Happy 60th Anniversary, Trinity Church! As Senior Warden Patrice Wood and Bishop's Committee member Wesley Rowe set out the food, parishioners check out the historical displays as Trinity Church members and friends prepare to enjoy brunch in celebration of the congregation's 60th anniversary on Sunday, June 7.
From the Vicar... David was anointed; so are you For the next several weeks, we'll be reading from the first and second books of Samuel in the Hebrew Scriptures. The story depicted in the books of Samuel tell of a great change in the way that Israel will be governed - from tribes and judges to very intricate government structures, the creating of an empire. Samuel was the last of the judges. The books tell us how Saul first became king and was commissioned to defeat the Philistines. After the decline of Saul's physical and mental health, David comes onto the scene. The passage we will hear this Sunday tells us about the call of David to succeed Saul. The choosing of David has always been an interesting passage. You can imagine old Jesse of Bethlehem so thankful that his eldest son would finally have a job. So he pushes Eliab to the front of the line. I mean, it all made sense. He was fit to be king. But he was rejected. Well, surprising, but there are other sons. So he called Abinadab. And Shammah. Both rejected. And then, one at a time, he sent four others. OK, this is getting ridiculous. None of them are accepted! When Samuel asked for Jesse's youngest son, Jesse was surprised. He hadn't even thought about his youngest. In fact, he had sent him out to keep the sheep while the other brothers, I suppose, were job-hunting. The passage should probably be read as a story rather than an historical account. But we have the advantage. We know that David is the one who will be chosen. Essentially, God's choices are not the ones that always make sense to us. They do not always align with what we have planned, with who or what "makes sense." God's criteria are not the richest, or the most beautiful, or even the most fitting. God's criteria are God's. Over and over again in this passage, the act of seeing through human eyes is contrasted with the act of seeing through God's eyes. When Eliab came before the elders, the point was made not to look on his appearance; essentially, to not look at him the way we humans normally do. It almost sounds as if appearance was all he really had going for him. God was looking for something more than physical attractiveness in the one who would lead the people. And yet, when David was chosen, even his physical characteristics are laid out. Perhaps in some way this "human-seeing" finally aligned with the "God-seeing." Or maybe, just maybe, when the choice is the right one, we finally become at least a little able to see the way God sees. And so, it says, David is anointed. Going forward, he was the one. It wouldn't mean that life would be easy; we know, in fact, that David had many problems ahead and that many were brought on by himself and his own actions. Being anointed rather means being thrust into all that is life - challenges and beauty, perils and blessings. It means doing what one is called to do and being able to do just that. God saw that. Maybe we need to just start trusting what God sees and have faith in the faith that God puts in us. For, after all, just as David was called, so are we. Fr. Chip
Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer Each week, in both of our churches, we pray for one ministry we share and one or two households in each church. About once every six weeks, we will instead using the Shared Ministry Collect we prayed throughout the opening months of our Shared Ministry. In our prayers the next two weeks, we give God thanks for... |
June 14
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The Clerks of our churches, Suzanne George and Diana Jodoin; Wes & Anne Rowe of Trinity Church; Carolyn Matthews of Christ Church
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June 21
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Trinity Church Bishop's Committee; Anne Russell and Lois Schmelzer of Trinity Church; Betty McKinney of Christ Church
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Some possible web glitches in the coming weeks
We are in the process of transitioning our web sites to a new platform that will make them more "mobile friendly." We hope to have these completed soon, but there may be times when all is not exactly "right" when pulling up our sites. Have patience - the change should be worth it...and we'll send out word when it's all finally in place and working correctly.
And speaking of glitches...
Our first Sunday with our new seasonal booklets showed some of the "glitches" still to be worked out. In both churches there were too few booklets in some places - and too many in others - so now we will have the greeters distribute them along with the inserts containing the week's readings, hymns and announcements. Be sure to return them to the basket at the entrance as you leave. These booklets are meant to last three months, so please don't take them home.
Also, we discovered that "hiding" this month's Hymn of Praise inside the insert didn't work all that well...so now it will be right up front, as it's sung almost immediately after the beginning of the service. We'll lead off each week's insert with the week's music, followed by the week's collect and readings, and then announcements. Hopefully, by summer's end, we'll have gotten used to it and it won't feel so foreign to us.
A Discretionary Fund thank you!
The month of May turned out to be a very busy one for our Vicar's Discretionary Fund - with significant expenditures to help people in need in both our communities. And when I asked for an "extra" gift to the Fund to get us back to our normal operating balance, you came through! Thank you to all who contributed. Over $600 has come in since I first made this appeal three weeks ago. For those who have not yet done so, there is still a need. Please make your check payable to your own church with a memo, "Vicar's Discretionary Fund." We distributed over $200 in vouchers and over $600 in direct aid last month - so the need still exceeds what we have thus far received. Thank you for your compassion and generosity.
Fr. Chip
Are you going on vacation?
Are you going on vacation this summer? Your church family hopes you have a great time - but, before you go, just a reminder: the Church doesn't go on vacation! Our services continue throughout the summer months - and our bills still need to be paid. So please, take the time to keep your pledge up-to-date while you are away. Perhaps it is easiest to write a check before you leave, so you don't have to worry about it when you return.
How about making it official?
With the arrival of summer comes that moment when we can "catch our breath" in the church office and attend to matters that tend to get put off through the winter. One of these is parish record keeping.If you are worshiping with us, and consider yourself part of our church family, but have not yet "made it official" by asking for a letter of transfer from your previous congregation, please take a moment to be in touch with us and ask that we issue a Request for Transfer. (You can contact your previous congregation directly if you would prefer.)
Coming Sunday, June 28 at Christ Church...
Outdoor Eucharist and cookout
It's time to kick off the summer season! On Sunday, June 28, Christ Church will host an outdoor Eucharist and cookout (members of both churches welcome - though our joint cookout will be later this summer). The service will be at 11:00 a.m. in the shaded rear courtyard of the church. The cookout will follow on the side lawn. Bring your lawn chair and a side dish or dessert to share. Hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages will be provided. Please RSVP indicating how many from your household are coming to trinity55ad@gmail.com. This will help our food and set-up crews in their planning. Oh, and as for a rain date...we won't need one. It never rains on our cookouts! (If, ahem, it does, we'll come inside Hobbs Hall.)
For those of you who cannot (or prefer not) to come to the outdoor service, there will be a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Trinity Church that morning at the usual 8:45 a.m.
Looking way ahead to July...it's time for a ballgame!
As the "official ballgame organizer" at Christ Church, Exeter, I would like to invite parishioners at Trinity and Christ Churches to join us for our annual trip to the Fisher Cats game in Manchester on Sunday, July 19. This is the entire schedule for the day and you can join in as your Sunday schedules permit:
- 10:30 - tailgate party (burgers, dogs, etc.) at Christ Church, Exeter, 43 Pine St.
- 11:45 - bus leaves for Manchester with choir members (see choir invite below) and all who wish to leave the driving to someone else. Those who wish to drive on their own may do so.
- 1:30 - game begins between New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Portland Seadogs (Red Sox affiliate)! Choir members will sing the National Anthem and David Holroyd will throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game! Immediately after the final out, kids can run the bases, after which the bus will immediately head back to Exeter.
The tailgate party is basically free. The cost of a ticket (great box seat behind third base) and the bus ride is $20.00 per person ($11.00 if folks drive on their own). A few pertinent details:
- The final cutoff date for tickets is July 5 but it would be good to start gathering names and numbers of tickets right away. Checks should be made out to Christ Church, Exeter, with "ballgame" on the memo. Drop your reservation and check in the offering plate - or stop it by the Shared Ministry office.
- Choir members from both congregations are invited to join Exeter's choir to sing the National Anthem. Bruce Adami and Suzanne Jalbert Jones, our music directors, will rehearse the group at the tailgate party. I will need those names as soon as they are available. Choir dress code is khaki pants or shorts and blue shirt. The more the merrier!
Tickets will be distributed at the tailgate party before boarding the bus or cars. If people are not coming to the tailgate party, other arrangements can be made as long as I know in advance.
Questions may be directed to me at dholroyd0219@comcast.net.
Hope you can join us with a big contingent. This is our fifth year and it is a truly fun event.
Cheers and blessings!
David Holroyd
Christ Church, Exeter
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