The Spire. The Mission and Ministry of Trinity Church. A Message from James C. Sprouse, Senior Pastor

Transcription

1 The Spire February 2013 Vol. 14, Issue 2 A Message from James C. Sprouse, Senior Pastor The Mission and Ministry of Trinity Church The mission and ministry of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the good news of God s grace and thus seeking the fulfillment of the good news of God s reign and realm in the world. This is the mission and ministry statement of The United Methodist Church. It is our hope that Trinity will be one of the three significant places in your life: home, work, and worship. Our mission proclaims that God s grace is active everywhere, at all times in history, and that God s purpose has been revealed in the Bible. God s purpose for humankind is expressed as a covenant with Sarah and Abraham, the giving of the Torah through Moses, and the ministry of the prophets. God s clearest expression of mission and ministry was further revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Trinity Church is a divine gift to the McLean community and world when coupled with mission and ministry. We, you and I, become a faith community that is transforming and liberating persons and institutions from personal and social forms of sin. Freedom and transformation are the critical work of the church in our time and place. Trinity is both a body of Christ and a participant in Christ s on-going ministry. We point to God s grace and love for all creation. In a world that is too often beset by brokenness, let s offer a vision of peace, wholeness and unity. The first ministers were the twelve disciples. There is no evidence that Jesus chose them because they were brighter or nicer than other people. In fact, the Gospels indicate that they were continually missing the point, jockeying for position, and when the chips were down, interested in nothing so much as saving their own skins. Their sole qualification seems to have been their initial willingness to rise to their feet when Jesus said, Follow me. When Jesus sent the twelve out into the world, his instructions were simple. He told them to preach the kingdom of God and heal (Luke 9:2), with the implication that to do either right was in effect to do both. Fortunately for them and Trinity Church, their and our ability to be in mission and ministry isn t dependent upon us only our willingness to let God use us as a vehicle for grace, forgiveness, healing and peace. To be involved in mission and ministry in the name of Christ is to be a minister and to affirm the priesthood of all believers. Trinity Round-Up 2 Membership Update 2 Education 3 Church & Society 4 Crafts for a Cause 4 Calendar 5 February p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Chapel A brief worship service with the imposition of ashes will be at 12 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

2 Trinity Round-Up Do you love to curl up with a good book? Join like-minded readers at the monthly Trinity Book Chat. On Wednesday, February 13, we'll meet to discuss The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation. Just bring a light dinner to the Trinity Library at 6:30 p.m. (dessert is provided) and enjoy fellowship and lively conversation. Looking ahead, our March selection is The Lord is My Shepherd (The Psalm 23 Mysteries #1), by Debbie Viguie. Contact Kathy Maher (Kathyngs@gmail.com) to be added to the list. Are you a new member of Trinity? Thinking about joining? A frequent visitor? Mark your calendar. We'll be hosting a two-part Discovery class to answer all your questions. Find out everything from "What do Methodists believe about...? " to "What kinds of missions, ministries and outreach are going on at Trinity?" One credit card company has a famous slogan that says: Membership has its privileges. At Trinity, it's more like: Membership has its opportunities. We hope you'll join us. February 10 and 17 9:30 a.m. Room 403 For more information: Eileen Gilmer eileengilmer@gmail.com See you there! Come to Trinity s Pancake Supper Tuesday, February p.m. Langley Hall Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes (plain and blueberry) Sausage, Homemade Applesauce Juice, Coffee, Tea Cost: $5 per person, $12 per family (credit cards accepted) Proceeds benefit Trinity mission projects Sign up in the Fellowship Lobby to help with this event. Contact Molly Sprouse, , mollysprouse@gmail.com Everyone is welcome! Membership Update Baptisms Michele Elaine Colliver José De Luna Martinez Kiara De Luna Wyatt William Keane New Members Michael & Laura Brooks José De Luna Martinez Death Carolyn Umstott Address Change Glory Anwanwan 248 N Cottage Rd. Sterling, VA Martha Haines 500 N Walnut St #204 Bloomington, IN Laurel & Jarrette Marley 9503 Barcellona Ct. Fairfax, VA Constance & Tony Solina 1710 Oneida Place Oxnard, CA PAGE 2 Responding to God s Grace THE SPIRE

3 Six-session Lenten Study The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus Mondays at 10 a.m. Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Begins Feb. 18 & 20 We shall be using Adam Hamilton's book with DVD $12 hard cover, $9 Kindle edition or ebook. Together we'll explore the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. We'll use videos shot on location. You will see the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized and the wilderness where he was tempted. You'll see the ruins at Capernaum where Jesus healed the sick and taught, and you'll ascend the mountain where he preached the sermon in Mathew 5-7. We'll travel across the Sea of Galilee where he calmed the waves, and you'll visit the last remaining community of Samaritans in the world. Finally, we'll visit Jerusalem where he spent his last days. Dates and Topics: Feb. 20: Baptism and Temptation Feb. 27: The Healing Ministry Mar. 6: Proclaiming the Kingdom Mar. 13: Calming the Storm Mar. 20: Sinners, Outcasts, and the Poor Mar. 27: The Final Week & Epilogue This class, with two opportunities each week to attend, will serve as an excellent Lenten devotion and study time. You'll learn a lot and have fun doing it. Refreshments will be provided. Led by Jim Sprouse. What Wondrous Love by Amy Crisp, Director of Christian Education It is difficult to believe, but the season of Lent will commence in a few weeks time. Lent is a six-week period leading up to Easter. It is a time of preparation, pointing us toward the sacrifice, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In the death and resurrection of Christ, we are witnesses to the ultimate love and grace that God has for us. Beginning February 17 through March 24, I will lead a Lenten study which explores God s love evident in the events of Holy Week. What Wondrous Love: Holy Week in Word and Art presents the circumstances of Holy Week as relayed in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each passage of Scripture is enhanced through the artwork of John August Swanson. It is amazing and enlightening to look at familiar Scriptures through the lens of art. New aspects emerge and insights are sparked with the change in perspective. Please join me for this powerful and engaging look at the familiar events of Holy Week. My prayer is that this Lenten study will transform your understanding of God s wondrous love. Easter Flowers Order Form On Easter Sunday, March 31, Trinity s Sanctuary will be decorated with lilies and tulips, given in honor or memory of loved ones. Please fill out the form below and drop it in the offering plate or mail it to the church office at 1205 Dolley Madison Blvd., McLean, VA All memorials/honors will be noted in the Easter Sunday bulletin. If you order flowers, you re encouraged to take them home after the service. Make checks payable to Trinity UMC, designating Easter Flowers on your check. Deadline is Sunday, March 10, 2013! Your Name In Memory of: In Honor of: Order Flowers: Quantity Subtotal Tulips x $7.50 = Lilies x $7.50 = Total amount paid $ THE SPIRE Love Serve Give PAGE 3

4 Church & Society February Collection Drive February is National Dental Health Month so we are collecting dental supplies for SHARE. Please donate new adult and child size toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss and mouthwash. NO teeth whitening products, please. With these items, we will make up dental health kits to distribute to those in need. Please bring your items to the collection closet in the Fellowship Building, or leave them in the church foyer baskets. DC Scholars at Stanton Seven Trinity volunteers currently mentor 17 DC Scholar at Stanton students every Thursday. We have added two children to our enrichment program this month, a talented second grader and a precocious kindergartner who began reading in the fall and now reads at a second grade level. We also helped plan and carry out a Science Day with the McLean area Girl Scouts in January for Stanton s third, fourth and fifth graders. Trinity volunteers also paired 40 eighth graders from the Langley School in by Eileen Gilmer McLean with Stanton first graders, working one-on-one in a writing project. It was a big success, and we're planning another activity in April. We want to thank all the Trinity members for their support. We appreciate Crafts for a Cause for donating dolls to the preschool classes; and a big thank you to the congregation for the sanitary wipes, gels and tissues. It's a great help to staff and students during flu season. End-of-Year 2012 Thank You to the Congregation The Finance and Stewardship teams would like to offer our sincere thanks to the congregation for helping make 2012 a very solid and successful year financially. Through your generous contributions to both the general operating and the capital campaign funds, Trinity was able to: meet ALL of its expense obligations involved in a $1.05M budget, to include all of our Conference, District, and local apportionments and benevolences for the second straight year; meet all of our building loan debt service obligations with the Wells Fargo Bank; pay off $250,000 of debt principal obligations; be in a solid cash-flow position to start 2013; and be in a position to negotiate a new 4-year loan with Wells Fargo which includes reduced interest rates and potential good-performance principal reduction incentives. In addition, through your desire to ensure the strength of Trinity into the future, you have been great participants in the two Stewardship Commitment Sundays held in More people have committed and pledged greater donation amounts than ever before. Although we still have significant financial obligations and challenges over the next four years, let s congratulate ourselves and declare success of a VERY strong With that in mind, the Finance and Stewardship team invites you all to join us at commitment celebrations to be held on Sunday, Jan. 27, after each of the Sunday services. Again, THANKS for helping make 2012 such a great year financially! Crafts for a Cause invites you to help make fleece throws for homeless shelters and pillows, bears and dolls for hospitals during February. We'll meet Mondays at 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 and Feb. 18 in Room 122. Everyone is welcome, no experience required, and all the materials are provided. If you can't venture out at night but would like to participate in some way, we have patterns and supplies for take-home projects, plus patterns to knit or crochet baby hats, if you possess those talents. For more information, contact Molly Sprouse at or mollysprouse@gmail.com. Hope to see you at one of our fun work sessions. Received from Art for Humanity: December 31, 2012 Dear Friends, As we close out 2012, we once again take the opportunity to say how grateful we are for your continued support for Art for Humanity and the Leadership Center in Honduras. We are grateful for your monetary contributions, your mission teams, your prayers and the joy that comes from working together to make a difference in God s world, especially for the students at the Leadership Center. Thank you, and may God richly bless you in 2013! Sincerely, Karen Evans Donations Coordinator PAGE 4 Responding to God s Grace THE SPIRE

5 February 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 John Bacas Deborah Harrington Janet Lee 2 Annette Normand 3 4 Kevin Steinke Robey Devoto Charlotte Loving Jon Mitchell Natalie Sandelli James Wykle 8 9 Genee Boykin Hardy Cox Melanie Kenderdine Chelsea Sutherland 10 Discovery Class Scout Sunday Nathan Alexander Frances Omori John Skipper Barry & Donna Beach 11 Landon Barrington Paige Hoffman Samantha Hoffman Anne Ulrich 12 Calvin Higgins Annika Huffman 13 Lizzy Conroy Ben Howlett Spencer Lewis 14 Allyn & Gail Kohlhorst 15 Hellen Sizemore Anna Speidel 16 Nicholas Clemente Patrick Robinson Donna Wilson Kevin & Cynthia Boyle Martha s Table Sandwich Making Sunday 17 Discovery Class Craig Fontenot Lien Galloway 18 Office Closed J.T. Georgelas Tony Lee Elikem Tsikata 19 Trustees Cheryl Andrews Conrad Arends Rex Blankinship Meredith Kurzweil Laurel Marley Barry & Ginny Garelick Maya Davis Carolyn Hamilton 22 Tom Horan Graham Peterson Rosalinda Quintanilla 23 Couples Retreat 24 Karina Holbrook Julia Stout Paul Wessel 25 David Jeremiah 26 Nicolette Magur Ella Schellhas 27 John Endean Katherine Prewett 28 Georgia Day Robert Morales THE SPIRE Love Serve Give PAGE 5

6 The Spire A Monthly Publication of Trinity United Methodist Church 1205 Dolley Madison Boulevard McLean, VA Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID McLean, VA PERMIT NO. 13 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED mailed January 29, 2013 Sent In Prayer To: February 13 Worship at 12 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Please Note: The next Spire deadline is the 15th of the month. Spire Editor: Harriet Latta. Submit articles to umtrinity@vacoxmail.com. Trinity United Methodist Church Sunday Morning Worship Services at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Adult Sunday School 9:30 a.m. (Sept June) Children's Sunday School 10:30 a.m. (Sept June) Wednesday Communion and Healing 12 noon Here to serve Christ and you: James C. Sprouse Senior Pastor Amy Crisp Director of Christian Education Chris Abel Director of Youth Ministry Eileen Gilmer Director of Member Relations Scott Keough and Leslie Vorndran Lay Leaders Jerry Rich Director of Music Evan Ayars Children/Youth Choir Director Harriet Latta Office Manager Michael Hirt Custodian Karen Jester Director of Parents Day Out Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Phone: Fax: umtrinity@vacoxmail.com Web Site: umtrinity.org The Mission of Trinity United Methodist Church is to be a vibrant, growing church home for all who seek companionship, direction and inspiration in their lives as they develop a personal, relevant relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We are anchored in Scripture and energized by congregational commitment. Trinity Church fosters the Christian values of joy, faith, service, hope and love. Trinity extends the opportunity to experience the Grace of God through worship, discipleship, study and fellowship in the traditions of the United Methodist Church.