Trinity Episcopal Church

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1 January 2015 Volume 3, Issue 1 Trinity Episcopal Church Lenox, MA A peak inside: Rector s preview of the Annual Meeting Financial Update About our White Vestments Scenes from the Christmas Season SERVICES SUNDAYS 8 a.m. - Holy Eucharist 10:15 a.m. - Holy Eucharist with Hymns, Godly Play 5 p.m. - Evening Prayer DAILY 7 a.m. - Morning Prayer (8 a.m. on first Saturday of every month) TUESDAY 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist A Message from our Rector Dear People of Trinity Church, Once again, we had a truly wonderful and memorable celebration of the Christmas season. My thanks go out to everyone who made this year go so well. From the altar guild s careful preparations to the flower guild s beautiful wreathes and poinsettias, everything look splendid. Thanks to the folks who braved the ladders to hang and light the candles on the light fixtures. Our celebrations were ornamented with great music from our dedicated singers and chime ringers. Everything was truly wonderful and God was glorified. As we come into January, our attention begins to turn to Lent, but before that we have our Annual Meeting after the 10:15 service on January 25 th. Meetings like this occupy an unusual place on our spiritual life together. On the one hand, they are essential business meetings. There are things that we need to get done like reviewing the budget and electing a slate of vestry members. But on the other hand, we shouldn t get so focused on the business that we lose sight of the truth that we are supposed to the model the example of Jesus in all of our work together. Part of our task is to find God even in the budget and the vestry elections. This year we have several exciting things to discuss in addition to our regular work. First of all, we will be presenting some proposals for renovating the Parish Hall. The vestry s hope is to make the bathroom more accessible to all of our members, including those with mobility concerns. We would also like to improve the floor which is in desperate need of attention. Finally, we would like to find a plan to improve the overall access to the building, probably through a ramp. These are ambitious goals. While the final decision will rest with the vestry, the vestry does not want to act without the counsel and support of the whole parish. Second, we will also be discussing some exciting possibilities to partner with our neighboring church of St. Helena s. Last fall, St. Helena s vicar, the Reverend Daina Salnities, gave her resignation. Instead of looking for a part time vicar, St. Helena s has approached Trinity to see if this is the right time to explore some sort of partnership to share resources and some programs. So over the next few months, both Trinity and St. Helena s will be working to see if a partnership would invigorate both our communities. You will be hearing more about these discussions in future newsletters, but we will also be going over the principles of the conversation and the timeline at the Annual Meeting, and I look forward to seeing everyone on the 25 th. Yours in Christ,

2 Trinity News Page 2 of 5 About our White Vestments Detail of Trinity s White Stole White Chasuble and Stole for All Saints Church, Boston by Davis D Ambly

3 Trinity News Page 3 of 5 About our Finances As of November 30, 2014 Pledge and plate income $100,539 Endowment & other income 144,978 Total Income 245,517 Stewardship Update As of the time of this newsletter, we have received a total of 62 pledges totaling over $112,000. This is only slightly below our goal of $115,000. Thank you to everyone who so generously pledged to support Trinity Church in Total Expenses $253,897 Deficit -$8,380 It is important to remember that our financial reports lag somewhat. So although we are in the new year, our most current financial reports are as of November. We are again seeing a deficit as of November. While this was projected in our 2014 budget, it still puts pressure on our cash flow and our ability to pay our bills. It also makes it more difficult to invest in the programs we need to grow. 1. Pledge and plate income are slightly below budget. This We will probably be very close to budget as we track the people who are finishing their pledge for the year. 2. We have been able to keep up with our heating bills this year, but this is still a time when we need to be especially careful about our cash. 3. We anticipate that cash flow will again be a challenge in the next few months. We are in a good position for the middle of the winter. Our stewardship campaign this year was a strong success. We exceeded our goal of 60 pledges by 2, and got extremely close to our overall pledge goal of $115,000. If you have any questions either of the wardens, the treasurer, or the rector would be glad to speak with you. Vestry Update December s vestry meeting was focused primarily on two topics: discussion about renovations of the Parish Hall and the 2015 Budget. In general, the vestry preferred an option on the ramp that was simpler in scope, but there was some concern that we should explore more options before committing to a project. There was a great deal of support for renovating the bathroom and replacing the floor. The vestry also discussed presenting the proposals to the parish at the Annual Meeting to get a better sense of the will of the community before moving forward. The vestry also passed the 2015 Budget at its December meeting. This budget continues on the same vein as the previous year s budget. We are projecting increases to endowment income, but most of these increases will be taken up with increases to costs. In 2015, there is a significant increase to the budget for Outreach going from $9,000 in 2014 to $11,750 in This is consistent with the vestry s goal to bring Outreach up 6% of our operating budget. The vestry also anticipates continuing our investment in our Music program. The remaining increases in costs are primarily due to small increases to lay staff salaries and also anticipated rises in costs for utilities and maintenance. The full budget will be available for discussion at the Annual Meeting on January 25 th.

4 Trinity TrinityNews News Page Page44of of66 Scenes from the Christmas Season

5 Trinity News Page 5 of 5 Choir & Music Notes The music room has been a very busy place during the Advent and Christmas season! On Advent 4, our newly-formed Handchime Choir played the preludes for the 10:15 service. The choir received many compliments after the service which were really appreciated. The group will begin rehearsals again on Sunday, Feb.8, immediately following the 10:15 service. If anyone is interested in joining the group, please speak to me before Feb. 8. The Children's Choir sang for the family service on Christmas Eve. Our guest flutist Michelle Haftl accompanied the choir beautifully. At the 9:30 Christmas Eve service, the Berkshire String Trio accompanied the hymn sing as well as providing wonderful prelude and postlude music. As a reminder to everyone: Children's Choir, open to all children of the parish from grades 1 through 5, meets on Wednesday afternoons from 3:45 to 4:30, beginning Feb. 4. The Handchime Choir meets on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sundays of the month, immediately following the 10:15 service. The Chancel Choir also has a new schedule. The choir will meet on the first Sunday of each month immediately following the 10:15 service and will sing at the 10:15 service on the third Sunday of the month. I welcome new members to each and every group. Anita Stuart Outreach at Trinity Thank you for your support of our annual Jesse Tree project. Seven large fully packed bags of warm clothing were delivered to The Christian Center. The Christian Center sends their blessings to us on behalf of their clients who are warmer this winter. Though the weather was not in our favor, the Christmas Fair and Silver Tea was a success.thank you to all who helped make the tea a beautiful place to be on a snowy day while picking up some gifts and goodies. A special thank you to both Emily Kittross and Virginia Giddens for their leadership for this event. We welcome two new members to the Committee, Bob Bruyr and Cindy Nasman. Cindy is the Director of the Lenox Food Pantry and has been worshiping with us for a few months at the 10:15 service. we also thank Barbara Brouker and Gwen Gilbert for their contributions to the Committee as they are "retiring". We wish you a healthy and happy New Year. we will welcome you to all of our meetings. Remember that we are all members of outreach and mission, Gail Street