Seeing Jesus this Advent
Dear Trinity,
Back in October, Nigel and I had the opportunity to travel to Baltimore for the Matthew 25 Initiative conference, which is a place of equipping and sustaining for those in the church who come alongside the vulnerable. It was a time of sharing and celebrating and lamenting and grieving with and for people who are not seen by society and sadly, often not seen by the church. With advent upon us, in thinking of how Jesus came to us two thousand years ago, as a baby to a teenager in a backyard barn, I wonder how he’d come to us today. It’s likely He’d come in a way that is just as surprising, just as unpredictable, and perhaps just as vulnerable.
For the first time, I am understanding that Advent is not Christmas, but rather a time of watching and waiting for how our Savior will come. Our Christian calendar gives us this space to be alert and to wonder. Where will we see him? I know we can find Him in Scripture and in the lives of each other, and now I am also growing in belief that he’s present in the faces of those outside our walls who are overlooked, ignored, and too often unseen. Perhaps when we look into the faces of the vulnerable, we truly are looking into the face of Jesus.
Let's see Jesus in the vulnerable:
Sign up for a weekly Advent reflection from Matthew 25 ("Light Where Hope Falters" - scroll to bottom) and check out their website
Give to Families in Need both inside and outside our church. For the last 2 years our congregation has joined together to support families in need in our parish during the Christmas season, especially families who live at St. Jude’s Landing, a low-income supportive housing unit operated by Catholic Charities. Donate here.
Visit Colonial Vista on January 6th – Mark your calendars for Jan 6 @ 1pm for the beginning of a monthly time to see and get to know the residents and workers at Colonial Vista.
Learn about Safe Families – Watch for an invitation for a Lunch & Learn where as a church we can learn about this opportunity for us see, be equipped, and come alongside vulnerable families in our valley.
Nicole Hunter
George MacDonald Book Club
Dear Trinity, One of the greatest Christian writers (and arguably the person who fathered the entire genre of fantasy) is George MacDonald. C. S. Lewis saw him as his spiritual father, called him "my master," and it was grabbing a MacDonald novel from a used bookstore (as he was jumping on a train) that was C. S. Lewis' undoing. "A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading." It was not MacDonald's apologetics that converted Lewis' rational mind, it was MacDonald's stories that "baptized my imagination" (Lewis). Lewis tasted goodness in these stories. And his longing for the "true" things in life was ignited ... a longing which led him to his famous walk at Oxford with Tolkien, and his becoming the world's most reluctant convert. (That is only a tiny bit of the story - because in truth, MacDonald was one of the most respected literary critics of his generation. He was friends with Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), Coleridge (Rime of the Ancient Mariner), and others - and he mentored them all through various seasons of spiritual dryness and drought. What you will find in MacDonald is not your ordinary Christian thinker, but one whose imagination is on fire - and who reads Scripture - and life - in ways that will captivate you.) This coming 2024 is George MacDonald's bicentenary and I invite you to read FOUR BOOKS (one every quarter) together as a community. All I will do is give you the reading list, pair each book with a podcast / article and then throw a discussion party on the last Sunday of Jan/April/July/Oct after Evensong at my house with shortbread and tea and other nefarious Scottish delights (read: whisky). I'm letting you know now, so you can order the books and get started. JANUARY: The novel set in the Highlands "What's Mine's Mine" (This was CS Lewis' favorite GMD Scottish novel). PARTY: January 28, 6:45pm at the Canlis House (after Evensong) PODCAST: How C. S. Lewis was impacted by George MacDonald [S5E27 – AH – "MacDonald and Phantastes" – After Hours with Dr. Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson] If you want to order it and have a hard copy, they are about $10 (just make sure you get the whole book, not "volume 1" or something like that). If you want to read it off the internet/kindle, go to Project Gutenberg (What's Mine's Mine — Complete by George MacDonald). And if you want a free audiobook, get it from Librivox.org on your computer [What's Mine is Mine: LibriVox] or download the Librivox App on your phone and have access to 40,000 free audiobooks that are out of print, including this one! Here are a few wonderful quotes to get your appetite whetted for the book:
Christina's world was a very small one, and in its temple stood her own image.
The good man would at once recognize and reject the pride of a bad man. A pride that loves cannot be so bad as a pride that hates. Yet if the good man does not cast out his pride, it will sink him lower than the bad man's, for it will degenerate into a worse pride than that of any bad man.
Isabel did not understand that she cared more about salvation than about God—that, if she could but keep her boy out of hell, she would be content to live on without any nearer approach to Him in whom she had her being! God was to her an awe, not a ceaseless, growing delight.
That's it! Hope to see you at my house, shortbread crumbs on your fingers, with lots of good quotes to discuss!
Julie
Coming Up
Advent Wreath Making This Sunday, December 3 after 2nd Service Join us in putting together our Advent wreaths after second service this Sunday. Please bring greenery cuttings measuring around 3 inches to share. Godly Play Training This Sunday, December 3 @ 1:00 pm @ Trinity Church If you are interested in learning more about Godly Play, there will be a two hour "Intro to Godly Play" class this Sunday. We will spend our time on some instruction, participation and practice. Because Godly Play is an experiential model of learning you will be invited to see a story, wonder, and work together to tell a story. We will take some time to reflect on your experiences as well. I have been working with the Godly Play model at Trinity Church since 2013 and have found it a blessing for our children and volunteers alike. Come and see how God might be inviting you to "Godly Play" in your ministry and life. Contact Julia Barger for information and to RSVP. Midrash and Prayer December 6 and 13 @ 7pm December 6th and 13th, following Wednesday night midrash, at 8:15-9:30pm we will be opening the sanctuary for a time of prayer. The intention of this time is for you to bring all your life’s underlines and squiggles into conversation with the Lord and to wrestle, praise and wonder. There will be a few prayer ministers available who would love to pray with and over those who would like to receive prayer. Please come join us as we seek to sit with the Lord this advent. Silent Retreat Dec 8-10 at Ingalls Creek Sign up before November 30 Sign ups close TODAY, November 30! Come away this Advent during the weekend of December 8-10. Retreat has been a rhythm in the lives of Christians throughout millennia. When we practice solitude and silence in community, especially in a place like Ingalls Creek, we experience greater stillness. From this place, the fruits of the spirit spring forth. Come and see! Click below to learn more.
Caring For Our Church Family
The Tomalty Family
We are so thankful to be able to report that Kip was released from Seattle Children's Hospital on Monday and is back home. Please to continue to pray for his little body as it recovers from all the medical procedures and that the infection does not recur.
The Mendez Family
A new meal train has been made to bless the Mendez family while Emily travels daily to Moses Lake for radiation and chemotherapy and as she recovers from the removal of a brain tumor in late September. Let's shower this family with love and prayer during this time.
The Gentry Family
Jill Gentry was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer earlier this Fall. Brad and Jill are so grateful to have your help in this time as they seek treatment and pathways forward. To stay in touch with their journey and to learn about how you can help support their family, please click below.
Bulletin Board
If you have a personal need (like a job, or housing, etc.), an event you’d like to promote, or something you’d like our church body to be aware of, you can email hello@trinitywenatchee.org for us to review before posting.
Come and hear the Columbia River Community Flute Choir! Several women who attend Trinity play in the choir. Performances of Christmas music will be: Friday, December 1, 6-7pm at the Grove Recital Hall in Wenatchee Valley College Music and Art Center and Sunday, December 3, 3:30-5pm at Saddlerock Presbyterian Church.
Ever dreamed of living right across the street from your favorite church? Now is your chance! Fully furnished, recently remodeled apartment right across the street from Trinity available for rent! Laundry, kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bath. Utilities included: water, sewer, garbage. $1050 per month. Totally awesome landlords. Call or text Anni at (509) 670-6795 or Guy at (509) 670-3608.
Quick Links:
Sunday services: 8:30 and 9:45am (livestream the 9:45)
Download the Church Center app, or view it on your computer here