TrinityTopicsThe Newsletter of Trinity Episcopal Church in Toledo, Ohio M A R C H 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 1 3 5 , N U M B E R 3 May we see the Light on the hill. May we hear the Peace in the noise. May we touch the Hope in the fading light. May we feel the Sorrow in the earth. May we hold the T eardrop in the towel. May we feel the Healing in the pain. May we drink the Water from the source. May we give the Pardon to the one who asks. May we sense the Victory in the failure. May we seek the Beginning in the last breath. May we await the Morning in the silence. Gathering Prayerby Anna Burke
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March 2009 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church
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8/8/2019 March 2009 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church
SUNDAY, MAR 8—LENT 2BGenesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38
9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s
10:00a Formation
10:45a Parish Eucharist
SUNDAY, MAR 15 ! LENT 3BExodus 20-1-17; 1 Cor 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s10:00a Formation
10:45a Parish Eucharist
SUNDAY, MAR 22 ! LENT 4BNumbers 21:4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s
10:00a Formation
10:45a Parish Eucharist
SUNDAY, MAR 29—LENT 5B Jer 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33
9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s
10:00a Formation
10:45a Parish Eucharist
SUNDAY, APR 5—PALM SUNDAY John 12:12-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1—15:47
ONE SERVICE TODAY 10:45a Parish Eucharist
Tapestry — A St. Patrick’s Day CelebrationSaturday, March 14, 7p
An evening of rollicking Celtic music for harp, guitar, and bass as Denise and Michael Grupp-Verbon return in an encore performance to celebrate this festive holiday.
Tickets: Adults $15; Students & Seniors $12
A Candlelight Concert—Perrysburg Symphony
OrchestraSaturday, March 21, 8p
A romantic evening of classical favorites by candlelight under the stars of Trinity Church.Tickets: Adults $15; Students & Seniors $12
Palm/Passion Sunday — ComplineSunday, April 5, 7p
Schutz: St. Matthew Passion
Canterbury Choir presents a meditative service to begin HolyWeek exploring the other side of Palm Sunday.Free admission
8/8/2019 March 2009 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church
Unfortunately, in many congr egations the process of decision-mak ing abou t money is ill-suited to the
task of allocating scarce resources wisely. The implicit men tal mod el is that the congr egation’s first du ty
is to sustain its institutional core--to maintain th e building , service the debt, meet the payroll, and keep
the lights on. If there is money left, we can then speak of mission, outreach, service, innov ation--as if
those were optional extras.
This mental map--institutional maintenance as the foundation, mission as the ground floor,
innovation a s a decorative filigree--does little harm so long as the sup ply of money grow s from year to
year. But in lean years, wh en spend ing needs to be trimmed back, this way of thinking can accelerate a
dow nw ard spiral. Who wou ld supp ort a congregation that does nothing but support itself?Which brings us to an aw kward point: over time, congregations, like all nonpr ofits, tend to fall away
from serving their mission into serving their constituen ts. One powerfu l set of constituents compr ises
long-time members who want to preserve the congregation’s familiar look and feel--appearances and
practices that comfort them . Another powerful grou p is the paid staff.
I once consulted w ith a church in a magnificent Romanesque bu ilding stud ded with d istinguished
opalescent stained glass. It had a full-time minister and mu sic director, a sixteen-member p aid choir--and
thirty-five peop le in the congrega tion on an average Sunday. This mod e of opera tion had been finan ced
by liberal spending from a once-large endow ment and even larger withdraw als from th e invisible bank
account of deferred building m aintenance.
Like most congregations in such circum stances, this one took prid e in the heroic way they had
sustained a prou d tradition against long odd s. But one d ay their treasurer reframed their situation for
them. "Every day w e open u p ou r d oors, we piss away fifteen hund red of God's good d ollars," he said.After a stunned silence, the discussion shifted. Instead of "How can we continue to prov ide ourselves
with a chu rch for the longest possible time?" the grou p began to ask, "How can w e make the m ost faithful
use of the resources in our t rust, to fulfill the true pu rpose of the chu rch?"
Luckily (or p rovidentially), the church stood n ext door to a m useum , which pu rchased the bu ilding
for its collection of religious ar t. The congregation scattered, leaving a su bstantial legacy to other
congregations, charities, and religious institutions. Not a perfect outcome, perhap s--wh at is?--but better,
ethically, than simply w aiting un til the mon ey was all gone.
This story is dr amatic but instru ctive even for a congregation that is faced with trimm ing back by 10
or 20 percent. The easy path is always to give tacit priority to existing staff positions and activities, to
ignore the hidden cost of deferred bu ilding m aintenance, and to cut wh atever lacks a strong internal
advocate. In many cases this means cutting outreach giving, denom inational supp ort, and innovative
projects. Or it means copping ou t of all pr iority decisions and enacting an across-the-board p ercentage
cut.
In times of strained finances, even more than in fat years, it is imp ortant th at the bud get process
begin not w ith the bud get from last year but w ith the congregation's mission. The congregation needs
leaders--call them the board --capable of stand ing apart from the daily management of ministry. The
board need s to reflect and pray about the congrega tion's mission and a rticulate a vision for its ministry
that reflects its special calling in a time of trouble. And it needs to m ake har d choices--sometimes
choosing what is right instead of what will keep the peace.
Noth ing can make bud get cutting easy, but th ere can be some joy in it if, in the p rocess of accepting
what w e can't afford to d o, we reach a d eeper und erstanding of what w e must afford to d o, one w ay or
BaptismThe sacrament of Baptism is the celebration of
God's call to us to be in relationsh ip, as the People
of God. It is an imp ortant event, not just for the
person being baptized bu t for the entire parish
community.
Easter Vigil is a traditional time to welcome
new m embers into the chur ch. If you areinterested in bap tism for yourself or for your
childr en, contact Liddy im med iately for more
information.
Easter Flower
MemorialsDon’t forget to make your
donation to honor friend s and
relatives this Easter. Thedonations are used to offset the
extra costs of flowers and m usic
for Holy Week and Easter Day.
An envelope is included in this
issue of Topics for your u se,
and the deadline for inclusion in the Easter
bulletin is Monday, April 6.
Photographers Needed
Since Marie’s m ove to Boston, Trinity ha s nothad anyone regularly taking p ictures of wh at’s
going on in our commu nity. If you enjoy d igital
photograp hy, regularly attend Trinity events
(both inside and outside our w alls), and w ould be
willing to take photos for our Website and Top ics,
please talk with Lidd y. This role can be shared
among several people (a new Photo Guild?) so
that we h ave someone taking pictures of both the
large and sm all ways we live out ou r m ission
statement.
Liturgical Assistant TrainingThere will be a training session for all curr ent
and aspiring liturgical assistants (sometimes
called liturgical deacons or chalicers) on Sund ay,
March 29 after the late service. If you serve in this
ministry, or w ant to learn m ore about it, plan to
attend this training .
Soup, Sharing and ServiceOur Lenten Community Life
“Soup, Sharing and Service” is a simp le
meal of bread and soup, accompan ied by
conversation abou t living into Lent, and
followed by Comp line. Join us on Sunday
evenings throughout Lent,
with d inner starting at5:30, and a 30-minute
Comp line (think of it as
God singing you a lullaby)
at 7:00.
Thanks from Izzy DurhamThank you so much for the wonderful care
package you sent me last week. You can’t imagine
how happy/grateful/touched I was to get it in the
mail. Your support and affection these past fewweeks have been such a comfort to me, and I can’t
wait to see you all in M arch!
Love,
Izzy
ECW Meets at COMPASSToledo Deanery ECW w ill meet on
Mond ay, March 16 at 10:00 a.m. at the h istoric
Tiedtke Hou se on the main campus of
COMPASS Corporation for Recovery Services ,
2465 Collingwood Blvd. (across the street fromScott High School). The Tiedtke House
Women ’s Residen tial Treatm ent Cen ter is for
wom en w ho need intensive substance abuse
treatmen t . William Sanford , director of
COMPASS, will give a tour and explain the
programs offered.
MEMBER MATTERS
Ann Stranahan will be recognized for heroutstanding leadership and accomplishments inthe arts at the 14th annual YWCA MilestonesAwards Luncheon. Ann is one of sevenextraordinary women from northwest Ohiowho will be honored. The awards luncheonwill be held on Thursday, March 26 at theSeagate Convention Center. If you areinterested in attending, tickets and moreinformation are available from the YWCA at419.241.3235.
c
on gr e g a t i on / w
or l d
8/8/2019 March 2009 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church
Lent is a time to honor the journ ey – the jour ney tha t leads us from life to dea th and back into life again.
For days that seem h ard , and even n egative, there is a path of blessing that can be accessed and u tilized for
the grow th of our soul. Life takes us into the core of our ow n self, it travels throu gh trou bled wa ters of
suffering and lonely spaces of emp tiness, urg ing us to seek the God beyon d u s and r ecognize the new life
that issues forth from d eath. Lent itself is but a mirror of this jour ney of life. Lent cond enses the jour ney of
life into 40 days, yet when those days are watched with care and openness, blessings emerge that mightnever hav e been expected. Let these blessings be an aid to you on your Lenten journey. May they be holy
word s that strengthen your soul, word s that engender and create life.
A Bless ing f or the Journey i nto Self
May the Wind of God d rive away impurity
and bring fresh and vigorous possibility to your soul.
May the freeing Spirit un bind th ose places within
held captive by hop elessness, anxious th oughts an d internal discord.
And may you find a midd le place of awareness,
between the blowing and the stillness, to feel and w atch the movement from old to n ew.
A Bless ing for the Journey into Suf fering
May the suffering that stretches your soul
also render it pliable in the han d of God.
May the stretch be soft, so you can endure it
with u nyielding p atience.
May you r vision be clear so that,
no ma tter the trial, you can
see the wonder stand ing quietly nearby.
And in the very thing you long to cast away,
may you find a gem w orth keeping.
A Bless ing for the Journey into Emptiness
May the days that beckon the journey open a spacebetween what is and w hat will be,
a space of emp tiness waiting to be filled.
May the th ings that sit at the ed ge of revelation
move silently into that emptiness.
May they be noticed with attention and claimed as gifts
given from the h oly hand of heaven.
When th e gifts have been offered and received ,
may you r soul be filled w ith gratitud e
to God w ho initiated the journey and provided the blessing.
A Blessi ng for the Journey of Seek ing Go d
When you r soul w hispers of its deepest longings,may you qu iet yourself to listen.
May you follow th e path of yearning to the One alone w ho blends the u neven edges
into a life of mean ing.
May you meet and be un ited w ith God
and give thanks for the whispers
that led you th ere.
8/8/2019 March 2009 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church
The Emptiness of Our Hands: A Lent Lived on the StreetsPhyllis Cole-Dai, James Murray
September 2007 6 x 9 format (paperback), 268 pp.
During Lent and Holy Week, 1999, Phyllis Cole-Dai and James Mu rray lived
volun tarily on th e streets of Columbu s, Ohio, America’s fifteenth largest city.They did n't go ou t on th e streets to satisfy idle curiosity, or to experience a
strange new world. They didn't go out to find answ ers to questions or
solutions to problems. They didn't go out to save anyone, or to hand ou t
donations of food or blankets. They went out for one primary reason: to be as
present as possible to everyone they met – whether it was a homeless person, a
university president, or a cop. In other words, they set out, in their own way,
to love their neighbor as them selves. In doing so, they wer e reminded just how
difficult the p ractice of compassion can be.
The Emptiness of Our Hands: A Lent Lived on the Streets is a meditative narrative accompanied by
black and wh ite photographs, most of them taken by James Murray on the streets using crude
pinhole cameras he constructed from trash. This book will thrust you out the d oor of your
comfortable life, so that you m ight better un derstand wh at being w ithout a hom e can do to a
person.
“They went out for one primary reason: to be as present as
possible to everyone they met… in their own way, to love
their neighbor as themselves.”
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A Bless ing for the Journey o f D eath
May your end ings be embraced w ith fervor equal to what
you gave your beginnings.
May the stopping p laces in your life create a space
for w hat is yet to be known.
Instead of sorrow, may you find joy.
Instead of hopelessness, may you find p ossibility.Instead of terror, may you find peace.
When you face an end ing,
may you know it as another beginning
tinged w ith the poten tial of a small seed in d ark soil.
In the blackness of grief may life push t hrou gh
and soften your sadn ess. from explorefaith.org
╬ ╬ ╬
8/8/2019 March 2009 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church
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NON-PROFIT ORG.U. S. POSTAGE
PAIDToledo, Ohio
Permit Number 529
We’re on the web
www.trinitytoledo.org
Parish Staff Elizabeth Hoster, Rector
Wayne F. Anthony , Associate for Music and the Arts Susan Lowrey, Associate for Community Life
Virginia Shafer, Executive Secretary Jane Bueche, Parish Accountant Bridget Blanchard , Organist
Parish Vestry Jeff Albright, senior warden; Jason Rahe, juniorwarden; Karen Wabeke, clerk; Solveig Barnes, LuciaCooper, Jane Gomersall-Zohn, Jennifer Siebold,Sherre Owens Smith, Jim Zechman.
SUNDAYS 9 & 10:45 am, Holy Eucharist10 am, Formation for all ages
HOLY DAYS as announced
FOR THE PARISH COMMUNITY
Remember those for whom our prayers have been requested: Jessica Snyder,Bonnie Loss, Nancy Paulas, Carol Statum, William E. Siebold, Izzy Durham, Barbara ClarkeDavid C. Nelson, Herb Landis, Ruth Archer; the children and staff of Emanuel Children’sHome; all those on death row; all victims of war and violence; Marie Harkey and David S.Nelson in their continuing vocational discernment; and David S. Nelson and Beth Anne
Swartz, preparing for marriage.
Prayers for those who have died: In this month which marks the 6th anniversary of the Iraq war, we pray for all who have died, including 4,255 American troops, 318 troopsfrom other countries, and uncounted thousands of Iraqi men, women and children. Each
one was God’s beloved.
services
prayers
vision & mission Trinity is called to be a progressive, inclusive and creative urban community.
! We will practice radical hospitality.
! We will be engaged in the life of our city.
! We will stand with those in need: the poor, the sick, the friendless, the marginalized.
! We will actively invite all to experience and celebrate God’s living presence.
! We will journey together toward a Christ-centered life, pursuing personal ministriesthat connect us to God, to one another, and to the world around us.