Trinity’s Stewardship campaign continues, as pledges are made to support the ministries that go forth from this Parish.
As of the composition of this newsletter, 31 pledges had been made. Two pledges are from new persons, which is a wonderful development.
If you’ve not already made a pledge, be it large or small, won’t you do so sometime soon?
If you have made a pledge, Trinity Church thanks you!
ANNUAL MEETING
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24TH
It is a requirement of the Canons (rules) of the Church that Trinity Church conduct an Annual Meeting in the month of January each year.
This year’s meeting will occur on Sunday, January 24th, following the morning service, and it will take place in the Parish Hall, in conjunction with a Parish Dinner.
Items of interest and action on the agenda will include: Election of new three new Vestry members, election of a Parish Warden, election of Synod delegates, presentation and approval of the 2010 budget, and reports from parish entities.
We hope you’ll plan to be present!
EPIPHANY SERVICE & RECEPTION
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6TH
Trinity will host an Epiphany service of Holy Communion in the Church on Wednesday, January 6th (which is the 12th day of Christmas), beginning at 6:00 PM. Members of St. John’s, Centralia, and St. James’, McLeansboro, are also being invited to attend.
A reception will follow the service at the home of Jeff Howard, 315 North 14th Street.
VESTRY
SUNDAY, JANUARY 10TH
The next meeting of the Vestry is scheduled for Sunday, January 10th following the morning service. (Please note that this is one week earlier than usual.)
At this meeting, the Vestry will finalize the amount of Trinity’s annual pledge to the Diocese, and will make final arrangements for the Annual Meeting and for the elections which will be conducted at that time.
Any member of Trinity may attend Vestry meetings as an observer.
ST. ANNE’S GUILD
TUESDAY, JANUARY 12TH
The women of Trinity meet as St. Anne’s Guild for their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 12th.
Worship will take place in the Parish Hall beginning at 11:30 AM, with a business session to follow at Noon.
THIRD TUESDAY STUDY GROUP
STUDY OF JOSHUA ON JANUARY 19TH
After Moses’ death, Joshua carried on the work that began with the exodus from Egypt and the wanderings in the Wilderness, leading the children of Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
Joshua will be the topic of discussion for the Third Tuesday Study Group, as it meets on January 19th at the Rector’s home. The group convenes at 6:00 PM.
A light supper will precede the study time, and the evening will conclude with the Office of Compline.
Do join us!
JOIN US FOR EVENSONG
The Rector and Mrs. Tucker have begun the practice of traveling to the Church of St. Michael & St. George in St. Louis to hear Evensong sung by this church’s marvelous choir, who are under the direction of a good friend of the Tucker’s, Rob Lehman. Evensongs take place on the first Sunday of each month, through May.
Generally, carpools leave the Parish Hall at 3:00 PM, and the service begins at 5:00 PM, with a reception following. An optional dutch dinner follows, depending on the group’s desires.
The next opportunity to take part in this most beautiful Anglican service is Sunday, January 3rd.
A signup list is posted in the Parish Hall, adjacent to the calendar.
TRINITY-ON-THE-MOVE
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27TH
For this month’s iteration of Trinity-on-the-Move, we will stay close to home, venturing forth to the Pasta House on South 44th Street.
We convene at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, January 27th.
Sign up in the Parish Hall, adjacent to the calendar, and join us then, if you can.
RECTOR’S RAMBLES
“Times were tough, and travel slow….”
I remember this line from the text of a musical work I used to sing in the earlier part of my life. I remember it vividly.
It’s a phrase that might describe the times in which we are living quite well. After all, “times are tough,” and making progress seems to be very difficult.
We might want to fall into despair about the many problems we face as a nation, and as the world community. So many of the challenges that we human beings face today are complex situations, situations that seem to defy resolution.
Darkness seems to be in ample supply, and the gloominess of winter characterizes much of the mood of people everywhere. That seems fair to say, as a way of describing the tenor of the times in which we live.
In the midst of this cloudy and dismal time, when the shortness of daylight seems to be an apt description of the circumstances of life that so many people find themselves in, we Christians are called to remember and to celebrate the light of Christ, which came into the world during a very dark and gloomy time, a time that – by many estimations – was a much darker and a much more gloomy time than our own. Into this darkness, our Lord Jesus Christ came, and as the Gospel according to St. John says, the “darkness did not overcome” the light of Jesus Christ (see John 1: 5).
Put another way, the light of Christ banishes darkness wherever the two come into contact. There is no problem, no dilemma, that the light of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot encounter and conquer.
But that light’s brightness was not reserved to the Jewish people alone. In the fullness of time, the light of Christ also shone on the Gentiles (yes, that would be you and me!), and in so doing, it shone to the very ends of the earth. This manifestation of the light of Christ to the non-Jewish peoples is a key theme in the Epiphany season, which begins on the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6 th), and will last until Ash Wednesday (which is February 17 th this year).
As we approach the great festival of Epiphany, we celebrate the broadening rays of the light of the Holy One, as they shine on us, and on those around us.
In what ways are we good reflectors of the light that we have received? Do we share the knowledge of what it’s like to be bathed in the light of Christ with others around us, or do we hoard that light as our private possession?
For, you see, “times are tough, and travel slow.”
Part of our call as Christians, who have been baptized into Christ’s death, and have risen to new life with Him, is to live out that call as reflectors of the blessed state of living in the light of the Lord, sharing that experience with others.
May God strengthen us for the ministries to which He calls us, that we may be beacons of light and hope, sharing the divine light of Him who came among us, even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Fr. Gene Tucker, Rector
Parish Prayer List for january
Doris Williams, Blake, Warren Hattendorf, Marcia, Dave, T. J. Collier, Ann; Grace; Barbara; Fred & Laura; Jim; Matt; Nicole; Sharon; Bette; Patricia; Jeff; Esther Bassett; Phil; Emerson; Mary Ellen; Eugene; Marty; Kathy; Jacob & Sarah; Norma; Ann Nancarrow, Michael Reginato, Bill; Clay & Yuko; Pat Lusby; Hope in Christ Ministries, The Standing Committee of the Diocese and the election process for a new Bishop Coadjutor.
Birthdays & Anniversaries for january Grace Porter (2nd); David Campbell (3rd); Everett & Anne CampBell (5th); Mary Nelle Campbell (8th); Herb Newell (8th); Jason Bruce (13th); Stephanie & David Walters (14th); Sheila Sahni (18th); Emma Newell (19th); Art & Ann Pryor (19th); Anne Campbell (22nd); Asa Newell (22nd); Amy Newell (24th); Ann & John Howard (27th); Carla Malottke (28th); Sue Shrode (29th); Sheila Thompson (29th) .
See an addition that needs to be made, or a correction that needs fixing? Let the Rector know. (Thanks!)
Inspiration for january
”O Lord our God, who didst raise up thy servant Hilary to be a champion of the catholic faith: Keep us steadfast in that true faith which we professed at our baptism, that we may rejoice in having thee for our Father, and may abide in thy Son, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; thou who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.”
“Collect for the Feast Day of Hilary,
Bishop of Poitiers, 367 AD (January 13th)
