Looking Ahead

Hello everyone and welcome to the last blog post that will be up for a while.  As most of you know, I am great with child and need to give birth soon, so this will be my last official week at Trinity!:o)  Given this fact, I thought it would be a good idea to look ahead to things that will be happening in the coming months with the T3 group while I am away.

First of all, our Sunday morning group discussions will continue at 9 a.m. upstairs.  This week we are going to have a chat about the economic crisis and what it means to us as Christians.  Next week, we’ll dive into a 4-week series about Advent that will carry us through most of December.  We will NOT meet the last Sunday in December (28th) so that we can all enjoy the holidays and take a break!  We’ll pick back up January 4th with a new list of topics that you all will decide upon shortly!

Second, we have bounced around some ideas for social events in December and January, but your input is very welcomed and will be sought after soon!  We had initially thought about having a Christmas party in December and I proposed that we take a look at ice skating at the rink in Manassas one afternoon in January.  Since I won’t be updating things online, please be sure and read your Sunday bulletins and your Tidings for information about future gatherings.

Third, our Altar of Hope ministry is occuring this Sunday, December 23rd.  We’ll be helping folks get directions to their assigned families and pick up perishable and non-perishable food items for delivery.  Anyone wishing to help us in this endeavor can take up a place in the Parish Hall, outside in the parking lot or in the front room of the Gray House.  These will be the three locations from which all the goodies will be distributed to the delivery drivers.  Helping us organize the chaos and reminding people what to do would be much appreciated!  Remember, if a driver is unable to reach a family at their assigned residence he/she is to return the basket to Trinity.  We cannot leave raw food on people’s doorsteps!  If you have any questions about how you can be involved, please pop me an e-mail and I will be glad to explain some more!:o)

That about covers the update and should carry us through until January!  If you need to reach me during the time in between, please feel free to send an e-mail my way as I will be periodically checking it from home.  If not, have a blessed Christmas and I will see you all again January 18th!

Blessings,

Morgan

@ The Journey’s End

Well, it’s hard to believe that we are one week shy of the end of Via Media, the eight-week adult education series we have been sponsoring since September.  Though it has been a rewarding experience, I think we are all ready to take a break and reclaim our Sunday evenings!  I believe the program has been a tremendous success and has shown us that we are more than capable of providing meaningful ministry opportunities to those in our parish.  I think we’ve done Trinity good, ya’ll!:o)

This Sunday, November 2nd, Via Media will look a bit different because after 8 weeks of exploring and questioning we will finally get to ask the most important question of all: SO WHAT?!?  So what does it REALLY mean to be an Anglican Christian in 21st century America?  What has all of this theological pondering done for us as individuals?  Where and how would we like to go deeper with any part of this material?  We’ll gather together as always at 5:00 p.m. to have a simple supper, but this time we won’t be sitting in small groups!  There will be two video sessions broken up by a large group discussion and then comes the real treat: a closing eucharist designed especially for all who have attended!  Vinnie will be joining us this week to celebrate and we welcome her into our hearty group!

Thank you to all who have participated in this ministry and don’t forget to come out for the very special last session!

Blessings,

Morgan

Ministry Fair

Inevitably, churches single out one day on the calendar to advertise all of their programming for the year in an attempt to lure people in to signing up for classes, outreach opportunities and the like.  Some call it a Rally Day, others a Ministry Fair, and the list goes on and on!  I have always liked the chaos of ministry fair Sunday and I think it gives people who are new to the church or people who are looking for new ways to plug in to the church a way to connect.  Besides, most of the booths have free candy!:o)  Each booth represents a different group, class or outreach opportunity available to you at Trinity in the coming year.  The Ministry Fair creates a time and a place for people to ask questions about the different ways in which they can be involved in the life of the church.  It’s definitely worth checking out!

This Sunday, September 7th is Trinity’s Ministry Fair!  All of the booths will be set up in the Parish Hall for your perusal from 9:45-10:45 a.m.  T3 will have two booths this year: one advertising our Young Adults group and the other advertising Via Media.  Please feel free to stop by and ask any of our T3 members questions you might have about our educational offerings as well as our social gatherings and outreach ministries.  We would love to talk with you!

On another note, this Sunday will be the first of the year for our seminarians.  For those of you who don’t know quite what a seminarian is, allow me to explain!:o)  We in the Epsicopal Church attend three years at an accredited seminary before we are ordained.  This is basically grad school for priest wannabes and at the end of seminary, you are awarded a Masters in Divinity.  We have a great seminary very close to Manassas called Virginia Theological Seminary.  As part of their seminary experience, students are assigned to intern at particular parishes all around the D.C. metro area.  Trinity has had a seminarian help out every year since its doors were opened, so the people are very used to being a learning environment for priest hopefuls.  We will be blessed to have not one, but TWO seminarians from VTS this year, Meredith and Corrie.  They will be formally introduced during services, but please do take time outside of church to introduce yourselves to them and let them know they are welcomed!

Blessings,

Morgan

P.S.  Don’t forget our first T3 social gathering is THIS SATURDAY, September 6th from 4-7 at the Smith’s House!  It’s happening rain or shine, so come on out!:o)

It’s All in the Details

 

We are all some place on the road we call “spiritual journey” and for many of us, it even feels like we aren’t on any road at all. Maybe you have questions about God or the bible or just who Jesus is. Maybe you didn’t have such a great experience going to church as a child; or maybe you did and you really want to find that again. Are you looking for a safe place to ask difficult or provocative questions? Are you wishing you could find a group of people who are willing to laugh and share and wonder with you?

 

Via Media might just be a perfect fit for you. We promise you will grow. We promise the discussion will be lively. We value and need a wide range of beliefs, perspectives and opinions – we are enriched by each and every voice at the table…..we need you!

 

Where? The Welcome Room (Upstairs)

When? Sunday Evenings from 5-6:30 p.m.

Beginning September 14^th & ending November 2^nd

 

A light dinner & childcare will be provided!

Sponsored by T3: 20s & 30s @ Trinity

 

Questions?  E-mail Morgan at

mmacintire@trinityepiscopalchurch.org

 

Be on the lookout for sign-up sheets in the Narthex and at our booth at the Ministry Fair, September 7^th!  Grab a brochure on the bulletin board or in the Parish Hall for more information!

 

Via Media or Why We Love Being Episcopalians

Some of you may have heard about a program offered in the Epsicopal Church called Via Media (Latin for ”the middle way”).  It’s an 8-week series that explores different facets of the faith through the use of 20 minute DVD presentations and discussion groups.  We in T3 thought this would be an amazing adventure to embark on together along with anyone else in the church who is interested.  That’s why starting Sunday, September 14th, we’ll be offering Via Media at night from 5-6:30 upstairs in the Welcome Room.  Childcare will be provided and we’re going to have a light dinner each time to keep our brains working!  This is a great opportunity for those who are new to the Episcopal Church to come and learn more about what we believe as well as a great chance for those who have been lifelong members to re-discover why they love it so much!  You don’t need any prior knowledge of the Church or the Bible to attend.  Just come with an open heart and an urge to grapple with some of the “BIG” questions! 

We’ll be advertising this gathering in the Tidings and you’ll start seeing announcements appear in the Sunday bulletins and flyers hanging all around the church.  We’ll have a sign up sheet as the date approaches and will also have a small booth at the Ministry Fair (September 7th) in case you have any questions.  In the meantime, feel free to e-mail me at mmacintire@trinityepiscopalchurch.org if you are a young adult who is interested in being part of the planning team for this event.  To check out Via Media online and get a better picture of what this is all about, visit the website at www.everyvoice.net/viamedia. 

Blessings,

Morgan

New Additions

Hello everyone and welcome to the new week!:o)  You might have noticed some new additions to the tool bar at the top of our blog!  I have posted the tentative social events calendar for the year as well as created a space for us to post photos of our outings and outreach events!  So far there are few photos to display, so I am calling on all current members to e-mail me any other pics you may have snapped of T3 in action this past year.  As always, feel free to comment on anything you see and/or e-mail me with suggestions you may have about the future up-keep of this blog. 

I thought it might also be helpful to tell you a little bit more about the things that all of us participate in outside of our T3 grouping!  We have two members of the vestry, two leaders of the baptism classes, two youth group leaders, an organist & choirmaster, a member of the choir, a member of the hand bell team, a member of the altar guild, a leader of the acolytes, a leader of the lectionary Bible study offered each Sunday, a preacher and a deacon.   Some of us are football fanatics, baseball fans, attorneys, good with computers, excellent at planning conferences, dancers, teachers, musically-inclined, not-so musically inclined and a lot of us are people who aren’t shy to eat, drink and be merry!  I hope by this brief list you can tell that we are all very involved in the life of Trinity at many levels in addition to being living, breathing people of faith with healthy social lives and loving families.  If you ever feel disconnected from the community or feel like you don’t have a ministry in the church, any of our members would be more than qualified to help you find your niche!  So add our blog to your web favorites list and continue to learn about all of the opportunities we have to offer you and yours!

Blessings,
Morgan

Staying Connected

Hello everyone!  This blog has been created as a way for T3, the young adults group at Trinity Episcopal Church in Manassas, VA, to keep in touch with one another, stay aware of upcoming events and share a common prayer list of petitions and thanksgivings with one another.  The blog will be updated once a week with information about what’s going on in our Sunday morning group and about what fun social activity has been planned for the month!  As a reminder, we meet:

**Sunday Mornings in the Welcome Room (upstairs) from 9:00-9:45 a.m. for breakfast, fellowship and discussions about how we can connect the Gospel to our day-to-day lives.

**The second weekend of every month starting in September 2008 to gather for a social event.  We’ll announce the specifics (date, time, activity) in church on Sundays, in the weekly church bulletin and via e-mail.  We alternate between night time activities and afternoon activities, family-oriented social gatherings and adult get togethers to try and meet the needs of all of our young adults single, married, with or with out children!

At the top of this blog, there is a tool bar link to our running prayer list.  If you wish to add a name to the prayer list or update us on the status of an existing name, please e-mail mmacintire@trinityepiscopalchurch.org.  When submitting prayer requests, please send in a first name only to protect those we love on the interweb!  Also, feel free to update us in the comments section at the bottom of that page!  You don’t need a user name on wordpress to do so, so just click away and let us know what you think!

We’re planning hard for a great year and we hope that you will join us!

Blessings,

Morgan )