Dear Trinity,
It is hard to believe that I will be celebrating four years with Trinity this fall. When I started, we were in the midst of COVID, you had just hired me as a part-time Pastor in order to balance the budget and the world felt very uncertain. But even amid doubt, the words of Isaiah provided comfort and strength.
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
You may recall that in 2021, we conducted a series of workshops around “Who is Trinity?” We explored worship, the bible, and other aspects of our congregation. This created a foundation for us to build on. From this, we created our mission statement:
To reflect the radical love of Christ.
We continue to explore what this means to us and how we can be that reflection of love. We try new things. Some of the new things make us uncomfortable. But we confront them together, knowing that change and growth go hand in hand. And we look for God in everything that we do.
You will hear me and Council members talk about “investing in Trinity.” This is not something brand new; in fact, we have been doing this for as long as I have been your Pastor. The difference is that we are going to talk about how we invest in Trinity, find ways to formalize this process, and invite one another to share how we invest in Trinity. Investing in Trinity isn’t just about money. There are so many ways we do this… worship, prayer, volunteering, leadership.
This summer we will be investing in Trinity by exploring the richness of our tradition in worship. New and creative liturgies will be practiced, and more stories of The Radical Reflection of Christ’s
Love will be shared.
Also, this year, as part of this continued growth, we will explore spiritual growth and stewardship. I and a member of Council will be conducting home visits to all members of Trinity. We will talk about stewardship both in terms of time and talent but also in terms of money and budget. This is one of those possibly uncomfortable topics that we will explore together.
It has been a blessing to see this congregation grow, change, and embrace where God is calling us to go. I look forward to this next stage in our desire to reflect the radical love of Christ.
Pastor Justin
