march 2010 trinity topics newsletter, trinity toledo episcopal church

8/8/2019 March 2010 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church

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Trinity TopicsThe Newsletter of Trinity Episcopal Church in Toledo, Ohio

MARCH

2010

When your soul whispers of its deepest longings,

may you quiet yourself to listen.

May you follow the path of yearning to the One who

alone blends the uneven edges into a life of meaning.

May you meet and be united with God

and give thanks for the whispers that led you there.

Lent


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liturgy

&e

vents

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SonoNovo Chamber Ensemble

BALLET THEATRE OF TOLEDOFriday, March 12, 7p / Saturday, March 13, 2p

Vivaldi The Four SeasonsAnthony A Narnian Fantasy

Nigel Burgoines Ballet Theatre of Toledo performs

original choreography to Vivaldis timeless master-piece, as well as the premier of a new ballet by Trinitysown Wayne Anthony, inspired by C.S. Lewiss TheLion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.Tickets $20/$15

The Toledo Rep

THE DESIGNATED MOURNER

Saturday, March 13 8p

An Edgy Rep reading of Wallace Shawns new masterfuldrama about self, politics and the pursuit of aesthetic

subtleties in brutal times. Woven out of three mono-logues, the play takes place in present or near future inan unnamed western country undergoing political con-flict. Tickets: $12 419.243.9277

Canterbury Choir

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Good Friday, April 2 7p

A community walk with Christ on the Via Dolorosacombining scripture, music and ritual in a solemn

remembrance of this most holy of days.

Free Admission

SUNDAY, MARCH 7LENT 3 C

Exodus 3:1-15; 1 Cor 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-99:30a Childrens Formation

10a Parish Eucharist

SUNDAY, MARCH 14LENT 4CJoshua 5:9-12; 2 Cor 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

9:30a Childrens Formation10a Parish Eucharist

SUNDAY, MARCH 21LENT 5 C

Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:4b-1; John 12:1-89:30a Childrens Formation


SUNDAY, MARCH 28PALM SUNDAY

Isaiah 50;4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:1423:569:30a Childrens Formation


SUNDAY, APRIL 4 EASTERActs 10:34-43; 1 Cor 15:19-26; John 20:1-18

9:30a Childrens Formation10a Parish Eucharist

SUNDAY, APRIL 11 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER

Acts 5:27-32; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20-19-319:30a Childrens Formation



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As we began our book discussion series last monthon Marcus Borgs Reading the Bible Again for the FirstTime, we introduced ourselves and said where we hadlearned about the Bible. Some had heard Bible storiesand memorized scripture from pre-school, others

never had to. Some had had daily religion classes inCatholic school. We were about to have our Sundayschool lessons challenged.

I thought I did not have to worry about that part,as I was kicked out of Sunday school. In my own pre-lude to Marcus Borg, a teacher Ill call Mrs. Dorr oncetold us that Methuselah was the oldest person in theBible, and had lived to be over 900 years old. When Iyelled, Thats b#))$#*t! I found myself out in the hallbeing told that no third grader should know that word,let alone say it in Sunday school.

Not long after that, I was asked to be in the chil-drens choir, which met at the same time as Sundayschool.

It was the best thing that could have happened tomy religious education. We sang lots of songs withBiblical texts. This time in my life was very roughmy mom had just died, my dad and stepmother werestarting a family and I did not know what to do or beor feel. Somehow I got the message through singing allof that scripture that God created me and loved me. SoI just kept singing.

Many years and choirs later, I found my-self in the Ohio University Singers. Again, wesang lots and lots of scripture. We spent anentire year memorizing BachsJesu, meineFreude, a motet based upon the eighth chapterof Pauls letter to the Romans and the writersresponse. We were so marinated in the words,the fugues, and the resolutions that twenty-five years later, I bet I can still sing most of thefirst alto part. At that time I wasnt sure howmuch was from the Bible, but I understood

from the text that nothing could separate mefrom the love of God. Finally, I cracked openthe text itself, and learned that no language,no voice, really had the full meaning. Greek,Latin, Luthers German, English--even themost inspired linguists could not capture all of it, dueto the strengths and limitations of each language. Ifound that the structure of a fugue, the tension and

resolution between the parts, were as much apart of the meaning to me as the words them-selves.

As important as WHAT we sang was HOW

we sang. Our director, Peter Jarjisian, alwaystold us to make sure we could hear the voices oneither side of us. This lesson stuck. I still need tohear those voices beside me in order to studyscripture. If all I can hear is my own voice, myown translation and response, I may well driftinto a key that had nothing to do with thewriters intent.

So now, all of these years later, Im sittingwith a group of faithful friends as we listen toeach other talk about how we learned about the

Bible. Some of us never questioned Methuselahsage; others, like me, yelledyou know. We maylearn to question even more than that. But we allheard, and will continue to believe, that Godloves us and that nothing can separate us fromthat love. May we all listen to each other so thatwe may sing it faithfully.

LiddyLiddyLiddyLiddy

3

Singing Scripture

fromtherect

or


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cong

regation/world

March 1 ......... ...........Ruth MillerMarch 8 ......... ...........Jeff Habib........................ ...........Jordan ZechmanMarch 13 ....... ...........David HeiderMarch 15 ....... ...........Alina GarciaMarch 16 ....... ...........Karen WabekeMarch 19 ....... ...........Sally Key........................ ...........Joseph MasonMarch 20 ....... ...........Sue McClayMarch 25 ....... ...........Ann Chen........................ ...........Jamie PaulMarch 26 ....... ...........Katharine Jefferts SchoriMarch 28 ....... ...........Andrew Garcia

Birthday Blessings

Spring AheadDaylight Saving time

returns at 2:00am on Sun-

day, March 14. Move yourclocks forward one hourbefore you go to bed onMarch 13 - you dontwant to be late for church.

Pi(e) Sunday

The second Sunday of March is 3.14, whichstarts the mathematical expression known aspi. Its also the fourth Sun-day of Lent, traditionallyknown as Refreshment

Sunday.

We prefer pie to pi, sobring your crusty favoriteto share during coffee hour.Anything from apple crumb to zucchiniquiche is welcomethis is hospitality by all.

Vestry Meeting Minutes

The February 20, 2010 meeting opened with prayer.Minutes of the last meeting were approved.

Election of officers for 2010 was held. Elected wereSenior Warden, Jeff Albright; Junior Warden, Jason

Rahe; and Clerk, Peggy Heider.

Parishioners are welcome to attend all regularmeetings of the Vestry and to read meeting minutesand financial reports. Condensed minutes will be pub-lished in Topics and on the Trinity Website.

Topics discussed:Parish work day planned for February 21Food for Thought, CaterMe, My Brothers PlacePolicy for weddings at Trinity and building use for

outside eventsSecurity during Sunday servicesPossible use of PayPal for pledges and donations

The Vestry will be commissioned at the February21 worship service.

Next vestry meeting: Friday, March 26 at 5:45 P.M.

Easter Flower Memorials

Remember to makeyour donation to honor

friends and relatives thisEaster. The donations areused to offset the extracosts of flowers and musicfor Holy Week and EasterDay.

An envelope is included in this issue of Topics foryour use. The deadline for inclusion in the Easter bul-letin is Monday, March 29.

MEMBER MATTERS

Michael Gartz, son ofBud & Mary Gartz andthe organist at St. Marks Episcopal Church, willpresent a free faculty organ recital at AdrianCollege on Monday, March 15 at 8:00pm.

You stacked, youswept, you organized!Many thanks to allthose who helped

with the parish workday last month. Youaccomplished a hugeamount in recordtime, leaving plenty ofopportunity for pizzawith friends (as shownby Alexis Bueche-Halland Derick Oyler Jr.).


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Budget Update

January had no large unexpected expenses, andwe found that we were right on budget. Like manyof you, I'm anxiously looking forward to springwhen our costs for snow removal and natural gaswill fall as the temperatures rise.

In the meantime, please help us manage thesewinter costs by keeping your pledge current.

Respectfully submitted,Jane BuecheParish Accountant

The financial health of our community is a sharedresponsibility, and we welcome your questions or

comments. Contact Jane Bueche, Parish Accountant,at [email protected].

2010 Budget

Jan.YTD

Actual Variance

Revenue

Plate Offering 113 (95)

Pledge Payments 7,431 (4,759)

Combined InvestmentIncome 15,000 (3,334)

Other Operating Income 0 (83)

Total Revenues 22,544 (8,272)

Expenditures

Personnel 19,936 1,543

Buildings & Grounds 13,329 1,526

Total Expenditures 38,868 (130)

Jan.YTD

Budget

208

12,191

18,334

83

30,816

18,392

11,803

38,998

Operations 1,946 739 (1,208)

Diocesan Assessment 3,356 3,500 144

Local Outreach 385 137 (248)

Programs 2,282 532 (1,749)

Loan Interest Payment 833 695 (139)

Net Surplus/(Deficit) (8,182) (16,323) (8,141)

Community Care

We say we're a faithcommunity now we need tohelp each other out!

Needs in our community can

arise very quickly, and we wanthands and hearts prepared to re-spond. If you can cook (or even order out), call, ordrive, we could use your help.

Callers: Check in with people, find out their needsCooks: Prepare or buy a simple mealDrivers: Deliver food from source to recipient

Talk to vestry members Solveig Barnes, PeggyHeider or Karen Wabeke if you can help with thisimportant ministry.

Episcopal Celebration at KenyonThe 2010 Ohio Episcopal Celebration at Kenyon,

an intergenerational conference jointly hosted by thedioceses of Ohio and Southern Ohio, will take placeThursday, June 24 through Sunday, June 27 on thecampus of Kenyon College in Gambier (northeast ofColumbus). The theme is Power and Truth and thekeynote speaker is Walter Brueggemann, the notedHebrew Scripture scholar and author. Special pro-grams for children and youth will be available.

Watch future issues of Topics for more details.

Outreach Bulletin Board

Trinity receives numerous letters of thanks inresponse to our outreach projects. These includehandwritten notes, drawings from children andofficial letters from organizations. They are postedon the Outreach bulletin board, just outside the

nursery. New itemsare put up as theycome in and old ones

are taken down.

Please check the Out-reach bulletin board

for these heartfelt notes of thanks. We recently re-ceived notes from several of our Christmas Angelfamilies. Trinity is involved in many projects tobenefit our community and our world; this bulletinboard contains evidence of the impact of those pro-jects on the lives of others.


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Got More Bags?

If youre feeling guilty about not carrying reusableshopping bags to the grocery store with you, let Foodfor Thought help! FFT has found a way to recycleplastic grocery bags while creating something useful,and they need your bags.

Theyve started transformingplastic shopping bags into bag-mats, lightweight water-resistantsleeping mats for the unhousedpeople they meet and serve. Thesebag-mats are being trialed right now,to see if they are functional andsuitable. As an alternative, the bagsmay be used to make reusableshopping bags!

So gather up your shopping bags and bring themto Trinity. Well put a collection container in theLiving Room for your bag donations. FFT will alsohappily take the Blade and Free Press bags, to addsome bright orange, blue and yellow to their designs.But note these requests:

Make sure all bags are clean, empty and odor-free.

Make sure the bags dont have large holes inthem.

Store your bags in a clean, dry place (not withthe mop or next to the Drano).

FFT

Signs and Wonders

The Diocese of Ohio has purchased billboard adsin the Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Mansfield areas.The first ones appeared on February 1. The locationschange in each city every month.

There are four versions of the billboard, each witha different phrase. They are:

Love God. Love your neighbor. Change the

world. Welcome... regardless. If you're looking for a sign from God... here it is. God loves you. No exceptions.

Look for these billboards in Toledo or as youtravel. The two Toledo billboards for March are slatedfor Reynolds Road north of Airport Highway, andSecor Road north of Sylvania Avenue.

As we continue in the Natural Church Developmentprocess, its vital that we continually invite the Spirit tobe an integral part of our journey. Prayer is central toour effort; we will not succeed without Gods help.Prayer will open us to all that God is calling ourcommunity to do, is waiting for us to do.

In the next phase of nurturing our passionatespirituality, each small group in the Trinity community(Altar Guild, ushers, Next-to-New workers and manymore) is being asked to develop a short prayer for itself,specific to its ministry. The group and its members willthen be asked to pray its prayer every time it gathers/ministers. If a group doesnt meet together to do itsministry (like the Bread Guild), members of that groupshould pray the prayer individually every time theyminister.

For example, heres achoirs prayer:

Loving God, open ourminds to your creativeSpirit. Help us to find anduse the gifts youve givenus, and grant that what we

sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts and show inour lives. Amen.

Each small group will be contacted by a member ofthe Church Health Team to answer any questions aboutthis project. Every group is asked to provide a copy ofits prayer to Mike Lowrey, chair of the Church HealthTeam, by Mothers Day, May 9. The collected prayerswill then be shared with the community on Pentecost.

Developing Small Group Prayers


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Four infants were welcomed to the new nurseryat Emanuel Children's Home in early February. Theyare Zahid, a one-year old boy; Nayheli, an 8-month oldgirl; and 6-week old twins, Carla and Carlos. Please

pray for these four precious additions to the Emanuelfamily, and for the orphanage as it works to meet theirneeds. They are dearly wanted, well loved and wellcared for.

The nursery at Emanuel Childrens Home was builtwith financial support from Trinity. Help is stillneeded to pay for baby supplies and the cost of em-ployees to staff the nursery. If you can, consider par-ticipating in their Virtual Baby Shower by sending amonetary gift representing the cost of much-neededinfant supplies. Whether its the value of a high chair

($30), cloth diapers ($20) or a nannys salary for amonth ($350), all are very welcome gifts. Please doNOT purchase these items; the Childrens Home canavoid shipping costs and heavy import taxes by buyingthe items in Honduras, thereby stretching your dollarsdramatically.

Make your tax-deductible check payable toWestern PA District Church of the Brethren and mailit to 115 Spring Rd., Hollsopple, PA 15935. Your

designated gift will be purchased in Hondurasand delivered to the Home on your behalf.

For more information, or a list of the most needed

nursery items, contact Lucia Cooper.

These are newborn twinsCarla and Carlos, two ofthe first four infants to bewelcomed into EmanuelChildrens Home, Trinitysministry partner in SanPedro Sula, Honduras.

The offertory from David S.Nelsons ordination servicein late January collectedover $755 for EmanuelChildrens Home.

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Personal Hygiene Packs

During Lent, were collect-ing personal hygiene items formen, women and childrenstaying in local shelters. Bagscontaining a list of the neededhygiene items are available onSunday mornings from Out-reach Committee members.

Please take a bag or two, fill them with the re-quested items, and bring them to church on Sunday,March 21 to be blessed. Well get the delivered to theshelter residents who need them.

First Babies Arrive at Emanuel Childrens Home

Perhaps there is no more dangerous

place for a Christian to be than in safetyand comfort, detached from the sufferingof others.

Shane Claiborne

outre

achings

Sharing Personal Ministries

Are you involved in a volunteer ministry(not a paid position) in the Toledo metro areathats organized or sponsored by a groupother than Trinity? If so, wed like to knowabout it.

There may be people in the Trinity com-munity whod love to know more about anorganization you serve, or who may shareyour passion but be unaware of local ways toget involved.

Help us get even more engaged in the lifeof our city and pursue personal ministries,two elements of our mission statement. Takea few minutes to provide your information toSusan Lowrey, our Associate for CommunityLife. Well figure out a way to share the min-istry connections within our community, andthen watch what blossoms as a result.


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HOLY WEEK 2010A personal journey of faith

Feast of Friends/Maundy Service

Thursday, April 1 7:00pm

We gather to share a meal, andthis year we are inviting every-one to prepare the food. Yourlast name lets you know what tobring:

A to F: salad or appetizerG to M: side dish

N to T: main dish of pastaU to Z: dessert.Afterwards, we show our lovefor each other in an act of humil-ity, strip the church in prepara-tion for Good Friday, and thenfinish with Christs Agony in theGarden. Help is needed with thestripping of the church.

Choral Meditation on the Passion

Friday, April 2 12:00n

A meditative Good Fridayservice of lessons and hymnsusing prophecy from HebrewScriptures to foretell the journeyof Christs passion.

Stations of the CrossFriday, April 2 7:00pm

A participatory Good Fridayservice in which we use oursenses to walk the ViaDolorosa (Way of Grief orWay of Suffering). Readers areneeded for this service.

Easter Vigil

Saturday, April 3 7:00pm

We recount the history of oursalvation and celebrate theraising of Christ from the dead.We renew our baptismal vowsin a festive Eucharist A recep-tion follows; bring a dish offinger food to share.

Easter Liturgy

Sunday, April 4 10:00am

Our festive Easter service withorgan. Following is a celebratorycoffee hour and a special activityfor the kids. We need you andyour talents: please bring a dishof finger food to share.

THE TRIDUUM: THE THREE GREAT DAYS

THE GREAT VIGIL AT THE TOMB

Thursday, April 1 9:00pm to Saturday, April 3 7:00pm

From the ending of the Maundy service on Thursday until the beginning of the Vigil service on Saturday,we will keep a 46-hour vigil of the resurrection by reading the Bible. All this requires is a willingness toread and keep watch. Please sign up for a one-hour time slot, come to the church at your appointed time,begin reading where the last person left off and continue until the next scheduled person arrives. Thosewhove participated in past years describe this as one of the most moving things they did during HolyWeek. Its impossible to explainyou just have to experience it. Keep watch at the tomb by adding yourvoice in quiet remembrance of Christs sacrifice.

Holy Week is the time when, as a community, we walk with Jesus through his final days. As wefeast, wash feet, tell stories, keep watch and pray, we experience Gods nearness both in ourpersonal lives and in the community. You are invited to participate fully and give yourself toGod in ways that reveal the true meaning of the Pascal journey.

Palm/Passion Sunday

Sunday, March 28 10:00am

Come early in order to join the festive procession that begins this service. We need readersto take parts in the Passion Gospel. The service ends with the veneration of the Cross, achance to enter into the Passion mystery personally.

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Trinitys NCD PrayerMerciful Creator, we invite you to be with us

here and now. As we embrace Natural Church

Development, keep us mindful of our purpose

in this work to empower your people, grow

and strengthen your church, and glorify your

name. Fill us with your Spirit of Wisdom andTruth as we humbly examine ourselves and

our community. Help us to embrace new op-

portunities for growth and improvement. Re-

new our energy, guide our work, and lead us

to new life in you, through Jesus Christ our

Lord. Amen.

Spiritual Practices 101 Returns

Are you interested in learning about spiritualpractices that you can use to turn your focus towardGod on a more regular basis? Join Mary Figgins and

other community membersfor another short, 3-weekvideo & discussion series on

spiritual practices.

The practices well belearning about in this roundare Friendliness (March 7),Zeal (March 14) and Mystery(March 21). The sessions willbe offered on Sundays at11:30am in the WalbridgeRoom, and each will last 60-90 minutes. Reading the Bible with Marcus

Borg

Martin Luther helped make the Bible accessible forpeople in the sixteenth century. Marcus Borgs bookReading The Bible Again For The First Time is an attemptto do the same for people in the twenty-first.

Well continue discussingBorgs book on Wednesdaysat 6:30pm in the WalbridgeRoom through March 24. Ifyoure interested in makingsense of the Bible, dig into

Reading The Bible Again ForThe First Time and share in thesoup and conversation.

Centering Prayer

All are invited to participate in Centering Prayerevery Monday evening at 7:00pm at WashingtonChurch, 3925 W. Central Ave. (enter the buildingthrough the back door). This is an on-going, year-round group prayer practice.

Centering Prayer is a practice that helps us bringour whole being to God, beyond words, thoughts, orimages. During Lent, it is being followed by lectiodivina, another style of contemplative prayer. Duringthe rest of the year, it is followed by a brief teachingand discussion period. You can stay for both parts orjust for the Centering Prayer.

For more details, contact Washington Church at419.536.3789 or [email protected].

Website Offers Prayer Options

Trinitys website has recently been enhanced tooffer new choices for making prayer requests. Theresa new Prayers link from the home page that willtake you to our Prayer Requests page.

As always, you can call the Trinity office (419.243.1231), and your prayer request will be passed onto the Trinity Prayer Group, members of our commu-nity whose ministry is a commitment to regular

prayer for the requests of others. If you prefer, youcan email [email protected] withyour request, and it will go to the Prayer Group.

Another, somewhat morepublic way of requestingprayers is through Facebook.If you have a Facebook ac-count, you can join TrinitysFacebook group. Under theDiscussions tab is a PrayerRequests topic. Any prayersyou request there will be seenand considered by all themembers of our FB group.

A last, completely public option is to click the linkon Trinitys Prayer Requests page to go to the Gera-nium Farm, the website of Barbara Crafton. At thiswebsite you can light a prayer candle and submityour prayer request which will be read and prayedfor by thousands of people daily.


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At this moment in history, the world God loves isgroaning under the weight of injustice and slowly be-ing robbed of its capacity to sustain life. All aroundyou, the people God loves are increasingly burdened

by lifestyles they can't keep up for very much longer.You and your congregation are called to help turn thataround.

Many people yearn for simpler lives. They seethemselves as just a little strange, moving against themainstream of American consumerism, odd ducks in aworld of too much, too fast, toomany. In bringing simple life-styles to the center of your faith-filled conversations, think of Jesus's own lifestyle, the thingshe said and did. The things hedidn't do. Consider the fact thatthe human Jesus also woke up inthe morning, yawned, had a cup of fair-trade coffee,and tried to make sense out of his e-mails.

In concentrating only on Jesus-as-God, you maymiss the fact that the very human Jesus chose a life-style that fit the mission he received at his baptism.The healer and preacher also had to think about hisnext meal, his friendships, his enemies. He faced dan-ger, he laughed, he sat around and talked with folks.He walked everywhere he wanted to go. He criticized

religious authorities and the government, and he lis-tened to farmers. He went to big dinners with veryimportant people. He observed spiritual practices butdidn't spend lots of time at his local synagogue. Thepoint here is not only that Jesus was human but alsothat in his lifestyle and career choicesyes, he madethem just like you doJesus chose to live simply andjoyfully in service to others.

It would be easy to think of simplicity as a lifestyleswitch permanently fixed in the NO position. Thatway of living can be seen in the tenets of fundamental-

ism, which draws its adherents into frames of mindthat fear, abhor, or avoid many elements of life. Butlifestyles based only on "Thou shalt not" break downsoon enough and lose their sensitivity to God's abun-dance. When any part of a law-only systemlaw en-forcer, judge, jury, jailerloses its power, law-basedlifestyles can't fulfill their promise of a meaningful,purposeful life.

Part of the joyand perhaps the lureof simple

living is that you choose to manage only what lieswithin the scope of your actual capabilities, and not tolive under the pretext of unlimited assets or "purpose-greed"wanting to fulfill all God's commands for the

entire Christian church. The result of that choice: A lifethat's possible, and a life that lasts.

One way you can measure your practice of simplic-ity is by answering this question: What holds your at-tention? Jesus put the matter nicely: "Your heart willalways be where your treasure is" (Matt. 6:21). Heres a

little lesson in New TestamentGreek: thesauros (treasure) de-notes both valued things andthe box or receptacle in whichthey are placed. The location ofyour treasure influences whereyour kardia (heart) is located.Heart was the first century

way of describing the center of your will, understand-ing, motivation, purposes, intelligence, or affections.One way to translate Jesus's words might be: "The boxin which you place your treasure is also the placewhere you put your brain."

Your attention is literally held by your treasure. Jesus understood that your mind has a way of beinginfluenced heavily by your surroundings. Given theway your brain works, pleasurable stuff easily holds

your attention. Your emotions and values also comealong with your attention, as do your behaviors andeven your identity.

For the most part, you can still choose where to putyour treasure. Most folks call that choice "paying atten-tion." The way your brain works is that you give thatattention to only one thing at a time. After awhile,what you pay attention to gradually determines what

(Continued on page 11)

Simplicity Itselfby Bob Sitze

It would be easy to thinkof simplicity as a lifestyleswitch permanently fixed

in the NO position.


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you will not pay attention to. (Jesus again: "You cannotbe the slave of two masters!" [Matt. 6:24].)

So as you consider the way you live, you can judge itas joyfully simple, satisfying, and manageable by the

amount and quality of the attention you devote to vari-ous aspects of your life. (You can also measure the sim-plicity of your life by what you choose not to attend to.)

Heres an example from my daily life: My wife and Ihave come to see that dinnertime is a precious opportu-

nity to converse together earnestly and quietly aboutwhat's important in our lives and our relationship. Be-

cause we want to hold each other's attention while weeat and talk, we do not watch television news, readmagazines, answer the phone, or listen to the radio. Wemeasure our dinnertimes not by an increased knowl-edge of world news but by the bonds of friendship, de-cision making, or shared wisdom that hold our atten-tion during supper. We could describe our treasuresand our hearts as the gifts of delicious food, delightful

conversation, precious insight, and quiet laughter . Ourrelationship, not our television, holds our attention.

Considering theological and practical fundamentalsabout living simply is a first step in starting to think andtalk about simplicity. Simplicity as more than a harshattack on every aspect of life in the Western world; thisway of thinking and behaving is helpful, life sustaining,deeply spiritual, and eminently possible. It really is sim-plicity itself.

Adapted fromAlban Weekly, 02-22-10

http://www.alban.org

(Continued from page 10)

11

You can measure your practiceof simplicity by answering thisquestion: What holds yourattention?

Got a God moment?Has there been a time recently when you noticed the presence of God in your life? If youre willing to share a brief Godmoment with the Trinity community, youre invited to submit several paragraphs (no more than half a page, up to 300 words,subject to editing for clarity) to [email protected].

God Moment

Where have I seen God lately? Just this past Sunday, it was in church, but long after theliturgy had ended. We had finished cleaning the basement and enjoying all the pizza,when I spied a little toddler heading for the ramp by the curved wall. No one else no-ticed immediately, so I thought it would be best if I just followed along behind him.

I stayed far enough back so that I didnt crowd him, and he looked behind at me andseemed unconcerned with my coming along. As he headed out into the hall and tookoff toward the window I instinctively sped up and found myself standing practically ontop of him. As I looked down, I saw his little blonde head and ears popping out, andthe profile of his face.

In that moment, I saw that it was my little nephew Henry that I was escorting. Henry died in January of this year,at the age of 21. But at that moment, I was walking with my nephew at 2 years old. The image of Henry was sovivid in me, that I just let myself be with Henry in that moment, staring down at him, and remembering his sweetnature and his tentative early steps. It lasted for more than a glance. It lasted long enough for me to fully recog-nize this God moment and take a breath and say, Thank you for this.

Then in a flash the little guys mom burst frantically onto the scene and our eyes met; she sighed in relief and weboth smiled.

~Cathy Johns


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The Last Week

A Day-by-Day Account of Jesus's Final Week in Jerusalem

Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan HarperSanFrancisco

Marcus Borg (Reading the Bible Again for the First Time) and John Dominic Crossan(Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography) set out to explore the last week in Jesus' life against

the backdrop of Roman imperial control. Their purpose is not to attempt a historicalreconstruction of what has become known as the "Passion" or suffering of Jesus, but toprobe the things Jesus was passionate about. The text they use is the Gospel of Mark,the earliest to be written, the most succinct, and the one with the most time markers forthe week's events.

In their comments on Palm Sunday, Borg and Crossan discuss the dominationsystem in Jerusalem that was characterized by political oppression, economic exploita-tion, and religious legitimation. Jesus was sharply critical of the temple in the city and its collaboration with thedomination system. His message was to repent, not in the sense of contrition, but "to embark upon a way that goesbeyond the mind that you have." Jesus brought hope to peasants who desperately needed a way out of theirmisery. His preaching about the Kingdom of God emphasizes the present moment, not life after death...

The passion of Jesus for the kingdom of God was a threat to the men atop the domination systems. He alsospoke about God's passion for justice, something that doesn't seem to go down well in our times either. Borg andCrossan conclude, "Good Friday and Easter, death and resurrection together, are a central image in the NewTestament for the path to a transformed self. The path involves dying to an old way of being and being reborn intoa new way of being. Good Friday and Easter are about this path, the path of dying rising, of being born again."

Once again Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan have given progressives and other Christians insights intoJesus that expand upon the more common understandings of the meaning of his life and death. Their journeythrough the last week of his life is challenging and profoundly inspiring. To walk in this Jesus' footsteps wouldreally be something!

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussatwww.spiritualityandpractice.com

"For us Lent is a transformative journey in time from AshWednesday to Easter Sunday. For Mark, 'Lent' was a transforma-tive journey in space from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem. Duringthat journey, in Mark's story, Jesus tried to prepare his disciplesfor what would happen to him when he demonstrated against

Roman imperial power concerning its violence and against Jewishhigh-priestly authority concerning its injustice. Also, and evenmore important, Jesus attempted to prepare them for their indi-vidual and communal participation in that death and resurrec-tion, that end-as-beginning. But, as we shall see, Peter, James,and John, then the Twelve as a group, and finally Judas all failtragically but not irrevocably (except for Judas) to accept theirdestiny alongside Jesus.

We emphasize and cannot emphasize enough onepoint about this very, very prominent theme in Mark.His story of failed discipleship is his warning gift to allwho ever hear or read his narrative. We must think of Lenttoday as a penitential season because we know that, like those

first disciples, we would like to avoid the implications of this jour-ney with Jesus. We would like its Holy Week conclusion to beabout the interior rather than the exterior life, about heavenrather than earth, about the future rather than the present, andabove all else, about religion safety and securely quarantinedfrom politics. Confronting violent political power and unjust reli-

gious collaboration is dangerous in most times and most places,first century and twenty-first century alike."

An excerpt from The Last Weekby Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan


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The point of Lent is not denial.

But for a long time I thought it was. Everything Iheard about Lent revolved around acts of self-denial.It was all about what object or habit one would give

up and how hard it was to deny oneself of that thing.Of course that denial was meant to help one thinkabout God and Christs sacrifice, but in truth the focuswas always on the act of denial itself.The question always is, what are yougiving up for Lent? as if that is whatthe season is about.

On one hand its understandablethat we miss the point of Lent. In ourreligious traditions rituals and legal-ism are far easier to promote, under-

stand, and implement than spiritual-ity and faith. We can grasp rules. It isfar easier to tell kids to obey rulesthan to explain to them why theyshould desire to act rightly. They thenend up following the rules simplybecause the rules exist. When it comes to Lent we of-ten do the same, denying ourselves something for thesake of denial. We give up chocolate or Facebook,thinking the act of denial is the purpose of Lent. Andwe end up missing the point.

But Lent isnt about denial; it is about transforma-tion. It is the season in which we prepare to encounter

Christs sacrifice by endeavoring to become moreChristlike ourselves. Transformation is about lettingourselves be filled with Gods presence so that we canbe shaped by Gods grace. Our acts of kenosis de-nying ourselves in order to empty ourselves enough to

allow God to fill us are means to an end. They aredisciplines that prepare us to be transformed. We denyourselves so that we can be reborn as new creations to live more fully as the kingdom citizens God desiresus to be.

So I am very tentative in choosing what disciplinesI will follow during Lent to open myself up to Godstransforming power. Ive discovered that for me per-

sonally, legalistic denial for the sake of denialoften achieves the opposite purpose. Giving upcoffee doesnt make me a better follower ofChrist, it just makes me more irritable. Givingup Facebook doesnt help me build community

in the body of Christ; it simply helps me as adetached introverted person creep further intomy shell. Those disciplines dont assist me in

emptying myself in order to let God in; theysimply fill me with more of me.

Ive come to learn that in order to becomemore fully the person God wants me to be, Iinstead need to make sacrifices that actuallyallow me to achieve those ends. Often those sacrificesare less about personal denial, and more about follow-

ing disciplines that encourage me to love others more.In the past Ive attempted to eat more ethically or shopfairly which of course required discipline and sacri-fice on my part (and a bit of denial as well), but theoutcome of these outwardly focused changes was farmore personally transformative than if I had justeliminated something from my life for forty days.

So for me the question for Lent is not what am Igiving up? but instead what can I do to allow Godto transform me this season? The answers to thosequestions might be the same for some people; for me,

changing the question shifted how I observed Lent.Whatever the case, I think it is important to under-stand what the ultimate purpose is behind why weengage in certain disciplines unless we miss their verypoint.

Julie Clawson is the author of Everyday Justice:The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices .

From http://blog.sojo.net/

Lent isnt about denial its about transformationby Julie Clawson 02-17-2010

The question for Lent is not Whatam I giving up? but What can Ido to allow God to transform me?

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Today is the quietest day of thechurch year. On no other day do wesit together for so long with so little tosay to one another, like family mem-

bers gathered around the bed of theBeloved, who is dying. Hour afterhour, we just sit here, with sounds nolarger than a cough or a droppedbook echoing through all this air.There is the sound of feet tooshoeheels on stoneas people come topay their respects and go. Even theoccasional siren has its place. It is thesound some of us would make withour own mouths, if we ever began tolet our sorrow come outnot onlyour sorrow for him, the Beloved, butalso our sorrow for ourselves and forthe whole broken, bleeding world.Who named this Friday "Good"?

Instead of wailing, we will singsome songs, say a few prayers. We areadults, after all, and this is a publicplace. Plus, we need the ballast ofsound to keep us sitting upright in ourseats. We need spoken attempts atmeaninghowever futileto keepour anxiety at bay. But it is the silence

we are really here forthat, and thestory.

The Bible contains not one but fouraccounts of Jesus' death. They agree

on the essentials: Jesus died on a crossat a place called Golgotha, hung upbetween two other men with a signabove his head. "King of the Jews," itsaid. The charge was treason againstthe Empire. The method of executionwas Roman. People were so sure hewas not coming down that they di-vided up his clothes where he couldsee them. He was offered some sour

wine before he died and then he died,just before sundown on the day beforethe sabbath.

Those are the bones of the story,which each gospel writer fills out in adifferent way. Matthew and Mark'saccounts are almost identical, exceptfor a few differences in phrasing.Their Jesus is a broken man, who is soinjured in every way that he needshelp carrying his cross and whoseonly word from the cross is a cry ofabandonment at the end.

In Luke's gospel, Jesus has more tosay. Luke adds a word of pardon fromthe cross"Father forgive them, forthey do not know what they aredoing"as well as a conversationbetween Jesus and the two men dyingwith him that the other gospel writersdo not mention. When Jesus dies, hedoes not ask where God has gone.Instead, he uses his last few breaths tocommend his spirit to God. Luke's Jesus is as gentle and forgiving indeath as he was all his life.

In John's gospel, however, Jesus isneither broken nor particularly gentle.

He is brave,omniscient, and incharge all the way. John does not sayanything aboutSimon of Cyrenecarrying Jesus'cross for him. Jesusis strong enough to

do that for himself. Nor does John

allow anyone to mock Jesus while hedies. Even on the cross, Jesus is incharge. He arranges for his mother'scare, says he is thirsty (in order tofulfill the scriptures), and when hedies there is no question about whereGod is. God is on the cross,pronouncing that "It is finished."

While all four of these accounts

report the same event, they are noteasily harmonized. They are four al-ternative readings of that event, sodifferent from one another and yet so

faithfully told that the editors of theNew Testament decided that none ofthem could be left out. By includingall four, those early shapers of thegospel sent us a message between thelines: namely, that there is more thanone way to view what happened onthe cross, and all of them are right.

Even if they do not agree oneverythingnot even something asimportant as Jesus' last wordstheirvery disagreement preserves the mys-tery of what happened on this day.There is no one definitive word. Thereis no one answer to the awful ques-tions raised by this daychief amongwhich is why God allows the innocentto suffer. In the case of Jesus, we areasked to believe that God not onlyallowed the suffering but willed thetortured, humiliating death of theBeloved.

You have heard the same explana-

tions I have heard. Before Jesus, sinfulhumanity was so deep in debt to Godthat no human being could pay it all.So God sent Jesus to die for our sins,erasing the debt once and for all. Thisis the most traditional view of thecross, but it does not answer thequestion of suffering. What kind offather demands the death of a son inorder to pay off a debt to himself?

According to another view, it was

God who died on the cross, putting anend to divine bookkeeping throughthe voluntary sacrifice of divinepower. But if Jesus was God, thenwhom was he talking to in the gardenand from the cross? He clearlybelieved that someone else had thepower to remove the cup of sufferingfrom him, or at least to be with himwhile he drank it down--but who, in

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Good Friday: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?by Barbara Brown Taylor

It was God's will for Jesus to be fullywho he was every day of his lifeeven if the fullness of that life short-ened the length of it.


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both cases, declined to do so.

I don't pretend to understand any ofit. Sometimes I think that the sufferingof Jesus was not God's will at all. It was,instead, the will of those who werearrayed against himthose whosepatriotic values he had offended, whose

sense of God he had betrayed. It was

the will of ordinary people like you andme, who prefer dead messiahs to livingones, since living ones are so muchharder to tame.

It seems entirely possible to me thatGod's will for Jesus was a long andfruitful life, brimming over with thedivine justice and love he was born toembody. When the world opposed that justice, howeverwhen the worldreviled that loveGod's will did notgive Jesus license to stop being Jesus.God's will supported him to go ondoing justice and loving mercy even inthe face of deadly opposition. So in thatsense, I suppose, it was God's will that

Jesus suffer and diesince sufferingand death turned out to be theunavoidable consequences of beingwho he was. It was God's will for Jesusto be fully who he was every day of hislifeeven if the fullness of that lifeshortened the length of it.

But if that was the case, then wherewas God at the end? According to at

least two gospels. Jesus believedhimself forsaken by heaven as well asearth. Couldn't God have spared oneangel there at the end? Couldn't Godhave whispered one comforting wordin Jesus' ear, just to help him getthrough the last few awful, parchedhours? It happened at his baptism in

the river Jordan. It happened on theMount of the Transfiguration withPeter, James and John. "This is my son,the Beloved, with whom I am wellpleased." Where was that same voice atthe end, when the Beloved was pantinghis last few breaths? What differencemight a word have made?

But there was no word, except Jesus'own. "My God, my God, why have youforsaken me?" It was a quiet day for

him toothe quietest day of his wholelife, when he asked for bread and got astone. Whatever else it was, it was thedeath of hopethat God mightintervene, might stop the suffering,might at least say a word that wouldmake the suffering bearable. None ofthat happened. God was, for allpractical purposes, goneand yet Jesusdied seeking God. He died talking tothe Abba who would not talk back tohim, giving us the stripped down

vision of faith that remains at the heartof our tradition.

When all of our own hopes havedied, we still have this faith that seeksnothing for itselfnot wisdom, notspiritual power, not rescue fromsuffering. "Success" is not in itsvocabulary. This faith seeks nothing butGod, to whom it is willing to surrendereverythingup to and including itsown cherished beliefs about who Godis and how God should act. This faith iswilling to sell all that it owns and betthe farm on one chance for union withGod. If God plays hard to get, then thisfaith will never stop its wooing.

Purged of all illusion, weaned fromeverything that is not God, thisrelentless faith will devote itself todoing justice and loving mercy nomatter what the consequences are, and

if the consequences turn out tobe a cross, then this faith willhang there for however longis necessary, asking God to bepresent, asking God to speak,regardless of whether or notGod chooses to answer. Thiskind of faith, embodied by

Jesus, is what makes him theChristGod's own Being ofLight, God's own AnointedOnewhose self-annihilatinglove for us and for all creationis never more vivid than it ison this day.

I actually know peoplewho come to church on GoodFriday and who don't comeback on Easter. Easter is too

pretty, they say. Easter is toocleaned-up. It is where theyhope to live one day, in theland of milk and honey, butright now Good Friday is abetter match for their souls,with its ruthless truth aboutthe stench of death and thehigh price of love. It isn't thatthey don't care about whathappens on Sunday. They do.They just don't believe that God is

saving all the good news until then.

Today, on the quietest day of the year,we have come to sit in the presence of onewho was fully who God created him to beevery day of his lifewho loved God withall his heart, and with all his soul, and withall his strength, and with all his mindandwho loved his friends so much that hestepped into the oncoming traffic of death inorder to push them out of the way. Hefurthermore did it all with no more than thebasic human equipmenta beating heart,

two good hands, a holy vision, and somecompanions who could see it tootherebyshowing the rest of us humans that such alife is not beyond our reach. Whatever elsehappens on Sunday, here is enough reasonto call this Friday Good. Amen.

~from www.explorefaith.org

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Trinity Episcopal ChurchOne Trinity Plaza Toledo, Ohio 43604-1585

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servicesSUNDAYS 10:00 am, Holy Eucharist

HOLY DAYS as announced

prayersRemember those for whom our prayers have been requested: Dale Belnap,Brian & Rhonda, Alexis Bueche-Hall, Barbara Clarke, Linda & Joseph Keblesh, Laboe/Rickfamily, Herb Landis, Susan Lowrey, Gordon McIntosh, Nancy Paulas, Peg Sammons, and

Jessica Snyder; the children and staff of Emanuel Childrens Home, especially David andEstrella; the vestry and wardens; the Church Health Team; those on death row, includingLawrence Reynolds, who is scheduled to be executed by the state of Ohio on March 9;all victims of war and violence; our ministry with Cater Me; Sara & Todd Alcroft,awaiting the birth of their first child.

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vision & missionTrinity is called to be a progressive, inclusive, creative urban faith community. We will practice radical hospitality.

We will be engaged in the life of our city.

We will stand with those in need: the poor, the sick, the friendless, the marginalized.

We will actively invite all to experience and celebrate Gods living presence.

We will journey together toward a Christ-centered life, pursuing personal ministries

that connect us to God, to one another, and to the world around us.

march 2010 trinity topics newsletter, trinity toledo episcopal church

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