January, 2011N E W S F R O M T R I N I T Y E P I S C O PA L C H U R C H

TrinityTOPICS

The birth of hope sermon from Christmas Eve, 2010

by the Rev. Charles Dupree

And Mary said, “My soul mag-nifies the Lord, and my spirit

rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”

This is how the story began. Nine months ago, an angel visited Mary and told her that she would become

pregnant with God’s child. Her boyfriend/fiancé was a good sport about it. He stayed with her to the bitter end, the bitter end that we have gathered here this evening to celebrate. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we also come to remember that the whole story, the power and the significance of the story, has to do with HOW God chose to enter the

world, and it begins with the state-ment Mary made at the beginning of her pregnancy: God has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. We forget that Mary was just a regular girl. She wasn’t roy-alty; she wasn’t Martha Stewart’s personal assistant; she didn’t have her own reality show. She was just a regular person — one of the masses. And Joseph, her fiancé, considered dismissing Mary. I don’t imagine that he took too well to the idea that Mary had cheated on him, even if she had cheated on him with God. But he was open to God’s plan, and he stuck by his beloved. Two normal people walking through a pregnancy cloaked in mystery, wonder, and, I’m sure, suspicion.

So begins the greatest story ever told. Nobody knew it would blow up the way it did. Nobody knew it would turn into the frenzy that we’ve been experiencing since Thanksgiv-ing Day. Nobody knew that what was begun in great humility would develop into a holiday that leans toward indulgence. Lights, sparkles, giant trees, parades, gift receipts, gift cards. Is this what Mary had in mind when she said that God had looked on her lowliness? Where did the humility of the season go?

I imagine this is why so many of us have gathered here. We’ve come to reacquaint ourselves with the real message of this moment. The real message is that God wants to reach us. And, to reach you and me, God came into this world in the most basic, ordinary, human way—from the inside.

I can’t help but think about anoth-er story that includes a man named Joseph: Clark Joseph Kent (I bet you

James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ (La nativité de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 5 5/8 x 6 3/4 in. (14.3 x 17.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.24

December photos, pgs 4-5

PAGE 2 Trinity Topics January, 2011

111 S. Grant St.Bloomington, IN 47408

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Trinity StaffReCToR

The Rev. Charles DupreeCleRgy ASSiSTAnT

The Rev. Virginia B. HallDeACon

The Rev. Connie PepplerPARiSh ADminiSTRAToR

Janet BrinkworthBookkeePeR

Mona BakerADulT eDuCATion/new memBeRS

Ross Martinie-EilerDiReCToR oF eDuCATion

Danica D’OnofrioDiReCToR oF muSiC

Marilyn KeiserARTiST in ReSiDenCe

Jeffrey SmithChuRCh muSiC inTeRn

Elaine SonnenbergSexTonS

Mike Peppler, Jim Shackelford

Trinity VestryReCToR’S wARDen Randy Lloyd

PeoPle’S wARDen Kimberly HurleySpencer Anspach

Mary Jo BarkerMary Ellen Brown

Kelly CarnahanJim Cripe

Mary Ann Hart Chris Johns

Mary Ann KekoTodd LaDow

Earl SingletonLarry Taylor

Susan WilliamsCleRk Janet Stavropoulos

F R O M T H E R E C T O R

didn’t know that was Superman’s middle name!) Superman’s world was being destroyed, so his father put the infant into a tiny spaceship and sent him toward a sustainable planet. This tiny alien landed somewhere in Kansas and was raised by farmers who gave him the name Clark Joseph Kent. Eventually, Clark’s powers began to surface—powers that he uses to protect the weak and fight for justice. Superman is a great super-hero—but he was never one of us. He was always an outsider, unable to be wounded by the things of our world.

Jesus was one of us. Jesus didn’t enter our world in some dazzling, sound-barrier breaking space ship. God didn’t choose to send her son into our world through external forces. God came into the world from the inside. Only by being born from the inside could God come to know us so intimately. Only from the inside could God begin to be a part of us. Only from the inside could God become one of us.

Jesus, because of the extraordi-nary way that he entered our world, grew, not just inside of Mary, but inside of humanity. He was born, lit-erally, out of humanity. He assumed all that humanity has to offer. Be-cause of this birth, Jesus is intimately linked with who we are—with what scares us, with what tempts us, with what excites us, with what intimi-dates us. Because of this kind of birth from God’s lowly servant, Jesus can relate to each of us in ways heroic and non-heroic, no matter who we are or where we’ve come from.

The birth of Jesus takes place in humility. It was about Jesus entering the world on the lowest rung of the ladder. We might do better to use the image of Jesus being born to an unwed mother in our own homeless shelter. We might do better to think

of Jesus being born to a nameless person under a bridge somewhere. We might do better to think of Jesus being born in a tent in Haiti. And the real miracle of Christmas is that it is to such as these that Jesus is born. Because Jesus entered our world the way he did, Jesus continues to be born, over and over again to all places, to all flesh. Jesus continues to be born within us and among us and all around us, in the crooks and the crannies, in the brightest places and in the darkest corners. In the places of celebration, and in the places of profound healing. The mystery of the Incarnation is that Jesus is continu-ally born in the obvious and in the overlooked.

During this holy season, we awak-en ourselves to the birth of and the ongoing necessity of humility. We are here tonight because tenderness and vulnerability have been born, and God has ordained it and called it holy.

2000 years ago, a new kind of hu-mility was planted as a tiny seed into the womb of humanity. And 2000 years later, we celebrate the birth of that humility. Only, that birth isn’t a nostalgic remembrance of an event that took place in Bethlehem. The birth that we celebrate tonight is happening here and now. In you and in me—the birth of our true selves. The birth of kindness, meekness, vulnerability and compassion. The birth of God that awakens us, ev-eryday, every moment, to beauty, to creativity, to mystery, to loving our neighbor, to respecting ourselves, to making peace. Right here, all around us, God is being born.

May God lead us daily to the lowly manger—toward the birthplace of compassion and love, and toward the ongoing sunrise of hope.

PAGE 3Trinity Episcopal Church BLOOMINGTON, IN

E D U C A T I O N

Is “Dogma” a bad word?

Join us for a day of learning this martin luther king, Jr., Day By Danica D’onofrio

on Monday, January 17th, Trinity will host activities for children and youth, grades K-12. The day will be in two parts:

• The morning session will be for students K-8. We will begin at 9 a.m. by gathering in the church for a short service of remembrance of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr*. We will then gather for a conti-nental breakfast and continue with a morning program as we honor Dr. King by looking through the eyes of one young, brave girl named Ruby Bridges. Special guest Gladys DeVane will share her wonder-ful gift of storytelling with us. Also, Elaine Sonnenberg will teach us some spiritual songs and discuss their role in the quest for freedom and equality.

• The afternoon session is for children and youth K-12. The older youth are invited to join us for lunch at 12 p.m., after which we will embark on service projects in and about the Bloomington community. Par-ents and other adults are welcome to join us to be God’s hands in the world. Our program will conclude, at Trinity, by 3 p.m.

Please join us! An RSVP by January 12 is helpful, but not required, as we solidify our plans. Respond to Danica at ddonofrio@trinitybloomington.org

*EVERYONE is welcome for worship and breakfast!

Sunday School music Begins January 16

During Epiphany, music and spiritual formation are team-

ing up to bring song and sound to Sunday School. All Sunday School-aged children and youth will receive communion, with their families, after the choir, then go upstairs for some music time (ap-prox. 10:05 to 10:20 a.m.) before the “official” start of Sunday School (10:20 a.m.)

We anticipate a little confusion for the first couple of weeks. We’ll do our best to communicate with you about when to do what and go where.

by Ross martinie-eiler

From Epiphany until Easter, there will be a small group

titled “We Believe” that will gather to study the Outline of the Faith as found in the Book of Common Prayer. This group will also serve as the Confirmation Class and Baptismal Preparation class for adults.

The group will gather Wednes-day evenings from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Trinity Library to pray, read and discuss sections of the catechism, and share books about the day’s subject. Reading and light homework will be a part of the pro-cess.

This group is open to any and all parishioners, whether you are inter-ested in confirmation or baptism, or if you are simply interested in the study.

If you would like to participate, please contact Ross Martinie Eiler at trinitymartinie@gmail.com or (812) 336-4466, extension 111.

Schedule for we Believe…

JAnuARy 12 – IntroductionJAnuARy 26 – Human Nature &

God the FatherFeBRuARy 9 - The Old Covenant,

the Ten Commandments, Sin & Redemption

FeBRuARy 23 – God the Son & the

New CovenantmARCh 9 - The Creeds, the Holy

Spirit, the Holy ScripturesmARCh 23 – The Church, the Min-

istry, Prayer & WorshipAPRil 13 – The Sacraments, Holy

Baptism, the Holy Eucharist & Other Sacramental Rites

APRil 27 – The Christian Hope

PAGE 4 Trinity Topics January, 2011

C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T

Trinity families decorate ChristmaS cookies

Youth group goes to see “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”

Photos by Danica D’onofrio, Alex may, and Jim Cripe

PAGE 5Trinity Episcopal Church BLOOMINGTON, IN

C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T

Rehearsal for ‘People Look East’

PAGE 6 Trinity Topics January, 2011

C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T

mark for everyone by Tom Wright (2001). London, England: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

This book is one of many vol-umes written by N. T. Wright,

Bishop of Durham of the Church of England. Wright writes for both academic and lay audiences. This book is one in a large series on the books of the New Testament, written for lay people. All in this series are written by Bishop Wright and have “...for Everyone” in their titles.

There are no chapters in the books of this series. Instead, each New Testament book under study is broken into small sequential sections. Wright translates each section and then comments on and ex-plains each section.

I like Wright’s translations, which are uncluttered, to the point, and excellent for teaching and learning, especially if one is self-teaching. Wright’s commentaries are interesting and edifying, and often contain a contemporary story which highlights the point of the chosen lines of scripture. It’s fun to compare the translations with other Bible translations and it is also fun to compare Wright’s work with that of Borg’s and Cros-san’s.

I have not read all the books in this series, but all those that I have read have been interesting, well written, and enlightening. Check them out!

— review courtesy of Barbara Bloom

Book ReviewApply for an Outreach Grant in January!

by Ben Brabson

earth Care (20 congregations in Bloomington including TRINITY!)

is celebrating Martin Luther King Day this year by installing water heater blankets, insulating water pipes, sealing cracks, and weatheriz-ing windows and doors at 100 homes

in Bloomington.If you would like one of those

homes to be yours, just go to the Earth Care Web site (http://earthca-reindiana.org/node/133) and click on the “MLK Preregistration form.pdf” at the bottom of the page.

The really nifty part of this com-munity exercise is that you can be

either a recipient of this effort or a participant in this effort, or both! We need both team members and team leaders.

In my view this will be a really cool way to spend 12:30 to 5:00 pm. Come join us!

Saving your energy on martin luther king, Jr., Day

by marie Shakespeare

Do you volunteer for a local non-profit community ser-

vice group that needs money to start a new program? Do you have an idea for a service project that could be realized with some fi-nancial assistance? Apply now for an Outreach grant of up to $1,000. The application form is available on-line, and can be submitted electronically or on paper by 4 p.m. Friday, February 4. http://www.trinitybloomington.org/serve/service-to-the-community/grants/567-outreach-grant-appli-cation-2011

The grant funds come from 10 percent of Trinity’s budget that is tithed towards service that supports our baptismal promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.”

PAGE 7Trinity Episcopal Church BLOOMINGTON, IN

C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T

Parish to hold annual meeting in January

T R I N I T Y T O P I C STriniTy Topics is a published by Trinity Episcopal Church, Bloomington, Ind. It is in-tended to stimulate greater awareness of and appreciation for the activities of Trinity Episcopal Church. All contents Copyright © 2011 Trinity Episcopal Church. Permission to reprint any part of TriniTy Topics must be obtained in writing from the managing edi-tor. TriniTy Topics is published monthly.

Submit an article: The heart of TriniTy Topics is writing by its members. Whether you choose to write about an area of expertise, a Trinity event (past or present), or a cur-rent news topic, your information may interest and assist members of the Trinity Parish community. Articles for consideration are due to the editor by the third Monday of the preceding month. While all articles are considered, preference is given to those with direct relevance to Trinity Episcopal Church, its activities, and its mission.

Trinity Topics now accepting book and movie reviews. Reviews should be 300–400 words in length. Relevance to Trinity and current issues will be given preference.

Address changes: Send updated contact information to Janet Brinkworth, Par-ish Administrator, by postal mail, or e-mail admin@trinitybloomington.org.

Trinity Topics seeking puzzlers! All you have to do is create a word list and a brief explanation of your topic — the Topics puzzle wizard will do the rest. See this month’s puzzle above.

mAnAging eDiToR

Kelly CarnahanCoPy eDiToRS

Georgia Parham Mark Hurley

Peter DelevettConTRiBuToRS

Mary Jo Barker Barbara Bloom

Ben Brabson Janet Brinkworth

Jim Cripe Danica D’Onofrio

Ruth Droppo Richard Hvale

Ross Marinie-Eiler Alex May

Nancy Rayfield Marie Shakespeare

Golden

Opportunity

Trinity Episcopal Church will hold the

annual parish meet-ing on Sunday, January 30 during the normal Forum hour (10:15 a.m.) This year’s meeting will review the year as well as prepare for what’s upcoming.

The planned Annual Parish Meeting agenda includes:

�� Opening comments by the rector�� Vestry vote�� Year in review�� 2010 Narrative budget in review�� Final stewardship results�� Presentation of 2011 budget

While last year’s meeting fea-tured an exciting election of vestry candidates, this year’s vote will be by acclamation. In situations where

there are the same number of open positions and candidates, Robert’s Rules of Order says that, if there is no opposition, there is no need for a formal vote and the matter is decided by “acclamation” or by “unanimous consent.” (Read more on uncontested elections at http://www.davis-stirling.com/MainIndex/UncontestedElection/tabid/346/Default.aspx#ixzz19oymB6SV from

Davis-Stirling.com by Adams Kessler PLC)

The proposed slate of candidates is: Shannon Gayk, Richard Hvale, Jon Karty, Nancy Rayfield, and Anne Stright.

Outgoing vestry, affectionatly known as “the Mary’s”, are: Mary Jo Barker, Mary Ellen Brown, Mary Ann Hart, Mary Ann Keko, and Kimberly Hurley (an honorary Mary.)

2011 Vestry Slate of Candidates

Shannon Gayk Richard Hvale Jonathon Karty Nancy Rayfield Anne Stright

is your January birthday or anniversary missing from Topics? Please call or e-mail Janet Brinkworth, our parish administrator, at (812) 336-4466 or admin@trinitybloomington.org

more good newsNon-Profit

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PAIDBloomington, IN

Permit No. 11111 South Grant StreetBloomington, IN 47408

BiRThDAyS

1 Catharine Hoff

2 Bill Tilghman 3 Sue

Robinson 3 Bob

McNellen 5 Jane Martin 6 Dorothy

Trulock 6 Mary Ellen

Brown 6 Elaine

Wilson 6 Ian Knox

7 Ian Yeager 11 Liz Winkler 12 Jennifer

Lloyd 14 Giles Knox16 Diane Day18 Ellie McGhee20 Benjamin May21 Glee Tilson22 Nzzy Afoaku22 Isabel Parham23 Linda Wilson23 Aidan Elliott24 Jim Parham24 Liz Keenan24 Michael McCarty

27 Bronwyn Kramer28 Art Robertson28 Mark Hurley28 Jody Hays29 Archie Smith29 Molly Delevett29 Catherine

McGibbon29 Ethan Andrews30 Judy Granbois30 Terra Moser31 Lydia Finkelstein

AnniVeRSARieS9 Scott and Jennifer

Jones

It’s not to late to turn in your

2011 Estimate of Giving.

Extra forms are available in the office

and in the narthex (by the front doors to

the Sanctuary) and on the Web (http://

www.trinitybloomington.org/give/be-

come-a-steward.) We encourage everyone

to return a pledge card, no matter the size

of the commitment. You can increase or

decrease your pledge as your situation

changes by calling the church office.

2011 Estimate of Giving