Trinity Talk...A Weekly Newsletter

Trinity Talk – September 12, 2010

Last Sunday was the anniversary of the 9/11 attack on America – a day that made us aware that there are terrorists running rampant in the world and ready to give their lives to take the lives of others. We remember those who lost their lives on that day, their families, and all who have been touched in any way by that tragedy. We pray for our service men and women who are stationed around the world to keep freedom alive. Perhaps we can adopt Gorty Aslin’s prayer that he always prays in his Sunday School Class, “Lord, save America for future generations.”

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Trinity Singers will be singing at the 11 a.m. worship on September 26. Practice will be held Wednesday evening, September 22, following the JOY service. The invitation is extended to all who enjoy singing to join in this worship activity. Cissy Williams, directing.

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The Festival of Sharing for this area is at the Dexter UMC on Saturday, September 25. People who are preparing kits may bring them to our church anytime Monday, the 20th, through Friday, the 24th, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Doors will be open. The Emergency Clean-up Bucket (value $56) and the Health Kit (value $11) are two recommended kits. There is also a school kit (value $11). A list of items for each kit is on the table in foyer. If you do not wish to gather the items, you may give your $$$ to Pastor Susan or put it in the offering plate designated as Festival of Sharing and someone will prepare the kits.

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We've been praying the book, Acts 29, together since August 22. Yes, we are reading it but this book takes us to a deeper level of prayerful reading. We read the daily Scripture and consider how it applies to our lives and connects to our church today. Can Trinity really be "on fire" for God just like the early church? We answer thoughtful questions at the end of each day's reading and think about the questions such as praying for folks who no longer worship at Trinity or who come only occasionally or choosing a neighborhood and intentionally praying as we drive by. If we are serious about this book, it cannot be read, we must pray. How serious are you reading Acts 29? It's changing me; I pray it is changing you, too. There are still books available if you wish to join this important time of offering ourselves sacrificially

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The TUMC girls met on Tuesday evening September 7th. Barb led the devotional about giving of our time to God's work. The upcoming spaghetti supper was discussed, so watch your calendar for the date to be announced. Check out the bulletin board for a sign-up sheet for a Ladies Day Conference at Living Water Worship center, scheduled for October 16 from 9:00-2:00. Marcia Metcalf will register anyone who wants to go and the R.S.V.P. must be returned by October 8. Fee is $10. The cost of seven Bibles was given to the Epworth Children's Home in St. Louis, and an update was received about the ongoing diaper ministry. Lara Thorn was hostess and served delicious refreshments. All ladies of the church are encouraged to become a part of the TUMC Girls or UMW.

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Mary Stevens, Trinity member, has been transferred from Central Gardens at Dexter to a home in Nob Noster where she is near her son, George Baldwin. Let us keep Mary in our prayers.

A Light in the Window

A Light in the Window
Susan Hoyle, pastor Trinity United Methodist Church

We receive invitations nearly every day. Some invitations come in the mail or in an email. We’re invited to shop at a particular store or to support a local charity. We really appreciate the invitations to weddings, graduations and baby showers. Sometimes we receive an invitation over the telephone to buy a particular product or to come to a party at a friend’s house. Then there are those invitations we receive in person, face to face. We might be invited to go shopping with a friend or to join our neighbors for the big game. There’s one more personal invitation that really makes a big difference in our lives. It’s when someone cares enough to invite us to worship.

We learn how important this invitation is from Jesus who was always inviting folks into the Kingdom of God on earth. The first thing Jesus did as He began His earthly ministry was to invite people to “come and see” and to follow Him. He invited Zaccheaus to come down out of that tree. He invited Nicodemus to be born again. Jesus invited Martha to sit down for awhile and not complain about her sister Mary who wasn’t helping her prepare the meal. Even when Jesus was on the cross, He invited the two criminals on either side of Him to join Him in Paradise.

After His death and resurrection, His followers invited folks to open their hearts to Jesus and our faith ancestors have been inviting folks for 2000 years. Someone invited me to know Jesus and someone invited you to know Him, too. How do I know this? Because I’m writing this column and you’re reading it.

Now it’s our turn. Who will you invite to know Jesus? Maybe you’ll invite a friend or co-worker or neighbor, maybe even a stranger, to Sunday school or youth group or worship on Sunday morning. Maybe you will invite someone to join you at church for a Bible study, an ice cream social or movie night.

Oh, sometimes we can stumble over our words or wonder if we’re too pushy or too “churchy.” When we worry about how to invite folks we’re coming from our own insecurities and not from centering ourselves in God. You see, I’m a Christ follower today because a little girl cared enough about me to invite me to Sunday school a long, long time ago. Who do we care about enough to push through your own insecurities and invite him or her to worship? Remember, we stand in the gap for Jesus. Jesus trusts us so much that He holds our hand and we reach out with the other hand to invite someone to come closer to the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps no one has ever invited you to worship. Or it’s been so long it’s not easy for you to come back. So here’s my invitation to you. If you don’t have a church home, won’t you join us at Trinity for worship next Sunday? Our chapel service is at 8:30 a.m. Breakfast is at 9:30 a.m. followed by Sunday school for all ages at 10:00 a.m. Our second service is at 11:00 a.m. We also have a Wednesday evening service at 6:00 p.m. We dress causally and we are kid friendly. We have Children’s Worship during the 11:00 a.m. service. Next month I’ll talk more about worship at Trinity with some exciting news about 10-10-10. See you Sunday!

Trinity Talk...A Weekly Newsletter

Trinity Talk – September 5, 2010

What is God's vision and mission for Trinity UMC? We talked about that question last Sunday with our Healthy Church Initiative coach, Rev. Dr. Royal Speidel. We learned that a vision is a clear, compelling picture of God's future for this congregation. Our mission is a broad, brief biblical statement of what God wants us to accomplish as we lead others to Jesus Christ. We talked about the church life cycle, who the people are that are most open to our invitation to a relationship with Jesus Christ and our hopes for what our congregational ministries will look like in three years. We prayed as individuals and as a community for God to show us the needs here in Bloomfield and how we can serve those needs. We thank Royal for leading us in this time of looking beyond ourselves and dreaming about where God is leading us.

Don’t forget your Festival of Sharing Kits that are to be at the church by Sept. 24. Clean-up Buckets, Health Kits, and School Kits are among those needed.

Since we did not have a newsletter last week, we have not “officially” welcomed Little Mister Jiles Monroe, new baby boy for Stephanie and Josh Monroe, born August 26. Best wishes to a “Beautiful” baby!

Several from Trinity are in the hospital. Todd Gibbs and Gorty Aslin are presently in St. Francis; Mrs. Hazel Patrick will have knee surgery on the 7th at St. Francis. Prayers are needed for these and others who may be dealing with health problems.

You will soon be seeing lots of “10-10-10” signs and logos from Trinity. Just what does it mean? We hope to make people curious as to what is in store for Trinity and the community on that date. Curiosity makes a HUGE difference in getting people’s attention. (Getting a person’s attention these days isn’t always easy.) That’s why our T-shirts will say 10-10-10 on the front and back, as will the yard signs. Then when folks begin to ask what it means, we can tell them to check us out on our website and on the morning of 10-10-10. We will also have a float in the Stoddard County parade wearing our t-shirts and handing out cards about 10-10-10. We will also wear our shirts on October 3 as we have lunch together and then teams will hang door hangers all over Bloomfield. Why are we doing all of this? Because Jesus sends us into the world to lead others to a saving relationship with Him. Does this seem like a gimmick or just too much work? Yes, it's work, God's work; and no, it's no gimmick if it gets folks interested enough to attend worship and see how God really can change their lives. We know it, we experience it and we want to invite others to know it, too. Please sign up for your t-shirt and yard sign this Sunday. Thanks.

The United Methodist Women met last week and made plans for the ladies night supper which will be October 27 at 6 p.m. More details will be forthcoming. They voted to purchase three Bibles for the Epworth Children and Family Services in St. Louis.

Trinity Talk...A Weekly Newsletter

Trinity Talk – August 15, 2010

Thanks to Jan Aslin for planning something special for the kids of all ages this Sunday. As Kids are very important at Trinity, she has declared this Sunday as “Back to School” Sunday. We will be introducing and honoring the following groups of children during the 11:00 service: Babies and Young Children, Preschool Students, Elementary Students, Middle School Students, High School Students, and Post High School Students.

All children are to bring their backpacks as Rev. Susan will have a
“Blessing of the Backpacks.” There will be a gift for each child, and
Trinity diaper/backpack tags will be available for those who wish to
have one.

We hope you can join us this evening at 6:00 p.m. for
Trinity's homemade ice cream social. Why not use
this social time to invite friends and neighbors to Trinity? Sometimes folks are more open to a social time at church than a worship time. This might just be the "door" for someone to experience the love of God through us. Please bring ice cream toppings or a dessert to share. Hope to see you there!

FESTIVAL OF SHARING TIME – September 25 is the day for Festival of Sharing at the Dexter UMC this year. Because of the many disasters, there is a desperate need for School Kits (value $15) and Emergency Clean-up Buckets (value $59). As we have done in the past, you or a group may put a kit together and bring it to the church, or you may prefer to give money toward a kit and have someone else to put the kit/s together for you. A list of the items making up each Kit is available on the table in the foyer.

Pastor Susan offers the following opportunity: The worship team and I have been planning for our new worship services that will begin in October. No matter how much planning is done, the foundation of this new worship arrangement and all that we do at Trinity is prayer. I invite you to join me as we pray for God's Spirit to empower us as the church in our corner of the world. I am asking if you would join me in a study called Acts 29: Fifty Days of Prayer to Invite the Holy Spirit by Terry Teykl? From attending Terry's workshops, I know he is gifted in guiding others to a deeper prayer life. This study will be done on your own. We can begin this study on August 22 and be finished on October 10, which is our first Sunday with three worship services.

Will you prayerfully consider my request? There is such power when we study and pray together and I believe God has put this on my heart to give us even more power to be the church to the hurting world. Please let me know if you would like me to order a book for you. Blessings, Pastor Susan

-----------------------Food ministry this month is Macaroni and Cheese.--------------------------

Trinity extends sympathy to Nora Statler in the lost of her father. She has traveled to New York to be with her family. Also to the Gibbs family on the loss of Jill’s uncle, Mr. Shipman, and her grandmother, who broke her hip while attending his visitation.