In this crazy, over-drive world, we are scheduled,
hurried, and entertained, at the speed of sound -
So, let's take a deep breath, cool down and
find the part of our brains that creates anew!
Together we will offer a group to our children -

1st Grade - 6th Grade
The "Do Nothings"

Coordinated by Dolores Kirk (996-2680)
Christian Education Commission, and other adults.

Whatever we do-
Wherever we go -
will come from that untapped part of our brain that tells us
"Be still, and know that I am God"

Sign up board will be available
Any parent or friend that would like to be a
"Do Nothing" can join us!

- Dr. Daniel Anderson-Little, Pastor

The season of Lent is largely an inner journey. It is a time when we come to terms with our inner-self - our sinfulness, our brokenness, and our need for God. But Lent ends with four very public and communal events: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. These four holy days are fitting endings for our Lenten journey, for they help us in a short and public time reaffirm what we have experienced for the forty days that precede them - excitement, connection, death, loss, and rebirth.

This year, as always, we have special plans for Holy Week. Palm Sunday will begin with our traditional Palm Sunday parade outside. Once inside the Sanctuary, we will move to an ancient practice of reading the Passion story. This will be a communal reading. It may seem odd to read the Passion story on Palm Sunday, but Palm Sunday is not only about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but about his confrontation with the religious authorities that led to his death.

On Maundy Thursday, we will celebrate the Last Supper by eating dinner together. This is a rich time for fellowship and remembrance.

This year we will return to a Tenebrae service for Good Friday. This is a moving service of shadows, music, and story. We end the service in total darkness.

On Easter Sunday we celebrate the joy of the resurrection. Through festival music and preaching, the Word becomes flesh so we can embrace the good news of God.

Please plan to join us for each of these profound services.

- Nancy L. Wagner

This time, with others who had loved her son,
She wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a cave,
Giving unto a garden.

This time it was she who wept,
Weeping with the other women,
She put aside the promises, the rare gifts
Pondered in her heart.
Bus she could not leave the pondering.
She knew He would never leave her being.
Something of Him remained in the hands that had
Cared for Him in life.

The memories searched her being.
As she left with the others,
She was stayed in her soul. She blessed
This son who had centered her life,
Even as she blessed the God he called Abba,
The God who knows a wail as praise.

Poems by Nancy Wagner, a long-time member of Trinity, are from Gatherings, copyright 2004 by Nancy L. Wagner, and are used by the author's permission.

- Keith Fischer, Chair, Corporate Affairs Commission

"When was it that we saw you a stranger..." - Matthew 25:38

Palm Sunday, March 20, the day the collection for One Great Hour of Sharing is taken, comes early this year. The needs of the world - hunger, homeless people, displaced people, people without hope - know no change. The Presbyterian Church's One Great Hour of Sharing addresses these needs. The collection is split in three, with 32% going to the Presbyterian Hunger Program; 32% to the Self-Development of People program, and 32% to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The other people, displaced people, people without hope - know no change. The Presbyterian Church's One Great Hour of Sharing addresses these needs. The collection is split in three, with 32% going to the Presbyterian Hunger Program; 32% to the Self-Development of People program, and 32% to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The other 4% goes to addressing homelessness in the United States.

The Hunger Program works directly with anti-hunger networks in eight countries. Working with Uniendo Manos Contra la Pobreza, the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy helps Peruvian artisans increase their income by bypassing middlemen and thus improving the food the artisans can provide their families.

The Self-Development of People program working in India has helped the Narikuravas, "Indian gypsies," build shelters to house themselves and serve as small factories for their production of ornaments. They now have an increased sense of pride and self-esteem.

It almost seems unnecessary to talk about where funds spent by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance will go. Tsunamis, hurricanes, floods all have caused massive damage and displacement of people.

In coming weeks in church bulletins you will read of other programs supported by the One Great Hour of Sharing funds. Please give generously on Palm Sunday.

It's remarkable what your gifts can do.

- Janet Chester, Director of Christian Education

Preschool - Children are learning stories like Jesus and the Children, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the Holy week and Easter stories.

God's Creation (Pre K - 4^th) - During Lent this age group is doing a unit on parables. They will learn about the house built on a rock through a science experiment, see a video of the prodigal son, use the "Good SAM" software to learn the story of the Good Samaritan, learn the parable of the rich fool through a game, express through art the parables of the yeast, the pearl, and the hidden treasure, and learn the story of the two sons through cooking. Ask them which their favorite parable is!

5^th & 6^th Grades - Old Testament Survey. This class has learned about Samuel and is digging way beyond the story of David and Goliath as they learn about David.

Confirmation Class - Visit their room and look at their walls. The walls tell a wonderful faith story! They have been learning about prayer through prayer flags. They had a wonderful gathering with their advocates where together they built a "burning bush" and talked about God's call on their lives. They will spend most of Lent looking at the person of Jesus.

Senior High - The youth had a very successful Elegant Dinner fundraiser for Montreat and Mission Trip! They have been looking at "The Gospel According to the Simpsons" and talking about what the characters Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and the community in which they live tells about faith.

- Ann Fischer

I'll admit it. I'm an O.K.

You've heard of P.K.s, Preacher's Kids. We O.K.s were the ones who grew up on organ benches, coloring all over sheet music, and adapting family schedules to Thursday night choir rehearsals and Sunday morning intensities. My mother's career meant that I had to share her with other people and priorities. But there were also special moments when I was allowed to sit next to her, pull out a stop, and hear a krummhorn swell from the organ's chest or a trumpet blare from the antiphonal.

Music was the air my mother breathed. When she sat at an organ or a piano, the sound flowed forth beautifully. To me as a child it seemed so natural, even easy. In time, of course, I learned that it isn't. I could never quite conquer making two hands play two different things. I now stand in amazement watching an organist do four different things with four different limbs, often directing a choir to boot. I stand in awe, too, of the amazing range of sounds those flying hands can produce.

I can't make an instrument do what my mother could. But music still speaks to my soul, moves me, entertains me, lifts me to wonderful places. Organ music, particularly, occupies a special place not only in my life but in our lives together. Bach to Franck, so many of the musicians we cherish today were church musicians. Aside from the occasional movie theater, it is churches that provide the distinctive setting for an instrument whose voice ranges over many octaves and centuries. The pipe organ sings, growls, blares, whistles; it lulls us; it thrills us; it calls to us; it grounds us. In our church, the organ literally leads us in and leads us out - every Sunday, and from baptisms through funerals.

Previous generations at Trinity valued this heritage and invested their resources in a first-class pipe organ. You've heard a number of times by now about the special value of Trinity's Casavant organ and of its present problems. It is our heritage now, too. It's not a museum piece, though, as we realize each time Paul finds something new, delightful, or challenging in it. After the proposed repairs and renovations are finished, the organ will lead us into the future as well. It will continue to shape and enrich our worship. It will reach beyond our walls to draw others in.

As we raise the funds needed to accomplish this, we'll have opportunities to learn about the organ. Join me in enjoying this wonder that sits in our midst.

The organ doesn't just belong to those special souls who can make it sing - people like Paul Vasile, Albert Scholin (Ray Scholin's father), Marie Lauritsen (my mother), Bill Aitken, Dorothy Bergendoff (Marge Versprille's mother), Willa Lutz (Chris Lutz's mother), and those other talented musicians in our midst. It belongs to all of us. And so, in that important sense, we are all O.K.s.

And that's more than OK!

- Paul Vasile, Minister of Music

March 13, Fourth Sunday in Lent - The McClellan-Livingston Guitar Duo will perform and the Children's Choir will sing.

March 20, Palm Sunday - Our traditional processional will be led by bagpipes and lous "Hosannas!" The Festival Choir, Children's Choir and Handbell Choir will sing a joint anthem.

March 25, Good Friday - We remember the final hours of Christ's life in a somber service of readings, hymns and choral music. The Trinity Choir will be joined by St. Louis Symphony violist, Morris Jacob.

I have known Andrea Stephens for five years and her enthusiasm for life and dedication to her patients shine through whenever I work with her. I was grateful for the chance to share with her our experiences as part of this Church Family. It is my pleasure to introduce Andrea and her family to you.

Andrea is an obstetrician/gynecologist at Washington University. She was raised in the Methodist church and moved frequently during her childhood.

John Pfeifer is a pathologist at Washington University. He was baptized in the Lutheran church and grew up "all over" until his father retired from the Air Force and his family settled in the San Francisco Bay area. John and Andrea met in California, and attended medical school at UCSD (John completed an MD/PhD) and UCLA (Andrea received her MD). Like many two-career couples, they searched for a place for their residencies that offered both of them excellence in education and settled on Washington University. Although they intended to return to California, they decided that St. Louis was the right place to begin careers and raise their children. They miss the mountains and ocean, but family trips give them the opportunity to share their love of the outdoors with Claire and Ethan.

Claire is a very accomplished 11-year-old in grade 5 at the Wilson School. She loves reading, needlepoint and playing the saxophone. When asked what else she would like me to share with you, she told me that one of her most unique talents is riding a unicycle.

Ethan is 13 and is in grade 7 at John Burroughs School. He plays soccer (indoors this winter) and the acoustic guitar. He likes to draw and paint and has made jewelry for his mom and his sister. He is really enjoying the confirmation class, and learning with Kim and Mark Merritt. Both Ethan and Claire are happy to be attending a church where there are a lot of kids their age.

The Stephens-Pfeiffer family came to Trinity from St. Mark's. The wonderful music program and lively and energetic Sunday School factored significantly in their decision to join. John taught Sunday School at St. Mark's, and particularly enjoyed the opportunity to share ideas and explore the challenges faced by high school students. Andrea and John were seeking a Church where community service and outreach were a prominent focus. The thoughtful, articulate and spiritual sermons have engaged the whole family. Andrea expressed a feeling probably shared by many of us, that the welcoming and inclusive atmosphere at Trinity helped her feel at home from the first visit.

I know that you will all join me in welcoming John, Andrea, Ethan and Claire to Trinity.

- Kim Martin

I'm delighted to introduce Michael and Joan Wysession and their children Willie and Elizabeth as new members of Trinity Presbyterian Church. We've known them for close to six years. We met when our daughter McCoy and Willie were an "item" at Washington University Nursery School.

Michael and Joan met at Northwestern University. Michael was getting his PhD in geophysics; Joan was an undergraduate. They were married in 1990 and moved to St. Louis in 1991. Michael is now a professor in Geophysics at Washington University and "focuses on the structure and evolution of the deep earth." Joan just finished her Masters in Education at Washington University and is now teaching at its Nursery School.

Michael grew up in New York and New Jersey. He says his hobbies are the outdoors, cooking and music. Joan grew up in Chicago. Her hobbies are Mary Kay cosmetics, walking and karate. (She say she can almost touch her toes!). Joan asserts that Michael's interest in the outdoors "is purely theoretical" and that he hasn't been outdoors in 15 years. Michael says that Joan's real hobbies are drinking coffee and chocolate.

Willie loves karate and reading. Elizabeth loves everything that gets her really muddy and dirty.

Michael and Joan have a very interesting religious background. Joan was raised in the Eastern Orthodox Church. She majored in the history and literature of religion with a focus on Buddhism. Michael grew up going to Congregational and Unitarian Churches. He minored in Eastern religion at Brown University and continues to be very interested in the interface between science and religion.

- Henry Edmonds

- Dan Anderson-Little

Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy. Psalm 47:1

Over the past couple of months, a number of members have spoken to me about clapping in church - especially after a musical offering. In these conversations, the member expressed concern or displeasure with clapping because it has disrupted a worshipful moment for them.

I am always conflicted by these conversations because on the one hand I appreciate that clapping can be disruptive to those who want to savor a profound and moving musical moment. What's more, some feel it is inappropriate for people to applaud in church. Choirs, soloists, and instrumentalists do not sing or play for their own glory, but for the glory of God. To applaud is to shift the emphasis from God to the person.

On the other hand, I know that some people clap after a particularly stirring musical offering because they need to express their joy, their gratitude, their praise with their bodies. Ours is not only a faith of the mind, but the body as well, and some people need to express their faith in more physical ways. Clapping and applauding is a culturally conditioned mode of expressing joy and thanksgiving. Some will argue that it may be culturally conditioned, but that doesn't mean it is appropriate in church. But some people, when the Spirit is moving, clap without thinking. This is what the Spirit can do to all of us - move us to respond, to praise without thinking. In other churches, people will say "Amen" and "Hallelujah." For many members of Trinity, clapping is how we give "voice" to deep feelings of gratitude and praise.

There is no easy solution to this dynamic. To ask people to stop clapping would be to deny them a physical manifestation of their praise. To simply ignore the issue would be to discount the needs of those who find clapping of their worship and praise. We encounter this situation often in worship: what one person finds enlivening another can find annoying or disruptive. This is true of music styles, preaching styles, and liturgies.

Instead of looking at these differences in needs and tastes as limitations on our worship, they can be viewed as our strength. What a dull church we would be if everyone liked the same thing and worshipped the same way. I have learned much about worship in my life from people who worship in ways very different from mine. I have come to appreciate new forms of expression in worship from others. I think the same thing is true with clapping.

Instead of trying to find a solution, I would rather have us celebrate our diversity. For those who find clapping disruptive, I would ask that you at least seek to understand that it can be a powerful expression of worship for some. And for those who are inclined to clap, I would ask that you remember that some people worship best when they can savor a moment in solitude. This doesn't mean that we will never clap or always clap, but that everyone will find ways to worship God and be in fellowship with one another.

- Daniel Anderson-Little

Notice of this opportunity came to my office recently. I commend it those who would be interested. Care and Conseling is one of the agencies which has been supported by Trinity's local mission funds.

- Nancy L. Wagner

Even God does not keep rainbows.
The hands of God arc through the air,
emplacing the elements...
a handful of raindrops, another of sunbeams,
their blend a miracle
for the eyes of the just and the unjust,
and for us who are a blend of both;
bestriding a pathway of hope
set briefly before our eyes,
a path of surpassing memory.

Recently I met someone
who's seen only a single rainbow,
yet she well remembers...
And we count on God to keep the promise
the rainbow signifies.
Even though God does not keep rainbows,
God gives hope. That we remember.

Poems by Nancy Wagner, a long-time member of Trinity, are from Gatherings, copyright 2004 by Nancy L. Wagner, and are used by the author's permission.

- Kim Merritt

I don't know what to say... the cards, the calls, the meals, the prayers, the continuation of prayers, the hugs, the kisses, the visits, the absolute and phenomenal gift of God working through each of you - to hold and embrace me with love and peace.

Even through the frustration, the unknown, the fear, the discomfort, and the down times of an illness - knowing that I am held by God and by each of you is a miracle and gives me strength each day.

My love and thanks to my wonderful awesome brothers and sisters in Christ.

Web Minister Brian Schroer does a fantastic job of keeping Trinity's website up-to-date. Any day you can find information not only about what is happening at church but also about events and challenges in the wider world. Check out some items that have been posted recently:

• A link to an article by Brian McLaren in the Christianity Today Leadership Journal called "The Passion of Hotel Rwanda". McLaren writes "A year after Mel Gibson's movie, I found an even more Christian film - one that most Christians are ignoring... When I walked out of the recent film Hotel Rwanda, the story of a hotel manager who saves more than a thousand Tutsi refugees from Hutu-led genocide, this thought wouldn't leave me: If we really had the mind and heart of Christ, this is the movie we would be urging people in our churches to see... [In reflecting on the movie] I think about how our community of Christian believers is divided by tribes also caught in long-standing cycles that seem to defy reconciliation: Protestant, Catholic; liberal, conservative red-state, blue-state; contemporary, traditional; postmodern, modern; seeker-driven, seeker-sensitive; purpose-driven, tradition-driven, and so on... I wonder what kind of tragedy it would take to bring us to the insight gained by that hotel manager."
• An alert, via the PCUSA Washington Office, that the Violence Against Women Act is up for reauthorization and funding. Over the last several years Congress has cut away tens of millions of dollars in vital anti-violence funding. The PC(USA) Washington Office asks you to contact your Senators and Representatives to urge that they vote for re-authorization and continued financial support.
• A link to "God's Earth is Sacred: An Open Letter to Church and Society in the United States" [PC(USA)] In an effort to refute what they call a "false gospel that proclaims that God cares for the salvation of humans only and that our human calling is to exploit Earth for our own ends alone", a group of theologians, convened by the National Council of Churches USA, released an open letter calling on Christians to repent of "our social and ecological sins" and to reject teachings that suggest humans are "called" to exploit the Earth without care for how our behavior impacts the rest of God's creation. The statement, "God's Earth is Sacred: An Open Letter to Church and Society in the United States," points out that there is both an environmental and a theological crisis that must be addressed.

- 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.