Trinity Church Newsletter

Dear Trinity Family, I was so excited this last week to announce our “super-charged” block party that will take place on September 30th from 12-2pm. But I want to take a little time to share how we got to this place because it speaks volumes about our God and our response to God’s work in the world. As many of you remember when we originally released we shared that our Block Party would be August 20th. That was our plan and we were already well on our way to planning and organizing these events when I started receiving other opportunities that would blend well with our plan. The first pop-up came while I was drafting the proposal for the Board of Public works so that we could close State St., when we received a request from St. John’s Lutheran. Our brothers and sisters in Christ remembered a time when we together ministered to the neighborhood with an ice cream social. My response was to say “that’s a great idea but maybe next year.” The second pop-up came when our Conference Superinte

Yay God!! (as Rhonda Beare would say), I have had some questions about spiritual practices! One in particular is called Self Examen. The following article is taken from Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life by Marjorie Thompson. Self-examination is just one of the many practices she writes about. As I have worked with people over time in spiritual direction and discernment, it has become clear that the greatest barrier to these practices is fear of failure. “I won’t do it right.” “I won’t do it enough.” And so on. The wonderful thing about spiritual practices is that they are YOURS and they are between you and God. When Thompson begins to talk about self-examen, she refers to Psalm 139 and the “beautiful expression” of God searching and knowing our hearts. She says, “Only under God’s steady gaze of love are we able to find the healing and restoration we so desperately need. When we feel ‘searched and known’ by a gracious God, we are both moved

Wednesday Women’s Bible Study will be restarting on September 20th, 9:15—11:15 am.! Come and join in this Fall as we study Proverbs. All women and friends of Trinity Church are welcome. No study book this session, but we will read through the book of Proverbs during this 6 week study, view some video teachings about Proverbs from “The Bible Project”, and connect some of the teachings of Jesus with verses in Proverbs thanks to several Christian authors. Contact Kathy Brittenham or the church office if you have questions or comments.

Upcoming Dates to Remember October 4—Special Apple Festival Contemporary Service at 6:30 PM October 8—Traditional Service as usual at 8:25 AM October 7-8— Apple Festival October 12—Meals at Maplecrest (Sponsor needed) October 29—Charge Conference (hosted at Trinity) 6:00 PM

Dear Trinity Family, Wow! It seems like the summer has just flown by. The kids start back to school in the next couple of days and the church is gearing up for an August filled with many opportunities for ministry. We have two big events in August. I would ask that everyone help out with these great opportunities through your prayers, presence, gifts, and service. This is because these are more than just events they are opportunities for us to serve and love our neighbors as we be and make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. With my letter today, I am going to share both of these marvelous opportunities, share why we do them, and share how you can help. The first of these is Kid City on August 5 th from 10am to 3pm. We have a great connection historically to Kid City as it was the hope and dream of one of our members. Kid City is a great event designed for kids to learn, grow, and play. It is an awesome opportunity for us to show our commitment to our n

 Trinity is an exciting place to be right now.  Just in the past year, we have renovated long-time ministries, made our building and worship more accessible and inclusive, and brought on new staff with new ideas and a desire to involve more of you in ministry.  Our Bishop is calling all UM churches in Indiana to become more missional.  To be missional means that we stop thinking about mission as a trip somewhere or a program we support and begin to look at everything we do through the lens of mission.  That might mean we take a trip or support a program along the way, but it also means we look at the way we do everyday things so that a new person coming in our doors won’t get lost in the crowd wondering what to do or where to go next.  Hospitality is key to being missional. However, “ Prayer is the engine of transformational churches, ” as I just read in the book Transformational Church by Thom S. Rainer and Ed Stetzer.  They say, “Transformational Churches are humbly dependent

Up until a week or so we had planned for our annual block party to take place on the 20 th of August. However we have been presented with many ways to take this party to the next level if we move our Block Party to a later date. This opportunity will give us a better way to interact with our neighbors and have a larger impact. I know I am being a little vague but this opportunity will be a better use of our time and resources to do something new and exciting for our neighborhood so be sure to look out for more details as we see where this opportunity leads us.

September 3—Jim Hendricks—Christian Concert Pianist—plays at both services with concert at 7:00PM September 14—Meals at Maplecrest (Dorcas Circle) September 26—Sewing for Missions 9AM—2PM. Carry-in Lunch.