The Senior High Youth Group had a lock-in February 17-18, 2006 that consisted of dinner, going to the City Museum, "the gathering", and service projects.

See the pictures in our photo album...

Romantic chamber music performed by Trio Eclectique will be featured at a free concert on Sunday, March 12 at 3 p.m. The concert is the second in a new series hosted by Trinity Presbyterian Church, 6800 Washington in University City. The performance is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception.

Titled "Reverberations: Enriching Lives through Engaging Performances in Eclectic Styles," the concert series offerings emphasize diverse musical styles and performances, ranging from classical to contemporary.

The Sunday, March 12 concert will include performances of Johannes Brahms' sublime "Clarinet Trio, Op. 114," the rarely heard "Trio in A minor" by Carl Fruhling and shorter works by Paul Juon and Max Bruch. Trio Eclectique is comprised of Elsie Parker, clarinet; Natasha Rubenstein, violoncello; and Paul Vasile, piano.

Dear friends and colleagues in Christ--

Joining Hands Against Hunger Peru Partnership, a program of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, is inviting you to participate in a candlelight Prayer Vigil Thursday, February 23, 5:30-6:30 PM on the west steps (facing Kiener Plaza) of the Old Courthouse downtown.

The purpose of the vigil is to support and accompany citizens of La Oroya, Peru, particularly children who do not have a voice, in their efforts to establish both health and economic stability in La Oroya, Peru.

At issue is the petition of the St. Louis-based Doe Run Company for an extension to their agreement with Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines to comply with toxic emission standards for the mineral smelter Doe Run owns in La Oroya. Recent studies, including the first independent health study conducted last August by scientists from the St. Louis University School of Public Health, have indicated excessive levels of lead and other toxic chemicals in the blood of La Oroya's 18,000 children and in the environment. Doe Run has suggested that the financial burden of meeting the state requirements for environmental clean up could jeopardize the solvency of the plant. Church groups, including Joining Hands Against Hunger and

Grace and peace,
The Rev. Elinor Stock, Chairperson
Environmental Task Force
Joining Hands Against Hunger Peru Partnership

Have you ever found yourself wondering why certain books are in our Bible? Are you interested in learning more about such texts as the Gospel of Mary, the Secret Teachings of Jesus, the Ascension of Isaiah, or the Apocalypse of Paul? If so, you're not alone!

On February 20, 2006, the FEAST group (adults in their 20s and 30s) will begin the first of what will hopefully be many Bible studies. The first study will last for 8 weeks and is being led by Dan Haeusser and Carissa Gigliotti. The group will meet Mondays at 7:30 pm.

Our mission: To explore lost scripture and non-canonical texts and discuss their intersection with our faith and to seek to understand why we believe what we do and what the Bible means for us.

* * * * *

If you're in your 20s or 30s and would like to join us in studay and fellowship, please call or email Dan and Carissa. Phone: (314) 721-2967. Email: giglica6@yahoo.com.

"I'm involved a lot in my church - Trinity Presbyterian in University City - and our youth group is always looking for ways to raise money for their mission trip. The group travels in the summer and has gone all over the United States. When we were trying to think of a new idea, a bunch of us just started brainstorming and came up with an idea for an elegant church dinner.

We cook for around 70 or 80 people, and the kids help us prepare the meal, set the tables and serve as wait staff. We begin cooking on Saturday morning and the dinner is held on Saturday evening in the basement of our church. We're on our third year now, and we get a good turnout because the dinner has built up such a reputation."

Read the whole story

March 26 - April 1

That's the motto of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Volunteer Villages. And we at Trinity have a chance to make that motto a reality by volunteering for an urgent mission in Luling, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans.

Who could forget the horrors we saw on television and magazines when Hurricane Katrina struck last August? Immediately afterward Trinity responded to provide assistance as best we could from afar. But now, nearly six months later, while those gruesome images may be fading from memory our help is still needed, desperately.

TO VOLUNTEER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Diane O'Brien (dobrien@eden.edu) or Jim Person (jim.person@aeis.com)

Dear Session of Trinity Presbyterian Church,

It was such a joy to be able to worship with you again this past Sunday while I was in town for the APCE (Association of Presbyterian Church Educators) conference. It was good to see friendly faces and to feel welcomed back into Trinity's community of faith. It was a good reminder that we are all part of the body of Christ no matter where we live.

I would like to share with you some of my observations from my short visit at Trinity. WOW! While there were alot of very familiar friendly faces, there were also alot of new faces in the congregation and that was so energizing for me to see. There was a momentum and energy flowing through the congregation. From what I saw Sunday, and from continuing to read Trinity News and the website, there are more and more people energized and supported in stepping forward to use their passion and their gifts to lead in ministry - that is so wonderful! All Church Retreat... MCU... hurricane relief and black beans and rice dinners... etc... the Equipping Ministry is already under way and making a huge difference.

I know that as leaders of the church it is sometimes difficult to know what direction God is leading you and even harder to see the small steps of progress and change when you are among it and living it each day. In the six short months that I have been gone, I see a world of difference! I see a healthier congregation with a renewed sense of energy, purpose, and mission. So, my prayer for you is keep on, keepn' on...I felt God's love, grace, and power pour forth from the congregation this past Sunday!

May the peace of Christ continue to unite us in ministry.

With love and blessings,
Janet Chester

Dear Trinity Friends,

As President of CSC Charities for Children, I'd like to thank you for your generous gift of $750 toward our fund-raising efforts.

Your gift will help make it possible for us to continue to provide stuffed animals, personal care items, and school supplies to the children of the St. Louis area who need them most, those in homeless shelters, shelters for abused and neglected children, and other disadvantaged children.

We are so honored to be a part of the Trinity family, and to be supported so generously in our charity work. We can't thank you all enough for everything you do for us.

Sincerely,
Spirit Sorensen

The Trinity Choir will be participating in this event...

Greetings from the Human Rights Campaign.

I'm writing to let you know about an upcoming event: the SOUNDS OF ACCEPTANCE - an afternoon of music from more than 15 different spiritual traditions that will fill the Sheldon Concert Hall. I've attached a flyer about the event that I hope you'll post and distribute wherever you think it may be of interest.

The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest civil rights organization advocating for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights, is delighted to present The Sounds of Acceptance on February 26 at 4:00 p.m. All friends of equality are invited to enjoy the sounds of faith-filled people expressing in a variety of styles the same message - of the peace and joy that spirituality makes available to all people.

Participants include a native American flutist, choirs from the Metropolitan Community Church, the Greater New Higher Heights UCC and Immanuel UCC, Harmonix from Gateway Men's Chorus, the Ethical Society chorus, plus a meditation led by the Art of Living. Performers from Muslim, Episcopal, Catholic, Presbyterian, Wiccan, and Jewish traditions will also be part of the show.

Information about these and other faiths (including traditions not represented in the show) will be available in the lobby. Representatives of various faiths will be available for discussion and to answer questions after the performance.

Tickets for general admission seating are now available. Suggested donation to HRC: $15. For ticket information, email Andrea at aetorrence@sbcglobal.net. Reservations may also be faxed to 314 373 4982 (credit card donations accepted via fax) or mailed to HRC Sounds of Acceptance, P.O. Box 56515, St. Louis, MO 63156.

Sincerely,
Douglas Harrison
HRC St. Louis

February 11, 2006

Brought to you by the Trinity Youth Groups

Mark your calendars and reserve February 11^th for an evening of dancing, food, and fellowship.

Doors for the Elegant Dinner will open at 6:30. Dinner will be served at 7:00 followed by a dessert auction and dancing.

Admission is $25 per person. Reservations can be made starting January 29 by calling the church office - 725-3840 - or by signing up with a youth group member. Proceeds benefit the Mission Trip and Montreat funds.

If you would like to donate an "elegant dessert", please contact Rhonda Dunbar at 638-3397.

All-Church Mardi Gras Party

Sunday, February 26

Immediately following worship

during Education hour.

Join the Trinity family for fun and games as we get ready for Lent.

Questions? Call Karen Coletti at church - 725-3840.

David Nelson

Equipping ministry has roots throughout the Bible, but two scriptures provide fundamental guidance for us at Trinity: I Corinthians 12:4-11; and Ephesians 4:11-13, 15-16. One lesson the passage from first Corinthians teaches is that each of us receives unique gifts from God, though it is the same God that we serve. Our equipping ministry will make many tools available to help us identify and develop our own gifts, providing valuable guidance on our individual and collective spiritual journeys. Ephesians 4:12-13 tells us that God provides people with gifts "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ." Trinity's commitment to equipping ministry is a commitment by our entire community of faith to respond to God's joyful challenge to engage in our own spiritual growth and personal ministry, and to create a system to train and support us in these efforts.

An equipping church: prepares its members to answer Christ's call to ministry and mission; connects its members to ministry, each other and the community; and equips its members for successful, quality ministry and mission. We accomplish these goals by helping members of the congregation discover the gifts for ministry that God has given them, discerning how they can best utilize these gifts in a new or active ministry and providing support, resources, and centralized communication for all ministries of the Church. As a result of an effective equipping system, members of the congregation grow spiritually and are more informed about and connected to each other, the Church and the community.

Under the plan adopted by the Session, Trinity will develop a fully functional equipping ministry over the course of the next eighteen to twenty-four months. Many people are already working hard on the early stages of the plan, and the congregation will begin to see the fruits of these labors as equipping ministry events and educational opportunities are scheduled. Hundreds of other churches around the country are engaging in equipping ministry, and Trinity's plan is based on the work of Sue Mallory in the Equipping Church Guidebook. Ms. Mallory developed the equipping ministry at Brentwood Presbyterian Church in the Los Angeles area, and has consulted with many other churches pursuing equipping.

Each member of the congregation will have multiple opportunities to gather together to learn more about our equipping ministry, to question, and to share our hopes and dreams for Trinity, each other and ourselves. On Sunday, January 15, Dan began a six week series of sermons that illuminate the biblical foundations for equipping ministry and, from January 22 through February 12 there will be an adult education class for feedback, questions and further learning. Also beginning on February 5th, there will be several fellowship dinners, each with an equipping facilitator - sign up sheets are already posted in the dining room. Please join us as we grow into our equipping ministry together.

Sign up in the Church Dining Room

• February 5 - Brunch - noon - Keith and Ann Fischer's, 1 Lenox Pl. (Central West End)
• February 12 - Brunch - noon - Do Kirk's, 101 Heatherwood (Olivette)
• February 19 - Dinner - 6:00 p.m.
• Tom Peters and Terry Crow's - 7025 Maryland (University City)
• Harold and Jan Schulte-Glad -1124 Olivaire Ln. (Olivette)
• February 26 - Dinner - 6:00 p.m. - Kim, Mark and Megan Merritt's - 1 Candlellight Ln. (Olivette)

John Roman

Trinity members brought out the party hats and noisemakers to celebrate the MCU Mid-County Cluster Issues Assembly at First Presbyterian Church on Sunday, January 8. Thirty-four Trinity members joined members of the other congregations in the cluster (First Presbyterian, Samuel United Church of Christ, Christ Church of Christ, University United Methodist and Unity Christ Church) to hear proposals for possible issues the cluster will take on in 2006. The issues presented were those discovered from each congregation's listening campaign last year. Trinity's own Spirit Sorenson presented the topic of Public Education at the assembly. Each congregation then caucused to determine how they would allocate their votes among the issues. All the votes from all the congregations were counted to determine the two issues that the cluster will work on in 2006: Public Education and Health Care.

The next step in the process is to develop a Task Force for each of these two issues. The Task Force will research the issue, select a specific issue to be addressed within the broad problem and start to act. There will be a training session for the Task Forces on Thursday, January 26, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at Samuel United Church, 320 North Forsyth in Clayton. Many who attended the Issues Assembly have signed up for the training, but it is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about what a Task Force is and how it works. We hope to see you there!

Sundays, January 22-February 19, 2006
10:40-11:30 a.m., Weems Chapel

Continue to explore the intersection of faith and science through dialogue and discussion with one of the presenters from this series last year, Ursula Goodenough, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Washington University and Trinity's Ken Kelton, Ph.D., Profesor of Physics, Washington University, who also serves on the Adult Education Planning Team. If you have questions about the series, email Ken Kelton at kfk@wuphys.wustl.edu.

Topics that will guide our group discussion include:

• ­ January 22 - "What do we mean by Science? What do we mean by Faith?"
• ­ January 29 - "Intelligent Design Creationism: What to make of it?"
• ­ February 5 - "Interweaving Science and Religion: Possible Paths"
• ­ February 12 - "Interweaving Science and Christianity: Possible Paths
• ­ February 19 - "Religion and Technology"

Keith Fischer, Past Chair, Corporate Affairs Commission

We said during the Fall Stewardship Campaign that the sum of our pledge gifts to Trinity would "determine the depth of Trinity's witness to Christ's gospel - to our staff, to our children, to each other, to our neighbors, and to the hurting world beyond our walls." We, the congregation, responded with generosity and we exceeded our budgeted pledge total for 2006 of $305,000 by $19,000, for a grand pledge total of $324,000! This is $29,000 more than the total of pledges for 2005. More than 50 families increased their pledges over their 2005 contributions.

The increased pledging allows us to enhance line items in the budget that we had reduced or, in the case of personnel salaries, had increased only modestly. Most importantly, we applied one-half of this overage to our mission budget, increasing it by $9,700 to levels not seen since 2003. We were able to start an adult mission trip fund with $1500 and funded a new (to be determined) congregational mission for $2500. The other half of the largesse was applied to augmenting our utilities line item by $3000 and increasing salaries of the lower-paid staff by 4.2% and other staff by 3.2%.

Just as important as the money is the enthusiasm and momentum that this successful stewardship campaign has generated. The Session has voted to call an "Equipping Minister" in addition to a Christian Education Director. Much more about this will be coming in the weeks ahead as we learn about the avenues this opens in our ministry at Trinity.

I cannot say enough about the faithful stewardship of Do Kirk and Kim Merritt in chairing the stewardship campaign. This was only a sliver of the total love and dedication they have given to Trinity over many years, but it was very significant to us and we are blessed to have them in the Trinity family. Of course, without the generosity shown by the congregation, there would be no celebration.

Thanks be to God for the witness your generosity enables!

Betty Burnett

Jonathan Kozol, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. Crown (2005)

It started off so well. The Great Society of the 1960s pledged to include everyone, and we knew America would be the richer for it. The strongholds of segregation fell, one after another. Integration in housing, accommodations, schools, and the workplace became realities. No more poll tax, no more back of the bus, no more "separate but equal."

During the good times of the 1980s and 1990s, segregation began its insidious creep back. While we were growing our portfolios, the walls isolating the poor in wretched enclaves were growing as well. Today segregation in northern urban areas is more marked than it's ever been. Chicago's schools are 13% white, Washington D.C., 6% white, St. Louis 11% white, the Bronx 10% white. Where have all the white kids gone? To private schools, every one who could afford it.

Jonathan Kozol describes the resegregation of school systems and the impact of poverty on our children chillingly in The Shame of the Nation, and recounts horror stories about the new test-based "education" which requires rote memorization reminiscent of the 19^th century.

He exposes "accountability," the buzz word of No Child Left Behind, as the double-speak that it is: "There is something deeply hypocritical in a society that holds an inner-city child only eight years old 'accountable': for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids. . . ."

Kozol will speak at Washington University's Graham Chapel on February 22, 11 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The 2004 report for the Winger Food Pantry was mistakenly substituted for the 2005 report in the 2005 Annual Reports booklet distributed in January. Below is the correct version of the 2005 report.

It has been a very successful year at the Winger Food Pantry. Our numbers continue to grow some each year and the clients we serve continue to value and appreciate Trinity for the gift of emergency food once a month. Many times during a Wednesday we hear "God Bless You for your help" and "I am so thankful for Trinity and their monthly food help." A couple of clients even bring back their bags so we can reuse them. The dedicated volunteers who believe in what we are doing and give so freely of their time and energies are truly a blessing. The Winger Food Pantry could not function without their efforts.

The volunteer shoppers this year were: Jane Gibbons, Stacey Carman, Robyn Peglar and Sally Dunn. The monthly baggers who keep our food pantry shelves full were: Joanne, John and Zach Roman, Emily Kelton, Kitty Underwood, Polly Brown, Lynn Beck, Kirk and Jyll Swearingen, Tina, Larry, Joanna and Isaac Newberry, Norman Varva and Wally Klein, Christy Thompson, Andrea and Charlie Royce, Michelle, Griffin, Dylan and Shane Devine, Linda, Brian and Brianna Min. Wednesday workers were Sally Dunn, Harold Glad, Roberta Middlekamp, Sandy Norkaitis, Jerry Royce and our full-time helper, Birty Hodgson. Roberta Middlekamp celebrated a very special birthday this year and the second Wednesday in December was her last Wednesday on the job. She will truly be missed by all of us, especially the clients who appreciated her kindness, respect and love towards them.

We received 164 cases of Boy Scout food this past year. Stacey Carman, Jane Gibbons, Harold Glad, Steve and Shelly Norkaitis and Sandy Norkaitis all picked up the food and brought it to the food pantry from the Food Bank. In April we received 2815 personal care items from the Girl Scout April Showers collection. Special thanks to Eleanor, Maggie and Stacey Carman for assisting with the sorting of these items. Also this year, we are grateful to Meleia Carter, Alec and Lauren who bagged the personal care items that were put with the food orders.

We are very thankful for the commitment of the Trinity congregation who helped us give food to 1818 people/ 670 families during the year, an increase of 276 people. Our biggest Wednesday was November 16, when we gave away 51 turkeys and 40 bags of side dishes to the 149 people and 62 families. It was truly a very Happy Thanksgiving for the clients.

The second Souper Bowl lunch took place on February 6, with a delicious lunch prepared by Sally Dunn. The financial donations given benefit the Matthew 25 Fund and also Winger Food Pantry. We had a competition between Zach Roman's youth and Stacey Carman's adults to see who could bring the most powdered milk for the pantry. The youth won for the second year. Each year we receive cash donations from the congregation during the year plus we benefit from school food drives organized by Spirit Sorensen and Charlotte Landrum.

You Can Help Too

As noted in the Annual Report above, the Winger Food Pantry served 1818 people in 2005, nearly 300 more than in 2004. There were over 42 volunteers last year who helped in the food pantry by shopping, picking up, bagging, and giving out the food. Many people ask how they can become involved in this mission. We do have some opportunities this year, we need baggers for the month of September and shoppers for October, November, and December. If you would like to help, please call me at 863-7699. Another opportunity is to bring a Meal a Month donation, suggestions listed in the short Trinity News. A financial contribution is always welcome. I think we all agree, that as volunteers, we receive far more than the time we actually give.

Many of you expressed interest this fall in joining the presbytery's effort to provide assistance to the people in the Gulf Coast area of our country. We are writing now to let you know that the project has not stalled, but rather, is moving full steam ahead. We have formed an action team - KARRAT (Katrina and Rita Relief Action Team) - and, in conjunction with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), are sponsoring the development and management of a volunteer village in Houma, Louisiana. The village, which is located in Terrebonne Parish, has been appropriately dubbed "The Good Earth Village." Houma is located in the southeastern part of Louisiana in Cajun country and is home to approximately 35,000 people. The area is ethnically diverse, with a significant proportion of the area's people being of African American and Native American descent. The area has been devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the clean-up and rebuilding efforts in the area are expected to last several years. The volunteer village will host 90 - 100 volunteers at a time, and people from all over the country, if not the world, will call it home during the time they spend in Houma helping its citizens to rebuild their homes and lives. Our commitment as a presbytery is to assist PDA to finance the village, to organize and build the village, to staff the village, and to provide ongoing support and momentum for the project.

As you can tell, this is a big project and a long term project, and as such, will need the help, vision, and commitment of all of us. We are actively seeking people who would like to help with this project. The most acute need we have at present is for people skilled in construction to serve as members of the advance team, which is expected to leave for Houma soon. If you are interested and able to help in this way, please contact David Westrich at 314-574-5119. Other areas of need are the following: acquisition of donated supplies for the village and its construction; fundraising for the project; publicity for the project; organization of work teams who will volunteer at the village; and recruitment of personnel for the project - camp/village managers, counselors, and chaplains.

If you are interested in participating in this project or would like further information, please call me at 314-495-1368 or email me at bernhardlm@gmail.com. Anyone who would like information about sending down a volunteer work team, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Pat Cleeland, directly at 314-771-3860.

Thanks in advance for your interest, your enthusiasm, and your prayers.

KARRAT members: Kelly Allen, David Westrich, Pat Cleeland, Dick Smith, Brian Kuhn, John Carothers, and Lisa Bernhard. Involved Presbytery staff: Paul Reiter and Thom Hood

Several years ago, members and friends of Trinity filled collection buckets with "Dimes for Dresden" - an outreach to help restore the cathedral church of Dresden, Germany, destroyed during the firebombing of the city in World War II. Beth Early spearheaded this mission. She and Nancy and Bob Wagoner traveled to Dresden last Fall to witness the dedication of the restored church.

I wonder how many of us have missed the dimes we carefully collected to symbolically buy a stone in Dresden's now reconstructed Frauenkirche. I know I haven't, but I saw them add up to dollars, then hundreds, and yes, thousands of dollars. Not having been to Dresden for years, I hadn't seen what those dimes were doing, but I had heard. Last October, I saw what they were doing.

I saw the church, carefully and faithfully restored to its former beauty, but I saw more than that. I saw a city, once consumed by the unfairness of the bombing (Dresden was no military threat), further assaulted by the lack of reconstruction during its life behind the Berlin Wall, begin to bud and yes, bloom.

Citizens, old and young alike, have been given the gift of pride in their city. They stand in lines hours just to walk inside the Frauenkirche. In the cool night air, people mill around gazing at the now filled void in their skyline. Buildings around it are beginning to flourish as well.

As the church was being re-consecrated, thousands of people congregated to watch on big screens. I've read estimates of 60 to 100 thousand people gathered together to witness the good which mankind can accomplish when we work together. Trinity had three there among those thousands to represent all those dimes. As a friend of mine always said if she couldn't be where she wanted to be, "Take me in your pocket." Nancy's, Bob's and my pockets were full with all of you, as we witnessed this history made possible by generous people like you. We couldn't always speak the same language as those who stood beside us, but our presence and our hearts spoke volumes, as well as the smiles and the tears.

An elderly friend of mine from Dresden, learning English only after the fall of the Berlin Wall, wrote me at Christmastime, "We are very proud and thankful about the fulfilling of this hard and great work." It's this pride which is such a dramatic change from the Dresden after World War II, continuing well after I started going there in the mid and late 90's. You, my friends, helped make it happen. On behalf of the people of Dresden, I give you their enduring thanks. They now see a far more beautiful and hopeful future than they ever could have imagined, in part thanks to you!

All this for a DIME!

Jonathan Kozol, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. Crown (2005)

It started off so well. The Great Society of the 1960s pledged to include everyone, and we knew America would be the richer for it. The strongholds of segregation fell, one after another. Integration in housing, accommodations, schools, and the workplace became realities. No more poll tax, no more back of the bus, no more "separate but equal."

During the good times of the 1980s and 1990s, segregation began its insidious creep back. While we were growing our portfolios, the walls isolating the poor in wretched enclaves were growing as well. Today segregation in northern urban areas is more marked than it's ever been. Chicago's schools are 13% white, Washington D.C., 6% white, St. Louis 11% white, the Bronx 10% white. Where have all the white kids gone? To private schools, every one who could afford it.

Jonathan Kozol describes the resegregation of school systems and the impact of poverty on our children chillingly in The Shame of the Nation, and recounts horror stories about the new test-based "education" which requires rote memorization reminiscent of the 19^th century.

He exposes "accountability," the buzz word of No Child Left Behind, as the double-speak that it is: "There is something deeply hypocritical in a society that holds an inner-city child only eight years old 'accountable': for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids. . . ."

Kozol will speak at Washington University's Graham Chapel on February 22, 11 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

February 5 - Super Bowl Party, 6:00 to end of game

February 11 - Elegant Dinner

February 17-18 - Winter Lock-In at church

February 26 - Mission Trip Planning, 7:00-9:00, Youth Lounge

*February is our month for the food pantry. Sorting food and bagging will take place on the 5^th, 12^th, and 26^th from 11:30-12:30. Contact Rhonda Dunbar with any questions or comments.

As we start a new year, I am excited about so many things. Here are some I am excited about at Trinity:

• I am excited that our stewardship campaign not only met its goal, but that the congregation pledged 7% over our goal.
• I am excited that the Session put the lion's share of our pledge surplus toward mission.
• I am excited about our new equipping emphasis.
• I am excited about Trinity's participation in MCU and the members of Trinity who are leading us in that effort.
• I am excited that Trinity's congregation covers every age range, with a strong representation of youth, elderly and everyone in between.
• I am excited that this year we will send adults on the SECOND Adult Mission Trip.
• I am excited about the new elders and deacons who begin their service this month.
• I am excited that the elders and deacons who are rotating off their boards are still providing vital leadership to Trinity.
• I am excited at the opportunities for worship that not having the pipe organ for a number of months will present; I am also excited that by Christmas we will have our fully refurbished pipe organ back.
• I am excited because even though, in Janet Chester, we lost outstanding leadership for our youth group, our youth group remains strong and vital.
• I am excited because Trinity has a talented, faithful, and engaged staff.
• I am excited because the same can be said for the entire congregation.
• I am excited because God is doing great things in our midst!

February 5 - Confirmation Class and Advocates Lunch and movie. Bring a sack lunch; dessert will be pro- vided. Pick up at church. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

February 12 - Confirmation Class and Advocates Discussion of The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe

February 26 - No Sunday School All-Church Mardi Gras Celebration

Dr. Dan Anderson-Little - January 30, 31 & February 1 & 2