World Candle Lighting sponsored by Compassionate Friends

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Holy Trinity will be participating in the Worldwide Candle Lighting sponsored by Compassionate Friends, On December 12, 2010 beginning at 6:30 p.m. and culminating in lighting candles for children of all ages who have died. Please join us in supporting the loved ones left behind.

Starting Over

I've fallen behind on blogging on this site, and will be attempting a weekly blog once again. Today will just be to update you on activities at the church.

We have an interim priest - Pattiann Bennett - who provides a eucharist service on the first and third Sundays of the month at 7:00 p.m. Her regular church is Saint Michael's All Angels Episcopal in Eureka, where she provides weekly services, as well as a first Wednesday of the month evening prayer service which is sung. She provides services in Libby at our sister church - St. Luke's, on the first and third Sundays at 5:00 p.m., and is available for extra services (weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc.) if we just let her know. We have been very blessed with her service.

Morning prayer is provided at Holy Trinity at 9:00 a.m. on all other Sundays of the month. We take turns with leading, providing reflections (in place of sermons), and trade off with who does what (music, hospitality, readings).

Holy Trinity also sponsors the local Prayer Shawl Ministry, providing prayer shawls, lap blankets, baby blankets, scarves, hats and mittens where needed in the communities of Troy, Libby and Eureka. All religions (or any who just love to knit or crochet) are welcome to contribute as the National Prayer Shawl Ministry is non-denominational. This group meets at 2:00 p.m. every Sunday for two hours. We are also *always* looking for donations of yarn, so if you've got extra yarn that's not being used, if you were left yarn by the passing of a loved one and don't know what to do with it, please consider donating it to the cause. There's a link to the National Prayer Shawl Ministry on the side, if you'd like more information.

While Holy Trinity may be relatively small, we have been sponsoring a monthly Alternative Healing Seminar group - its members believe that we all have knowledge to share that shouldn't cost an arm and a leg, so the seminars can be in the form of lectures, videos, discussion groups, etc. The next one coming up is actually this Saturday, September 11 at 1:00, with a guest lecturer who will be giving an Introduction to Pranic Healing, so we offer our thanks to Lisa Mountain for her time and energy.

From this group came the concept of a Reiki (or other laying on hands techniques) Share - where practitioners from various forms of energy healing provide a 15 minute session to those who would appreciate the energy, prayers and relief that this work can provide. Each Tuesday evening at 6:10, the energy group is at the church, and any member of the community is more than welcome. Because we don't charge anything for this service, we do welcome donations to the church to help out with replacing the electricity, paper products, etc. that we use while we're there.

That's where we are right now. We're planning some renovations (painting and some repairs) soon, so any able bodies are of course, quite welcome. :)

Have a great week!

Trinity Concepts

Today being Trinity Sunday, we, of course, focus on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Rev. James Liggett gave an some interesting concepts in a sermon from June 11, 2006.

He talks about God existing before anything was created, and in speaking His name, the Son was created as an expression of the Father through the Father's Word. The action of speaking is descriptive of the Holy Spirit. Later, he describes it as the Lover (or person who loves), creating the Beloved (the object of affection) through the Love He is expressing.

Extrapolating that, Rev. Liggett goes on to explain that we are created in God's image, and our duty as Christians is to express the Love of God through the Holy Spirit, continuing the cycle begun before time began.

I feel a bit like I'm studying the Tao when it comes to the Trinity, because just as I start to get a grip on the concept, it becomes bigger than I've contemplated, and contemplation continues. :) The interconnectedness, however, described in this sermon is truly fascinating for some future meditation work. :)

The Wearing of the Red

I've found it rather interesting that after Easter, all of our readings are coming from the New Testament, rather than having an Old Testament reading along with a New Testament reading. And today, celebrating Pentacost, we are very strongly reminded of how God comes among us - as fire and wind.

We saw this in the burning bush with Moses, with the pillar of flame that guided the Jews through the desert, and once again we see what Christ refers to as "The Spirit of Truth" which will always be with those who follow Christ's word: "John 14:15: “If you love me, you will obey what I command. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

That last verse could be considered a reflection of the very creation of Mankind when God breathed the Spirit of Life into man, making it a part of our very nature, as natural to us as taking a breath. All we must do is be willing to listen - and at Pentacost, that breath may become the very fire of creativity that we see occurring throughout history.

So perhaps wearing red is a good reminder to us to allow the Spirit of Truth to fire us up, remind us of the creative breath of life we each have, that we may better serve God.

Substitute for Judas Iscariot

I'm a bit behind, so this is about last week's lesson - the replacement for Judas. The disciples got together and decided that 12 were needed to fulfill all of the ministry the Christ had left for them, and two names were put forward to replace Judas: Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. We know from the accounts that after drawing lots, Matthias was selected and became the 12 apostle.

Now, from here, we learn: "bar-sab-'as (Ioudas Barsabbas): Judas was, with Silas, a delegate from the church in Jerusalem to the GentileChristians of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. They were appointed to convey the letter containing the decision of "the apostles and the elders, with the whole church" regarding the attitude to be taken by GentileChristians toward the Mosaic law, and also to explain "the same things by word of mouth." They accompanied Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, and, "being themselves also prophets," i.e. preachers, they not only handed over the epistle but stayed some time in the city preaching and teaching. They seem to have gone no farther than Antioch, for "they were dismissed in peace from the brethren unto those that had sent them forth," and it was Paul and Silas who some time afterward strengthened the churches in Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:40,41).
According to Acts 15:34 the King James Version, Judas returned to Jerusalem without Silas, who remained at Antioch and afterward became Paul's companion (Acts 15:40). The oldest manuscripts, however, omit Acts 15:34, and it is therefore omitted from the Revised Version (British and American). It was probably a marginal note to explain Acts 15:40, and in time it crept into the text. Judas and Silas are called "chief men among the brethren" (15:22), probably elders, and "prophets" (15:32).
Barsabbas being a patronymic, Judas was probably the brother of Joseph Barsabbas. He cannot be identified with any other Judas, e.g. "Judas not Iscariot" (Jn 14:22). We hear no more of Judas after his return to Jerusalem (Acts 15:22 ff).
S. F. Hunter"

So, even while not chosen to be among the 12 apostles, Judas continued on to serve the church, assisting Paul. We can look on this as an example for ourselves, in that, while we may not be chosen to lead, we are still followers of Christ, able to contribute, each in our own way, to spread the word. I thought Barsabbas to be the most interesting person of the lesson.

The answer is The Cross

The Bishop came to visit our little church for his annual visit, and to talk with us about our search for a new parish priest. He gave us a bit of direction and we'll work on finding some answers.

In the meantime, he gave a very interesting sermon, starting with the time of the Second Great Awakening in the 1830s, and how that had a very significant impact on how religion in the United States in particular was shaped. It was at that time that the experiential, emotional aspects of connecting to God were espoused and lauded, without so much emphasis being put on the actions that make us Christians. Rather than love being a feeling you can wrap around yourself, as a Christian, it should also be an action that assists people to improve themselves and go on to express their love in actions as well.

Today, we experience the rise and fall in church attendance -- not just as Episcopalians, but most all Christian churches are experiencing -- as people "shop" around for the best "show." How's the choir? Is the priest any good? Is the music modern or classical? How does the congregation dress? What, pray tell, does any of that have to do with being a good Christian?

So, the Bishop pointed out some of the questions that many non-Christians, or seeking Christians have:

How much does God care about our day to day lives?
Does He care about our deeds, that we sin or do good, that we fear hell and strive for heaven?
Is God truly a loving God?
Does He understand the sacrifices we make in our efforts to be good Christians?

The answer is the Cross.

In this time of focusing on the resurrection and rebirth of Christ, we also need to know, without doubt that God is there, caring for us, daily, because He truly understands what we're striving for. He's there to help, to listen, to inspire, and to hold us accountable for the choices we make. So let one of your questions, as you shop around for a good "show", be something along the lines of, what can *I* do to show God I understand all this?

Happenings at the Little Church in Troy

This week, we thought we'd simply update everyone on the various programs that our little church is participating in, planning or in the process of. :)

First, one of our most successful outreach programs is the prayer shawl ministry, affectionately known as The Knit Wits. :) We typically have anywhere from 5 to 7 people knitting and crocheting for prayer shawls, and the other program we've already begun, now named Caring Covers, which provides blankets for kids in foster care (giving them something of their own to have, cuddle into and take care of). When we were initially approached about the Linus Program, we loved the concept, but truly don't have the money required to participate in a program that we feel, shouldn't cost money. :) So, the blankets will still get used, but everybody's work is volunteer and there's no overhead. Additionally, there's a program with the military for donating hats and scarves for military members serving in rather colder places - we're checking into that program. :)

Another of our members is very active and aware in the senior community, and is arranging for someone who volunteers to provide foot care on a monthly basis for the seniors. Troy's senior center didn't have an interest in the program, so we figure that our meeting hall will provide enough room to operate the program out of Holy Trinity. The foot care is done on a donation only basis, and the local transportation can be arranged ahead of time. We think this will be a wonderful addition to our community.

In the works are two seminars or workshops - one on financial planning most likely using Dave Ramsey's program, and one on alternative healing. Once we have more information on them, we'll post it here.

That's it for now, but I think great things come from our church. Come check it out. :)