9:00am rite ii each sunday —august 31 · new multi-purpose room, new kindergarten room and...
TRANSCRIPT
www.trinitybuckingham.org
Newsletter of Trinity Episcopal Church Buckingham, PA
Trinity Vision 2020 Is Underway!
Our Trinity Vision 2020 campaign kicked off with a bang! On June 1, a Kickoff celebration was held with a delicious brunch and exciting visual presentations about our vision for our renewed campus and new minister. Rector’s Warden Carol Downs announced that we had already raised almost one-third of our goal of $475,000!! On June 15, Commitment Sun-day, additional pledges were gathered. By June 22, $325,000 had been pledged, with $100,000 already given as gifts to allow projects, long-deterred, to begin soon. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the summer and watch for the “giving tree” in the lob-by to track our progress!
Trinity Vision 2020 encompasses five major areas of
church renewal and growth:
Welcome – improve our external appearance
and add new signage, and reconfigure our
lobby and parking areas, to welcome visitors
and show that Trinity is an active, vibrant
community.
Ministries – improve the ministry spaces within
our main church building to accommodate a
new multi-purpose room, new kindergarten
room and entrance for TBNS, new robing
room and improved sacristy, and a new
bathroom in Faith Hall.
Renew and Refresh – complete deferred
maintenance, including new carpet, exterior
and interior painting, new air conditioners,
resurface the parking lot, and remove Pierce
Hall.
Connect To Our Heritage – renovate Historic
Trinity and build a new walkway to connect it
to the main campus, add an ash vessel to
the cemetery.
Family Life Minister – seed a new staff position
to focus on family ministry.
Read more about our vision at
www.trinitybuckinghamcampaign.com
If you have already turned in your pledge, THANK YOU!! If you need more information, please contact any of the Trinity Vision 2020 Committee or Vestry members.
Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 Kay Kinney
July/ August 2014
A great turnout for our
June 1 Kickoff Celebration!
Summer Worship Schedule
9:00am Rite II each Sunday
July 6—August 31
www.trinitybuckingham.org
Sunday School Notebook
Our Church Picnic, held on June 8, was the culminating activity for the 2013-2014 school year. The children were given recognition for Sunday School and Grace Notes. Everyone enjoyed the yummy food and the children found much delight in playing carnival type games and winning prizes.
Seven of our Parish youth graduated from High School this year. We wish these graduates, Audrey Bristol-Evans, Clarissa Jaedicke, Collin Marshal, Leah Popek, Carly Wisnom, Sarah Wisnom, and Ryan Zak the best in their future endeavors.
Vacation Bible School will be held Sunday, July 13 through Thursday, July 17
starting at 6:00 pm each
evening and ending at 8:30 pm. If you would like more information or can volunteer to help, please contact Amy Bannon at [email protected].
Rally Sunday, which is the first day of Sunday School for the 2014-2015 year, will be September 7. Sunday School will begin at 10:00am. There will be new registration forms for parents to complete on that first Sunday. The Sunday School team would also would like parents to fill out forms for those young people who are attending college or in our Armed Forces so that we may keep in contact with them during the year.
One more teacher is needed for the upcoming school year. To teach is a wonderful and rewarding experi-ence. The program we use is easy to follow and one does not have to be a professional teacher to follow the plans. Please contact Sallee Lord if you think you
could teach full time or part time.
Thank you for you continued support to out Christian Education program. Have a wonderful summer. See you in September!
God Bless You,
Sallee Lord
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www.trinitybuckingham.org
Page 3
Trinity Book Club ~ now reading ~ The Boys in the Boat By Daniel James Brown
The Trinity Book Club will meet Wednesday, July 2, 2014,
7:30pm in the Library.
~Next Selection~
Me before You By Jojo Moyes
Wednesday, August 13, 2014 7:30pm in the Library
Come read with us! Lauren Gillen
If you’re like me, you
may be settling into
summer thinking:
“Whew, that was quite
a year!” It has been a
busy set of seasons at
Trinity.
Last September you
said good-bye to Rev.
Lucy, then welcomed
me the next Sunday,
beginning the Interim
period. In short order,
your Parish Office assistant resigned and we began
a re-configuration of Trinity’s office administration,
including not only new personnel but also new
technologies. Your website became more inviting
with weekly updates for worship and events as well
as links to community partners.
A profile team formed and produced a parish survey
that yielded a clear choice to grow. A beautiful
profile emerged calling for a Rector who will work
with you to extend welcome to new members and
support the ministries vital to this parish, from pasto-
ral care to your extensive outreach efforts. In the
next weeks, we’ll commission the Discernment team
and they will “receive names” through the summer.
Last, but not least, the long-awaited Trinity Vision
2020 campaign launched June 1st and, thanks to
some generous hearts, is happy to announce that
Trinity is well along in its fundraising (more on this in
K. Kinney’s article.) We are well on our way to
“newness of life!”
All this without skipping a beat in the regular worship
and activities of a program year! Indeed, some of
those “activities” were actually astounding:
– like the Code Blue ministry in our coldest January
that sheltered up to 14 people a night for 27 nights! -
like our Sunday School program with 60 registered
children and youth!
- like ECW’s Fall Sale and Rummage that raised
over $9,000 for the needs of the community and
world!
So, if you feel like you need a summer to slow down
and rest on your laurels, you have my blessing! But
know that your hard-working Vestry and Parish
committees will be busy preparing for launch of
Discernment and Phase I of Trinity Vision 2020 –
more on that in our September Trinity Times!
In Faith,
Pastor Barbara
Thoughts from the Rector
The Reverend
Barbara L. Abbott
www.trinitybuckingham.org
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Happy Birthday to all!
July Birthdays 3 Vince Prendergast, Jr. 4 Eric Wanzer 4 Elizabeth Crooke 26 Linda Fielder 27 Judy King 29 Alan Powell 31 Bonnie McCabe
August Birthdays
2 Mary Beth Perisho 5 Cornelia Humphries 6 Robert Smith 14 Nancy Wildermuth 15 Alesya Becker 20 Janet DiCaprio 23 Deanna Romero 24 Margaret Perry 26 Rae Russell 30 Ryan Zak
Our Church Family
Confirmation
Lea Kristina Jensen, May 4
Lindsey McBride, May 4
Susannah Coleman, May 4
Reception
Joseph McLean, May 4
Reaffirmation
Stephen Badiali, May 4
Danielle Badiali, May 4
Death
Rosemary Biles, February 5
Wedding
Deborah Perisho and Joseph McLean, May 25
Vacation Bible SchoolVacation Bible School
Join us at Trinity Episcopal Church
July 13-17th 6pm - 8:30pm
For information contact Amy Bannon at
or call 215-766-4889
( for children 3 yrs old through 6th grade )
Where Kids Discover God’s Where Kids Discover God’s
LoveLove Bible Stories, Crafts, Skits, Games, Music
Registration forms available in the Narthex
Wedding bells rang at
Trinity on May 25.
Congratulations
Mr. and Mrs. McLean!
www.trinitybuckingham.org
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Mark your Calendar July 2 Book Club Meeting July 6 Start of Summer Service Schedule July 13—17 Vacation Bible School August 13 Book Club Meeting Sept 7 First Day of Sunday School
Seniors Who Care
Seniors Who Care is a group of parishioners from Trinity who participate regularly in ministries serving various needs of the congregation both spiritually and socially. Members are involved in the choir, ECW, the prayer chain ministry, Jazz & Joe, ushers and greeters, readers, pastoral care, casseroles for Lambertville, code blue volunteers and this year helped initiate the prayer shawl ministry. We can be found wherever there is a need.
Socially, we come together for a monthly luncheon at area restaurants. Suspended for the summer months our lunches will resume in Septem-ber. Watch your emails, the Sunday Bulletin and/or a possible phone call as to when we will re-sume. Take time to think about where you want to eat next. All are welcome. Please join us. No dues, few meetings.
Your participation in the various ministries listed above has been generously given and is much needed at Trinity. Keep up the good work. If you are not involved in any of these ministries and wish to join, please let the church office or any of us know, as additional support is always appreciated.
Bernadette Gross
Christmas In July
For many years our Trinity family has contributed Secret Santa meals at Christmas to those in need. Like the parishioners of Trinity many people in Bucks County feel generous at Thanksgiving and Christmas. As a result
many groups and churches provide turkeys and holiday meals. Unfortunately in the late summer people are on vacation and food drives are less likely to happen. By August many food pantries’ shelves are bare. This year instead of the Secret Santa meals, we’ll have a summer food drive, Christmas in July. Please shop for shelf sta-ble food, look for super sales, store brands are okay and let’s fill the baskets you see around the church. Food can be dropped anytime in July.
Bonnie McCabe
Since 1991, Trinity has participated in the
ABC Quilt Project. This Mother’s Day, quilts
made by faithful and ardent quilt makers of
Trinity were on display. For information on
how you can participate, please contact Eliz-
abeth Crooke.
www.trinitybuckingham.org
Rector’s Warden Report Change is in the air this summer. Our Parish Profile has been ac-cepted by the Bishop and the Ves-try is currently writing our Ministry Community Profile. This docu-ment, along with our vision for Trinity and its new rector will be going live soon. The Ministry Community Profile speaks of our out reach programs, organiza-tions, lay leadership, in-reach, and statistics. Historic Trinity has new flooring for its entrance. As the old carpet was torn out, much mold and a musty odor went with it. Interior painting is now on the horizon. A new project, wedding packages, is being led by Aida King. One has been held already with great success. A brochure is to be developed for inquiring couples that gives background on the theology of marriage in the Episcopal Church and offers clergy support for pre-marital counseling and the marriage rite. The Vestry is very supportive of this new mission for Historic Trinity. The rental of Faith Hall is going well, as it has been booked almost every weekend quite steadily this Spring. Since January, bookings of Faith Hall and Pierce Hall have produced $6000 in income for our operating budget. Congratulations to our seven seniors who are all going on to higher education. In the coming year, our youth group will be reduced to a size so small that a collaboration with Family of God Lutheran is being explored to create a large enough group for "critical mass". In two years we antici-pate the opposite challenge, as 20 young people move from the lower grades into the pro-gram. We'll keep everyone posted.
A relaxing and safe summer to all,
In Christ, Carol Downs
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A Note from Bett Slims
I fell while working outside at church helping Aida King to spruce up the patio for an upcoming wed-ding. IT CAN HAPPEN SO QUICKLY AT HOME OR AWAY AND AN ALERT BUTTON IS SO HELPFUL!
Fortunately, I was wearing my Urgent Response but-ton and getting help was seamless.
Aida stood by - getting ice and relaying information to the Urgent Response Operator. They stayed on the line until the ambulance arrived. In spite of a fall onto cold cement where I might have broken a hip or a tooth, I came away with a hairline fracture of a rib. Very uncomfortable but not life changing like a hip fracture would be.
My purpose is writing this is to urge you to consider securing an Urgent Response button and wearing it at all times. It is relatively inexpensive and since it contains a GPS system, it works wherever you are.
My model is simply an emergency button but Great Call has come out with a new model which incorpo-rates a cell phone AND the needed alert button. I am going to change to that since it will give me both a cell phone and alert button in one item and will save money over having both.
For information go to www.greatcall.com.
In peace,
Betts Slims 215 598 7715 or email: [email protected]
Youth Sunday
2014
Correction:
In the May/June 2014 Trinity Times
article on the Trinicator, please
note the Trinicator was not named
by Bob Kern, but by Bob Keel (the
Rev. Robert D. Keel) who was rec-
tor from 1984 to 1995.
www.trinitybuckingham.org
Conversations on Science and
Theology
Previously I shared my theological reflections on Imperfection and Suffering. When we seek God, we are always looking through a darkened window. God made a creation he called “good,” yet His creation did not eliminate imperfection, suffering, or death. God must have judged making a world absent the possibility of negative things was not a “good” world. A world absent challenges, learning, free will, and success and failure would be a world where humans were more like puppets. Instead, God made “this world” full of vexing problems, often dangerous, constantly changing, constantly challenging, and constantly amazing us! Might it be that creating a world where all these challenges and dangers are eliminated results in an Alice in Wonderland world where nothing makes sense and nothing has real consequences? Maybe God knows such a perfectly safe, perfectly unchallenging world was a world of little meaning, and God judged such a world “not good.”
I believe God did not put us to sea here on planet earth without sail, rudder, or compass. God will not sail our ship for us, but He is constantly pointing in the right direction. I sense that God’s relationship with humanity is that of a parent’s relationship with their children. If parents do everything for their kids, protect them from all risks, solve their every problem, and meet their every demand, they end up with ignorant, self-indulgent, and bored adults that attain no wisdom and contribute nothing to making the world better. Loving parents do best when they allow their children to learn for themselves; to fail and hopefully also to succeed. Children must be allowed to take risks, be rewarded, and suffer consequences. Like God, loving parents do not toss their kids into the world without help and guidance; they teach their children where the dangers are and share their wisdom learned from experience. They must allow their children to find their own path and develop a moral compass that leads them in the direction of making the world a better place for themselves and others.
If we try to know God’s will we may do better. Like a loving parent, God has not tossed us on the sea here on earth without help. God inspired our sacred scriptures, we have Jesus’s life and teachings as examples, we can listen for God’s voice, and we should think for ourselves. Following God’s will, we can achieve for humanity a small degree of what God could not do for us without radically altering our “good” reality; a reality that requires us to do for ourselves. Through modern medicine, we have learned to relieve some pain
and suffering with pain medications and anesthesia. We have learned how to treat injury and disease. We developed agriculture instead of just hunting and gathering. In small ways, we are able to do for ourselves what God knew better not to do. However, we have not yet learned how to distribute these benefits equally to all people, and we must learn to apply our knowledge with wisdom. Our technology can extend life and relieve suffering, but sometimes it increases suffering. Our technology feeds billions, but our carelessness damages the ecosystem.
We see ourselves as the most advanced creatures that after millions of years of evolution have emerged as the triumph of the evolutionary possibilities in God’s creation. But humans are very new on earth compared to most species and just beginning our uncertain journey. There is no guarantee we won’t self-destruct or run the planet’s ecosystem into a ditch, short-circuiting our possible future. We could have tens of millions of years to deepen our wisdom and improve our behavior. Consider the earliest fossil evidence of modern Homo sapiens dates to only 200,000 years ago. The earliest cave paintings in Europe date to 30,000-40,000 years ago, and the invention of writing and recorded history dates to only about 5,500 years ago. Comparatively, deer have been around for 15-30 million years, loons (my favorite Maine waterfowl) have been around for 20-37 million years, and dinosaurs were around for 165 million years before becoming extinct 65 million years ago. As a species we are in our infancy, just evolutionary toddlers, and these first few hundred thousand years have been a bit rocky. Hopefully, we will get wiser and do better since we may have a very long road ahead of us
Faithfully, Steven W. Mann, Ph.D.
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Trinity Vision 2020 Volunteers Wanted
The Facilities Committee is looking for volunteers to help implement the Trinity Vision 2020 improvements to our buildings and grounds. Our committee will break into small teams to implement:
* Site Landscape Designs * New Signs and Walkways * Interior Renovations * Utility Improvements * Historic Trinity Improvements
We would appreciate your help calling contractors, as-sisting with budgeting, reviewing contracts, meeting with other church committees, working with architects or processing invoices. Please contact Mark Evans at 215.872.4411 / [email protected] if you are interested or have questions.
www.trinitybuckingham.org
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HOW TO CONTACT US
Church Telephone: 215.794.7921
Church Fax: 215.794.5223
TBNS Telephone: 215.794.5530
Email:
(Cynthia Goode)
Church Website:
www.trinitybuckingham.org
Nursery School website:
www.trinitybns.org
Our Mission: Christ in our hearts, Sharing God’s love;
His work through our hands, Serving God’s people
Church Service:
8:00 am Holy Communion, Rite II
10:15 am Holy Communion, Rite II
With Organist and Choir
Church Office Hours:
9:30am to 2:00pm Monday—Thursday
9:30am to 1:30pm Friday
2014 Vestry Members
Carol Downs, Rector’s Warden Ray Perisho, Accounting Warden 215.794.3752
Barbara Abbott, Rector …………………...…..…………[email protected]
Carol Downs….Rector’s Warden…….. .…………….……….….…[email protected]
Mark Evans………………………….. ....………………[email protected]
Marty Gillen…… ………………….……..………..……...…..... [email protected]
Elisabeth Goggin...…………….……..………..… ...…[email protected]
Kay Kinney…………………………………..………..…….…[email protected]
John May…… ………………….……..………..…….....…..... [email protected]
Jackie Moore………………..…………..….. ....……[email protected]
Peter Oliver………………………….……...………………[email protected]
Ray Perisho…Accounting Warden…….…….….….……....…[email protected]
Meg Perry……………………….………...….…...........…[email protected]
Alan Powell….……………………... ………….…………….……[email protected]
Donna Wisnom…………………………...…...……….……………[email protected]
Sarah Kinney, Youth Vestry Representative
Youth Updates…….…[email protected]
_______________________________________________
Bernadette Gross, Prayer Chain Coordinator……….………[email protected]
Regina Gordon………………………………………….…….....Minister of Music
Martha Dudich……………………………………..…………….Organist
James Sanders…………………………………….…..…….….Buildings and Grounds
Sallee Lord, Sunday School Director…………………………[email protected]
Cynthia Goode…………………………………………......…....Church Office Assistant
WHATCHU GOT DATS FREE?
The bulletin board between the preschool en-trance and library is newly dedicated to Parish Activities. It includes our monthly calendar and notices of events. A feature of this board that might interest many of the young families espe-cially is a 'Free Stuff' list. If you have items to give away, list them here by e-mailing the office at [email protected] or bring a photo and post.