News & Notes

News, Announcements, and Updates

for the Trinity Parish Family

May 4,2008

Thank You!
We extend a heartfelt thank you to all those who came yesterday for our Parish Clean Up Day. It was a wonderful opportunity to give our time to God in thanksgiving for our beautiful church home. Special thanks to Gene Knecht for providing our wonderful lunch.

Designation of Loose Offering Today
On the first Sunday of each month, the loose offering is designated for the Rector’s Ministry Fund. This Ministry Fund is used specifically to help the poor and needy of the community. Because of your generosity, Mother Catherine has been able to help those who most need it. Each time we help a neighbor in need, we are answering Christ’s call. Thank you for your generosity.

Mission Trip Meeting Today at 12:30 p.m.
There will be a mission trip meeting today at 12:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall for all those going on the trip to Bay St. Louis, MS in June. Please keep all of us in your prayers as we prepare for our trip.

Altar Guild Meeting This Tuesday
There will be an Altar Guild meeting this Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to Noon in the Sacristy. After the meeting, we will be going to lunch for a time of fellowship.

Ultreya Reunion This Thursday
This month’s Ultreya Reunion is this Thursday, May 8th at 6:30 p.m. here at Trinity. We will be responsible for providing dinner for all those who come. If you are able to bring something, please contact Susan Begnaud or Melinda Zolzer.

Anti-Racism Training Scheduled for Next Saturday
The Diocese of Western Louisiana is offering Anti-Racism training for anyone in the Diocese who is interested in attending. It will be held at St. Timothy’s in Alexandria from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Please let Mother Catherine know if you are interested.

New Adult Education Offering Next Sunday
Starting next Sunday, we will be studying The Story of Angels. Please feel free to join the class at any time. We meet at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings in the Parish Hall.

Installation of Fr. Bill McBride as Rector of St. Matthias
The installation of Fr. Bill McBride as rector of St. Matthias in Shreveport will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 15th. If you are interested in carpooling to the service, please contact Mother Catherine.

“Joy in the Journey:” 18th Annual Recovery Retreat
This retreat is intended for all persons interested in recovery. It will be held at Camp Hardtner from May 16th at 7:00 p.m. through May 18th at 1:00 p.m. To register for the retreat or for more information, please contact Nancy Tracy by e-mail at nancy@innerlightcentral.com or by phone at (318) 268-0757.

Annual Rummage Sale on July 19th: Save the Date and Your Stuff
If you have items for our annual rummage sale that you would like to bring to the church, please see Donna McDonald. She has a place to store them and would be happy to take them off of your hands. If you need pickup, please call the church office and we will schedule a time.

Confirmations Scheduled for September 7th
Bishop MacPherson will be with us on Sunday, September 7th. If you are interested in being confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church, or reaffirming your confirmation vows, please see Mother Catherine and let her know.

The Season After Pentecost
by Dr. Frank Fuller
The season after Pentecost is the longest in the church year, lasting from Pentecost until Advent. This season is also known as "Ordinary Time." During the season after Pentecost, we use green hangings on the altar, and the priest's vestments are green, also.
Rather than meaning "common" or "mundane," the term Ordinary Time comes from the word "ordinal," which simply means counted time (1st Sunday after Pentecost, 2nd Sunday, etc.). Counted time always begins with Trinity Sunday and ends with Christ the King, the last Sunday before Advent. This year, we shall see a long Ordinary Time, for Easter season was very early, leaving twenty-eight Sundays between Pentecost and Advent, which begins November 30 this year.
During the Great Fifty Days of Eastertide, the first reading each Sunday is from Acts, telling the way humankind responded to the Risen Christ on Earth, and to focus on the earliest works of the Church. Eastertide ends with the Sunday of Pentecost.
On Trinity Sunday, the following week, the Gospel charges us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (MT 18:18, f.).
Many churches, Trinity Parish included, change the activity calendar to reflect the somewhat different pace of summer. Some organizations like Canterbury Club do not meet during the summer, while others plan longer or more ambitious endeavors like our mission trip this June. After Trinity Sunday, we return to the Old Testament as the first scripture reading.
This is our first year with the Revised Common Lectionary, a pattern of scripture reading and study that is shared among many churches, both Protestant and Catholic. Though there are many small differences, the primary change comes during Ordinary Time when the readings tell a longer story, often lasting over several weeks during this summer season. Like other church activities, the pace is different. In some ways, the expectation for our study is more ambitious, as well.
Like other elements of the lectionary, the summer readings follow a three-year cycle, so that each year is different from the one that precedes and that follows it. This summer, we shall hear about the Covenant that God made with humankind, how it was made and broken, and God’s enduring plan to maintain the Covenant. June 1st, we’ll hear the story of the flood and the covenant God made with Noah. June 8th, we will learn again about God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendents. That story ends on August 24th, when we hear that “a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” and the Israelites are oppressed into bondage. From August 24th through November 9th, The scripture tells the story of Israel, from Egypt through the Wilderness, to Canaan, ending with their occupation of the Promised Land, and the familiar passage from Joshua “Choose this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The last three readings recount Israel’s falling away from God’s covenant again, and God’s promise, from Ezekiel 34, that “I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.”
These can be read as familiar Bible stories. However, they are presented in this lectionary, alongside Matthew’s Gospel, as a portrait of wandering, both geographically and in faith, in and out of God’s favor in a way that describes a yearning and expectation for a goal never attained. The metaphorical nature of the narrative is emphasized, linking God’s desire to save humankind and His chosen people with His insistence on faithful obedience.
This is the story of Moses, and of Christ as the new Moses, of the journey from slavery to freedom, and of the covenants’ mediating between God and humanity, and between obedience and freedom. There is a tension in the Ordinary Time narrative, for these passages pose a long, complex question about our imperfect striving for the right relationship with God. The question is answered and the tension resolved in Advent, by the birth of Jesus.
The Ordinary Time of summer proceeds at a different pace from the seasons of Christmas and Easter. The season is longer, there are no major festivals like the ones that form the other seasons. We have a chance to plan some projects that take a while longer to accomplish. One of the projects that await is our new lectionary and the great story of God’s covenant that it tells.

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