News from the Pews December NEWS from the PEWS. Trinity Anglican Church, Bradford ON Advent. Sunday, December 3, 2017 Volume 9, number 2

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1 NEWS from the PEWS Trinity Anglican Church, Bradford ON Advent Sunday, December 3, 2017 Volume 9, number 2 Happy New Year! Every church year begins with the first Sunday of Advent, and follows through the liturgical seasons, culminating in Reign of Christ Sunday when we celebrate Jesus as King. Over a 3-year cycle (years A, B, and C) the church covers the most important scriptures and biblical events. This Sunday, December 3, 2017 is the beginning of Year B. FROM THE REGISTER Baptisms Adrianna Lynn, daughter of Andrew and Jennifer DiDomenico was baptized on Sunday, November 5, All Saints Sunday. Receive the light of Christ, to show that you have passed from darkness to light. Deaths Joseph William (Bill) Fitzgerald passed into the nearer presence of God on November 6. His Celebration of Life was held in Trinity Church on November 9 with the Rev. Dana Dickson officiating, and The Rev. Erin Martin assisting. Bill will be dearly missed by his wife Valerie, his children, grandchildren, and many friends. Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him. CHURCH CALENDAR Friday, December1 Trinity Youth Group (kids age 10 yrs and up), 7 pm. Contact: Elizabeth Annand, Meetings are the first Friday each month. Tuesday, December 5 Bible Study, 7:30-9 pm. Everyone welcome! Wednesday, December 6 Soul Survivors, 7:30 pm, for anyone affected by cancer or chronic illness. Meet in the choir room. And at 8:35 pm, Compline with anointing for healing and wholeness. Contact Gretchen Dewhirst, or Rev. Dana, Thursday, December 7 Bible Study, 2 3:30 pm. Everyone welcome! 1

2 Saturday, December 9 The Krafty Knitters will be at the Bradford Valley Nursing Home Christmas Fair promoting their ministry and Trinity Church, 9am to 1pm. They have a variety of lovely Christmas crafts for sale, proceeds to be donated to the Youth Group to pay postage for their "Cereal Box" ministry. Please come by to support Trinity ministries in the community. Lynn Woods Monday, December 11 The decorating team will be decorating the church for Christmas. Anyone wishing to help is asked to contact Sandra or Fred Longthorne, Wednesday, December 13 Krafty Knitters, 2 to 4 pm. Everyone is welcome to come and knit or crochet, or learn one of these crafts, and to enjoy fellowship and a cuppa. Contact: Anne Silvey, Trinity BradfordChristmas Services Wednesday, December 13 Blue Christmas service, 7 pm. A peaceful, hope-filled service for anyone finding Christmas a difficult time. Bradford United will be joining us, and their minister, The Rev. Jim Keenan, will be the preacher. Rev. Dana will officiate. If you know of anyone who would appreciate this service, please invite them. Sunday, December 17 Holy Eucharist, 10 am Christmas Carol Sing, 7 pm Sunday, December 24, Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols, 10 am Family Christmas Eve service, 7 pm Traditional sung Christmas Mass, 11 pm Christmas Day, December 25 Holy Eucharist, 10 am Sunday, December 31 Holy Communion, Book of Common Prayer, 10 am CHURCH NEWS Our Roast Beef Dinner on November 24 was a great success! Again, we had a full house. Special thanks to Fred & Sandra Longthorne, Lorna Oldreive, and Sheryl MacPhail for organizing and supervising the event, and countless others for their support. Thanks to Trudie Kennedy for making and donating Christmas arrangements that were sold. Many jobs need to be filled: food preparation, serving, setting up and taking down, baking, washing up, ticket selling, etc. Great team work! Thank-you to all who bought tickets to the dinner. The dinner raised $2068! What an amazing array of items for the Silent Auction! The auction closed at 10 am Sunday, November 26 with a flurry of last minute activity prior to the start of our worship service! Rev. Dana eventually succeeded in coaxing everyone into the pews for announcements before the processional hymn. Thank-you to all who donated items and to everyone who participated in the fun of bidding. And of course, congratulations to the winning bidders! The silent auction raised $1,291! 2

3 We should mention that... Milk bags are no longer being collected. They were being made into sleeping mats for 3 rd world countries, but the gentleman who was collecting them has passed away. Egg cartons can no longer be accepted by the Food Bank. In the month of November, our Youth Group collected cereal boxes to be sent to Haiti where women make them into beads. This provides work and a small income for their families. Thank-you for bringing in your boxes. Bradford s Christmas Parade took place the evening of November 18, in the rain, and Trinity Church was part of it again. Our float was spruced up for the event, and Roger Sorensen kindly used his tractor to pull the float along the route. Despite the weather, a good group from Trinity participated: some on the float, and others walking along, carrying our banner or handing out candy canes. Special thanks to David Read, Lorna Oldreive, and Roger Sorensen whose efforts made it possible for us to demonstrate our Christian presence in this town. We are grateful to all who helped with this special project, and all who came out for the parade. Sunday, February 25, 2018 is the date for our annual Vestry meeting re the year Please note your calendar. Another great event this past month was our Fellowship Soup Luncheon which was held after church on November 19. Trinity has some excellent soup makers! It was fun to taste a variety of soup recipes, and the breads and scones were also a big hit! Or was it the desserts that were a big hit? Well, I believe we all agree that all the food that day was a true delight! And everyone seemed to go away full. By popular demand, more fellowship soup luncheons will be planned in the new year. Some wonderful fellowship was shared too. An uncommon event this year was having All Saints Sunday and Remembrance Sunday falling on the same date. As often happens on All Saints, we also had a baptism. Rev. Dana did a marvellous job of coordinating the service to honour all of these special celebrations. Members of the Bradford Legion were in attendance. Good news! The new basement, kitchen and vestry windows have been installed! They do look nice, and we are able to open and close them when necessary. This work was made possible through parishioners support of More Faith More Hope campaign, and fund raising. The next project will be covering some of the fascia with aluminum areas that are showing their age and are very difficult to keep painted and in good repair. Contributions to More Faith More Hope help us to accomplish the necessary maintenance and preservation of this lovely church building. Donations may be one-time, yearly, monthly, or occasional for more information, please contact the church office. Calling for completed pledge forms now! We were all asked to complete a pledge form indicating our offerings for the coming year, and leave it in the sealed box in the Upper Room. It is the responsibility of our wardens to prepare a budget for the coming year and present it at the annual vestry meeting. In order to plan the budget, they rely on the information we provide on our pledge forms. Whether by PAG (pre-authorized giving) or envelopes, our offerings keep the doors open and our ministries active. Kindly provide this information. If you should need a pledge form, there are some under the bell tower on the table. The wardens remind us that if our personal circumstances should change, it is understood that our offerings may need to change too. 3

4 Two adult Christian Education groups met this fall: one evening and one daytime.thanks to Rev. Dana for organizing and leading these groups. They are finishing up for this season, but watch for more Christian learning opportunities during January. Trinity Kids Photo in The Anglican newspaper On October 22, a photographer from The Anglican newspaper arrived after the service to take a photograph of Trinity children lighting the first candle on our Advent wreath. Every year they choose a different church for this picture for their December issue, and this year Trinity Bradford was chosen. Although Advent does not begin until Sunday, December 3, our Advent wreath was brought out for an hour or so for this photo to be taken! And what a lovely photo it is! Please note: If you do not currently receive the monthly Anglican newspaper, please speak with Margaret (the secretary) to be added to their mailing list. This paper is free of charge to all families in Anglican parishes. Do you have an occasion to celebrate? Our main room downstairs may be rented for special occasions for $100 a day, or part of a day. Insurance is mandatory and may be easily purchased through the Diocese s insurance company at a very reasonable rate, starting at about $35. A recent change of insurance provider resulted in less cost and an easier process for obtaining insurance! For rental information or to book the room, please contact Margaret, the secretary. Like the old saying It never rains but it pours. We have completed basement window replacements, the Church St. Windows have been repainted, the bell tower has been restored, but now ourdishwasher, a reliable workhorse for the last 20 years, has finally given up. At the same time, our water heater needs to be replaced, and all this leads to the necessity of updating some old plumbing. The cost for purchasing a commercial dishwasher, including installation and the necessary plumbing upgrades is at least $5000 and up to $10,000, depending on what is involved with the old plumbing. Thankfully we have received a donation towards this already, but more is needed. If you have considered giving a donation in memory, or in thanksgiving, and are looking for a particular project to donate to, maybe this could be the one! New Signs A sign for St. Paul s Cemetery has been placed in the existing frame at Coulson s Hill. Also a new sign will be hung at the side of County Road 4 (Hwy 11) near Line 11, pointing towards the cemetery. These were purchased by the Cemetery Board. Thank-you to Barrie Schroeder for organizing this project and mounting the signs. Two important things about our lift: 1. The lift is there to be used! If anyone could benefit from using our lift to go between the upper and lower levels of the church, please do not hesitate to ask. Many people are willing and able to help with the lift: Sheryl MacPhail, Meg White, Lorna Oldreive, Art Holden, Margaret or Barrie Schroeder, Sandra or Fred Longthorne, Ann Spalding and likely others. If you need help to use the lift ask, and you shall receive! 2.Leaving the lift on its lower level, after use, is recommended by the elevator company. This is to prevent a loss of oil that happens when the lift is left on the upper level. Coffee, tea, milk, cream and sugar for Sunday morning coffee time: When these items are needed, Cynthia Riley,, will pick up what is needed if we give her a few days notice. 4

5 When we run low on detergent, paper towels, food wrap, napkins etc. there is a page on the wall in the kitchen, near the window, where we can make note of it. Sheryl MacPhail keeps track of this list, and she or Lorna will go shopping for the items. We may speak with Sheryl anytime about items needed. Kids in Jr. K and up are welcome at Sunday School. The children start off in church with their parents, and go downstairs following the Children s Focus, where teacher Elizabeth Annand is ready and waiting for them, with Christian fun and learning every Sunday morning! 10 am Sunday School craft supplies: we are so thankful to anyone who has donated supplies. At the moment we have a lot of different items. Elizabeth will let people know when we are in need of specific items or are running low on items. Thank you! Some bright green, long-sleeve T-shirts from The Great Trinity Steeplechase (that wonderful, fun event a few years ago) are for sale at $5 each. We notice that some of our parishioners enjoy wearing their green shirts at church events! e.g. suppers, steak BBQ, bell tower party, or any time we want to celebrate or bring attention to Trinity Church! If you would like to have one of these eye-catching T-shirts they are available in the Upper Room on Sundays, and in the 2 nd hand shop (although they are not 2 nd hand). You may also contact Margaret in the office, or Sheryl MacPhail. Cynthia has revamped our church website! Please look at it, and let her know what you think, and if you have ideas or suggestions: trinityanglicanchurchbradford.ca The plan is to keep on top of all our news and events. If you have any photos of church events, Cynthia will be happy to have them for the website: December Finance Feature: Our lift (elevator) is a boon for anyone having difficulty with stairs! We are very glad to have it. But it comes at a price. Inspections are required annually, at a cost of $900 each time. Any service call between inspections costs $200 (not including any parts that may be required). Rarely do we manage to go all year without a few service calls. Please check the notice board on the wall just inside the south oak doors! Dates for our next upcoming events are posted there! Church announcements for Sunday bulletins should be ed to Margaret, the secretary, no later than Tuesday of the week, and preferably by the previous Sunday. Rev. Dana and Stewart spend 15 minutes in prayer, in the church, from 9 to 9:15 am Sunday mornings. Parishioners are welcome to come and pray before the service as well. You can follow Trinity Church on Facebook! Rev. Dana invites children to begin the church service with their parents. They stay until after the Children s Focus, and then children in Jr. K or older are invited downstairs for Sunday School with teacher Elizabeth Annand. Children are always welcome in the worship service. Colouring pages and crayons are available in the Upper Room (narthex) for children to take into the pews with their parents. The choir room is available for parents with little ones during Sunday services. Toys, a baby gate, and baby monitor (for parents to follow the service) are available in the choir room. 5

6 From Rev. Dana s desk: The Christmas Season will soon be here and preparations are underway for the various services celebrating the birth of Jesus. I want to invite everyone, and encourage you to invite friends and family to the services you think they might be interested in. Christmas is probably one time of the year when who we are and what we do as Church, most closely connects with the world around us. As we are celebrating Christmas so is the world around us. There are a wide variety of worship services being offered at Trinity Bradford that can connect with different people, their interests and needs at this time of year. A full list of the service dates and times is included in this News from the Pews. I want to draw your attention to three services in particular, because they are either new or different from what you may have experienced before and are also the ones that might be good for inviting others. First, in conjunction with Bradford United Church we will be hosting a Blue Christmas service on Wednesday, December 13 at 7 pm. It is a service that has alternated between the two churches and this year it is our turn to host. This service is especially good for those who find Christmas hard because of the death of a loved one or another reason. All are welcome regardless of their church connections or none. There will be singing, scripture and a time to remember those are no longer with us. Second, in place of the Lessons Carols Service this year, which has been moved to the 4 th Sunday of Advent, we are having a Carol Sing on December 17, at 7 pm. After our highly successful Hymn Sing in August, there were requests and suggestions for a similar event at Christmas. It seems like everyone loves to sing Christmas carols so this is your opportunity to come and sing many of the old favourites. Third, there is a family service on Christmas Eve at 7 p.m. with an impromptu pageant that all children and young people are invited to take part in, helping me tell the Christmas story. This has become one of my favourite parts of Christmas, it is organized chaos at its best. For this service, especially because it is new here, I do need help with the preparations. For the costumes, I am looking for some metallic wrapping paper (the shiny paper) or small plain metallic tins for the king s gifts. As well as some fabric, preferably broadcloth, that can be cut up into squares of shepherd s headdresses. For the service, I also need 2-3 people who can assist with costumes, putting garland halos on angels, tying headdresses on shepherds or helping kings with their crowns. We will also be doing some small bags for children, with nativity scene stickers or bookmarks and candy that I have purchased. If you can help with any of the above, including putting together the bags or can make a donation toward the cost of the bags please speak to me. Thank you in advance for your help and I invite you to join me in celebrating this holy season. I look forward to sharing with you in the joy, peace and wonder as we celebrate Emmanuel, God among us. Rev. Dana s day off is Monday of each week. She may be reached at the church office, As part of our Pastoral Care ministry we send get well, sympathy, or thinking of you cards to parishioners when the occasion presents itself. If you are aware of a parishioner to whom we may send a card, please contact the secretary by or at the church office. Welcome Folders are available in the Upper Room (narthex) on the table near the top of the stairs for newcomers or anyone interested in information about Trinity Church, or the Anglican church in general. 6

7 We pray for anyone in need of prayer Trinity s Prayer Circle members pray for anyone in need of God s healing grace. The Prayer Circle is a group of parishioners who, in their own personal prayers, pray for anyone in need of prayer. The only requirement is that the one to be prayed for is in agreement with his/her name being given to the Prayer Circle. To request prayer by the Prayer Circle, please contact Sandra Longthorne, Requests are passed to Circle members by or phone. We have no meetings. For each prayer request we pray for about a month, or as requested. 2. Prayers of the People/Litany In our Sunday morning prayers we include anyone in need of healing. To have someone mentioned, please write the name in the little black book on the stand in the Upper Room, prior to the service. The only requirement is that the person to be prayed for has given permission for his/her name to be read aloud. Usually a first name is enough. 3. The weekly Cycle of Prayer Every Sunday morning three families in our congregation (in alphabetical order from our parish list) are prayed for within the prayers of the people. We are encouraged to pray for these folks during the week at home too. Gluten-free wafers are available for Communion. If needed, please mention this to Rev. Dana prior to the service. When a parishioner is hospitalized, it would be helpful if the patient, a family member, or close friend would let us know. A visit or call, according to the patient s wishes, will be arranged. Pre-arranging a funeral or a celebration of life service can be helpful to a family at a stressful time. If you wish to leave your final wishes and instructions in a file in the church office, please speak with the priest. On many occasion through the week, various volunteers have been found hard at work: cleaning bathrooms, preparing food for events, setting up or putting away tables and chairs... thank-you! Service Schedule 1 st to 4 th Sundays of the month, 10 am: Holy Eucharist (BAS) 5 th Sunday of the month (when applicable), 10 am: Holy Communion (BCP) 1 st Wednesday of month, 8:35 pm: Service of Compline, with anointing for healing and wholeness 1 st Sunday of month, 2 pm: Eucharist & Hymn Sing, Bradford Valley Seniors Residence Before borrowing any item from the church for a day or two at a time, please check with Margaret, the secretary, to be sure that the item is available and will not be needed during the time you would like to borrow it. If approved, you would then sign it out on the page on the bulletin board, and sign it back in when you return it. 7

8 Volunteers play a big part in keeping our church open and active, and save us a lot of money. If you are not one already, you can easily become a volunteer. Here are some ideas! On the list below you are likely to something you can help with, whether it be once, or twice, or more often. If so, please let us know! In some cases a sign-up page is available, or please contact the secretary to be put in touch with the appropriate contact. sell tickets when we have events help with set-up, and clean-up for any of our events help in the 2 nd hand shop (Thursday and/or Saturday mornings) donate good, clean household items and clothing to the 2 nd hand shop help by disposing of a bag of excess items, and/or garbage, from the 2 nd hand shop donate new, or just like new items for silent auctions donate to specific expenses of your choice: replacement dishwasher, Sunday School, snow removal, cleaning supplies, elevator inspections and service calls provide Sunday morning flowers in the church (in memoriam, in thanksgiving, in celebration) contribute to groceries (for dinners, teas, receptions, after-church coffee time) prepare after-church coffee/tea any Sunday empty waste baskets around the church (on Wednesday, for garbage pick-up on Thursday) vacuum the church (upstairs and/or downstairs) clean the kitchen cleaning the washrooms grass and garden trimming help with fall garden clean-up painting clean windows (upstairs and/or downstairs, or anywhere) be a KwarterlyKourier (deliver occasional mailings to a few parishioners near you) Message from Our Wardens Did you know that an extraordinary amount of ministry happens through the operating budget of the church? However, we are actively seeking new ways to reach out with the good news in our community, both in proclamation and in deed. This goal requires financing. Did you know that approximately $12, is raised through our fundraising projects every year to balance our operating budget? Did you know that an additional gift of $ per year per family, per year, would allow us to reallocate that $12, per year to outreach and new ministry initiatives? Did you know that...an additional $ per year is only an additional $5.00 per week, or $20.00 per month? We ask you to prayerfully consider making this additional offering as part of your regular giving and help our church reach out with good news in new and exciting ways in your community. If you require a pre-authorized giving update form, please see Ann Spalding. Yours faithfully, your Wardens: Meg, Sheryl, Lorna, and Art 8

9 Have You Considered Trinity Church in Your Will? Remembering your parish church in your will is one of the ways in which future Anglican ministry can be ensured in our community. We currently receive a dividend averaging about $ per year thanks to the generous legacy offered to us through the estate of the late John Barnard. In difficult times this funding has been crucial to our ongoing budget, and in good times it has allowed us to undertake new initiatives. By remembering Trinity Church in your will, you will continue to support God s mission in our community for many generations to come! Legacies may be designated in many different ways. If you are considering remembering Trinity Church in your will, please speak with the priest and the wardens. The next issue of News from the Pews will be Sunday, January 7, Church Secretary and Organist: Margaret Schroeder, margaret22sch@gmail.com Church Wardens: Sheryl MacPhail, Meghan White, Lorna Oldreive, Art Holden The Rev. Dana Dickson, Incumbent Priest Parish of Trinity Bradford 62 Church St., P. O. Box 282 Bradford ON L3Z 2A trinityanglicanchurchbradford.ca 9