T3 Thanksgiving Feast

What, you say?  A feast?  Why, yes!  Come join us in Trinity’s Parish Hall THIS Saturday, November 15th for a hearty Thanksgiving meal with friends!  The festivities will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m.  This is an event for the entire family, so bring the kids!  We’ll share a traditional-type Thanksgiving meal and then make a special decoration to go in every basket that is delivered for this year’s Altar of Hope outreach.  For those of you who do not know about AOH, it’s Trinity’s annual Thanksgiving ministry to families in the Manassas area.  For weeks leading up to Turkey Day we collect food items to put in baskets for needy families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixin’s.  We collect green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, pies, turkeys, rolls….and the list goes on and on.  The Sunday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 23rd) parishioners deliver baskets to the families personally after the 11 o’clock service.  This is a great ministry for the whole family and if you’d like to participate by being a delivery driver, please let me know!  Either way, come on out to Trinity on the 15th and bring your favorite Thanksgiving side dish.  We’ll take care of the turkey and tofurkey if you bring a side dish to share!  Look on the evite to see who has signed up for what….if you didn’t get the evite, drop me a line at mmacintire@trinityepiscopalchurch.org and I will make sure you are on our mailing list!  Also, we’ll be inviting the newly baptized and their families to this event as well, so it will be a great group!

One more thing of note is that our Sunday morning group will be taking an extra Sunday to discuss last week’s topic: the debates over issues of human sexuality in our Church.  The conversation was great and we still have more to say, so come on up at 9:00 a.m. this Sunday and join in the conversation!  The following Sunday we’ll pause and take a look at the country’s economic crisis and what that means for us as Christians, and pledging Christians at that!  It’s hard to believe, but the Sunday follow that discussion is the beginning of Advent and we have a whole series planned out for that month!  If you want the details, come find me!

Blessings,

Morgan

Last Sunday for Episcowars!

This is the third and final Sunday we will be discussing different aspects of the conflict that seems to be on-going in the Episcopal Church.  This week’s focus will be on the debate over issues of human sexuality that have been rattling not only our Church here in America, but the worldwide Anglican Communion as well.  So, if this seems like a topic you would be interested in hearing more about, come on up and join us at 9:00 a. m.

For the next two weeks we will have individual topics: one on the state of the economy in America and the impact it has on our lives as Christians and another on the power of prayer and how it effects change in our world.  After that it will be Advent if you can believe it!  For the Advent season we have purchased a four-week study pack that will take us through the lectionary readings, paying particular attention to how the Christmas story was seen through the eyes of different characters who watched and waited for their Lord to come.  It should be the perfect way to prepare for Christmas and all that comes with it and I look forward to embarking on this journey together!

Another thing to remember is that our social event for November is coming up soon — November 15th!  So, go to the calendar page for more info and be on the lookout for an announcement in this week’s Sunday bulletin!

Blessings,

Morgan

Change of Pace

Thank you to all who participated in our three-week series on faith and politics!  I hope that our time on Sunday morning proved to be useful to you as we approach the elections on November 4th!

This week, we will be moving on to another topic–the history of our church.  Sound boring?  Then you must not know much about how we came to be!  From scandals involving Henry the 8th, fights over Prayer Book editions, the ordination of women and issues of human sexuality, our Church has always had the courage to face the controversial.  We’ll begin by glancing over a brief history of this conflict and talk about whether or not the conflict in our day has grown more divisive than issues of the past.  Are we really “better off” without the churches that have chosen to leave our Communion?  Are the issues that plagued us in our early history to blame for the passion behind issues that confront us now?  Will we ALWAYS have something to argue about?!?  Come join the conversation…you may even be surprised about what you learn!

Also, a big thank you to all who made it out for our movie night.  Ya’ll were great rolling with the punches of the movie change and I think a good time was had by all!  We’ll be advertising our November social event real soon, so keep checking this site and your Sunday bulletin for more information!

Blessings,

Morgan

Politics at Church?

Most Christians agree the church should not tell its members which particular candidate to choose in a political election. But the separation between church and state does not preclude applying religiously grounded judgments as to which political positions most nearly embody the search for human well-being.

Have Christians always participated in elections? What are the most helpful ways our faith can inform our voting behaviors? For the next three weeks (Oct. 5, 12 &19), T3 will examine these things and reflect on some criteria to use when considering any political candidate running for public office.

If this is a topic that has been on your mind, please come join us Sunday mornings at 9:00 upstairs!  All perspectives are welcome….you enrich our conversation by your presence!

I also wanted to say a quick “thank you” to all who participated in our cookout redo!  It was a great success with lots of yummy food.  Kids and adults alike had a blast!  We should be deciding about the date and content of our October social event soon, so look for updates/specifics on the website and in Sunday’s bulletin.

Blessings,

Morgan

Don’t forget!!

Our Cookout/Pool Party Redo is happening this Saturday, September 27th from 4-7 p.m. at the home of Jason and Jennifer Smith!  There is rain in the forecast, but not hurricane rain, so we are going to tough it out and hope the meterologists are wrong!  As advertised before, this is an event for the entire family.  The Smith’s have a great backyard with a playground and a huge, heated pool for all of us to enjoy.  We’ll be providing hotdogs and hamburgers with all of the fixin’s, but we ask that you bring a side dish to share!

And the next thing you want to remember is that this Sunday during the morning discussion hour we will be taking some time out of our schedules to talk about simplicity as a spiritual discipline.  If you feel like you need some refreshment for your body, mind and soul after a long week, come join us!  We’ll either be in my office (the obnoxiously yellow room) or the Welcome Room upstairs.  Grab a doughnut and a cup of coffee and come on up!  We’d love to see you!

 

Blessings,

Morgan

Keep It Simple

In today’s hurry-up, get-it-done, and move-on-to-the-next-thing society, busy is the norm. Our attention is as much on being busy as it is on what we are doing, whether it’s work, family, home life, church, or leisure activity. Crazy-busy is the term being used to describe our twenty-first-century lifestyle. Most people can relate: our lives and schedules are out of control. Simplicity appears to be the answer.

We are in no short supply of books, articles, and experts touting a variety of ways to simplify our lives. However, most miss a crucial point. Simplicity is a natural response to loving God. Simplicity is both a mindset and a spiritual discipline because it is rooted in purposefulness toward God and the practical day-to-day lived experience of requiring nothing more than we need.

Do these thoughts resonate with your day-to-day experience of life?  If so, come join us Sunday, September 28th as we explore simplicity as an attitude toward God and as a way of life. We will look at how busy our lives are and then identify what simplicity is and the advantages of living life with singleness of purpose. Plan to sit and talk with us at 9:00 a.m. upstairs in the Welcome Room.  Let’s help each other come to a greater understanding of ways we as Christians can live healthy, balanced lives.

Want to engage in another meaningful topic before then?  Come join us same place, same time this Sunday, September 21st as we wrap up our three week discussion on Christian responses to war.  Hope to see you there!

 

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)

T3 Corner

If you came to church last week you might have noticed that I have commandered a tiny portion of the bulletin board in the hall for T3.  This is the space that I will use to post announcements about upcoming social events, education classes and weekly topics, so be on the lookout for some information!

This past week we tried out the first topic from our new curriciulum and it was a hit!  This week we will be moving on to a new topic, “Are you saved?”  “Saved” is a word that gets thrown around a lot in church speak, but what does it really mean to be “saved.”  We will explore together different perspectives about salvation, talk about where this term came from and how it is used by different Christian denominations today.  Next time you are stopped in a supermarket by a stranger or asked by a friend, “are you saved?” you will know how to answer and how to engage the person who posed the question in the first place!  Boy, I really could have used this lesson in college!:o)

Plans for Via Media are right on track, so expect to see some PR in the church bulletin, on the board and around the church this week!  We’d love to have you join us on this 8-week journey!

Blessings,

Morgan

Are You A Thoughtful Christian?

Do you read online news articles and ask yourself “how should I respond to this?”  Do you ever wonder how you can connect what you learn in the Gospel to situations you find yourself in on a daily basis?  Do you wish you had a group of peers around you with whom you could explore some of these questions?  Look no further!  Come to the Welcome Room on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. There you will find a group of 20s and 30s talking about the war in Iraq, environmental stewardship, U.S. immigration policies, what it means to be “saved”, reality tv, the Antichrist and where God is when disaster strikes.  We are constantly engaging new topics and learning together how to be thoughtful Christians in this great big world.

Starting in September we will be posting the topics we are discussing on a weekly basis on one of the bulletin boards downstairs in the hall.  You should also be able to access topics in the Sunday bulletin, in the Tidings and on this website under the “Calendar” tab above.  If there is a topic that sparks your interest, grab a cup of coffee and a bagel and head on up!  Your insight and perspective is very valuable to our learning.  Don’t see a topic that excites you?  Suggest one!  We are open to discussing just about anything that is relevant to our daily lives.  Pop me an e-mail at mmacintire@trinityepiscopalchurch.org and I will make sure your topic gets worked into our schedule!  Childcare is provided in the nursery in the basement of the church for your convenience, but we are always open to having a little one around if it makes it easier on you!  I hope you will consider joining us soon!

 

Blessings,

Morgan

Planning, planning, planning

This past Sunday, the T3 group met at our normal time to dicuss the social events we will be hosting on the second weekend of each month this year!  We had some great ideas submitted for activities and will hopefully be able to post a calendar or at least a list with potential ideas in the near future.

Right now we are also researching new ways to spend our time together on Sunday mornings.  We have found a thought-provoking curriculum that addresses contemporary issues in light of the Gospel called The Thoughtful Christian.  You can go check out some of the topics if you’d like via the web at www.thethoughtfulchristian.com.  I am also planning on making a trip out to my seminary’s library called the Center for the Ministry of Teaching (CMT) this next week to see if there are other resources that could be of use to us.  I use the word “curriculum” loosely of course as our Sunday morning gatherings are very informal.  We just need a few things to spur some good conversation and we are off.  Besides, those big red rolling chairs are some of the comfiest seats in the church!  You should come on up and try them sometime!  We’d love to meet you!

Blessings,

Morgan )