NOTE From the Senior Warden

The Vestry and Bishop Townsend met January 25th for a retreat that focused on our vision and finances. We heard from those in our parish who previously have led Trinity’s finances and endowment committees, as well as those who are serving now. The Vestry is crafting a 2020 budget that reflects our values and hopes, and cares for Trinity’s future.

The Vestry is united in our commitment to support children, youth, and families in our parish. You will be hearing soon from Melinda Gable and Chandler Van Voorhis about initial efforts and long term plans for children and youth activities. I encourage all of you to attend their meeting, we want to hear from you so we can build programs that meet the needs of our parishioners and community. We are excited about what lies ahead for Trinity and we are grateful for your support.

Food Closet Requests

For the month of January, we invite all parishioners to make donations to our Food Closet. The picture below shows the common items most needed. These include canned meats (chicken, tuna, spam), canned fruits and vegetables, rice and pasta dishes, instant potatoes, soups, small condiment containers, small cereal boxes, peanut butter, jellies, evaporated milk, fruit drinks, spaghetti sauces, hashes and stews, and macaroni and cheese.

Currently we DO NOT NEED any boxes of dried pasta (spaghetti, noodles) or canned pinto or black beans. All other items are in high demand.

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Persons visiting our Food Closet, are only able to take two plastic bags of food, and only one of each item. Please donate items in regular sized cans. 

Plan on making a visit to your local supermarket or dollar store. With your help we can give the less fortunate a good start in the new year. 

Please do not donate expired food. 

Stewardship Updates

Trinity is a special place. A place that is defined not just by its beautiful buildings and sweeping music, but where moments of profound joy wash across a newborn’s face, where moral guidance forms, where we celebrate fellow members, and where we console one another during times of loss.

Trinity is a place where people and hearts bind together. A place where the currency of love compounds and uplifts us. Such a place is made possible by the generosity of its members.

The generosity of Trinity’s members is often expressed through pledging. Pledge income represents the vast majority of Trinity’s operating budget. It is the act of pledging that helps us plan for how we allocate re- sources to the various ministries.

As we look to 2020, our goal is $625,000. We are blessed to have received 117 pledges totaling $531,305.00. We are 85% of the way there.

We have had 15 first-time pledges this year, and many have renewed at increased levels, and we are grateful for each and every gift, no matter the size. Additional pledges will help us renew our commitment to our children and youth.

We hope you will consider pledging whatever amount is comfortable. If you have any questions about pledging, please feel free to reach out to me or any of the Stewardship Committee members.

Faithfully,

Chandler Van Voorhis
Bob Appenzeller
Alix Coolidge
Joan Eliot
Hurst Groves
Schuyler Knapp

S.O.M.E. Updates for December

There is no mightier way to sum up our service at SOME in 2019 then to share the handwritten card we received at our November feed from perennial visitor and gifted pianist, Jenny Yang.

Jenny has been one of our friends at SOME for several years. She always welcomes us in hugs, with recognition and appreciation. If there was any one guest who has shown us love, it is Jenny. These are the relationships that drive us to return to O street in Washington, D.C. time after time to serve. Jenny writes:

Dear Sisters and brothers in Christ at Trinity Church:

Another Christmas is on horizon. I want to thank God for all the love, grace and kindness through your congregation. Seeing you here at S.O.M.E. each time makes me feel the love of our Lord Jesus through your generosity, sincere and warm smile, and greeting. There is such a divine beauty in the family of Christian faith. May God continue to bless you all and the families and His Almighty hand be upon your members.

Love in Christ,
Jenny Young

As we close our 32nd year of this ministry, we pause at a crossroads. Despite the love we feel from patrons like Jenny, we occasionally struggle with detractors who may misunderstand our mission.

With rising food prices, we were economically challenged to keep to our budget. (But we managed with a little over $17.00 to spare). With subliminal criticism of our efforts and an expressed igno-rance that Trinity church should stick to the Fauquier environs to meet the needs of the poor and hungry, we ended the year a bit bruised. (But we looked directly in the eyes of the 300 people we fed, many of whom lack a roof over their heads or a guarantee of their next meal and endured to move forward). With inconsistent support for our pleas for brownies and baked goods, we explored alternatives with mixed results. (We found delicious brownie and cornbread products at wholesale cost). With no available freezer space in the Cox Hall kitchen, we shuttled heavy boxes of goods amongst home kitchens. (But we relegated an old freezer to the other side of our church campus and created storage).

The bottom line is we carried on. And we grew stronger, largely thanks to a steady group of regulars who make this program work and a willing consortium of parishioners who answer the call when Ann MacLeod sounds the rallying cry for support. And then there are those who just step up every single time without an ask. Service to SOME is natural for them. It is all about the fellowship we create in giving.

For their November service, we would like to recognize the following in no particular order:

Ken Knapp, navigation and expert fish preparation, Len Shapiro, navigation and green bean purveyor, Bob Appenzeller, jack of all trades, Carol Miller, beacon of light, Maggie New, dessert specialist, Jim Gemmer, perhaps the ablest, most purposeful pan scrubber on the planet, Josefina Hooker, our energizer bunny, and Ann MacLeod, without whom this program would not have continued all these years. Robin Keys filled in where necessary and was afforded the opportunity to roam the dining hall and talk with the guests, one of the most rewarding experiences in our DC journey.

In the Cox Hall kitchen, we had one of the most extraordinary crews ever assembled. Among our cooks were: Ann MacLeod; Kelly Johnson; Ellen Hall; Carol Miller; Stephanie Knapp; John O’Donnell; Jolly DeGive; Sandra Markus; Barbara Augenblick; Gloria Armfield; Robin Keys and Pat Reilly.

Ellen Hall deserves special recognition. We landed at SOME with two large sealed boxes that Ellen had prepared. Inside were cartons and cartons of cookies and snacks as well as individually sealed bags of assorted candy. The guests were over the moon to walk out with a little treat for later. Ellen has stepped up to the plate and filled a need – the cold, lonely hours between lunch and breakfast when hunger strikes for the food insecure.

Another cog in the giant wheel that is the SOME Outreach mission is the inspirational Tommy Breeden. While on well-deserved vacation, Tommy came in early Friday and loaded our van. He had made a point of dropping in as the cooking process was winding down the day before just to chat and personally assure that he would be back the next morning.

Our ally Betsy Crenshaw has somehow managed in the midst of food inflation, to steady our milk prices with our DC wholesaler at the same amount for years. Betsy does not have to be reminded to order the milk. It is a task that she performs month after month without hesitation. Betsy is our angel on earth for this program.

Coretta Scott King said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”

God bless all of you that witness our efforts. We feel we are making an impact and welcome your suggestions for improvement as we consider future endeavors. We are a transparent function of Trinity Church and invite you to examine our utility and personally join us in the kitchen or to the District. Having served over 2000 people in 2019 at a cost of just under $3.00 a person, we stand by our achievement.

Thank you for your support.

Christmas Services

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES 
4:00pm Family Service 
Celebration of the Holy Eucharist 
Featuring the Children’s Christmas Pageant 

8:00pm Festival Service 
Celebration of the Holy Eucharist 
With the full Trinity choir, soloists and strings 

11:00pm Candlelight Service 
Celebration of the Holy Eucharist 
A more quiet and contemplative liturgy, a cappella music 

CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE 
10:30am Celebration of the Holy Eucharist 

Children's Christmas Pageant

The Christmas Pageant will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 24th during the 4:00pm service. We would love every child to participate. Please join us on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 9:30am, for practice and to get your costumes.

On Tuesday, Dec. 24th we will meet in the Parish Hall at 3:30pm, in costume. We will all go over to the church together and after the pageant the children will sit with their parents for the remainder of the service. After the service they can return their costumes to the parish hall. Looking forward to seeing all the youth of the parish at the practice on Saturday, December 21 at 9:30am . Any questions, call the church office 540 592-3343.

Holiday Concert with Two Pianos

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Paul Chandley and Sophia Pavlenko Chandley in Concert
An Evening with Two Pianos

December 18
7pm
FREE ADMISSION

Paul Chandley and Sophia Pavlenko Chandley have been a pro duo for 18 years. Characterized as “Two Pianos, Four Hands, Two Hearts,” they arrange all of their own music. Performances number a minimum of 24 concerts a year. The sounds that float from their two pianos have been called “virtuosic, beautiful, and very approachable.

Learn more about them at https://paulandsophiachandley.com/

Adult Forum: Images of Advent

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Please join us for Adult Forum
Sunday, December 15 at 9:15 am

Advent is a season rich in images. Come to this special forum led by parishioner Jerry Eisley to learn about some of the images that have been important to the observance of this season. Jerry will focus on pilgrimage in preparing for the birth of Christ and what it means to us today and the pre-modern understanding of incarnation and the sacred.

Food Closet Donations Needed

For the month of December, we invite all parishioners to make donations to our Food Closet. The picture here shows the common items most needed. These include canned meats (chicken, tuna, spam), canned fruits and vegetables, rice and pasta dishes, instant potatoes, soups, small condiment containers, small cereal boxes, peanut butter, jellies, evaporated milk, fruit drinks, spaghetti sauces, hashes and stews, and macaroni and cheese.

Food Pantry Donations.png

Currently we DO NOT NEED any boxes of dried pasta (spaghetti, noodles) or canned pinto or black beans. All other items are in high demand.

Persons visiting our Food Closet, are only able to take two plastic bags of food, and only one of each item. Please donate items in regular sized cans.

Plan on making a visit to your local supermarket or dollar store. With your help we can make the holidays easier for the less fortunate.

Please do not donate expired food.

Christmas Auction 2019

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Friday December 6
Preview Party 5-7pm
Silent Auction Opens

Sunday December 8
Silent Auction opens 9am-12:15pm
Live Auction begins at 12:30pm

Check out these not-to-miss items up for bidding at our auction!

LIVE AUCTION
Feast with a Mystery Past
A Day on the Chesapeake Bay
Bird Walk for 8 with Audubon Experts
1853 Club VIP Package at the Upperville Horse Show
House for One Week, Sawyer’s Island, Boothbay, ME
James Audubon “Trumpeter Swan” Print
Sun Valley Condo for One Week
Cottage for One Week, Doolin, Ireland

SILENT AUCTION
Gift Certificates for Favorite Restaurants
Stay in Prouts Neck, ME
Airplane Rides
Tennis Lessons
Crowell Hadden Photo Shoot
Wine tastings, art, antiques, & more!

Thanksgiving Services

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Community Thanksgiving Service

Please join us
Wednesday November 27
7:30pm

Upperville Baptist Church
9070 John S. Mosby Highway
Upperville, VA

Enjoy a great evening with your neighbors!

Trinity Bell-Ringers, Mt. Pisgah Choir, & More Local Talent! Everyone is Welcome!

The Offering Benefits:
The Churches of Upperville Outreach Program, providing food during this holiday season and throughout the year to those families who need help in our community!

Worship Training

The Worship Committee has scheduled a series of group meetings for worship volunteers. The purpose of the meetings is to review the practices and preferred ways the volunteers are to carry out their duties, to answer questions and/or concerns anyone might have about his/her service, and to bring new members of the groups up-to-date. Each meeting will be conducted by the leader of the group.

While the meetings are especially important for new volunteers, we also strongly encourage experienced volunteers to attend as some new practices have been recently introduced and need to be reviewed.

All meetings will take place in the church nave immediately following the 10:30 service. The schedule is as follows:

November 3 – Lectors with Joe Fluet
November 10 – LEMs with Ken Knapp
November 17 – Altar Guild with Becky Hoecker
November 24 – Ambassadors with Jessica Diday & Flower Guild/TBD

Thank you so very much for your devoted service to Trinity Church and the Worship Committee.

S.O.M.E. Updates for November

For our final 2019 SOME on November 14 and 15, it is our goal to continue to serve our regular meal of baked crusted haddock with tartar sauce, rice casserole, fresh coleslaw, cornbread, green beans, chocolate cake with whipped cream and milk. We may add applesauce, depending on the cost.

Our food provider, Schenck in Winchester, VA continues to offer us the best wholesale prices on our goods as costs have risen considerably over the last several months.

We found our parishioners were no longer contributing enough brownies and cookies to sufficiently feed our guests and made the switch to sheet cakes earlier this year. Though a messy proposition, it is well received by SOME diners, as well as the staff. We were known as the only food provider serving fish and now we hold the distinction of being the only one that serves chocolate cake with whipped cream.

For a long time, Gina Hammond was singlehandedly supplying us with our sweets and Gar Royer was baking fresh bread. But we gave them a well-deserved break and are trying to stay consistent by plating identical portions so there is no haggling in the serving line. Gina came up with the idea of purchasing dessert cups to hold the cake and whipped cream so it can be assembled in advance and dropped onto the plate for easier consumption.

Currently, Ellen Hall has stepped up graciously and sends in loads of take-out snacks that are distributed for parting guests. We have tried fresh fruit in the past and found the quality inconsistent and the cost very expensive. SOME does not serve dinner and discourages guests from wrapping up their lunch and taking it out so we like to have something portable for them to grab on their way out the door should hunger arise later.

That said, if you have an orchard and want to send in a bushel of apples, we will take them to SOME. Just let us know in advance so we can prepare room in the van. If you would like to buy an item in bulk, or put together some sandwiches or make a special, non-perishable dish, we more than welcome and encourage your contribution. However we ask that you pre-package in snack size plastic bags for take out purposes or leave in the Cox Hall kitchen in advance so we may do the same.

We thank you for your generous support of this ministry and hope to carry forward for our 33rd year in 2020.

Outreach Committee Coffee Hour

Outreach Committee Coffee Hour November 17th

Please join the Outreach Committee during Coffee Hour on Sunday, November 17, where 2019 grant recipients will be setting up information tables and will be available to speak to the congregation about their missions. These charities are receiving funds raised during the Hunt Country Stable Tour - come see the Stable Tour’s huge impact! From Haiti to Fluvanna to Upperville these charities are making a difference to people’s lives and we are honored to be able to help.

The theme of mission will continue at the coffee hour after the 10:30 service with representatives of the organizations given donations from the Stable Tour proceeds.

In late September, the Outreach Committee met to review funding applications from various charities, both local and abroad. The funds are provided from Hunt Country Stable Tour income, held Memorial Day weekend annually. Trinity Episcopal Church is very active in working with people in need, not just for people in need. Trinity is thankful to the Lord that we can be of assistance in both ways, in providing funding we have available and in working beside people to better their circumstances. The Committee asks the full Trinity Congregation to continue volunteering, donating, and helping in whatever ways they individually feel called to help the world, far away and even in our own towns. If you are unsure how you would like to help or if you would simply like to know what the Committee has found to be good, meaningful help for God’s people, please find more information below.

2019 Grant Recipients:

By His Wounds $2,000
The “Welcome Home Initiative” provides military veterans with ministry and resources for spiritual and emotional healing at no cost. Retreats are available to veterans and their families for a weekend at no cost, providing healing, a path forward after trauma, and finding stability in life for the future. Located in Virginia, and across the US and UK. https://www.byhiswoundsministry.org/about/

A Little Heart $2,000
Providing funding available to Fauquier County school principals for students who need financial assistance with field trip fees, eyeglasses, lice kits, books, music uniforms, extracurricular club memberships, etc. When families experience very sudden financial turns, they often miss financial aid filings or requirements and small things such as joining Honors Society are deferred due to costs. This discretionary fund fills the gap in Fauquier schools. https//www.alittleheartcharity.org/

FISH $2,500
“For Immediate and Sympathetic Help,” or FISH, assists with utility bills to prevent cut-off services, prescription medication costs, rent, and medical visits when our neighbors are found suddenly in a real bind. FISH pays directly to providers, not individuals. This is truly a neighbor organization. http:s//www.fauquierfish.org/

Helping Haitian Angels $5,000
This international organization has a sponsor located in Haymarket, VA and it has been a special charity of Trinity’s Congregation for years. Providing funding for Kay Anj School (125 students, most impoverished, some abused) and their building needs, now Helping Haitian Angels is looking to offer adult education for parents. https://www.helpinghaitianangels.org/

Kairos Prison Ministry of Virginia $1,500
A weekend of forgiveness, ministry, and healing is offered to one of the most challenged groups, imprisoned women in Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. The weekend, which is fully run by volunteers, is carefully managed with family talks, music, and meditation prayer. http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/

Operation Smile $2,000
Providing a common surgery to correct cleft palates among those who cannot afford such care world-wide. Often the birth defect is substantial enough to prohibit normal eating, hygiene, and social life, but can be corrected with surgery which is provided free thanks to Operation Smile. https//www.Operationsmile.org

Mobile Hope $7,000
Providing food, hygiene supplies, and help to those in need in our local community with their MobileHope Van meal service. Also, a strong focus on protecting, helping, and teaching self-sufficiency to homeless youth in Loudoun - of which one in ten teens and young adults face for some part of the year.
https://www.mobilehopeloudoun.org/

PolkaDot Library $1,000
Located in a remote village of Kenya, the library is a learning center for grades 1-8. Books, classroom, eco-garden, and indoor toilets are made available to over 350 children daily. Trinity parishioner Debra Principi is a Board member. Volunteer teachers from the US will hopefully be replaced by a salaried person, for which they seek funding. http://www.thepolkadotlibrary.org/

Churches of Upperville $2,000
This consortium of village churches provides meal baskets, holiday-themed goody baskets, and a food pantry for those in our own community in need, particularly shut-ins and families.

Piedmont Child Care Center $10,000
Originally a preschool in Trinity’s basement, now housed across the street, Piedmont provides affordable child-care from six weeks to kindergarten and some summer camp care. Meals are provided, as well as excellent curriculum and a lot of free play in the garden or on the trails behind the school.
http://www.piedmontchildcare.org/

Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Foundation $2,500
A favorite charity of multiple Trinity parishioners, located in Fauquier and Loudoun, Cherry Blossom provides grants for cancer research and the NOVANT Mammo Van visit to Trinity for under-served women to achieve mammogram screening. Also provides support to cancer patients’ families and survivor care. https://cherryblossombreastcancerfoundation.org/

The Joy of Mission - Mission Sunday

The Joy of Mission – Mission Sunday, Nov. 17

On Sunday, November 17, we welcome the Reverend Dr. Titus Presler to help us celebrate Mission Sunday, a day to consider the Joy of Mission: Building Companionship over Boundaries of Difference. Picking up on that Sunday’s apocalyptic gospel, he will preach at both services on the theme, ‘Dreadful Portents: Mission amid the World’s Turmoil.’ He will also lead the morning’s Adult Forum at 9:15.

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Titus Presler is an Episcopal missiologist with experience in India and Zimbabwe. Most recently he was principal of Edwardes College in Peshawar, Pakistan. He is president of the Global Episcopal Mission Network (www.gemn.org) an association of mission activist dioceses, congregations, agencies, seminaries and individuals.

Educated at Harvard College(A.B), General Seminary (M.Div.), and Boston University (Th.D.), he was the academic dean of General Seminary and president of the Seminary of the Southwest. He has also taught at Episcopal Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, Gaul Theological College in Harare, and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He specializes in mission theology and gospel-culture interactions. Former rector of St. Peter’s Church in Cambridge, Mass., he was a researcher for the Global Anglicanism Project and a consultant for the Anglican Indaba Project. Earlier he worked with our Interim Rector Ed Miller at All Saints’ Church in Belmont, Mass.

An honorary canon in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, Presler is a visiting researcher at Boston University School of Theology. He is vicar of St. Matthew’s Church in Enosburg, Vermont, and coordinates Green Mountain Witness, the evangelism initiative of the Diocese of Vermont. Among many publications, he is author of Horizons of Mission in the New Church’s Teaching Series, and Going Global with God: Reconciling Mission in a World of Difference. He blogs at TitusOnMission.wordpress.com and can be reached at: tituspresler@post.harvard.edu.