Thanks to all my friends here at Old Trinity for all of the lovely cards and gifts that you have given me over the past week. It has been a blessing to be part of your lives for these last few years. May God’s grace be with us all as we begin our new adventures.
Amy
After nearly two decades of music ministry here at Old Trinity, Roberta Shaver, our organist, is retiring at the end of this year. Please join us as we celebrate her time with us this Sunday, November 25th. Roberta and her granddaughter will play a short concert immediately after the 10 a.m. service of Holy Eucharist. Then we will continue the festivities at a delicious coffee hour in the church hall. Roberta has been a faithful part of our life here and we will miss her presence among us!!!!
Old Trinity is part of this year’s Tiffin CROP Walk to end hunger here in Seneca County and across the world. The Walk takes place on Sunday Nov. 4th, beginning and ending at 1st Presbyterian Church, Monroe St, Tiffin. We gather at 1:00 and set out at 1:30. The walk circles through Tiffin with visits to both the Heidelberg and TU campuses. Walk as much or as little as you can. You can register for the Old Trinity team on line at:http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/TR/2012FallCROPHungerWalk/TR-Fall2012?team_id=69434&pg=team&fr_id=15246 or get a paper registration at church. If you can’t walk, you can always participate by pledging one of our walkers. Let’s be generous with our lives and care for those in need as God asks us to do.
Join us for a Celebration of the Holy Eucharist with our friends from St. Paul’s, Fremont this Sunday, July 8, 2012 
. We will meet at the Moose Shelter in Hedges-Boyer Park here in Tiffin again this year. We worship at 10 a.m. and then begin the barbecue potluck festivities. This is a great opportunity to share our common faith with fellow Episcopalians. Consider inviting some friends to the barbecue as well – what a great way to show of the GREAT church to which you belong. Bring a dish to share and the churches will provide the hamburgers and hot dogs. Yum!
At the BFF social on April 29, people had the opportunity to express what Old Trinity meant to them. A few brave souls were videotaped, and some wrote a few paragraphs. But the most popular way for people to communicate their love of Old Trinity was through arts and crafts. This is just one example of the wonderful creative people we have in this church!
Please join your friends at Old Trinity as we celebrate our Best Foot Forward Social on Sunday April 29 from 5 – 6:30. While there will be a report on the financial side of the program, most of the time we will just be having FUN! There will be a variety of opportunities for you to share you love of Old Trinity, and we might even save someof them for posterity (and future advertising!) Come have some fun, and enjoy a catered dinner. No work and all play makes us happy!
For centuries, Christians have observed the season of Lent as a period of renewed spiritual practice. “An Invitation to a Holy Lent” in the Prayerbook (p. 265), encourages us to prayer, fasting and charity, as well as reading and meditating on God’s holy word.
Over the years, we have followed this last suggestion by using various printed Lenten meditation books. Now Lent has entered the digital age. Here a few choices for observing a Lenten practice on the go, while sitting in your office, or in place you have internet access.
Pray As You Go http://www.pray-as-you-go.org is an ministry of the Jesuits in England. Each day the site offers you a passage of scripture and some questions to meditate on. It also uses a wide variety of music as a backround and aid to concentration.
A Framework for Freedom http://ssje.org/lent is offered by the Society of St. John the Evangelist, an Anglican Benedictine men’s religious community based in Cambridge, MA. In the daily video, a brother discusses developing a personal rule of life – a way to orient one’s life around spiritual values.
Day 1, the Christian radio and online community offers daily reflections on the Psalms at http://day1.org/3652-spending_lent_in_the_psalms__daily_meditations.
The newssource Huffingtonpost offers a variety of daily readings from noted religious authors for each day of this season http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/lent.
d365, a cooperative Christian ministry for youth and young adults offers http://www.d365.org/journeytothecross, a daily devotional composed of prayer, scripture, and reflection.
Choose one and follow it through the season, or mix and match as the Spirit moves you. However you use these materials, they will deepen your connection with God and prepare to celebrate the Resurrection at Easter.
I am always on the lookout for interesting and different things to use for the dreaded “ice-breaker” activity in groups. A few years ago, I found this book. It is simply a series of questions about one’s spiritual life and each sentence begins with the word “If….”
A new year is always an occasion for resolutions in our lives. We are now at the point where we know whether those resolutions are working or not. But rarely (at least in my experience) do we start a new year by looking at our blessings. So as part of your devotions in the coming days, I want to offer you this question from the book: “If you were to finish the phrase ‘I have been blessed because ….’ how would it end?” I invite you share your reflections with us in the comments.
