- Dr. Daniel Anderson-Little, Pastor

Holy Week is a special time of the Christian year. We often think of it as a series of worship services, but this year I invite you to approach Holy Week as one continuous event which begins with Palm Sunday.

At Trinity, Palm Sunday is heralded by the call of bagpipes. We reenact Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem as we parade around the church. Since Palm Sunday is the first Sunday of April this year, we will celebrate the Lord's Supper as well. I will preach on the sixth of Seven Last Words of Christ. The topic for that morning is "Your" which comes from Jesus' words, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." We will look at how God's hands frame our lives.

The next few days are quiet at church, but they can be rich days of prayer, fasting, and contemplation.

We re-gather on Thursday evening to celebrate Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy comes from the Latin word which means commandment because at the Last Supper, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment, that they love one another. In the spirit of Christ's love, we gather in the candlelit Dining Room to share a wonderful home-cooked meal and celebrate communion. This year, the Confirmation class will help us experience the depth of Jesus' love for us.

The following night, Good Friday, we gather again - as our service continues. This year, the service will feature Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ sung by the choir and played by the Arianna String Quartet. In order to allow the Haydn piece to have its full expression, we will not extinguish lights. Next year, we will return to a more traditional Tenebrae service.

Holy Week has its culmination on Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. In order to accommodate everyone, we offer two services on Easter Sunday, one at 9:30 a.m. and then again at 11:00 a.m. Childcare is offered only at the first service. An Easter breakfast will be served during the morning.

I encourage everyone to mark this holy time of the year by participating throughout the week. The joy of Easter is so much more profound when we have walked with Jesus throughout the week. But more than simply attending services, I invite everyone into a week long journey that draws us closer to our Lord.

- Jim Person

Join us in this time of fellowship as we greet and welcome friends, family, and extended family as part of our celebration of Easter on April 11. Brunch will be served from 8:30 a.m. to 11 :00 a.m. Come and stay for as long as you care. The menu will include eggs, sausage, orange juice, and cinnamon rolls...already prepared, so there will be one less thing to worry about on Easter morning! There is no need for Reservations.

If you are able to help, please contact the office or e-mail/call Jim Person -jim.person@aeis.com / 314-993-0396. We will need help as follows:

1. Prep work Saturday morning from 9-11 a.m. ( 6 persons )
2. One hour commitments on Sunday from:
   • 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. (4 persons)
   • 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (3 persons)
   • 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (3 persons)
   • 10:30 a.m. to 11 :30 a.m. (3 persons)

- Dawn Mahoney, Moderator

The Deacons are there to help when there is a birth, death, marriage, illness, job loss, divorce or other issue in your family or circle of friends. You can connect with a deacon by calling or e-mailing the church office, by talking to Dan, or by contacting any of the deacons directly.

Visit the Deacons page on our web site for a list of the current deacons' names and phone numbers.

- Keith Fischer

Our offerings to the One Great hour of Sharing support missions in the world such as the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program and the Program for Self-Development of People. All of these efforts can make a huge difference in people's lives and are a tangible witness to the healing love of Christ for all people. However worthy, though, they often remain somewhat abstract and distant to us in St. Louis, Missouri. We contribute to them knowing that God has good uses for our resources that we may not be able actually to touch or to see with our own eyes.

This June, one of our members, Barb Rand, will make one foreign mission very concrete to us when she departs for a week's mission in Iquitos, Peru, with her sister-in-law Sarah Rand. Barb will be volunteering for Medical Missions, Inc., a charity organized in 1992 to build hospitals, churches, schools, and vocational training centers in developing countries. Barb will tell us about her personal decision to take this mission during the worship service on March 28, but we can help her in her work by our contributions this year to the One Great Hour of Sharing. Twenty-five percent of that offering will go to support her trip, which will cost $1950. The remaining 75% will go to the national church to support its valuable work.

Parents: You have been reading about some of the OGHS projects in the Bulletin inserts of past Sundays. I hope you share these with your children to help them understand their connectedness with other children in the world whom our programs help. It may help to make this effort more meaningful to them to give small amounts linked to specific programs of the church. For example:

• A cow can be a God-send for a family in a developing country. Talk about how. Then have your child give a penny for each food item in your house that comes from animals.
• After floods, people need mops, gloves, sponges, etc., to clean up the mess. Give two pennies for each item in your house that helps you clean.

You can think of other links as well. Fish banks are available to the children in church school to store up their pennies and other contributions.

Please help support Barb's mission and the Presbyterian ChurchUSA missionto help the refugees, the hungry, and the poor of the world. Contribute to the One Great Hour of Sharing on Palm Sunday, April 4.

- Paul Vasile, Minister of Music

Palm Sunday, April 4 - We will process to the sound of bagpipes, waving palms and shouting "Hosanna!" The Festival Choir will sing in worship. Choir rehearsals will be held on Sunday, March 28 after Christian Education and Wednesday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome to sing!

Good Friday, April 9 - The Trinity Choir and the Arianna String Quartet will perform Franz Joseph Haydn's Seven Last Words. This poignant reflection on the Passion was originally written for string quartet but Haydn later arranged the work for choir, adding texts from the Scriptures. We will give a joint performance, alternately performing the instrumental and choral versions of this moving work. The Arianna String Quartet is one of America's finest chamber ensembles. Its members were recently appointed Faculty Artist Teachers and Quartet-in-Residence in the music department at the University of Missouri - St. Louis.

Easter Sunday, April 11 - Celebrate the Resurrection with music for brass, organ and choir. A new anthem by Paul Vasile will be performed, written in celebration of Trinity's 50^thAnniversary. The choir will also sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah.

Second Sunday of Easter, April 18 - The ASU Ringers from Arkansas State University will perform in worship, continuing our Easter celebration with the bright, joyful sound of handbells.

Damayanthi Niles came to St. Louis three years ago when she joined the faculty of the Eden Theological Seminary. Our thanks to Jane and Milt Rand for introducing her to Trinity. Although she has visited and taught in several local churches, Damayanthi told me she always felt that Trinity is where she belongs.

Damayanthi was born in Sri Lanka. Having lived, studied and worked in many different countries, including India, the United Kingdom and the U.S., however, she could be considered a true citizen of the world. She comes from six generations of theologians and church leaders. In another two months we will have an opportunity to meet her father, Dr. Premen Niles, when he visits St. Louis and preaches at Trinity. Her grandfather D.T. Niles was president of the World Council of Churches in its formative early years. When we first met, Damayanthi told me with a big smile that she was simply following her dad in the family business. As you get to know Damayanthi, you will sense the passion with which she shares her faith and convictions with her students. It is with great joy that I introduce to you Dr. Damayanthi Niles.

Colleen Osborn has joined Trinity as an affiliate member, retaining her membership at First Presbyterian Church of Cheyenne, Wyoming. There she is an active member who applies her interest in history and genealogy as the church's historian and archivist. This is a considerable task, as that church was the first Presbyterian one established in the territory of Wyoming!

Many Trinity members already know Colleen's son, Mike Osborn, who joined Trinity about a year ago. Some may be surprised, however, to learn that it actually was Colleen and her late husband who introduced Mike to Trinity, after they visited here for a Christmas Eve service back in the early 1990s.

Colleen is a lifelong Presbyterian who appreciates Trinity for its friendliness and openness to newcomers.Virginia Parks is pleased to serve as Colleen's sponsor, and I am glad to introduce her to you.

- Cathy Smith

Christy and Matt Schindler are transferring their memberships from Southminster Presbyterian Church in South County, the church in which Matt grew up. Christy is from Marshall, Missouri. They met at Drury College in Springfield and then spent two years in the Peace Corps in Armenia after marrying in 1996. Christy taught English, while Matt did business development and taught business.

Christy currently works part time at the Department of Mental Health as a case manager liaison between providers and the Department. Matt works at the International Institute, doing business consulting with those immigrants wishing to start businesses. They have a two-year old daughter, Mia.

Both were raised in the Presbyterian church After returning from Armenia and settling in Be1-Nor, they began looking for a church closer to home. They wanted to find a growing church and appreciate many things about Trinity: the wonderful children's programming, the music ministry, and the preaching.

We welcome Matt, Christy and Mia to Trinity Church.

- Liz And David Nelson

- Ann Fischer

They are coming here from a world far away, both geographically and culturally. They are members of the Somali Bantu tribe, whose ancestors were captured in Mozambique, Malawi, and Tanzania to be enslaved in Somalia two hundred years ago. These Bantus were scattered to refugee camps on the Somalia-Kenya border by the Somali civil war in the 1990s. Since they cannot return to the homes they fled, about 12,000 of them will be flown to the United States, one of the largest refugee groups to receive blanket permission for resettlement since the mid-1990s. Many of them are being resettled in St. Louis because of the work of the International Institute on South Grand Boulevard.

What kind of world will they find? The Bantu refugees have survived slavery, persecution and backbreaking labor. Most have never turned on a stove, flushed a toilet, or signed a check. Most are illiterate farmers. Officials in the refugee camps have taught them some English and basic survival skills. But I can't imagine what will go through the minds and hearts of the families who arrive in our midst. An article in the New York Times last March indicates that one thing, at least, will be hope. Rachel Swarns wrote that "In America, the refuges tell each other, the Bantu will be considered human beings, not slaves, for the first timeAfter centuries of suffering they are praying that America will be the place where they will finally belong."

How can we reach out to love these neighbors who will now live a little closer to us? Last year a representative from the International Institute shared the Somali Bantu story with us, and last fall our portion of the Peacemaking Offering was designated for the resettlement effort. Increased security procedures after 9/11 delayed the arrival of many refugees. Some have now arrived in St. Louis, however, and more are expected soon. Refugees who have fled the war in Liberia are also being settled here.

In March, George Philips, Debby Henry, Harold Glad and I met with a settlement worker to explore ways Trinity can be helpful. Some of the Institute's programs train volunteer family mentors. Others help newcomers acquire skills and household basics. Since there is limited storage space, monetary contributions are always welcome. U.S. regulations require, for instance, that bedding such as mattresses be new rather than used. There is also a need for items not covered in resettlement funds, some as small as carrot peelers or an extra pot or pan.

Initially, Trinity will contribute one-half of its peacemaking funds - $1500 - to this effort, to be used as needed most. We will also explore other possibilities. We are hoping, for example, to organize a picnic this summer to coincide with the annual International Festival in Tower Grove Park - an opportunity not only to meet some of the new neighbors God has given us but also to enjoy the food and experiences people from many different backgrounds share. Stay tuned for further details - and talk with us about yourideas.

- Sandy Norkaitis

As of March 15, we had collected $2810.00. $1405.00 will stay at Trinity for the Winger Food Pantry and $1405.00 will be sent to the Presbytery for the Matthew 25 Offering at their level. This will go a long way to help us both with the hunger needs in our community.

Dr. Preman Niles, Visiting Professor for Mission and Ecumenics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and (more importantly) father of Trinity member and Eden Theological Seminary Professor Dr. Damayanthi Niles will preach at Trinity on May 2, 2004. Dr. Preman Niles has been active in ecumenical church organizations for many years and is the author of the soon-to-be published From East and West: Rethinking Christian Mission. Dr. Niles will also speak during the Adult Education hour. Please plan to be with us for this exciting morning.

- Dan Anderson-Little

Most members of Trinity are aware that we are part of a larger denomination - the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The denomination consists of more than 10,000 churches and over 2 million members. In addition to being part of a national denomination, we are also part of a local regional body called the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy. The name of the Presbytery is interesting - it is named for Salmon Giddings, a Southern Presbyterian evangelist in the St. Louis area during the 19^th Century, and Elijah Parish Lovejoy, a Northern Presbyterian newspaper publisher and abolitionist who lived in Alton, IL during the same time period. Those two names, Giddings and Lovejoy, capture the diversity of the Northern and Southern streams that make up our denomination and speak of Presbyterians' twin commitments of evangelism and social justice.

The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy is comprised of approximately 100 churches. On the Missouri side it reaches up to the Missouri River, as far west as Washington and Union, and as far south as Poplar Bluff. It also has member churches on the Illinois side as far north as Grafton. There is no typical church in the Presbytery. Some are very large (over 1500 members), some are very small (fewer than 20 members). There are conservative and liberal churches, inner-city, urban, suburban, and rural churches.

With so much going on at Trinity, it is easy to overlook the importance of Presbytery. Our participation in Presbytery can greatly enhance our ministry at Trinity. By working with other church and pooling our commitment and resources, we can make a bigger impact on hunger, justice, peacemaking, starting new churches, strengthening existing ones, and being for the world the Body of Christ. Many churches have their most significant interaction with the Presbytery at times of transition (as Trinity did seven years ago when it started its search for a new pastor). While those interactions can feel burdensome, they are designed to help churches stay connected with other Presbyterians and to more effectively discern God's will for the church. But our life with the Presbytery goes far beyond procedural items. By connecting with other churches, we can learn from one another and encourage one another. This is a difficult time to be the church of Jesus Christ in the world. We are having to learn a whole new culture and language as we seek to share the love of Jesus Christ. Thankfully, we have brothers and sisters around the area (and indeed around the world!) who can help us and who need our assistance.

At the times when we get frustrated with Presbytery (meetings are too long, procedures seem too picky), it is not hard to wish that "Presbytery" would change or do things differently. But we are Presbytery. It is not a "they," but an "us." And thanks be to God that it is an us - that we are not alone in our witness and service, but that we have companions for the journey.

If you would like more information about the Presbytery or would like to learn ways to be involved at this significant level of church life, please surf over to the Presbytery website (www.glpby.org) or speak with me.

The Elegant evening of dinner and dancing was a huge success! Thank you to all those who contributed to this fundraiser for our youth trips this summer. We raised about $1600.The money goes to send six youth and two adults to Montreat Youth Conference in North Carolina for a week of spiritual, play, and worship. It also goes to send eight youth and three adults to Juarez, Mexico for the annual Senior High Mission Trip. We do not yet know our specific work project but have been busy planning for the trip, learning about culture and customs in Mexico as well as learning a bit of Spanish too! Thank you for supporting these ministry opportunities for and with our youth.

Come be a Hero at VBS from June 28-July 1 (4 days). We are looking for volunteers who can give their time, energy and enthusiasm to help our VBS participants journey on a "Hero Quest" for Bible heroes. We need people to help lead classes like crafts as well as others to build and paint props. Contact Stacey Carman (727-9902 or carmans@swbell.net) if you are interested. All volunteer positions need to be filled by Easter weekend or the cancellation of VBS will be considered. So don't wait! Call today and be a HERO!