So Others Might Eat (SOME) news
We will cook on Thursday, September 19th starting at 7:30 AM. We will go to DC to serve on Friday, September 20th. The van will leave the church parking lot at 8:30AM.
Please contact Ann MacLeod at 592-3313 or Robin Keys at 571-271-7721 for more information.
September 8 at Noon
Mark your calendar for our 2019 Fall Start-up Activities Fair!
Join us for worship as we celebrate the start of the new program year. All of our ministries will be on display. Our choirs and children’s programs will be starting up again in the days to follow.
All the Volunteer Possibilities will be represented and you can pick and choose how you would like to be involved. The chairs of each committee will be available to answer all your questions. So (weather permitting) stroll the courtyard, join the conversation, and see what volunteer opportunities Trinity has to offer throughout the year and see what’s going on at Trinity.
See you there!
Boulder Crest Ride—Motorcycle Riders
Aug 24th
1:00am - 1:00pm
This event benefits the Boulder Crest Retreat for Military & Vets in Bluemont. All Trinity vets are welcome.
We have over 350 riders registered so we need lots of cookies. Please bring them to Cox Hall clearly marked “Boulder Crest”. If you have any questions please contact Dorothy Gow 540-592-9559
Dear Trinity Family,
I wanted to take this time to thank you for all of your support over the last 20 years. As a college student I had no idea that I would be in this position for this long of a time. I have been here through Robert Davenport, Martin Townsend/Jeff Patnaude, and Rob Banse. During those years you all have opened your hearts, homes and lives to me. I keep telling myself that I'm not getting older however after being involved with the graduations and marriages of many of your children over the years, I can no longer deny that I am in fact getting older. I also am beginning to realize that I'm not the same twenty-year old I once was. I would really like to see what else I can do with Labrador Entertainment before that window closes.
This year has been extremely difficult for me to keep the Thursday night choir rehearsal commitment as I had my opera debut with Maryland Lyric Opera and various other professional commitments throughout the year that I have had to keep. Although Christian has tried to work with me with those conflicts, we both have come to agree that because my professional career is blossoming, it was time to take a step back and get someone who can fully commit to the choir. We both feel that for the integrity of the choir and the integrity of the position, it needs to be filled by someone who can be present the majority of the time.
I have enjoyed my time immensely at Trinity Episcopal Church and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I am the musician I am today because of Christian's guidance, your support and all of the opportunities that the church has given me and for that I am forever grateful! We have tackled many hurdles during my time at Trinity and it has been a valued learning experience throughout the years.
Please know that this is not the end, nor is it good-bye. Kyle and I do still plan to attend church at Trinity as our schedules allow. We do not plan on looking for another church. We are thankful to be part of a congregation that clearly cares about our concerns and well-being.
It has been an honor and a great pleasure to serve this congregation for the last twenty years and I sincerely appreciate the recognition during the church service on Sunday, June 16th. It was truly humbling and also a reaffirmation that Trinity was where I was supposed to be. Thank you again one and all. Kyle and I look forward to seeing you all in the future. Please continue to look out for one another. It is one of Trinity's strongest traits. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything!
Your Faithful Servant,
Jason J. Labrador
NEXT S.O.M.E. SCHEDULE
We will cook on Thursday, July 18 starting at 7:30 AM. We will go to DC to serve on Friday, July 19. The van will leave the church parking lot at 8:30AM. This is our only summer visit and youth age 16 and over are encouraged to participate. Please contact Ann MacLeod at 592-3313 for more information.
We are thrilled to share this wonderful collection of photos from the 60th Anniversary Stable Tour! Thanks to our many volunteers, and a special thanks to our very own Kat Gemmer, the Chair of this years 60th Stable Tour. Over $53,000 raised for Outreach projects! Photos courtesy of Stephanie & Schuyler Knapp, Melissa Neal, and The Rev. Ed Miller.
This year’s 60th anniversary Hunt Country Stable Tour is a vivid demonstration of Stewardship. In fact, it could be called the “Hunt Country Stewardship Tour”, since it opens to the public privately-owned Hunt Country farms and other properties lovingly maintained by owners committed to protecting and enhancing the beauty of their land, buildings and animals. Of course, these owners have been blessed with resources that enable them to accomplish this stewardship. But, through the Stable Tour, they share their blessings with others in the community. The end result will be more resources for the beneficiaries of Trinity’s outreach programs.
The effort required for this stewardship is considerable. Just counting parishioners involved in greeting and directing visitors at the 12 properties on this year’s Tour, more than 60 people will have dedicated all or part of their weekend to assist this effort. And there are many others working “behind the scenes”, who will have contributed many hours prior to and during the Tour, to prepare for and carry out the event.
We sometimes forget that “stewardship” involves more than just money. While the Stable Tour requires financial support to organize and operate, that support comes from parishioners and others who specifically designate their contributions as being for the Stable Tour. Ticket and merchandise sales provide additional support. The event is, therefore, self-sustaining; it does not utilize contributions made to fulfill pledges or to support the church itself.
We are grateful for this support. Thank you to the parishioners, property-owners and managers, and others, who have contributed to making this year’s Tour a great stewardship success.
Mark your calendars - summer picnics at the Outdoor Sanctuary are coming soon.
Wednesday, June 12 - Outdoor Sanctuary Committee
Wednesday, August 7 - The Vestry
Wednesday, September 11 - Parish Life Committee
The hosts will provide the burgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and drinks. Guests are asked to please contribute something to share. Suggestions include salad, dessert, side dishes.
Invite your friends and neighbors - this is a community event! Picnics will begin at 6 PM at the Council Ring, with fellowship for about an hour, followed by a service of Evening Prayer or Compline at the Outdoor Chapel.
With Spring just around the corner, we want to acknowledge new growth and rebirth in several aspects of our life at Trinity Church in Upperville. Thanks to several parishioners who have taken the laboring oar, our Sunday school program for the Lenten season is up and running. The parents and teachers who have participated in this revitalization, with the eager support of our Interim Rector Ed Miller, are a cause for rejoicing. Our Christian education program for youth is being resurrected as well. We are grateful for the support of all participants in this critical part of life at Trinity, especially Melanie Hitchen, Lisa White, and Sheila Harrell.
As you are keenly aware, our 60th Annual Hunt Country Stable Tour is a mere two months away. Kat Gemmer’s team has lined up eleven farms for the Tour. It is always a fun event for our visitors but also it is the lifeblood of our growing Outreach to the community. We urge everyone to volunteer your time and treasure to ensure the Stable Tour is a magnificent success.
Under the chairmanship of Matt Blunt, the Discernment Committee formed by the Vestry to identify a permanent Rector has begun its work. We will apprise you of this work as the committee moves forward. Soon, parishioners will have an important opportunity to help the Discernment Committee develop a profile of our Christian community by responding to a thoughtful and confidential survey. We would very much like to see 100% participation.
Through the efforts of the Committee, Trinity will ‘put its best foot forward’ in attracting Rector candidates. Our website, our internal communications, our management systems, and our financial profile are among the ways we communicate the vitality of the Church. We are happy to report that the Church has made important strides recently in these respects, again with Ed’s support and direction.
The Church’s internet security is being upgraded. Staff’s aging desktops, printers, and the Rector’s laptop are being replaced or upgraded. Once the new devices arrive and are set up, we will deploy Office365 across all staff devices. Campus internet signal strength, speed, and security are being addressed. We are turning our attention to improving our database and hope to organize it in ways that better serve our missions. Over the coming year, everyone should experience better communications and outreach capabilities. With God’s help, these initiatives will be in place by the end of Spring.
As many of you know, our database and our member guide need to be unified and updated. Our Junior Warden appeals to everyone to help correct the problem. If you, a group, or a committee you are involved in has member lists with contact information, please send that information to Di, our Parish Administrator and please use “Member List” as the subject line of your email.
All the systems currently being improved will ensure that we can carry out our Christian mis-sion and our ministries effectively. Christian Education, The Stable Tour, Outreach, and innumerable other ministries depend on this infrastructure, and we depend on you, the faithful members of Trinity Church.
Blessings,
Jim Hoecker, Sr. Warden
Sandy Diday, Jr. Warden
It was traditional in many societies to clear our cupboards of foods made with butter, eggs and fat that would be given up during the Lenten season. However, may we offer an alternative suggestion, use those ingredients to make cookies. We don’t need them until April 7th but they can be made ahead of time and frozen.
Please make each cookie with prayer. These cookies help open hearts to repentance and forgiveness and an awareness of God’s vast love.
Bake any recipe you would like, but please keep in mind that if we are to take each and every cookie into the institution, we need to follow certain guidelines.
This means that specific ingredients cannot be used. When baking, please remember:
NO raisins or other dried fruit or coconut
NO toppings such as sugar, decorations or icing
NO candy such as M&Ms
NO nuts
YES to chocolate and butterscotch chips
COOL COOKIES completely before placing them in 1 quart zip lock bags
Cookies should be approximately 2 to 2 1/2 inches in size.
12 cookies per quart size ziplock bag
Please indicate the type of cookie on each bag
We need 100 dozen cookies so feel free to start baking now and put them in your freezer.
Questions? Please call Cheri Martin @ 540-837-1774
All cookies need to be here by Sunday, April 7th.
We are pleased to tell you that the following parishioners have graciously agreed to serve on the Discernment Committee that will seek a new Shepherd on our behalf: Matt Blunt (Chair), Jonathan Catherwood, Alix Coolidge, Ellen Hall, Ashley Hambrick, Margaret Moore, and Laurie Volk. The Vestry has worked prayerfully to choose these dedicated people for this faithful and fateful task. We are asking a great deal from our fellow parishioners and now we ask for your trust and prayerful support for the process they are undertaking.
Please keep in mind that, as the committee seeks to discern the Lord’s will for Trinity and its leadership, we should each open our hearts to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Although the search process is necessarily confidential, we will do our best to keep the congregation apprised of what is occurring.
Of course, everyone has a role. The discernment process will begin with challenging questions that our Members will be called upon to answer. What is the history and tradition of Trinity Episcopal Church, Upperville, VA? How is it situated demographically, geographically, and historically? Who have we been? Who are we now? And, importantly, who is God calling us to be next? All of our likes and dislikes, hopes and concerns, as well as our thoughts, feelings, and opinions are relevant.
Based on our mutual conviction that the Church exists for the glory of God, we ask for your prayers, trust, and enthusiastic support for the discernment committee’s labors.
“A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Luke 6:37-38
Blessings,
Jim Hoecker, Senior Warden
Sanford Diday, Junior Warden
Just want to continue to remind everyone that the Thrift Shop is always looking for new volunteers to help out with receiving and going through the donated items. Items in good shape can go onto the shelves/hangers and not so good items can be put out for recycling. You can go into the shop anytime you want, just ask Betsy for the code for the key to the front door.
We also have openings on the Saturday selling teams. The schedule is on a rotational basis and we have teams that come in on Saturday mornings from 9:00am to noon. It’s fun and rewarding working in the shop. You get to visit with neighbors and visitors alike, and the proceeds from the shop help our less fortunate brothers and sisters in the neighborhood.
If you don’t know where the shop is located, it’s across the side street from the Upperville Post Office, right on route 50. So give Betsy a call in the church office (540)592-3343 and give it a try.
Dear people of Trinity Church,
Greetings as Ginger and I look forward to meeting you at the beginning of 2019. I am honored to be joining you as Interim Rector. My discussions with members of the Vestry have been marked by a warm spirit of welcome and a desire to assure you that the vibrant ministry for which Trinity Church is known will be carried into the future.
During the years Rob Banse and I have overlapped in the Diocese of Virginia, I have appreciated his well-deserved reputation as a pastor, preacher, and leader. It is our good fortune to enter this season of transition secure in the foundation that you and Rob have developed and that we can rely on as we move forward. I have always preferred to build on strengths rather than dwell on weaknesses, and the abundance of strengths among you made the possibility of becoming your Interim Rector especially appealing. At the same time, the Vestry has asked me to share observations about changes that will enhance our mutual purpose to prepare for a new era with the next Rector.
Transitions sometimes seem like inconvenient interludes. The term Interim Rector refers to a temporary figure sitting in until a “permanent” Rector is called. I am uneasy with that distinction because transitions are constantly embedded in life and because the biblical story of God in human life is virtually always about transitions. The people of Israel made the transition from bondage to freedom and later several times from exile to restoration. Followers of Jesus made transitions from weakness to strength, from fear to hope, from anxiety to trust. We begin our time together on the Feast of the Epiphany when the magi discovered a journey to find the Christ child became a transition for a lifetime as “they returned home by a different way.” They travelled, as one person has put it, “from business as usual to business as never before.” With Rob Banse as Rector you have not succumbed to business as usual, and I hope this interim season will be an adventure to discover new ways God engages us in challenging times.
In the broader context of religious experience, transitions can be embraced because nothing in life is permanent except the promise of an active God to be in the midst of the lives of people in every generation. At the same time, transitions are not always easy. We sometimes share the temptation to be like the people who confronted Moses half-way to the land of milk and honey with a longing to return to the perceived security of the past in Egypt. To paraphrase Paul in writing to the Philippians, however, God has not brought us this far to leave us.
I look forward to being with you as together we find our identity as friends in Christ while trusting in the God “in whom we live and move and have our being.”
Faithfully,
The Reverend Edward O. Miller, Jr.
