Dear Trinity Church,
Last Sunday, the Godly Play children moved the yellow arrow on our Liturgical Calendar three squares forward (we were a little behind). One child happily exclaimed, “Advent is almost here!” The room filled withanticipation. These children understand the wonder of getting ready for the birth of the Christ Child. They are living out what Godly Play calls “paying attention”. They will not miss the mystery of Christmas. (For more information about the church year see Julie Canlis' lecture from last year here. I also like this article.)
All of Trinity Church are invited into this practice of waiting together. The children enjoy special stories of the Holy Family and St. Nicholas. We’ll make Advent crafts together to help us celebrate at home with devotional guides. We might decide to fast or give to those in need. Advent helps us be intentional about getting ready for the great mystery of the Incarnation.
You’ll also see color changes in the Sanctuary, a Christmas tree from the Bickford tree farm, an Advent Wreath with candle lighters each Sunday, and meaningful art to help us see the story of Christmas. The children will attend Sunday school all together downstairs in the Fireside room at their regular time. After the 9:45 am service there will be special craft activities for everyone.*
2022 Trinity Church Advent Crafts Schedule
- November 27 Advent Wreath - bring a grocery bag of fresh greens cut in 3" lengths - December 4 Cookie decorating - bring an offering for the Lighthouse Ministries - December 11 Christ Candles - bring non-perishable food donations - December 18 Caroling @ Colonial Vista - bring Christmas Cards for our Colonial Vista friends
*Please consider giving a $15.00 donation per household for craft expenses.
Advent culminates with the celebration of Christ’s birth on Christmas Eve. The candlelight Lessons and Carols service begins at 11:00 pm and finishes as the clock strikes midnight. Children, come in your Christmas jammies! We begin the 12 days of Christmas which ends with the Feast of Epiphany. We celebrate the arrival of the Magi announcing the good news that the gospel will go out to all the world with food and dancing and a visit from our own resident Magi. Save the date - January 6th! Be on the lookout for a flyer next Sunday, November 20th with a fuller picture of the Advent and Christmas season at Trinity, including events like Evensong (Nov 27), Darkest Night (Dec 21), and a Prayer Vigil leading up to Christmas Day. “Advent is almost here!” Julia PS - Here's a link to last year's Advent lecture by Dr. Chris Green. It's great!
Advent Decorators Needed
Want to help decorate our sanctuary and meet new friends? This is our first year decorating our sanctuary! We are looking for a couple of artsy-fartsy people to LEAD us in designing a simple aesthetic AND a couple more to help us implement. If you find yourself getting lost on Pinterest or Instagram looking for new decorating ideas, you might have the spiritual gift. :-) Please contact Julie Canlis who cannot lead this group, but wants to support and cheer for anyone who can. And if you don't want to lead, but collaborate, please get in touch. We need help! Julie@trinitywenatchee.org
Parking Notice
Last week, many of you couldn’t find parking for our later service because the lot was full! If this happens to you in the future, please feel free to park at Colonial Vista. We have permission from them to use their parking lot as overflow. That being said, it would be even BETTER (to play off a Hebrews theme) if you choose to park at Colonial Vista in the first place! Why? Because we’d love to do a better job at making room for our elderly, for first-time visitors, and for the Brethren Baptists who often don’t have spots to park. So if you’ve been coming to Trinity for over 6 months, please help us in serving others, as you’re able, by parking across the street at Colonial Vista. And let’s try to keep those spots designated “WBBC” (closest to the building and the grey church bus) open for them to park… Thanks!
Building Restoration Brainstorm Night November 16 @ 6:30
On November 16 at 6:30pm, an architect from England will lead our church in a brainstorming session about the restoration of our 100 year-old building. His name is Alex, and he is flying from London to Wenatchee to learn more about Trinity’s story, and to listen to your ideas for the church building. Alex’s specialty is working with older buildings, and helping congregations balance beauty, functionality, and mission. The goal for Nov 16 is to hear from as many of us as possible. We will likely assemble together in the sanctuary that night to begin, and then break into smaller groups to generate discussion and gather ideas. Alex the UK Architect has sent 18 questions for each of us consider before we come (they are posted on the event page once you click the button below). Please RSVP. And if you could take 10 minutes to answer some pivotal questions, it would really help our brainstorming process.
AXIS Resource for Families with Teens (Free!)
Hey Trinity! Let’s learn how to better understand and connect with the teenagers in our church. To help us, Trinity has purchased a membership to Axis.org. Every family in our church will get their own free membership to this excellent site full of research-based resources created with the intent of “building lifelong faith in young people by helping parents and caring adults talk with their kids about things they otherwise wouldn’t, one conversation at a time.” Sign up by clicking the button below, and start learning how to better be face-to-face with the young people in your lives.
Volunteer Notice from Susannah
Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas are quickly approaching and that means people are traveling a lot. I am running into some problems getting some volunteer positions filled and would love your help! Would you be willing to step in and serve for a week or two during the holiday season? The biggest need is for people to help cleanup after communion - washing cups and getting things ready to go for the next week. Please reach out to me either by replying to this email or by phone and we'll get you plugged in.
Key Info for Church this Fall
Our services are at 8:30am and 9:45am.
- Live stream our 9:45am services HERE - Watch past services on YouTube - Listen to Sermon audio