Faith @ Fifth and Juliana

In the Gospel lesson next Sunday, John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the one who came to baptize with the Holy Spirit. This, after he sees the Spirit descend and remain upon Him. He sees and bears witness that this is the Son of God.

The disciples follow Jesus and ask where He is staying. He answers simply, “Come and see”. Can we hear this happening? If today, we would see the Christ, we could not do it by just painting pictures of what we want Him to be. Rather, we are to go where He goes, listening and following where He leads us.

In the days when Jesus walked the earth, many of Jesus’ own people, the Jews, said they wished to see the Messiah, and yet Jesus came and stood among them and they knew Him not. He lived with them for at least thirty years, walking and talking…..teaching God’s word, and they knew Him not. Sometimes we find this hard to understand. How could the Son of God come to us without our knowing it?

But is that really surprising? This Jesus simply did not “look” the way they wanted the Messiah to look. He did not say the things they thought the Messiah ought to say. He certainly did not do all the things they wanted the Messiah to do….and so they did not see Him for who He really was.

If we are to be as His church…..the Body of Christ which we are called to be…..we cannot do it by creating a “new” Jesus in our minds. We must allow Him to re-create us in His Divine image.

Sounds right but it all too often escapes us! The real difficulty is: this Jesus did not and never intended to come among us to fulfill all our hopes and expectations. He came to make sure we understand God’s promises. He never became incarnate so we might have what we want, but that we might be given what God wants for us.

Do we want to be all that God created us to be? Do we want to see all He has prepared for those who love Him? It’s not easy any more for us than it was for the Jews of Jesus’ own day. But the Good News is the invitation is still, and always will be, open.

It reads simply “COME AND SEE.”

Jack+

 

ANNOUNCEMENT !!!

Junior Warden Jim Full, soon to be just plain Jim Full, announces the creation of the Trinity “Job Jar”. The purpose of the “job jar” is just like the one you may have at home; to keep a list of small jobs that need to be done around the church, but can be accomplished in a short time. If you are at the church and have a few minutes to spare, take a look at the list and see if there is something you can do before you leave. God and the new Junior Warden will thank you. These will be jobs that do not need to wait for a work day to complete and can be finished in 30 to 60 minutes or less. Larger jobs can then be saved for work days.

The list will be kept in Betty Matthews’ office. You may call the church office and request that a job be added to the “job jar”, keeping in mind that these should be small, quickly accomplished jobs. When you stop by the church, check the “job jar”. The job of your dreams may be waiting for you!

Don’t forget that Supper Club meets Friday (18th) evening at Claudia Smith’s home, 54 Canterbury Drive. The time is 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome! (Claudia’s phone number is 485-8917 if you need more information.)

The new Vestry members and Trustee will be installed on Sunday, January 20th, during the 10:30 a.m. service. There will be a Vestry meeting on Monday, January 21st.

A Brunch for all the past and present Vestry members and Trustees will be held on Jan. 27th at 12:30 p.m. at Father Jack and Lynette Neilson’s home. The Neilson’s are providing beverages and meat, and they ask that the members each bring a dish to share.

Annual Meeting Report

We elected to three year terms the following members of our vestry ….Judy Rathbone, Bob Brantner, Terry Cauthorn and Becky Johnston. Welcome to all these new faces and thank you for your interest. We also elected Bill Mildren to a three year term as Trustee. Convention delegates for the May Diocesan Convention will be Julie Gyongyosi, Scott Ramsay and Betty Rodda. Alternates will be Carol and Doug Adams. All were elected by acclamation.

Julie Button gave us a clear explanation of the successes we have had in our church school. She also thanked our teachers and presented them with a gift from the church….....Julie Rathbone, Leslie Mc Kernan, Jennifer Currey and Rebecca Crooks who made it all possible. Julie Button has made so much happen by her personal leadership. It’s a joy to have her with us.

Julie Rathbone, Treasurer shared that we have finish the year 2001 with all bills paid and with a positive balance to begin the new year. Part of the enhancements for this year will be a dramatic increase in funds for outreach. It’s not all we would like but it is a strong commitment for the future. The new budget will be posted in Trinity Hall shortly. If you would like a copy mailed to you, please call the church office. The new budget will allow what is requested by the Search Committee for visitation and eventual moving of a new rector. Finally, earnings from our Endowment Fund are not scheduled for use in general operating funds for the new year. They will be retained to be used as needed for the Restoration Project.

Doug Adams then gave a Trustee report of the activity of the endowment. Those funds are currently invested in the general fund of the diocese….available to us as needed but we hope that will not hap. Only the designated earnings from the Despard Fund, which must be used for church school activities, are planned to be used in 2002.

Barbara Allman and Bill Bailey provided an update of all the activities of a very busy Search Committee. They have nine names of interested priests for Trinity. They plan to complete all the remaining telephone interviews this week. Then, they will try to do their best to find those candidates who best fit our prepared profile. Several names will be selected to visit personally at their home churches. From these visits, some may be asked to come to Parkersburg for further interviews. These interviews will be done on weekdays with the committee as each has Sunday responsibilities. That list will be narrowing soon. Although no dates are set, real progress is being made.

The Restoration Project it moving right along. General Chairman, Forbes Hiehle, spoke of the importance of pledge card responses from every member of our congregation. At this writing, he said there are still more than fifty pledge cards that have not been returned to the church. He shared the importance of sacrificial giving for each of us but only within our ability to do what must be done. He said the amount pledged is not as important as the need for everyone to do what they are able. (Note; at least ten cards were given after the meeting which is very encouraging.) We plan to report actual results of our capital campaign in the next issue of Trinity Times.

Paula Sellers, Senior Warden, thanked everyone in the congregation for making it possible to accomplish so much during her year in this responsible position. She closed with a reading of a very poignant writing from Mother Teresa that spoke to each of us about doing our part to make important things continue to happen at Trinity Church.

It was a lovely evening!: The travel to Chester hill was worth it ! It was a beautiful night, and the winding roads took us straight to Arlene and Dick Wetzel’s lovely home for a memorable evening of conversation, music, delectable food, and friendship ! Many thanks to the Wetzel’s for opening their home to Trinity for Supper Club! If you weren’t able to go you missed a treat !

    Our Parish Prayers

Please hold these people, events and circumstances in your daily prayers. Also, we encourage you to always say a prayer for those unknown persons who have no one to pray for them. By-the-way, please remember to renew prayer requests monthly

Gene Smith, Julia Davis, Sarah Jane Yates, Walter Kafka, Justine Eby, Woody and Gloria Thacker, David and Jane Couch, Bob Lawrence-Berrey, Emily Roper, Joanne Wiggins, Jennie Miracle, Linda Ingraham, Mary Glen Rice, Nellie and Ron Taylor, Kay Munchmeyer, Stephen Hill, Bill Bailey, Charlie Culbertson, Rebecca Hilverding, James Bullard, Bill Eason, and Red Miller.