THE TRINITARIAN

August 2024

FROM OUR PRIEST-IN-CHARGE

Dear Friends of Trinity,

When our daughter was in junior high school, she idolized whoever was the reigning movie star at the time, as was perfectly normal at her age. When we asked her what she admired about the star, she didn't reply, as you might have expected, that she was captivated by her glamour and beauty but that so and so "seemed like a nice person." I suspect that she was telling us what she thought we wanted to hear!

Carol and I would respond, "Katie, it's fine that you admire this person, but do you realize that you don't actually know anything about them?" I suppose we were partly trying to spare her potential disappointment if the star's character fell short of her projections, but we also recognized a teachable moment. And, sure enough, Katie came to understand that she was seeing a highly curated image or persona, not the "real" person behind the image.

In our world we are overwhelmed with images and appeals attempting to persuade us to think or act a certain way, and a lot of them, I have to admit, are extremely clever and convincing. Is there a way we can examine this flood of information and disinformation critically without simply becoming cynical and muttering, "You can't trust anyone!" After all, we all look for some trustworthy source of perspective and insight.

I propose (and use for myself) a simple three-part test. Confronted with an appeal to think or act a certain way, say to support a particular political candidate or purchase a specific product, take the time to ask yourself, "Who is telling me this? Why are they telling me this?" and "What do they want or expect from me?" This little test won't necessarily tell you whether the message is true or false, but it will provide you some insight as you try to determine whether it is trustworthy or not. How much of it is simply playing on your emotions, projecting a glittering image or, in the case of the political candidate, an attractive persona? Is there anything real and substantial beyond the image?

Forward Movement used to publish a tract entitled, "The Episcopal Church - A Faith for Thinking People." I thought this sounded a bit too smug at the time, but I finally concluded it was merely stating a fact, or a fundamental aspect of our identity. I have met many Christians who were shamed or silenced as young people for daring to ask questions about their faith. The criticism seemed to suppose that if you learned to think critically about it, you would inevitably lose your faith. As thinking Christians, or perhaps it would be better to say reflective Christians, we are more likely to believe that daring to ask questions is a sign of confidence that only serves to strengthen our faith. To many thoughtful believers, that came as a welcome discovery indeed!

"Use the brain the good Lord gave you," my very English grandmother used to say. God has "blessed us with memory, reason, and skill," as the Eucharistic prayer affirms. We can use these endowments to help us determine what speech is truthful, and what is merely false or manipulative. By learning to think critically, even if that means no more than asking those three questions I suggested above, we not only protect ourselves and our world from disappointment and exploitation, but we glorify God as well. During this election season there will be claims and counterclaims, truth, innuendo, and outright falsehood. May God give us the grace, as we have been given the ability, to distinguish one from the other.

Faithfully,

Fr. Steve Sedgwick

FROM THE CHOIR BENCH

Welcome to August. The choir is taking a few weeks off to rest their voices and will return after Labor Day. During this time period, hymns will be added to fill in the otherwise silence and the Psalm will be chanted by the cantor. So, during August, bring your outside voice and sing with gusto.

Robbie Bell, Choirmaster

JUNIOR WARDEN REPORT

Maintenance. As a junior warden, I’ve learned to cringe when I get an email from our tenant and sometimes, even Steve! Because, you see, since I was too impatient to wait out the Dead Silence of our group when a volunteer for junior warden was needed, so, here I am. I judge my performance by the Ed Selby standard. I think Ed was the Best junior warden ever. It’s not that I want to go in the annual report as junior warden extraordinaire, adequate if uninspired is acceptable. Maintenance of facilities is certainly critical but not my strength. My service as junior warden will soon end and while I still struggle to attend to the details, I use the opportunities presented to not only maintain our facilities but to explore the maintenance of my relationship with my Lord. While I will never be another Ed, I do appreciate this role facilitates a window of opportunity to reflect on this important relationship.

And speaking maintenance and windows……how about putting an extra $20 or so in the offering place so we can continue to maintain our relationship with the beautiful Lambert window? You see, I cannot do my job without your help.

Thanks in advance!

FROM THE DEACON’S DESK

Galatians 5:22-23, From Paul’s letter to the Galatian; “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against such things.”

These verses were the theme of our Vacation Bible School last week. This was a great collaboration between five local churches, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Episcopalians. There were children from two months to twelve years old, plus teenagers and adults who helped shepherd and teach them. It was amazing to see so many young people and adults having so much fun together and learning what it means to have the fruit of the spirit! We praised God with song and movement. We learned that helping others by sharing our fruit of the spirit is doing ministry. We played games and learned teamwork. And we discovered our artistic gift with paint and clay.

Thanks to Father Steve Sedgwick, Charley Nash, Rachel O’Reilly, Ken Sedberry, Gail Bredehoeft and Steve Botney for your energy and assistance in making this outreach a success. I hope that this will become an annual event and maybe turn into a weekly or monthly gathering of the children and youth in our churches. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Please mark your calendars for August 17th and plan to attend the Empty Bowls fundraiser for Shepherd’s Staff. Call me to volunteer and for tickets. 828-766-9380.

Thank you, Deacon Cynthia

FROM THE SENIOR WARDEN

In 1 Peter, 5:1-4 it is written, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

For this month’s newsletter, I wanted to look back over the several months since Father Rich announced his leaving. While many of us thought that this day was coming soon, it was still a shock to me when I was told. I knew that things were going to change quickly and there was a lot of work to be done.

I’m happy to say that over the last nine months I’ve noticed an energy level that has sustained us during this transition. Several of you have mentioned that you’ve experienced a similar reaction. I’ve seen many of you step up to tasks that needed to be done. It’s comforting to know that we have a depth of workers that are eager to contribute. To all of you, thank you for your service.

I chose this verse for all of us, but particularly for the members of our Vestry who have chosen to serve Trinity in this manner. Vestry service can be a thankless job at times, but this verse assures us how rewarding it can be. At the end of this year, we will have two open Vestry positions. I encourage all of you to consider serving as a member of the Vestry. The only qualification is that you must be a member of Trinity.

This also applies to all of you who do the work to make Trinity function—at services and during week. Our staff and volunteers who do so much to create an inspirational worship experience are vital to our success. There are other roles where we can always use more volunteers—many of us are now hosting the “Coffee and Conversation” sessions after the Sunday service. In addition, we can always use more Acolytes, Lectors, Greeters, Altar Guild members, and Choir members. We have recently updated role descriptions for Acolytes, Lectors, and Greeters. If you’re interested in helping in one of these service roles, let a member of the Vestry or staff know. We will schedule a group or individual session for you.

Mike Nash, Senior Warden

BIRTHDAYS FOR AUGUST

04 William Shurley 28 Dan Graham

09 Michael Rutkowsky 29 Keith Ledbetter

15 Homer Bliss 31 Cathryn Bliss

16 Amy Tilly

22 Richard Montague

25 Richard Beckwith

ANNIVERSARIES FOR AUGUST

02 Dan & Jan Graham 07 Rich & Deborah Benton