may 2009 trinity topics newsletter, trinity toledo episcopal church

8/8/2019 May 2009 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church

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Practice resurrection. Live in open expectation of the new thingGod is doing at all times and in all places. It means openingourselves to that new thing, recognizing that the change itbrings will cause some distress. But there is always moreabundant life on the other side of the pain and grief that comeswith change and growth.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

TrinityTopicsThe Newsletter of Trinity Episcopal Church in Toledo, Ohio

MAY

2009


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The Creation Perrysburg Symphony ChoralFriday, May 1, 7p.Haydn: CreationCelebrate May Day with this classical masterwork asarchangels Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel tell the story of thebeginning of life.Tickets: Adults: $15; Students & Seniors: $12

Anthony/Brown Piano Duo: Still HereFriday, May 15, 7pBach: C minor Concerto

The fifth appearance of the celebrated duo as they finish theirsurvey of the Bach Concertos and other assorted works forduo piano.Adults: $15, Students/Seniors: $12

Music of Aaron CoplandFriday/Saturday June 5/6 7pCopland: Appalachian Spring

Quiet CityDown A Country Lane

Nigel Burgoine and the Ballet Theatre of Toledo join theSonoNovo Chamber Ensemble with original choreography tothis Pulitzer Prize-winning score. Also on the program areseveral shorter works by this beloved American composer.Tickets: $20/$15

SUNDAY, MAY 3EASTER 4Acts 4:5-12; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18

9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s

10:00a Formation

10:45a Parish Eucharist


9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s10:00a Formation




10:00a Formation


SUNDAY, MAY 24EASTER 7Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19


10:00a Formation


SUNDAY, MAY 31PENTECOSTActs: 2:1-21; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27, 16:4-15

ONE SERVICE TODAY10:45a Festive Eucharist

SUNDAY, JUNE 7TRINITY SUNDAYIsaiah 6:1-8; Romans 8:12-17; John 4:1-17


10:00a Formation



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Are you the baby of the family? Do you rem ember a

time when there was a baby in your family? I hope

your experience was seeing family coming together,

happ y and excited an d w illing to help out how ever

they could. Each one of us w as the baby of the

family at one time or anoth er. I think of this as wefinally hit spring in Toledo, and as we have a cluster

of holidays and holy days this month: Mothers Day,

Pentecost, Memor ial Day, Trinity Sund ay (God as all

of those elemen ts of familywho knew ?), and as w e

take the next step w ith Natural Chu rch Development.Photo by (Zahar Oriyan)

Weve been hearing off and on about N atural Chu rch Development for about a year. The next

step in the process is a survey that m easures the health of our commu nity. We will take the survey

on Pentecost to invite the H oly Spirit into our gr owth as a comm unity. We will find out w here we

are strong, and also wh ere we are weak.

According to N atural Chur ch Development, the factors that m ake a h ealthy church are

emp owering leadership , gift-based ministry, passionate spiritua lity, effective structures, inspiring

wor ship service, holistic small groups, need -oriented evangelism, and loving relationship s. As you

will see from the image on page 7, these are represented as the staves, the slats of wood , that make

up an old-fashioned bucket. As a bucket can only hold as mu ch water as the shortest stave allows,

the church can only do as well as the minimu m factor allows. We will take our su rvey, find ou t

wh at our shortest stave is, and concentrate first on that area in the church. Then we w ill gather to

talk about how we h onestly feel about this minimum factor weve foun d, and how we w ill work

with it.

For some of you , the bucket metaphor w ill wor k just fine. It works very w ell for me, until I

picture u s talking abou t this thing. I dont wan t us to treat our m inimum factor as a piece of wood

with w hich we can hit ourselves over our heads. A church is a living organism, and I need to treat

its factors as living organism s. We may find that this factor is old new s, someth ing that has shown

up m any times in our chu rchs history. But can we try to think of it as something new ? When I

picture us together, having learned w here we are strong and wh ere we are w eak, I picture us all

with a babythe smallest member of the family, to wh om w ell pay lots of extra attention so that it

can grow up healthy and strong. It will need both strained beets and shou lder rides. As all of its

Godp arents, we w ill need t o share diap er du ty. But w e will also be able to share in the joy as it

grow s into a strong, healthy par t of the family.

Whether you treat this factor as a bucket stave or a baby is up to you. But I hope that as we go

into this process, we can, with love, patience, and nurtu ring, help each other to be good stewards,

good Godp arents, and better church.

With much gratitud e to and for all of you,

Liddy

Of Buckets and Babies


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General ConventionWebcast

The Episcopal Chur chs 2009 General

Conven tion w ill be the top ic of a live webcast

on Wed nesday, May 13 at 11 a.m. EDT. . The

webcast will originate from Anah eim

Convention Center in Anaheim, California,

where Genera l Convention 2009 will be held

July 8 17. Participants in the live webcast

includ e the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal

Chu rch, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts

Schori; Presiden t of the H ouse of Depu ties

Bonnie And erson; Executive Officer and

Secretary of the Con vention, the Rev.

Gregory Strau b; and Bishop J. Jon Bruno of

the Diocese of Los Angeles, the host d iocese.

The Episcopal Ch urchs General

Conven tion, held every three years, is the

bicameral governing bod y of the church.

General Convention, the second largest

legislative body in the w orld, is comp rised of

the House of Bishops, with m ore than 200

members, and th e Hou se of Depu ties, withclergy and lay rep resentatives from 110

d ioceses in 15 nations, totaling over 700

members.

To access the live webcast, go to:

ww w.episcopalchurch.org/ index.htm.

For more about General Convention, go to

ww w.episcopalchurch.org/ gc2009.htm.

Spring Regional Meeting

Diocesan regiona l meetings w ill be held

on Wed nesday, May 6 from 6:00 to 8:30pm at

four locations around the diocese. The

meeting for p arishes at the western end of the

d iocese will be at Trinity.

The preliminary p roposal from the

Deanery Review Committee will be shared,

and the d iocesan dep uties to this summers

General Convention will present information

about the Convention .

Let Lidd y know if you p lan to attend.

Dinner will not be provided at the m eeting,

so plan accordingly.

4

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You Say its Your Birthday?

In response to

several requests, we

will begin includ ing

parishioner birthdays

(month and d ay only)

in next m onths Topics.

If your birthday rolls

around but you dont

see it listed here, tha t

means the church d oesnt have a record of it.

Contact Ginny in th e office by ph one

(419.243.1231) or em ail

([email protected]) to ad d your special

day to the m embership d atabase, so we can

celebrate it with you !

David Nelsons Ordinationto the Diaconate

David S. Nelson will be orda ined to the

transitional diaconate (the last step before

ordination to the p riesthood) on Saturday,

June 13 at 10:00 a.m. at Trinity Cathedral in

Cleveland.

You can continue to show your sup port

for David by attending th e ordination ser-

vice, by sending him a note of sup port, andby keeping him in your p rayers.

MEMBER MATTERS

Carol Statum entered new life on Friday,April 24. May Carol and all the saints, throughthe mercy of God, rest in peace.

One of our older members has moved to benear her daughter. Patricia Bechtel nowlives in Louisville, Ohio (east of Canton).


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Bishop's Bike Ride 2009

The 2009 Bishop 's Bike Ride will be heldfrom Jun e 28 to July 3. This year the ride w ill

begin in Marion, travel through Gambier,

Wooster, New Philadelphia and East

Liverpool, and en d in Steuben ville. The total

trip w ill be 250-275 miles. Riders may ride

the entire route or just a leg or two. Riders

will be hosted at churches for meals and in

par ishioners hom es for overnigh t stays.

Dont want to ride? There are lots of ways

to be involved, like volunteering sup port

services for part of the ride, pr aying for theriders, or d onating snacks and water sup plies.

It is a w ond erful, rich experience for all

involved, not just for the riders.

Money raised from the Bishops Bike Ride

supports youth mission trips in the Diocese of

Ohio. For more information, contact Rita

Rozell by p hon e (800.551.4815) or em ail

([email protected] g).

If souls are not transformedand the world is not healed,the congregation fails no matterwhat the treasurer reports.

Dan Hotchkiss, Alban Institute

Spring Cleaning

Done Yet?

We'll also happily takeyour bedding, towels,

small appliances, pots,pans, cosmetics, jewelry,knickknacks, tchotchkes,and all that stuff you weregoing to regift anyway.

Best of all, the profits goto help folks in our citywho are counting on us.

(See back cover, lower right corner.)

Next to NewMonday/Thursday, 9:30-3:00Recycle + Refashion + Regift

REJOICE


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6

Natural Church D evelopment

Natu ral Church Development (NCD) is a long-term p rocess that

focuses on improving the health of a faith community, with the

und erstanding imp ressively documented by research that when a

congregation is sufficiently healthy, num erical growth w ill follow. NCD is

an ap proach to building healthy congregations that has been adop ted by

the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, and the Trinity vestry has d ecided that our

comm un ity can ben efit from participating in this program .

The NCD p rocess begins w ith a coach, a facilitator-guid e from outsid e

the congrega tion who has been forma lly trained in the prog ram . Trinitys

coach is Terry Kahler, a psychologist and mem ber at St. Marks. She w ill

teach u s about the NCD p rocess and be available to answer qu estions and

offer suggestions and feedback. Terry will also train Trinitys Church

Health Team, a small group of parishioners chosen by the rector and

vestry officers to lead our NCD effort.

The next step in the p rocess is a survey that m easures the hea lth of our

commu nity in eight areas. This sur vey grew ou t of a series of stud ies

involving thousan ds of Christian chu rches of different denom inations and

with different theologies, both growing and declining. These studies

identified eight Qu ality Characteristicswh ich d efine healthy churches and

are consistently correlated w ith church g row th. (See the box for details.)

The anonym ous su rvey of about 90 questions w ill be offered on

Pentecost (May 31) to anyone w ho regularly attends Sund ay w orship and

wh o is involved in som e kind of small group ministry at Trinity (e.g.,

choir, Altar Guild, ushers). How ever, only 30 sur veys can be subm itted

for scoring (compu ter-tabulation by d iocesan staff); these will be dr aw n

from all the completed surveys in ord er to get a representative sample

considering age, gender, and longev ity at Trinity.

Our survey results come as eight scores, one for each of the Qu alityCharacteristics. The lowest score is called our Minimu m Factor. This is the

area that is likely to be the biggest barrier to healthy grow th. Focusing

attention on strengthening this area is expected to prod uce the greatest

impr ovemen t in Trinitys health.

We will discern ou r next steps on th e basis of the su rvey rep ort, to

move toward health and grow th as a commun ity. Well develop an action

plan, using Trinitys areas of greatest strength to imp rove our a rea of

greatest weakness. Well work together for a year to imp lement that plan,

and then take the survey again to see how w eve improved an d w hat our

new Minim um Factor is. The imp rovem ent cycle will then be repeated .

This process must be supp orted by a grou p of parishioners who commit to

praying for Trinitys health and v itality; chur ches that have not succeeded

with N CD have often been missing this elemen t of intercessory prayer.

Though d ifferent congregations may have the same m inimum factor,

the plans they make to improve are as unique as they are. We will use our

own creativity, identity, and energy to add ress our minimu m factor in the

way that w orks best for us. NCD is intended to engage the whole

congregation. It isn't "another thing to do" - it will help Trinity find a

better way to d o what God is dreaming for us to do.

The Church Health

Team

The role of the Chu rch Health

Team is to help the congrega tion

move through th e NCD process

to add ress our m inimum factor,

thereby increasing the health ofthe comm un ity. The Team will

be responsible for creating a p lan

with a timeline, and then

guiding the commu nity through

its work.

Trinitys Chu rch Health Team

mem bers are Todd Alcroft, Don

Barn es, Jane Bueche, Mike

Lowrey, Becky Roth, Karen

Wabeke, and Joni Zechman.

Trinitys coach will meet withthe Team throu ghout the p rocess

to explain concepts, help with

brainstorming, condu ct diag-

nostic exercises, and an swer

questions.

Coaching help is one of the

best features of the NCD

pr ocess. Terry will help us as we

learn about NCD, look at the

results of our surv ey, and p lan

the work on our m inimumfactor. During the year that

follows, shell work w ith the

Church H ealth Team to

imp lement Trinitys plan, and to

evaluate the results.

The Survey

The NCD sur vey will be

offered on Pen tecost (May 31) to

anyone wh o regularly attendsSund ay worship an d is involved

in some kind of small group

ministry at Trinity (e.g., Bread

Guild, Outreach Comm ittee,

vestry). Everyone takes the

survey at the same time, so be

sure to come to Trinity on

Pentecost to receive the Spirit

and share your opinion!


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7

8 Qu ality Characteristics

Empowering Leadership.

Leaders of growing churches em-

pow er others for ministry. They

don t use par ishioners to attain their

own goals and fu lfill their own

visions.

Gift-Based Ministry. When

peop le serve in the ar ea of their

spiritual g ifts, they fun ction less in

their own strength and m ore in the

pow er of the Holy Spirit, allowing

ordinary people to accomplish

extraordinary things.

Passionate Spirituality. Do the

peop le in th is chu rch pra ctice their

faith w ith joy and enthusiasm?

Effective Structures. There is an

extremely negative relationship

between traditionalism and churchgrowth. Healthy churches con-

tinually evaluate w hether church

structures help or hind er the

fulfillment of t heir m ission.

Inspiring Worship Service. The

wor ship service style may be

liturgical or free, the langu age may

be churchy or secular it makes

no difference for church growth.

What does matter is whether

worshipers feel that they ha ve

encountered God during worship.Holistic Small Groups. For

small groups to h ave a p ositive

effect, they must be holistic going

beyond just d iscussing Bible

passages to sh aping daily life. In

such groups, people can safely share

personal concerns and learn to serve

others w ith their spiritual gifts.

Need-Oriented Evangelism. The

key to growth is for a church to

focus its evangelism efforts on

listening to th e questions and needs

of non-Christians.

Loving Relationship s. Growing

churches possess a measurably

higher "love quotient" than stagnant

or declining ones. Genuine,

practical love in action has a

magnetic power far greater than

words.

The 5-Step Quality Grow th Cycle

Natural Church D evelopment means releasing the growth p otential

that God has already implanted in Trinity. How do w e do that?

Prepare

Build a working u nderstand ing of Natu ral Church Developmen t.

Recru it a coach. Share NCD principles and pr ocess with the

congregation. Mobilize intercessors for focused p rayer throu ghou t the

process. Recru it and train initial members of the Church Health Team.

Diagnose

Comp lete the NCD sur vey and receive survey results. Process initial

reactions and responses. Expand the Church H ealth Team if needed in

light of the Minimum Factor. Use focus group s and other listening

strategies to discern key issues contributing to the Minimu m Factor.

Analyze carefully to deter mine root causes. Do add itional read ing,

study, and discussion on the Minimu m Factor. Commu nicate progress

and prayer needs.

Plan

Develop a written action p lan with goals and strategies that ad dress

the issues (root causes, not just symp toms) and remove th e obstacles to

growth of the Minimum Factor. Own ership of the plan by leaders and

mem bers is vital.

Implement

Put the plan into action. Monitor and encourage momentum . Holdpeop le accountable for implement ing their part of the plan. Assess

progress regularly and make ad justments as needed. Keep a h olistic

perspective through out imp lementation.

Evaluate

Review. Assess what h as been achieved in add ressing the Minimu m

Factor. Celebrate the work accomp lished , and consolidate the learning

that can inform the process for the next cycle. Prepa re to take another

survey. Continu e until the kingd om of God is here in this place.

Natural Church

Development uses

the analogy of the

staves of a barrel to

describe the need to

focus attent ion on a

churchs Minimum

Factor. A barr el can

only hold as muchwater as th e shortest

stave allows it to

hold. By increasing

the height of the

shortest stave, the

barrels capacity is

increased. Focus is

placed on th e Minimu m Factor or lowest score of the 8 Quality

Characteristics, and concentra ted effort goes into imp roving th e health

of the chu rch in that area.


8/12

Dental Care for Stew art

StudentsThis spring w e will be collecting fund s to

allow us to g ive each stud ent at Stewart

Academy for Girls an age-appropriate

toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. We buy

these in bulk from a d entist so that each

stud ent receives similar items. If you w ouldlike to contribu te, the

suggested amoun t is

$5 but an y d onation is

welcome! Please

place your gift in one

of the special

envelopes on th e

curved wall. The

students w ill receive the toothbrushes and

toothpaste to take home w ith them at the end

of the school year. Got Bags?

If youre feeling gu ilty about not carrying

reusable shopping bags to the grocery store

with you , let Food for Thought help! FFT

needs your p lastic grocery bags. Arou nd 300

families shop in their pan tries each week,

typically taking 3 bags eachyou d o the

math...

Theyd love to reuse

the p lastic shopping

bags you collect, so

bring them in to Trinity.But p lease note these

requests:

Make sure all

bags are clean

and empty. (They have received

donations of bags w ith d irty tissues

and other trash in them.)

Make sure the bags do n ot have large

holes in them . (Dontyou hate it when

a bag of groceries suffers a blowout in

the par king lot?)

Store you r bags in a clean, dry p lace

(not with the mop or next to the

Drano).

Food for Thought ap preciates your h elp

with this reu se-recycling pr oject.

FOCUS Spring Luncheon

FOCUS will hold its Spring Luncheon on

Wednesday, May 20 at noon in the Grand

Ballroom at the Park Inn (at the corner of

Monroe and Summ it Streets dow ntown).

This is an opportu nity to learn more about

the great work that FOCUS does in thecomm un ity with our supp ort. The lunch is

free, but FOCUS hopes guests w ill feel so

stirred by th e clients testimonies that th ey

will be moved to make a don ation. For more

inform ation , call Janet at 419.729.1878. You

can register online at www.focustoledo.org.

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Project Feed 5,000

Project Feed 5000 is an annu al food d rive

organized by Epworth Un ited Methodist

Chu rch, inspired by Christs feeding of 5,000

peop le with a few loaves and fish. The

pr oject is des igned to fill 1,250 boxes to feed

local Toledo families.

This month we w ill have boxes available

with a list of what goes in them. Therequested food items w ill feed a family of

four for two d ays. Please take a box, fill it

with th e items on the list and b ring the filled

box back Trinity on any Sun day in May. The

boxes will be given to the Toledo Area

Ministries Feed Your N eighbor food pantries;

since Trinity has a long a ssociation w ith

Salem Luth eran, we will take our filled boxes

there.

FFT

~~~~

St. Pauls Sunday Lunch

The next scheduled d ate

for Trinity to provid e lunch at

St. Pauls Comm un ity Center

for the hu ngry in our m idst is

Sund ay, May 17. Stay tuned

during Sunday announce-

ments for more information abou t the need

for cooks and servers.


9/12

Everyday Gratitude

So we send you th is fun ky blue envelope once or

twice a year. Maybe you have a little blue cardboard

box on your d esk or dresser, and cant remember how

or when it got there. It can still do plenty of good .

Its for the UTO--United Thank Offering--which hasbeen around for 130 years, and aw ards grants around

the county an d th roughou t the world. In 2008, it gave

out over $2,400,000. Some examp les of the good it

does:

In the Diocese of D elhi, North India, the UTO

granted $59,622.81 to build a vocational training center

in Kalimpong w hich will house a project that combats

cross-bord er and internal trafficking of women and

children in Eastern Himalaya.

In Boone, North Carolina, the UTO granted $29,200

to the Bread of Life Comm unity Soup Kitchen to

pu rchase commercial kitchen ap pliances and up grade

their ou treach p roject. This p roject not only serves

meals to the homeless and all in need, bu t also trains

the unem ployed for work in the food service indu stry.

Smells just like our mission statement, doesnt it?

Her es wha t to do w ith the fresh envelope enclosed

and / or the dusty blue box that gives you a vague sense

of guilt w hen you look at it:

Option 1: Between now and May 17, at the end ofeach day, remember the blessings of the day . Put a

dollar in the envelope/ box for each blessing. On May

17, bring the envelope to chu rch. Repeat.

Option 2: Youve had that blue box around for

quite some time. Who was the president back then

Clinton? Carter? Estimate the nu mber of years, then

pu t a ten or a twenty in the box for every year it's been

sitting there. On May 17, transfer that money to the

envelope, and bring it to church. Then go to Op tion 1.

Option 3: On May 17, write out an extra check toTrinity and pu t UTO in the memo line.

Whatever you give, well send it to United Thank

Offering, who w ill send it back out to th e w orld. And

somewhere out there, someone will be very grateful.

9

A Litany of the Holy Spirit

Promise of God, grant us hope.

Ray of light, grant us hope.

Author of all good , grant us hope.

Source of life-giving w ater, grant us hope.

Consuming fire, grant us hope.

Ardent love, grant us hope.

Spiritual balm, grant us hope.

Spirit of love and compassion, grant us hope.

Spirit of wisdom and und erstanding, grant us hope.

Spirit of coun sel and fortitude, grant us hope.

Spirit of knowledge and truth, grant us hope.Spirit of peace and reconciliation, grant us hope.

Spirit of transformation and r enewa l, grant us hope.

Spirit of justice and clemency, grant us hope.

Holy Spirit, Comforter, grant us hope.

Holy Spirit, Gift of God , grant us hope.

Holy Spirit Who fills the un iverse, grant us hope.

Amen.

I baptize you with water for repentance, butone who is more powerful than I is coming

after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit andfire. Matthew 3:11


10/12

50 Ways to Love Your Neighborby Shan e Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartg rove

With the N ational Day of Prayer coming up (May

7), a lot of folks around the coun try are organizing

prayer services in church sanctuaries and town halls.

Were all for getting together to say p rayers but

were also challenged by the w ays scripture stirs us tobecome the answer to our prayers. So we decided to

start a little campaign.

Here are 50 ways some little, some bigger

that we can start to be the church w e pray for. If you

can join us in committing to do a t least one of these

things between now and May 7, consider yourself a

member of the movement and share the list with your

friend s. Maybe w ere a little late for a nationa l orga-

nizing committee but, then again, maybe we dont

need one.

May the Spirit spread its truth like kudzu, and may Gods kingdom come on earth as it is inheaven.

1. Fast for the 2 billion people who live on less than a dollar a day.

2. Contact your local crisis pr egnan cy center and invite a pregn ant wom an to live with you r family.

3. Ask your pastor if someone on your chu rchs sick list wou ld like a visit.

4. Join an open AA meeting and befriend someone there.

5. Ad opt a child.

6. Mow your neighbor s grass.

7. Volunteer to tutor a kid at your local elementary school. (Try to get to know the kids family.)

8. Grow your own tomatoes and share them.

9. Ask a small grou p in your commu nity to meet regularly for intercessory prayer.

10. Build a wheelchair ramp for someone who is homeboun d.11. Read the newspap er to someone at your local nursing home.

12. Plant a tree.

13. Look up the closest registered sex offend er in your neighborhood and tr y to befriend h im.

14. Throw a birthd ay party for a pr ostitute.

15. When you pay you r wa ter bill, pay your neighbors too (theyll let you really).

16. Invest money in a micro-lending bank.

17. Ask the next person wh o asks you to spare some change to join you for dinner.

18. Leave a rand om tip for someone wh os cleaning the streets or a pu blic restroom.

19. Write one CEO a month th is year. Affirm or critique the ethics of their compan y (you may need

to d o a little research first).

20. Start tithing (giving 10% of all your income) d irectly to the poor.

21. Connect with a group of migrant workers or farmers who grow your food and visit their farm.Maybe even pick some veggies with them. Ask what they get paid.

22. Give your win ter coat away to someone who is colder than you and go to a thrift store to get a

new one.

For the complete list, go to http:/ / jonathanw ilsonhartgrove.com/ news/

10

A posting from the blog Gods Politics on April 14, 2009

http:/ / blog.sojo.net/ 2009/ 04/ 14/ 50-ways-to-make-a-movement/


11/12

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Book Review

An Altar in the World: A Geography of FaithBarbara Brown Taylor, 216 pgs, Hardcover, 2009

In her critically acclaimed bookLeaving Church, Barbara Brown Taylor wrote

abou t leaving full-time pa rish ministry to become a p rofessor, a decision that

stretched the boun dar ies of her faith. Now, in her rich follow-up ,An A ltar in the

World, she shares how she learned to encounter God outside the w alls of anychurch.

From simp le practices such as walking, wor king and getting lost, to deep m editations on top ics like

prayer and pron oun cing blessings, Taylor reveals concrete ways to d iscover the sacred in the smallest

things we do and see. Someth ing as ordinary as han ging clothes on a clothesline becomes an act of

devotion if we pay attention to w hat w ere doing an d take time to attend to the sights, smells, and

sound s around us. Making eye contact with the cashier at the grocery store becomes a mom ent of true

hu man connection. Allowing ourselves to get lost leads to new d iscoveries. Und er Taylor's expert

guidance, we come to question conventional distinctions between the sacred and the secular, learning

that no ph ysical act is too earthbound or too hum ble to become a path to the d ivine. When w e

incorporate these practices into our d aily lives, we can d iscover altars everyw here w e go, in nearly

everything we do.

Mother Love

Some of our m others taught us w hat it was like to be loved. Some others of us grew u p w ith mothers

who couldn t really teach us much abou t love, because theyd never really learned them selves. We tend

to idealize mothers as the p erfect dispen sers of love.

Sometimes mothers do their best work by getting out

of the way, or by leaving. After all, children need th at togrow u p, too. After all, even Jesus gets out of the way so

we can try his way for ourselves.

When Jesus is getting read y to leave his disciples, he

begins to tell them good-bye. Its not so different from

the speech a m other on her deathbed might give the kids:

Now children, I wont be with you mu ch longer. You

are going to keep looking for m e. . . but you cant come

wh ere Im going. Im giving you some new instru ctions:

love each other, just the way Ive loved you. Everybody

will know w hose family you come from if you love each

other.

The kids get a remarkable challengenow its time to put to w ork everyth ing theyve been taught.

Love one another, as I have loved you.

What does love look like? Getting out of the way , so another person can try. Blood, sweat, and tears.

Feeding one ano ther. Above all, love liberates, love sets us free to be more than w e thought possible.

Love one another as I have loved you . Befriend the stranger. Engage your enemy in love. Challenge

the unlovable. Go hunting for the unloved.

~From Mother Love in A Wing and a Prayerby Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.


12/12

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Trinity Episcopal ChurchOne Trinity Plaza ! Toledo, Ohio 43604-1585

Phone: 419.243.1231

Fax: 419.243.0920Email: [email protected]

Serving Downtown Toledo since 1842.

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www.trinitytoledo.org

Parish StaffElizabeth M. Hoster, RectorWayne F. Anthony, Associate for Music and the Arts

Susan Lowrey,Associate for Community LifeVirginia Shafer, Executive Secretary

Jane Bueche, Parish AccountantBridget Blanchard, Organist

Parish VestryJeff Albright, senior warden; Jason Rahe, juniorwarden; Karen Wabeke, clerk; Solveig Barnes, LuciaCooper, Jane Gomersall-Zohn, Jennifer Siebold,Sherre Owens Smith, Jim Zechman.

Parish OfficesMon thru Fri, 8:30 am 4:30 pmPhone 419.243.1231 Fax 419.243.0920

Email: [email protected]

Episcopal Diocese of Ohio2230 Euclid AvenueCleveland, Ohio 44115-2499800.551.4815 216.771.4815The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr., Bishop Ordinary

Next-to-New Thrift ShopMon & Thurs, 9:30 am 3 pm;

Jeanne Mitchell,Manager

SUNDAYS 9 & 10:45 am, Holy Eucharist10 am, Formation for all ages

HOLY DAYS as announced

FOR THE PARISH COMMUNITY

Remember those for whom our prayers have been requested: David C. Nelson,Jessica Snyder, Nancy Paulas, William E. Siebold, Herb Landis, Ruth Archer; the childrenand staff of Emanuel Childrens Home; those on death row; all victims of war and violence;Marie Harkey and David S. Nelson in their continuing vocational discernment; and David S.

Nelson and Beth Anne Swartz, preparing for marriage.

Prayers for those who have died: In the parish: Carol Statum. In the world: In this springwhich marks the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, pray for the 800,000 ofRwandas 8 million people who were killed in 100 days from April to July 1994, and for the

thousands of survivors who were maimed, raped, orphaned or widowed.

services

prayers

vision & missionTrinity is called to be a progressive, inclusive and creative urban community.

# We will practice radical hospitality.

# We will be engaged in the life of our city.

# We will stand with those in need: the poor, the sick, the friendless, the marginalized.

# We will actively invite all to experience and celebrate Gods living presence.

# We will journey together toward a Christ-centered life, pursuing personal ministriesthat connect us to God, to one another, and to the world around us.

may 2009 trinity topics newsletter, trinity toledo episcopal church

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