continued. "You see, when Anna came home from the hospital after having two brain surgeries in the first two weeks of life, she was paralyzed for a long time on her left side. Gradually, over the years, the absolute paralysis diminished, leaving her with a weakened left side. Some mornings she has a hard time waking up her left leg. Brian created the alligator to help her get moving. He cups his hand around Anna's left foot and nibbles at it with his fingers while making the "Haaaaaahhhhhh" sound Anna now uses.

"Once this idea was established and Anna grew into her teenage years, there were mornings when she didn't want to get up. Alligator to the rescue! Some mornings it was so hard for her to wake up that the 'alligator' would have to nibble all the way up to her knee and then hop up to her ears to chew on them. Ears are quite a delicacy." (At this point I saw the women exchange some understandably amused glances... at least I hoped they were amused.)

"Anyway," I concluded hurriedly, "that is why we have an imaginary alligator at home."

"What about the dinosaur?" prompted Kathryn, who has known us for several years.

It was Brian's turn to explain. With his double-jointed fingers he can make his middle finger into a brontosaurus's head and neck, and the other four digits into its legs. "The dinosaur," he explained as he demonstrated "entered our house when the children were small. It would walk up to their plates at mealtime, peer over the edge, and if the plate was full, it would say 'Hmmmm!' If, later, the plate was still full of food, it said: 'Oh, oh!' If the plate was all cleaned up, it would say 'Yea!' and jump up and down."

Kathryn, ever Anna's advocate, quickly pointed out that Anna knew these animals are imaginary; she thought it amazing that Anna was that creative and could understand the difference between real and imagined. I added that over the years Anna's brother Chris has given her several soft stuffed alligators for presents. Anna has never confused the imaginary creatures with the stuffed animals or the real animals at the zoo. The imaginary animals allow us to defuse - with humor - what could otherwise be a difficult situation.

Many people insist on everything in life being "age appropriate" for our special-needs children and young adults. I do try to adhere to that belief, but when I find myself in a tense situation, I would much rather handle it with humor than with any other method. The interview/conversation then did turn to "age appropriate" things. I was glad I hadn't mentioned "cow-bites". (Taking the first bite of food has always been a problem with Anna. When we introduced "cow-bites" she immediately giggled and put a spoonful in her mouth. After this first taste, there is no problem with her continuing to eat. Like any idea that works once, we continue to use it with great success. Age-appropriate? I guess not, but in our house I am not sure what age appropriate means.)

Things real or imagined are not a problem for Anna. God is very real to her; she doesn't fear the things that one might fear without God. She knows that our in-house alligator is imagined. Her mind isn't cluttered by influences that would blur the lines between real and imagined. What a blessing that she is in our lives to show us what is real and what is imagined.

- Keith Fischer - Chair, Corporate Affairs Commission

"The Fabric of our Faith" - the theme for Trinity's 50th Anniversary Celebration - serves gloriously as the theme for this year's stewardship season, which culminates in November.

Many strands make up Trinity's warp, its foundation threads. The woof, or intertwining threads that give the fabric its texture, are woven by us, Trinity's members, staff, and visitors. We weave with our hands, hearts, words and monies. For example:

• Worship provides sustenance for our Christian lives by reminding us who and whose we are. At Trinity worship does not just take place on Sunday mornings but also at Tuesday night prayer services, in small groups, in youth groups, at hospital bedsides. Our vibrant music program wonderfully enhances our worship.
• The credo of our Community is the Statement of Faith highlighted on our Sunday bulletins. We are a supportive community of God's people who welcome diversity. We pray for each other, celebrate together, and grieve together. We eat together, have fun together, work together. We guide our children, we welcome others, we remember our history and our hopes.
• Through our Social Involvement we reach beyond our borders in mission giving and social action. The Winger Food pantry, the high school mission trip, building Habitat for Humanity houses, and the Bantu refugee project are missions that our monies support and our members carry out.
• Spiritual Growth is for Christians a life-long journey. Trinity supports each of us in this search with adult education programs such as after-church classes and Dan's DNA course. Our communicant class guides young people in their spiritual journey. The small groups ministry extends personal and spiritual growth.

Each of these warp threads can be discerned in the church's budget, an annual portrait of the fabric we are weaving. The Session has approved an ambitious budget for 2004, one that increases our spending over last year by $85,000. Among other things, this increase reflects realistic figures for facilities expenditures, salary increases, and a huge increase in the cost of insurance. All of these expenditures support the fabric of our faith community.

We are blessed to have funds from previous gifts, from the sale of the apartment building and from the Endowment Fund that can help us serve God's people and God's purpose. The bulk of the budget, however, rests on the congregation's pledges and contributions each year.

This year, as every year, each of us is asked to consider prayerfully our pledges to support the church's work financially, as we do in so many other ways. Let's consider pledging a certain percentage of our assets, working toward tithing - giving back 10% of our income to God - at some point. If we work toward this goal, as Dan said in his sermon on Rally Day, we will meet our goals several times over.

October 5 - World Communion Sunday
Fred Onovwerosuoke of the St. Louis African Chorus will direct the Festival choir during worship, then share his perspectives on multi-cultural worship during the education hour.

October 12 - November 30
Parents as Teachers. Janet Mote will lead a class to help parents, grandparents and anyone who wants a richer faith interaction with children to explore how to pass on faith to children in everyday life. The class will offer practical ideas and will also be a forum for participants to share their own experiences.

October 12 - October 26
Topic to be announced. Watch the Sunday bulletin for details.

October 18
***Special Saturday Event***
Faith Exploration - A Call to Covenant Community. Tina Newberry will lead an exploration of Biblical and theological issues involved in being an inclusive church. This curriculum was provided by the Covenant Network to help churches be more inclusive of gay and lesbian persons. 9:30 am - 2:30 pm. Lunch is included. Please call the Church Office to sign up - 314-725-3840.

November 2
Homecoming. November 1 & 2 is Homecoming Weekend as Trinity celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Education Hour will be a time for fellowship.

November 9 - November 30
Creating New Traditions in Advent & Christmas. Do Kirk, Kim Merritt and Diane O'Brien will lead a four-week session on discovering and rediscovering the joy of the season. Sessions will include art projects and the Alternative Gift Market.

- Sandy Norkaitis

The Winger Food Pantry has been very busy during the summer. From May through August we served 596 people or 252 families. Our volunteers kept the food pantry full by shopping, stocking and bagging food.

The following people served as baggers: Polly Brown in May; Joy Magisana in June; Larry, Tina, Joanna and Isaac Newberry in July; and Mary Ellen, Julianne and Kirsten Campbell during August.

Stacey Carmen did the grocery shopping and stocked shelves in May and June. Robyn Peglar is now shopping and stocking our shelves. The Wednesday workers are Roberta Middelkamp, Sandy Norkaitis, Jerry Royce and Sally Dunn who substituted for Jerry while he was recuperating from his surgery. Jerry returned at the end of August - Welcome back, Jerry!

Thanks to the members of the congregation who continue to support the Meal a Month and also bring food donations at other times. We are making a difference in the lives of 596 people.

Anyone who would like to participate next year with the food pantry, please give me a call at 863-7699.

Care and Counseling has recently established The Weger Center to offer psychotherapy and pastoral counseling to college, university, and seminary students who would not otherwise be able to afford psychotherapy.

One of the agencies supported by Trinity's mission funds, Care and Counseling continues to work with diverse faith and therapeutic communities "to foster emotional and spiritual growth through affordable psychotherapy, education and outreach." If you would like more information about any of its services, call 878-4340.