Chimes for December 2011

1

Holding On,

Letting Go

or Lifting Up? Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Luke 1:38

Our relationship as Rector-in-the-Interim and congrega-tion is drawing to a close. We will be saying good-bye soon, although we do not know ex-actly when.

Advent teaches us to wait with eager anticipation for the birth of Christ. The events leading up to the birth of Christ can help us understand fruitful ways to enjoy and sus-tain God’s changes in our lives and in our relationships. These scriptures can point us toward thriving ways to deal with good and bad experiences and allow

God to transform our experi-ences. Here is a suggestion for Ad-vent as we await news of the next Rector at Trinity. Read each of the four Gospel read-ings for Advent. Read one each week of Advent. The readings are listed on Page 8 in this is-sue. As you read, ask yourself what choice the people in the story made in dealing with change; with God doing some-thing that deviated from the

expected way. Did they hold on, let go, or lift up? Even if there are not any people men-tioned, how might people have reacted to what Jesus said? For example, in the Advent IV reading from Luke, Gabriel announces what will happen to Mary. Mary ponders the Angel Gabriel’s words to her. It is clearly not what she expects. At first she responds, “How can this be?” She begins to let go of her idea of the expected. In her final response, Mary lifts up the new thing God is doing. Her final response to this unexpected change is, “Let it be with me according to your word.” Mary had three choices. She could hold on to what she knew of the past and that would most likely have meant saying “no” to Gabriel and to God. She could simply let go by agreeing that this could hap-pen some day to some one, but not to her. Instead Mary chose to lift up. She responded by lifting up a different reality,

Continued on Page 5

December 2011

In this issue

Bishop to Visit p. 5

Birthdays p. 8

Calendar p. 6-7

Lay Schedule p. 6-7

Liturgical Notes p. 8

Midday Musical Menu p. 2

Parish People p. 9

Vestry Election Results p. 4

Rector’s Reflections

2

The Evensong on Oct. 23 saw the birth of two

pieces of music commissioned by the people of

Trinity Church. Thank you again for honoring

my ministry by the commissions.

Unfortunately, I do not know who made con-

tributions to the fund to know who to thank in-

dividually, but I am grateful for your generosity.

Thank you to the choir for singing Michael

Sitton’s new anthem “The Prayers I Make Will

Be Sweet Indeed” so sensitively and beautifully.

Thank you, as part of the commissioning, for

funding travel expenses for the composers to

attend the world premieres. Over the years I

have been blessed to do five first performances,

but this was the first time that the composer

was present.

Thank you to the Vestry for hosting the re-

ception after Evensong and especially to Gay

and Jim Smith and Mary Ann and Ted Weiss

for organizing it. It was a wonderful evening I

will never forget. Thank you.

John Deaver

A special thank-you

News of the Midday Musical Menu Our luncheon concert series

has gotten off to a fine start this

season.

Well over 100 people were

served lunch in October.

Thanks to Bonnie Smyth, Linda

Tabeling, Donna Deal, Mary

Austin, Lily McCraven, Audrey

Board, Bob Deal, Dennis Kel-

ley, Don Neff, Don Will, Frank

Dempsey and Richard Putthoff

for their help in October.

Last month, Donna

Deal, Bob Deal, Mary Aus-

tin, Lisa Edwards, Linda

Sherman, Gay Smith, Bon-

nie Smyth, Linda Tabel-

ing, Lisa Stevenson, Darry

Rhine, Amy Heilbronner,

Audrey Board, Frank

Dempsey, Don Will, Don

Neff and Richard Putthoff

combined to create a deli-

cious luncheon of hot

chicken salad, tossed sal-

ad, and roll, with a choice of

lemon cake, cranberry pecan

cake and chocolate cake for

dessert in November.

Special thanks to Trinity

performers Peggy Lietzenmay-

er, Karl Lietzenmayer and Rod-

ney Hill for sharing their musi-

cal talents at the November

concert.

The December Midday Mu-

sical Menu will be the twenty-

second annual Christmas Carol

Sing.

Little did we realize that

when Cliff Daly and David Da-

vidson added trumpet descants

to a Carol Sing in December

1990 it would become an annu-

al tradition involving the entire

Brass Ensemble.

This year’s date is Wednes-

day, Dec. 21, at 12:15 p.m. Ac-

companiments are with organ

and the Trinity Church Brass

Ensemble: Cliff Daly

and David Davidson,

trumpeters; Lewis

Clements, euphoni-

umist; Justin Bull-

ock, trombonist; and

David Bullock, tub-

ist.

Lunch is available

from 11:30 a.m. for

$7.00. The Carol

Sing is free.

3

It is time for the annual coat

drive for John G. Carlise

School and for Bell County

High School.

For John G., please donate

new or gently used childrens'

coats, sizes 5-16. Please wash

used coats.

And to help our sister par-

ish, St. Mary's, with Bell Coun-

ty High School, please donate

new coats and hoodies for the

students there. Sizes should be

small to extra-large adult.

We will collect until Dec. 4.

Thank you for your contin-

ued support of this very im-

portant outreach to the kids

who need it the most.

Joni Finnell

Episcopal Youth Conference is not just about hanging out together and having fun. The youth of Trinity are involved in helping those who are in need in our community. On Nov. 19, a group of teens cooked and served the commu-nity dinner at First Christian Church. It was a very meaning-ful night of service and fellow-ship. The EYC is currently collect-ing items to put into care pack-ages for the men at Fairhaven Rescue Mission. Collections will run through Dec. 18, when the youth will gather to assem-ble the packages. Items needed are toothbrushes, small tubes of toothpaste, calf-length white socks, combs, wrapped hard candy, razors, small cans of men’s shaving cream and small flashlights with batteries. Bring your items to church and place them in the large box outside the May Room. On Sunday, Dec. 4, they will offer their talents to the Trinity Church community through

Holiday Babysitting. This ser-vice is offered free of charge. It will start after Soup Sunday and go until 4 p.m. Red Cross-trained babysitters and super-

vising parents will ensure you of a stress free afternoon of holiday shopping. Sign up out-side the May Room.

Rev. Linda Young

Donate coats for Carlisle School, Bell County High

EYC involved in community service Includes free

babysitting

Two EYC members put together signs announcing a collection drive for Fairhaven

Rescue Mission gift bags.

4

At the Nov. 20 Annual Meet-

ing, the Nominating Commit-

tee’s Chris Kelley presented a

wrapup to the group’s 14-

month, 75-meeting work of

identifying candidates to be

Trinity’s next Rector.

Kelley said one of the most

satisfying things about the

work was that the group always

felt that “everyone at Trinity

was behind us and pushing us.”

The Holy Conversations last

fall formed the basis of both

the job description and many

of the questions the Committee

asked the candidates they

culled from a “landslide of ap-

plications” to the initial job

posting.

Once the candidates were

trimmed to a manageable

number through a process of

written questioning, the Com-

mittee conducted interviews

via Skype. Those hour-length

interviews provided everyone a

face-to-face opportunity to ask

questions and exchange views.

The next, smaller group re-

ceived visits from pairs of

Committee members to the

candidates’ “home turf.” Com-

mittee members had a chance

to share meals and worship

with the candidates and watch

them interacting with their

own church members.

A final, still smaller group of

candidates was asked to visit

Trinity, where they received a

tour of our facilities, met with

staff, led a worship service and

had a chance to meet personal-

ly with Committee members

and Vestry.

The Nominating Commit-

tee’s official duties ended Nov.

21 when they presented their

final candidates to Vestry for

discernment and call. By the

time you are reading this arti-

cle, a decision on Trinity’s next

Rector may have already been

made (But there are several ad-

ministrative steps between de-

cision and announcement, so

an “official” announcement

could still be weeks away).

Kelley left the Annual Meet-

ing with two thoughts: a) the

Nominating Committee felt, at

the end, that Vestry “could not

make a bad call” on any of the

final candidates, and b) he

asked for our thanks and our

prayers for all the clergy who

participated in the selection

process.

John Wolfe

Nominating Committee:

A long, satisfying job well done

Congratulations to those who were elected Nov. 20 as Vestry members and Conven-tion delegates. We had a great slate of peo-ple for both and the elections were very competitive. Thanks to all of the nominees for your willingness to serve Trinity during this exciting time in our parish life.

Vestry class of 2012-2014 Emily Cahill Katie Davidson Mike Bender Jim Swearingen Jim Gard Convention Delegates for 2012 Tony Milburn Robert Edwards Shannon Gemeinhardt Natalie Gabbard

New Vestry members, delegates elected

Gard Bender Cahill Swearingen Davidson

The Nominating Committee

always felt that ‘everyone at

Trinity was behind us and

pushing us’

5

Everybody’s schedule

undergoes changes during

the Christmas holidays and

Trinity is no different.

Times for the Christmas

Eve – Saturday night – ser-

vices are as follows:

5 p.m. Holy Eucharist

with a children’s sermon

10:30 p.m. Special pro-

gram of Christmas music

1100 p.m. :Holy Eucharist

On Christmas Day –

Sunday – there will only be

one Worship, at 10 a.m.

Also, there will only be

one Sunday service, at 10

a.m., on New Year’s Day.

The church office will be

closed Dec. 26-30.

Soup Sunday will take

place on Dec. 4.

Holding On,

Letting Go

Or Lifting Up

The Interim Assisting

Bishop of Lexington, the

Rt. Rev. Chilton R. Knud-

sen, will visit Trinity on

Dec. 18. She will celebrate

Holy Eucharist at a special

5 p.m. service, with a re-

ception to follow. The Bish-

op will also be confirming

and receiving new mem-

bers into the church.

There will be no 8 a.m.

or 10 a.m. Worship at Trin-

ity that day.

Bishop Knudsen, who is

in the Diocese two weeks

and three weekends per

month, is trying to make

pastoral visits in the Dio-

cese to fit that schedule.

She will be celebrating Ho-

ly Eucharest in Maysville

the morning of the 18th.

She is also making some

midweek visits around the

Diocese, including one to

St. Paul’s (Newport) Food

Pantry.

Bishop Knudsen, who is

the retired Bishop of

Maine, was also at Trinity

on Nov. 22 to attend the

annual meeting of Interim

Priests of the Diocese.

Continued from Page 1

a God-inserted reality of a new thing

beyond Mary’s experience; a change.

Meditating on the Advent Gospels

can help us see things we are holding

on to that are harmful and no longer

helpful. We can move from holding

on to letting go and that is immensely

freeing to our spirits. The next step is

lifting up. This means taking the ex-

perience or memory of what we have

been holding on to and moving be-

yond letting go by mining the experi-

ence for how God is trying to reach

us within that experience. Then we

can lift up our experience in a differ-

ent and God-inserted reality.

Read and explore the Advent read-

ings and look for the opportunities

people had to move from letting go to

lifting up. How might the stories read

differently if everyone had responded

by lifting up? Lifting up our experi-

ences from the past means we move

from being victimized by the past or

having survived the past to using our

experiences to thrive now and in the

future. Who do you want to be: Vic-

tim, Survivor, or Thriver?

Say good-bye to me and hello to

Trinity’s new Rector with joyful

thriving!

Nicolette

Rt. Rev. Chilton R. Knudsen

Interim Bishop

to visit Trinity

Church schedule for December

6

December 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

3

4 8:00 am Holy Eucharist 9:20 am Choir 10:00 am Holy Eucharist 11:15 pm Church School 12:15 pm Soup Sunday 12:20 pm Brass Ensemble 12:30 pm Babysitting by Episcopal Youth Commu-nity

5

6

7 10:00 am Books and Beliefs 7:00 pm Holy Eucharist 7:30 pm Choir

8

9 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

10

11 8:00 am Holy Eucharist 9:20 am Choir 10:00 am Holy Eucharist 11:15 am Church School 12:20 Brass Ensemble 6:00 pm Episcopal Youth Community

12 5:30 pm Nurture Commis-sion 7:00 pm Vestry

13

14 7:00 pm Holy Eucharist 7:30 pm Choir

15 12:00 Noon Chimes Deadline

16 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

17 10:00 am Altar Guild Cleaning of brass and silver 3:00 pm Cooking for Out-reach Dinner

18 4:15 pm Choir 5:00 pm Confirmation (No Morning service) 6:30 pm Episcopal Youth Community

19

20 5:30 pm St. Anne’s Mothers’ Group

21 12:15 pm Midday Musical Menu 7:00 pm Holy Eucharist 7:30 pm Choir

22

23 Office Closed 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

24 5:00 pm Christmas Eucharist 10:30 pm Music Prelude 11:00 pm Christmas Eucharist

25 10:00 am Holy Eucharist

26

Office Closed

27

December 23

28

through

29

January

30

2nd

31

1

10:00 am Holy Eucharist

2

Office Closed

3

9:00 am Office

Opens

Lay Ministers Schedule December 4 Lector: 8:00 am Cathy Barwell 10:00 am Mona Jo Williams Intercessor: 8:00 am Koren Schrand 10:00 am John Bickers Lay Eucharistic Minister: 8:00 am Paul Reichardt 10:00 am Jean Brann, Randy Railey Bread: Robert Horine Oblation Bearers: Chris Kelley Family Ushers: Michele Kelley, Dennis Kelley, Mulford Martin, Pat Mohney Acolytes: Heath Parton, Grace Gabbard, Owen Powell, Allyson Johnson Chimer: Austin Hyder Greeter: Peggy Johnson Altar Guild: 8:00 am Amy Heilbronner, Heidi Toelke 10:00 am Audrey Board, Dorothy Taylor Counters: Brenda Israel, Sylvia Jordan Lay Eucharistic Visitor: Mulford Martin, Meralyn Taylor

December 11 Lector: 8:00 am Paul Reichardt 10:00 am Emily Cahill Intercessor: 8:00 am Amy Heibronner 10:00 am Mulford Martin Lay Eucharistic Minister: 8:00 am Ellen Hackman 10:00 am Cliff Daly, Paula Wolfe Bread: Peggy Lietenmayer Oblation Bearers: Speicher Family Ushers: Pam Boyle, Joe Creaghead, Ellen Creaghead, Sylvia Jordan Acolytes: Justin Bullock, Kendall Kelley, Helen Wharton, Jayne Bullock Chimer: Jim Adams Greeter: Gay Smith Altar Guild: 8:00 am Heidi Toelke, Koren Schrand 10:00 am Esther Parton, Mary Ann Wolff Counters: Robert Edwards, Gary Leach Lay Eucharistic Visitor: Mary Ann Weiss, Jo-Ann Brown

7

December 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

3

4 8:00 am Holy Eucharist 9:20 am Choir 10:00 am Holy Eucharist 11:15 pm Church School 12:15 pm Soup Sunday 12:20 pm Brass Ensemble 12:30 pm Babysitting by Episcopal Youth Commu-nity

5

6

7 10:00 am Books and Beliefs 7:00 pm Holy Eucharist 7:30 pm Choir

8

9 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

10

11 8:00 am Holy Eucharist 9:20 am Choir 10:00 am Holy Eucharist 11:15 am Church School 12:20 Brass Ensemble 6:00 pm Episcopal Youth Community

12 5:30 pm Nurture Commis-sion 7:00 pm Vestry

13

14 7:00 pm Holy Eucharist 7:30 pm Choir

15 12:00 Noon Chimes Deadline

16 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

17 10:00 am Altar Guild Cleaning of brass and silver 3:00 pm Cooking for Out-reach Dinner

18 4:15 pm Choir 5:00 pm Confirmation (No Morning service) 6:30 pm Episcopal Youth Community

19

20 5:30 pm St. Anne’s Mothers’ Group

21 12:15 pm Midday Musical Menu 7:00 pm Holy Eucharist 7:30 pm Choir

22

23 Office Closed 7:30 am Men’s Prayer Group

24 5:00 pm Christmas Eucharist 10:30 pm Music Prelude 11:00 pm Christmas Eucharist

25 10:00 am Holy Eucharist

26

Office Closed

27

December 23

28

through

29

January

30

2nd

31

1

10:00 am Holy Eucharist

2

Office Closed

3

9:00 am Office

Opens

December 18 (5:00 pm) Lector: Don Eggerth Intercessor: Cynthia Walker Lay Eucharistic Minister: Debra Taylor, Mary Ann Wolff Bread: Mark Herrick Oblation Bearers: Mitchell Family Ushers: Jim Adams, John Bicker, Brenda Israel, Deborah Menke Acolytes: Julia Bullock, Claire Bickerss, Sylvia Powell, Grace Gabbard Chimer: Hilda Weaver (4:45 pm) Greeter: David Davidson Altar Guild: Esther Parton, Mary Ann Wolff Counters: Jim Kells, Joe O’Brochta Lay Eucharistic Visitor: Liz Blincoe

December 24 (5:00 pm) Lector: Liz Blincoe Intercessor: Diane Gabbard Lay Eucharistic Minister: Lisa Edwards, Robert Edwards Bread: Debra Taylor Oblation Bearers: Cahill Family Ushers: Arohanui Bender, Mike Bender, Diane Gabbard, Gary Gabbard Acolytes: Contact Mary Ann Wolff If you can serve Chimer: Kristin Cirulli (4:45 pm) Altar Guild: Amber Terry, Norma Terry, Virginia McCain

December 24 (11:00 pm) Lector: Darry Rhine Intercessor: John West Lay Eucharistic Minister: Lew Clements, Randy Railey Bread: Cliff Daly Oblation Bearers: Marsha and Steve DeWitt Ushers:Michele Kelley, Dennis Kelley, Ted Weiss, Mark Herrick Acolytes: Contact Mary Ann Wolff If you can serve Chimer: Sally Davidson (10:20 pm) Altar Guild: Audrey Board

December 25 (10:00 am) Lector: Mulford Martin Intercessor: Mulford Martin Lay Eucharistic Minister: Audrey Board, Mulford Martin Ushers: Linda Fogle, Greg Gemeinhardt, John Lucas, Bonnie Lucas Acolytes: Contact Mary Ann Wolff If you can serve Altar Guild: 10:00 am Audrey Board Lay Eucharistic Visitor: Sylvia Jordan, Pam Boyle

8

Liturgical Notes December 4

Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; II Peter 3:8-15a; Mark

1:1-8

Prayer Cycles: Anglican—The Diocese of Western Kansas

Diocesan— St. Paul’s Church, Newport; Matthew Young

Vicar; M. Chotard Doll, Priest-in-Residence; Tom Runge,

Deacon.

Liturgical Notes December 11

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126; I Thessalonians 5:16-24;

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Prayer Cycles: Anglican - Diocese of Western North Caro-

lina.

Diocesan- Emmanuel Church, Winchester, Melanie

Mudge, Rector; Paula Ott, Deacon.

The Altar Flowers are given to the glory of God and in

memory of our Grandparents, J. I. and Anna Jordre,

their daughter-in-law and son (our father and mother)

William S Jordre and Hazel Jordre May their grandchil-

dren/children, Star Kephart, Suzanne Jordre-James, Di-

ane Meyerratken, J. W. Jordre and JonAnn Nordmeyer

The Altar Flowers are given to the glory of God and in

memory of Jackie Beranek by Tony Beranek

Liturgical Notes December 18

II Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; Romans 16:25-

27; Luke 1:26-38

Prayer Cycles: Anglican—The Diocese of Wyoming.

Diocesan—The Church of the Nativity, Maysville; Michael

Henderson, Rector.

The Altar Flowers are given to the glory of God and in

memory of Fred Sears by Bonnie and Family

Liturgical Notes December 25

Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:1-20

Prayer Cycles: Anglican—The Diocese of York (York,

England).

Diocesan—St. Andrew’s, Ft. Thomas; J. Joseph Penning-

ton, Priest-in-Charge.

1-Frank Dempsey 2-Paul Cahill, Craig Dugan, James Lindeman, Jr., Corbin Staggs 3-Faye Allen 4-Martha Foley Anderson, Nicholas Anderson, Barb Hollar 5-Justin Gabbard 6-John Bullock, Linda Tabeling 7-Tara Lucas 8-Charles Fogle, Madison Smock 9-Linda Fogle, Garrett McMurtry, Kiernan McMurtry, A’Marie Rust 10-Kitsy Marshall, Amy Heilbronner 11-Aiden Hall, Gayle Wells 12-Gina Russ

13-Kevin Hunt, Morgaan Milburn, Sylvia Jordan 14-Dawn Young 15-Deanna Kelley, Nicole Montello, Amy Powell, Ellen Rieveschl 16-Drew Goodwin, Mer Grayson 17-Heather Goodwin, Matthew Perry 18-Matt Meacham 20-Eleanor Clarke, John Louis, Cindy Allnutt 21-Austin Deal, Erin Pack 22-Robert Edwards 24-Fred Gilliam 27-Michele Kelley 30-Brad Abbott, Tom Workman

AROUND THE PARISH: Prayers and sympathy to the Brandon Gabbard Family with the death of Natalie’s fa-

ther, Bill Batsel …Prayers and sympathy to Kitsy Marshall, and the May Family with the death of their father, Worth

May... Prayers and sympathy to the Stevenson Family with the death of Mary…Congratulations to Katherine and

James Lindeman on the birth of a son, George Creighton Lindeman.

December Birthdays

Please Note: The next date for Baptism is January 8, 2012. If you would like to schedule a baptism on that day, please call the office at 859-431-1786.

9

The seasons of Advent and

Christmas evoke images of an-

ticipation, introspection and

new birth from humble begin-

nings. They set the stage for all

we celebrate and do in the

coming church year, particular-

ly how we build our personal /

parish lives and our relation-

ship to God. This month’s Par-

ish Person, Shannon Gemein-

hardt, has spent a young career

building a relationship with

God, literally and figuratively,

and has done so by focusing on

the humble beginnings of

things.

In her youth in Montgom-

ery, Ala.—as an active member

of EYC--Shannon became in-

volved with Habitat for Hu-

manity, not being intimidated

by the power tools and ham-

mers she had used to help her

Dad at home. This experience,

she said, “made a real differ-

ence in someone’s life” and es-

pecially “for the children who

would know what it is like to

live in a safe house that is

theirs.” She carried her enthu-

siasm for

Habitat for

Humanity to

the Universi-

ty of South-

ern Missis-

sippi, where

she earned a

degree in bi-

ochemistry.

She served as

Habitat chapter president for

the University and the Hatties-

burg community, the youngest

chapter president in the coun-

try at age 21. During her tenure

as president, the chapter in-

creased the number of houses

built per year from 3 to 8, and

received a grant to build a Hab-

itat neighborhood of 15 houses.

Her building and construct-

ing didn’t stop with bricks and

mortar. She and her roommate

also began a chapter of Inter-

varsity Christian Fellowship—

an interdenominational Bible

study group. The group flour-

ished, bringing diverse demo-

graphic groups together in the

name of Christ. Shannon says,

“It ignited my love for Bible

study and showed me that God

can use anyone -- mere college

students -- to spread his love to

others.” She moved to North-

ern Kentucky in 2006 with

husband Greg, finding Trinity

in the Yellow Pages. As soon as

they walked in, the energy and

sense of “something happen-

ing” told them they had found

their church home.

At first Shannon wanted to

take it easy, but it wasn’t long

before she became actively in-

volved. After having children,

Thomas and Laura, ages 5½

and 2½, she has taught Sunday

School, served as Lay Reader,

ECW board member and active

Gen X’er. Perhaps most fitting,

when Thomas was a year old,

Shannon started the St Anne’s

Mother’s Group to connect and

share experiences with other

young and inexperienced

mothers.

More recently, she has

served as chaplain of the Nomi-

nating Committee, describing

the whole experience as a won-

derful spiritual journey, much

more than just finding a new

rector, an experience “filled

with the presence of the Holy

Spirit.”

Jim Gard

Parish People

For the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ

Ephesians 4:12

Using her talents

and tools to build

a faith community

Shannon

Gemeinhardt

10

There is a place for retreat, re-creation, reflection, prayer, bonding and personal growth on a mountain; a place where so many have experienced God’s presence and where age-old universal values hold domi-nance over short-cuts to the fulfillment of personal desires; a place that is within our dio-cese. The Cathedral Domain, home to a remarkable ministry of our members, is an oasis of serenity in a society that is caught up in increasing busy-ness, substantial stress, evi-dences of erosion of certain of our crucial societal values, and a nagging concern that eco-nomic circumstances will di-minish our personal well-being regardless of our frenetic pace. Further, while we receive routine announcements of ad-vances in communications technology, we seem to be more and more isolated as the perceived time for communal “togetherness” is being squeezed out of our lives by the demands for personal response to the busy, fallible human world. Loren Eiseley, author of The Star Thrower, reminds us, in the words of a reviewer of the book, that “there is another life

we may live, one where money, which has come to be central to our societies, and the essential human weakness, has no place beside the whisper of leaves drifting to the forest floor and the silken flow of crystal wa-ters.” When the disciples were be-coming besieged by the “many coming and going, and they didn’t have time to eat,” Jesus did not respond with an ad-monition to work harder and longer. He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a desert-ed place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:30-31) Countless counselors, chil-dren, teens and adults have “come aside to the deserted

place” of the Cathedral Domain where, in the words of a re-freshed camper, “One big say-ing on the mountain is ‘Domain Love.’ ” Most people use it to show that they feel loved and that they are giving love all week while being up here. The word is very different to me. It’s not as much a saying; it’s a mean-ing. The love you might experi-

ence in your hometown comes nowhere close to the love you feel on the mountain. It’s a dif-ferent kind of love, like the love you get from going to church every Sunday, or going on a mission trip with your youth group. The love that is shown through people, but you can tell it’s sent from God.” The Cathedral Domain is a treasure, a treasure in need of our support. The Diocese, through action of the Executive Council, has determined that a capital campaign would be a vital step in providing the fi-nancial component of that needed support. Toward that end, a series of Readiness As-sessment programs will be con-ducted. We will be contacting each congregation for the pur-pose of scheduling a Readiness Assessment event for the con-gregation. This event is not about asking for money. We are in a readiness assessment pro-cess. Readiness assessment provides the opportunity for dialog about the value and cir-cumstances of The Domain. Schedules will be announced to your congregation and on our web site as they are ar-ranged. Please plan to attend. You are vital in the life of all who would come to the moun-tain retreat of The Episcopal Diocese of Lexington. We are seeking both your prayers and your advice.

In Christ’s love, Rt. Rev. Chilton R. Knudsen

Domain a treasure to Diocese Capital campaign

for church retreat

to get underway

“. . . time for communal

‘togetherness’ is being

squeezed out of our lives by

the demands for personal

response to the busy,

fallible human world. “

‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.’

Mark 6:30-31

11

According to newly published research, there are 1,951,907 Baptized members of the Episcopal Church nationwide. That is a 16% drop in member-ship since 2000. The largest parish is St. Martin’s in Hou-ston, Texas, with 8,406 members. About 15% of parishes nationwide have 500 or more members. The median membership is 158. Trinity is in the former group with 696 Baptized mem-bers. About half of all congrega-tions have Sunday attendance of 70 or less. Trinity averages 216 each Sunday. In the Diocese of Lexington in 2010, there were 7,504 Bap-tized members, a 15.1% decline since 2000. Sunday church at-tendance averaged 2,693, a 28% drop since 2000. Our neighboring dioceses have also declined in membership. The Diocese of Kentucky, with 9,774 members, dipped 2.8% in the past decade. Kentucky, howev-er, was one of the few dioceses nationwide to increase in mem-bership from 2009 to 2010. The Diocese of Southern Ohio, with 21,589 members, has dropped 16% since 2000. “These statistics reveal

something very important about the challenges we face as a Church,” observed Bishop Stacy Sauls, chief operating of-ficer for the Episcopal Church. “One of those is that we can-not allow statistics like this to make us anxious about our sur-vival. Earthly survival is not much a value of the Gospel. Striving for the kingdom and righteous of God is. Right now, (we should be) turning our at-tention single mindedly to God’s mission and our partici-pation in it, which means that we are going to have to restruc-ture and reform ourselves ac-cordingly. Churches that turn inward will die. Churches that turn outward will not only live, but thrive. The numbers call us to strengthen our commitment to turn outward.”

Some other statistics re-vealed in the research include: The average pledge nation-

wide is $2,346, almost ex-actly the same as Trinity’s.

30% of all Episcopalians are 65 or older, compared to just 13% of the general pop-ulation. The typical rector or vicar is 58.

31% of rectors or vicars are women.

86% of parishes have a web-site. 11% have a blog, and 41% are on Facebook.

The figures are based on 837 responses from parishes and missions to the 2010 Faith Communities Today Survey. More results are available at www.episcopalchurch.org/research.

Episcopal News Service and John Wolfe

Episcopalians count themselves

Location of Episcopal Congregations

Village or small

town, 28.2%

Larger town or a

small city, 24.1%

Newer suburb

around large city,

4.9%

Older suburb of a

large city, 13.0%

Older residential

area of a large

city, 11.2%

Downtown or

center of large

city, 10.9%

Rural area or

open country,

7.8%

Figure 1Some ‘fun facts’

about our

national church

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With all these wonderful new faces around the parish, wouldn’t it be

nice to know their names. Please remember to wear your name tag

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage

Paid

Permit No. 159

Trinity Episcopal Church, Covington, Kentucky

Mission Statement

Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Covington serves a diverse community. We are

committed to the celebration and worship of Jesus Christ in a parish nurtured by educa-

tion and fellowship. As Christ’s servants, we strive to share God’s love, and our resources,

in the greater community.

Website: www.trinitychurchcovky.com E-mail address: [email protected]

Office address: 16 Fourth Street, 859-431-1786 or 859-392-2360. FAX. 859-392-2361

The Right Rev. Chilton R. Knudson, Interim Bishop of Lexington

The Rev. Nicolette Papanek, Priest

The Rev. Linda Young, Associate Priest

Dr. John Deaver, Director of Music

Judy Long, Administrative Assistant

Tony Milburn and Mary Ann Weiss, Wardens

16 East Fourth Street

Covington Kentucky 41011

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