Trinity Church Newsletter

Dear Trinity Family, As I sit to write this letter, it is the week after our annual rummage sale. It has been interesting that as I have seen many of you this week I get the same question, “How did we do (at the rummage sale)?” As I answered this question multiple times, I felt this letter might be a way to address this question more fully. But I warn you that my answer comes with a question. The question is this. What does doing a good job look like in the church? How do we define success as the church? The place to start to answer this question is with our mission. The mission of the church follows Jesus command to “make disciples.” Our mission is to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And this is lived out in our vision, which is to connect to God in Jesus Christ, grow in our faith in Jesus Christ, and to serve in our world for Jesus Christ. The thing that holds all of these together is that they are built on relationships. We as the churc...

I am at a loss for words.  Maybe it’s because I have been feverishly writing ordination papers, a   Bible Study, sermons, bylaws, policies and procedures. Maybe my words are all used up.  Alert the media!!  That NEVER happens.  Just ask Chris.  Yet, while I usually have this article to Jayne by the 15 th of the month, here it is June 25 th and I am still just not finding words to share with you.  So it has come to this:  I am sitting on my deck in the evening, listening to the wind in the trees with my computer on my lap, waiting for words.  My Canon-in-D wind chimes are dancing on the breeze, making music that I’m convinced could calm the savage beast.  The sun is playing hide and seek behind the clouds and the neighborhood is quiet.  The birds are deep in the woods chirping away, happy to have protection out of the wind.  The bull frogs are quiet tonight, too, probably keeping their little heads out of the cool, windy air...

Mark your calendars! We have an awesome opportunity to join with our brothers and sisters in Christ to help serve our community. Sunday August 27 th , thirteen local churches are coming together to serve in our community together as they take part in Engage Sunday. The final details are still being worked out, but we anticipate over 600 people coming together to do a variety of different projects (for all abilities) and then have a meal together and worship together. We will only have one service that Sunday at 8:25am and then I encourage everyone to take part in this marvelous ministry where we can show the Kendallville community that the children of God are not divided and, despite our differences, we can show God’s love together. Keep an eye out for more details as they become available.

Prayer Warriors Needed As we continue to seek God’s will as a church, we need to be rooted in prayer. This includes prayer for each other, prayer for our ministries, as well as prayers for our community. We are seeking people who have a heart and passion for prayer to help us form a prayer team or teams. Some of the activities this group will work through are how we pray for our church, and for our community, as well as how to build (rebuild) our prayer room. If interested please contact Pastor Chris at the church office, through e-mail at chris@trinitychurchum.org , or by signing up at the ministry center.

Dear Trinity Family, As I write my letter today, I find myself rejuvenated by the hope that I had two years ago as I came to be your pastor. I remember being excited and nervous to take a leap of faith to come to a town I did not know and to see where God would lead us. My overwhelming thought prayer continues to be that I cannot wait to see the marvelous things God will do in and through this congregation. I want to take the time today to share with you exciting news for our church family. Many of you may remember that I had shared a few months ago that we were seeking a full-time Director of Family Ministries. This position was created to show our seriousness in answering God’s call to reach another generation for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The interview process for this position has been long but we felt it best to find the person who would lead us forward in ministry and be the fit that God wanted for our church. With this being said I am happy to announce that we have hired an ...

One of my favorite praise songs says, “Where you go, I'll go / Where you stay, I'll stay / When you move, I'll move / I will follow you. Who you love, I'll love / How you serve, I'll serve / If this life I lose, I will follow you.” The whole song is great and they sang it for me on my last Sunday at Ligonier as they launched me into min-istry with you all. This is the season when many of my elder friends, and some of my deacon friends are moving to new appointments within our United Methodist system. I have been asked some questions so I’ll answer those here for everyone who might be curious. Do deacons get moved like elders? No. Deacons are not itinerate. That means the Bishop doesn’t call us to move to another church. Deacons don’t move unless we ask to move (or you kick me to the curb). We are not guaranteed an appointment by the system and we have to find our own appointments. That means I had to look for a church where I thought I might be a good fit. After m...

Meet Our Director of Family Ministries Rae and I have been married a little over 9 years. We love to travel and hang out with friends and family. I have been involved in ministry, in same way, for over 15 years. And one day, I would love to be a Senior Pastor.  I have had the privilege to mission to people across the country with my involvement with YouthWorks. Some hobbies include: Playing guitar, piano, and bass. I love to read and write. I would say that I am somewhat of a Hollywood movie savant and have a plethora of movie quotes in my head at any given time. I also love to direct and edit film. God Bless, Phil Muncie