TIDINGS Trinity’s Mission: Acting in God’s love, Trinity Episcopal Church welcomes everyone to enthusiastically live the Christian faith. We call our members to worship and prayer, lifelong education, spiritual growth, cheerful giving, and active ministry with our community. All members serve as witnesses to Jesus Christ.
Vol. XXVI No. 8 August 2017
FROM THE RECTOR by The Reverend Andrew R. Thayer, Rector
Inside this Issue Stewardship page 2, 3 Christian Formation page 3 Children and Family Ministries page 4 Young Adults page 5 Mission and Outreach page 5 Trinity Connections pages 6, 7
Greetings to the whole Trinity family, As I write this, we are in the process of picking up our lives in Montgomery, Alabama and transitioning to new life with you all in New Orleans. Although moving can be exasperating at times, and saying goodbye painful, I am reminded that although God calls us to places of rest and refreshment, it is often through (or even in) the valleys of discomfort and risk. The call to Abraham required him to leave his homeland; the Israelites arrive in the promised land only after passing through the crucible of 40 years in the wilderness; the disciples are called to follow Jesus but also frequently reminded that the journey is simultaneously to the cross. It is no wonder that the first thing the angels often say is “Do not fear.” These are the first words spoken to Jesus’ own mother, Mary, as she experiences the familiar threefold call narrative from the Hebrew scriptures. First, she is told “do not be afraid.” Second, she receives the invitation to participate in God’s unfolding drama. Thirdly, she is promised that God is with her as she is told to name her child ‘God is with you’ which in Hebrew is simply ‘Emmanuel.’ The crucial aspect of this narrative is the ability to face uncertainty, even crisis, in faith and not fear. Perhaps the opposite of faith isn’t doubt, but rather being crippled by fear. The great theologian, Thomas Aquinas, says that giving in to fear causes a ‘contraction of the soul,’ we invert, we turn inside, we adopt a defensive posture, turning ourselves, our energies our resources inside. He compares it to a city under siege. However, when we choose to participate in God’s plan, to face our fears in the sure and certain hope that God is with us, we are very near the kingdom of God. To be called to such an august church as Trinity is a humbling prospect. With transitions come at least some degree of uncertainty and anxiety. I feel it myself. I have been able to allay my fears by coming to know this community through your search committee and vestry in whom I sense the Spirit working and through whom I have already been blessed. Please thank them as you cross their paths for their radical hospitality, vision, and hard work. This process, and God’s hand in it, persuades me that there is a bright future ahead for Trinity Church and I am energized to be a part of it. I hope you will join us all on August 27 after the 10:30 am service so that we may celebrate this bright future together.
—The Reverend Andrew R. Thayer