The Tower Online

Bishop Visitation and Confirmation

On Sunday, March 25, The Right Reverend Ian T. Douglas, Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, joined with the Trinity Parish family for a Pastoral Visitation to confirm 18 youth. Their months long Spiritual Journey was comprised of study, contemplation, writings, spirited interaction and Mentoring with an adult member of the congregation. Bishop Douglas presided at the Confirmation Service with Kathie Adams-Shepherd, Rector, John Satula, Assistant to the Rector, and Tom Mariconda, Deacon, assisting. During his Pastoral Visitation he met with the confirmands to take their questions, provide insights and address the congregation at large. After the service he joined with the Vestry, Trinity's Elected Leadership, for a luncheon and meeting together. Bishop Douglas talked about the expanding role of the Episcopal Church Missions worldwide, the role and ministry of the youth and the emerging role of electronic communications in the day-to-day life of the Diocese among other things. For additional information visit www.trinitynewtownct.org or call 203-426-9070.

It is a Trinity tradition that the first time a bishop visits, we make miters with the children in Children's Liturgy while learning about who and what a bishop is, what they wear, and what they do.  On March 25th during Bishop Ian Douglas' visitation, the children made craft foam miters for themselves and one to give to the Bishop.  Bishop Douglas liked his miter so much - he wore it for the remainder of the service and for the photos of the Confirmands afterwards!

Youth Participate in New Haven's Chapel on the Green

by Sue Vogelman with Photos by Rick and Mary Chamiec-Case

On the cold January 2nd Sunday, members of our Rite 13 Class participated in Chapel on the Green which is a mission/outreach program that ministers to the homeless of New Haven, CT.

Chapel on the Green (from their website)

In the summer of 2008, Trinity on the Green partnered with community agencies and clergy from other churches to launch “Chapel on the Green.” It is based on the Common Cathedral in Boston.

Every Sunday at 2:00 pm people gather on the Upper Green (directly behind Trinity) for a brief (25-30 minute) service of Holy Eucharist is all sorts of weather.  We do not cancel services due to weather. 

ALL are welcome!

This service has attracted a wide variety of people across New Haven: those interested in social justice, the homeless or anyone that does not feel comfortable in a church building.  

Trinity youth helped pack up all the lunch supplies they had made, drove to New Haven with their chaperones, and set everything up when they arrived.  There is a drum circle before the service which starts at 1:30 pm.  Following the drum circle and worship service, our youth helped distribute bagged lunches to all those in need. 

To prepare for this ministry, some of our Trinity youth in 6th and 7th grade made over 150 sandwiches (half peanut butter and jelly and half lunch meat) baked tons of cookies and packaged snacks in bags. 

    

They met together at Trinity Newtown for a lesson led by Rick and Mary Chamiec-Case on what they might expect when they got to the green in New Haven and why they were going.  Then they had an orientation from Chris Evans (Coordinator) on the green when they arrived in New Haven.

      

One of the drummers in the drum circle every week is the grandson of Trinity Newtown parishioner, Jean Kreitzinger, who says, "He never misses a Chapel on the Green service.  He's there every week, rain or shine."

     

Here are some quotes from the Chapel on the Green blog about how our Trinity Youth did for their first time in this ministry:

Its been a pleasure working with Mary Chamiec-Case, the youth and parishioners from Trinity Episcopal Church, Newtown, CT these past weeks in preparation for today's service.

Breaking the 12,000 mark of sandwich lunches distributed on the Green, the 20 plus men, women and teen volunteers [from Trinity Newtown] brought an uplifting spirit of companionship to our service.  Everyone was greeted with a smile, a program, a name tag and a "welcome." 

      

I've never seen so many teenagers (and adults) so confidently "radically" welcome all who attended.  No one was shy about playing drums or singing, reading the Collect of the Day, the Gospel. 

     

And the lunch...well!  A sumptuous buffet of a variety of sandwiches for all dietary tastes, healthy clementines, bananas and all the rest were warmly shared with all our visitors. 

Trinity parishioners really showed their heart through their hospitality and engagement with so many congregants.  Thank you for the gift of your presence!
 
Great job Trinity youth!!!

And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
- Matthew 25:40

Trinity Christmas Pageant

 The Trinity Christmas Pageant 2010

Trinity Church held its annual Christmas Pageant on Sunday, December 19 at 4 p.m.  Over 300 people attended this beautiful candlelit service of lessons and carols. The story of the Nativity was told in a tableau format with the 4^th and 5^th graders as the cast of angels, shepherds, King Herod, the 3 wise men and their pages.  Pastor Kathleen Adams-Shepherd was the narrator and the music was provided by the youth choirs: The Trinity Choristers and the Primary Choir with Fiona Smith Sutherland as the director. 

The gifts on the steps were brought in by the children who attended the pageant.  They are for the children at Amos House - a transitional homeless facility in Danbury, and were taken there in time for Christmas.

Sue Vogelman, Minister of Children and Youth Education directed the pageant. “This was my 10^th pageant as director and it was just beautiful. The kids did a great job as usual.”  The Symes family portrayed the Holy Family with Christopher as Joseph, Heather as Mary, and 3 month old Ryder as baby Jesus.  Mason Symes (2 years old) portrayed a little angel who flitted around the manger.  Christopher Symes was also in the pageant almost 20 years ago as a shepherd.  His parents (Curt and Connie Symes) were thrilled to see their own child and then their grandchild be in the Trinity pageant  a few decades later!

 

Rite 13 Ceremony

Posted by Sue Vogelman

On November 21, 2010 Trinity welcomed four youth into their Journey to Adulthood through the Rite 13 Ceremony. 

  
       The Rite-13 curriculum assists young people as they take the first steps of passage away from their families and into their own lives.  It begins with a liturgical celebration of the gift of womanhood and manhood that each child celebrates around their 13th birthday.  During the next two years, the community acknowledges the gift of gender, celebrates the amazing creative power and potential of these young people, and creates a safe haven to explore new ideas, new interests and new abilities. 

“Nothing Goes Without Saying”

        How often do we think things like, “She knows I love her – it goes without saying” or “He knows how much I appreciate all his hard work – it goes without saying”? 

        Words can be a powerful affirmation, and the absence of the right words can leave a void that really hurts.  The truth is, very little goes without saying, and the important things should NEVER go without saying.  There are things we know, but sometimes we still need to hear them loud and clear.

        We have a chance to say some important things to some of our 6^th and 7^th Graders as they arrive at the milestone of their thirteenth birthday.  A few times a year, we celebrate an important rite of passage called “Rite-13” or “The Celebration of Manhood and Womanhood” with our teenagers.

        This ceremony gives us a way of saying to our young people things we have meant to convey all along – things like:  “We stand with you as you make your way on the journey; we’re here if you need us; we think you are terrific; we love you.”  We often assume that our teens feel appreciated and accepted as a vital part of our parish, but adolescence can be such a time of uncertainty, and some things just can’t be said often enough.

        Please keep these teens and their families in your prayers as they participate in this significant event in their lives.             

The Saints Came Marching In

Members of our Church School Classes volunteered to dress up as historical saints for our All Saints Sunday procession into the 8:45 and 11:15 worship services on November 7, 2010.  They are carrying banners made in 2001 by our Church School Classes.

8:45 Service Saints holding saints' banners

 

 11:15 Service Saints

 

 
Then the saints marched into Children's Liturgy to tell their story to our youngest parishioners.

 
 

 

Greetings Trinity Parishioners and friends!

Here is our monthly update from the Sustainable Philanthropy Committee, part of the Mission and Outreach Commission. We have received a portion of the Parish’s Mission and Outreach budget so that we can make kiva loans to the poor around the world in support of the Millennium Development Goals. We call ourselves “sustainable” because as borrowers repay their loans, we can help more people with the same money.

We met in late June to establish our Mission and a loan process so that we can prayerfully be good stewards of the Parish’s assets. Since that time we have made:

• 69 loans in 29 countries of which 15 were funded by borrower repayments
• To date, our borrowers have a 2.0% delinquency (most delinquencies are cleared up within 60 days) and 0% default rate
• 9 loans were repaid and we expect 10 more loans will be fully repaid later this month

To see the loans that we have made, check out our lender page http://www.kiva.org/lender/trinitychurch9574

Did you know you can buy kiva gift certificates as Christmas presents @ kiva.org

Check this space next month for more updates!

 

All Youth Kickoff Canoe Trip

The youth ministries programs kicked off 2010-2011 with a canoe trip to northwestern Connecticut.  Peter Anderau organized the trip with Clarke Outdoors www.clarkeoutdoors.com for over 50 people.  After a long ride up to West Cornwall, we ate lunch together (organized by Temple Whitaker) and then were driven to the launch point above the dam in Canaan, CT.  Two hours of canoeing down the beautiful Housatonic river - and no one fell in!  A few got turned around backwards and went zig-zagging down the river, but it was a safe and fun time for all!  Here are a few photos of the fun.

Getting our instructions and life preservers:
 

The very steep launch site. 

 

 

 

A beautiful day for all!

Leftovers Turn into Red Carpet Event

by Hannah Albee

Once again, Trinity pushes the envelope on pre-conceived notions about church fellowship.  Think again if you are imagining the run-of-the-mill church potluck: a la boring casseroles and Jell-O salads.  Parishioners turned out for the "Turkey Again?" potluck and advent wreath workshop hosted by Christian Formation on November 30th with creative Thanksgiving leftovers that would make even Hollywood chef Wolfgang Puck drool.  Awards were handed out to the new stars of potluck cuisine. Set designers worked busily on advent wreaths to bring home. And up-and-coming names in show biz posed for glam shots. Dress was kicked up a notch too: this was indeed a Red Carpet night at Trinity.

These judges of glamorous post thanksgiving cuisine have high standards when it comes to left over Turkey, Jell-O, Cass-a-Roles, Desserts and Soups….  

The coveted Nutcracker Award for Best Creative Use of Jell-O and/or
Jell-O Mold goes to Michele McBride. Makes sense that a "mover and shaker" of the night would win the award for the food that moves and shakes, does it not?

The Lifetime Achievement Award – Green Bean Casserole – goes to The Steins! Congratulations!

Best Dessert Award for Assorted Swiss Mousses goes to chocolatier Peter Anderau.

Cory Benson won The Best Use of Turkey in a Cass-a-Role for her Green Chili Turkey Casserole. They like it! They really like it!

Not shown, (photographer was pushed aside by paparazzi): The Jones-Boyle family for their Wild Rice Salad which beat out some pretty stiff competition for the Best Veggie in a Supporting Role Award.

The Filiato family for Best Foreign Dish--Granma's Banana Graham Cracker Deluxe and for Best Costume Award--Mashed Potatoes.

For Best Make Up & Special Effects – Snow and Leaves Sweet Potatoes – The Chamiec-Case/Chamiec-Pauneto Family.

And for Best Overall Entrée – Tortilla Soup – The Lonsinger Family took their new found fame in stride.

Famous Anglican writer and former monk to come to Trinity

By Rev. Carol Westpfahl

As soon as you get your 2009 calendars, mark these dates: October 3rd and 4th. Those are the days that the Rev. Martin Smith has agreed to come to Trinity. Smith, an Episcopal priest, is widely-known throughout the Anglican communion for his writing, preaching and lectures on the spiritual journey. He is also highly-regarded for his leadership of retreats.

Smith is a former member of the Boston community of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, an order of Episcopal monks. Trinity parishioners will remember the SSJE brothers who visited with us a few years ago, leading a Saturday retreat, preaching on Sunday, and offering a Sunday adult education class. The Rev. Smith has agreed to do the same for his weekend at Trinity.

From 1992 to 2001, Smith led the SSJE community as Superior, while offering retreats, writing books and ministering in a variety of other capacities, including as chaplain to the U.S. House of Bishops. He is currently on the staff of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well as serving as the Senior Associate Rector and Theologian in Residence at St. Columba’s, a very large Episcopal church in Washington D.C.

His books include: The Word is Very Near You: A Guide to Praying with Scripture; Reconciliation, which explores the theological, spiritual, and emotional landscape of the rite of reconciliation (or confession) in the Episcopal church; Love Set Free: Meditations on the Passion According to John; A Season for the Spirit: Readings for the Days of Lent; Nativities and Passions: Words for Transformation: and Benson of Cowley, a life of the founder of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. His most recent book is Compass and Stars, which is aimed at “getting our bearings” in the life of the Spirit today. In a quote from the book, Smith notes, “Finding our way, getting our bearings, takes its imagery from the art of navigation with map and compass and stars. It speaks to our feelings of confusion, loss, and failure. When we admit to God we have lost our way, we get the chance to discover that all ways belong to God - even the way of disorientation.” Trinity’s library includes several of Martin Smith’s books, for those who might want to sample his writing in advance of his visit with us.

We are delighted that the Rev. Smith has agreed to come to Trinity and hope that as many as possible of you will be able to take advantage of hearing him during his time with us. He is an extremely popular speaker, which is why we had to book him more than a year in advance! Hopefully that will mean that many of us can set aside the time now to attend when the time comes.

If you have any questions about this program or any other Christian Formation Commission offering, feel free to speak to Cindy Anderau, vestry chair for Christian Formation, or myself, the clergy support to the commission.