Trinity Topics, February 2011

February, 2011N E W S F R O M T R I N I T Y E P I S C O PA L C H U R C H

TrinityTOPICS

On patience

998 lbs. of volunteers help MCUM sort food, pgs 4-5

by the Rev. Charles Dupree

Patience is a hard discipline,” writes Henri Nouwen. I agree. Most of us

take the stance that we either have patience or we don’t. But if Nouwen is correct (and I believe he is), patience is one of the many tools that we have at our disposal that enables us to be more complete. It is a tool that can be honed, nurtured and used for the building of a better, happier self.

Nouwen continues, “[Patience] is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not a wait-ing passivity until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be com-pletely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get

away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomor-row, later, and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.”

While I appreciate Nouwen’s hopeful approach to patience, I think it would be dangerous to believe that patience must always include a ‘just-hang-in-there’ attitude. Patience is a critical part of discernment. Discernment comes from a word meaning ‘to hear.’ It is a careful, prayerful, thoughtful decision-making process. Discernment is an intentional type of decision-making that is grounded in what God wants for us and for our lives. Does patience mean that we have to stay in or with something forever? I don’t believe so. Sometimes, having stayed long enough, we can discern that it’s time to move on and/or let go.

Patience is a tremendous piece of discernment — of hearing God and what God desires for us. I think of Mo-ses and Abraham, moving through the desert toward lands unknown. Why did they give the majority of their lives to these efforts? Were they caught up in a spirit of adventure? Were they gluttons for punishment? Were they just plain stubborn, or, did they have a discerning patience — a desire to be open to what God would have them do?

As we move into another year, I pray that God will grant us patience — not only patience, but a discerning, care-ful patience. In our own lives, in our hearts, in our decision-making, may God give us a holy patience that opens us up to possibility, growth, complete-ness and discovery.

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PAGE Trinity Topics February, 2011

111 S. Grant St.Bloomington, IN 47408

(812) 336-4466 | FAX (812) 336-6016

[email protected]

Trinity StaffReCToR

The Rev. Charles DupreeCleRgy ASSiSTAnT

The Rev. Virginia B. HallDeACon

The Rev. Connie PepplerPARiSh ADminiSTRAToR

Janet BrinkworthBookkeePeR

Mona BakerADulT eDuCATion/new memBeRS

Ross Martinie-EilerDiReCToR oF eDuCATion

Danica D’OnofrioDiReCToR oF muSiC

Marilyn KeiserARTiST in ReSiDenCe

Jeffrey SmithChuRCh muSiC inTeRn

Elaine SonnenbergSexTonS

Mike Peppler, Jim Shackelford

Trinity VestryReCToR’S wARDen Randy Lloyd

PeoPle’S wARDen Kimberly HurleySpencer Anspach

Mary Jo BarkerMary Ellen Brown

Kelly CarnahanJim Cripe

Mary Ann Hart Chris Johns

Mary Ann KekoTodd LaDow

Earl SingletonLarry Taylor

Susan WilliamsCleRk Janet Stavropoulos

M U S I C

Pops Sunday, February 13

6:30 –8:30 p.m. All proceeds bene�t the Daniel Music Fund, bringing

talented students into the music program for over 20 years.

Reservations are required Ticket and sponsorship information available at: (812) 336-4466 and www.trinitybloomington.org

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH PRESENTS A

Concert

111 S. Grant Street, Bloomington

Join us in Trinity’s Great Hall for an evening of food, wine, and beautiful music featuring:

Mary Ann Hart, Patricia Stiles,

Bob Stright & Friends

Trinity Choral Scholars

Trinity Choir & Trinity Children’s Choir

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PAGE Trinity Episcopal Church BLOOMINGTON, IN

E D U C A T I O N

February 6: IU Women’s Basketball vs. Wisconsin Game at 2 p.m. You’ll be home in plenty of time for the Super Bowl!

Waycross Spring Retreat: March 18–20 Watch for registration de-tails!

Jessie GutgsellBirthday: May 28th Favorite Color: Purple Favorite Bible Story: The story of Ruth and Naomi because of the love and loyalty it shows between two women in the Bible. What I enjoy most about Sunday School: Getting to know the youth of Trinity. What I hope for our class this year: That my fellow teachers and the youth can deepen our faith and understanding together.

Ben BrabsonBirthday: July 29Favorite Color: Blue-greenFavorite Bible Story: The story of Samuel being called by God gives us a hint about how God calls each of us. The call is often unexpected.What I enjoy most about Sunday School: Getting to know the young people in the church is greatly refreshing. They are quickly developing into fully-fledged humans with interesting ideas of their own.What I hope for our class this year: Susan, Jessie, and I are really pleased that having two of us at a time in class adds to our own understanding of our faith and seems to enrich the experience for the secondary level class, as well.

Susan SienaBirthday: May 23Favorite Color: Yellow for walls and flowers; Burgundy for clothesFavorite Bible story: Mary and Martha are my favorite characters in the New Testament (besides Jesus of course). I love the way they are personal friends of Jesus, but also recognize him as the Messiah. And I love the argument between the two sisters! I used to sympathize more with Mary, but the older I get and the more family responsibilities I have, the more I understand Martha too. I am also very interested in the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman because this woman doesn’t follow any of the rules, yet Jesus hears her request and heals her daughter. What I enjoy most about Sunday school: Just being there is great. Working with this truly amazing group is a high-light of my week! I am very intrigued by biblical texts, so it is a pleasure to invite others to think about what they mean. What I hope for our class this year: My hope is that this class offers teens a comfortable place to discuss their faith as well as their doubts and questions. I also hope it is a place to share the joys and concerns of everyday life. And lastly I hope it is a welcoming place for visitors and newcomers.

Matt Maher in ConcertWednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m.at St. Paul Catholic Center, Bloomington

St. Paul Catholic Center, on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington, has been

presented with a wonderful opportunity to host Catholic-Christian Musician Matt Maher. Matt is a multi-year nominee and winner of the prestigious GMA (Gospel Music Award) Dove Award and the winner of the 2008 Catholic Album of the Year Award for his album, Empty & Beautiful.

Please let Danica ([email protected]) know if you (and your friends) would like to attend the concert!

Teacher Spotlight: Youth

youth: mark your Calendars!

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on Jan. 17, 30 young people from Trinity and The Unitarian Universalist congregations

joined us for worship and a day of formation. Many people helped to make this day possible, beginning with Leslie and Paul Wilson who set up an amazing breakfast spread for us!

Danica D’Onofrio led us in our morning worship and Cynthia Brabson made us into “green” people and “yellow” people to teach us about Martin Lu-ther King, Jr. Special guest, Gladys DeVane, brought young Ruby Bridges to life through her amazing gift of storytelling. Elaine Sonnenberg taught us spiritual songs as we “chattered with the angels,” ringing bells and beating percussion.

We spent the afternoon doing various service projects: Jennifer Lloyd took a group of us to the MCUM food pantry (apparently we kids weigh 998 lbs on the big scale!) Alex May, Margaret Jones, Kel-ly Carnahan and Georgia Parham helped with our transportation. Mark Hurley and Deacon Connie put on their Top Chef hats and directed the Youth Group in the kitchen as we cooked for our shelter guests. Fighting back the onion tears, we man-aged to make two huge pots of chili, three pans of brownies, and so many portions of corn bread that we lost count.

Ross Martinie Eiler and Marie Shakespeare shared the last part of the afternoon with our groups. We also want to recognize Jim Shackelford who cared for us and the building even though the parish office was closed. This was truly an amazing day “on” for Trinity!

Photos by Danica D’Onofrio and Kelly Carnahan

Through the eyes of Ruby Bridges: A martin luther king Jr. Day of service and learning

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C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T

Meet the newest members of VestryVestry Class of 2011

Shannon Gayk Richard Hvale Jonathon Karty Nancy Rayfield Anne Stright

Shannon Gayk I’ve been attending

Trinity for a little less than four years. I first came to Trinity for the Wednesday noon service, but soon began to attend Sunday services as well. I had been looking for a church home that valued prayer and worship and was also committed to serving the community and especially the poor. I continue to be inspired by Trinity’s commitment to both of these as-pects of the life of faith. I’ve mainly been involved through the monthly book groups. I led one on mysticism a little over a year ago and am look-ing forward to leading my second (on some of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories) in February.

Richard HvaleI am honored to serve on the

Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church because I strongly believe that as a parish we are earnestly striving to respond to God’s call of helping those in need. I will like to be a part of the Vestry, which represents all of us in seeking and managing the resources that we must have to sup-port the various ministries of this parish.

I began attending Trinity in Sep-tember 1988 for the 1988–1989 aca-demic year when Catharine, Nicho-las, and I moved to Bloomington for my wife’s sabbatical year from her teaching position in a college in Birmingham, Alabama. In June 1987, I had joined Saint Andrew’s Episco-pal Church in Birmingham because I was drawn by Saint Andrew’s

acceptance of all people, its commit-ment to help others, and the liturgy of the church services. I found that I was drawn to Trinity Episcopal Church for these same reasons. I also felt that my spirit was re-charged by the music and the liturgy of Trinity’s services. My family and I permanently moved to Bloomington in June 1991, and I became a member of Trinity by early 1992.

I served on the Vestry of Trinity as the liaison to the Stewardship and Finance Commission from 1994 to 1997 and also from 2005 to 2008. I continue to be interested in is-sues related to stewardship because many of our ministries require a financial commitment. I have come to believe, however, that steward-ship is about much more than giving money to church. Rather, I think that stewardship is about making room in all aspects of my life for God and for the People of God. It means that I need to set aside time for God through praying, reading the Bible, and worshipping God. It means that I need to make room in my heart for seeing the light of Christ in each person and for treating all others with loving concern and respect. It means that I need to make room in my schedule for helping those in

need. It means that I need to make room in my budget for contribut-ing money to carry out God’s Work.

Jonathon KartyI have attended Trinity for 14

years and I usually attend the 11:15 a.m. service where I serve as an aco-lyte with my wife Jackie. I currently serve as the chairperson of the worship commission. I really love the variety of worship experiences available at Trinity especially the Easter Vigil. I served on the vestry from 2004-2006 and was the People’s Warden in 2005 and 2006. I was also a member of the Search Committee that called Father Charlie in 2007-2008. Nancy Rayfield

I could be called an old-timer in Bloomington and at Trinity, al-though in working with the His-tory Committee on our Centennial Celebration I realize I have only been here less than half that time — 48 years since I and my organ-profes-sor-husband and our three boys came from Chicago.

I have been on the Trinity staff (Director of Program & Education ‘66-’75 and again as Adult Education ‘93-2000.) For fifteen years I was

Photo of Shannon Gayk and Anne Stright are courtesy of Indiana University.

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Director of Education for the Diocese of Indianapolis, and felt honored to be elected Deputy to eight General Conventions (1979 – 2000.) I served on the Trinity vestry twice (once People’s Warden) and have involved myself in the mission and ministry of Trinity every-where, from choir to kitchen to classroom, and chancel. The most satisfying role was as Chair of the recent fabulous Rector Search Committee!

My children laughingly say I am a lame, old, poor, widowed orphan, but I am not poor! I’m rich, because I have Trinity as my home and my “family.” I always am grateful and care for such a gift!

Anne StrightIn 1998, my husband, Bob,

and I began attending Trin-ity on a regular basis after the birth of son, Sam. We loved the beautiful sanctuary, the music, sermons, and the people.

During our time at Trinity, I have tried to serve the Church by teaching Sunday school, chairing the Decorating Com-mittee during the renovations, providing the Search Commit-tee for the new Rector with sta-tistics and coding of answers from the survey completed by the congregation, and serving on the Renovation Committee during the construction. Lately, I have focused on organizing and leading Children’s Chapel. By serving on the Vestry, I hope to serve the members of the Parish by supporting their vision for the church.

by the Rev. Virginia hall

on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the office volunteers and

clergy greet people asking for as-sistance. We hear all kinds of truly moving stories. Last month, Jess’s story reminded me of how impor-tant our link is with the wider com-munity and all the service agencies who reach out to people in need.

A year and a half ago, Jess was employed full time by a construc-tion company in Greenwood. As work slowed down he was laid off. His employer referred him to sever-al opportunities in Bloomington. No leads produced a job, and he became homeless. He slept on couches in the hospital’s emergency room for one month. He then found friends and house-hopped from couch to couch.

The first time he came to Trin-ity, referred by St. Vincent de Paul while visiting the VIM (Volunteers in Medicine) clinic, he asked if we could provide a bus pass so he could get around more easily for his ongo-ing job search. Churches can obtain bus tickets at a discount, and so I approached Bloomington Transit for assistance and got him a one-month bus pass.

Jess told me of his desire to get into a supportive housing situation such as Amethyst House which had helped him in his recovery 1 ½ years ago and gotten him the construc-tion job. He knew he could do it again with a job, the link to getting off of his friend’s couch and back into a supportive housing situation.

On Wednesday, Jan. 5, Jess came

into our office with a smile. He didn’t have an appointment but I recognized him as someone I had seen in December. With a spring in his step he came into my office with good news: “I have a job”, he said. He was thrilled and thanked us for helping him with the bus pass. It al-lowed him to get several job inter-views which led to a full-time job at Goodwill.

His journey began over 1 ½ years ago when he entered a recovery program at Amethyst House. With the help of five different agencies he is now saving for a spot at Amethyst House or an apartment. He knows how important support is to keep on the path of recovery and he is grateful for all who have helped him come this far.

How grateful I am to Trinity for the generosity you all show in being one of the links that save lives of people like Jess. God Bless You.

The Rector’s Discretionary Fund is designed to help people beyond our parish who need assistance. All un-designated monies on the first Sun-day of the month go into this fund. You may also make a contribution at any time by writing a check to: Trinity Church, memo line: Discretionary Fund. Thank you for your generosity.

Discretionary Funds help homeless man find a job

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Book Review

in February, Dr. Shannon Gayk will be leading a discussion group over some of the short stories of Flannery O’Connor. These discussions will focus on the

way in which O’Connor uses both the grotesque and typology to explore ideas of grace and redemption. The group will meet Wednesday evenings in February from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. If you would like to sign up, contact Shannon at [email protected] for location and more information.

RIGHT: Flannery O’Connor in 1962

February Book group meeting to explore short stories of Flannery o’Connor

ChRiSTiAn SoCiAl wiTneSS by Harold T. Lewis (2001). Cambridge: Cowley Publications.

This book is part of the “New Church’s Teaching Series” and is

a good resource for anyone trying to understand how and why we should carry out our faith in practical terms within situations of individual, community, or societal needs. It describes the logical consequences of our formation in the faith, inasmuch as social justice is the job description of our work as Christians.

There are seven chapters in this book. The first four chapters, “The Bible,” “The Church of England,” “The Episcopal Church,” “Economic Justice,” give the reader an overview of historical, legal, and canonical traditions within our faith commu-nity. The last three chapters, “Race,” “Gender,” and “Human Sexuality,” enlarge upon the economic justice purpose of the fourth chapter, focus-ing on the three great consternations of the 20th and early 21st Century Church.

This is an interesting and thought-provoking book and I enjoyed it. I have a few anxieties, however, with Lewis’ emphasis on Richard Hooker’s

theology, or at least what has been an interpretation of it. Hooker was a very important 16th Century apolo-gist for Anglicanism “to whom we are indebted for the three-legged stool of scripture, tradition and rea-son on which the ethos and identity of Anglicanism rest.” As a woman, I have experienced this three-legged stool as a three-pronged pitchfork on which women have been skew-ered in diminishing degrees well into the 20th and 21st Centuries and upon which homosexuals continue to be skewered today. Lewis quickly qualifies this statement with addi-tional emphasis on James E. Griffiss’ work. (Griffiss is also a writer in the New Church’s Teaching Series) who observes “that the genius of Hooker’s theology is found in his desire to maintain continuity with traditions received from the past while accommo-dating the changes that new situations demand.” (The emphasis is mine.)

We can and should look to more than the Bible for guidance. As well, through the introduction of various liberation theologies, Lewis eluci-dates the problem of the astonishing growing gap between rich and poor that has occurred in the USA and other wealthy nations over the last

30 years, and the similar expanding gap in economic power between rich countries and poor countries. We, as Christians, are certainly required to address this economic injustice. It is something that we need to examine more closely, as individuals and as a church. I can definitely recommend this book and would like to know what others think of it, and of what we should do about economic injus-tice or any other injustices on which Lewis or a reader ruminates.

— review courtesy of Barbara Bloom

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T R I N I T Y T O P I C STriniTy Topics is a published by Trinity Episcopal Church, Bloomington, Ind. It is in-tended to stimulate greater awareness of and appreciation for the activities of Trinity Episcopal Church. All contents Copyright © 2011 Trinity Episcopal Church. Permission to reprint any part of TriniTy Topics must be obtained in writing from the managing edi-tor. TriniTy Topics is published monthly.

Submit an article: The heart of TriniTy Topics is writing by its members. Whether you choose to write about an area of expertise, a Trinity event (past or present), or a cur-rent news topic, your information may interest and assist members of the Trinity Parish community. Articles for consideration are due to the editor by the third Monday of the preceding month. While all articles are considered, preference is given to those with direct relevance to Trinity Episcopal Church, its activities, and its mission.

Trinity Topics now accepting book and movie reviews. Reviews should be 300–400 words in length. Relevance to Trinity and current issues will be given preference.

Address changes: Send updated contact information to Janet Brinkworth, Par-ish Administrator, by postal mail, or e-mail [email protected].

Trinity Topics seeking puzzlers! All you have to do is create a word list and a brief explanation of your topic — the Topics puzzle wizard will do the rest. Send your questions to Kelly at [email protected].

mAnAging eDiToR

Kelly CarnahanCoPy eDiToRS

Georgia Parham Mark Hurley

Peter DelevettConTRiBuToRS

Barbara Bloom Janet Brinkworth Danica D’Onofrio

Shannon Gayk The Rev. Virginia Hall

Richard Hvale Jonathon Karty Mary Ann Keko Georgia Parham Nancy Rayfield

Anne Stright Erin Thompson

Golden

Opportunity

by mary Ann keko, President of Daughters of the king Trinity

The Rise is a transitional secure living facility for women and their children coming from abusive relationships. The

women are given time to find jobs or go back to school so that they can be self sufficient when they transition back into the community.

Daughters of the King is an order dedicated to prayer and service. One of our service projects is working with the women at The Rise. We hope by doing craft project and interacting with them that they will build self confidence which will help them when they transition.

Anyone interested in working with The Daughters of the King on these projects is very welcome.

If you are interested in learning more about The Daughters you are welcome to attend our meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:45 p.m. in the library; or contact Mary Ann Keko. There are also many other ways to volunteer at The Rise. A great need at this time is after school tutoring for the chil-dren who live there. If you would like to share your time and talent you may call The Rise at (812) 337-4510.

Daughters of the king and The Rise

Breaking Bread to meet Feb. 4by erin Thompson

Breaking Bread (a group for young

adults: mid-twenties to late thirties) will

be meeting on Friday, February 4, for

dinner and conversation. We will meet

at Trinity at 6 pm and from there head-

ing to Opie Taylor’s. Child care will be

provided. Our time together will pro-

vide an informal and open environment

to discuss religious topics. Bring ques-

tions and ideas for discussion.

We would like to know if you will be

there! It is helpful but not required to

RSVP to Dominic and Erin Thompson if

you plan to attend: dominicanderin@

me.com or (812) 589-1797.

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is your February birthday or anniversary missing from Topics? Please call or e-mail Janet Brinkworth, our parish administrator, at (812) 336-4466 or [email protected]

more good newsNon-Profit

U.S. Postage

PAIDBloomington, IN

Permit No. 11111 South Grant StreetBloomington, IN 47408

BiRThDAyS1 Steve Chambers1 Diane Reilly1 Joel Barker1 Benjamin Meaden3 Bob Stright3 Ly Tartell5 David Wade5 Wesley Hallett6 Faith Slikkers6 Jean Martin6 Rebecca Shakespeare7 Sidney Ludwig8 Steve Gable8 Kitty Burkhart8 Jackie Karty8 Christopher Hotte10 Christine Conrad10 Emmy Weaver11 Amelia Hinnefeld

13 Eleanor Lloyd15 James Day15 Ellie Birch16 Ursula Hildebrandt17 Bob Gehrenbeck17 Chris Hosey18 Moya Andrews18 Bob Baird19 Grace Gorman20 Doug Graham20 Spencer Anspach20 Richard Malagar20 Ezra Townsend21 Michelle Pratt23 Gene Stoll23 Rex Hume24 Samantha Smith25 Esther Whitby25 Chris Johns25 Claire Weaver

26 Carol Pierce27 Dan Souhrada28 Grace May AnniVeRSARieS 11 David Wade &

Stephen Chambers15 Bob & Pat Bayer

Children’s Choir rehearsal time has changed!

Beginning Wednesday, Janu-

ary 26, we will switch to the

new time, 4:30–5:15 p.m.

The kids will practice with

handbells for 15 minutes,

and then the choir will re-

hearse from 4:45 – 5:15 p.m.

For more information, or if you child is interested in joining, contact elaine Son-nenberg at: [email protected]

mother Virginia welcomes Paul wayne Bloemendaal, 12 hours old in this photo, born Jan. 25 at 4:43 a.m. He weighed in at 8 lbs., 5 oz.

Trinity Topics, February 2011

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Transcript of Trinity Topics, February 2011