The Trinity Times. Due to a death in the family, Veronica & Dan will be in Virginia Sept,

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1 The Trinity Times Dear Friends, We are in a whirlwind. My oldest brother Mark s wife Mary Ann died rather suddenly this week, so we ll be off to Virginia for her funeral on Tuesday. Many thanks for your kind thoughts and prayers I will relay them to my brother and his family. We have taken vacation in the Outer Banks the first weeks of October for many, many years now. It s really the best time to be there it s still warm (you can even go in the ocean) but the kids are back to school and so the summer traffic and craziness is no more. It will be especially good to spend time with my sisters and their husbands this year. As we age, these visits grow more precious. With each family health crisis or death, we become more aware of the fleeting nature of all that is. The unsettled nature of our society makes this all the more acute. We must live life, we must love each other, take time for people, do what we can to make a good difference in this world while we re here. Our daily actions create our only legacy. Jesus said it over and over don t worry about what you shall wear, don t worry about building bigger barns, don t worry about what people think about you, don t worry at all. Just follow his simple instructions, season after season, year after year: love one another, care for one another, make each day count. Veronica + May the blessing of God be upon you... May God keep you safe when you are in danger. May God guide you in the way of Love. May God support you in danger or hardship. May God lift up your heart when you are feeling low. May God comfort you when you are feeling lonely. May God give you strength when you are weak. May God bring you home when you are lost. May God surround you with loving care, always and forever. You are holy, you are chosen, you are loved and you are blessed. the rev. jane r. dunning Due to a death in the family, Veronica & Dan will be in Virginia Sept, They will then go straight on to vacation Sept. 30 Oct. 13. Finally, they will then be at our Diocesan Convention Oct See you Sunday, October 16! V Call Mary Markle if you need anything while Veronica is gone. There will be priests available for emergencies. UNITED THANK OFFERING INGATHERING OCT. 16 We have the opportunity year round to be thankful for all our blessings through our gifts to the United Thank Offering. From its beginnings in 1889 as a women s service of mission, it has become an arm that leads the Episcopal Church, funding new work throughout the United States and the world. In today s hectic world, the United Thank Offering gives us a chance daily to pause during the day to be thankful for all our blessings. Every time we drop a coin into our Blue Box we lift up those blessings. It is a discipline that we can all benefit from. Every coin dropped in will go towards furthering the mission work of the church. No amount is too small. There are UTO envelopes and blue boxes in the parish hall. FROM SMALL COINS COME GREAT THINGS! BE THANKFUL IN ALL THINGS! October

2 Dan & Veronica Chappell October 7 Pat & Phil Courtright October 10 Steve & Becky Huling October 17 Ann & Doug Smith October 13 As a start of an extended study of world religions, we will look at the three traditions that call Abraham their father: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How did these faiths develop? How are these faiths similar and how are they different? Why has there been tension, hatred, and even war between the people who follow Abraham s God? Is there the possibility of peace through understanding? We will be meeting either on Wednesdays or Thursdays at lunchtime (yet to be decided). Please let Lee Davis know your preference. COURSE WILL START THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 16. If we have continued interest, we will then look at other religions and traditions, including indigenous religions, eastern traditions, new 19 th century religions, atheism and agnosticism, cults and more. Great stuff! 2 nd Sunday Supper October 9 Ham & Green Beans October

3 COMPASS POINTS One week. Seven days. One hundred sixty-eight hours. When we are on vacation- sipping cold drinks under a beach umbrella; sleeping under the stars; exploring new cities, museums, restaurants; hiking new trailsthe time seems to fly. It is over as soon as it has begun. When we are away- engaged in the work that we have gathered to do, but missing the work that and people that we left at home- it can seem like a long, long time. I do admit to being somewhat of a homebody. I like to sleep in my own bed, am fairly picky about the quality of my morning coffee, and figuring out what clothes to take on a trip is an exhausting enterprise that makes me want to stay home in my gym shorts. I love the rhythm of my work, as fastpaced as it can be, and the connections that I make week-in-and-week-out with lay leaders, clergy, civic leaders, ecumenical partners, and parishes is fulfilling and exciting. So it is hard to leave. If just for a week. But so good. In this past week, about 125 bishops of the Episcopal Church (representing 109 dioceses -99 dioceses in the US and 10 in other countries) gathered in Detroit for the fall meeting of the House of Bishops. The House of Bishops meets twice a year. In the fall, the meeting is located in one of our dioceses that has been selected with some intentionality; the impulse to gather in Detroit this fall had to do with the re-birth of that city and the recent water crisis in nearby Flint. I like that the site for this meeting was chosen with an eye to how we, as a Church, might lend support and join in celebrating the good things that are happening in and around Detroit. The spring meeting is usually held at Camp Allen (TX) or Kanuga (NC). The agenda this time was a mix of business, public witness and education, worship, committee reports, challenging discussions about culture and change, the election of a Bishop Suffragan for Federal Ministries (a process completed, canonically, by the House of Bishops), and updates from associated Episcopal agencies, like the Pension Group. We had opportunities to engage in learning events discovering the city of Detroit and, besides the scheduled trips to Flint, the newly re-configured waterfront, four different churches on Sunday morning and the Charles Wright Museum of African-American history, some of us made pilgrimages to see the Detroit Lions at play and to the Detroit Institute of the Arts, a fantastic museum that is home to Diego Rivera s amazing roomsized murals depicting the industry of Motor City and a cultural commentary, painted in the early 1930s. (I was one who made a side-trip to the museum). About day 3, the grippe hit the House, sweeping rapidly through our ranks and causing the hotel kitchen and gift shop to sell out of ginger ale, soup, saltines and Gatorade. It was estimated that around 80 of us were affected by this illness. But our spirits ran high and it was heartening to receive inquiries about each other s health and to see the Body, taking care of each other. In fact. October

4 In fact, while the business was good, the education enlightening, the witness inspiring and the worship reviving, it was just being with each other, sharing the stories of our work and life, that was the best. And that s no surprise- we are a faith that values the Incarnation and that places a premium on relationship, eachto-each. Our stories (the delivery system for our personal experience) is material that we use to build the relationships and, it is these relationships that strengthen us for the work ahead. We spent a lot of time talking about the Jesus Movement. The Jesus Movement has 3 new adjectives attached to it, by our Presiding Bishop: loving, liberating and life-giving. We worked in our table groups to further define the movement and to indicate concrete action steps to further the movement and enhance our communication of the movement. It was an exercise that gave us the freedom to talk more deeply and personally about the Jesus Movement but, in my mind, it was a little ironic: If the Jesus Movement is a movement, then it is up to the people living it to identify it, not up to us, the hierarchical leaders of the Church to direct it. That is not a criticism of our efforts to find facility for the elected leaders of the Church to talk about our work, but a reminder to myself that, really, it is the work of the shepherd to gently guide the sheep, not to pick them up and carry them to place that the shepherd wants them to go. And so- the Jesus Movement. What I d like to support in our effort to engage the movement is not to institutionalize it, or to narrowly define it, but to find ways that we can all be engaged in living it and then pointing to it when we see it at work. How is the life that you live loving and liberating? How, as a Christian, do you express love for your neighbor? How do you help to bring others to places of freedom- freedom from self-doubt, shame, despair, addictive and unhealthy behaviors- how do you work as Christ s liberating hands in the world? That s part of our call. How do you find new places to shine the light of God s love, helping others to see that there is new life possible, in Christ. That might not mean bringing someone to Christ (Lord knows, we have work to do amongst ourselves learning the skills of classic evangelism) but how can you be a lifegiving agent for another? I see this all the time: in people who tutor children, feed the hungry, give a home to a refugee, clothe the naked, stand up for the oppressed and offer hope to the downtrodden. We re doing it. That s the Jesus Movement. And, by our work, I am encouraged -in the strength of our people and God, moving in us. in you. I am sitting on the tarmac in Detroit. There s so much to do when I get home: a Convention gathering in a couple of weeks, new committees to build, a School to support, programs and retreats to plan, sermons to write, clergy transitions to effect, agendas to create and documents to sign. None of it is more important than meeting with and caring for all of you. Most of it has to do with meeting and caring for you. All of it has to do with celebrating and sharing Jesus love. It s a direct, 84-minute flight. It will be good to be home. October

5 A WORD TO THE CHURCH FOR THE WORLD Greetings from Detroit, a city determined to be revived. Greetings also from the city of Flint, where we are reminded that the gift of water has for many of our brothers and sisters become contaminated. Here we have been exhorted to set our sights beyond ourselves and to minister to the several nations where we serve and the wider world. We lament the stark joylessness that marks our present time. We decry angry political rhetoric which rages while fissures widen within society along racial, economic, educational, religious, cultural and generational lines. We refuse to look away as poverty, cruelty and war force families to become migrants enduring statelessness and demonization. We renounce the gun violence and drug addiction that steal lives and crush souls while others succumb to fear and cynicism, abandoning any sense of neighborliness. Yet, in all this, we do not despair (2 Cor. 4:8.). We remember that God in Christ entered our earthly neighborhood during a time of political volatility and economic inequality. To this current crisis we bring our faith in Jesus. By God s grace, we choose to see in this moment an urgent opportunity to follow Jesus into our fractured neighborhoods, the nation and the world. Every member of the church has been called for a time such as this. (Esther 4:14) Let prophets tell the truth in love. Let reconcilers move boldly into places of division and disagreement. Let evangelists inspire us to tell the story of Jesus in new and compelling ways. Let leaders lead with courage and joy. In the hope of the Resurrection let us all pray for God to work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish God s purposes on earth. Writing Committee Bishop Tom Breidenthal of Southern Ohio Bishop Mariann Budde of Washington Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce of Los Angeles Bishop Victor Scantlebury of Ecuador Central Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves of El Camino Real Bishop Alan Gates of Massachusetts Bishop Wendell Gibbs Jr. of Michigan Dr. Scott Bader-Saye Bishop Prince Singh of Rochester Bishop Robert Wright of Atlanta Bishop Rob Hirschfield of New Hampshire The Episcopal Church House of Bishops met September 15 to September 20 in Detroit MI (Diocese of Michigan). The Feast of All Saints Nov. 6 At our regular service, we will remember each saint of our own heart by name. There is a list in the Parish Hall of the souls we remembered last year. If you have family members or friends you would like to add to that list, please either list their names below and drop off the form, the church (trinityjs@verizon.net) or add your names to the list on the sign up. October

6 THE CHANGE JAR IS BACK! All change collected will go toward Transform Jersey Shore Area 2017 BRING SIGHT TO THE BLIND Bring your old eyeglasses to church so that they may be used by people all over the world. Sunglasses, too! GOT BRAS? Ladies, bring in those bras (new and like-new) that are pushed to the back of your drawer, so others can use them! Trinity has become a collection site for The Bra Recyclers. We will send those bras to them, and they will get them to women in need, often in our own communities! WE COLLECT LABELS Check your food packages carefully for these labels that help our local schools buy much-needed supplies. The New Love Center Food Pantry is collecting toiletries through the rest of this year. Full size is preferred, but they will take the hotel sizes we ve been collecting. They are looking for: Toothbrushes & toothpaste Shampoo Deodorant Bar Soap Grace s Closet, a source of free clothing for those in need, is open the first and third Fridays of each month from 9 a.m. until noon, at Grace Lutheran Church, 1601 Walnut Street, Jersey Shore, PA. Clothing of all sizes is available and is free of charge. 2 complete outfits per person per household are allowed. Hats, gloves, etc. are also available. Donations of clean clothing, in good repair, are always welcome. You can just drop clothes off here at our church. Please restrict it to CELL PHONES. October

7 2016 Worship Minister s Schedule Altar Guild: October Judee Lyon November Gloria DeParasis December Lee Davis 4 TH QUARTER DATE LECTOR CHALICE ACOLYTE NOTES 10/2 Lee Morning Prayer 10/9 Deb Morning Prayer 10/16 Steve Valerie Phil 10/23 Becky Dan Pat 10/30 Lee Mary Dan 11/6 Dan Phil Valerie All Saints Sunday 11/13 Steve Mary Phil 11/20 Becky Morning Prayer 11/27 Deb Valerie Pat Advent 1 12/4 Lee Dan Phil 12/11 Becky Phil Valerie 12/18 Steve Morning Prayer 11/24 Dan Pat Phil Christmas Eve 11/25 Deb Dan Christmas Day Please switch with someone if you cannot make your assignment, and let Veronica know so the bulletin is correct. Lectors, please look at the readings before Sunday. If you need to have them sent to you, let Veronica know the week before. EVERYONE, PLEASE TRY TO ARRIVE AT CHURCH 15 MINUTES EARLY. October

8 Trinity Church 176 Mount Pleasant Avenue Jersey Shore, PA The Trinity Times The Trinity Times is the monthly newsletter of Trinity Episcopal Church, Jersey Shore, in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. The Reverend Veronica Donohue Chappell We Worship Sunday: Holy Eucharist Rite II, 9:30 a.m. Wednesday: Holy Eucharist, 10:00 a.m. a prayer for the world Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations. Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect. Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows. Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken. Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly. So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness. So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbors. And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbors. Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty. And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven. Amen. - rabbi harold kushner «FIRST» «LAST» «ADD_1» «ADD_2» «CITY_ST_ZIP» October